Nathalie Lawhead
@alienmelon.bsky.social
i make experimental games, net-art, and software ~Tetrageddon, Everything is going to be OK, Electric Zine Maker, BlueSuburbia…
🔥 http://tetrageddon.com
🦄 http://unicornycopia.com
🐘 alienmelon@mastodon.social
🌈 they/them ⭐️🦜
🔥 http://tetrageddon.com
🦄 http://unicornycopia.com
🐘 alienmelon@mastodon.social
🌈 they/them ⭐️🦜
Pinned
Nathalie Lawhead
@alienmelon.bsky.social
· Aug 26
individualism in the dead-internet age: an anti-big tech asset flip shovelware r̶a̶n̶t̶ manifesto
alienmelon.itch.io/shovelware
"This is an interactive-essay-meets-walking-sim about technocapitalism and the things we lost along the way."
🦴💕✨🐛💥
#GameDev #IndieGame #IndieGames #IndieGameDev #LiminalSpace
alienmelon.itch.io/shovelware
"This is an interactive-essay-meets-walking-sim about technocapitalism and the things we lost along the way."
🦴💕✨🐛💥
#GameDev #IndieGame #IndieGames #IndieGameDev #LiminalSpace
code is much easier to write than it is to read.
December 29, 2025 at 9:26 AM
code is much easier to write than it is to read.
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
It's time to make that game you've always wanted to make! 🕹
#screenshotsaturday #rpginabox #gamedev #indiedev
#screenshotsaturday #rpginabox #gamedev #indiedev
December 28, 2025 at 12:13 AM
It's time to make that game you've always wanted to make! 🕹
#screenshotsaturday #rpginabox #gamedev #indiedev
#screenshotsaturday #rpginabox #gamedev #indiedev
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
irregular reminder that you can support my work on patreon www.patreon.com/alienmelon
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
Get more from Nathalie Lawhead on Patreon
creating Games
www.patreon.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:44 AM
irregular reminder that you can support my work on patreon www.patreon.com/alienmelon
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
Wrote about haunted dolls and the weird mash up of different Silent Hill traditions of haunting in this one!
There's nothing more festive than Frankenstein. In this month's Unwinnable Monthly, read @orringrey.com's feature on the creature as well as our regular columnists' latest thoughts. Happy holidays!
Buy: unwinnable.bigcartel.com/product/unwi...
Subscribe: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
Buy: unwinnable.bigcartel.com/product/unwi...
Subscribe: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
December 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Wrote about haunted dolls and the weird mash up of different Silent Hill traditions of haunting in this one!
body piercing 👍 because impaling random parts of your body with gold and gemstones fixes everything 😙
December 28, 2025 at 4:36 PM
body piercing 👍 because impaling random parts of your body with gold and gemstones fixes everything 😙
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
The philosophy I follow for my 90s renders is "lighting hasn't have to look realistic, it has to look good". Colored light sources are my best friend for this^^
December 28, 2025 at 12:06 PM
The philosophy I follow for my 90s renders is "lighting hasn't have to look realistic, it has to look good". Colored light sources are my best friend for this^^
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
gamedev note: the magic of a video game atmosphere lies in the lighting. a grip on good lighting fundamentals is what makes an environment evocative. 👍
screenshots from today.
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
December 28, 2025 at 8:48 AM
gamedev note: the magic of a video game atmosphere lies in the lighting. a grip on good lighting fundamentals is what makes an environment evocative. 👍
gamedev note: the magic of a video game atmosphere lies in the lighting. a grip on good lighting fundamentals is what makes an environment evocative. 👍
screenshots from today.
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
December 28, 2025 at 8:48 AM
gamedev note: the magic of a video game atmosphere lies in the lighting. a grip on good lighting fundamentals is what makes an environment evocative. 👍
irregular reminder that you can support my work on patreon www.patreon.com/alienmelon
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
Get more from Nathalie Lawhead on Patreon
creating Games
www.patreon.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:44 AM
irregular reminder that you can support my work on patreon www.patreon.com/alienmelon
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
and i hope with that new release that i’m working on, it will be worth it 💕
(support also goes toward writing)
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
screenshots from today.
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
December 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM
screenshots from today.
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
screenshots from today.
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
December 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM
screenshots from today.
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
i'm working on the ending now! the rest of the world is done.
after that i have to do audio and music...
also a big thanks to this video for explaining the missing pieces of procedural content generation www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWK...
#GameDev
i am so sick and fucking tired of being called crazy (literally having my sanity publicly ridiculed)… especially by the progressive game journalism crowd of all people. they would absolutely never stand for it if anyone did to them what they did to me.
because i got more shit about it, like i'm making this stuff up...
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
“Abusing you was by the book” (documenting two years of abuse from Game Journalism, after sharing my #metoo… the whole painful story all in one place)
www.nathalielawhead.com
December 26, 2025 at 5:09 PM
i am so sick and fucking tired of being called crazy (literally having my sanity publicly ridiculed)… especially by the progressive game journalism crowd of all people. they would absolutely never stand for it if anyone did to them what they did to me.
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
because i got more shit about it, like i'm making this stuff up...
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
“Abusing you was by the book” (documenting two years of abuse from Game Journalism, after sharing my #metoo… the whole painful story all in one place)
www.nathalielawhead.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
because i got more shit about it, like i'm making this stuff up...
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
because i got more shit about it, like i'm making this stuff up...
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
“Abusing you was by the book” (documenting two years of abuse from Game Journalism, after sharing my #metoo… the whole painful story all in one place)
www.nathalielawhead.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
because i got more shit about it, like i'm making this stuff up...
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
i updated this with a handful more screenshots illustrating the way this has been getting dunked on by game journalists on bluesky now
www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/abu...
i told the truth about how i was treated.
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
My GOTY this year is Magic Garden :)
I pick a GOTY based on what I've discovered this year, not what came out this year, and UFO 50 has been an absolute gem. Still only tried about a third of the games!
I pick a GOTY based on what I've discovered this year, not what came out this year, and UFO 50 has been an absolute gem. Still only tried about a third of the games!
December 24, 2025 at 8:59 AM
My GOTY this year is Magic Garden :)
I pick a GOTY based on what I've discovered this year, not what came out this year, and UFO 50 has been an absolute gem. Still only tried about a third of the games!
I pick a GOTY based on what I've discovered this year, not what came out this year, and UFO 50 has been an absolute gem. Still only tried about a third of the games!
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
i posted about all my favorite games from this year. i hope you will fall in love with them too!
One whole year of video game recommendations: www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/one...
"The international indiegame scene is full of undiscovered gems. They are waiting for you to find them."
#IndieGames
One whole year of video game recommendations: www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/one...
"The international indiegame scene is full of undiscovered gems. They are waiting for you to find them."
#IndieGames
December 20, 2025 at 2:48 PM
i posted about all my favorite games from this year. i hope you will fall in love with them too!
One whole year of video game recommendations: www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/one...
"The international indiegame scene is full of undiscovered gems. They are waiting for you to find them."
#IndieGames
One whole year of video game recommendations: www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/one...
"The international indiegame scene is full of undiscovered gems. They are waiting for you to find them."
#IndieGames
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
I do my best to keep this starter pack up to date as folks join bsky or become more/less active, so if your feed is short on people who think cool thoughts check it out
December 24, 2025 at 7:17 AM
I do my best to keep this starter pack up to date as folks join bsky or become more/less active, so if your feed is short on people who think cool thoughts check it out
i feel like it’s going to go out of fashion to disclose if media was made with AI, and it’s going to be more common to assure people that no AI was used. kinda like the “organic” label is with food but with media. 😆🥲
December 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
i feel like it’s going to go out of fashion to disclose if media was made with AI, and it’s going to be more common to assure people that no AI was used. kinda like the “organic” label is with food but with media. 😆🥲
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
I wrote an article about dialogue choice as part of a narrative designer’s toolkit *aside* from branching, instead considering how choice can invite us to *perform* a character.
My case study is South of Circle’s beautiful fuzzy meaning-making (using symbols instead of words). 💜 Give it a go!
My case study is South of Circle’s beautiful fuzzy meaning-making (using symbols instead of words). 💜 Give it a go!
We're just over the moon to be sharing this with you: the one and only @hannahnicklin.bsky.social on South of the Circle and how developers use in-game choices to give players space in which to perform the story.
www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/per...
www.gamerswithglasses.com/features/per...
Performing Peter: South of the Circle and Fuzzy Choice — Gamers with Glasses
How do game designers make player choices feel meaningful? Hannah Nicklin, author of Writing for Games: Theory and Practice , describes here how the act of choosing allows players to perform a charac...
www.gamerswithglasses.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I wrote an article about dialogue choice as part of a narrative designer’s toolkit *aside* from branching, instead considering how choice can invite us to *perform* a character.
My case study is South of Circle’s beautiful fuzzy meaning-making (using symbols instead of words). 💜 Give it a go!
My case study is South of Circle’s beautiful fuzzy meaning-making (using symbols instead of words). 💜 Give it a go!
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
LETIBUS ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 23! The community from Letibus Club Discord made a puzzle for each day. For today, @tyzone.bsky.social made a double feature of puzzles using the Abdec system. Post-game knowledge is required for the second one.
December 23, 2025 at 9:44 AM
LETIBUS ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 23! The community from Letibus Club Discord made a puzzle for each day. For today, @tyzone.bsky.social made a double feature of puzzles using the Abdec system. Post-game knowledge is required for the second one.
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
“It’s not a linear journey! Game development is as much about self reflection, exploration, and curiosity, as it is about all the other seemingly impersonal technical things involved in making something.”
i posted about all my favorite games from this year. i hope you will fall in love with them too!
One whole year of video game recommendations: www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/one...
"The international indiegame scene is full of undiscovered gems. They are waiting for you to find them."
#IndieGames
One whole year of video game recommendations: www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/one...
"The international indiegame scene is full of undiscovered gems. They are waiting for you to find them."
#IndieGames
December 22, 2025 at 6:30 AM
“It’s not a linear journey! Game development is as much about self reflection, exploration, and curiosity, as it is about all the other seemingly impersonal technical things involved in making something.”
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
this can still be on your GOTY list if you loosen your concept of calendar
Curious typo Anthology of the Killer wasn’t on all GOTY lists🏆 Turns out games dont need 'gameplay loops' and 'juice' they can just be thoughtful, singular and filled with a palpable excitement to exist
store.steampowered.com/app/3212530/Anthology_Of_The_Killer
store.steampowered.com/app/3212530/Anthology_Of_The_Killer
December 22, 2025 at 8:47 PM
this can still be on your GOTY list if you loosen your concept of calendar
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
Yes! I love writing about films I really liked, why and about the process of how they were made. It's really fun to share the craft with others in it and learn from each other.
imo more game developers should write about games because nothing beats the types of observations you get from people that know the craft analyzing each other’s work.
there’s definitely interest in it, like it sometimes leads to paid opportunities…
there’s definitely interest in it, like it sometimes leads to paid opportunities…
December 22, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Yes! I love writing about films I really liked, why and about the process of how they were made. It's really fun to share the craft with others in it and learn from each other.
imo more game developers should write about games because nothing beats the types of observations you get from people that know the craft analyzing each other’s work.
there’s definitely interest in it, like it sometimes leads to paid opportunities…
there’s definitely interest in it, like it sometimes leads to paid opportunities…
December 22, 2025 at 10:30 AM
imo more game developers should write about games because nothing beats the types of observations you get from people that know the craft analyzing each other’s work.
there’s definitely interest in it, like it sometimes leads to paid opportunities…
there’s definitely interest in it, like it sometimes leads to paid opportunities…
Reposted by Nathalie Lawhead
Any time you work on anything, you are going to hit those "UH OH" moments where your stomach drops as you see a similar project that makes yours feel derivative and uninteresting and doomed to fail.
That's normal! Regroup, adapt, persevere! Your perspective has value!
That's normal! Regroup, adapt, persevere! Your perspective has value!
Reposting with alt text because I felt it too important no to share
December 22, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Any time you work on anything, you are going to hit those "UH OH" moments where your stomach drops as you see a similar project that makes yours feel derivative and uninteresting and doomed to fail.
That's normal! Regroup, adapt, persevere! Your perspective has value!
That's normal! Regroup, adapt, persevere! Your perspective has value!