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Inside Michael Brough's Philosophy — Shrink the Board, Keep Only the Choice
A study of Michael Brough—maker of 868-HACK, Imbroglio and Cinco Paus, and the designer whose name became the genre label 'Broughlike'—drawn from four of his own interviews. We read the paradox that shrinking the board sets design free, his obsession with paring a single mechanic down to its heart, the failure of over-ambitious unfinished roguelikes, the dilemmas of commerce versus authorship and his discomfort with violence, and his influences in mathematics and Rogue.
Does Play Have a Point? — Camus and the Roguelike Death Loop
I've died 38 times in a roguelike and I'm still diving back in. I bring home almost nothing I built up, so why is this repetition fun? In this matching installment I lay Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus — his head-on argument about endless repetition — over the death loop of Hades.
Counterpoint on Blue Prince — Reading Through the Negative Reviews
Komugi rated Blue Prince 9.5/10. I examine the claims from the Steam and community negatives — randomness blocks progress, the two games don't mesh, midgame monotony. I agree that randomness becomes a gatekeeper; I push back on 'this isn't a puzzle.'
