We’re looking for someone to find a way of giving current PlayStation 5 users real ownership over their own hardware.

The bounty can be won by any eligible person who makes a hardware, software, or combined modification or method to any model of PlayStation 5, that meets the following criteria:

It must demonstrably allow for the modification or bypassing of the PS5 hypervisor to the extent that an alternate OS can be booted. The alternate OS is not required to be stable.

It must either be a one-off implementation, or an implementation that takes no more than 10 minutes to execute if it needs to be repeated.

It must work on firmware version 13.42 or newer.

The alternate OS must be able to access the PS5’s primary computation, memory, and graphics hardware.

The PlayStation 5 must continue to be capable of being booted into its original operating system, with the capability to play PS5 games.

If the proposed solution involves a hardware modification, it must:

Not require hardware (aside from an external disc drive) that has cost equivalent to any substantial portion of the PlayStation 5’s cost

Be able to be carried out by someone with only basic soldering skills and equipment

Just got the urge to play a bit of payday 2, what do I see? Diesel 3.0 open_beta. Yeah, maybe there’ll be a good game to play again this summer.

Roguelikes are infamous for their ruthlessness: instant deaths that could only be prevented with spoilers, early game hell gating most of the game for those who aren’t able to learn all the intricacies of the system, many ways to permanently cripple your character in one wrong move, unbalanced classes / builds with no clear indication on what’s a good choice for a beginner…

Some games like DCSS and Brogue see this as a fundamental flaw of the genre. Others lean into it instead, turning pain and (perceived) unfairness into a new masterpiece. That’s Infra Arcana.

Let me predict your first run in IA:

• You open a door and meet face-to-face with a pack of wolves. They kill you easily.
• As you explore a wall collapses and a group of zombies appear. You either try to kill them and die or you try to run away and reach a dead-end. And if you somehow manage to get rid of all the zombies you end up being infected crippling your character for the rest of the run. Yeah.
• You meet a cultist with a shotgun. You make one step forward to them and they one-shot you.
• You confront a blind zealot and they maul you to death.
• You open a sarcophagus and a ghost saps your spirit in a few turns.
• You drink an unidentified potion and die.
• You try to cast a spell that removes all your spirit in one casting.

Even if you are well familiar with the genre you will find plenty of (deadly) surprises as you try to keep a character alive for more than a few floors.

Here’s an example from my recent run:

I started as a rogue (focused on stealth) and opened a door in a room I spawned in. Immediately a wolf pack went inside started attacking me. I make a step back and a cultist with a shotgun appears!

I saved myself by tossing a Molotov cocktail but even then I already was one hit away from death. One of the wolves wasn’t affected by the cocktail (the only way to include it in the “explosion” was by exposing myself to it too) so I had to fight it with my weak starting dagger. If I got a little bit more unlucky, that one wolf would have finished me off.

As you can see, the early game difficulty is somewhat offset by the amount of tools you start with. Every character (except ghouls) start with a melee weapon, a gun with some ammo, some explosives and throwing weapons. War veteran (the local fighter) starts with the best equipment overall while occultist (the local magic user) has the worst equipment. Since magic is very dangerous in IA and every occultist starts with only 2 spells, veteran is actually the most versatile character at the beginning unlike so many RPGs I know of.

Now, you might have a question: why would you want to play such a brutal and unforgiving game? Regardless of whether the game is actually unfair or just feels like that to a novice, it will still invoke the same feeling of a cheap death. Well, I cannot make you enjoy experience that just aren’t for you but hear me out!

The game provides a formidable challenge but it’s never impossible. From the very beginning you have the tools to confront the horrors of the cult: even the weakest starting gun deals a lot of damage, explosives can get rid of hoards of undead and starving canines, stealth is a powerful tool that’s not punished at all (enemies grant no experience), spellcasting while dangerous is open to all who amass some spirit points, throwing weapons are a cheap and quiet way to damage enemies from afar, statues and braziers can be kicked on your foes to get rid of them wasting no resources.

Infra Arcana is a game that’s very satisfying to conquer. And, no matter how harsh it looks at the beginning, it wants you to succeed.

The Game Narrative Reader is a collection of links built to resemble an anthology textbook. It’s a survey of key topics in video game narrative design, composed from essays and articles published elsewhere by their respective authors. It’s meant as a resource for students, educators, and practitioners.

Narrative design, as a discipline, has had a complicated and fraught history. It has been invented many times, independently, in different parts of the world and under different conditions. Those distinct traditions have not always talked to each other.

Criticism, theory, and craft discussion about interactive narrative have happened over decades across many venues, and often people engaging in one area have been totally unaware of work done elsewhere. The Reader is intended as a starting point for those new to the discipline, and as an anchoring canon for those with more experience.

The ordering of articles here is purposefully idiosyncratic; they’re arranged in an arbitrary order meant so that ideas loosely flow into one another. In some cases, texts are arranged so that material with greater complexity appears later; in others—such as in the latter chapter on process—the order of entries is analogous to their place in an actual process.

This “zeroth edition” is meant as a trial balloon as much as anything; it is very much incomplete and tentative, published with the explicit goal of drawing criticism of the choices made in curating it. This initial compilation is, self-consciously, very heavy on things written by people I personally know, including some writing done specifically to fill gaps in the collection itself. It naturally reflects a bias towards my own web of influences and contacts. But it’s my hope that by putting it out there at this stage, I can induce others to yell at me about things I should be aware of.

It also includes only links to relatively short articles that can be read on the web. Future editions are meant to include a selection of additional materials, such as an index of useful videos—a lot of useful knowledge has been transmitted through talks rather than in writing.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/72341319

121 countries are unable to make PSN accounts, which means that they are unable to use the PlayStation Store. In a digital-exclusive future—which looks likely for the PS6 after Sony announced plans to cease production of game discs in 2028—that means everyone in those countries will be locked out from purchasing titles on the platform.

(DCSS = Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup)

It started as a goofy suicide performed by Edmund the dumbass who turned my ice beast into a fucking dragon.

And then suddenly the dragon is against ME and Blorkula appears out of nowhere with a wand of charming. Imagine a more epic appearance.

On an unrelated note, now I have two wands.

I just thought it’d be hilarious if a dev named their game, like, “Warhound 2” or something when there was never an original “Warhound” lol (and like, do so seriously, not just as a parody or joke, at least primarily so).

Beguiling: ability that forces a creature to become the caster’s companion;
Siphon Vim: transfers health from a creature to the caster for several turns.

I got attacked by the puma and tried to fight back with Siphon Vim but quickly realized I’m not gonna win so I tried to beguile it and sure enough it worked.

But then it just kept losing health until it died :c

Back in the NES days games that were localized for American audience heavily censored any overt Judaeo-Christian imagery or reference to death. Churches no longer featured crosses, the Death spell was renamed to “RUB”, and the Kill spell was renamed to “XXXX”.

UFO 50 games notably don’t really touch upon Christian stuff at all. Except one game - Grimstone. It’s a very Final Fantasy-like JRPG set in Wild West except the continent somehow ended up in Hell itself. The local religion is very Christian-like with angels and holy water and and and BIGGAN!!

Interestingly, Grimstone shares its setting with two other UFO 50 cartridges - Devilition and Rail Heist but neither game feature that much religious references except for demons in the former.

Now, it can be just a coincidence but it’s interesting to think about nonetheless.

Increasingly poor decisions are making it impossible to want or get a next-gen console.

Hey all! Welcome back to the monthly weekly gaming thread! So, what have you been playing this last month?

I’ve been on quite a few things! Saros, Mario galaxy 2, some other stuff!

I also recently started Abiotic Factor which is a super fun co op survival game that takes a ton of inspiration from the original half life. It’s awesome! Def recommend if you have some friends to run it with

The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!

Let’s discuss the God of War series. What is your favorite game in the series? What do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Are there similar games you like? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let’s get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Donkey Kong, Grand Theft Auto, Pokémon, Like a Dragon / Yakuza, Assassin’s Creed, UFO 50, Platformers, Uplifting Games, Final Fantasy, Visual Novels, Hollow Knight, Nintendo DS, Monster Hunter, Persona, Monkey Island, 8 Bit Era, Animal Crossing, Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire

The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!

Let’s discuss the Donkey Kong series of games. What is your favorite game featuring this character? What do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Are there similar games you like? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let’s get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Grand Theft Auto, Pokémon, Like a Dragon / Yakuza, Assassin’s Creed, UFO 50, Platformers, Uplifting Games, Final Fantasy, Visual Novels, Hollow Knight, Nintendo DS, Monster Hunter, Persona, Monkey Island, 8 Bit Era, Animal Crossing, Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire

The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!

Let’s discuss the Grand Theft Auto series. What is your favorite game in the series? What do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Are there similar games you like or even prefer to the original series? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let’s get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Pokémon, Like a Dragon / Yakuza, Assassin’s Creed, UFO 50, Platformers, Uplifting Games, Final Fantasy, Visual Novels, Hollow Knight, Nintendo DS, Monster Hunter, Persona, Monkey Island, 8 Bit Era, Animal Crossing, Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire

The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!

Let’s discuss the Pokémon series. What is your favorite game in the series? What do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Are there similar games you like or even prefer to the original series? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let’s get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Like a Dragon / Yakuza, Assassin’s Creed, UFO 50, Platformers, Uplifting Games, Final Fantasy, Visual Novels, Hollow Knight, Nintendo DS, Monster Hunter, Persona, Monkey Island, 8 Bit Era, Animal Crossing, Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire

The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!

Let’s discuss the Like a Dragon / Yakuza series. What is your favorite game in the series? What do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let’s get the conversation going!

If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).

Previous entries: Assassin’s Creed, UFO 50, Platformers, Uplifting Games, Final Fantasy, Visual Novels, Hollow Knight, Nintendo DS, Monster Hunter, Persona, Monkey Island, 8 Bit Era, Animal Crossing, Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire