Jay Castello 🌻
@jaymcastello.bsky.social
freelance culture writer 🍏 book & game editor ☕ narrative designer 🎲 short (& long) fiction author 📚 ace attorney podcast host @turnaboutbreakdown.bsky.social 🌈 basically if it involves words i'll do it 🌙 jaycastello.com 🦢 they/she
Pinned
Jay Castello 🌻
@jaymcastello.bsky.social
· Mar 28
Jay Castello
jaycastello.com
📌
i'm Jay and i'm a storyteller in like 15 mediums:
📰 journalism & crit on media, internet culture, & fandom
📼 often available in video & podcast form
🔍 editing on books, articles, & games
🌌 published fiction author
🌒 other, weirder things
more details: jaycastello.com // jaymcastello @ gmail
i'm Jay and i'm a storyteller in like 15 mediums:
📰 journalism & crit on media, internet culture, & fandom
📼 often available in video & podcast form
🔍 editing on books, articles, & games
🌌 published fiction author
🌒 other, weirder things
more details: jaycastello.com // jaymcastello @ gmail
denshattack demo has me remembering when i played a much earlier version at the publishing studio last year and after watching me for a little bit they were like "ummmmm we're still balancing the difficulty sorry" and i had to be like. please do not balance it based on my skill level
February 20, 2026 at 4:50 PM
denshattack demo has me remembering when i played a much earlier version at the publishing studio last year and after watching me for a little bit they were like "ummmmm we're still balancing the difficulty sorry" and i had to be like. please do not balance it based on my skill level
pleased to announce that for the first time in my life i did not utterly detest the process of reading a script
February 20, 2026 at 4:07 PM
pleased to announce that for the first time in my life i did not utterly detest the process of reading a script
Reposted by Jay Castello 🌻
Dug into this absolutely wild thing happening to Finji. The deeper I read into their increasingly baffling conversations with TikTok "support" the more I felt like I was on something.
www.ign.com/articles/tun...
www.ign.com/articles/tun...
Tunic, Night in the Woods Publisher Says TikTok Is Creating and Running Racist GenAI Ads for Its Games Without Permission - IGN
Publisher Finji says that TikTok has been using generative AI to modify its ads on the platform without permission and pushing those ads to its users without Finji's knowledge, including at least one ...
www.ign.com
February 20, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Dug into this absolutely wild thing happening to Finji. The deeper I read into their increasingly baffling conversations with TikTok "support" the more I felt like I was on something.
www.ign.com/articles/tun...
www.ign.com/articles/tun...
Reposted by Jay Castello 🌻
In Virtue and a Sledgehammer, each Robot NPC used to be someone from your old hometown. They're your digitized neighbours.
Can you guess the age of this digitized human based on their dance moves? Who do you think they used to be?
Can you guess the age of this digitized human based on their dance moves? Who do you think they used to be?
February 20, 2026 at 9:27 AM
In Virtue and a Sledgehammer, each Robot NPC used to be someone from your old hometown. They're your digitized neighbours.
Can you guess the age of this digitized human based on their dance moves? Who do you think they used to be?
Can you guess the age of this digitized human based on their dance moves? Who do you think they used to be?
wrote 2000 words on baby steps in such a haze that my wrists hurt from typing for the first time ever. is this good
February 20, 2026 at 9:55 AM
wrote 2000 words on baby steps in such a haze that my wrists hurt from typing for the first time ever. is this good
very funny to write an essay on four games and play the fourth one during drafting and then be like. well I guess its getting a twist ending
February 19, 2026 at 11:23 PM
very funny to write an essay on four games and play the fourth one during drafting and then be like. well I guess its getting a twist ending
subscribers to unwinnable can now read my longest ever column submission on Cairn, a game that is, ironically, a mountain of contradictory metaphors
Don't stop be-leading. This month's issue of Unwinnable Monthly features @coledone.com on Suzerain and governance as well as our usual crew of rogues.
Buy: unwinnable.bigcartel.com/product/unwi...
Subscribe: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
Buy: unwinnable.bigcartel.com/product/unwi...
Subscribe: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
February 19, 2026 at 9:01 PM
subscribers to unwinnable can now read my longest ever column submission on Cairn, a game that is, ironically, a mountain of contradictory metaphors
Reposted by Jay Castello 🌻
"was incredibly helpful in drawing out the most clear and confident version of the story I wanted to tell” is both the best thing an editor could hope to hear about a project and a perfect encapsulation of what an editor actually does and why you should consider working with one for your game
Today on Quest Quest @decafjedi.com and I had a ton of fun chatting with @meredithgran.com about her new game Perfect Tides: Station to Station. We talked writing the past without getting "remember this??", the Sierra game that inspired the gameplay and more. Here or anywhere zencastr.com/z/hDTKIs1s
February 19, 2026 at 5:47 PM
"was incredibly helpful in drawing out the most clear and confident version of the story I wanted to tell” is both the best thing an editor could hope to hear about a project and a perfect encapsulation of what an editor actually does and why you should consider working with one for your game
Reposted by Jay Castello 🌻
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Jay Castello 🌻
Demo is LIVE 👀
To celebrate we’re running giveaways for merch, Steam vouchers, an exclusive train skin and even launch keys! We're going all out! 🚅
Jump in, tell us what you think, drop a review and wish list if you enjoy it! 🔥
Full details here 👉 buff.ly/Mpcjzaa
To celebrate we’re running giveaways for merch, Steam vouchers, an exclusive train skin and even launch keys! We're going all out! 🚅
Jump in, tell us what you think, drop a review and wish list if you enjoy it! 🔥
Full details here 👉 buff.ly/Mpcjzaa
February 19, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Demo is LIVE 👀
To celebrate we’re running giveaways for merch, Steam vouchers, an exclusive train skin and even launch keys! We're going all out! 🚅
Jump in, tell us what you think, drop a review and wish list if you enjoy it! 🔥
Full details here 👉 buff.ly/Mpcjzaa
To celebrate we’re running giveaways for merch, Steam vouchers, an exclusive train skin and even launch keys! We're going all out! 🚅
Jump in, tell us what you think, drop a review and wish list if you enjoy it! 🔥
Full details here 👉 buff.ly/Mpcjzaa
i went to the community library and swapped two books and now i'm free. correlation always equals causation
FUCK the sand level dude
February 19, 2026 at 1:39 PM
i went to the community library and swapped two books and now i'm free. correlation always equals causation
had a nightmare that [game i edited that has a demo out today], [game i wrote that was just announced], and [game I'm currently editing] all had a bunch of typos and there was a huge theory it was some kind of ARG and then a youtuber put out a 3 hour video proving the only connection was me
February 19, 2026 at 7:32 AM
had a nightmare that [game i edited that has a demo out today], [game i wrote that was just announced], and [game I'm currently editing] all had a bunch of typos and there was a huge theory it was some kind of ARG and then a youtuber put out a 3 hour video proving the only connection was me
i don't know how to elaborate on this but i'm enjoying baby steps so much it's kinda making me nervous
February 18, 2026 at 5:16 PM
i don't know how to elaborate on this but i'm enjoying baby steps so much it's kinda making me nervous
pausing 30 minutes into baby steps to sign up for another trail race
February 18, 2026 at 2:37 PM
pausing 30 minutes into baby steps to sign up for another trail race
oh hey the game that i wrote is coming out march 11 😊 store.steampowered.com/app/3179050/...
Piece by Piece on Steam
It's time to open shop! Inherit your family's repair shop, and roll up your sleeves. Fix up the prized possessions of the forest folk, paint yourself a masterpiece to sell and make your family shop al...
store.steampowered.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:46 PM
oh hey the game that i wrote is coming out march 11 😊 store.steampowered.com/app/3179050/...
hosted friendsgiving last year and now the group chat is coming up with new innovations in event portmanteaus. planning a visit at easter called ash friendsday
February 15, 2026 at 10:58 PM
hosted friendsgiving last year and now the group chat is coming up with new innovations in event portmanteaus. planning a visit at easter called ash friendsday
horrible awful slog but i am out of the mire that has been the 15k mark and i may have made improvements to the bits that have been causing me to overthink. we'll see when i get some distance for a reread
friends fear they are overthinking writing instead of doing the damn writing again
February 15, 2026 at 5:07 PM
horrible awful slog but i am out of the mire that has been the 15k mark and i may have made improvements to the bits that have been causing me to overthink. we'll see when i get some distance for a reread
friends fear they are overthinking writing instead of doing the damn writing again
February 15, 2026 at 2:47 PM
friends fear they are overthinking writing instead of doing the damn writing again
immediately opening a(nother) game that desperately needed an editor.............. i fear i am being driven to cynicism
just finished watching Free Solo and it made me even sourer on Cairn in retrospect which is impressive given i am already several thousand words deep into my sourness on Cairn
February 15, 2026 at 2:08 PM
immediately opening a(nother) game that desperately needed an editor.............. i fear i am being driven to cynicism
just finished watching Free Solo and it made me even sourer on Cairn in retrospect which is impressive given i am already several thousand words deep into my sourness on Cairn
February 15, 2026 at 1:41 PM
just finished watching Free Solo and it made me even sourer on Cairn in retrospect which is impressive given i am already several thousand words deep into my sourness on Cairn
scheduling pitches on a sunday morning like god intended
February 15, 2026 at 10:23 AM
scheduling pitches on a sunday morning like god intended
hire! editors!
No judgment on the game more generally yet, but this description in the new 2d god of war game is one of the clumsiest pieces of game writing I've seen
February 13, 2026 at 9:54 PM
hire! editors!
Reposted by Jay Castello 🌻
This what a Game Narrative Kaleidoscope looks like 👀
February 13, 2026 at 10:19 AM
This what a Game Narrative Kaleidoscope looks like 👀
Reposted by Jay Castello 🌻
Paywalls thwart reading. And writing! Honestly, if @unwinnable.com had 1500 monthly subscribers, I'd circulate all the magazines for free!
Subscribe for five bucks a month: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
Get 95 issues of Exploits free. See? Free!
Subscribe for five bucks a month: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
Get 95 issues of Exploits free. See? Free!
February 13, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Paywalls thwart reading. And writing! Honestly, if @unwinnable.com had 1500 monthly subscribers, I'd circulate all the magazines for free!
Subscribe for five bucks a month: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
Get 95 issues of Exploits free. See? Free!
Subscribe for five bucks a month: unwinnable.com/subscribe/
Get 95 issues of Exploits free. See? Free!