Aven Gonzalez (They/Them)

Y'all I've been surprisingly excited to be putting together this last minute lecture about #boardgame #gamedesign for my students this Friday. My partner understood everything with zero education about game design. I just might be okay at this teaching thing.

@pjmegaw Suffice to say instead of wasting energy begrudging or being sad about people that don't want to be around anymore, invest in the relationships that reciprocate your energy investment. Those are you people. And we don't get very many of those in life.

@pjmegaw I've lost plenty of people in a similar manner because Los Angeles is a very busy, very ephemeral environment. And a lot of folks are just focusing on spending time with people who are going to advantage them in some way. But that's a whole ass Ted talk.

Is it losing someone if they’ve pushed you away?

@metrolosangeles Usually later in the evening after 10:30 p.m. (although this past incident was Just before my previous tweet). Appreciate the follow up.

@BardOfMany So sorry to hear about your recent experience! Does this typically happen around the same time? We will be sure to notify proper staff.

Hey @metrolosangeles , Do I have to wear a construction vest just to get noticed by your buses? I have been abandoned by the 180 line between Glendale and Pasadena five times in the last 2 weeks. Your drivers need to do better. #publictransit #LosAngeles

It's the bicycle isn't? It's okay to be honest. I know it's very popular to hate on bicycles in Los Angeles.

A wild #bard appears! 20min post COVID sketch to get my brain back into art mode. Drawn from the phenomenal @theposearchives If you don't already follow this account you should. It's an amazing reference for artists of all skill levels. 💕 #visdev #shortfilm #latinartist

@TobiasMcCurry Because Los Angeles is always in a constant flex between "everything is on fire" to "hey we would really like to be on fire right now please?"

About to go from the Seattle Freeze to the Los Angeles holy shit why is it still warm in November, baybee!

Also for the record I am Xaya because I am the femme adc in our relationship. ;p

Finally got to play as Rakan and Xaya with my partner and yes it was cute goddamit. 🫠 I don't know if couples gaming was the intent when they were designed But it definitely works for that purpose. #LeagueOfLegends

@POTUS Oh look. The white house showing that is is completely out of touch with average Americans. I am SHOCKED

I always say it's a mistake to bet against the American people, and today's report showing our economy grew by 4.9% proves that right. Our economy is growing, and inflation is coming down. And it's thanks to the resilience of Americans and my plan to grow the middle class.

So make your turns count. And make sure to count your turns. That is the path to making the game feel good regardless of how long it takes to play. 😊🎲🎮 #boardgames #gamedesign

Ergo: you cannot control playtime. But you CAN control the turn and action economy of your game. That number will always be consistent because those are the mechanics that you design and you control. #gamedesign #boardgames

Because everybody will play your game at their own pace, You're only setting yourself up for failure if you promise people a specific time. (But that gets into a marketing wormhole for a different thread) #gamedesign #boardgames

I've been dealing with this issue a lot in class because there is a hard limit of 20 minutes for their first projects and many of them don't know how to get there. So I broke from the curriculum and gave them the method I use for myself: measure turns not time. #gamedesign

And because I'm on a roll grading papers: let's talk about game length. Because crikey is that a hot button issue in #videogames and #boardgames. My hot controversial take is this: if you design and measure your game by minutes played you will always be wrong. #gamedesign

Internet has been out for the entire day which is frustrating... But on the plus side I live in Pasadena so there are copious amounts of beautiful places with Wi-Fi in walking distance depending on how far one wants to ramble. #pasadena #mobileoffice #cafe

To elaborate: It is okay to have some random elements in your game to create variety, but the player should ALWAYS have a way to strategically opt out for reliable momentum. Give your players opportunities to make smart choices and they will love you for it. #boardgames #design

Me: "Any questions before we part ways?" My Students: "How do we get an A on this game?" Me: "Don't let dice rolls and RNG replace player agency. These are the hallmarks of lazy game design and the board game industry is full of it..." #boardgames #design #gamedev