worries and woes

start to get really nervous that this game is not really any good after all , and try to figure out why think that ... and honestly , think main hitch is just prompt style .

different journal games have different prompt styles . some games take very short prompts which intend for player to combine by random shuffles - pull 4 cards to meet up with 2 characters , in this 1 place , while this 1 strange event occur . some games write prompts to evoke poetic scenery , intend for player to generally follow path - different players will have different branches , but game do not try to throw twists or interruptions . others still write simple prompts , and follow those up with questions for player to work through that may indeed throw twists .

kossai use this last style . as example :

faerie take human out to market, to shop for crafts and trinkets - though many objects unfamiliar to human.
did any strange objects grab attention? if so, which ones and why?
did faerie provide enough guidance to avoid accidents, magical and mundane alike?

 

but feel like this seem to be less common style of prompts . maybe just look in wrong games or something ? tending write prompts like these , though , and absolutely love tending . not play singö yet , but that is another one with similar prompt style .

still not sure if every individual prompt is good enough , but might just need to rip bandaid and publish sooner rather than later . there is one in particular that think might be kind of weak as is , but apart from that , really do not want to get all perfectionist .

is plurality alterhuman ?

crosspost from tumblr - original post link . did initially want to just keep these thoughts to dreamwidth access list , but feel like this may balloon into something worse . not sure if this will help , but might as well try , especially if folks who do not know history really want to spout off .

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notice there is now some discussion of whether or not plurality is or should be inherently alterhuman , with argument that this dehumanise . but think there is some really important context that need to consider , especially if make these arguments as singlet ( literally stop that ) or strictly dissociative plural .

alterhumanity do not mean experience is literally and inherently nonhuman - this is misconception that lead to exclusion of certain experiences and discussions , for one thing . but beyond that , alterhumanity is also about relationship to societal standards of typical ( earthly , mundane ) humanity . 

think about how many people and cultures over time have stories about things like demonic possession , spirit channelers , even mimics and body double replacements . whether or not regard these stories to be true , and some of these might even be positive , these people still break norm . one human body should have one inhabitant - to have more is either to be exceptional , or meet with terrible circumstance . in any case , out of ordinary , noteworthy .

and truthfully , these stories and standards did not end centuries ago . how often do these things come up in media , where characters live plural lives through these circumstances , yet never really call plurality ? how often do these things need some sort of fix , trick , exorcism , banishment ?

this is egregious enough that even when real life people explicitly have diagnosis of DID or OSDD and fit near perfectly into psychiatric framework , some people consider that to be literal demonic or spirit possession in modern times , speak as if uncontrollable monster , believe correct kind of faith will " fix " . even in recent history , some psychiatrists treat plural patients in ways not very far off from exorcists .

hard to argue that singlet identity is not current societal standard of humanity , and that many people - both historically and currently - consider deviation to be inherently inhuman . people just do not always say in those exact words . 

beyond that , some plural experiences actually do follow explanations of spirituality , religion , and non-earthly worlds . this is main perspective that terms like gateway come from : there is earthly world here , other non-earthly worlds out there , and this body act as vehicle for inhabitants of such worlds to explore earth . even human inhabitants may have perspectives and experiences that do not line up with societal standards of humanity here , in at least some part because plurality inherently break those standards . 

would love to see world in future where there is no standard of which humans really human after all , but in meantime , standards do still exist . so , alterhuman is open to all who feel experiences do not line up with societal standards of what typical human can or can not be - and by design , this can include plurals , especially of gateway and spiritual experiences . 

to round off , would suggest to read this post by x-rds ( coiners of alterhuman ) about this very same discussion . everyone have right to choose whether consider personal plurality as alterhuman , however , important to understand why some might want to in first place .

oops

to battle anxiety over game , kossai now design some premade characters . want to demonstrate how various traits can play off of each other to make fun dynamics , whether or not players actually choose to use any of these characters .

... OK , so sure , some of these might literally be kossai playtest characters . shhh .

oops

need to play some more games to fill out this collection on itch , but not really sure where to start because have so many to try - and more still that do not actually own yet , but would like to . some of these multiplayer tabletop games that need special adaptations for solo play , which really want to include for plural sake - want to figure out , can one brain decently keep track of everything , and what things might need to change to make that work .

some of these also larger campaign settings , or supplements for other settings , so should really try and organise ...