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Comment by koof | Hacker News Reader

I've carried around a certain kind of disappointment about video games ever since I was a kid. I knew I really liked them as a concept, but few stuck and I liked reading game magazines more.

I started playing TTRPGs like D&D with some friends about a year and a half ago. They feel closer to the ideal of what my brain wants from at least some kinds of games.

Somewhere between TTRPGs, reading (esp. fiction), and embracing balance (why have I always been looking for "that one thing" that I can put all my time into, anyway?) I feel I get at least some of what I crave from games.

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There is a lot more to TTRPGs besides D&D.

I play lighter and more narratively focused games where the focus is collaboratively creating worlds and stories.

Lasers and Feelings has been the biggest hit around my table but I also have a reoccuring game of Dungeon World every other week.

In just ten to fifteen minutes I can throw any random group of friends into a scenario that feels like a tv show.

For sure. We started with Cyberpunk RED actually, but we went to D&D simply because of how much prewritten stuff was out there. We've done a few small jaunts into other systems (mostly PTBA ones) in the meantime too. I've also been meaning to play Ironsworn solo (one day...).

Luckily for me, my favorite part of RPGs so far has been "meaningful stuff can happen anywhere and the gears of this world turn no matter where we put the camera (if a tree falls in the woods & no one is there to hear it, it still absolutely makes a sound)" which feels system agnostic.

Totally with you, koof. I think I’ve always enjoyed most write-ups and trailers of games and films more than the actual games and films. Only a few truly deliver.

My favorite part of video games was exploring a world with my friends. First MUDs, then EverQuest.

But nowadays everyone just uses guides. I guess they didn't really enjoy that aspect. Now it's all about doing mechanics and advancement.

author here. I agree! The best part of games is the social aspect, which if we have been losing (in the West, at least) since the deindustrilization times, games should be able to connect people more, rather than forcing them to the manual labor of grinding and gacha (there are players that seem to enjoy that though)

Have you seen Tilt Five?

https://www.tiltfive.com/

It's board-games, but in augmented reality and multi-player, to give it a "spin".

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