Paul Kilduff-Taylor
@mode7games.bsky.social
Indie games // Electronic music // Words
Mode 7 // nervous_testpilot + _ensnare_ // Mode Collapse
modecollapse.com - read my words about things
mode7.games - games
nervoustestpilot.com - music
Mode 7 // nervous_testpilot + _ensnare_ // Mode Collapse
modecollapse.com - read my words about things
mode7.games - games
nervoustestpilot.com - music
2025 was a real mixed bag of a year for me but definitely net positive. Bunch of music completed (Amberspire and Timelake); some of it released (Knights in Tight Spaces and Siegecaster) which is always something I'm happy about.
New big game dev project coming in 2026 - more soon.
New big game dev project coming in 2026 - more soon.
December 31, 2025 at 8:13 PM
2025 was a real mixed bag of a year for me but definitely net positive. Bunch of music completed (Amberspire and Timelake); some of it released (Knights in Tight Spaces and Siegecaster) which is always something I'm happy about.
New big game dev project coming in 2026 - more soon.
New big game dev project coming in 2026 - more soon.
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
Bad at the old self-promotion thing, aren't I. You've got a couple more days to preorder the deluxe edition: www.lostincult.co.uk/simogo
December 31, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Bad at the old self-promotion thing, aren't I. You've got a couple more days to preorder the deluxe edition: www.lostincult.co.uk/simogo
If you are a cultural critic referring to a technical process in your work, then taking 30 minutes to talk to someone who *actually employs that process for a practical purpose* could save you from the big embarrassing sustained fart noise that overwhelms all your subsequent points
December 29, 2025 at 8:13 PM
If you are a cultural critic referring to a technical process in your work, then taking 30 minutes to talk to someone who *actually employs that process for a practical purpose* could save you from the big embarrassing sustained fart noise that overwhelms all your subsequent points
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
I haven't been shouting about Highrook as much as I should have this autumn/winter, but this was a nice reminder to do so!
Go buy my cosmic horror narrative board/card game thing! 30% off, thats basically a tenner (UK folk)!
Go buy my cosmic horror narrative board/card game thing! 30% off, thats basically a tenner (UK folk)!
Happy Holidays folks!
ScreenHub just listed Highrook as one of its top ten indies for 2025!
www.screenhub.com.au/news/feature...
Coincidentally you can get the game for 30% off right now!
store.steampowered.com/app/2836860/...
ScreenHub just listed Highrook as one of its top ten indies for 2025!
www.screenhub.com.au/news/feature...
Coincidentally you can get the game for 30% off right now!
store.steampowered.com/app/2836860/...
The 10 best indie video games of 2025 | ScreenHub: Film, TV, Streaming and Games
The best indie video games of 2025 include a god-fighting roguelike, manor mystery puzzlers, a quirky open world adventure, and more.
www.screenhub.com.au
December 19, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I haven't been shouting about Highrook as much as I should have this autumn/winter, but this was a nice reminder to do so!
Go buy my cosmic horror narrative board/card game thing! 30% off, thats basically a tenner (UK folk)!
Go buy my cosmic horror narrative board/card game thing! 30% off, thats basically a tenner (UK folk)!
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
GET EVERY STRANGE SCAFFOLD GAME FOR LESS THAN $60 BUCKS IN THE STEAM WINTER SALE
*13* DANG GAMES OF WILD VARIETY AND AMBITION--AND DISCOUNTS ON EVERYTHING ELSE WE DO GOING FORWARD
MAYBE CHECK IT OUT BECAUSE THAT'S A WILD DEAL???
store.steampowered.com/bundle/35090...
*13* DANG GAMES OF WILD VARIETY AND AMBITION--AND DISCOUNTS ON EVERYTHING ELSE WE DO GOING FORWARD
MAYBE CHECK IT OUT BECAUSE THAT'S A WILD DEAL???
store.steampowered.com/bundle/35090...
December 18, 2025 at 7:27 PM
GET EVERY STRANGE SCAFFOLD GAME FOR LESS THAN $60 BUCKS IN THE STEAM WINTER SALE
*13* DANG GAMES OF WILD VARIETY AND AMBITION--AND DISCOUNTS ON EVERYTHING ELSE WE DO GOING FORWARD
MAYBE CHECK IT OUT BECAUSE THAT'S A WILD DEAL???
store.steampowered.com/bundle/35090...
*13* DANG GAMES OF WILD VARIETY AND AMBITION--AND DISCOUNTS ON EVERYTHING ELSE WE DO GOING FORWARD
MAYBE CHECK IT OUT BECAUSE THAT'S A WILD DEAL???
store.steampowered.com/bundle/35090...
This looks rad
reminder you can sign up to be notified when it launches here
Sign up for news about the Game Writing Kaleidoscope
In early 2026 we’ll be publishing The Game Narrative Kaleidoscope, a collection of over 100 short essays by game writers about writing.
Featuring some very famous names, some highly experienced free...
forms.gle
December 17, 2025 at 9:26 PM
This looks rad
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
12 original tracks by nervous_testpilot accompany you as you guide your exiles to safety in The Banished Vault. Its soundtrack embodies the soul of the game, with moody, ambient pieces that reflect the loneliness of outer space and the fear of what you still might stand to lose.
December 12, 2025 at 4:05 PM
12 original tracks by nervous_testpilot accompany you as you guide your exiles to safety in The Banished Vault. Its soundtrack embodies the soul of the game, with moody, ambient pieces that reflect the loneliness of outer space and the fear of what you still might stand to lose.
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
@mode7games.bsky.social and DREAMTRAK absolutely killed on the music for The Banished Vault. go pick it up here nervoustestpilot.bandcamp.com/album/the-ba...
December 12, 2025 at 8:06 PM
@mode7games.bsky.social and DREAMTRAK absolutely killed on the music for The Banished Vault. go pick it up here nervoustestpilot.bandcamp.com/album/the-ba...
No incentive for posting this other than the fact that they are ace and their products are fab - if you are even tangentially interested in synths you should look into @kilohearts.com Phase Plant for $99 right now - rocks for the basics; opens up into a modular world
kilohearts.com/products/pha...
kilohearts.com/products/pha...
Kilohearts Phase Plant - New Era Synthesis
Phase Plant is a multi-award-winning, semi-modular softsynth developed for music producers and sound designers. A free 10-day trial is available.
kilohearts.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:41 AM
No incentive for posting this other than the fact that they are ace and their products are fab - if you are even tangentially interested in synths you should look into @kilohearts.com Phase Plant for $99 right now - rocks for the basics; opens up into a modular world
kilohearts.com/products/pha...
kilohearts.com/products/pha...
Yes thank you I *will* self-importantly point out that I got a lovely shout-out from @destructoid.bsky.social for my Knights in Tight Spaces soundtrack, calling it "wicked" no less. Made my day - thank you!
www.destructoid.com/despite-the-...
www.destructoid.com/despite-the-...
Despite the hefty dose of video game music, Spotify Wrapped pegged me as a 57-year-old
When do I get to sing 'My Way'?
www.destructoid.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Yes thank you I *will* self-importantly point out that I got a lovely shout-out from @destructoid.bsky.social for my Knights in Tight Spaces soundtrack, calling it "wicked" no less. Made my day - thank you!
www.destructoid.com/despite-the-...
www.destructoid.com/despite-the-...
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
Do you like narrative incremental games with about repetitive jobs for mysterious companies? Well then have I got a game for you...
Welcome to Halcyon Dynamics! In your new role you'll be expected to process digits efficiently and build a small well-motivated team. Don't overthink it; they're definitely just digits. A narrative-driven incremental management sim. store.steampowered.com/app/4218750?...
December 3, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Do you like narrative incremental games with about repetitive jobs for mysterious companies? Well then have I got a game for you...
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
Ok, Nearly the end of the year, and 6 months since Highrook was released! I wrote a little postmortem, covering some nerdy production info and my thoughts on what it was like to be an indie in the last few years.
www.nullpointer.co.uk/game-post-mo...
www.nullpointer.co.uk/game-post-mo...
Indie Game Post-mortem - Highrook
A rocky road to Highrook So 'The Horror At Highrook' has been…
www.nullpointer.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Ok, Nearly the end of the year, and 6 months since Highrook was released! I wrote a little postmortem, covering some nerdy production info and my thoughts on what it was like to be an indie in the last few years.
www.nullpointer.co.uk/game-post-mo...
www.nullpointer.co.uk/game-post-mo...
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
I wrote a short writeup on miscellaneous game release gotchas & pitfalls... enjoy!
blendogames.com/news/post/20...
blendogames.com/news/post/20...
December 1, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I wrote a short writeup on miscellaneous game release gotchas & pitfalls... enjoy!
blendogames.com/news/post/20...
blendogames.com/news/post/20...
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
As we celebrate Cyber Monday today, please save a thought for everyone responsible for bringing it to us.
December 1, 2025 at 2:36 PM
As we celebrate Cyber Monday today, please save a thought for everyone responsible for bringing it to us.
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
RIP to one of the best to ever do it. Absolute powerhouse and a legend.
Tom Stoppard, playwright of dazzling wit and playful erudition, dies aged 88
A theatrical sensation since the 1960s, whose dramas included Arcadia, The Real Thing and Leopoldstadt, Stoppard also had huge success as a screenwriter
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:37 PM
RIP to one of the best to ever do it. Absolute powerhouse and a legend.
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
And finished! Another 20 fantastic-looking unknown indie games to play right now or wishlist!
kotaku.com/indie-games-...
Thanks so much to everyone who submitted, and sorry to the hundreds I couldn't include! Very pleased to have managed to get to 40 though!
Please repost far and wide!
kotaku.com/indie-games-...
Thanks so much to everyone who submitted, and sorry to the hundreds I couldn't include! Very pleased to have managed to get to 40 though!
Please repost far and wide!
20 Extraordinary Indie Games To Wishlist This Black Friday
Another incredible selection of unknown games, both out now and coming soon
kotaku.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
And finished! Another 20 fantastic-looking unknown indie games to play right now or wishlist!
kotaku.com/indie-games-...
Thanks so much to everyone who submitted, and sorry to the hundreds I couldn't include! Very pleased to have managed to get to 40 though!
Please repost far and wide!
kotaku.com/indie-games-...
Thanks so much to everyone who submitted, and sorry to the hundreds I couldn't include! Very pleased to have managed to get to 40 though!
Please repost far and wide!
Is "owned" the millennial six-seven? Why am I suddenly sent back to 2003 every time I see this word in any context? Please enjoy my 4 hour video essay relating this to the ills of late-stage capitalism
November 28, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Is "owned" the millennial six-seven? Why am I suddenly sent back to 2003 every time I see this word in any context? Please enjoy my 4 hour video essay relating this to the ills of late-stage capitalism
This was fun and I maintain that stupidity should be one of the guiding principles of game marketing
When press releases go terribly right 😄
@mode7games.bsky.social used to send absurd press releases with Monty Python-esque language, and... it's great? I dug up some old ones for Paul to read out loud.
Full ep: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEl1...
@mode7games.bsky.social used to send absurd press releases with Monty Python-esque language, and... it's great? I dug up some old ones for Paul to read out loud.
Full ep: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEl1...
November 28, 2025 at 9:07 AM
This was fun and I maintain that stupidity should be one of the guiding principles of game marketing
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
Re: Last Repost. I always pause a little before reposting things that universal, because I have wrote to support myself with no back-up my entire adult life. However, day-job was journalism/criticism, and fiction what I did in my spare time. That's still having a dayjob.
November 26, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Re: Last Repost. I always pause a little before reposting things that universal, because I have wrote to support myself with no back-up my entire adult life. However, day-job was journalism/criticism, and fiction what I did in my spare time. That's still having a dayjob.
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
This was a great chat. I'm really calling for people working on games with more complex architectures (and also a greater technical understanding than me - not hard!) to be more transparent about any challenges around preservation.
Regulation looms over publishers ending support for games - but it might hit indies hardest.
@mode7games.bsky.social tells grokludo about the technical complexities that neither industry nor Stop Killing Games have planned for.
I also got him to read his absurd press releases out loud 😁
@mode7games.bsky.social tells grokludo about the technical complexities that neither industry nor Stop Killing Games have planned for.
I also got him to read his absurd press releases out loud 😁
November 24, 2025 at 11:49 AM
This was a great chat. I'm really calling for people working on games with more complex architectures (and also a greater technical understanding than me - not hard!) to be more transparent about any challenges around preservation.
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
Regulation looms over publishers ending support for games - but it might hit indies hardest.
@mode7games.bsky.social tells grokludo about the technical complexities that neither industry nor Stop Killing Games have planned for.
I also got him to read his absurd press releases out loud 😁
@mode7games.bsky.social tells grokludo about the technical complexities that neither industry nor Stop Killing Games have planned for.
I also got him to read his absurd press releases out loud 😁
November 24, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Regulation looms over publishers ending support for games - but it might hit indies hardest.
@mode7games.bsky.social tells grokludo about the technical complexities that neither industry nor Stop Killing Games have planned for.
I also got him to read his absurd press releases out loud 😁
@mode7games.bsky.social tells grokludo about the technical complexities that neither industry nor Stop Killing Games have planned for.
I also got him to read his absurd press releases out loud 😁
The greatest threat to productivity in our times
November 20, 2025 at 3:48 PM
The greatest threat to productivity in our times
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
REMINDER: 'Earth Must Die' desperately requires your WISHLISTS.
Please be amazing and pop over to Steam and drop us a wishlist, each and every one massively helps us out.
THANK YOU.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
Please be amazing and pop over to Steam and drop us a wishlist, each and every one massively helps us out.
THANK YOU.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
Earth Must Die on Steam
These moronic Terranoids think they can just roll in here and take over my beautiful Tyrythian kingdom? The kingdom that I built from the ground up with my bare hands, and only sort of inherited from ...
store.steampowered.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:46 PM
REMINDER: 'Earth Must Die' desperately requires your WISHLISTS.
Please be amazing and pop over to Steam and drop us a wishlist, each and every one massively helps us out.
THANK YOU.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
Please be amazing and pop over to Steam and drop us a wishlist, each and every one massively helps us out.
THANK YOU.
store.steampowered.com/app/3639780/...
Reposted by Paul Kilduff-Taylor
Best Friend of Size Five Games from The Swindle dev team @lottemakesstuff.pink has a new game coming out in 3 hours and it looks AMAZING.
A little bit 'Fights in Tight Spaces', a little bit 'Into the Breach', a little bit 'Devil's Kiss' and visually gorgeous
store.steampowered.com/app/1900250/...
A little bit 'Fights in Tight Spaces', a little bit 'Into the Breach', a little bit 'Devil's Kiss' and visually gorgeous
store.steampowered.com/app/1900250/...
Demonschool on Steam
Demonschool is a new-style tactics RPG where motion equals action. Defeat big weirdos in between the human and demon worlds as Faye and her misfit companions, while navigating university life on a mys...
store.steampowered.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Best Friend of Size Five Games from The Swindle dev team @lottemakesstuff.pink has a new game coming out in 3 hours and it looks AMAZING.
A little bit 'Fights in Tight Spaces', a little bit 'Into the Breach', a little bit 'Devil's Kiss' and visually gorgeous
store.steampowered.com/app/1900250/...
A little bit 'Fights in Tight Spaces', a little bit 'Into the Breach', a little bit 'Devil's Kiss' and visually gorgeous
store.steampowered.com/app/1900250/...