Ben Taels
banner
bentaels.bsky.social
Ben Taels
@bentaels.bsky.social
Kiwi, Dad, Human Factors Psychology PhD, & Games User Experience Research.

Formerly Epic Games, Player Research, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Te Manatū Waka, & Hamilton Zoo.
It would be nice!

I remember the first time I played with friends we couldn't work out how to stop it from just rolling into the next game. Very frustrating.
December 14, 2025 at 9:00 PM
All part of the plan! Keep em playing! :/
December 14, 2025 at 6:52 PM
IMO it is by design to try to lock players into playing more games
December 14, 2025 at 5:33 PM
If you are making a game about an old, weakened, wolf exploring a harsh and cruel world players are likely still going to want to be able to bite, because that is what wolves do, even if it is ineffective or the wrong path
December 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
All of these and more may be creating the expectation in your players. This doesn't mean you have to change them, but you should be aware of the impact of your design choices
December 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Does the player character look dangerous/threatening?

Do the opponents or situation look beatable?

Are there objects in the world that look like they could reasonably be used to fight with?

Is this type of character or situation typically one in which in other stories/media there is combat?
December 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Say you are making a game you want to be peaceful/want the players to avoid combat because they are weak, but players keep asking for combat.

You could just dismiss this as an audience mismatch (and it may be, check you are testing with the right audience), but you should also look at your game
December 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
It is a wonderful game!
December 14, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Reposted by Ben Taels
Introducing DoomScroll - an endless feed of thousands of user-made Doom WADs from the last 32 years, all playable right in your browser.

Our goal was to make decades of work from one of the most creative communities in gaming history more accessible and visible to everyone.
December 11, 2025 at 12:03 AM
I don't know who he thinks he is going to appeal to. National voters can already get National, they don't want National-lite
December 13, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Nice one!
December 13, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Oh I will! (And basically always have other than being an Alliance voter originally)
December 13, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I will check it out! Thanks!
December 13, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Spark mail has defined three bundles only and you can't add more. So that isn't as useful as it could be!
December 13, 2025 at 6:56 PM