Gamer Psychology

[rupsch]

One weird thing I noticed with the last few builder games I played:
I'd tell myself that I will wait with the beautification and proper development of my school until I'm in a comfortable position. I'd use practical but essentially provisorial builds and get through the tech tree as well as the different dungeon segments, never really relaxing and just watching my little school thrive. At the end, I've managed to beat the game and reach a point at which the fog is no longer relevant and there are no more challenges to beat and think to myself: Yeah, that's it. Now I can care for all the things I didn't do while I was struggeling to keep everyone alive and healthy enough to carry on. But the game is essentially over, so why bother?
It's really bothering me recently because it gives the enjoyment I felt playing this great game a weird aftertaste.
Did you have similar experiences? Did you manage to find a strategy to not get to that point?

[Ilthe]

Since I am really bad at building pretty things, the beautiful school is my endgame, other things are only means to get there.

Once I'll research all of research that is used in construction, I would relocate skeleton crew of my mages into the basement and would make sorta like ng+ at home, as building minimalistic and functional is my general approach, and I want a GRAND BEAUTIFUL school with hallways, balconies, split level rooms and all kinds of pretty things that are not really required to survive.


But I always build things that would make sence even on my initial research and farming facility - not sticking random missformed rooms in whatever places (I build a small boxy building with generic rooms, if the keywords fit it is good, if not - that is not the final build and the stations work outside of designated room anyways), and not just putting all furniture in the side of the room like it is in storage room, rather than in a normal inhabited and used room.
So sorta balancing practical minimalism with basic common sence levels of not atrocous architecture and room design.

[glitzerpaillette]

In the beginning, I rush into building whatever I need.
But quite soon, I use the downtimes to prettify.
You know, when you're waiting for some student trials to run through, when you're waiting for your tanks to heal, when you're waiting for the dragon questers to come back...

I want it noted though that the rooms in themselves I find very pretty already.
It's just that some building styles force me to build a school whose optics I'm not 100% behind, as in: lots of private and silent rooms, plus lots of towered.
Yeah, of course I can deal with those, but it makes me build separate buildings instead of the one big hulking castle I'd prefer...

[Depaskala]

Publicado originalmente por rupsch:

One weird thing I noticed with the last few builder games I played:
I'd tell myself that I will wait with the beautification and proper development of my school until I'm in a comfortable position. I'd use practical but essentially provisorial builds and get through the tech tree as well as the different dungeon segments, never really relaxing and just watching my little school thrive. At the end, I've managed to beat the game and reach a point at which the fog is no longer relevant and there are no more challenges to beat and think to myself: Yeah, that's it. Now I can care for all the things I didn't do while I was struggeling to keep everyone alive and healthy enough to carry on. But the game is essentially over, so why bother?
It's really bothering me recently because it gives the enjoyment I felt playing this great game a weird aftertaste.
Did you have similar experiences? Did you manage to find a strategy to not get to that point?

Playing on normal difficulty, I never felt real pressure or constraint, so I'm building in accordance to my aesthetic priorities, mostly.

The weird thing I noticed regarding my psychology, is that I have trouble getting in the "school"mindset of treating students like a flux. I mostly "build a party" of mages, and am reluctant to let them go. But this flux of very temporary presence is at the basis of education institutions, and of this game's "economy" (shards). I have to go against my gaming "character hoarding" reflexes. And thus shield myself against the loss of a named character released in the nature (technically obliterated as the game doesn't give it any further role). Which echoes the debuff felt by some teachers, in game and in real life I therefore assume.

When it comes to teachers leaving, I mitigate it with sculptures and portrait. Again, a violence against my gaming reflexes of "preserving" characters, and a coping tool that echoes real life institutions...

[rupsch]

It's good to know that you made similar experiences. I like the "new game" idea and might be able to develop that mindset. When I was annoyed by the constantly low conviction levels, I opted to only use Vivified so I could stuff them with low grade food and keep their conviction up via bedrooms and dining rooms. I could try to create a school for humans, doggos and maybe even cultists. Thanks.

[Ilthe]

Publicado originalmente por rupsch:

It's good to know that you made similar experiences. I like the "new game" idea and might be able to develop that mindset. When I was annoyed by the constantly low conviction levels, I opted to only use Vivified so I could stuff them with low grade food and keep their conviction up via bedrooms and dining rooms. I could try to create a school for humans, doggos and maybe even cultists. Thanks.

Wolfkin (preferably with items that raise their mana reserves and/or give them mood bosts after performing a task) are the best for the short time you don't have any facilities built - they don't get sad if sleeping outside bedroom and eating outside of dining room, and on top of that they can eat rats instead of cooked food, freing one more mage for rebuilding.