2020 Resolutions

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Jizaboz
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by Jizaboz »

I still drive all the way back to the mountains where I grew up to visit what became of my original dentists office. There really is something to be said for a good dentist. I've been bad off and on about skipping 3-5 years between visits due to whatever (lack of money for updated x-rays when I was in my mid 20s for example) but I always end up going back there.

Good luck on your game Pinback. I really should get around to finishing DPRK..
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

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pinback
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

1 MONTH UPDATE
======================
200 in 2020: Ahead of schedule, progressing well. Grade: A

Clean in '20: Yup. Grade: A+

Create a nonduality website: I created it, and posted one thing per day for the first 21 days of the month, but nothing since. I dunno, I said a lot of what I wanted to say. I'll probably throw new ones in there from time to time, but "daily updates" all year was gonna be a chore, and I don't want it to become a chore. Anyway, I wrote good stuff. Grade: B

Learn and apply a new marketable technological skill: All of the technological skills I've learned this year have been related to Dwarf Fortress. Grade: F

Develop something for IFCOMP 2020: I did download Hugo, and I did come up with an idea. Grade: D-

Do better dental care and see a dentist: My teeth have never been happier, but not ready to go pro yet with the dentist. Grade: B+

See a doctor: I saw a doctor, and am back on BP meds. Once the blood tests come back, we'll see what else I need to be on, including death watch. Grade: A+

(Hidden Resolution #1): Grade: Not yet.

(Hidden Resolution #2): Grade: So far so good.

Summary: The health-related (weight, doctor, sobriety) are definitely the focus this year, and I scored well on all of them. So, Grade: Good job, Pinback!
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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pinback
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

Boy, sure wish I could edit that post.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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RealNC
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by RealNC »

In 2020, I want to:

Start drinking.
Start smoking again.
Eat more.
Do not work out.
Waste more money on video games.
Waste more time on video games.

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pinback
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

That does sound pretty good, I won't lie. Approved!
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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pinback
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

2 MONTH UPDATE
======================
200 in 2020: Closing in on halfway, and we're only two months in. Unless something very surprising and unfortunate happens, hard to see not getting this one done. Grade: A+

Clean in '20: Yup. Grade: A+

Create a nonduality website: It's still there. I haven't added to it lately, but am still happy with what's there. Grade: C

Learn and apply a new marketable technological skill: As with last month, I've learned a lot, but it's all been related to Dwarf Fortress. Grade: F

Develop something for IFCOMP 2020: No progress. Grade: F

Do better dental care and see a dentist: My dental care has never been better! I went to the dentist! It didn't go horribly! Marking this "done" Grade: DONE

See a doctor: Gonna mark this "done". Grade: DONE

(Hidden Resolution #1): Grade: Not yet.

(Hidden Resolution #2): Grade: So far so good.

Summary: The health-related (weight, dentist, doctor, sobriety) ones are all A+ or done. Everything else isn't. I figure that sets up for at least staying alive this year, to focus on non-health stuff in 2021. Grade: Healthy!
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Tdarcos
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by Tdarcos »

My resolution for 2020 is not to make a resolution for 2020.

It looks like I have failed to keep my resolution, so I guess that makes me a failure. So I need to redouble my efforts.

My second resolution for 2020 is not to have a second resolution for 2020.

The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false.
Evil cannot create anything new
They can only corrupt and ruin
What good forces have invented or made.
- J.R.R. Tolkien

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pinback
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

3 MONTH UPDATE
======================
200 in 2020: Continuing ahead of pace. Grade: A+
Clean in '20: I can see a scenario where I reach my weight goal and celebrate with a cocktail. But we're not there yet. Grade: A+
Learn and apply a new marketable technological skill: I got much better at vi this past month. Hence the "+". Grade: F+
Develop something for IFCOMP 2020: No progress. Grade: F

(Hidden Resolution #1): Grade: Not yet.

(Hidden Resolution #2): I did lie to my wife. We were trying to get the dogs out of the room, and she exclaimed "BITCHES, LEAVE!" Which is very funny. I wasn't sure if she knew where that line was from, though. But it's obnoxious to go "Do you know what that's from?" So I said "What's that from?" and acted like I didn't know. "It's Robocop, aren't you the one who told me that?" "Oh right, I didn't remember."

That was a lie. I DID REMEMBER that "Bitches, leave" is from Robocop. I did remember that. I'm sorry for my dishonesty.

Grade: A minus

Create a nonduality website: Fuck it, calling this done. I don't update it as much as I'd hoped, but it got the job done. Grade: DONE.
Do better dental care and see a dentist: DONE
See a doctor: DONE

Summary: Goin' fine.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

Clean in '20
If you're clean in 2020 except for one weekend, do you get an A minus or an F?

Asking for a friend.
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Billy Mays
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by Billy Mays »

pinback wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:23 amIf you're clean in 2020 except for one weekend, do you get an A minus or an F?
What did you drink?

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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

Billy Mays wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:36 am
pinback wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:23 amIf you're clean in 2020 except for one weekend, do you get an A minus or an F?
What did you drink?
Alcoholic beverages. I do not suspect that'll happen again, but does this count as a partial or complete failure?
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Billy Mays
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by Billy Mays »

pinback wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:52 amAlcoholic beverages. I do not suspect that'll happen again, but does this count as a partial or complete failure?
Failing yourself would just be the same as giving up since you don't have anything to strive towards. An A- would not be strict enough. Maybe a B?

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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

That's fair. If it's three days out of 365, still seems a little harsh. Harsh, but fair.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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The Happiness Engine
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by The Happiness Engine »

It's not an either/or. It's a learning experience to improve yourself. Think about how you felt, the context, what you might wanted to happen, and then how to achieve that.

Why yes I DID have to listen to a lot of group-talk, thanks for asking!

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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

I'll put you down for a B plus.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Billy Mays
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by Billy Mays »

I wouldn't object to a B+ if it meant getting past this little obstacle.

Casual Observer
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by Casual Observer »

pinback wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:52 amAlcoholic beverages. I do not suspect that'll happen again, but does this count as a partial or complete failure?
The real question is "did you lie to your partner about it?" If your wife was informed and onboard with you having a bit of a nip then I think an A- is probably due. I know a thing or two about alcoholism (because I've drank a thing or two) and it seems to me that drinking to extreme and drinking behind someone's back are two of the worst issues with it so if you're not doing those then you're doing pretty well.

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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

She knew I was drinking, but might not have been up to speed on every single beverage I consumed.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by pinback »

The resolutions were a mixed bag. Though I did exceptionally -- almost legendarily -- well on one of them in particular, and did pretty decent with a few others, one I absolutely failed on, officially now that the comp has started, is to develop of a game for IFCOMP 2020. I had a game I wanted to make, but both didn't have the time/energy/passion to follow through, and also couldn't think of a way to make it interactive, rather than just telling the story. It's a real-life story that not many people know about but which became very personal to me the first time I made the trip up I-71 from Tennessee to Cincinnati to visit my wife's parents.

I'll just broad-stroke my vision of the game here, so you can at least know what I was thinking, and maybe learn something about the event the game was about.

BEAST
(c) 2020 Jolt Country Games
An Interactive Remembrance

May 14, 1988

The game begins, and you are a teenager on a road trip in the Assembly of God church bus from Radcliff, KY, on a weekend trip to Kings Island, my local theme park and coaster-lovers' haven. You are excited to get there to ride what was at the time the longest/fastest/most exciting/etc. wooden roller coaster in the world, the titular "Beast". Editor's note: The ride still exists, and it's absolutely horrible. Alternating between boring and excruciatingly rough and painful, it now exists only to draw unaware general public who saw it on a "top 10" list somewhere, or coaster enthusiasts who need to add it to their list. Back then, though, I can imagine it was much more enjoyable.

You get to the park, roll around with your Christian friends doing various things, but the game draws you somehow to ride the thing. The scene switches.

Now you are a 34-year-old factory worker named Larry Mahoney, at your local bar in Carrollton, KY. You've had one too many, so decide to hit the head, take care of business, and then on your way out, decide to have another for the road. After some suggestions from the other locals to call a cab, you insist you are fine and head out in your pickup for the short trip home. The entrance to the freeway seems strangely silent.

The scene switches back, and you are climbing onto the Beast. What follows was to be a pretty accurate reflection of the various twists and turns of the ride as it existed back then. This would require some research, because describing it now would just be a continuing stream of "This is very painful and boring. Press z to continue." for about 54 turns. But I could have made it interesting.

You get off the ride. The scene switches again. A quick scene.

You are camping with your wife at a campsite somewhere along KY-389. Around the campfire, sipping some Jack and Cokes, your romantic revelry is shaken by a loud crack and a flash of light from somewhere over the hill.

The scene switches back.

Your tour of Kings Island is complete, and giddy from a day of thrills and celebration of the Lord's grace shining on you and your friends, you get back on the bus for the trip home.

While driving south on 71 around Carrollton, a shattering head-on collision with a pickup truck driving the wrong way sends the bus into an unspeakable hellscape. The front of the bus erupts in searing, fuel-ignited fire, as friends and teachers are incinerated around you, as you attempt to escape through the back. With everyone crowded together lurching for the rear exit, more friends are trampled and burned in this living nightmare. Somehow, you escape and are later able to tell the tale.

The scene switches to the secretly titular Beast, an older Larry Mahoney, released from prison but hiding by himself in his home, living with the absolute horror he, through one terrible mistake, unleashed upon this little pocket of the world.

I think what strikes me most about it is that the day these people had included the most joyous and the most horrific things I could imagine, all within the span of a few hours.

The fact that it happened on a happy weekend to these fun-seeking kids, and also to this generally decent guy who just made the worst decision and worst mistake possible, just makes it all the more tragic to me.

I wanted to tell this story in an IF game, but I don't know how. If anyone reading this can think of a way, let me know. Maybe this can be ICJ's next joint project.

The game ends with this picture, which is what I noticed during that first trip up 71, and sent me on this journey of discovery of this story that still makes me shiver every time I think about it:

Image
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bryanb
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Re: 2020 Resolutions

Post by bryanb »

This could be a phenomenal work of IF. The background story is heartbreaking, but I think the key to making it IF is to let players change their fates. The most natural way to play the game should end up following the true story. I know when I'm in a game and it prompts me to take a drink I generally do take a drink. It's something you can usually freely do in a game without thinking about consequences. For the Larry in the game (admittedly, you should probably change up the names), that might be a life and death decision, but the game should push you along that path even if you're not a drinker. Maybe you think unpleasant thoughts over and over again if you don't drink. Maybe a friend comes into the bar and gets pissed if you won't drink with him. Maybe the bartender gets really pushy about asking what's wrong with you if you don't drink. You should actually have a pay a certain price in the game to NOT drink, and there shouldn't be a point where the game isn't reminding you that you really want to take another drink. It shouldn't be a fun path to follow...though obviously the truth path is even worse. I'd also say you probably shouldn't be able to turn back from your fate when you've reached a certain point. Larry Mahoney never decided to ram the bus. That's what happened to him when he was no longer in control of his actions.

For the kids, it's a little harder. The idea I had is stupid, but it's all I've got: have a psychic/gypsy in a tent at Kings Island that you can run into if you explore a bit. Maybe you have to make the choice to leave the group and run the risk of getting lost and the bus leaving without you and still getting in the crash. If you time things right, you run into the psychic who tells you of the danger that lies ahead. Then you have to decide to keep the bus from actually leaving on time and there's a cost to that as well. Maybe you take the air out of the tires and someone sees you doing it. Maybe you take the biggest, steamiest dump of your life in the aisle in front of everyone so a biohazard team has to be called in. The important thing is the bus doesn't leave on time and never encounters Larry.

At the end, you get to see how everyone's life turned out. Maybe Larry and the kid that took the massive dump in the bus still aren't having the best of lives given the circumstances, but seeing that everyone is else is alive will make it worthwhile. Maybe you couldn't stop Larry and he still get in a accident, but you stopped the bus so the kids don't die.

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