Welcome!

I'm foobar. Well, at least that's my nickname in the World of Players Forum. Most of the stuff here emerged in my mind after some discussion over there, so I just kept the name. And I also kept the avatar (a fat penguin).

This place is a little junkyard where I dump my ideas and thoughts. Feel free to browse around. There are no paywalls. ;)

On today's menu we have:

• Overbalancing
  
  Why we should encourage developers to take more risks with potentially balance-breaking features and items.
• The protagonist’s family
  
  Why it is generally not a good idea to involve the family of the main character in the story of the game.
• The failure of the Fallout 4 story
  
  How the game's story actually damages the sandbox concept and immensely impacts my gaming experience - negatively.
• A Plea for Systematic Magic
  
  Why I think that magic in roleplaying games needs a better foundation and how principles like Occam's Razor can help do that.
• Foobar's thoughts on copy protection
  
  A longer text which basically explains why I fail to see reason behind using copy protection mechanisms on games.
• Myths about DRM
  
  A list of common myths about DRM (mostly spread by publisher marketing goons) and my attempt to bust them.
• A proposal for a better copy protection
  
  If copy protection really has to be, can it be done without harming the honest buyer? Maybe. This text explains how it might work.
• The comfort lie
  
  Why publishers who tell us that quest markers and skilltrees are for our convenience are basically lying.
• Why Depth of Field is Wrong
  
  How DoF breaks immersion and atmosphere without adding realism.
• Steamworks = Closed Due To Wealth
  
  Why any publisher releasing titles exclusively on Steam looses the right to complain about low revenues.
• A Glossary For Younger Gamers
  
  Old gramps Foobar tells you the meaning of some terms. Then he chases you off his lawn.
• What is... multi-linearity
  
  A term I made up to describe something between "linear" and "non-linear".
• What is... a roleplaying game?
  
  We all know and use the term. Loosely, most of time. But what does it actually mean? What is and what is not actually a RPG?