Our final episode. We appreciate all of you very much, and want to thank you for listening and sharing your questions and situations with us. Don’t forget that you can find us elsewhere: Gregory’s actual play podcast Tabletop Garden. Future Proof Games, our indie game studio and the Future Proof Podcast. We make games that … Continue reading "Audac…

Another short episode this month, and our final scheduled episode until we receive a prompt. We focus mostly on some media that’s been inspiring us: Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle and the crushing feeling of looooong-running projects. Hbomberguy‘s massive Twitch stream of Donkey Kong 64 in support of the Mermaids charity. Famous folks like…

What does Stardew Valley say about the world with the rules of its simulation, and how does it compare to another Transcendentalist game, Walden, a game? Transcript: Transcript for this episode If you like this episode, check out the other podcasts I’m involved in: Audacious Compassion, The Future Proof Podcast, and Tabletop Garden. The Ludus Novus…

No full episode this month, but we give an update on how we’re doing and plug our other work: Melissa’s publishing a trip diary of their Christmas trip to Nuremberg! Gregory has been working on revamping and improving their Patreon. Gregory has a new podcast called Tabletop Garden, where you can listen to short roleplaying … Continue reading "Audac…

We talk about how to persuade people to be compassionate. This is a combined October/November episode, with a transcription coming soon! Our prompt came from a friend of the show: So yeah, like, I play a lot of video games, like you do, and I consider myself open-minded and respectful of other people while playing. I … Continue reading "Audacious C…

We talk about demonstrating active compassion in the face of systemic injustice. Our prompt came from a friend of the show and was paraphrased from a verbal conversation: I really like your show, but I have a hard time figuring out how to apply your ideas. I work in an industry where I see active … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 025 – Ramen…

What do people actually mean when they say “walking simulator?” Bernband by Tom van den Boogaart doesn’t even seem to have a goal. But then why do you keep playing it? Bernband: https://gamejolt.com/games/bernband/34864 Bernband Remake Twitter: https://twitter.com/bernband Youtube (MP3 below): Transcript: Transcript for this episode If you like thi…

What is a “game?” It only matters in context. When we examine things as games to learn from them, what does that mean? Any useful definition of game used as a critical lens must encompass Soccer, Candy Land, Sim City, Doom, and Gone Home. But Candy Land doesn’t have any player choice. Is it just … Continue reading Ludus Novus 028: Candyland: Game a…

We talk about being compassionate toward a group of anonymous people that you perceive as immorally complacent. Content warnings for this episode: mention of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. We also talk about The Norwood Suite by Cosmo D; Fallen London by Failbetter Games; and Melissa’s Fallen London fiction, “The Bazaar Corresponde…

We discuss recognizing when people are making assumptions about the role family should have in your life and how to deal with that. Content warnings for this episode: discussions of depression, family problems, and self-harm. We also talk about #loveindies week, which we participated in, and He, She and It by Marge Piercy. Please share … Continue r…

No episode this month! We didn’t receive a listener prompt, and we’ve decided not to make a habit of coming up with topics just for the sake of making an episode. If you have a question or topic surrounding everyday compassion, write us@avery-weir.net. Share the podcast with a friend, and let us know if you … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion …

We discuss bikeshedding, which is when people discussing solutions for a large, complex problem bog themselves down in minutia. In this episode, we examine a situation in which a discussion about redesigning healthcare in the United States becomes hyper-focused on one aspect of American health and lifestyle. Content warnings for this episode: discu…

We discuss proxy arguments, where people are having a disagreement in place of a wider ideological argument. In this episode, we look at the current state of the Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange. Why are people getting suspended left and right? Why does IPS seem to have more problems than other similar sites? What can they … Continue reading "Au…

How can you accept your feelings and still make intentional choices when you’re in an unpleasant situation? Our prompt comes from a listener: Dear Y’all, Help me not hate my puppy. My teenage son called me in a panic recently because our puppy had bitten him on the finger. It turned out that it was a … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 020 – C…

How do you show compassion when a tragedy happens to someone you don’t know well? Our prompt comes from a listener: How to express compassion when someone you know, but not that well, is going through something rough. The instigating situation is the husband of one of my coworkers passed away, and some of my other … Continue reading "Audacious Comp…

How do you understand and handle your own rash emotional reactions in everyday situations? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Yvette Colomb (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): I’ve always had a short fuse. I’ve been quick to rise and lose my temper, but on the flip side I’m quick to get over it when … Continue rea…

How do you manage your own and others’ grudges and longstanding grievances? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Tinkeringbell (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): About 8 years ago, we had some serious get-a-lawyer trouble with a couple of neighbors. I was in university at the time, and I have a general knowledge of…

How do people in a community choose to be disruptive or considerate? Our prompt comes from an anonymous listener: Dear Y’all, I am a teacher struggling a bit with empathy for my students. Some situations are fairly minor. For example, I strongly dislike a student who constantly comes late to class and then takes up time … Continue reading "Audaciou…

How do you deal with someone who makes assumptions about people based on hasty categorization? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Xander (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): A close relative was recently engaged to this very sweet and friendly woman (aged 24) who happens to have a rather bad trait. She’s very quick…

How do you understand requests for attention and help others understand your boundaries? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Mark (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): Basically, I don’t have enough time. I have so many things I want to do (books to read, stories to write, pictures to draw, etc.) that I … Continue re…

We’ve had a year of Audacious Compassion episodes! Let’s review some of the recurring themes in our chats! We discuss: Having meta-conversations about an issue, Courtesy vs. kindness in the context of power, and Self-reflection to determine what your feelings actually are about an issue. We also talk about Restaurant to Another World and the … Cont…

How can you be compassionate (and act compassionately) toward someone with hateful views? We’re a little late this month, but our topic is a good one. It comes from an anonymous user, who asks: How about compassion for someone with very different and opposite world views? For example, I have an Islamophobic coworker. I know … Continue reading "Auda…

How do you communicate in a group of friends with conventions that grate on your nerves? Our topic today is from our friend Zoë: How do I deal with a group of friends who engages in a behavior that you find frustrating (like, constantly interrupting or talking over each other) but no one doing it … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 011 – Compa…

In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast: Prey 2017. The lie of a power fantasy is that power over others is something you deserve. Prey is a consequence fantasy: to take agency, you must incur risk. To escape a cage of lies, you have to open the door onto a world of new danger. … Continue reading Ludus Novus 027: Imposition of Order Results in E…

How do you empathize with people who seem cruel or rude? How do you recognize that “monsters” are people, too? Our topic today is driven from some recent experiences of our own: How do you empathize with people who seem to be cruel or rude? In other words, how do you empathize with jerks, and what’s the value … Continue reading "Audacious Compassio…

How do you avoid repeated arguments with a person even when there’s nothing to argue about? Sometimes you realize far too late that you actually agree and that you’re just miscommunicating. Our prompt comes from Thom Root (@invisime) on Twitter: Thom: A coworker and I can’t stop violently agreeing with each other. AC: Is this … Continue reading "Au…

We supply our own problem: how to be compassionate toward people who change or learn slower than you think they should? Is it anyone’s problem but your own? What should we do with the problems we’re having with our own family? If you have a question about how to show compassion in difficult, everyday situations, … Continue reading "Audacious Compas…

How does compassion look when you’re powerless to fix a situation? How do you avoid just repeating, “That’s rough. I’m sorry this is happening”? If you have a question about how to show compassion in difficult, everyday situations, please write to us@avery-weir.net. You can also follow or contact us on Twitter! This episode is driven … Continue rea…

What does compassion look like in a frustrating team setting? What does “compassion” even mean and how do you want to practice it? How do you deal with frustration and people who bother you? If you have a question about how to show compassion in difficult, everyday situations, please write to us@avery-weir.net. You can also … Continue reading "Auda…

How can you help people when their problems seem like part of an enormous, intractable system? It’s been a tough month for a lot of people and sometimes problems seem beyond us. However, we can each make a difference as long as we learn how to genuinely help and make sure to look after ourselves. … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 005 – A Pre…

In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast, I discuss the election and GamerGate and how we can make a difference with games. I start with an excerpt from Austin Walker’s recent, amazing piece “A Note on Trump, Waypoint, and Why We Play.” I move on to discuss mirror neurons, Gone Home, my presumptuous racial … Continue reading Ludus Novus 026: Refl…

We talk about coercive discussion, where someone seems to be trying to provoke you into talking about a topic that will likely lead to an argument. Our prompt today: I’m at the water cooler and my coworker wants to talk about how wonderful Trump is. I’m a minority and voting for Hillary. How do I … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 004 – Bone …

In this episode, we talk about situations where it’s hard to discern someone’s request for change and to give it a direct yes or no answer. Here’s an excerpt of the email we received: He has complained about this a few times, so I finally (having learned about Non-Violent Communication!) asked him if he were making a request for me … Continue readi…

How do you handle when people ask you for help and it’s not clear what they want? What about when you’ve tried to help them before and it hasn’t worked? A friend of the show is troubled by “people (usually students) who ask for help, don’t change their behavior, ask for help, etc. Repeat ad … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 002 – Don’t Menti…

This is the first episode of Audacious Compassion, a podcast where we talk about how to practice empathy in difficult, everyday situations. In this episode we discuss minor domestic annoyances. We’ve got two different examples. One is a partner leaving cups places other than near the dishwasher in the kitchen. The other is, when you … Continue read…

In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast, I discuss incremental games, also known as idle games or clickers. How did a formula that started as satirical jokes from people like Ian Bogost yield things like A Dark Room? Games discussed: Cow Clicker, Progress Quest, Candy Box, Cookie Clicker, A Dark Room. The Ludus Novus … Continue reading Ludus Nov…

This podcast is supported in part by my Patreon. You can help support it by pledging a monthly donation. In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast, I discuss the decisions we make as game designers and developers and how we are responsible for every aspect of the games we make. I touch on polishing, … Continue reading Ludus Novus 024: Decision Poi…

In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast, I discuss the search for the perfect game and the creation of universes. [display_podcast] When I search through my Steam library and I look for that game, that perfect game, the perfect experience that matches the mood that I am in right that moment, I’m playing a … Continue reading Ludus Novus 023: Sear…

In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast, I present a new game, "Countdown," in spoken word form. Trigger warning for self-injury.By Gregory Avery-Weir

In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast, I discuss achievements and how there are a lot more aspects to them than are immediately apparent. Games discussed: Alan Wake by Remedy Entertainment “Babies Dream of Dead Worlds” by Gregory Weir Perfect Cell by Mobigame The music for this episode is “The Temple” by Out of … Continue reading Ludus Novus 0…

In this episode of the Ludus Novus podcast, I discuss the basic minion summoning and equipment mechanics of Overlord, and how they both encourage tactical gameplay and maintain the characterization of the player character. The music for this episode is from “medieval evil” by Baal Anamelech and is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Shar…

This podcast episode is about an unreleased game from 1990 that a guy showed me at GDC. It’s called Awesome Zone, and it was created by developer Theodore Alby for a company called KnowSoft over the course of a six-week nervous breakdown. The music for this episode is from “Three Goes On Forever” by Time … Continue reading Ludus Novus 019: False Na…

This podcast episode is about three games that should have been named Half-Life 3: Episode 1, Unreal Tournament 4, and Star Wars Dark Forces 3: Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast: Jedi Academy.By Gregory Avery-Weir

In this podcast episode, I present and discuss my definition of the word “game.” In short, a game is an interactive simulation that provides metrics which allow a user to track progress toward a goal. Listen on to hear why Microsoft Paint is a game and why winning and losing are really the same thing. … Continue reading Ludus Novus 017: The Rules o…

This week’s episode is a special False Narrativism piece, discussing the obscure but visionary Polish game Oszustwo, or Incongruity. I can easily envision a world in which this game never existed, but fortunately we have access to the most technologically-advanced, creepiest, and hardest-to-play game ever developed.…

What do we look for in digital game sequels, and why is it different than in other forms of media? Why don’t we see more sequels that give us more of the same good stuff? References: Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 directed by Sam Raimi Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the … Continue reading Ludus Novus 015: Curse of Ludus Nov…

The classic Super Mario Bros. Let’s take a look at its influence and its gameplay. References: Super Mario Bros. by Nintendo The Legend of Zelda by Nintendo Final Fantasy by Square Bubble Bobble by Taito Pac-Land by Namco Adventure Island by Hudson Soft Donkey Kong series by Nintendo Wrecking Crew by Nintendo Mario Bros. by … Continue reading Ludus…

In this podcast, I talk about exploration games. Exploration games, as I categorize them, are games with an open world that offer an array of paths at any one time. They’re awesome because they appeal to players’ curiosity and completionism, and they help deal with player frustration. References: Morrowind Metroid Super Metroid The Legend of … Cont…

In this podcast, I discuss digital games genres and how I think they’re silly. They’re arbitrary niches based on a few popular games, and using them to describe games limits the way we think about making and playing games. I discuss the evolution of our genre system, from Crawford in 1984 to the modern overstuffed … Continue reading Ludus Novus 012…

In this podcast, I discuss the player-author contract. An interactive work sets up a trust between the player and the work’s author. This takes the form of a contract which, when violated, can cause the player to reject the work. The Player-Author Contract The work can be played by the player. Violated by games which … Continue reading Ludus Novus …