Nikki Kuppens
@patt3rson.bsky.social
Senior Game Designer @ Raw Power Games. Previously IO Interactive, Ubisoft Massive. Worked on The Division 1 & 2, Halo: Spartan Assault/Strike, Gatling Gears, Greed Corp. Opinions are my own.
Doing some work downstairs, my 5-year old son asks about my laptop. I mention the keyboard and he starts laughing out loud at the Dutch word for it (toetsenbord). I repeat it and my wife joins in on the uncontrollable laughing. My 2-year old happily laughs along. Dutch is a joke to my Danish family.
February 6, 2026 at 6:46 AM
Doing some work downstairs, my 5-year old son asks about my laptop. I mention the keyboard and he starts laughing out loud at the Dutch word for it (toetsenbord). I repeat it and my wife joins in on the uncontrollable laughing. My 2-year old happily laughs along. Dutch is a joke to my Danish family.
I usually work from our Copenhagen office once a week and today it was freezing cold traveling there and back, but I love how the city looks in winter when the sky is clear and the sun is out. This is the Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady) right next to the office.
February 2, 2026 at 9:40 PM
I usually work from our Copenhagen office once a week and today it was freezing cold traveling there and back, but I love how the city looks in winter when the sky is clear and the sun is out. This is the Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady) right next to the office.
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
Many game studios have "shadow production", in which someone sets up a parallel (but functioning) system of organization to compensate for the inadequacies of whatever methodology the actual producer insists on employing; thus requiring an act of continuous translation between the two.
February 2, 2026 at 6:28 AM
Many game studios have "shadow production", in which someone sets up a parallel (but functioning) system of organization to compensate for the inadequacies of whatever methodology the actual producer insists on employing; thus requiring an act of continuous translation between the two.
Activision flew us out with parachute planes to a remote hotel in Poland, where Eva Braun supposedly lived. We drove army Jeeps and track vehicles through the woods and got ambushed by Nazis, who brought us to a bunker where we played Call of Duty 2 and Big Red One.
What are the wildest video game promo events you can remember?
Things like game reviewers being brought out to the gun range to shoot a .50 cal or SAW.
Things like game reviewers being brought out to the gun range to shoot a .50 cal or SAW.
January 22, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Activision flew us out with parachute planes to a remote hotel in Poland, where Eva Braun supposedly lived. We drove army Jeeps and track vehicles through the woods and got ambushed by Nazis, who brought us to a bunker where we played Call of Duty 2 and Big Red One.
Watching Fast X for the first time and this must be the most nonsensical entry in the series. That’s saying a lot, because in F9 they went to space. But this one has a very silly Jason Momoa and a big celebrity cast that knows exactly what kind of movie they showed up for. I love it, sort of.
a man wearing sunglasses and a snakeskin jacket is walking down a street
Alt: Jason Momoa in Fast X driving by on a motorcycle making a funny face.
media.tenor.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Watching Fast X for the first time and this must be the most nonsensical entry in the series. That’s saying a lot, because in F9 they went to space. But this one has a very silly Jason Momoa and a big celebrity cast that knows exactly what kind of movie they showed up for. I love it, sort of.
Unfortunately I no longer live in Holland, so this awesome opportunity to create cool games with Adriaan at his new company is not for me, but it could be for you!
friends! acquaintances! help!
i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty!
hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...
i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty!
hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...
Job opening: game designer @ Hidden Folks
We're looking for a game designer in the Netherlands to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
hiddenfolks.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Unfortunately I no longer live in Holland, so this awesome opportunity to create cool games with Adriaan at his new company is not for me, but it could be for you!
So, unpacking the 360 and installing the game was as far as I got. 😅 Too much other cool stuff to play. Still going to try and play Skyrim this year, but now that I have a Switch 2, it’s competing with Breadth of the Wild.
And for this year's pile of shame backlog pick, I'm going to try and 100% (in terms of Achievements) Skyrim. The original for Xbox 360, including DLCs. I unlocked 1 Achievement in 2014 by exiting the first dungeon and never came back. Gonna have to dust off the old 360, it's not backward compatible.
My yearly New Year’s resolution is to play a game that’s been on my pile of shame list for a long time. Several good Obra Dinn-likes have come out that seem right up my alley, so it only makes sense to kick off playing a series of these with the actual Return of the Obra Dinn.
January 2, 2026 at 11:56 AM
So, unpacking the 360 and installing the game was as far as I got. 😅 Too much other cool stuff to play. Still going to try and play Skyrim this year, but now that I have a Switch 2, it’s competing with Breadth of the Wild.
My most anticipated game for 2026 is so obvious (GTA6, assuming it will release this year) that I’m just going to add a top 3 on top of that: Forza Horizon 6, Wolverine and the Tomb Raider remake Legacy of Atlantis.
January 1, 2026 at 8:20 AM
My most anticipated game for 2026 is so obvious (GTA6, assuming it will release this year) that I’m just going to add a top 3 on top of that: Forza Horizon 6, Wolverine and the Tomb Raider remake Legacy of Atlantis.
Solid advice.
Hello Netherlands, it is the Final Purge Day today. Stay safe from fireworks and for the new folks in the Netherlands, always remember: if anything falls in your bag today, you drop it and run. If kids suddenly run away from you, you run too. Happy New Year!
December 31, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Solid advice.
I didn’t play that many games that came out this year, but my 2025 GOTY is without a doubt Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. What an achievement that is for Sandfall and what an experience it was to play. It’s closely followed by Split Fiction, which does some real game dev magic at the end.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies ...
www.expedition33.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:20 AM
I didn’t play that many games that came out this year, but my 2025 GOTY is without a doubt Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. What an achievement that is for Sandfall and what an experience it was to play. It’s closely followed by Split Fiction, which does some real game dev magic at the end.
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Bad work gums up the gears and slows things down. Clarity of communication is essential for coordination, and both clarity and communication are a lot of work and take time!
December 26, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Bad work gums up the gears and slows things down. Clarity of communication is essential for coordination, and both clarity and communication are a lot of work and take time!
Took the kids on a trip around Christmassy Copenhagen today and we went inside the gorgeous Marmorkirken for the first time, which looks extra impressive with its cozy Christmas lighting.
December 22, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Took the kids on a trip around Christmassy Copenhagen today and we went inside the gorgeous Marmorkirken for the first time, which looks extra impressive with its cozy Christmas lighting.
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
Frankly, most game productions are bottlenecked by directors or senior studio leadership – exactly the people who will tell you that their work cannot be replaced with an LLM and who have the power to make it so
December 22, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Frankly, most game productions are bottlenecked by directors or senior studio leadership – exactly the people who will tell you that their work cannot be replaced with an LLM and who have the power to make it so
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
We have prepared one little snack before the year's end. 👀
Our latest blog dives into how we approach combat design and what it takes to build a solid foundation for the player experience. ⚔️
Read it here 👇
store.steampowered.com/news/app/223...
Our latest blog dives into how we approach combat design and what it takes to build a solid foundation for the player experience. ⚔️
Read it here 👇
store.steampowered.com/news/app/223...
Chronicles: Medieval - Steam News Hub
Updates, events, and news from the developers of Chronicles: Medieval.
store.steampowered.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:26 PM
We have prepared one little snack before the year's end. 👀
Our latest blog dives into how we approach combat design and what it takes to build a solid foundation for the player experience. ⚔️
Read it here 👇
store.steampowered.com/news/app/223...
Our latest blog dives into how we approach combat design and what it takes to build a solid foundation for the player experience. ⚔️
Read it here 👇
store.steampowered.com/news/app/223...
I couldn’t pick what part to quote post, it’s just all of this thread. I pride myself on my design writing skills and have been valued for it everywhere I worked. It’s not just putting things to paper, so much thought and design happens while writing. If you didn’t write it, you don’t understand it.
If you don't understand that a design document is a communication tool that needs to be carefully crafted & refined to ensure it's understood, then you can't decide whether a machine can do it better or not. Designers know their teams and how to communicate with them. That's part of the skillset.
December 21, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I couldn’t pick what part to quote post, it’s just all of this thread. I pride myself on my design writing skills and have been valued for it everywhere I worked. It’s not just putting things to paper, so much thought and design happens while writing. If you didn’t write it, you don’t understand it.
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
Doing your budgets or schedules with a technology that routinely hallucinates is a terrible idea (as is contracts, legal advice, etc.).
Doing docs with AI is making the primary source of truth unreliable for the team and creates ambiguity or conflict, and thus also a terrible idea.
Doing docs with AI is making the primary source of truth unreliable for the team and creates ambiguity or conflict, and thus also a terrible idea.
As the backlash to generative AI in video games continues to pick up steam heading into 2026, it'll be fascinating to see what is considered "made with generative AI." Can a dev team say they're not using AI if they're writing design docs with Copilot or using chatGPT to make schedules and budgets?
December 21, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Doing your budgets or schedules with a technology that routinely hallucinates is a terrible idea (as is contracts, legal advice, etc.).
Doing docs with AI is making the primary source of truth unreliable for the team and creates ambiguity or conflict, and thus also a terrible idea.
Doing docs with AI is making the primary source of truth unreliable for the team and creates ambiguity or conflict, and thus also a terrible idea.
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
I know he’s only using it as a general example, but when talking about this with artist and writer friends I often say a variation of: genai doesn’t impact me as much as it does you so I can be more nuanced, but the moment someone hands me a generated design doc I will go absolutely nuclear
As the backlash to generative AI in video games continues to pick up steam heading into 2026, it'll be fascinating to see what is considered "made with generative AI." Can a dev team say they're not using AI if they're writing design docs with Copilot or using chatGPT to make schedules and budgets?
December 21, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I know he’s only using it as a general example, but when talking about this with artist and writer friends I often say a variation of: genai doesn’t impact me as much as it does you so I can be more nuanced, but the moment someone hands me a generated design doc I will go absolutely nuclear
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
Most of us did not choose to write or draw or design so that we could put products on the shelf. We chose to do it because it’s a set of skills we enjoy exercising, that give us fulfillment.
It’s like asking a pro pitcher to just let a machine pitch for them. Fuck off and give me the ball.
It’s like asking a pro pitcher to just let a machine pitch for them. Fuck off and give me the ball.
December 18, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Most of us did not choose to write or draw or design so that we could put products on the shelf. We chose to do it because it’s a set of skills we enjoy exercising, that give us fulfillment.
It’s like asking a pro pitcher to just let a machine pitch for them. Fuck off and give me the ball.
It’s like asking a pro pitcher to just let a machine pitch for them. Fuck off and give me the ball.
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
December 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.
Olivier Richters as Zangief is some on point casting.
Street Fighter - Official Sneak Peek Teaser (2026) Andrew Koji, Callina Liang
YouTube video by IGN
www.youtube.com
December 12, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Olivier Richters as Zangief is some on point casting.
Reposted by Nikki Kuppens
Hey Bluesky! Our new small studio just released our first game, a physics puzzle game taking place on a remote planet. Please have a look and see if it might be for you. We'd also appreciate any help to spread the word, and any feedback.
store.steampowered.com/app/3965930/...
#Indie #GameDev
store.steampowered.com/app/3965930/...
#Indie #GameDev
Save 15% on Puzzle Parasite on Steam
Puzzle Parasite is a sci-fi puzzle adventure where you wield telekinetic powers and a cricket bat. You send energy cores flying, power alien tech, and avoid deadly lasers, as you go deeper to uncover ...
store.steampowered.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Hey Bluesky! Our new small studio just released our first game, a physics puzzle game taking place on a remote planet. Please have a look and see if it might be for you. We'd also appreciate any help to spread the word, and any feedback.
store.steampowered.com/app/3965930/...
#Indie #GameDev
store.steampowered.com/app/3965930/...
#Indie #GameDev
Video games, man. ❤️ Incredible.
Everything announced at The Game Awards 2025
The Game Awards included a bounty of new game reveals and fresh looks at upcoming releases.
www.polygon.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Video games, man. ❤️ Incredible.
Ready for December to start.
November 27, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Ready for December to start.
I've never had any issues getting credited (yet), but credit status is completely irrelevant to what goes on my CV. Companies control the in-game credits and shouldn't be dicks about it, I control my portfolio and will accurately list my experience.
This should not be controversial. You did the work, list the experience.
My controversial take is that if you didn't get credited on a game you have proof you've worked on, just list it on your CV.
I do with one. Never had any issues.
Not being credited still sucks but you don't need to be polite when they're not.
I do with one. Never had any issues.
Not being credited still sucks but you don't need to be polite when they're not.
November 26, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I've never had any issues getting credited (yet), but credit status is completely irrelevant to what goes on my CV. Companies control the in-game credits and shouldn't be dicks about it, I control my portfolio and will accurately list my experience.