Patric Fallon
@patricfallon.bsky.social
Designer, writer, programmer & all-around #gamedev. Wish I could do the art stuff, too.
🌊 Created quiet survival adventure Aquamarine.
🎨 Lead programmer for arty-party drawing game Doodle Champs.
💭 Developing two as-yet-unannounced titles.
🌊 Created quiet survival adventure Aquamarine.
🎨 Lead programmer for arty-party drawing game Doodle Champs.
💭 Developing two as-yet-unannounced titles.
It’s wild to me how much I can relate to in this story of triple-A/triple-i developers. Really eases the alienation and frustration that comes with trying to get a commercial narrative game finished.
NEW: the new game Dispatch is a huge hit (1 million copies!). But few people know how close it came to never existing.
Here's the wild story, from a canceled Splinter Cell game (scoop!) to a Telltale divorce to the founders not taking paychecks for six months: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Here's the wild story, from a canceled Splinter Cell game (scoop!) to a Telltale divorce to the founders not taking paychecks for six months: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
The Turbulent, Seven-Year Saga Behind Hit Game ‘Dispatch’
The narrative, superhero game starring Aaron Paul of ‘Breaking Bad’ sold 1 million copies in the 10 days following its Oct. 22 release
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:28 PM
It’s wild to me how much I can relate to in this story of triple-A/triple-i developers. Really eases the alienation and frustration that comes with trying to get a commercial narrative game finished.
Reposted by Patric Fallon
re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...
Apologia for Game Wikis | Mixed Initiatives
mixedinitiatives.net
November 14, 2025 at 10:08 PM
re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...
Reposted by Patric Fallon
November 11, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Games industry veteran Alyssa Kollgaard has put together a tool called Publisher Pathfinder, which guides developers towards publishing partners and investors that match their game's needs.
www.gamesindustry.biz/publisher-pa...
www.gamesindustry.biz/publisher-pa...
Publisher Pathfinder is a new tool to help developers find publishing partners and investors
Styled as an old-school text adventure game, the tool includes a database of nearly 800 companies
www.gamesindustry.biz
November 7, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Games industry veteran Alyssa Kollgaard has put together a tool called Publisher Pathfinder, which guides developers towards publishing partners and investors that match their game's needs.
www.gamesindustry.biz/publisher-pa...
www.gamesindustry.biz/publisher-pa...
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Gotta start posting about Order Automatica more : ) Another big update coming soon.
Your last candle is flickering... Complete the ritual before the darkness takes you!
⚙️ Roguelike auto-battler played on a 3×3 grid.
#PitchYaGame #indiegame #roguelike
Your last candle is flickering... Complete the ritual before the darkness takes you!
⚙️ Roguelike auto-battler played on a 3×3 grid.
#PitchYaGame #indiegame #roguelike
November 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Gotta start posting about Order Automatica more : ) Another big update coming soon.
Your last candle is flickering... Complete the ritual before the darkness takes you!
⚙️ Roguelike auto-battler played on a 3×3 grid.
#PitchYaGame #indiegame #roguelike
Your last candle is flickering... Complete the ritual before the darkness takes you!
⚙️ Roguelike auto-battler played on a 3×3 grid.
#PitchYaGame #indiegame #roguelike
Started a lil side project this week as a treat and it’s all clicked so effortlessly!
Any guesses what I’m making? 📅 #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev
Any guesses what I’m making? 📅 #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev
November 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Started a lil side project this week as a treat and it’s all clicked so effortlessly!
Any guesses what I’m making? 📅 #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev
Any guesses what I’m making? 📅 #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev
While I remain adrift in publisher pitch purgatory, I'm giving myself the ultimate #gamedev treat today:
Permission to work on something new. 🎁
Permission to work on something new. 🎁
November 3, 2025 at 8:09 PM
While I remain adrift in publisher pitch purgatory, I'm giving myself the ultimate #gamedev treat today:
Permission to work on something new. 🎁
Permission to work on something new. 🎁
Reposted by Patric Fallon
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores...
#indiegames #pixelart #gamedev
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores...
#indiegames #pixelart #gamedev
November 3, 2025 at 4:22 PM
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores...
#indiegames #pixelart #gamedev
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores me
My game is good, the algorithm just ignores...
#indiegames #pixelart #gamedev
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Dear folks.
I’m collecting case studies on good/interesting game dev practice/process from artisanal solo devs or small teams. Please; more reccs for developers who are not dudes.
I’m collecting case studies on good/interesting game dev practice/process from artisanal solo devs or small teams. Please; more reccs for developers who are not dudes.
November 3, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Dear folks.
I’m collecting case studies on good/interesting game dev practice/process from artisanal solo devs or small teams. Please; more reccs for developers who are not dudes.
I’m collecting case studies on good/interesting game dev practice/process from artisanal solo devs or small teams. Please; more reccs for developers who are not dudes.
This is entirely accurate and it’s not even close.
I feel like I say this every year but I really need people to hear it. Halloween is the best American holiday. Just kids outside welcomed into their world, marching around together, showing off their costumes to the elderly, parents meeting parents, neighbors catching up with neighbors.
November 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
This is entirely accurate and it’s not even close.
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Gamedev friends, this is more proof that we are not to blame for the current state of our industry.
These are the same executives that follow every trend blindly and ignorantly.
Aggressive MTX, everything is a live service, DRM that only punish paying players, NFTs, and now AI.
What a shitshow.
These are the same executives that follow every trend blindly and ignorantly.
Aggressive MTX, everything is a live service, DRM that only punish paying players, NFTs, and now AI.
What a shitshow.
I legitimately didn't know they were competing with Steam and it's crazy to me that they burnt so much money on what sounds like something with very little (or wildly misguided) market research.
October 29, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Gamedev friends, this is more proof that we are not to blame for the current state of our industry.
These are the same executives that follow every trend blindly and ignorantly.
Aggressive MTX, everything is a live service, DRM that only punish paying players, NFTs, and now AI.
What a shitshow.
These are the same executives that follow every trend blindly and ignorantly.
Aggressive MTX, everything is a live service, DRM that only punish paying players, NFTs, and now AI.
What a shitshow.
Reposted by Patric Fallon
🎃 The itch.io Halloween Sale 2025 is LIVE! 👻
Over 13,000 spooky deals on games, tabletop RPGs, assets & more—running until Nov 4th.
itch.io/blog/1096153/the-itc...
Over 13,000 spooky deals on games, tabletop RPGs, assets & more—running until Nov 4th.
itch.io/blog/1096153/the-itc...
The itch.io Halloween Sale 2025 is live!
The shadows are growing longer and the best time of year for spooky games is finally here: The itch.io Halloween Sale 2025 is live! Creators across the site have summoned frighteningly good deals on t...
itch.io
October 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
🎃 The itch.io Halloween Sale 2025 is LIVE! 👻
Over 13,000 spooky deals on games, tabletop RPGs, assets & more—running until Nov 4th.
itch.io/blog/1096153/the-itc...
Over 13,000 spooky deals on games, tabletop RPGs, assets & more—running until Nov 4th.
itch.io/blog/1096153/the-itc...
Question for my #gamedev & #indiedev friends:
Have you supported an #indiegame Kickstarter within the past year? Drop a like if so ❤️
I'm curious if this is still a viable form of fundraising for tiny teams while the publisher availability continues to shrink. It is HARD out there, full stop.
Have you supported an #indiegame Kickstarter within the past year? Drop a like if so ❤️
I'm curious if this is still a viable form of fundraising for tiny teams while the publisher availability continues to shrink. It is HARD out there, full stop.
October 28, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Question for my #gamedev & #indiedev friends:
Have you supported an #indiegame Kickstarter within the past year? Drop a like if so ❤️
I'm curious if this is still a viable form of fundraising for tiny teams while the publisher availability continues to shrink. It is HARD out there, full stop.
Have you supported an #indiegame Kickstarter within the past year? Drop a like if so ❤️
I'm curious if this is still a viable form of fundraising for tiny teams while the publisher availability continues to shrink. It is HARD out there, full stop.
Happy Halloweeeeeek! 👻
I just saw good ol' @itch.io is having a spooky sale, so I decided to make my first full-length game AQUAMARINE available for $1. 😱
It's an exceedingly chill experience, but things do take a turn the deeper you dive...
moebial.itch.io/aquamarine
I just saw good ol' @itch.io is having a spooky sale, so I decided to make my first full-length game AQUAMARINE available for $1. 😱
It's an exceedingly chill experience, but things do take a turn the deeper you dive...
moebial.itch.io/aquamarine
Aquamarine: Explorer's Edition by moebial, hitcents
A quiet survival adventure in an alien ocean.
moebial.itch.io
October 27, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Happy Halloweeeeeek! 👻
I just saw good ol' @itch.io is having a spooky sale, so I decided to make my first full-length game AQUAMARINE available for $1. 😱
It's an exceedingly chill experience, but things do take a turn the deeper you dive...
moebial.itch.io/aquamarine
I just saw good ol' @itch.io is having a spooky sale, so I decided to make my first full-length game AQUAMARINE available for $1. 😱
It's an exceedingly chill experience, but things do take a turn the deeper you dive...
moebial.itch.io/aquamarine
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Reposted by Patric Fallon
There is no doubt in my mind that the legendary teams/ studios of the 2030s and 40s are going to be built over the next few years.
There's so much talent available right now and all it's going to take is a handful of money guys that remember you can make money off of Good Fundamentals.
There's so much talent available right now and all it's going to take is a handful of money guys that remember you can make money off of Good Fundamentals.
October 23, 2025 at 6:34 PM
There is no doubt in my mind that the legendary teams/ studios of the 2030s and 40s are going to be built over the next few years.
There's so much talent available right now and all it's going to take is a handful of money guys that remember you can make money off of Good Fundamentals.
There's so much talent available right now and all it's going to take is a handful of money guys that remember you can make money off of Good Fundamentals.
Reposted by Patric Fallon
In Capital, Marx quotes a bunch of bourgeois folk who say actually automation creates jobs because employers use the money they save on expanding the scale of production. His reply is essentially ‘well yeah eventually but it’s still a fucked time for the individual workers’
Take-Two CEO predicts genAI will create jobs, not kill them
Take-Two CEO predicts genAI will create jobs, not kill them
'The reason [AI] is so extraordinary right now is because what we have is a combination of metadata with a parlor trick; we're all going to get used to it.'
www.gamedeveloper.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:24 PM
In Capital, Marx quotes a bunch of bourgeois folk who say actually automation creates jobs because employers use the money they save on expanding the scale of production. His reply is essentially ‘well yeah eventually but it’s still a fucked time for the individual workers’
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Keep coming back to this days later. Thinking of our story on Drag Her!, thinking of every story that I heard from friends that did sign.
My new plan? Build towards grants. Keep your games small, novel, clanky. Disregard people who do not add to your project, which means... nearly every publisher.
My new plan? Build towards grants. Keep your games small, novel, clanky. Disregard people who do not add to your project, which means... nearly every publisher.
Look, it’s really straightforward to get a publisher as a new name indie in 2025. Simply do 95% of the work making and marketing your game, and if your metrics are trending towards almost certain success, a publisher will swoop in to promise the remaining 5%, deliver 3%, and collect 75%
October 20, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Keep coming back to this days later. Thinking of our story on Drag Her!, thinking of every story that I heard from friends that did sign.
My new plan? Build towards grants. Keep your games small, novel, clanky. Disregard people who do not add to your project, which means... nearly every publisher.
My new plan? Build towards grants. Keep your games small, novel, clanky. Disregard people who do not add to your project, which means... nearly every publisher.
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Ouch but.... Not false. We need people to drop the excel sheets and get in early, get in and take risk instead of just being fucking middlemen. If you're taking revenue % - fucking earn it.
Look, it’s really straightforward to get a publisher as a new name indie in 2025. Simply do 95% of the work making and marketing your game, and if your metrics are trending towards almost certain success, a publisher will swoop in to promise the remaining 5%, deliver 3%, and collect 75%
October 19, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Ouch but.... Not false. We need people to drop the excel sheets and get in early, get in and take risk instead of just being fucking middlemen. If you're taking revenue % - fucking earn it.
I am desperate to know of any instance of this not being true.
Look, it’s really straightforward to get a publisher as a new name indie in 2025. Simply do 95% of the work making and marketing your game, and if your metrics are trending towards almost certain success, a publisher will swoop in to promise the remaining 5%, deliver 3%, and collect 75%
October 18, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I am desperate to know of any instance of this not being true.
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Oh baybee I got some exciting updates in the works for Doodle Champs! I'll be adding even more free cosmetics and challenges in the next update too.
👉 Full roadmap here:
www.doodlechamps.com/roadmap
#indiegame #gamedev #drawing #artist
👉 Full roadmap here:
www.doodlechamps.com/roadmap
#indiegame #gamedev #drawing #artist
October 18, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Oh baybee I got some exciting updates in the works for Doodle Champs! I'll be adding even more free cosmetics and challenges in the next update too.
👉 Full roadmap here:
www.doodlechamps.com/roadmap
#indiegame #gamedev #drawing #artist
👉 Full roadmap here:
www.doodlechamps.com/roadmap
#indiegame #gamedev #drawing #artist
We put in a ton of hard work to get this update ready for y'all! I've already got a favorite nameplate that I'm reppin' HARD in the game ("Mouse Master" if you must know 🐭)
Check out what else is new & if you haven't already, pick up the game for only $8! ✍️
Check out what else is new & if you haven't already, pick up the game for only $8! ✍️
The Doodle Champs FREE Cosmetics update is here!! 🎨 Complete tasks to earn STYLISH nameplates and show off your favourite style to your friends online while you draw! ✨
Full patch notes:
store.steampowered.com/news/app/161...
Full patch notes:
store.steampowered.com/news/app/161...
October 17, 2025 at 5:42 PM
We put in a ton of hard work to get this update ready for y'all! I've already got a favorite nameplate that I'm reppin' HARD in the game ("Mouse Master" if you must know 🐭)
Check out what else is new & if you haven't already, pick up the game for only $8! ✍️
Check out what else is new & if you haven't already, pick up the game for only $8! ✍️
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Please read our statement regarding the proposed Electronic Arts buyout. We refuse to let corporate greed decide the future of our industry.
cwa-union.org/news/release...
cwa-union.org/news/release...
October 16, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Please read our statement regarding the proposed Electronic Arts buyout. We refuse to let corporate greed decide the future of our industry.
cwa-union.org/news/release...
cwa-union.org/news/release...
Reposted by Patric Fallon
Looking for a party game that combines social deduction with the pleasant absurdity of rating animals, films, and the weather on a scale of ★ to ★★★★★? And it's just a simple deck of cards? AND it's live on Kickstarter now?!?! Guess what, STARFRIENDS has launched! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bra...
Starfriends: The 5-Star Game About What Everyone Else Thinks
A party game where you get into your friends' heads. Kinda like a blend of Wavelength and Letterboxd that fits into a deck of cards.
www.kickstarter.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Looking for a party game that combines social deduction with the pleasant absurdity of rating animals, films, and the weather on a scale of ★ to ★★★★★? And it's just a simple deck of cards? AND it's live on Kickstarter now?!?! Guess what, STARFRIENDS has launched! www.kickstarter.com/projects/bra...
Reposted by Patric Fallon
The nod of respect through ages when you realise ‘I want the mechanic to feel like game X’ is often achieved by putting in a round number, or the simplest possible shape of code. Feeling in that moment the reality that all games are made by a somewhat frazzled person just trying to get it to work.
October 15, 2025 at 10:10 AM
The nod of respect through ages when you realise ‘I want the mechanic to feel like game X’ is often achieved by putting in a round number, or the simplest possible shape of code. Feeling in that moment the reality that all games are made by a somewhat frazzled person just trying to get it to work.