TheDevinTeam

TheDevinTeam

@thedevteam.itch.io

Hyper-focusing on RPG design, Cleave (out now!), PBTA, Pathfinder 2e, etc. he/they, free Palestine, blocks AI slop https://www.devin-developing.link

1.4K followers703 following6.2K posts

Deckbuilders are fun but they lack the core appeal of TCGs to me. They’re like dating: quick, fun, and with little commitment. Meanwhile, TCGs are like relationships. You invest into them and get a lot more emotionally attached. I still remember the 5-Color Allies deck I ran in college.

Magic the Gathering’s land mechanic is so funny in that it’s simultaneously MTG’s secret sauce, a key factor in what makes its deckbuilding interesting, and also easily its most frustrating and un-fun mechanic.

The risks and rewards of going mono color vs dual color and beyond are so fascinating, and making 5-color decks work with any consistency is so incredibly satisfying. But you know what’s not satisfying? 1/10 games being auto-fails because you drew too many or too few lands.

Still been tinkering on my Better MTG card game. Excited for some of the designs I’ve been exploring (including a faction for an IP I almost certainly won’t be able to use).

Sometimes my brain will remember old discourse with whatever I’m playing right now, which results in thoughts like, “Burnout 3 uses boost incentives to mind control me into driving dangerously.”

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I’ve been running this deck through its paces and tweaking it and it’s reminded me of how much fun it is to brew. Plus I just found out this card was recently released and my testing has shown that it’ll be fire here.

Travis Knight (CEO of LAIKA) and David Ellison (CEO of Skydance) are the Mario and Wario of trust fund babies who bought a film studio.

If you’re like I was and only caught pieces of this, it’s worth going through the whole thing. This is really good shit.

Booberry Cereal@bonklechicken.bsky.social

Petra Parker meets Peter Parker the complete thread: #spiderman #petraparker Part 1

Popcorn at the theater is so expensive and they give you so much of it that I think if you sit next to someone with a big tub of popcorn, it should be socially acceptable to just lean over and take some, even if you don’t know the person.

Went to a Commander event tonight. Was my first time playing Commander in an actual pod at an actual event. Playing Magic was really fun!… but also Commander might be the least interesting form of Magic.

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Part of me wants to say that solitaire gameplay isn’t inherent to the format, and it’s just how a lot of people build their decks, but Commander adds so much complexity that it becomes impossible to really meaningfully interact. 60-something unique cards per person quickly adds up.

Went to a Commander event tonight. Was my first time playing Commander in an actual pod at an actual event. Playing Magic was really fun!… but also Commander might be the least interesting form of Magic.

Hey what if we played Magic together but actually we all did our own things until someone, out of nowhere, wins? Cool game format, friends.

While the announcement came yesterday, this was when EA made the decision to kill BioWare. Because this decision said, “We don’t care about the value of this studio.” Which meant they were happy to watch it suffer until they could cut it and say it was because the studio wasn’t performing.

headfallsoff@headfallsoff.com

having watched mark darrah's post-mortem on anthem (strong recommend to anyone who wants a window into game dev process regardless of if you care about anthem) its crazy they never put out anthem next. the inside of corporations is inscrutable and maddening beyond even the worst of what we assume

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We’ve seen this with Cyberpunk, FFXIV, No Man’s Sky, and many others. It didn’t have to be fixing Anthem. It could’ve been Veilguard. If EA had invested in continued support and fixing the biggest criticisms for either, BioWare would’ve been in a great spot for the next Mass Effect.

Heck, compare how EA responded to Anthem and how they responded to Battlefront II. Both launched with significant issues and major problems, but one of them is largely “fixed” now and has a sequel spinning up development. If EA cared about the future of BioWare, then they would’ve shown it.

While the announcement came yesterday, this was when EA made the decision to kill BioWare. Because this decision said, “We don’t care about the value of this studio.” Which meant they were happy to watch it suffer until they could cut it and say it was because the studio wasn’t performing.

headfallsoff@headfallsoff.com

having watched mark darrah's post-mortem on anthem (strong recommend to anyone who wants a window into game dev process regardless of if you care about anthem) its crazy they never put out anthem next. the inside of corporations is inscrutable and maddening beyond even the worst of what we assume

When a studio releases a flop, for many studios, that’s the ending right there. But when studios have the resources to turn the narrative *and then do so,* they’re saying, “We are invested in the long-term success of this studio.” And when they don’t, they’re saying the opposite.

This is such trash, and it’s also worth noting that this ad also says she’ll “secure our border.” The transphobia and the racism go hand in hand.

Erin Reed@erininthemorning.com

In a major escalation in Dems embracing anti-trans positions, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the official campaign arm of House Democrats, released its first anti-trans ad supporting Nancy Lacore in SC-01. Transphobia is spreading among dems. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Also worth noting that conceding that the border needs protecting or that girls’ sports are in danger means you’ve already lost. Voters who believe those things aren’t going to settle for half-measures. Reinforcing that framing only paints your opponent in a better light.

I’m not generally happy with MTG’s universes beyond stuff. I love how MTG’s cards depict a fantasy world that feels like something out of a book you find in the back of a library. I don’t want them to feel like movie tie-ins… But if WOTC doesn’t release a Doom-themed Archenemy deck, they’re fools.

Had a CT scan yesterday, and the notes on it said it looked like I had “improving pneumonia.” So sounds like the pneumonia isn’t as bad as a month ago. That, or the pneumonia is getting smarter, faster, even more sophisticated… but probably the first thing.

TheDevinTeam reposted

Lmao Greek myth shit. Bros like "the omens are bad but I'm sure they don't mean anything" bro you're gonna be cast down by ares for your hubris

I love Commanders that make you reevaluate cards completely. I think the difference between 1 and 3 damage is far greater than it would appear. I’m betting on cards like these becoming dramatically better when paired with Torbran.

BioWare shutting down is awful, awful news. I don’t think it’s at all an exaggeration to say that they’re the studio most responsible for expanding what Western RPGs could be and who could enjoy them. That EA couldn’t nurture and develop that talent says all you need to know about them.

For those curious, I got a couple updates for Cleave planned but, after that, I’m going to take a step back. This card game might be an exception, though, as I can work on it piecemeal whenever I need to get my design juices flowing. Still, I don’t anticipate releasing anything else soon.

TheDevinTeam reposted

I'm once again begging someone to help me track down the November 8, 2012 episode of the Colbert Report. This is why media preservation is so important

Very funny but also is it time for my semi-annual tale of the time The Colbert Report sent an old sociologist and a gay art critic to the strip club I danced at to deduce whether or not stripping is an art form?

More MTG-posting: Might be my Strixhaven bias but I think the opposed color combos are so much more interesting than the allied color combos. The overlaps are less obvious and more interesting. RG is “red but bigger” or “green but faster.” But UG feels distinct from mono-green and mono-blue.