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humblepopstar.bsky.social
leah isobel
@humblepopstar.bsky.social
83 followers 190 following 120 posts
video games & music journalist w @48hills.bsky.social , @singlesjukebox.bsky.social and very occasionally @superjumpmagazine.com

i'm just chilling in the panopticon
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humblepopstar.bsky.social
leah isobel @humblepopstar.bsky.social · Jul 22
hello! this is an introductory post. i am a writer writing about video games and music in the bay area, with a particular interest in how artists adapt to and change the systems they work within. i want to end this post with something pithy and cute but i can't think of anything. here's my website-
Leah isobel's homepage
leahisobel.neocities.org
humblepopstar.bsky.social
good morning!
Let's Eat Grandma - Deep Six Textbook (Official Video)
YouTube video by Transgressive
youtu.be
November 30, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by leah isobel
botherer.bsky.social
Hooray! The first of the Thanksgaming 2025 posts is up on Kotaku, with an epic TWENTY unknown indies to check out!

I'm going to put up another 20 tomorrow.

Spread it far and wide!

kotaku.com/indie-games-...
20 Incredible Innovative Indie Games To Wishlist This Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgaming 2025 everybody! Celebrate with a huge pile of unknown indies to put on your radar
kotaku.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:52 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
finally some REAL political leadership!
estarland.bsky.social eStarland @estarland.bsky.social · 4d
🚨 BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani to require all NYC students to carry a 3DS.
November 27, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by leah isobel
mokkograd.net
In case you missed it earlier, I've written a Blog about "Evil Game Design" and what it might mean.

Here's an excerpt, that I personally quite like:
Evil Games have nothing to do with "friction". Games are not rollercoasters. They are rivers. A river doesn't have friction. It both follows the shape of the land and shapes the land so that it reaches its destination. Sometimes a River ends in a Swamp.
November 25, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by leah isobel
santaragione.com
Our upcoming game HORSES was preemptively banned from Steam, with no path to appeal. The game will still launch next week on December 2nd and will be available on EGS, GOG, Humble, and Itch for $4.99. Here is a detailed FAQ covering what happened: horses.wtf/BannedFromSt...
HORSES cover with a banned from Steam logo
November 25, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Reposted by leah isobel
botherer.bsky.social
Hello indies! It's almost Thanksgaming 2025!

If you have an unknown indie project in dev or just released, please could you email me at jwalker@kotaku.com with the subject "THANKSGAMING 2025", and a store page and YouTube link? I'll put as many as I can on Kotaku.

Rules next. Reposts appreciated!
November 24, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by leah isobel
depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social
from the article "Airplanes (song)"
November 24, 2025 at 11:26 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
everything is chaos recently. a pigeon flew into work today and nested in the rafters. casper keeps going nuts at 3:30am on the dot. two guys started fistfighting on the bus. i dropped my pastry!!
November 24, 2025 at 3:11 AM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
look i will be catposting a lot because we just got him and he's cute. his name is casper. even though he bit me in the boob last night, i would die for him
November 21, 2025 at 3:18 AM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
cat tax!
a white cat splayed out on the floor. he is enthusiastically batting a yellow spring toy, which is moving so quickly it only registers as a blur
November 21, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Reposted by leah isobel
vghistory.bsky.social
fujitsu habitat, screenshot, fm towns (1989) www.mobygames.com/game/21889/h...
pixelated sunset, reflected on sea and over the black outline of a cityscape. sky is shades of orange.
November 14, 2025 at 8:21 AM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
please help keep 48 hills alive! writing for them has been so awesome and they're such an important resource in a private equity-decimated mediascape.
chimeschool.bsky.social Chime School @chimeschool.bsky.social · 10d
@48hills.bsky.social 48 Hills is one of the best outlets for SF politics and culture reporting. Please help if ya can!

…we need them more than ever now that Daniel Lurie has the hyper gentrification death machine back up and running at full speed...

48hills.org/2025/11/5-qu...
5 quick ways to save 48 Hills - 48 hills
Donate, sustain, upgrade, advertise, share: Here's how to ensure your favorite local indie outlet survives into 2026.
48hills.org
November 20, 2025 at 3:21 AM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
a perfect organism… his structural perfection matched only by his hostility….
November 19, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Reposted by leah isobel
brandon.insertcredit.com
The bay area needs to get cheaper so the weirdos can come back. We also need brand new weirdos. More weirdos please
(from the below interview) 48 HILLS Kind of related, how do you think the industry has changed? On a broad scale, but also just in terms of the Bay Area scene specifically, what kinds of changes have you seen? BRANDON SHEFFIELD Obviously, the Bay Area has changed a lot. When I quit my job in journalism and started doing game development full-time, all the indie weirdo game devs were here. We all knew each other, we all had weird little dramas with each other, it felt like a big scene. Then, as tech grew and they needed places to live, all the tech folks came out into Oakland, and then all the artists that had left San Francisco to come to Oakland now had to leave Oakland. It just felt like arts were kind of disappearing from the whole area. And it was so gradual that it didn’t feel like it was a big trend until probably around the Ghost Ship fire, and then it felt like there was an endpoint for fun times. I think it’s coming back now, I feel like DIY venues are starting to happen again. In terms of the game development scene, there’s always been a gap between San Francisco and the East Bay, and that remains present, but I feel like both groups are smaller than they were before. There are fewer of us, and we don’t hang out. [laughs] But we try. I’ve been running an East Bay game dev meetup for 15 years, and we still get new people coming. But it’s very weird to watch things change over time. Because I’m staying in Oakland, this is where I’m going to live. It just feels like things are changing around me. 48 HILLS I mean, you mentioned DIY venues coming back. I’m curious if you think that could make its way into games as well. BRANDON SHEFFIELD I feel like it’s possible. I think that it’s easier when there’s a natural energy happening, and I don’t know that that natural energy will happen without cheaper rent and a bunch of young people. I can’t build a community like I could when I was in my 20s because I don’t know if the youngsters want to get involved in the same way. The way that I’m thinking about building community is probably very different from the way that someone who is graduating high school right now is thinking about building community. I still want to try to push the things that I can push, but I also want to be ready to support whatever new things are coming along that young people may try to build. And I hope they do, and I hope that I can help facilitate. I can only hope. Rent going down is the only thing that’s going to change it.
November 18, 2025 at 6:17 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
spoke with @brandon.insertcredit.com about @necrosoftgames.com' new game, demonschool! we hit all the notes: obscure 70s horror films, sega saturn games, and why rent needs to go down. fun times!
In 'Demonschool,' '70s Italian horror films meet university life. Plus demons. - 48 hills
Necrosoft's Brandon Sheffield on his rad new Giallo-influenced game, his journalism background—and why rents must come down.
48hills.org
November 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by leah isobel
apogeeent.com
Rebecca Heineman, a true industry pioneer and the legend behind Wizordum’s Mac OS port, has passed away after a battle with lung cancer. She will be deeply missed.

If you’d like to support her family with medical or funeral costs, the GoFundMe link is attached.

www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebec...
Donate to Help Rebecca Ann Heineman Fight Aggressive Cancer, organized by Rebecca Heineman
I’m Rebecca Ann Heineman. The very first video game champion, creat… Rebecca Heineman needs your support for Help Rebecca Ann Heineman Fight Aggressive Cancer
www.gofundme.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:33 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
it’s Him… He… Himself…
November 17, 2025 at 9:48 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
she gorm on my ghast til i groan. is this anything
November 15, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by leah isobel
zephyrnights.newgrounds.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:20 AM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
good morning!
it is what it is in d minor
YouTube video by Klein - Topic
youtu.be
November 13, 2025 at 5:30 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
gamecube nostalgia is really getting out of hand
steamdb.info SteamDB @steamdb.info · 18d
Steam Frame, Steam Controller, Steam Machine announcement is expected soon, here's a first look!
November 12, 2025 at 5:51 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
for bay area folks: the sf trans film festival is this week at the roxie theater in the mission! my friend al made a short film that’s in the thursday and friday programs, featuring me and my partner and some of our other friends. pls come if you like <3
San Francisco Transgender Film Festival
sftff.org
November 11, 2025 at 7:28 PM
humblepopstar.bsky.social
this is honestly one of the craziest songs i've ever heard. it's like a 50 foot wave of pure chewy texture
Angel Pathway Garden Procession, by Molly Raben
from the album In the Kingdom of Flowers
mollyraben.bandcamp.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Reposted by leah isobel
nnekart.bsky.social
Hi Everyone,
I'm hosting the Jamaica Disaster Relief jam on itchio and its currently open to submissions until November 16th.
itch.io/jam/disaster...

All Games and Ttrpgs are welcome ^_^
The bundle will be supporting the Support Jamaica Official Disaster Relief
#JamReliefBundle #charity
Jamaica Disaster Relief Charity Bundle Jam
A game jam from 2025-11-04 to 2025-11-16 hosted by Nnekart. Last week the category 5 storm Hurricane Melissa has devastated an enormous portion of the island, destroying homes and lives in the process...
itch.io
November 5, 2025 at 1:44 AM