I had the Dungeon Notebook. It was fun. I played it until I got bored, which was quick, then gave it away.
The ability to "give away" these little games are part of the fun. I'd like to see a game like this where "giving it away" is part of the game. Something you can pass around a school or a con. Like an analog version of Chain World, which was a mini-Minecraft-on-a-USB-stick that you were supposed to pass on. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_World )
Subnautica has a somewhat related concept which is that at the end of the game you have the ability to send a single time capsule to the maps of new players. They contain text, a picture (taken with the in game camera), and a handful of items.
It's a cute little feature that allows you to send something helpful (or just amusing) to the next generation of players.
I got a little fish in my first capsule (along something useful that I can't remember, maybe a suit). I kept it the whole game, then passed it on in my own capsule. It's silly, but I still think about that fish.
Wait until you hear about PaperBooks. They're like a Kindle download except, once you finish reading one, you can give it to anyone else to read. And BookNotes are completely portable - anything you write in it stays with the PaperBook and can be read by any other person.
This reminds me of a scene in Parks and Recreation where a local fashionista in a small town is pitching the latest evolution of almond milk and oat milk....beef milk.
Found these a couple weeks ago and bought the golf PDF for my <7y/o nephew and he was initially hesitant but then thrilled once he understood the basic premise. Didn’t have the heart to start teaching him A* and manhattan distance, that’ll come later.
I’m glad the creator made this and am looking forward to seeing more of these
Side note, these reminded me of pocket mod which I absolutely loved using 15 years ago https://pocketmod.com/
I still make them. Most are todo list things. I have the rule subset for my Robotics competitions for the kids to use since not all of them have phones. I also use them for trips to do plane flights, rental, hotel, dinner places, etc. I’d rather accidentally forget a pocketmod on a rental counter than my phone.
Paper is its own thing. if you think about it, the todo list in the computer was first a skeuomorph of the paper one. Now people have become so alienated from the paper that someone has brought their computer todo to the paper :))))
Not only this does not promote the paper, but is a huge promotion for the computer! By being a constant reminder to the notebook's owner: "this is not a computer", one will have no choice but to keep thinking of all the things they miss in their todo from a dynamic medium :))))
When it comes to skeuomorphism, this really is the last stage in the precession of the simulacra. First you have the original thing based in reality (writing todo notes on paper). Then you have the first order unfaithful copy (skeuomorphic imitation). Next you have the second order version that masks the absence of the original thing (removal of skeuomorphism and integration of other functionality, you're no longer using a computer to replace writing down notes, you're using it in its own right). Finally, you have the pure simulacrum with no relation to reality whatsoever. That todo notepad pretending to be a computer app that doesn't exist when actual notepad-like games (like crosswords) still exist.
It's just a matter of framing. If "paper" is your starting point, a computerized todo list is "paper, but smarter". If a computerized todo list is your starting point (which for many it is), then paper is "computers, but dumber".
It is a little sad (in a nostalgic sense) that paper apparently becomes more marketable when contrasted with the features of computers (apps specifically), rather than as a product in its own right.
Don't think it is sad at all. Glade to the reverting from digital to analog. To be honest we don't need digital stuff, a lot of just makes people lazier.
Hope in the future people will always have a physical counter part (Certificate of Deposit) for their IMPORTANT digital assets such as money.
Projects like this help people to move some of the important items to physical medium. If needed they can take a pic of the notepad as a history. Seems like the ultimate killer app to me.
I'm honestly annoyed by the whole "anti-digital" thing. Like sure, it's good to take a break, but what's wrong with technology? It being more efficient is a good thing. It's like saying glass windows are bad because you can look outside without having to open them.
We had something else before paper, and we'll have something else after the computer. Being sad over technological progress is a fool's errand. It'll happen whether you want it to or not. And you always have a personal choice to use whatever tools you want.
Speaking of teenage kids, these could also be useful in places where computers/phones are not allowed (like backpacking/camping trips or in school). Most likely, they'd rather play card games, but this might provide a nice alternative and is easier to pause and get back to a task than card games.
We (me and my 8 year old) loved the Dungeon one and really enjoyed, as a carry-with-you-for-when-you-are-bored item.
Also cool is their d6 pencil, so you can roll a dice without having a dice, very smart idea.
I am really inspired by ideas like this: you can generate engagement with simple things like a piece of paper and a pencil. And despite some of the comments, I love that they call it an "App" because it makes you think what is an app after all: the code? the fact it runs on a phone? or that fact that it is readily available to engage when you are bored?
Interestingly, that was one of the original considerations for _Magic: The Gathering_ --- but somehow, my main (Commander) deck has become an unpocketable behemoth which is tedious to shuffle and which requires a box containing:
- play mat
- dice
- counters
- tokens
(and constant supervision since I had to add a rider to my insurance policy 'cause while my Elvish Archers are no longer in it, some rather valuable cards from when I first started playing are still in it)
Onirim is good but the phone app is better since there’s so much shuffling. Cursed?! is one of my favorites. Galdors Grip is really cool in that you can play it in hand, you don’t need a table, so you can play it anywhere.
I suddenly feel old. I would have thought the hipster PDA was like a decade ago, but wow, 2005 and LifeHacker. Memories. And the start of Ruby on Rails....
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The ability to "give away" these little games are part of the fun. I'd like to see a game like this where "giving it away" is part of the game. Something you can pass around a school or a con. Like an analog version of Chain World, which was a mini-Minecraft-on-a-USB-stick that you were supposed to pass on. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_World )
It's a cute little feature that allows you to send something helpful (or just amusing) to the next generation of players.
https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Bones#Description
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMIW2tBpnDI
Erase it! *thump. clap. thump thump clap thump*
Pass it! *dun dun dun dun dun dun*
I’m glad the creator made this and am looking forward to seeing more of these
Side note, these reminded me of pocket mod which I absolutely loved using 15 years ago https://pocketmod.com/
Paper is its own thing. if you think about it, the todo list in the computer was first a skeuomorph of the paper one. Now people have become so alienated from the paper that someone has brought their computer todo to the paper :))))
Not only this does not promote the paper, but is a huge promotion for the computer! By being a constant reminder to the notebook's owner: "this is not a computer", one will have no choice but to keep thinking of all the things they miss in their todo from a dynamic medium :))))
Not so much sad as just kinda funny I think.
It is a little sad (in a nostalgic sense) that paper apparently becomes more marketable when contrasted with the features of computers (apps specifically), rather than as a product in its own right.
Hope in the future people will always have a physical counter part (Certificate of Deposit) for their IMPORTANT digital assets such as money.
Projects like this help people to move some of the important items to physical medium. If needed they can take a pic of the notepad as a history. Seems like the ultimate killer app to me.
Deleted Comment
Thanks for the new word !
Another one that i use is: https://davidseah.com/productivity-tools/
Also cool is their d6 pencil, so you can roll a dice without having a dice, very smart idea.
I am really inspired by ideas like this: you can generate engagement with simple things like a piece of paper and a pencil. And despite some of the comments, I love that they call it an "App" because it makes you think what is an app after all: the code? the fact it runs on a phone? or that fact that it is readily available to engage when you are bored?
Recommendations are welcome :)
- play mat
- dice
- counters
- tokens
(and constant supervision since I had to add a rider to my insurance policy 'cause while my Elvish Archers are no longer in it, some rather valuable cards from when I first started playing are still in it)
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/274219/pencil-swords-and-...
And some "Roll and Write" games in general:
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/213815/roll-and-write-gam...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_PDA for more details