kfwyre's recent activity

  1. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Lobbying Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Bring that heat, Lapbunny! Take those other games down! Speaking of which: Aria of Sorrow? Really? Don't you mean "We have Symphony of the Night at home?" XD In all seriousness, I played Aria of...

    Bring that heat, Lapbunny! Take those other games down!

    Speaking of which: Aria of Sorrow? Really? Don't you mean "We have Symphony of the Night at home?" XD

    In all seriousness, I played Aria of Sorrow not too long ago, and it's great. I'll co-sign on it too. I liked it better than SotN (I know, I know -- I'm so controversial yet brave). The souls system (later used in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night which I also loved) is great.

    I don't know how to put this without sounding like I'm putting down the Game Boy Advance (which I'm not intending to do), but the game feels bigger than its hardware. I played it on the Steam Deck and it was a perfect fit.

  2. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Voting Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Of course! After all, it only makes sense that after Wind Waker we should dive into the other Most Controversial Zelda Game. Also if you type Big Rigs backwards in your ballot, you can overcome...

    Of course!

    After all, it only makes sense that after Wind Waker we should dive into the other Most Controversial Zelda Game.

    Also if you type Big Rigs backwards in your ballot, you can overcome the 5 vote limit and it'll win easily.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Voting Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link
    The Genesis of Treasure (4) The Grue that Binds (4) Behind the Wheel (3) Space Rogue (3) Scroll Lock-On (2) Descent (1) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1) Metroid (1) Threads of Fate (1)

    The Genesis of Treasure (4)
    The Grue that Binds (4)
    Behind the Wheel (3)
    Space Rogue (3)
    Scroll Lock-On (2)
    Descent (1)
    The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1)
    Metroid (1)
    Threads of Fate (1)

  4. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Voting Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link
    CGA Announcement: The voting topic is now live. Please read the topic text to see how it will work. Feel free to consult the lobbying topic when making your choices. For this topic, top-level...

    CGA Announcement: The voting topic is now live. Please read the topic text to see how it will work. Feel free to consult the lobbying topic when making your choices.

    For this topic, top-level posts are reserved for ballots, so please put any meta comments about CGA in this topic.

    Child comments on your own ballots or others' are fully allowed and encouraged.

    Notification List

    @1338
    @Akir
    @ali
    @arctanh
    @AriMaeda
    @atomicshoreline
    @avirse
    @balooga
    @BeardyHat
    @Boojum
    @Bwerf
    @CannibalisticApple
    @chocobean
    @clayh
    @datavoid
    @Debook
    @DistractionRectangle
    @dotsforeyes
    @dozens
    @Dr_Amazing
    @endymiion
    @granfdad
    @Gummy
    @hamstergeddon
    @IsildursBane
    @J-Chiptunator
    @JCPhoenix
    @jmpavlec
    @joshbuddy
    @kaiomai
    @Kawa
    @kej
    @kfwyre
    @kingofsnake
    @Kirisame
    @Lapbunny
    @mayonuki
    @Mendanbar
    @mysterylevel
    @PancakeCats
    @Pavouk106
    @PetitPrince
    @Plattypus
    @polle
    @preposterous
    @psi
    @rosco
    @rubix
    @Rudism
    @SloMoMonday
    @Sodliddesu
    @Soggy
    @sotix
    @Spore_Prince
    @SpruceWillis
    @squidwiz
    @talklittle
    @ThatMartinFellow
    @tildes-user-101
    @Timwi
    @tomorrow-never-knows
    @Trobador
    @Venko
    @vili
    @Weldawadyathink
    @xk3
    @zod000

    If you would like to be added or removed from the Notification List, please PM u/kfwyre.

    5 votes

  5. Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Voting Topic

    ~games Text 434 words
    Welcome to the voting topic for CGA! Ballot Formatting Ballot entries are NAME (VOTES) e.g. Pong (3) Copy and paste the game titles from the list so they match exactly. The ballots will be tallied...

    Welcome to the voting topic for CGA!

    Ballot Formatting

    • Ballot entries are NAME (VOTES) e.g. Pong (3)
    • Copy and paste the game titles from the list so they match exactly.
    • The ballots will be tallied using this script from u/Spore_Prince.
    • Any improper ballots will not be counted (but you will get a polite message from me or someone else asking you to fix them beforehand).

    Topic Rules

    • All top-level comments must be ballots and ballots only.
    • Child comments can be anything -- feel free to talk about why you chose what you did.

    Voting Process

    • Each person has 20 votes to distribute among games as they see fit.
    • Each person can allocate a maximum of 5 points per Single Game/Arcade Special.
    • Arcade Specials count as one block (do not vote for each game in them individually).
    • Voting closes 96 hours (4 days) from the posting of this topic.
    Example Ballot 1 - Valid Ballot 
    Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (5)
Portal 3 (5)
Half-Life 3 (3)
Team Fortress 3 (2)
Night Trap (2)
Xexyz (1)
Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (1)
Left 4 Dead 3 (1)

    Uses 20 points total, and no game exceeds 5 points

    Example Ballot 2 - Invalid Ballot 
    Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (10)
Protal 3 (7)
Wand of Gamelon (5)

    Uses more than 20 points; games exceed 5 points; titles do not match

    Voting Outcomes

    • The top 6 games/Arcade Specials will become the next 6 months of CGA (or more in case of a tie).
    • Of the remaining games, the bottom 50% will be cut from the list.
    • The remaining 50% will stay on the list and will enter the next voting round starting at their current point totals instead of 0.

    Game List

    Game Rollover Votes
    Another World 19
    Back in a Flash
    Bloons Tower Defense
    Line Rider
    Motherload
    QWOP
    Stick RPG    		 25
    Behind the Wheel
    Lego Island
    Rally-X
    Sega Rally Championship    		 15
    Beneath a Steel Sky 15
    Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow 23
    The Colonel’s Bequest 15
    Crystalis 15
    Descent 18
    Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist 13
    The Genesis of Treasure
    Gunstar Heroes
    McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure
    Dynamite Headdy
    Alien Soldier
    Light Crusader    		 0
    The Grue That Binds
    Border Zone
    Twisted!
    Zork    		 15
    JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future 12
    The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 15
    Lode Runner 12
    Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals 26
    Maniac Mansion 0
    Metroid 14
    Metroid Prime 19
    Mother 3 0
    Red Dead Redemption 0
    Resident Evil (REmake) 0
    Scroll Lock-on
    Einhander
    Ikaruga
    Paradroid
    Raid on Bungeling Bay
    Thunder Force IV    		 14
    Sid Meier’s Pirates! 24
    Space Rogue 0
    StarTropics 15
    Tetris 13
    Threads of Fate 15
    Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater 2 13
    4 votes

  6. Comment on Bookmark management for non-technical people? in ~tech

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Oh, I use folders too within each page. I just like having the separation between the different "types" of bookmarks. In particular, I like having my main, most-used start page be relatively...

    Oh, I use folders too within each page. I just like having the separation between the different "types" of bookmarks. In particular, I like having my main, most-used start page be relatively clean, while my "Basement" is where I can throw a lot of different things without much care for how they're organized. It's like my bookmarks junk drawer, if you will.

  7. Comment on Bookmark management for non-technical people? in ~tech

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    For me, it was one of the options when I went to pay. I can't find anything on the site directly that mentions it. In trying to find a page on it, I did find this StackSocial deal for $50 USD...

    For me, it was one of the options when I went to pay. I can't find anything on the site directly that mentions it.

    In trying to find a page on it, I did find this StackSocial deal for $50 USD instead of $100, so it looks like I overpaid.

  8. Comment on A nationwide LGBTQ+ book ban bill for public schools has been introduced in the US House of Representatives in ~books

    kfwyre
    Link
    This would also kill GSAs/Pride Clubs and any other LGBTQ extracurricular/student organizations.

    “to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material, and for other purposes.”

    This would also kill GSAs/Pride Clubs and any other LGBTQ extracurricular/student organizations.

    7 votes

  9. Comment on What's an obscure book/series that you've read that you would like to recommend? in ~books

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    Great question! I love a hidden gem topic. I look forward to adding a ton of stuff to my reading list. 😁 I set 1,000 Goodreads ratings as a soft threshold for myself and tried to find books I...

    Great question! I love a hidden gem topic. I look forward to adding a ton of stuff to my reading list. 😁

    I set 1,000 Goodreads ratings as a soft threshold for myself and tried to find books I loved around and under that amount.

    Fiction

    A strange, philosophical sci-fi horror book. I honestly don't remember too much about the plot, but I do remember enjoying the book for being unlike anything else I've read. It has a vibe all its own.

    Nonfiction

    I put these together because I see them as sibling books. Both are attempts by Christian authors to address the damage done to the LGBT community in the name of God. Both lead with an ethic of care and accountability. Baldock's book is warm and empathetic, while Johnson's is illuminating: he was a prominent figure in the ex-gay movement before finally admitting that it wasn't working and even he was lying to himself.

    It feels weird to say that a dry, nonfiction book about a US Supreme Court case is "wild," but this book genuinely is. Lawrence v. Texas was the landmark ruling that overturned sodomy laws nationwide, and the details behind it are not quite what I think anyone would expect.

    An earnest, heartfelt portrait of several trans teenagers. As someone who works with kids on the regular, I get to see their vibrance and humanity on the daily, but I recommend this for anyone who doesn't. The author brings them to life for you.

    As someone who knew little about thalidomide beyond its mention in a famous Billy Joel song, this was eye opening. A dark read, especially knowing what we know now.

    Memoir

    A memoir of a homeless man and his dog. Compellingly written and illuminatingly honest. A beautiful story of companionship. His chapter on Dumpster diving gets taught in colleges a lot (or, at least, it used to).

    Comics

    This is aimed at teens (though I think adults can appreciate it too) and is a genuinely fantastic rundown of mental health. The author is a former art teacher, so she's great at communicating ideas visually. If I had a kid I would want them to read this.

    I know it's hard to believe now because we're spoiled for it, but it genuinely used to be hard to find media depictions of gay men. Each of these series has a special place for me in that they were pivotal in helping me see people like me in media after I came out. Leonard and Larry was ahead of its time, being published in the 90s! Kyle's Bed and Breakfast and Shirtlifter were both published in the 2000s and have continued into the 2020s.

    I don't think these are necessarily great by any means, and I wonder if they'd hold up if I read them again today, but I mention them because I think they're valuable products of their time that other queer men my age might appreciate.

    Also, back in the late 00s and early 10s, I used to use KB&B as an example to help straight guys understand what women mean and how they feel when they talk about the "male gaze" as appllied to female characters (particularly in comics). KB&B is that same phenomenon, only it's the "gay male gaze" and it's applied to men. I mean, just look at that baseball uniform. Several guys told me this was genuinely helpful for them to be able to visualize why women might not feel adequately represented with things like T&A poses, form-fitting clothes, exaggerated anatomy, etc.

    • Ursula Vernon's Digger (1,184 ratings)

    You might know Ursula Vernon by her more well-known penname, T. Kingfisher. Before she was writing best-selling fantasy horror books, she put out a philosophical webcomic about a wombat. It's got great black-and-white art, and you will fall in love with the characters over the course of Digger's journey.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Bookmark management for non-technical people? in ~tech

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    Hear hear! I recently went through this too. I kept trying to organize my bookmarks in Firefox but found it cumbersome and hard to do. Something about them being hidden in folders and only...

    Hear hear! I recently went through this too. I kept trying to organize my bookmarks in Firefox but found it cumbersome and hard to do. Something about them being hidden in folders and only accessible as a list made it difficult to get a good overview of everything.

    After trying out several different things, I landed on start.me. It's meant as a homepage for your browser, but I'm using it as, essentially, a visual bookmarks manager. Being able to spread them all out helped me sort and organize them so much easier.

    I also like that I can separate them out into different pages, which has helped me sort my bookmarks by function. My first page is like, everyday navigation stuff: Tildes, AP, Steam, Weather, etc. It also has an "Interesting Links Queue" which is where I drop things that look cool to come back to later.

    My second page has different categories of "sometimes" bookmarks -- things that are more situational.

    My third page is my "Bookmark Basement", which are links that I may or may not ever use again, but I want to have them in case I do need them. There are things that, if I don't keep bookmarked, I don't necessarily trust that I'll be able to find them again. I have stuff in there from years ago.

    Before, all of these were all essentially sharing the same space in my Firefox bookmarks. I had folders and separators and whatnot, but it still felt cluttered. I'm very happy that I'm now able to separate them out.

    It is a paid service, but I'll also add that they have a lifetime option that they don't advertise on their pricing breakdown. For me, it was $100 USD, and after using it for a bit, I was happy to pay it. I'd much rather pay a one-time fee than add yet another subscription.

    I felt comfortable paying for it because I liked their privacy policy which says that they make money from me directly rather than selling my data to others. That feels especially important given how uniquely personal and illuminating an individual's bookmarks are. I don't necessarily trust that some of the other services out there aren't data mining their users.

    Two caveats:

    1. It's definitely a desktop-first platform. Instead of reflowing the site for mobile, it loads the desktop site. They admittedly do have an app, but I haven't tried it out and don't really feel like I need or want a separate app for my bookmarks.

    2. You can export what you've put into start.me in case you ever needed to get everything out, but I don't think you can keep what you're putting in synced with your browser. So, I put all my bookmarks into it and now use that site as my bookmark manager, rather than keeping them in Firefox directly. It's essentially a replacement, rather than working in tandem.

    5 votes

  11. Comment on Happy four years to the Steam Deck in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link
    I'm honestly kind of amazed it's already been four years. The Steam Deck still feels "new" to me, and tech in general seems to age quicker than other things. I haven't loved a gaming device like...

    I'm honestly kind of amazed it's already been four years. The Steam Deck still feels "new" to me, and tech in general seems to age quicker than other things.

    I haven't loved a gaming device like this since my Dreamcast.

    I wasn't ever much of a handheld gamer, but the Wii U (a.k.a. "The Dreamcast of the 2010s") taught me how great it was to play games in the form factor. I spent hours with Splatoon and Rayman Legends on the gamepad, both of which felt absolutely perfect on the device. The Switch continued that trend. Though I loved both of those devices, I kept thinking "this is nice, but I want to play my Steam library!"

    I remember following the SteamBoy Smach Zero Smach Z a decade ago, hoping that it wouldn't be vaporware (it was). I almost bought a GPD Win around the same time as well. I tried a bluetooth controller with a Windows tablet as a DIY version, but it wasn't great.

    The Steam Deck finally gave me everything I was looking for, including the pleasant surprise of it running on Linux. Steam releasing Proton is what finally let me switch to Linux full-time, and I have fond memories of submitting early ProtonDB reports (back when it was just a shared Google Sheet!), delighting in how many games Just Worked™.

    It's truly amazing how far things have come, because these days I don't even bother to submit reports. I'm now surprised when games don't work, rather than being delighted when they do as I had been.

    I think it's also noteworthy that the Steam Deck is arguably the first Linux device that has made significant inroads into non-Linuxy territory. A big chunk of my friends have one, and not a single one of them cares about Linux.

    In parallel to this, I can't tell you how many times over the 2010s I tried to set up a "one stop emulation shop" for all the old systems. I'd spend hours configuring emulators and setting up the controls and optimizing them, only to not really use my setup because it was clunky. I'd then forget about it, and redo it all over again a few years later, excited at all the progress emulators had made since then, and then the exact same thing would happen.

    RetroDECK was the solution I always wanted, and I'm happy to report that I've played far more retro games through it than I ever did through any of the emulators I set up in the decade before. I don't know what it is about early console games, but I simply prefer playing them on a handheld rather than at my PC. They just "fit better" there, you know?

    I think one of the smartest choices for the Steam Deck was having the trackpads. I don't use them often, but whenever I do I'm glad they're tere. They smooth over a lot of the friction that comes with a lot of PC games simply assuming you have a mouse for stuff like menus or whatnot.

    Anyway, I guess it's a testament to the Steam Deck's staying power that I didn't even realize I've had one for FOUR years now (technically a little less since I had to wait a few months in the initial rollout). I love it. I use it all the time. It does everything I want it to do. On the off chance that I run into a game that doesn't play well on it, I can just stream it from the Windows machine I have using Sunshine/Moonlight. I genuinely do feel like I can play anything on it, making it my one-stop-shop not just for emulation, but for gaming in general.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on Steam Next Fest recommendations and game demos in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link
    Someone on r/Steam posted this vibecoded site that tracks the increase in followers for Next Fest games and lets you filter the list of games by different parameters. Might be a useful tool for...

    Someone on r/Steam posted this vibecoded site that tracks the increase in followers for Next Fest games and lets you filter the list of games by different parameters. Might be a useful tool for finding games.

    6 votes

  13. Comment on Magical stones from the mall! in ~talk

    kfwyre
    Link
    Congrats on the win! (And I’d recognize those numbers anywhere 😉) My friend’s wife is into stones for their auras. I’m not sure if she genuinely believes it or if it’s kayfabe, but it makes her...

    Congrats on the win! (And I’d recognize those numbers anywhere 😉)

    My friend’s wife is into stones for their auras. I’m not sure if she genuinely believes it or if it’s kayfabe, but it makes her happy, so I guess they’re working!

    17 votes

  14. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Lobbying Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Yeah, we’ll be picking April - September (unless there’s a tie), but I do like the idea of October leaning in a spooky direction most years. Maniac Mansion or Resident Evil or a spooky Arcade...

    Yeah, we’ll be picking April - September (unless there’s a tie), but I do like the idea of October leaning in a spooky direction most years. Maniac Mansion or Resident Evil or a spooky Arcade Special would be perfect for that.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Lobbying Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I can co-sign on Another World. The game was genuinely ahead of its time. Like, WAY ahead. I’ll always point people to the intro cutscene and then remind everyone that it looked like this in 1991....

    I can co-sign on Another World. The game was genuinely ahead of its time.

    Like, WAY ahead.

    I’ll always point people to the intro cutscene and then remind everyone that it looked like this in 1991.

    For comparison, here is the opening cutscene of another popular 1991 game and is much more in line with what we expected at the time.

    Another World’s fluid, cinematic feel was genuinely unmatched and STILL looks good today, proving for videogames what we know for other media: well-made art truly can be timeless.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Lobbying Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    The lobbying topic was worth it for this comment alone! (That isn’t hyperbole — I genuinely mean it.) I love how much you love retro games, vili. Your enthusiasm is infectious. You do such a good...

    The lobbying topic was worth it for this comment alone! (That isn’t hyperbole — I genuinely mean it.)

    I love how much you love retro games, vili. Your enthusiasm is infectious.

    You do such a good job of capturing the games as experiences that are products of their time. I always come away from your comments with a richer appreciation and understanding of a game that helps me remember it’s more than just another title in my very large library but a whole, valuable thing unto itself. You anchor the game in its context and give it a richer, fuller backdrop than we would get simply playing it in isolation.

    You did a great job of all that here, and I’m happy to let you know that your lobbying was effective! I’ll be voting for Space Rogue (which I admittedly wasn’t planning on doing initially).

    3 votes

  17. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Lobbying Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    CGA is built around the idea of playing the version of a game that works for you, and if Tetris gets selected, I have no doubt that people will play a bunch of different ones rather than...

    CGA is built around the idea of playing the version of a game that works for you, and if Tetris gets selected, I have no doubt that people will play a bunch of different ones rather than coalescing around one single one.

    I myself have Tetrisphere earmarked for if/when it gets picked simply because it always looked cool when I was younger but I didn’t have an N64 and never got to try it. CGA would be the perfect excuse to scratch that decades-long itch!

    So, I’ll keep the month as just Tetris, especially because people have already voted for it. It feels a bit dishonest of me to change their votes after the fact, and I already see it more as an umbrella choice than a specific one anyway, which I think is similar to what you’re after.

    Your vision of the month being one of exploration of a broader Tetris landscape matches mine entirely. If it does get picked, I strongly encourage you to propose this again in the Insert Cartridge topic. Your Tetris expertise always impresses!

    1 vote

  18. Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: February 2026 Lobbying Topic in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I love this. It’s like gaming astrology! XD NES Tetris is my jam, to the point that I’ve got it set up on an emulator on my phone so that if I ever feel like playing it then it’s right there. I...

    I think you can also tell a lot about a person based on what their "definitive" version of Tetris is.

    I love this. It’s like gaming astrology! XD

    NES Tetris is my jam, to the point that I’ve got it set up on an emulator on my phone so that if I ever feel like playing it then it’s right there.

    I usually bring it out when I’m waiting in a doctor’s office. For some reason I don’t fully understand, it’s the absolute perfect waiting room game.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Happy four years to the Steam Deck in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link

    Four years ago today, the original Steam Deck LCD released, with it going on to change how everyone sees handheld gaming PCs and Linux for gaming.

    11 votes