Mike W
@gekido.bsky.social
🇨🇦 Canadian Metis, Emmy award-winning Tech Producer / Tech Director. ex-Unity, Namco, Roadhouse, Gamedev for 25+ years...
Current: Cloudhead, Instructor @ VFS
In Vancouver
Current: Cloudhead, Instructor @ VFS
In Vancouver
Pinned
Mike W
@gekido.bsky.social
· Oct 19
Intro! I'm a Metis Canadian living near Vancouver. I've help grow a half dozen studios over the years (Namco, DeNA, etc), founded 2 studios, worked at Unity for 7 years, and have shipped a few dozen games doing tech direction and producing. Cofounded Megacrush, building games, animation and previs!
In Unity a clear way to do this is to tag the object as "EditorOnly" - this way it will be stripped from the build completely - which can be very useful for assets that "must not ship"
In gamedev, if you're using a placeholder asset, best practices involve marking it as placeholder so garishly and offensively clearly PLACEHOLDER that you can't possibly miss it. Also flagging that asset in the dev process so it can be identified quickly before the final build.
November 17, 2025 at 8:23 PM
In Unity a clear way to do this is to tag the object as "EditorOnly" - this way it will be stripped from the build completely - which can be very useful for assets that "must not ship"
Reposted by Mike W
Valve has made $35k from Waves of Steel. I have made -$207 from it. They get 30% of every indie dev's magnum opus, and all it costs them is a small amount of disk space and bandwidth.
They don't get 30% from everyone. Big companies negotiate a much more favorable rate. Indies subsidize big games!
They don't get 30% from everyone. Big companies negotiate a much more favorable rate. Indies subsidize big games!
A reminder that for every billion dollars made on PC gaming, Newell pockets $300m.
He keeps out of the public eye better than some billionaires, but he is still a libertarian billionaire, and billionaires should not exist.
He keeps out of the public eye better than some billionaires, but he is still a libertarian billionaire, and billionaires should not exist.
Gabe Newell Just Bought a New $500 Million Yacht With a Basketball Court and '15 Gaming Stations'
insider-gaming.com/gabe-newell-...
insider-gaming.com/gabe-newell-...
November 17, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Valve has made $35k from Waves of Steel. I have made -$207 from it. They get 30% of every indie dev's magnum opus, and all it costs them is a small amount of disk space and bandwidth.
They don't get 30% from everyone. Big companies negotiate a much more favorable rate. Indies subsidize big games!
They don't get 30% from everyone. Big companies negotiate a much more favorable rate. Indies subsidize big games!
Reposted by Mike W
It really needs to be pointed out how every one of these embarrassing statements is made by a c-suite executive and not an artist or even art department lead
"Surely there's a middle ground here?" The CEO of Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead says people "jump to extreme takes" when debating generative AI, and that there needs to be more nuance in the discussion.
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/surely-...
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/surely-...
‘Surely there’s a middle ground here?’ Helldivers studio CEO says people ‘jump to extreme takes’ when debating GenAI | VGC
“This is such a trigger point for big parts of the games industry today”…
www.videogameschronicle.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:05 PM
It really needs to be pointed out how every one of these embarrassing statements is made by a c-suite executive and not an artist or even art department lead
Gee wonder who owns the Post? And runs a massive company that will (likely) have to start paying a more reasonable tax bill as a result?
WP is just a Bezos PR company, ignore this like the bullshit it us
WP is just a Bezos PR company, ignore this like the bullshit it us
Everyone has lost their minds
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
November 17, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Gee wonder who owns the Post? And runs a massive company that will (likely) have to start paying a more reasonable tax bill as a result?
WP is just a Bezos PR company, ignore this like the bullshit it us
WP is just a Bezos PR company, ignore this like the bullshit it us
Reposted by Mike W
normalise sharing your in-game debug tools ✊
...and they let me write code and set up the project exactly like I wanted to (loose and bad), which paid off! e.g. the skill system went through several iterations, and none of them took very long because nothing was particularly rigid.
pictured: cheating dashboard
pictured: cheating dashboard
November 17, 2025 at 1:34 PM
normalise sharing your in-game debug tools ✊
Another weekend, another update to the Runtime Spawner pushed to the Asset Store.
This one is mostly bug fixes and battle hardening, but also did some improvements to the Fusion integration as well
#indiedev #gamedev #unity
megacrush.gitbook.io/megacrush-un...
This one is mostly bug fixes and battle hardening, but also did some improvements to the Fusion integration as well
#indiedev #gamedev #unity
megacrush.gitbook.io/megacrush-un...
ChangeLog | Runtime Spawner | Megacrush Unity Assets
The full changelog.md from the package
megacrush.gitbook.io
November 17, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Another weekend, another update to the Runtime Spawner pushed to the Asset Store.
This one is mostly bug fixes and battle hardening, but also did some improvements to the Fusion integration as well
#indiedev #gamedev #unity
megacrush.gitbook.io/megacrush-un...
This one is mostly bug fixes and battle hardening, but also did some improvements to the Fusion integration as well
#indiedev #gamedev #unity
megacrush.gitbook.io/megacrush-un...
Reposted by Mike W
Billionaire Peter Thiel’s latest 13F didn’t show off a mere trim, but a full-blown exit from AI bellwether Nvidia (NVDA).
November 17, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Billionaire Peter Thiel’s latest 13F didn’t show off a mere trim, but a full-blown exit from AI bellwether Nvidia (NVDA).
Reposted by Mike W
Yes, I really do each individual tree, trunk, patch of grass, etc. One brush, no stamps. Because it’s not just a map, it’s art.
November 17, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Yes, I really do each individual tree, trunk, patch of grass, etc. One brush, no stamps. Because it’s not just a map, it’s art.
Reposted by Mike W
Reposted by Mike W
Adam Curtis' brief postmortem of it in HyperNormalisation (2016) as a failed push to ape the impotent attempts at a Utopian Internet still feels like the most prescient analysis.
November 16, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Adam Curtis' brief postmortem of it in HyperNormalisation (2016) as a failed push to ape the impotent attempts at a Utopian Internet still feels like the most prescient analysis.
Reposted by Mike W
Imagine removing baby-changing tables to fund the $50M Sim needs for the Police.
Listening to Vancouver Council budget discussion in the background this morning. In response to a question from @seanorr.bsky.social about where they'll be retracting from the city just said they're planning to REMOVE baby changing tables and menstrual product dispensers to save costs. Shameful.
November 13, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Imagine removing baby-changing tables to fund the $50M Sim needs for the Police.
Reposted by Mike W
Unity Engine Shortcuts - Productivity Boosters
YouTube video by RomanEmpireDev
youtu.be
November 16, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Mike W
Libraries purchase books. When you see a book at the library, it isn’t “free”
the library bought it.
which in turn means that the community bought it.
In other words, library books are not lost sales for authors and publishers; they’re positive sales. Active sales. Those are bought.
the library bought it.
which in turn means that the community bought it.
In other words, library books are not lost sales for authors and publishers; they’re positive sales. Active sales. Those are bought.
November 15, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Libraries purchase books. When you see a book at the library, it isn’t “free”
the library bought it.
which in turn means that the community bought it.
In other words, library books are not lost sales for authors and publishers; they’re positive sales. Active sales. Those are bought.
the library bought it.
which in turn means that the community bought it.
In other words, library books are not lost sales for authors and publishers; they’re positive sales. Active sales. Those are bought.
Reposted by Mike W
Reposted by Mike W
Annoyed that the Pope keeps saying cool stuff, I don't want to like the Pope
November 15, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Annoyed that the Pope keeps saying cool stuff, I don't want to like the Pope
Reposted by Mike W
Asking people to relocate for jobs they've already been doing remotely with success for years (particularly given the current, volatile state of the industry) is just removing a whole lot of top candidates from your pool.
Like what's your priority here? Having top talent or a secret second thing?
Like what's your priority here? Having top talent or a secret second thing?
July 3, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Asking people to relocate for jobs they've already been doing remotely with success for years (particularly given the current, volatile state of the industry) is just removing a whole lot of top candidates from your pool.
Like what's your priority here? Having top talent or a secret second thing?
Like what's your priority here? Having top talent or a secret second thing?
Reposted by Mike W
Do I know anyone with experience combining @freya.bsky.social’s Shapes with uGUI UI? The Shapes docs describe how to make shapes show up in UI, but have anyone made a neat/performant “binding” for making e.g. Shapes rectangles match the rectangle of a RectTransform?
November 15, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Do I know anyone with experience combining @freya.bsky.social’s Shapes with uGUI UI? The Shapes docs describe how to make shapes show up in UI, but have anyone made a neat/performant “binding” for making e.g. Shapes rectangles match the rectangle of a RectTransform?
Reposted by Mike W
KIRO 7 ran an article and two TV pieces on the theft of a box truck full of arcade PCBs, artwork, and machines from my workplace yesterday. If anyone in the Seattle area sees someone offloading a ton of CPS2/NAOMI/Neo Geo PCBs, stuff of that nature, please reach out.
www.kiro7.com/news/local/g...
www.kiro7.com/news/local/g...
GAME OVER: $25k+ of tech stolen from Kent arcade
Tens of thousands of dollars worth of vintage video game equipment was stolen from a Kent arcade this week.
www.kiro7.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:32 AM
KIRO 7 ran an article and two TV pieces on the theft of a box truck full of arcade PCBs, artwork, and machines from my workplace yesterday. If anyone in the Seattle area sees someone offloading a ton of CPS2/NAOMI/Neo Geo PCBs, stuff of that nature, please reach out.
www.kiro7.com/news/local/g...
www.kiro7.com/news/local/g...
Reposted by Mike W
Kotaku wants to get in touch with developers about how AI is being used in your studio.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
November 14, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Kotaku wants to get in touch with developers about how AI is being used in your studio.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
You can contact our tips hotline tips@kotaku.com or my secure email at ethangach@protonmail.com
We'll keep your identity protected and anonymize info so it's not traced back to you.
holy fuck Adobe - they're changing their plans and the new price will be literally MORE THAN DOUBLE what I'm currently paying (from 43 CAD to 103CAD / mo)
What-the-actual fuck? Why would I keep paying this?
Just unbelievable
#adobe #fuckthisshit
What-the-actual fuck? Why would I keep paying this?
Just unbelievable
#adobe #fuckthisshit
November 14, 2025 at 10:04 PM
holy fuck Adobe - they're changing their plans and the new price will be literally MORE THAN DOUBLE what I'm currently paying (from 43 CAD to 103CAD / mo)
What-the-actual fuck? Why would I keep paying this?
Just unbelievable
#adobe #fuckthisshit
What-the-actual fuck? Why would I keep paying this?
Just unbelievable
#adobe #fuckthisshit
Reposted by Mike W
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Reposted by Mike W
the average salary of tens of thousands of games industry professionals is actually now $0, hope that clears things up
The average salary for games industry professionals based in the United States was $142,000 in 2025, according to a new report from GDC Festival of Gaming.
www.gamesindustry.biz/gdc-survey-a...
www.gamesindustry.biz/gdc-survey-a...
GDC Survey: Average salary for US games professionals was $142,000 in 2025
Findings reveal 33% of workers feel employers are "working to close existing pay gaps," while one-tenth report no efforts are being made
www.gamesindustry.biz
November 14, 2025 at 8:51 PM
the average salary of tens of thousands of games industry professionals is actually now $0, hope that clears things up
Reposted by Mike W
we don't just need to be funding small studios to make one game, we need to be funding them to make the ones they can fuck up before they can make the ones they learn from.
The winner takes all-instant hit-meme-flywheel mentality that has completely overtaken the games industry and even #indiedev is poison.
It deteriorates the space for risk and sustainable growth, until all that's left is to to either make slot-machines or slop-machines.
It deteriorates the space for risk and sustainable growth, until all that's left is to to either make slot-machines or slop-machines.
November 14, 2025 at 11:13 AM
we don't just need to be funding small studios to make one game, we need to be funding them to make the ones they can fuck up before they can make the ones they learn from.