Author: Robin VanGilder

Seattle born and raised, a professional agent and amateur philosopher. Also, I play video games listen to too many podcasts.

Universal Basic Income: Changing the Rules of the Game

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Last week, I went to a meeting of a local political group about the Green New Deal. It turned out to be made up almost exclusively of retired people. This being Seattle, they were very excited for the GND, and had a lot to say about other things that should be done to prevent global climate change.

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The types of ideas that were present was interesting to me. They were very interested in some big, radical changes to our society, the end of consumerism and a return to a more agrarian way of life. It would be necessary, they thought, in order to survive on our planet, and it would be good for society as well. They were interested in accepting more refugees, being prepared to accept the millions who would be pushed out of their countries by the ravages of a warming planet. Continue reading “Universal Basic Income: Changing the Rules of the Game” →

Chapter 17: The Ramadan

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Ahhh, back from another sojourn taking care of another dog. Feeling refreshed and restored! Well, after a few extra days of rest, that dog really kept me busy.

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I actually took the notes for this chapter before my sabbatical of canine stewardship, so I had plenty of time to reflect and ruminate on this chapter. There isn’t a lot of direct philosophical meat, but it definitely suggests some topics that are of interest to me, and, I hope, to you as well. Continue reading “Chapter 17: The Ramadan” →

Towards a Better Roguelike: Getting Started

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I’ve been working on developing a video game for the past year or so.

It’s something that’s very important to me, a passionate pursuit that saved me from the depths of despair, way back when. But, progress has come in fits and starts. I learned to use Unity, found that I absolutely hated it, switched to Godot, and have been messing around with that for a while now.

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Most of the work I do, though, is actually just writing. Brainstorming ideas for the setting, gameplay, various sorts of intricate systems. In physical notebooks and in dozens of different documents on my computer. Writing away, planning and planning for all sorts of different things.

So, as long as I’m doing this, I thought I’d write a bit of my thoughts about game design here, on my blog. Let’s get into it! Continue reading “Towards a Better Roguelike: Getting Started” →

Chapter 16: The Ship

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Well, I’ve got my work cut out for me today. This recent run of chapters has been easy, I even had to go off on a wild tangent of my own to find any substance in the last one. But this one? There’s just… there’s a lot. There’s a lot in sheer number of words, in different tones, themes, and just in moving parts, compared to other chapters, in general.

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So, this’ll probably be a long one. Be forewarned! Continue reading “Chapter 16: The Ship” →

Chapter 15: Chowder

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Today we’ve got another fun chapter on our hands, but one that moves the plot a bit more. Ishmael and Queequeg have to get themselves situated on Nantucket, so they can look around and find a ship to ship with.

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Sorry I’m a little late this week, I was off dogsitting again. It’s nice to take a bit of time away from the old computer desk every now and then. But let us get on with it! Continue reading “Chapter 15: Chowder” →

Capitalism: Only for No Reason

Robin VanGilder

It’s cliche to blame things on capitalism. But it’s such a vague thing, only one step removed from blaming it on some amorphous concept like “greed” or even “sin”. When I say that capitalism “makes things worse” it’s easy to dismiss, because it is so very vague.

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So. Let me get specific. Continue reading “Capitalism: Only for No Reason” →

NIOH: Brought Down by Minutia

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It’s been a while, but I feel like writing another game review.

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I’m a big fan of the Souls series of video games, from From Software, going way back. Not quite back to the beginning, I played Demon’s Souls when it was released by Atlus and not the Asian version that was available in English before then. And, I must admit, I have never dared to try the old, impossibly archaic King’s Field series on the Playstation 1 and 2. But, going back reasonably far, shall we say. Continue reading “NIOH: Brought Down by Minutia” →

Chapter 14: Nantucket

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Ah! That new blog smell, never does get old, does it. Yesterday, I spent my afternoon moving everything over here from tumblr, at least those things that were worth moving. The thousands upon thousands of reblogs will have to stay put upon that sinking ship of a website.

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So, let us get right back to it, with a very fun non-narrative chapter of Moby-Dick; or, the Whale!

Continue reading “Chapter 14: Nantucket” →

Octopath Traveler: An Odd Duck

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I’m gonna try writing some reviews!

So, Octopath Traveler is basically the reason I got a switch. The very first previews of it instantly captured my attention. It was such an amazing combination of SNES-style 16 bit sprite work and modern graphical effects. Finally, Square was going to pay tribute to their legacy of classic JRPGs without some sort of awful compromise on the art style. Continue reading “Octopath Traveler: An Odd Duck” →

Assassin’s Creed Origins: It’s Fine

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Hey! Another sorta game review-ish thing.

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Assassin’s Creed Origins is a perfectly fine game. It’s got some incredible scenery, some decent writing here and there, but the core gameplay is a bit lacking. It’s a problem with AAA games in general, and more specifically the type of open-world games that Ubisoft develops. Continue reading “Assassin’s Creed Origins: It’s Fine” →