Brooks Barber

Hope I get to play this in person!

So what does that mean? I think people have to know and learn and wonder, personally. So I think this is a shift rather than an erasure. But a shift to what is impossible to tell.

The difference with Gen AI as I see it is that it has not created new ways of knowing. It is an outsourcing and retrograding of epistemology. All these other collapses came with simultaneous creation. This one doesn’t seem to be doing the same.

I’d like to add some historical context though. GenAI is not the first thing to cause an epistemically collapse at a civilizational scale. The enlightenment, colonialism, urbanization, the Industrial Revolution, the advent of a digital public sphere. All of these destroyed former ways of knowing.

This is an interesting thread. At first assessment, I agree with a lot of it. Gen AI (at least in the way it’s being applied most often now) is a blight that is stealing people’s abilities to think, know, and wonder.

Thanks Craig!

Thanks!

This game is not an exploration of individuals’ struggles with addiction. It is an exploration of the history through a critique of the structural/systemic problems that allowed for opioids to take root and devastate the country.

As players pursue profits, the human cost is very evident on the map. Patients seeking care are provided with opioids, and many of them will slip into addiction, which makes them vulnerable to the illegal drug trade, or overdose, or death. Too much of this and the game ends in collective loss.

The game situates players in the roles of Pharma execs precisely to force them into making decisions with terrible consequences. To achieve “success”, players must choose to do awful things. This reinforces the reality of what you are describing re: Purdue.

I’m the designer and happy to answer any questions. And you’re right, it’s hard to capture the enormous human toll this epidemic has taken on the country. Nor can it fully cover every detail of the social, political, and economic aspects of this crisis.

His game Chicago ‘68 is based in a different time period than I think you’re focusing on, but @yoyoni.bsky.social might know some good places to start.

Knowing it’s half the battle!

It’s very different now!

I’m sure we can find a time!

These games are all in various states of development. Threed, Spindletop, and Painkillers are all signed or close to being so. Draconian is evolving and chaotic. Worker replacement is in early phases but shaping up quickly. Pilgrimage is completely new. I love having multiple projects going at once

Game #6 is brand new and a little experimental. It's a victorless narrative game about going on pilgrimmage. With strong RPG elements and open-ended symbology, the game may fall completely flat, but I think it's got potential. Build a back story and share how your character experiences the journey!

Game #5 is a co-design with @coo.games - we're calling it a "worker replacement" game. Thematically, it tries to capture the drudgery, futility, and small victories of working dead-end retail jobs. Mechanically, it's a boss v. workers with a rondel doubling as a clock, contract fulfillment, and more

Game #4 is called Draconian. It's a weird little thing I've been playing with that uses blackjack as a basis for resolving rounds. The dragon king's power is fading, and players are faction leaders vying for regime change - through usurping the throne, rallying a rebellion, or supporting the throne.

An outline of the contiguous 48 states of the United States, filled in with a variety of prescription pills. The word Painkillers above it, with the "pain" part blurred for emphasis.

Game #3 is Painkillers - it's a heavy historical game based on the American opioid epidemic. Players run pharmaceutical companies, trying to maximize their efficiency and bank as much personal wealth as possible without causing too much societal harm. It's a rough one, mechanically and emotionally.

Here's a preview of the other five games I'm bringing to Unpub this year. Check 'em out if you want!

Spindletop is the most developed. It's an economic hand management game based on Texas Hold 'Em poker mechanisms and the Texas oil boom of the early 20th century. Plus, it has Texagons!

This is one of six of my games that’ll be at @unpub.org this year. That’s a ridiculous number of games, I know. Whatcha gonna do?

Nailed it!

Ahead of his time

New board game idea...

Thanks Taylor! Here we go...

I appreciate that Shreesh!

Thanks Bill! An adventure it will be!

A while back, I posted about my move to the Netherlands later this year. As part of that move, my family is also venturing into the world of tabletop game publishing through Hawk and Dove. I'd be honored if you would check us out and follow along on our journey!

Oh shit I’d make this