A Fight Against Entropy

[criticalmisfits]

Episodes

Critical Misfits is a podcast of irrelevant opinions. It frequently focuses on board and video games, as well as books, movies, and, well, everything.

New episode day! The audio quality isn’t where we’d like it to be, but we make up for it with discussing the differences between different editions of D&D! (Also, it’s totally still worth listening if you’ve never played D&D.)

[variantgames]

i have slightly more than four hours to finish my game chef entry

[variantgames]

I keep wanting to pass on game contests for my own sake, but I usually wind up thinking about them just enough to get an idea that latches on and won’t let go. The first pic is a proof of concept for the core of my idea for this year’s Game Chef. I don’t know that I will take the game any farther, but if I do I’m hoping to keep it fairly rules light, well under the word limit.

Also, cute cat pictures. But really, I did major cat maintenance today and acted fast on making sure our cats are healthy, which should be reason for me to feel better about myself because I am capable of accomplishing things when it’s important to others that depend on me even if I can’t take care of myself.

[variantgames]

Maybe I’m going to try to bring this back. I’m mostly working on a full time job right now but things are in the works for a podcast project we're trying to have up by the end of the year. I got a promotion yesterday so I splurged and bought the domain.

[st-pam]

[variantgames]

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I'm still having a hard time dealing with the fact that people played and liked a game I wrote. I was invited to Living Games by one of the judges of golden cobra. I would really like to go, but it's pricey. I can't get to sleep right now because I keep having idea for games. A big thing I want to do is see what more improv and larp can borrow from each other that they haven't already. The new larp in my brain is called goodbye party. I also want to work with the Laronde in s larp.

[variantgames]

today was a really fun day that I got to spend in the whirpool that’s created when the i-don’t-trust-anything-except-animals current moves south into the staying-inside-is-like-death reef

but i installed the sims 3 for maximum nostalgia, married and Alto, built a house, and that almost helped.

[variantgames]

I haven't been as active as I want with this project lately, but big news! I got an honorable mention for my Golden Cobra larp! I'm super excited, but have super conflicted self-directed emotions. I'm very happy because it sounds like maybe it could have won if I hadn't pushed the participant limit by designing as if the facilitator didn't count towards the four. I'm trying not to be mad at myself, because despite not following the rules, I still got honorably mentioned, but it's really hard because if I hadn't been too scared to ask, I could maybe have designed around that. It's really hard for me to be proud of myself. I guess that's what I'm working on today. Yesterday I called my grandparents and my car insurance company and my health insurance company, which is a huge win for me, as I usually average one phone call every two weeks or so. That's big, and I'm hoping my generally positive experiences will make things even just a little bit easier next time.

[variantgames]

I finished my golden cobra larp. I actually did it. Even as of this morning, my brain was trying to tell me that I wasn't going to get it done in time, so why should I bother. But fuck that. Because I did it. I don't really have anything more coherent than that right now, mostly just astonishment and pride. Now I just have to submit the damn thing. If you follow the contest at all, be sure to check out Fight TRUCK. It's not the one I wrote, but I think it's better.

[variantgames]

I also drew this face just now to describe how I’m feeling.

[variantgames]

So, today, I created the fundraising page for local improv theater HUGE’s Improvathon, which coincides with Give to the Max Day. GttMD is a 24-hour, statewide fundraising effort. Lots of non-profits participate, and millions of dollars are donated in one day from all across the country. I am participating as an Iron Audience Member, which means I will be watching 28-straight hours of improv while fundraising.

I’m not posting this to get people to donate, especially since I think I only have one follower right now. I’m just proud because I found out I needed to do it yesterday, and I did it all today. I’ve been struggling a lot with doing stuff that I’ve been thinking about too much (like my Golden Cobra larp), and it’s been causing a lot of problems, so getting this done today was a big step for me. It did come at the cost of doing something I really wanted to do today, but I guess that’s how spoons work sometimes.

[variantgames]

It’s been longer than I like since I’ve posted, so here’s a bit of an update. I transformed my ear with a new industrial piercing, and made a decision to alter my eating habits so that I feel better and a day to day basis. Starting a new habit is hard, so we’ll see how starting multiple new habits at once goes. I was gone for a while because I ran out of my anti-anxiety prescription. Withdrawal from these particular meds is a bitch, and makes me super panicky and barely functional. I couldn’t get the refill because I turned 26, and am now shifting to having health insurance through Medical Assistance. I got everything sorted out yesterday, but it’ll take a few more days before I’m back on my feet. I’ve got to be more on top of managing these meds, because with the new insurance, I can only get a month at a time.

I wasn’t expecting to talk about this kind of thing here. We’ll see what happens as I keep writing.

While I’m sitting here, I guess it won’t hurt to type up bits and pieces of my Golden Cobra larp.

Material requirements:

One prepaid cellphone for each player and the facilitator. A space with one isolated/enclosed space for each player, ideally something like a closet, where visual and auditory connection is cut off.

Time:

60 minutes play, +/- 20 minutes before and after for pre-game safety, and post-game discussion.

Participation/content warnings/requirements:

Not good for people with clasutrophobia. Requires people to read and send text messages. Content including discrimination, persecution, possible death/suicide of player characters.

[variantgames]

So, a lot of my energy the past few days has been drawn to creative endeavors, primarily my larp idea, which is getting closer to a while idea, but still doesn't exist on real or digital paper yet. I might use this space to post some working notes about it. I also came up with a new idea for an improv show, and now I have to find a cast, but I don't exactly know how to start that process. It'll happen, and, unlike the larp, this doesn't have a deadline, so I've got time. I guess the last few days have been spent on transforming/restoring myself. Despite being sick, I've been making the effort to get some exercise, and decided today to slowly cut down on how much sugar I consume. I hate diets, I've hated them since I was forced into one for the first time in third grade, so I'm trying to figure the process on making choices that make me feel better over time.

[variantgames]

So, I made things yesterday but didn't post them, and I didn't do anything today except write this post, so it evens out, right? Mostly, it means I'm realizing that, especially with chronic illness, just starting to do something everyday isn't the easiest plan. So for now I won't be beating myself up, out really even mentioning it when I skip a day or two. So yesterday! I made chocolate pudding, which was yummy, and a Perler bead Lapis from Steven Universe, which you should absolutely be watching if you aren't all ready. I'm a fan of things like Adventure Time and Bee and Puppycat, but nothing hits me quite like the Crystal Gems. Amethyst and Lion were made months ago, and this project inspired me to keep working on gems, primarily inspired by the colors I have to work with.

[variantgames]

Day 3, belated: Who?

So, I missed yesterday, and I’m trying not to beat myself up about it, so instead, I’m going to share a bit about who I am. I’m twenty six years old, live in the Twin Cities, identify as a queer trans guy, and deal with chronic mental and physical illnesses. This means that I will probably be missing plenty of days due to flares, and I need to acknowledge my limitations on those days without guilting myself for failing.

I had a lot of doubts about what actually counts yesterday, so some stuff that technically fits one of the categories didn't stick out to me. I also have some seasonal bug, so well see what happens today.

[variantgames]

It looks like this post didn’t make it through two days ago. These are the notes for my larp ideas, which took a major shift in direction, so I started over with a whole new idea that I’m much more excited about, that will have a much more natural design.

[variantgames]

Completed mini. Happy with how it came out. Also had more ideas about the larp, it's probably going to be a strictly three player game.