Transcripts available at diceexploder.com

Last week, indie rpg YouTube essayist Aaron Voigt and I delved into Heart: the City Beneath, a surreal and maximalist dungeon crawler with lots to love. But when I ran the game, I had some trouble with it from a mechanic that by all accounts I should love: beats, little nuggets of story, little goals your character takes on that they advance by achieving. I’ve always found it strange I didn’t love beats in practice, and I today I wanted to break down how and why they left me overwhelmed and unsatisfied. I think there’s at least as much to learn from looking at what doesn’t work in games as what does, especially in games and other art that feels so close to exactly for you…

Further Reading

Heart: the City Beneath by Rowan, Rook and Decard

Spire: the City Must Fall by Rowan, Rook and Decard

Socials

Aaron on Bluesky, itch, YouTube, and Patreon

Sam on Bluesky and itch

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