On power creep, card games (mostly as an example) and gacha. Also how to prioritize what characters/cards to try and get. Kinda felt the discussion around power creep in the context of gacha is often kind of... incendiary and not very helpful, we are all here to have a good time.
So, this was mostly some stuff I have been thinking about in relation to Arknights, because I do not play Star Rail as seriously and play no other gachas then those two. I have played the yu-gi-oh card game since I was a little kid (some of my earliest memories is learning the game from my brothers or playing Kaiba the revenge on PC) so I am coming at this from a primarily TCG perspective and with the prior background of "has played game which has been made unrecognizable by power creep, and still loved playing it."
So obviously, this already predisposes me to not see power creep as the biggest deal.
So... first of all, the incentives that causes power creep!
Well this is pretty straightforward, the way a trading card game or a gacha makes money is by making you want to spend money on new cards/characters. You also need to have a solid team or deck as a whole, usually you cannot just brute force your way on a single powerful card or character. As a result to prevent players from just getting one strong team/deck and then never updating again is why we end up with power creep, since the option of just outright banning cards tends to piss people off even more and is straight up not a thing they do in gacha games.
As a result, since players will usually not want to spend money/pulls on a character who will not improve their team/deck, especially when its so often chance based what you even get, it means that to make people keep pulling packs you gotta upgrade the power over time of new units.
Generally the developers want to keep this at a slower pace, since it feels bad if someone gets a great character/card and then one month later they are weak, and if people feel like what they put in do not pay off they will not keep playing. But occasionally there are bigger bursts of power creep to kind of bring the state of the game to a new level, often brought on by accidentally making something too strong, at least that is how I think this goes from my experience.
But for example, if when Typhon came out her damage was worse or just on par with Rosa, how many would have pulled for her? Sure you´d get some who would because they like her story, personality, design, etc. But not that many would have if we are being completely honest here.
This is not to say that power creep cannot be a problem, especially if too severe, as already touched on earlier it feels really bad when your favorites no longer hold up. I just want to highlight that it is an inherent part of the game that cannot really be avoided.
It can also add a big pressure to feel like you have to keep up by getting all the new characters or cards, which can cause a lot of stress due to the random nature of who you get. Which is where the other thing I wanted to talk about comes in....
You do not need every strong or limited character. And in fact you wont use most of them because you have finite team space.
In a trading card game you focus in on a playstyle you like, or a few if its affordable enough, and then focus on building and enhancing those instead of getting every good card in the game. I think this is the healthiest way to view it in a gacha too.
Prioritize who suits your playstyle and your team, or to fill weak spots you got (or you just like as a character of course). You do not need all the top tier characters in the game. You can skip multiple top tier characters in fact and still do just fine, these games are not balanced around the assumption you have *every* single one of the best characters or cards.
And in fact, having to slowly make adjustments to better suit your needs is, to me at least, one of the most fun parts. And a lot of the strategy and fun of these kinds of games disappear if you have access to all the strongest options and can just brute force things.
It is not healthy for your mental state to fret over having to have all the best options and it makes the game less fun, to me at least. These games assume you only have maybe half of the top tier options, and you can beat pretty much everything with that if you put some effort into strategizing, which is fun~!
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hey it's nanowrimo. i have tips bc i've done it about 34 times.
Don't edit. Ever. Stop it. If you just decide to start a new project half thru this one with all new characters, no problem. pick up and keep writing as if you'd already written the first half of that.
"but i spelled it wrong" whatever. "but the grammar" whatever. make it exist first. no time for sense. think like you're working on a typewriter. no backspace. only forward go.
Don't re-read further than a paragraph or two backwards. "did i mention the gun before?" listen - it doesn't matter. if you need there to be a gun there, the gun is there. put it back in once you finish the book.
"i forgot the specifics of X thing i already wrote" whatever. change it, make a note/comment to figure it out later, and just write what makes sense for the moment. "no raquel it's legit the characters name and origin" idc that character is now reborn as Claudius from Elsewhere. it's fine.
only you see your mistakes. nobody else knows. one of the ways writing and dance overlap - only you know the choreography. nobody else will know if you miss a step, so just keep dancing and pretend you meant to do it like that.
it's an illusion that you need to write linearly - from point A to point B to point C. Nah; that's just timeline propaganda. I've written a LOT of books out of order and just reordered them once i've finished. if you have a scene you'd LOVE to write but can't get there yet because of plot, just fuckin write the scene. I've always found its easier to establish "point F" "point J" and "Point A" and then wiggle my way between those scenes.
write what you WANT to write. 230 pages of smut? of well-researched discussion on bread? whatever. the point is to strengthen muscles however you can.
if you miss a day, a week, whatever. not the end of the world. we all have dry days. also time is a myth so u can do this challenge whenever u want.
as soon as you try to write for a specific audience, you kill your voice. you are writing for yourself. stop thinking about how people will take ur book. it don't matter. what matter is u, enjoying writing. i luv u.
play to your strengths. i have characters talk so much because i don't know how to write a plot if it kills me but i'm really good at dialogue so.
i love a flight of fancy. write a poem in there. shift tactics and write in code. keep it fun for yourself.
see what happens if you shift something major about ur main characters - gender, wealth, superpowers. or if you change point-of-view. or if you kill everyone in a big explosion. do NOT edit anything before this or after it. often these little weird one-off exercises teach me what interests me about what i'm working on. it is never what i thought. plus it is a fun way to add like 1k words.
stretch.
it's for fun and for practice. stop doing that project if it's giving you anxiety. once my nano was literally 50k words of half-started stories. just things i tried and tried and tried and wasn't able to flesh out. oops. but i am now 50k words of a better writer.
add dragons?
read books/listen to books on tape/etc. people often make the mistake of "buckling down" to just write. you need inspiration. you need to like. fill up on words. you need to remember how it feels to lose yourself in a story.
i don't have the time or space to really talk about this in this post but a lot of creative people turn to drugs/alcohol because it can help you be more creative. this is harmful, and walking a blade that only cuts deep. if you notice you and your loved ones are turning more to substances, please know i love you and i hope you are able to get help soon. i feel like this almost never gets mentioned because it's kind of a hazy underbelly to art. you are always more important than the work.
on that note. drink your fukin. water.
don't talk about a story until you've finished it. once you tell the story, it exists already, and isn't about discovery. i usually have a very canned "haha we'll see" response.
grapes :) tasty snack.
i love you be free.
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Ride 730: “Handicap”
Pag 1
1: I saw Imaizumi-san and Sugimoto-san, a third years pair!!
2: They're currently the fastest, now starting the 20th lap!!
3: Amazing!!
Woah
Already... 100km!?
Pag 2
1: A buddies battle, huh....
2: They thought about it too
Hahaha
Chasing them there's the pair of Onoda-san and Naruko-san!
3: They had an handicap for the first 40km but are gradually catching up
Amazing!
We're just watching them but it's so exciting!!
Oi, you two, don't take a rest and run too!!
Ye-yes, Gorizou-senpai!!
4: Last year, Teshima he broke up the “team of two” for himself
And he also separated Danchiku and Kaburagi, who were first years
5: He wanted to increase individual power
Pag 3
1: This year, on the comtrary, you paired them up and made them run together
2: Can't you raise your pace more, Nogaki!
I'm doing my best!
3: If we overdo it from the beginning, then we'll have nothing left
But if they open a gap then we won't be able to cover the distance
4: Two people having to run as a pair means that when there are different opinions the'll of course end up arguing
5: You won't know until they try finishing the whole 1000km, but-
Hahaha
Naruko, Onoda, Imaizumi.... this training camp is the answer that you learned through participating twice in the Inter High
That's right
6: You can overcome troubles and difficulties through cooperation and reach a successful conclusion....
Pag 4
1: The “buddies”
Pag 5
1: Are the smallest unit of “team Sohoku that supports each other”!!
Pag 7
1: We're goin ahead, Hotshot, kakaka
2: Ah... sorry I was late today, Imaizumi-kun
It's nothing, don't worry about it
3: There was a guy along the way.....
4: He brings it up every time he passes us, but- “a guy”, I couldn't hear, what guy
5: Those two have passed us many times since earlier...!!
There's a 40km margin, so of course they haven't closed it all
Pag 8
1: It's probably the time to start worrying about them!!
Imaizumi!!
2: From now on we need some kind of plan.... those two are fast!!
Will it be okay if we don't come up with a plan!?
3: Yeah, don't worry, we have a margin
They won't surpass us if we keep going at this pace
Ye... ah, you're so calm, as expected of you, Imaizumi
4: With those two, Onoda pulls them on the climbs, and Naruko pulls on the flats...
5: They're the most efficient pair!!
6: We entered the climb, so I'm going ahead, Naruko-kun!!
Yeah!!
Pag 9
1: Oruaaaagh!!
2: “Efficient”....?
3: That's how you see it? Sugimoto
5: You say they work well perfectly well together
7: Hahaha, more.... more, Onoda-kun!! Raise it...!! The climbing pace!!
Pag 10
1: If you think so, then your eyes are bad
3: Alright, let's raise the pace of another 10%!!
Oruaaaaagh
Waaaa, they're so fast!
Pag 11
1: It's the complete opposite of what you said
It's a shame
2: Onoda raises his paces on climbs, and Naruko manages to cling to him
Oruaaaagh
4: Then, it's the opposite on the flats
5: The climb is finally over, so I'm going ahead, Onoda-kun
6: Once, during training camp we were blocked with an “equipment handicap”
7: Now
8: They're carrying each other like that burden
Onoda on the flats.... and Naruko on the climbs!! Now....
Pag 12
1: It's a “human handicap”!!
Fly and follow me, Onoda-kun!!
O... okay!!
2: So fast... as expected, Naruko-kun is so fast!!
3: Come on, you're dropping your pace!!
5: Yeah
Pag 13
1: Let's keep going like this!!
Kakaka
2: So there's this kind of use too, in this buddies system!!
3: “Human handicap”....!!
5: To “become stronger”.....!!
Those two are still trying to become stronger
Before the training camp, I also tried to prepare in my own way, but
Pag 14
1: Maybe I've been too complacent.....!!
3: I- Imaizumi!!
Sorry, the things you're saying now, I'm only noticing them now, and now!!
4: What are you even doing Sugimoto Terufumi!! You know it, this training camp has been to get stronger since the beginning!!
5: My eyes really are bad!!
7: I'm not on you guys' level so there are many things I don't notice
I'm still not satisfied!!
Pag 15
1: Oh, he realized it
2: If it were the you from some time ago, you would have made up some excuses
I- I noticed, I'm an experienced cyclist, so of course I don't have bad eyes
3: So, please, tell me, Imaizumi!!
Everything about what I'm lacking, for the whole time!! For these whole four days!!
I think I've prepared enough for this training camp
4: I've already thrown away my pride a long time ago!!
Pag 16
1: That's why the “Sohoku jersey” that you gave me, I left it at home!!
3: The next time I'll put on that jersey it will be as a regular!! When I will become the sixth member and run in the Inter High with you, Imaizumi!!
5: I see. Then it's going to be a challenging four days
Yeah, exactly!!
Pag 17
1: Let's go, Sugimoto!!
Yeah!!
2: I'll also become stronger in this training camp!! Imaizumi, no matter what kind of opponent will come at me, I will!!
3: So that I'll be able to run om that stage with you!!
5: Sugimoto.... in my cold way of speaking, I... think you're powerless
6: I also have to get stronger during these four days
I have a margin that Onoda and Naruko can't close, and I plan on reaching the goal faster than anyone else
7: Eventually, you'll fall behind
Pag 18
1: I'll take the “powerless you” and run 1000km!! That's the “human handicap” I chose for myself!!
Pag 19
1: End of the first day of training camp
Ahhh I'm so tired!
Ah, my legs, my legs hurt....
Ahh, I can't walk
2: The senpai are walking so quickly!
Incredible!
4: Teeeh....
Guaa....
5: As expected... training camp is so hard...
Waaaa, the world is spinning...
And tomorrow.... too? Kinaka-kun
Yeah!! Rokudai
Ughh...
Distance covered on the first day: Imaizumi and Sugimoto, 250km
Pag 20
1: Kaburagi and Danchiku, respectively 250km and 240km
Sugimoto Sadatoki, Gorizou, Sawada, and the third year Kawada, all retired
3: Onoda and Naruko, 225km and 250km
4: My back....
My neck....
My legs....
It hurts
The first years
5: Rokudai and Kinaka, 180km
Several other people reached the goal sefely
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