Playing Every Game in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality
PEGBRJE: Software of Page 54
Now this is software.
LONGSHIP: A VESSEL RPG
Starting us off on this page is sehyeager, once again with a TTRPG centred around one specific mode of transportation. This time it is LONGSHIP, where players will focus on magicks and meddling gods in order to continue their trek across the vast seas. If you’ve seen any of the other entries I’ve made on the ‘VESSEL’ series by sehyeager, then this will play similarly. If you loved those, then try this out.
Eris and Umbra
Continuing with TTRPGs is Eris and Umbra by nonema, aiming to create an easy to pick up environment focused on simplicity and light-hearted character banter.
This is a student game, according to nonema, and has been revamped. Thing is, it has also been ‘locked’ by the developer. Only people with the download link (such as in the bundle) can view and download it. I’m not entirely sure if the ‘old handbooks’ are still available — they’ve been discontinued according to nonema — so just be aware of this when diving in.
https://nonema.itch.io/eris-and-umbra
#GGIG2020 — Global Games Industry Guide
This is massive — I know not how else to describe it.
#GGIG2022 — Global Games Industry Guide is a directory of entities in the game development industry compiled by Liam Twose, creator of PitchYaGame and industry veteran. This is a list of people and groups that assist in the development of games in all of their facets. There are Publishers, Studios, Accessibility individuals, Venture Capital firms, and more all listed in an alphabetical format to help developers find resources that they may be looking for. There are so many categories it is hard to fully comprehend, and it contains nearly as many entries as there are in this very bundle. If you are a developer in need of any services, there might be one in here that is within your area and able to assist.
Oh, and it is updated yearly, and has a ‘free’ version on trello that is also linked. What a find.
Scratch’s Sc0re: Hellish Descent
Sliding back to TTRPGs we have an expansion to the game Scratch’s Sc0re by NinjaHell! Productions. Included are three brand new suits of cards, more copies of the Jokers, and cheat cards to explain what the new symbols mean. There is also a tutorial of sorts to assist with some of the mechanics. If you loved Scratch’s Sc0re then this will fit nicely.
PADager
This was nearly in the ‘game’ section and it would have thrown me off so hard. Essentially, PADager is a piece of software that turns your Xbox controller in to a massager. Using the joysticks, you can set the motor to be less or more powerful, and the software itself will do the rest to run a routine.
It’s definitely not something I was expecting to find in the bundle, but if you really need a massage and have multiple controllers I guess you can use this.
El Interrogatorio
El Interrogatorio is all in Spanish — TwineDoctors have been in the bundle before back on page 44, and they continue to create Spanish material for Spanish audiences.
I haven’t learned Spanish in the 10 pages since their last entry, so I’m unable to really understand without using a botched translation through Google. I shall defer to any that know Spanish on this one.
SuperShot — Screenshot Tool
Another piece of software I was not expecting to be here is SuperShot, a high quality screenshot tool by Yusuf. It can be viewed as a more customizable version of the Windows Screenshot tool, as it will allow you to determine what format the picture is in (jpg, png, etc), edit parts of the screenshot before finishing, and even alter some of the colours.
It’s a fantastic tool with one major drawback; it seems to only support single monitor setups. Dual monitor stations have reported not being able to get it to work due to the underlying systems, and the dev has confirmed this. If you only have a single monitor this might be a great tool for you to try out.
We Used To Be Friends (Ashcan)
We reach the end of our software, and seemingly ‘as always’ we end on a TTRPG. This is ‘We Used To Be Friends’ by Firestorm Ink, a massive collaborative teenage detective game. Players will decide the setting and what mystery brings them all together before deciding on a ‘yearbook profile’ to determine their character’s archetype. Mysteries are also separated in to groups, with the overall ‘season mystery’ affecting everyone while smaller mysteries such as the ‘personal’ or ‘episode’ can alter sessions and player attitudes.
This does not even get in to how the mysteries are solved, which uses a handy ‘Clue Chart’ designed by Tim Paul Groth along with many other systems embedded. It’s designed as equal parts mystery and teen drama, so being able to balance between solving the mystery and having a high school life is critical to getting the most out of the game.
If you want to relive some high school moments, or just want to have an ‘immature’ mystery game, then this might be the perfect thing for you. They’ve included many actual play podcasts as examples if you are still uncertain.
Some of you may be wondering about that ‘Ashcan’ term at the end — it’s a fancy way of saying that the bundle owners have the ‘demo’ version of the game. Owners of the Ashcan are apparently given a discount on purchasing the full game, so if you like how this version plays then look in to getting the full thing.
That’s it for page 54! Nice that it ended on a Friday. Monday we start up with Page 55 and continue our march towards the end of the bundle.
