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Captain’s Log — Beginning the Voyage

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I am Captain Mastodon, and together with my faithful airship, Livyatan, we chart paths across the multiverse. These are the chronicles of our journeys, the crew we gather, and the worlds we traverse. Every sight, every challenge, every curious encounter will be noted here — the story of this voyage as we experience it. This log records not only my travels through other worlds, but also the lessons I gather along the way to help craft my own. From strange lands to familiar reflections, I record what fascinates me, what teaches me, and what will shape the worlds yet to come. Here you will find the chronicles of my explorations: reflections on the worlds we encounter, thoughts that arise from the voyage itself, and any notes that might guide the creation of new realms. Every post is a step in the journey, and this log will grow as the adventure continues. —  Mastodon, from the helm of Livyatan
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Real-Time, Limited Control: Pokémon ZA Reflections

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I started playing Pokémon ZA and got caught up in the hype around its “real-time combat.” Trailers even used the phrase, and so did fans—but very quickly, I noticed something odd: it’s real-time… but it doesn’t always play that way. The game moves continuously, yes, but the moment-to-moment interaction—the ability to influence the fight—often falls short. The first fight, right after picking your level 5 starter, makes this painfully obvious. You have two moves— Tackle and a status move of some kind—and the enemy immediately charges at you. The moment seems like it should feel alive. You expect to dodge, move, and react—but in practice, it doesn’t work that way. Even though it’s “real-time,” the fight still plays like classic Pokémon: who can land a Tackle first usually wins. Close-range attacks hit unless you swap Pokémon at precisely the right moment, and most attacks aren’t avoidable in any meaningful sense. The game is real-time in name, but it often ignores the “time” part w...
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The World of Deltarune: Chapter 1 And 2 Reflections.

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Why Choices Don’t Matter in Deltarune (And Why That Matters) From the very first moment, Deltarune tells you something Undertale never did: your choices don’t matter. You build a character only for it to be discarded. Dialogue options vanish before you can click them. The game sets the tone immediately—it’s not about you. I finally got around to starting Deltarune after putting it off for way too long—like a lot of things in my life—and that realization hit me hard. What I’ve noticed is this subtle, almost philosophical distinction: there’s a difference between having your CHOICES not matter and having THEM not matter. And that difference seems to define why Deltarune feels so different from Undertale . Undertale was about you; Deltarune is about them. In Undertale , your choices don’t just matter mechanically—they matter existentially. Even though the story has a linear backbone, it builds this illusion that every action you take is your action in the world. Sparing someone, kill...
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