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So once upon a time I was an editor and correspondent for a local newspaper. If it weren't for the tight deadlines, we could easily go down rabbit holes like this. I'm happy that the Wiki diving I do at least a few days a week is now gamified! Inquiring Minds is an exercise in learning literally anything throughout human history, writing about it, and then engaging in a social experiment by sharing what you've learned with people. It's great that you're encouraged to just blatantly ask people if the information you're sharing is neat to them! The need for discernment is critical in news media, and it's great that the AI reporter mode centers on that as well. 

The first memory I rolled was clear, and the elder shared a story so vivid about his sister I felt her presence. Then I rolled for a memory about a sensation the elder had, but I'm sure he was making stuff up because it involved his psychic connection to a corn field. Then I rolled: "the memory is spotty, and the elder struggles to remember." My heart sank as he failed to remember an achievement he was so proud of. In that moment, I understood the true nature of this game. Finally, the elder's memory is lucid again, and he remembers the loss of an uncle with unfortunate clarity. This gentle game captures the complex emotions we hold for loved ones with a lifetime of stories.

The dice degradation mechanic is incredible. Having the same target number with every roll, which initially feels trivial to clear up until you're desperately trying to do anything at all is some palpable tension. I love that this comes with several interesting sample settings in multiple genres, highlighting just how adaptable this system is. I've always appreciated concise, simple gameplay, and 4: The Survival Tabletop Roleplaying Game uses this to haunting effect. Excellent work!

So we both made games with Legacy of Kain references! This is an interesting framework for an emotional dialogue on fatalism. I imagine it could be very taxing for two players to narrate countless scenarios where one involuntarily eliminates the other, and that could lead to some frustration (which is likely the point). I'd probably consider some other way to manipulate fate after enough recursions are reached? I also thought to myself that the background and setting of the Betrayal stage could vary either slightly or dramatically each turn, but each time ending with the same inevitable event. 

Yes, I do appreciate this as a self-help too, and it is RPG enough. Your words are a much needed validation of day-to-day struggles while also encouraging me to brew a cup of tea to take the edge off. I thought it was kind to submit something so sincere.

Being able to swap perspectives in this overarching stories let me review characters with more nuance. Maybe the wizard isn't a Saturday morning cartoon villain, but a broken, misguided man looking for one last chance to erase his regrets? What if a dragon is young enough to question if it values its traditions or the nascent bonds it forges with misfits? And what if all of these pirates and scoundrels we keep running into had hearts of gold? What if cycles weren't circles but ascending spirals? I enjoyed reading through and thinking about this!

The game's hook is that, if the dice rolls in my favor, I could undo something that already happened. This does imply that the thing is regretful enough for me to want to erase from history. Other prompts focus on, what I wish would rather happen, vocalize what I hope will not happen, and how I feel about it all. This is a much more contemplative exercise than I thought it would be! I wound up thinking about a bug that scattered away in the kitchen. There was conflict between having empathy for even the smallest among us but also having a practical desire for cleanliness and well-being. Not bad at all. Also, I now know what an infinity card is! 

I solo'd this game and picked a medieval fantasy game. What began with the desperate plea of a cleric to survive an encounter with a primordial being turned into a fable about a sad, confused monster wondering why it hurts and scares the creatures of the beautiful world it's just now discovering. The keyword mechanic allows for sparks of inspiration like that, and I really didn't expect to head down that direction! I'd actually love to play this in a group setting one day with other would-be meddlesome godlings. 

It's very rare that we experience an actual deus ex machina. I've been around long enough now that when I get that sinking feeling something is going to come to pass, it does. So if the ship's systems are shot, if power and oxygen are rapidly dwindling and we're far too many clicks away from a habitable atmosphere, much less a spaceport? I think I'd bunker down and treasure whatever thoughts I'd like to take with me into eternity. But I know others would rage against dying starlight and others still would spend their remaining moments on pea pod upkeep in hydroponics. Do I let them be, or do I seek comfort in their presence at the very end? If played with a group, I imagine that's the critical decision to make. 

Thanks for letting me know about the text. As much as I like style, I think legibility and accessibility are just as, if not more important. If I make another go at this, I'll try to balance the visuals with more clarity. 

I can answer this! The names on the cards are completely arbitrary. I figured that if this were much more fleshed out, I'd try to have a variety of talking point/pain point decks, and it would be useful if they had names to identify them easily. I just happened to give them silly names. 

I took a moment to remember a long-distance ex of mine and then recognized that, yes, I consented to suffering my own ghosts when no one asked that of me. I don't think I can get through the rest of the game tonight, but I don't regret thinking about the weight I forgot about. 

I generated a few of the prompts in this game about gods with fairly specific portfolios. I wound up remembering a panhandler who helped me out of a jam even though I rebuffed him earlier because I was also broke. I was also reminded of a classmate who, after years put our childhoods well behind us, became far wiser and kinder after dealing with adversity. I appreciate the reflection. 

I'm also down for this.

I wish I had this tool kit at the beginning of brainstorming for the jam, because you may be subjected to my 4+ player scary, thoughtful LARP game about openings and closings (where the end is never the end). I think this a clever utility for early game ideation, especially when I have to work quickly like in jams! Well done.  

Thanks for taking a look! Unfortunately I still don't see it up yet, but I look forward to checking the zine out.

Hi! It doesn't look like this is up yet? 

Sorry if this has been answered already, but is there a way for a widget to automatically trigger on mouseover?

Hello! I was going through the Twine Poetry Jam entries again, wish I could check this piece out again but I respect that you've taken it down. I hope all is well. 

Thank you! I've actually been thinking about this reply all week. I'm really an amateur at Twine to be honest and I wasn't really confident about my abilities as an IF game designer or a poet. But it looks like what I wrote had some kind of impact on you. I'm glad I risked being a little vulnerable. 

I don't think I can capture the nuance of my last relationship and its dissolution in under 300 words. But I could only think of the night I returned to our old apartment alone, with a couple weeks left on the lease. How dark it was, since nearly all the lightbulbs were out. The stale, almost rancid air. 

Maybe there'll be another one of these. Thanks for helping me consider it. 

Getting to that final word is very powerful. Thank you for making this.