General Opinions on Hydras

[Cook]

I've seen some people hate them, I've seen some people love them. Why do you think what you think? I'd love to hear.

[Ythan]

I think they are fun to play in.

[Doctor Drew]

I used to despise playing with them, basically had to solve two(or more) people instead of one, especially frustrating when the heads are in disagreement.

Turned into a meme that I hated all of them, which I have leaned into. Now I don't hate them as much, but still lean towards the belief it is slightly unfair to the rest of the player list.

But also, fuck it......if you enjoy being in a hydra than you do you.

[Thestatusquo]

My views are already scattered amongst many other threads. Basically i have a moderate take: i hate them and i think they are horrible.

[Invisibility]

I haven't had much fun playing with or as them and they make games take longer to fill than they should

[Umlaut]

I won't play in one and I don't allow them in the games I run. I won't refuse to play a game just because it has a hydra in it but I will roll my eyes and sigh heavily.

[Umlaut]

I mean, I might play a game that was specifically themed around hydrae but that's different (and also I haven't actually done that).

[mykonian]

It was a mistake to allow them. The effort is all on the non hydra players. Any kind of tells you may have are going to be seen through a slightly opaque screen as heads discuss what they post.

Its arrogant, but I think people who say they are fun to play in are missing the point. Mafia is hard psycholically, by design. You don't know who is honestly arguing with you, who is buttering you up. You may hate lying, or feel scared you are being hunted. The pressure is real. Mafia is a game where you can innocently play with those feelings.

You could take the pressure off by playing with a friend, someone you know you can trust. It will feel better, but you've also just reduced the game to a hollow game of deduction.

[Ythan]

Finding them fun does not mean that one misses the point of other perspectives but you did disclaim that take as arrogant so, fair.

[humaneatingmonkey]

i value community more than anything else, so hydras are a yay more than a nay for me. it's a fun way to bond, play, and get to know a friend. it can even be a good way to buddy cop with a newbie so they can integrate better with said community. said buddy cop dynamic could make it harder for either to flake on each other, and they'd spend more time on the site. gamewise, the slot with the hydra would probably less flaky as well and more active.

this assumes hydras in general create a more engaging, inclusive, and enjoyable experience. it might not be like this in practice, and some nerd can do some mock study and publish their findings. if the hydras are actually bunk then we should just quietly discourage it by blacklisting it for the games we mod -- it's the mod's call anyway. what's it called? wisdom or some shit like that.

[Cook]

wotm. wisdom of the mod.

another line that you don't see too often about hydras is the potential for mod hydras. the power of two or more people running a mechanically complex game can possibly reduce error if they split up the work.

[humaneatingmonkey]

sounds dope.

what are you collecting this information for, by the way?

[Invisibility]

mod hydras are cool

[Ythan]

Mod hydras are cool.

[Morning Tweet]

[fferyllt]

Looks like the pro-hydra members are shrinking in numbers, or aren't speaking up as much.

I think it's great to have games of both sorts: allow/don't allow hydras. As hydra games have become less common, I put most of my effort and time into hydra games both as a player and a designer/mod.

[Alianna]

Guess I'll speak up then - I like playing as them and am neutral about playing with them. I agree it's good to have both types of games on the site so that people who like hydras can play as them/with them and so people who don't can avoid them.

[Cook]

Looks like the pro-hydra members are shrinking in numbers, or aren't speaking up as much.

I think it's great to have games of both sorts: allow/don't allow hydras. As hydra games have become less common, I put most of my effort and time into hydra games both as a player and a designer/mod.

time to make a game only with hydras in it

[Ythan]

I know it's a little late but you don't have a chance to use hydrae every day

[Cook]

this is true!

[JasonWazza]

The effort is all on the non hydra players. Any kind of tells you may have are going to be seen through a slightly opaque screen as heads discuss what they post.

So my opinion is kinda the opposite of the above, i find Hydra's easier to read, because generally speaking, you can focus in on one head, they still have all their tells, they are just more flipfloppy on their reads because they do have someone they can fully trust also giving them reads.

All this of course assumes that they are actually signing their posts like they should, but overall I think it actually makes it harder for the Hydra to hide as Town/Scum.

That said, i also don't think the above is good for the health of the game overall, and (slightly tangential point here) given the lack of games already running, they probably should be mostly shelved, as it's already relatively hard to get a game running by the looks of things (at least that's my opinion from having returned recently)

[Invisibility]

one time I did a hydra with Myloninja13 and we got scumread for being inconsistent because we didn't sign our posts and we didn't communicate with each other at all. It was funny

[beatrixmartin]

They are very interesting, I also play with them

[Enchant]

My valuable opinion