Kurt Refling

Alex this is the best thread on Bluesky and it's not even close

sock puppets in this cool indie game store's new inventory picture is looking like

Can't overstate this! It feels wonderful to know that someone had a good time with your game. It's not just that they appreciate your work. Someone's day, maybe a day with their friends, got better because of something you put into the world. It's a special feeling.

Cowboys with Big Hearts is an i n c r e d I b l e game!! What happened to your cowpokes? To the Death Brothers?

how did the game summer go?

Post-script: Wills are very important. Not just to ensure your wishes are respected, but also to make life easier for your loved ones. The death industry is largely corporate-owned and profit-motivated, and their revenue streams rely on upselling grief-stricken clientele. I can't be clear enough about this: if you want to "just be tossed in the dumpster" or whatever half-joking thing you always say to mean "please do not spend much money on my death," know that your loved ones will be torn between your offhand assertions and the very real salespeople applying pressure at a very vulnerable time when decisions must often be made quickly. In a perfect world, none of this matters until a very long time from now. But it's good to be prepared, and to take care of the people we love. Be well.

And here's that post-script on wills.

Some folks may have seen the article going around about J.D. Maxwell's absence after his Grimwild crowdfunding campaign. We don't know what happened to Grimwild's designer, and I would ask that we not speculate on the nature of his absence here. Still, this raised certain questions in my community of practice about art after death of the artist. There are real options for how to handle creative works after death or incapacitation, if you make preparations while you're around. I'm going to share a practical approach in this thread. Quickly, before we start: if you're not in the headspace to read this, that's okay. Close the tab. Your responsibility is to your well-being. Making a plan for your art is firmly in extra credit territory. It's okay to set this aside. I'll break this down into four steps. 1. Keep organized records (ongoing). 2. Elect caretakers. 3. Set up a dead man's switch. 4. Document your wishes. Both 2 and 4 are areas that benefit from an estate plan (including a legal will) if there's money involved. I am not going to discuss the drafting of formal wills here, but understand that wills are very important. See post-script in the comments.

1 - Keep organized records (ongoing). This is, of course, the biggest pain in the ass. It's also the item on this list that will actually help you while you're here. There are four kinds of information that matter: Creative works This is your art itself, of course. You probably have some that are completed, some abandoned and some works-in-progress. Where are they kept? Do you have a document tracking your catalogue? Financial records If there's one thing this kicks your ass into organizing, make it this. What did you spend on your projects? Where do you keep those receipts? Do you have any annual expenses? Do you have any contracts, active or past-tense? What about annual subscriptions for creative tools? Is your stock being held as consignment by any distributors? All of this should be documented somewhere. Operating procedures This is the sneaky kind of knowledge that tends to be completely kept in the brain. That's partly because it seems superfluous: if I told you I uploaded a game to itch.io, how much work would you imagine that really takes? Well, let's map it out: in practice, I... (1) Log in, (2) start a new project ("upload" a new project in itch lingo), (3) write a tagline and choose a URL, (4) add classifications and tags, (5) price it, (6) upload 3 to 5 screenshots, (7) create and upload a 630 x 500 pixel thumbnail, (8) actually upload the file(s), (9) write a description, which for me includes a thematic quote, the pitch, box info (player count / runtime / materials) and the contents of the file downloads, (10) choose tags, (11) write an engaging announcement post nested in a personal anecdote for my newsletter (and sometimes also Reddit), (12) set visibility to public, and (13) save. If I asked a friend to upload my game for me, how much of that would be a stumbling block?

Absence isn't the only time that itemized protocols would be helpful, though. If I think "I need to upload my game to itch.io," I'm either going to see none of these steps (and assume I'll be done instantly), or see all of these steps as an amorphous, daunting process that disinclines me to ever bother doing it. Breaking larger tasks into smaller ones helps you see the labour as something that can be performed in small pieces, and helps you plan an appropriate amount of time to get it done. Plus, memory is unreliable! If there's something I only do once a year, will I remember those steps when it's time to do them again? Maybe not. That's why it's useful to have operating procedures written out, for you and anyone else who comes after. 2 - Elect caretakers. If not you, then who? The ideal person to handle your creative output after your passing is someone who you trust, and who values and understands your art. This is a little tricky, because those two things don't always exist in the same person. You might have a spouse, sibling, parent or child you loves you very much, but has no personal interest in your hobby. Ask multiple people. If you get multiple affirmative responses, that means you have backups. Organize them in a hierarchy of responsibility so that if Person A is too busy (or overwhelmed, or absent, or already passed) when the unthinkable happens, Person B can then accept or decline the duty. If you ask a bunch of people and don't set a hierarchy, now you have a committee. And nobody wants to have to deal with a committee. Much like being the executor of a will, caring for someone's art is an honour-flavoured burden. Your job is to choose people who are both willing and able to do this, and to make "no" a comfortable answer for them if they need it. 3 - Set up a dead man's switch. A dead man's switch is anything that's designed to trigger if the operator is incapacitated or dead. This is what fires the message to your art's caretakers.

The simplest way to do this is probably Google's Inactive Account Manager. If your Google account is inactive for a specified period, Google's systems will attempt to contact you several times (through several avenues). If you fail to respond, it will provide access to some or all of your files or accounts to one or more people of your choosing. If you don't store your files on Google Drive, you can still use this feature to provide access to documents with sensitive information -- though be careful with what you choose to store in plaintext. Some password managers also have this service. So do some paid services, but you need to be confident that they'll still be around if you aren't. 4 - Document your wishes. Finally, this is what your art's caretaker is actually responsible for. Make sure your instructions are clear and feasible. You want it to be extremely obvious where your works are kept and what you want done with them. Consider: Should some or all of your drafts be made public? Which ones? Where would they be published? Do you want to offer certain collaborators or publishers the chance to finish and distribute some works? If so, how will rights (& revenue) be divided? Is there any community you want to be informed of your passing, local or online? Would that include a message from you? You may also have business concerns related to active Kickstarters or distribution. The approach to handling this will depend on your region and business structure. If you read all of this and thought: This is too much work, nobody would care, and we've gone beyond the scope of my concerns or interest. Well, perfect. You've learned something. If there's no business stuff involved that would frazzle your loved ones, then it's okay to let your art die too. Maybe its job was to make you smile, or think, or learn something. Maybe it existed to bring a little bit of joy to a small group of people in a strange and scary world. Maybe that's all any of us exist to do, really.

I wrote an article about how to manage your art in the event of your death, for tabletop RPG designers. Sharing here as screenshots with alt text.

Or, follow the link below:

www.reddit.com/r/RPGdesign/...

i was an inch away from recommending the Mario Golf GBC RPG moments after your tweet, but lost my nerve, insecure about my mid-depth cut

WE CAN HAVE BOTH

A crossword laid out on a spreadsheet, with a grid on the left and tickboxes on the right allowing the user to highlight clues and check words for correctness. One word on the grid is highlighted for the viewer.

An absolute mess of weird code, custom functions and indirect cell references that are working together to check words. AN ABSOLUTE MESS.

I used Google Sheets to make the crossword. The little repeating squares should've been a perfect fit! But wanted a fancy-pants sheet that could highlight clues and check for mistakes.

So now there's a snappy, easy tickbox to highlight clues & check words!

But shit, folks. I made some spaghetti.

It's the fifth anniversary of my first game, so I made you something. Hello darlings. You would think that after a few decades swimming in the stuff, I would be less surprised by time. The funny way it warps and flows and comes...

I celebrated the fifth anniversary of my first published game with a crossword puzzle.

If I was a more sane person, that sentence would mean "I had a bubble bath and did a crossword puzzle in the tub." But no. I made one. Which, it turns out, is wildly difficult.

You can play it or read more here.

It's actually both, sort of! The Fleet Street Pumping Station is the only hydraulic pumping station still in operation in Canada. It uses flowing water to pump water.

Originally (in 1874), its role was to pump water from the river to the distribution system, for firefighting. Now it also purifies.

That big structure on the right (first picture) is the library I was telling you about! It's going to be such a beautiful building.

Kurt Makes Weird Games Hi. I'm Kurt. I make games where you tell stories (with your friends). I also play games (with my friends). This is a newsletter about my games and art, and some glimpses into weird, funny or beautifu...

More info in one week. If you're paying attention.
buttondown.com/Kurt

Text within a halo of dots. The text reads: Name: #ERROR Class: Xenon Age: 83 Type: Mender / Local / Ghost Grandchildren: 2 [name, common interest] x2 Achievement: 1 [career / hobby / obstacle overcome] Regret: 1 [missed opportunity / harm caused]

I'm gonna be a tease about this one.

You can get HOME from IPR, but I'd also highly recommend:

Curios by @smolghost.bsky.social (a really cool investigation game that's a literal envelope full of evidence!)

& The Hourglass Sings by @kurtrefling.bsky.social (GMless worldbuilding inspired by Zelda!)

6/17 Sock Puppets and friends!

Ooh! Any highlights / puppet pictures? 👀

in case anyone saw this and thought "what a nice thing to share with the game designer; peter is pretty great," know that peter wrote a matching collection description, review and comment on the sock puppets itch page. GOAT behaviour.

Craft materials and sock puppets at the play table.

Sock Puppet home-printed zine.

This week at #RPGNightUtrecht we played Sock Puppets by @kurtrefling.bsky.social . What a unique joy it was! And a shining example of how you don't need mechanics when players know exactly what to do.

[Heated arbitration with the fetus union.]

And why do you work on the nose in week 8? Don't sniff around in there. It's not OSHA-compliant. You know what else gets made in that cavity. Use week 8 for something useful; develop empathy.

[An aide whispers in my ear.]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S YEAR 8.

i hope there's a D&D guy out there who thinks it's spelled "fivey".

in fact, i've made some

this is why i have yet to play a true alex roberts game, but have a long history of engaging with alex roberts game instructions

Mirror selfie of me with my puppet, Large Bean. I’m wearing a rainbow striped dress and Sesame Street scrunchies.

Selfie of me (a human) and Large Bean (a sock puppet)

I got to play @kurtrefling.bsky.social’s Sock Puppets today and decided it wasn’t enough to make a puppet, I had to also dress like a children’s show puppeteer

With many thanks to @moonshotpods.bsky.social, and the fabulous cast / gaggle of weirdos. What a treat.

A screenshot of a live playthrough of a tabletop RPG. At the top-left, a human-sized puppet is wheeled onscreen. At the bottom-left, a hand puppet fills the frame. On the right, both other plays laugh in open-mouthed astonishment.

Moonshot filmed a playthrough of my Sock Puppets TTRPG. All 4 players made their puppets in advance and didn't show each other until they were live.

Please witness the exact moment Andrew wheeled in "Dr. Bean."

The whole stream is SO funny. See it here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIJ...

of ALL THE PEOPLE to find a copy of this in the wild. omg.

*I play games live every Monday at Lies You'll Enjoy on Twitch and YouTube. I'm unbelievably bad at advertising that. Have I ever even mentioned it here? Oh Kurt.

So exciting!!! I'm sad I'll miss this live* but I'm psyched to watch the VOD.

I'm told the puppets are 🧑‍🍳💋.