julien b. ❤️‍🔥
banner
balbontino.com
julien b. ❤️‍🔥
@balbontino.com
(she/they)
sometimes i draw, design, and sometimes i don't | no genAI i actually try

art director & partner @wearecontinue.bsky.social
board member @thehandeyesociety.bsky.social
design lead @dames4games.org

profile art @julesdrawz.bsky.social
Pinned
hiii i'm julien ❤️‍🔥
sometimes i draw & design, and sometimes i don't.

i'm an art director / designer / illustrator / digital creative in the marketing field for video games, film & entertainment.

i yap a lot about all sorts of things: art, video games, animation, music, the occult, and more~
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
🚨 HUGE NEWS! 🚨

All Will Rise is now LIVE on Kickstarter! Fundraising has begun to bring our revenge fantasy against the powerful to life.

Want to try before you fund? All Will Rise currently has a demo on Steam too!

Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/spe...

#IndieGame #GameDev #IndieDev
February 16, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
We are looking to broaden our pool of playtesters to help shape our sci-fi puzzle thriller, First Moon of Mercury!

If you like breaking things or really enjoy providing constructive feedback, we’d love to hear from you.

Sign up to playtest: forms.gle/3pdSPKUMJnU6...
First Moon of Mercury Playtest Application Form
Want to be one of the first to play First Moon of Mercury? Solve puzzle boxes to assemble a new space station, designed to deflect massive solar flares in this sci-fi thriller. Repair damaged modules, uncover political saboteurs, and save the mission. We are seeking playtesters for QA purposes. This initial round of playtesting will require up to two hours of your time including the survey. If you are selected to join us for playtesting you will be credited in the game, receive two game keys, and game merchandise upon the launch of the game. If this sounds like it’s right up your alley, fill out the form below! This form has a grand total of 11 questions if you agree to abide by the Playtester Code of Conduct.
docs.google.com
February 15, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Make it Bounce this Spring! Demo out now!
February 12, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Have you played the Echo Generation 2 demo?

Leave a review on the demo to help more players find it: store.steampowered.com/app/4378300/...

#EchoGeneration2 #indiegame #gamedev #SteamNextFest #turnbased #TurnBasedThursday
February 12, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
A Short Hike is part of the ❤️Games With Heart❤️ Steam event!

For every copy sold from February 10 through February 17, 2026, we'll be donating 35% of the purchase price to the American Heart Association’s Live Campaign.

🔗 store.steampowered.com/curator/4590...
February 12, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Are you a content creator? 🎮✨
Join us in championing women and femme developers in gaming and tech!

🎁 access to awesome games
🚀 Help power programs and showcases
💜 Support a stronger future for the industry

This is your invite to play with purpose. Sign up! ⬇️

forms.gle/47LxJSKphmsL...
February 12, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
One of the many sins of genAI is that the societal necessity of staying vigilant for it frequently turns into a policing strategy, often with punitive consequences for the handful of people who still write and make art with human integrity. I hope this student wins their suit.
“The suit says the accusations were based heavily on subjective judgments about her writing style and on self-confirming AI comparison ”
Student claims U-M wrongly accused her of using AI
The case highlights a growing problem for universities as they try to police the use of artificial intelligence.
www.freep.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
February 12, 2026 at 12:31 AM
grab those keys so you can play the demo a day early! 🔥
To celebrate all the fantastic previews of the Echo Generation 2 demo, we're giving away exclusive demo keys on Discord 🗝️

Join the Echo Generation discord to grab it now:
discord.gg/NZCaCaX27b

#EchoGeneration2 #Demo #SteamNextFest
February 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
i got so mad about this article that i blogged about it aftermath.site/ai-romance-n...
No, AI Written Romance Novels Are Not Inevitable
The New York Times interviewed two authors who claim AI is the future of romance novels, who coincidentally also sell courses about how to use AI to write romance novels.
aftermath.site
February 10, 2026 at 8:37 PM
it's happening... 👁️
We've been a bit quiet on this side working on our upcoming showcase. But never fear! We're getting all dressed up and ready to celebrate Women's History Month in Style!

Stay tuned for more deets coming atcha soon!

@wingsfund.me @womenledgames.com
February 11, 2026 at 12:03 PM
it's out!!!!!!!!!! time to snatch those art pieces
February 10, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Our Soft Rains Book Club has re-launched over on our Discord, with a new format chosen by its members! ✨📚

Every month, our team will curate a new list of books we've been reading and want to recommend. If you join the club, you'll never miss a list and can chat about them with us. :)
February 10, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Pong meets Nidhogg in this sequel to a forgotten classic. Wishlist Bounce 2 today!
February 10, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Pong meets Nidhogg in this sequel to a forgotten classic. Wishlist Bounce 2 today!
February 10, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Feels like a good day to remind everyone that there's tons of human-made public domain art available for free. Perfect for TTRPGs and board games!

Where can you find it?

Right here!

Part 1: www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/public-dom...
Part 2: www.skeletoncodemachine.com/p/more-publi...

#ttrpg
Public domain art resources
Using public domain art in tabletop game design
www.skeletoncodemachine.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
📣 BIG NEWS 📣

Play the Echo Generation 2 demo on Steam & Xbox this week on Thurs 12 Feb 🗓️

Can Sister M escape the FST facility? 🤔🃏

#EchoGeneration2 #SteamNextFest #TurnBased #indiegame
February 10, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
The No ICE in Minnesota Charity Bundle has officially LAUNCHED!

There are 1,439 games to discover for a $10+ donation to Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota!

Purchase the bundle here: itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...
February 9, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
We are seeking more PoC applicants for TTRPGirls!

*banging pots and pans*

If you are a woman or femme of colour, apply now for any of the 6 incredible games we're running live in March. We want YOU to be part of our event!

*scream from the rooftops*

tally.so/r/Pd9a4x
February 10, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
One part dad 👨‍🍼 One part astronaut 🧑‍🚀 All Jack 🃏

Wishlist Echo Generation 2: store.steampowered.com/app/1115990/...

#WishlistWednesday #TrailerTuesday #indiedev #indiegame
February 4, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
NEW GAME REVEAL 👀

STICKER/BALL (@stickerball.bsky.social)

A chaotic combo driven roguelike, and a DEMO IS OUT NOW!!

- Fire balls
- Hit dice
- Earn points
- Add stickers
- Trigger crazy combos
- Points, points and mooooore points
- Revel in the chaos

Coming (very) soon to Steam!!!!
February 3, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
remember back when we all doodled the current thing for warmups? we could bring that back, maybe, that was fun
February 3, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by julien b. ❤️‍🔥
Happy Black History Month Dames!

Celebrating Black creators, characters, and stories that continue to shape games and culture. <3

Tell us about a game that you felt got representation right!
February 1, 2026 at 6:15 PM
i thought hamnet was a shipping
February 1, 2026 at 2:57 PM