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Babylon Bee

A great number of us have played games in extra-difficult modes (or in the case of Kingdom Hearts, Proud Mode) to challenge ourselves. Now, a Stardew Valley player has created a “hardcore” option for the otherwise chill game, one that will delete the save files of any player who uses a guide while playing the game on PC.

According to GamesRadar, software engineer Sylvie Nightshade created the high difficulty mod on June 21 after reading an article published the day before on the satirical website Hard Drive, the gaming version of The Onion. The article in question joked about a “hardcore mode” in Stardew Valley that will delete players’ hard grown farms if they dare read the wiki at any point during gameplay. That same day, Nightshade quote-tweeted the article on X with the link to the mod in GitHub announcing that she turned the joke into reality.

The mod works by scanning the title of every window or tab that is open while Stardew Valley is running. If any window title includes “Stardew Valley Wiki” in the title, it erases everything the player has worked hard to achieve, forcing them to start from square one without using the guide. Nightshade even updated the mod so that it not only deletes the player’s save file but also closes the browser window the wiki was found in “just to add insult to injury.”

Hardcore mode being programmed into Stardew Valley is another case of life imitating art after Hello Kitty Island Adventure launched on Apple Arcade 17 years after it was mentioned as a joke in the South Park episode “Make Love, Not Warcraft.” Here’s a tip: If you play Stardew Valley on hardcore mode on your computer but use the guide on your phone, you should be safe.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-difficulty-mod-in-stardew-valley-will-purge-your-saves-if-you-use-a-guide-175521779.html?src=rssEngadget

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Babylon Bee

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Babylon Bee

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AppleInsider News

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This is some awesome community service from a kick-butt family.

Not the Bee

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Gizmodo

A relational database is more than a data bank, it’s a profound philosophical expression.
This is the second and final part of “Lessons From 20 Years Hacking MySQL”.

Planet MySQL

I vividly remember 2004 when I decided to specialize in MySQL because the year before I was homeless and living in my car.
It’s been a long road and an amazing journey ever since.

Planet MySQL

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Many job openings in UX assume very specific roles with very specific skills. Product designers should be skilled in Figma. Researchers should know how to conduct surveys. UX writers must be able to communicate brand values.

This article is part of our ongoing series on UX. You might want to take a look at Smart Interface Design Patterns 🍣 and the upcoming live UX training as well. Use code BIRDIE to save 15% off.

The Many Roles In UX

Successful candidates must neatly fit within established roles and excel at tools and workflows that are perceived as the best practice in the industry — from user needs to business needs and from the problem space to the solution space.

There is nothing wrong with that, of course. However, many companies don’t exactly know what expertise they actually need until they find the right person who actually has it. But too often, job openings don’t allow for any flexibility unless the candidate checks off the right boxes.

In fact, typically, UX roles have to fit into some of those rigorously defined and refined boxes:

“V”-Shaped Designers Don’t Fit Into Boxes

Job openings typically cast a very restrictive frame for candidates. It comes with a long list of expectations and requirements, mostly aimed at T-shaped designers — experts in one area of UX, with a high-level understanding of adjacent areas and perhaps a dash of expertise in business and operations.

But as Brad Frost noted, people don’t always fit squarely into a specific discipline. Their value comes not from staying within the boundaries of their roles but from intentionally crossing these boundaries. They are “V”-shaped — experts in one or multiple areas, with a profound understanding and immense curiosity in adjacent areas.

In practice, they excel at bridging the gaps and connecting the dots. They establish design KPIs and drive accessibility efforts. They streamline handoff and scale design systems. But to drive success, they need to rely on specialists, their T-shaped colleagues.

Shaping Your Own Boxes

I sincerely wish more companies would encourage their employees to shape their own boxes instead of defining confined boxes for them — their own unique boxes of any form and shade and color and size employees desire, along with deliverables that other teams would benefit from and could build upon.

🏔️ Hiring? → Maybe replace a long list of mandatory requirements with an open invitation to apply, even if it’s not a 100% match — as long as a candidate believes they can do their best work for the job at hand.

🎢 Seek a challenge? → Don’t feel restricted by your current role in a company. Explore where you drive the highest impact, shape this role, and suggest it.

✅ Searching for a job? → Don’t get discouraged if you don’t tick all the boxes in a promising job opening. Apply! Just explain in fine detail what you bring to the table.

You’ve got this — and good luck, everyone! ✊🏽

Meet Smart Interface Design Patterns

If you are interested in UX and design patterns, take a look at Smart Interface Design Patterns, our 10h-video course with 100s of practical examples from real-life projects — with a live UX training later this year. Everything from mega-dropdowns to complex enterprise tables — with 5 new segments added every year. Jump to a free preview.

Meet Smart Interface Design Patterns, our video course on interface design & UX.

100 design patterns & real-life examples.
10h-video course + live UX training. Free preview.

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