#minimizing losses

[askagamedev]

Thank you for freely sharing your expertise with the public! When a game is not performant or seems to have trickling support on release, some online users will speculate that "the publishers don't care now that the shareholders have their money." This seems counterintuitive to me. I'd anticipate that releasing a poor product - even if it led to a short-term windfall - would be terrible long-term business management. We gamers can be quick to impugn motives, but is there any truth to that?

The answer is "sometimes". Generally speaking, no one plans or wants to release a poor product, nor is anyone pleased that a poor product is released. However, when you already know that the product is going to be a dud, it makes sense to try to minimize the damage. We can observe this kind of "harm reduction" in other industries too. For example, movies that the studios do not have much confidence in will often purposely embargo movie reviews until release day to minimize their potential audience from being turned off by negative reviews.

This occasionally happens with video games as well, and for the same reason - the decisionmakers on the production side know it's a bad product and they've decided it's worth the damage to the reputation to recoup a little more money from their investments. They are choosing to make a trade - their reputation for less financial damage. As a result, the companies who have the best reputations are the ones that have the most to lose from this tactic. Conversely, those with middling or bad reputations have the least risk in doing this. The necessity of such a decision often depends heavily on the state of the publisher's financials.

The thing is that no one in this situation, not the shareholders, not the publishing executives, not the marketing team, not the development team, is actually pleased by this. This tactic isn't going to result in a profit unless you can keep development and marketing costs way down, and that's only happening with shovelware (which moved to the mobile space because of the costs involved). This is damage control, where the publisher knows it failed and is just trying to reduce the damage they know is incoming. Nobody wants to get punched in the face, but if the punch is unavoidable, you may as well try to roll with it to reduce the damage taken.

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[imagining-in-the-margins]

Emily Prentiss, Criminal Minds: S4E3 “Minimal Loss” and S4E17 “Demonology” // Frank Bidart, “Half-light”

[marril96]

Criminal Minds 4.03 | Minimal Loss

[toskarin]

my opinions on what counts as a roguelite seem less random if you keep in mind that I think it's more important for genres to help people find specific things than for them to be 100% consistent across eras, cultures, and creative waves

[frankiebirds]

[youbutstupid]

Spencer Reid try not to get trapped in a life threatening situation challenge

[songofsunset]

Tips for talking to someone with hearing loss

(this is what helps when people are talking to me, and when I'm talking to my relatives)

Make sure they can see your mouth. Lip-reading helps with clarity, and facing them while you talk also helps a lot with volume. People are really bad about getting your attention, starting to say something, then turning away mid sentence. Stay facing them the whole time!!! (People are the worst about this while we are shopping together!)

Be comfortable with repeating yourself. Either they will ask you to repeat yourself, or you will realize they misheard you. Both of these are fine- just repeat yourself clearly and make sure they can see your face while you do. "Never mind" makes me sad :(

If someone misheard you: try rewording your sentence! Maybe certain sounds are harder for them to hear than other sounds. Instead of "grab that shampoo!" three times at increasing volume, try "grab that blue bottle, the one next to the conditioner" or "I like that dandruff shampoo up there, can you put it in the cart?" There are a lot of ways to rephrase things that will give the person you're talking to more chances to understand, and it feels much less patronizing for everyone. And make sure you're facing them so they can see your mouth!!!

If someone misheard you: try a Yes, And approach. If your grandma didn't understand your question and starts telling you an unrelated story, enjoy it! When she is finished, thank her, and then try asking your question again with more clarity, or worded differently. "No, that's not what I said" is much less enjoyable for everyone involved.

Enjoy your conversation! Not everything needs to be understood perfectly. The important thing is that you are spending time together and talking to each other. Each conversation is a journey and you will get there in the end!!!

[dragondawdles]

[ID: short animated GIF of izutsumi from dungeon meshi. she runs angled left with swinging arms, a swishing white-tipped tail, and a somewhat sour determination in her expression. the limited color palette is tinted warm and a paper texture overlays the piece. end ID]

izutzoomys

[madeofbees]

true fans know the episode 😏😏

[bizarrescribblez]

I found this poor creature abandoned on the streets. it was malnourished and had no tags so i took it in i had to wake up every 2 hours to feed it raw energy . and after a month of care my creature looks so much healthier !

JOKE CAPTION ASIDE HIIII wanted to do this silly post aw1 vs pre aw2 me for sillies.. + added forehead scar for lore reasons :) will draw actual ship stuff soon I JUST WANTED TO DRAW THIS HEHEHE

and heres close ups teehee :))

[twosignificantfigures]

unfortunately for emily prentiss, the episodes where she gets kidnapped or hurt (physically or emotionally) in the line of duty are some of the best episodes of criminal minds

[overpoweredcacti]

Spoilers for 17x09

If i had a dollar every time Emily was in a cult compound wired to explode I would have two dollars. Which is not a lot but it's weird it has happened twice.

[lemurious]

Alcibiades the most exasperatingly brilliant commander. "Oh yeah, I was supposed to bring reinforcements, so what if I'm late, it's your problem for not waiting for me, but now that I'm here, how about we take this strategically important town instead?" And then he goes ahead and does just that.

(Donald Kagan, The Peloponnesian War)

---

Text:

When the Athenians finally arrived, too few and too late, the Argive magistrates (who must have been oligarchs) sent them away, refusing to let them appear before the assembly. With breathtaking boldness Alcibiades, who had accompanied the force in the role of ambassador, made no apology for the Athenians' tardy arrival, but complained that the Argives had no right to make a truce without consulting the allies. Instead, he insisted, the allies should resume the war, since the Athenians were now there. Elis, Mantinea, and the other allies were easily persuaded, and the entire alliance decided to attack Orchomenus in Arcadia, a key position that could block an army coming from the Isthmus of Corinth and beyond from reaching the central and southern Peloponnesus. After some delay the Argives joined the siege of Orchomenus, which did not hold out for long and entered the new alliance. Even without a formal command Alcibiades had thwarted his Athenian rivals and given new life to the quadruple alliance.

[marril96]

Criminal Minds 4.03 | Minimal Loss

[laughinglikeakid]

4x03: Minimal Loss — I can take it

[frankiebirds]