Games I've Played Recently

So, I've played two games recently, with two different groups:

Shadow of Yesterday with Andy, Rick and Tim and D&D with Eric, Lisa and Ulysses.

Shadow of Yesterday has been really really fun. I even sent Clinton an email about how much fun I'd been having, but he hasn't responded. I'm sure he's ultra busy, so it's all good. Shadow of Yesterday gives me what few game exeriences ever have: a sense of constant direction for my character. It's a really neat process:

1. Scene is framed.
2. I ask myself, "Should I be in this scene?"
3. I look at my character sheet. Are there any keys or secrets that fit, are there any characters that I want to become involved in, or are there any secrets or keys that I want to work towards in-game continuity for collecting?
4. If yes, I add myself to the scene and start using abilities, getting XP, etc. That's immediate gratification that I love.
5. If no, then I sit back, watch other spotlight coolness, and throw some chips in when it gets good.

Also, when I want to have a scene framed around me, I can ask for it after a quick look, using nearly the exact same technique, but I also add any Keys I bought off, to see if I can riff of some roleplay of a changed perspective in the character.

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D&D has been hacked a little, so it's got some goodness. It has this thing, this resource, it's my free ride to change the narrative or save my ass from death. We have been flip-flopping on task vs conflict resolution, but the slow character growth that comes with D&D is frustrating and it feels like I have all this stuff on my character sheet that I can't use. I'm not in love with that at all. I tend to blur my eyes looking at it.

And get this, the only way I have to manage my character class effectively is by use of an Excel spreadsheet that I had to make.

Finally, I'm not really even using the abilities I do have, but that's a buy-in issue I'm having. I wonder if the others notice this?

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Next Post: Game's I Will Be Playing Soon
I may doom myself with this, but I'll try posting that tomorrow.
That nameless project I mentioned a while back? How does Iron Wrought, Mana Born sound?
And, where would I be without an almost obligatory picture? This picture is from an upcoming video game and doesn't have to do with my game, other than as some inspiration.