@babykelp.bsky.social
Reposted
Deflection against criticisms in action games (and maybe all games) can basically be summed up into 3 points which are repeated constantly in slightly different words :
1. Learn to deal with this flaw bro!
2. Old games have (a less extreme ver of) this flaw!
3. The flaw doesn't ALWAYS show up!
1. Learn to deal with this flaw bro!
2. Old games have (a less extreme ver of) this flaw!
3. The flaw doesn't ALWAYS show up!
November 15, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Deflection against criticisms in action games (and maybe all games) can basically be summed up into 3 points which are repeated constantly in slightly different words :
1. Learn to deal with this flaw bro!
2. Old games have (a less extreme ver of) this flaw!
3. The flaw doesn't ALWAYS show up!
1. Learn to deal with this flaw bro!
2. Old games have (a less extreme ver of) this flaw!
3. The flaw doesn't ALWAYS show up!
Reposted
New article: one thing from every inkle game that we failed to explain clearly enough, and how often we've been made to regret it.
You can’t underestimate everyone
Here is a quick list of features in inkle games which we failed to tutorialise or remind players of enough. The data is empirically backed…
medium.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
New article: one thing from every inkle game that we failed to explain clearly enough, and how often we've been made to regret it.
Reposted
BRAZILIAN SAMUS?!?!?!??!???!
?
?
Being a soccer fan, he was also responsible for the 'Aran' part of Samus' name, drawn from Brazilian soccer legend Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known by his nickname 'Pelé'.
October 19, 2024 at 11:52 PM
BRAZILIAN SAMUS?!?!?!??!???!
?
?
Reposted
re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...
Apologia for Game Wikis | Mixed Initiatives
mixedinitiatives.net
November 14, 2025 at 10:08 PM
re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...
Reposted
The thing about all the big shooters right now being compromised by AI workflows and coming out of BDS-targeted publishers is that STRAFTAT is free and just received a major update adding 50+ new maps.
November 14, 2025 at 10:11 PM
The thing about all the big shooters right now being compromised by AI workflows and coming out of BDS-targeted publishers is that STRAFTAT is free and just received a major update adding 50+ new maps.
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Consider the example in that Metroid article that's making the rounds. Having a voice tell you "hey, I think you might've missed something" when you bypass a save room doesn't teach the player to look out for save rooms. It teaches them to listen for instructions.
www.eurogamer.net/metroid-prim...
www.eurogamer.net/metroid-prim...
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond delivers the series' trademark gameplay in spades, but I fear one very annoying addition might derail the whole thing
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has plenty of the good stuff. It also has an incredibly annoying, incredibly un-Metroid sidekick who won't shut up.
www.eurogamer.net
November 14, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Consider the example in that Metroid article that's making the rounds. Having a voice tell you "hey, I think you might've missed something" when you bypass a save room doesn't teach the player to look out for save rooms. It teaches them to listen for instructions.
www.eurogamer.net/metroid-prim...
www.eurogamer.net/metroid-prim...
Reposted
this is the ideal tutorial. you may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like
November 14, 2025 at 9:42 PM
this is the ideal tutorial. you may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like
Reposted
this is so cart-before-horse to me. i don't accept that people's attention spans are shorter in a way that has to matter. the problem is that we keep thinking that and "complying in advance" with the imagined boogieman of "people not paying attention nowadays". nothing done in that direction helps
You wanna know why we're having nag line discourse in 2025? Because developers know we're fighting an attention economy war we'll lose no matter what. Players don't read, have TikTok open next to them, god forbid we are scared you miss something and then blame us for not giving you all the info.
November 14, 2025 at 9:10 PM
this is so cart-before-horse to me. i don't accept that people's attention spans are shorter in a way that has to matter. the problem is that we keep thinking that and "complying in advance" with the imagined boogieman of "people not paying attention nowadays". nothing done in that direction helps
Reposted
re prime 4 discourse, todasy is as good a time as any to say:
video games talk AT you way too much in the 2020s!
i'm not talking abt too much narrative (not a real issue). i'm talking abt a constant, patronizing use of narration to /predigest/ everything from challenge to mood to emotional impact!
video games talk AT you way too much in the 2020s!
i'm not talking abt too much narrative (not a real issue). i'm talking abt a constant, patronizing use of narration to /predigest/ everything from challenge to mood to emotional impact!
November 14, 2025 at 7:10 PM
re prime 4 discourse, todasy is as good a time as any to say:
video games talk AT you way too much in the 2020s!
i'm not talking abt too much narrative (not a real issue). i'm talking abt a constant, patronizing use of narration to /predigest/ everything from challenge to mood to emotional impact!
video games talk AT you way too much in the 2020s!
i'm not talking abt too much narrative (not a real issue). i'm talking abt a constant, patronizing use of narration to /predigest/ everything from challenge to mood to emotional impact!
Reposted
My new Thief 2 Fan Mission, Reflection in Red, is out! I am very proud of this one, and it is by far my most ambitious work in the Dark Engine to date. www.ttlg.com/forums/showt...
November 14, 2025 at 6:13 PM
My new Thief 2 Fan Mission, Reflection in Red, is out! I am very proud of this one, and it is by far my most ambitious work in the Dark Engine to date. www.ttlg.com/forums/showt...
Reposted
I created a little video detailing just *some* of the accessibility features in Piczle World of Puzzles!
Please wishlist! s.team/a/2174300
#hanjie #お絵かきロジック #イラストロジック #logicpuzzle #nonogram #indiegamedev #solodev #madewithunreal
Please wishlist! s.team/a/2174300
#hanjie #お絵かきロジック #イラストロジック #logicpuzzle #nonogram #indiegamedev #solodev #madewithunreal
The Making of Piczle World of Puzzles - Accessibility
YouTube video by ScoreStudiosJapan
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:49 AM
I created a little video detailing just *some* of the accessibility features in Piczle World of Puzzles!
Please wishlist! s.team/a/2174300
#hanjie #お絵かきロジック #イラストロジック #logicpuzzle #nonogram #indiegamedev #solodev #madewithunreal
Please wishlist! s.team/a/2174300
#hanjie #お絵かきロジック #イラストロジック #logicpuzzle #nonogram #indiegamedev #solodev #madewithunreal
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seeing a lot of of "technically it's ephebophilia" so i remind you that sexology is a pseudoscience akin to evopsych or phrenology. the "science" of "male chronophilias" from which this distinction is derived, is total nonsense. it's a pseudoscientific medicalized naturalization of *SOCIAL* violence
November 14, 2025 at 1:51 AM
seeing a lot of of "technically it's ephebophilia" so i remind you that sexology is a pseudoscience akin to evopsych or phrenology. the "science" of "male chronophilias" from which this distinction is derived, is total nonsense. it's a pseudoscientific medicalized naturalization of *SOCIAL* violence
Reposted
This is what male solidarity & collective action to oppress women looks like:
Artist Andres Serrano--successful, but nowhere near the same class as Thiel & other billionaires in the files--stating that he'll vote for Trump, despite his politics, out of *sympathy* with T's sexual assaults on women.
Artist Andres Serrano--successful, but nowhere near the same class as Thiel & other billionaires in the files--stating that he'll vote for Trump, despite his politics, out of *sympathy* with T's sexual assaults on women.
November 12, 2025 at 10:11 PM
This is what male solidarity & collective action to oppress women looks like:
Artist Andres Serrano--successful, but nowhere near the same class as Thiel & other billionaires in the files--stating that he'll vote for Trump, despite his politics, out of *sympathy* with T's sexual assaults on women.
Artist Andres Serrano--successful, but nowhere near the same class as Thiel & other billionaires in the files--stating that he'll vote for Trump, despite his politics, out of *sympathy* with T's sexual assaults on women.
Reposted
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
I really do hate the term 'metroidbrania'. I think so do many of you. Let's nip it in the bud before it becomes something people are financially invested in.
I really do hate the term 'metroidbrania'. I think so do many of you. Let's nip it in the bud before it becomes something people are financially invested in.
Against 'Metroidbrania': a Landscape of Knowledge Games
What are knowledge games? How do we relate them to each other? What sub-genres exist – and which ones might be implied?
azhdarchid.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:53 AM
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
I really do hate the term 'metroidbrania'. I think so do many of you. Let's nip it in the bud before it becomes something people are financially invested in.
I really do hate the term 'metroidbrania'. I think so do many of you. Let's nip it in the bud before it becomes something people are financially invested in.
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What the Epstein files show is the *solidarity* of many men-across class, race, religion, profession & party affiliation-in the global political project of keeping the boot on women's necks.
People have no problem understanding class solidarity among the rich. Why can't they see gender solidarity?
People have no problem understanding class solidarity among the rich. Why can't they see gender solidarity?
Like I dunno, maybe the reason it took a lady to break open the story of all the men protecting the dude trafficking underage girls is because the male journos were all emailing him making jokes about it?
November 12, 2025 at 9:09 PM
What the Epstein files show is the *solidarity* of many men-across class, race, religion, profession & party affiliation-in the global political project of keeping the boot on women's necks.
People have no problem understanding class solidarity among the rich. Why can't they see gender solidarity?
People have no problem understanding class solidarity among the rich. Why can't they see gender solidarity?
Reposted
Developer of Bee Magic and N Step Steve, Ethan Clark, gave a multipurpose talk about making multipurpose puzzles!
@ethanclark.bsky.social
@ethanclark.bsky.social
Making Multi Purpose Puzzles - Ethan Clark (ThinkyCon 2025)
Ethan Clark joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Making Multi Purpose Puzzles"
Talk description: It's hard enough making a puzzle that does one thing. How do you design a puzzle that does multiple things? We'll talk about puzzles with multiple solutions, puzzles with multiple emotional
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Developer of Bee Magic and N Step Steve, Ethan Clark, gave a multipurpose talk about making multipurpose puzzles!
@ethanclark.bsky.social
@ethanclark.bsky.social
Reposted
assigned girlboss at birth
November 12, 2025 at 2:10 PM
assigned girlboss at birth
Reposted
Artdink announces ARTDINK GAME LOG catalog title ports for Switch, PC
Artdink has announced ARTDINK GAME LOG, a project to port and re-release games previously developed by Artdink onto modern hardware. The first title, Tail of the Sun, will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on December 16 in…
Artdink has announced ARTDINK GAME LOG, a project to port and re-release games previously developed by Artdink onto modern hardware. The first title, Tail of the Sun, will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on December 16 in…
Artdink announces ARTDINK GAME LOG catalog title ports for Switch, PC
Artdink has announced ARTDINK GAME LOG, a project to port and re-release games previously developed by Artdink onto modern hardware. The first title, Tail of the Sun, will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on December 16 in Japan. The second title, Aquanaut's Holiday, will follow for the same platforms in 2026. A third title will be revealed at a later date.
www.gematsu.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Artdink announces ARTDINK GAME LOG catalog title ports for Switch, PC
Artdink has announced ARTDINK GAME LOG, a project to port and re-release games previously developed by Artdink onto modern hardware. The first title, Tail of the Sun, will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on December 16 in…
Artdink has announced ARTDINK GAME LOG, a project to port and re-release games previously developed by Artdink onto modern hardware. The first title, Tail of the Sun, will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on December 16 in…
Reposted
whether games are action or turn based; developed in america, japan or china; whether they're on steam or console or gacha games you play on your phone; have an audience of millions or an audience of double digits; what's important is that games are about choosing one from a list of three things
November 12, 2025 at 2:48 AM
whether games are action or turn based; developed in america, japan or china; whether they're on steam or console or gacha games you play on your phone; have an audience of millions or an audience of double digits; what's important is that games are about choosing one from a list of three things
Reposted
In 1984/5, a spectacular Konami arcade game carved out genre norms for what we'd now call fighting games. Ocean had conversion rights, but were stretched enough that one version ended up subcontracted to a 14-year-old. It still became the UK's bestselling game of 1986.
New post on Yie Ar Kung-Fu:
New post on Yie Ar Kung-Fu:
Yie Ar Kung-Fu – “Hot fighting history”
Ocean’s contract with Konami to port their arcade games under the Imagine label had quickly worked well with Hyper Sports. Even if it did end up competing with Ocean’s own Daley Thompson’s Decathlo…
www.superchartisland.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:16 AM
In 1984/5, a spectacular Konami arcade game carved out genre norms for what we'd now call fighting games. Ocean had conversion rights, but were stretched enough that one version ended up subcontracted to a 14-year-old. It still became the UK's bestselling game of 1986.
New post on Yie Ar Kung-Fu:
New post on Yie Ar Kung-Fu:
Reposted
Sometimes Game Design is about little epiphanies
youtu.be/y0Sg9sg4f7g
#gamedev #gamedesign #godot #procgen
youtu.be/y0Sg9sg4f7g
#gamedev #gamedesign #godot #procgen
Sometimes Game Design is about little epiphanies - Marcos' Mysterious Maze devlog #113
YouTube video by Puzzling Gamedev
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Sometimes Game Design is about little epiphanies
youtu.be/y0Sg9sg4f7g
#gamedev #gamedesign #godot #procgen
youtu.be/y0Sg9sg4f7g
#gamedev #gamedesign #godot #procgen
Reposted
VOD is out! I requested a title change to be more precise and less ragebait than the old "Making a puzzle game with AI". Enjoy! I'm still eager to answer questions if you got 'em
Jagriff gave a talk about how he used a puzzle solver to design and test Gentoo Rescue!
@jagriff.bsky.social
@jagriff.bsky.social
Using a puzzle solver to aid design, discovery, QA, and playtesting - Jagriff (ThinkyCon 2025)
Jagriff joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Making a puzzle game with AI"
Talk description: Despite the sensationalist title, this talk is about a puzzle solver AI agent - not generative AI. A puzzle solver can be a valuable tool for puzzle design, experimentation, testing, and more. H
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
VOD is out! I requested a title change to be more precise and less ragebait than the old "Making a puzzle game with AI". Enjoy! I'm still eager to answer questions if you got 'em
Reposted
A brief defence of dialogue choices (286 words):
A brief defence of dialogue choices
In games, the player needs to have something to do.
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
A brief defence of dialogue choices (286 words):
Reposted
Gosh, if only someone had already covered how to use choices to build subtext is a characterful linear scene already, in a talk that takes less time to read than a medium post from a guy who seems to have only played one game and that’s cos he wrote it
November 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Gosh, if only someone had already covered how to use choices to build subtext is a characterful linear scene already, in a talk that takes less time to read than a medium post from a guy who seems to have only played one game and that’s cos he wrote it
Reposted
Wrote a post talking about the design of Shinobi, Rolling Thunder & Elevator Action and how excellent of a run n gun template it was+how it developed over the years. I'd love to see more indie games take a crack at developing this, cuz Shinobi devs sure as fuck won't
www.patreon.com/posts/142967...
www.patreon.com/posts/142967...
November 10, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Wrote a post talking about the design of Shinobi, Rolling Thunder & Elevator Action and how excellent of a run n gun template it was+how it developed over the years. I'd love to see more indie games take a crack at developing this, cuz Shinobi devs sure as fuck won't
www.patreon.com/posts/142967...
www.patreon.com/posts/142967...