Nat Mesnard
@natmesnard.bsky.social
Game designer, writer, teacher in NYC. Co-founder Scryptid Games & Unquiet Games. They/them 🤖 natmesnard.com
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Today on Edge Effects, @natmesnard.bsky.social reflects on their new table top role-playing game Assemblages: the strange creatures players create for its imaginary multispecies universe and the meditation they elicit on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival in the Anthropocene. ♟️🍄
Role-Playing Queer Assemblages Amidst Capitalist Ruins - Edge Effects
Ecologically inspired role-playing game Assemblages is a meditation on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival.
edgeeffects.net
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Yes! Love to see @scryptidgames.bsky.social titles in indie bookstores 🎉 And @games.mothspire.com nearby 💖
Looking for a last-minute gift for the gamer in your life? Check out the locally-designed games at your neighborhood book, comic, or game shop!
Here in the DMV, @peoplesbooktakoma.com *just* restocked with indie zines after selling out earlier in the season -- come and get them!
Here in the DMV, @peoplesbooktakoma.com *just* restocked with indie zines after selling out earlier in the season -- come and get them!
December 24, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Yes! Love to see @scryptidgames.bsky.social titles in indie bookstores 🎉 And @games.mothspire.com nearby 💖
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Lovely write-up in Gay City News for @juliewbach.bsky.social and their bookstore Hive Mind Books.
Queer bookstore Hive Mind Books builds community in Brooklyn
At the start of last summer, shortly after Kaitlyn Crockett moved to New York City, she opened her smartphone and searched for the nearest locations matching
gaycitynews.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Lovely write-up in Gay City News for @juliewbach.bsky.social and their bookstore Hive Mind Books.
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Any day a package from @scryptidgames.bsky.social arrives is a great day! I’m really excited to dive into Assemblage by @natmesnard.bsky.social.
December 23, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Any day a package from @scryptidgames.bsky.social arrives is a great day! I’m really excited to dive into Assemblage by @natmesnard.bsky.social.
I'm so glad it's in your hands @czamboni.bsky.social! Can't wait to hear what you think of the design ☺️
Just before departing for Italy, this beautiful game by @natmesnard.bsky.social and @scryptidgames.bsky.social arrived, so I can bring it with me!
I tried this at Metatopia in 2024 and it was great - I'm looking forward to seeing what has changed!
🌏❤️
#ttrpg
I tried this at Metatopia in 2024 and it was great - I'm looking forward to seeing what has changed!
🌏❤️
#ttrpg
December 21, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I'm so glad it's in your hands @czamboni.bsky.social! Can't wait to hear what you think of the design ☺️
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
'Tis the season for hot chocolate, cozy blankets, and the itch.io Winter Sale! Check out our game discounts and core game bundle going on now until January 5th ☃️🏷
itch.io/s/175924/win...
itch.io/s/175924/win...
December 17, 2025 at 8:45 PM
'Tis the season for hot chocolate, cozy blankets, and the itch.io Winter Sale! Check out our game discounts and core game bundle going on now until January 5th ☃️🏷
itch.io/s/175924/win...
itch.io/s/175924/win...
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Winter sale! ❄️ Scryptid Games products are 30% off this month on itch.io/s/175091/win...!
Winter Sale 2025 by Scryptid Games
A bundle by Scryptid Games, $28.00 for 4 games
itch.io
December 17, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Winter sale! ❄️ Scryptid Games products are 30% off this month on itch.io/s/175091/win...!
A delightful release party and a delightful worldbuilding game!
Have you heard about A Land Once Magic?
Check out this great new game by @vidityavoleti.bsky.social, published by @moreblueberries.bsky.social
From the ALOM release party at The Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn
alomrpg.world
Check out this great new game by @vidityavoleti.bsky.social, published by @moreblueberries.bsky.social
From the ALOM release party at The Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn
alomrpg.world
December 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
A delightful release party and a delightful worldbuilding game!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
The 2026 Narrascope website is live!
narrascope.org
narrascope.org
NarraScope 2026 | A Hybrid Conference on Interactive Narrative
NarraScope is a conference that brings together the writers, developers, scholars, and players of interactive narrative.
narrascope.org
December 9, 2025 at 8:09 PM
The 2026 Narrascope website is live!
narrascope.org
narrascope.org
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
@natmesnard.bsky.social & I had a great time chatting with Zoey on True Avatars, her weekly podcast about queer games! It was a fun convo that got into some serious issues - from puzzle design & “MetroidBrainias,” to fascism & queer erasure. Find the full interview (both audio & video) linked below!
A lot of queer media is at risk of being removed right now, so I spoke to two devs who are making Banned Together, a first person puzzle game about queer books mysteriously disappearing from the shelves of a library
Video version HERE (other platforms in thread):
youtu.be/C5wsBatoc_0
Video version HERE (other platforms in thread):
youtu.be/C5wsBatoc_0
Ep. 63 - Interview with Unquiet Games: When Your Game About Censorship is at Risk of Being Censored
YouTube video by True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 4:16 AM
@natmesnard.bsky.social & I had a great time chatting with Zoey on True Avatars, her weekly podcast about queer games! It was a fun convo that got into some serious issues - from puzzle design & “MetroidBrainias,” to fascism & queer erasure. Find the full interview (both audio & video) linked below!
Who can point me to some TTRPGs that use a physical component *other than* dice, cards, and tarot? I'm thinking games like Dread, only not Jenga. Give me your recs!
December 3, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Who can point me to some TTRPGs that use a physical component *other than* dice, cards, and tarot? I'm thinking games like Dread, only not Jenga. Give me your recs!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Today on Edge Effects, @natmesnard.bsky.social reflects on their new table top role-playing game Assemblages: the strange creatures players create for its imaginary multispecies universe and the meditation they elicit on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival in the Anthropocene. ♟️🍄
December 1, 2025 at 1:47 AM
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Today on Edge Effects, @natmesnard.bsky.social reflects on their new table top role-playing game Assemblages: the strange creatures players create for its imaginary multispecies universe and the meditation they elicit on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival in the Anthropocene. ♟️🍄
Role-Playing Queer Assemblages Amidst Capitalist Ruins - Edge Effects
Ecologically inspired role-playing game Assemblages is a meditation on extinction, grief, and collaborative, queer survival.
edgeeffects.net
December 1, 2025 at 1:27 AM
If you picked up Assemblage at PAX Unplugged and wanna read more about it, I have this exceedingly nerdy design diary / personal essay up over on @edgeeffectsmag.bsky.social 🍄
Oooh, this haul also looks so so good 🤩
December 1, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Oooh, this haul also looks so so good 🤩
Delighted to see Assemblage amidst this enticing haul, being its RPG-in-a-box self at center along w/ so many indie friends! 🍄
December reading.
Some of this is re-reading, to be fair. A lot of this job is thumbing through games and then seeing which are the ones I can't stop thinking about
Some of this is re-reading, to be fair. A lot of this job is thumbing through games and then seeing which are the ones I can't stop thinking about
November 30, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Delighted to see Assemblage amidst this enticing haul, being its RPG-in-a-box self at center along w/ so many indie friends! 🍄
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
I’m editing an anthology! And it’s about cryptids! 👀 This is a dream project for me, and I can’t wait to share this book of games, stories, poems, and other uncanny ephemera with you. Follow the project on Backerkit to learn more.
We are crowdfunding our first anthology! Tales from the Cryptids will launch on Backerkit for Zinetopia in February 2026. Follow the project to be the first to know when it goes live: bit.ly/3XVa94n.
November 29, 2025 at 7:47 PM
I’m editing an anthology! And it’s about cryptids! 👀 This is a dream project for me, and I can’t wait to share this book of games, stories, poems, and other uncanny ephemera with you. Follow the project on Backerkit to learn more.
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
We are crowdfunding our first anthology! Tales from the Cryptids will launch on Backerkit for Zinetopia in February 2026. Follow the project to be the first to know when it goes live: bit.ly/3XVa94n.
November 29, 2025 at 7:44 PM
We are crowdfunding our first anthology! Tales from the Cryptids will launch on Backerkit for Zinetopia in February 2026. Follow the project to be the first to know when it goes live: bit.ly/3XVa94n.
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
3 FT Lecturers of Game Design jobs at UAlbany
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
albany.interviewexchange.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:20 PM
3 FT Lecturers of Game Design jobs at UAlbany
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
Open to game designers, developers, technical artists, narrative designers with a Master's.
Metro North is starting limited train service from Grand Central
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#gamejob #gamejobs
HT/ @jcorace.bsky.social
I got to playtest this at Metatopia and it was an atmospheric delight. I love what this design team is doing with ritual space and immersion. ✨ Definitely a project to support!
HINTERLIGHT IS LIVE ON KICKSTARTER BABY!
Thanks a million to @plusoneexp.bsky.social and @rrookstudio.bsky.social and special thanks to @feralcharlie.bsky.social for the trailer!
ttrpg.link/hinterlight
Thanks a million to @plusoneexp.bsky.social and @rrookstudio.bsky.social and special thanks to @feralcharlie.bsky.social for the trailer!
ttrpg.link/hinterlight
Hinterlight
A gothic worldbuilding ritual & roleplaying game that sews seeds of adventure as you tell the tale of your demise!
ttrpg.link
November 18, 2025 at 7:03 PM
I got to playtest this at Metatopia and it was an atmospheric delight. I love what this design team is doing with ritual space and immersion. ✨ Definitely a project to support!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Thanks to Nat Mesnard and Lauren Bilanko for having us at their Game Design Days panel! We had a blast talking about media inspirations, playtesting, and how to pinpoint the fun in a game. Keep an eye out for other events at Twenty Sided Store, especially Nat’s Assemblage release party on 1/31!
November 17, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Thanks to Nat Mesnard and Lauren Bilanko for having us at their Game Design Days panel! We had a blast talking about media inspirations, playtesting, and how to pinpoint the fun in a game. Keep an eye out for other events at Twenty Sided Store, especially Nat’s Assemblage release party on 1/31!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
Tomorrow Nov 16 is the TTRPG Writing Workshop at Twenty Sided Store in NYC! It is part of NYU's Game Design Days and is lead by one of our Narrascope volunteers @natmesnard.bsky.social game-design-days.com
Game Design Days
Game Design Days is a NYU Game Center sponsored event series that highlights the underground independent game development communities of NYC.
game-design-days.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Tomorrow Nov 16 is the TTRPG Writing Workshop at Twenty Sided Store in NYC! It is part of NYU's Game Design Days and is lead by one of our Narrascope volunteers @natmesnard.bsky.social game-design-days.com
My @nyugamecenter.bsky.social Game Design Days event is gonna be so much fun. Just finished outlining the playstorming plan, and we'll be writing TTRPGs that take inspiration from TV and video games (like the delightful @sccreatives.bsky.social game Campanions!)
twentysidedstore.com/collections/...
twentysidedstore.com/collections/...
Spotlight | NYU Game Design Days w/ Scryptid Games & Twenty Sided
Game Design Days is a week-long NYU Game Center sponsored event highlighting indie game design and production, connecting students and game enthusiasts with professionals to inspire creative futures. ...
twentysidedstore.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM
My @nyugamecenter.bsky.social Game Design Days event is gonna be so much fun. Just finished outlining the playstorming plan, and we'll be writing TTRPGs that take inspiration from TV and video games (like the delightful @sccreatives.bsky.social game Campanions!)
twentysidedstore.com/collections/...
twentysidedstore.com/collections/...
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
If you’re looking into novellas during awards season, I humbly put forth my own, from @neonhemlock.bsky.social?
Gay archeologists, academic footnotes, alt history shenanigans, giant robots, hot superheroes, and hard-to-cook samosas are all plot points!
www.neonhemlock.com/books/iron-b...
Gay archeologists, academic footnotes, alt history shenanigans, giant robots, hot superheroes, and hard-to-cook samosas are all plot points!
www.neonhemlock.com/books/iron-b...
The Iron Below Remembers by Sharang Biswas — neon hemlock
Publication date: March 25, 2025. An 8” x 5” novella. Set in an alternate version of the British Isles where South Asian imperial interest colonized much of the globe thanks to their advanced techno...
www.neonhemlock.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
If you’re looking into novellas during awards season, I humbly put forth my own, from @neonhemlock.bsky.social?
Gay archeologists, academic footnotes, alt history shenanigans, giant robots, hot superheroes, and hard-to-cook samosas are all plot points!
www.neonhemlock.com/books/iron-b...
Gay archeologists, academic footnotes, alt history shenanigans, giant robots, hot superheroes, and hard-to-cook samosas are all plot points!
www.neonhemlock.com/books/iron-b...
This cute little game I designed with @patrickdkwatson.bsky.social is out now! ✨
Starlee Davidson by @9thlevelgames.bsky.social is a game of Tarot, Motorcycles, and Self Healing. A no prep TTRPG, the cards lead the story and the players as they take on different roles in a psychedelic explosion of mystery, mysticism, and motorbikes.
tabletopbookshelf.com/products/sta...
tabletopbookshelf.com/products/sta...
November 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
This cute little game I designed with @patrickdkwatson.bsky.social is out now! ✨
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
A live game show, a game manual jam, game-based street dance & live music, networking and gallery shows… a few highlights from our packed week of Game Design Days 2025!
The fun kicks off this Friday, 11/14, leading up to No Quarter on 11/22. Free events all week — most requiring RSVP!
Link in bio!
The fun kicks off this Friday, 11/14, leading up to No Quarter on 11/22. Free events all week — most requiring RSVP!
Link in bio!
November 12, 2025 at 8:30 PM
A live game show, a game manual jam, game-based street dance & live music, networking and gallery shows… a few highlights from our packed week of Game Design Days 2025!
The fun kicks off this Friday, 11/14, leading up to No Quarter on 11/22. Free events all week — most requiring RSVP!
Link in bio!
The fun kicks off this Friday, 11/14, leading up to No Quarter on 11/22. Free events all week — most requiring RSVP!
Link in bio!
Reposted by Nat Mesnard
New York friends, who will we see at Game Design Days at Twenty Sided Store this Sunday, 11/16??
Join us for a two-part interactive creative event with @natmesnard.bsky.social, @twentysided.bsky.social, and @sccreatives.bsky.social.
More info: bit.ly/4oIP9da
Join us for a two-part interactive creative event with @natmesnard.bsky.social, @twentysided.bsky.social, and @sccreatives.bsky.social.
More info: bit.ly/4oIP9da
Spotlight | NYU Game Design Days w/ Scryptid Games & Twenty Sided
Game Design Days is a week-long NYU Game Center sponsored event highlighting indie game design and production, connecting students and game enthusiasts with professionals to inspire creative futures. ...
bit.ly
November 11, 2025 at 10:41 PM
New York friends, who will we see at Game Design Days at Twenty Sided Store this Sunday, 11/16??
Join us for a two-part interactive creative event with @natmesnard.bsky.social, @twentysided.bsky.social, and @sccreatives.bsky.social.
More info: bit.ly/4oIP9da
Join us for a two-part interactive creative event with @natmesnard.bsky.social, @twentysided.bsky.social, and @sccreatives.bsky.social.
More info: bit.ly/4oIP9da