https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL_bCwiUKNE&list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5CgpIEF_aJw2ABVhTDiCaSO&index=14

I really like this video as it talks about both the good and bad parts of this design philosophy. I'm not sure if CF falls into this design directly, or perhaps swaps between accretion and refinement. I tend toward the later, as the I see the edge point fix as a refinement... Basically taking something that went wildly out of control and fix it to be more in line with the original design, and yet it leaves those who are used to and enjoy the accretion style pretty off-put. You've taken that new content they were excited about and turned off the spigot. I know I've experienced both feelings with regard to edges myself.

It also has some interesting stuff to say about complexity, depth, and accessibility to new players. One thing that routinely prevents me from even attempting to introduce a new player to CF is that even if I could get them over the text and client hurdles, the amount of game knowledge I would need to dump into their heads to get them to the place where they can experience the fun parts (to me) is astronomical. I can't give a 1 hour tutorial and cover even what I would consider the basics. I actually tried during Orctober and the one person I got to clear the text/client hurdle just bogged down in the Academy and never actually played the game.

I'm not trying to say CF is patently wrong, as clearly veteran players like the accretion. They want the new. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about enchanters, but at the same time how much does adding a new class raise the bar for a new player? I'm not sure, but I think it is something worth thinking about. And being intentional about. Is CF design by accretion? Is it refinement? If it is somewhere in the middle, how do we keep the good parts of both (new stuff to keep old players excited, and simple enough base gameplay to have a new player get engaged) while avoiding the bad parts of both? (ever increasing complexity, and stale gameplay for those who mastered the basics).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNV2xtiBk5U&list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5CgpIEF_aJw2ABVhTDiCaSO&index=21

And the follow up:

Advanced Game Literacy - Finding Meaning in Games - Extra Credits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXjJu8eauHo&list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5CgpIEF_aJw2ABVhTDiCaSO&index=22

This is a very serious problem for CF, and is related to the client hurdle I've talked about before. Because CF is based around telnet, which was how the internet worked before ssh and the web, but is functionally a dead protocol now, there are several fairly major hurdles in getting to basic game literacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsC37YyPHd0&list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5Ab3f-7_XnNdtnplGxaF81D&index=8

A somewhat related video on "Lifestyle" games, which CF clearly is.

Also refers to a couple of other videos on "Skinner" boxes, which is something CF clearly has and perhaps doesn't do as good as it could about avoiding. I don't think I've posted these already...

The Skinner Box - How Games Condition People to Play More - Extra Credits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWtvrPTbQ_c

Progression Systems - How Good Games Avoid Skinner Boxes - Extra Credits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5camMoNw-o

All three are worth the watch. Call it 15 minutes at 1.5X playback speed.

And read the post.

Not sure what I want to say about it though, need time to collect my thoughts on the subject.

Then I drank some more coffee. Will get back with you later if anything changes.

No one checks their messages on officials.