Jean-Phénix De
@phenixde.bsky.social
Game designer / System Designer / Mathématicien.
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
really my problem with the traditional game industry is it feels like everything gets put on two poles, both of which are unquestioned: the grimdark fantasies of violence and conquest and the cartoony family-friendly fantasy that's just pure escapism and we don't have to think about anything.
October 25, 2025 at 5:04 PM
really my problem with the traditional game industry is it feels like everything gets put on two poles, both of which are unquestioned: the grimdark fantasies of violence and conquest and the cartoony family-friendly fantasy that's just pure escapism and we don't have to think about anything.
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
still thinking about this article today. so many societal ills are caused by people white-washing what actually happens. it's awful to see games do it too.
can't wait for cozy domestic violence simulator or cozy kkk simulator
can't wait for cozy domestic violence simulator or cozy kkk simulator
a wholesome plane has hit the second cozy tower
more like no thoughts to declare
blog.giovanh.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
still thinking about this article today. so many societal ills are caused by people white-washing what actually happens. it's awful to see games do it too.
can't wait for cozy domestic violence simulator or cozy kkk simulator
can't wait for cozy domestic violence simulator or cozy kkk simulator
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
an awful part of our industry is that we are quick to say stuff like ‘auteurs are garbage, the team actually made it’ but when specific individual workers supply fantastic craft execution in impossible circumstances execs are v quick to erase that by diluting their credit/selling it as IP
August 21, 2025 at 1:57 PM
an awful part of our industry is that we are quick to say stuff like ‘auteurs are garbage, the team actually made it’ but when specific individual workers supply fantastic craft execution in impossible circumstances execs are v quick to erase that by diluting their credit/selling it as IP
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
it becomes a weird feminine vs. masculine argument in the eyes of a lot of people, as if it's only primarily women making cute and colorful games and only primarily men making and playing violent gritty games. i think accepting and forwarding these binaries sucks ass and is a reactionary framing
August 12, 2025 at 8:52 PM
it becomes a weird feminine vs. masculine argument in the eyes of a lot of people, as if it's only primarily women making cute and colorful games and only primarily men making and playing violent gritty games. i think accepting and forwarding these binaries sucks ass and is a reactionary framing
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
the way a lot of indie games people i know are so inherently reactive against anything with gun violence due to surface assumptions they make is the same way i feel about normie gamers who assume games with cutesy colorful aesthetics are cheap and insubstantial. we don't need to look at art this way
August 12, 2025 at 8:49 PM
the way a lot of indie games people i know are so inherently reactive against anything with gun violence due to surface assumptions they make is the same way i feel about normie gamers who assume games with cutesy colorful aesthetics are cheap and insubstantial. we don't need to look at art this way
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
i think the whole wholesome/cozy games vs. violent game divide is so endlessly irritating to me because it's so indicative of art viewed through the lens of marketing labels and surface aesthetics rather than anything contained within. i don't know why we accept those terms when talking about art
August 12, 2025 at 8:43 PM
i think the whole wholesome/cozy games vs. violent game divide is so endlessly irritating to me because it's so indicative of art viewed through the lens of marketing labels and surface aesthetics rather than anything contained within. i don't know why we accept those terms when talking about art
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
is your job to be servicing the market or is it to be making some kind of art that resonates with or challenges people? a lot of people don't want to answer what they really believe because they know it looks soulless if they openly state that it's the former and they don't take the latter seriously
August 6, 2025 at 5:40 PM
is your job to be servicing the market or is it to be making some kind of art that resonates with or challenges people? a lot of people don't want to answer what they really believe because they know it looks soulless if they openly state that it's the former and they don't take the latter seriously
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
i know "artist" is an abstract/multifaceted term but games are indeed art and they're a very complicated art. you don't need to pretend your main reason to exist is to be like some kind of playful interface designer - you can aim higher than that. you honestly should aim higher than that tbh.
August 6, 2025 at 5:29 PM
i know "artist" is an abstract/multifaceted term but games are indeed art and they're a very complicated art. you don't need to pretend your main reason to exist is to be like some kind of playful interface designer - you can aim higher than that. you honestly should aim higher than that tbh.
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
there is an unfortunately large number of game people who still think think that just solving any given problem "playfully" will change everything, that that is the main thing the world is missing, and that is their main purpose of existence as a game designer person. have more faith in yourself tbh
August 6, 2025 at 5:26 PM
there is an unfortunately large number of game people who still think think that just solving any given problem "playfully" will change everything, that that is the main thing the world is missing, and that is their main purpose of existence as a game designer person. have more faith in yourself tbh
Il y a quelque temps, j'ai passé pas mal de temps à faire des sudokus. Ensuite j'ai aussi *fait* des sudokus. Plutôt que de les garder pour moi, j'ai finalement décider de publier mes 3 préférés. Voilà
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
Farewell — Rätselportal — Logic Masters Deutschland
Die Webseite des Vereins Logic Masters Deutschland e.V.
logic-masters.de
June 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Il y a quelque temps, j'ai passé pas mal de temps à faire des sudokus. Ensuite j'ai aussi *fait* des sudokus. Plutôt que de les garder pour moi, j'ai finalement décider de publier mes 3 préférés. Voilà
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
logic-masters.de/Raetselporta...
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
i'm really sorry to those who seem so personally invested in it but i will just never not find the word 'cozy' viscerally uncomfortable.
June 7, 2025 at 4:18 PM
i'm really sorry to those who seem so personally invested in it but i will just never not find the word 'cozy' viscerally uncomfortable.
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
So I can't help but notice that all this brouhaha about single sex spaces and trans exclusion from them is eliding the axiom underlying the panic.
Namely: taking the normalization of men's violence against women as a given that cannot be meaningfully ameliorated except through sex-segregation.
Namely: taking the normalization of men's violence against women as a given that cannot be meaningfully ameliorated except through sex-segregation.
April 22, 2025 at 11:48 AM
So I can't help but notice that all this brouhaha about single sex spaces and trans exclusion from them is eliding the axiom underlying the panic.
Namely: taking the normalization of men's violence against women as a given that cannot be meaningfully ameliorated except through sex-segregation.
Namely: taking the normalization of men's violence against women as a given that cannot be meaningfully ameliorated except through sex-segregation.
Comme d'hab en mars, ça fait 2 mois que je culpabilise bêtement parce que je veux te parler des jeux auquel j'ai aimé joué en 2024, sauf que ça mériterait que je prenne vraiment le temps de parler de chaque jeux, et j'ai un peu la flemme/pas le temps. Comme d'hab je vais juste faire des listes.
March 2, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Comme d'hab en mars, ça fait 2 mois que je culpabilise bêtement parce que je veux te parler des jeux auquel j'ai aimé joué en 2024, sauf que ça mériterait que je prenne vraiment le temps de parler de chaque jeux, et j'ai un peu la flemme/pas le temps. Comme d'hab je vais juste faire des listes.
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
i keep harping on the idea of AAA art games because people should be pushing the needle in the mainstream as well as the indie space and not accept "good enough" like we've been conditioned to. there's way too much lowering of expectations that has happened over the years.
February 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
i keep harping on the idea of AAA art games because people should be pushing the needle in the mainstream as well as the indie space and not accept "good enough" like we've been conditioned to. there's way too much lowering of expectations that has happened over the years.
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
now that I've announced Tryhard I can finally go back to actually making this rugby game... by recreating this awkward IRL Auckland parking lot
(imo it's lowkey auto industry propaganda when so-called "realistic" game worlds don't model plausible parking lots, as if cars have zero land use costs)
(imo it's lowkey auto industry propaganda when so-called "realistic" game worlds don't model plausible parking lots, as if cars have zero land use costs)
February 11, 2025 at 8:36 AM
now that I've announced Tryhard I can finally go back to actually making this rugby game... by recreating this awkward IRL Auckland parking lot
(imo it's lowkey auto industry propaganda when so-called "realistic" game worlds don't model plausible parking lots, as if cars have zero land use costs)
(imo it's lowkey auto industry propaganda when so-called "realistic" game worlds don't model plausible parking lots, as if cars have zero land use costs)
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
does the sandwich still exist, if there are no americans to watch it?
January 19, 2025 at 4:40 AM
does the sandwich still exist, if there are no americans to watch it?
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
To enforce dignified working conditions and so that workers' confidence in the future, the STJV is calling workers and trade unions to take part in a general strike of the video game industry on 13 February.
We will publish a detailed call for strike action tomorrow.
We will publish a detailed call for strike action tomorrow.
January 16, 2025 at 8:16 PM
To enforce dignified working conditions and so that workers' confidence in the future, the STJV is calling workers and trade unions to take part in a general strike of the video game industry on 13 February.
We will publish a detailed call for strike action tomorrow.
We will publish a detailed call for strike action tomorrow.
Les DICE sont tranquillement en train de transformer la catégorie "Strategy/Simulation" (qui était déjà un peu absurde) en "Jeux Systémique".
January 16, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Les DICE sont tranquillement en train de transformer la catégorie "Strategy/Simulation" (qui était déjà un peu absurde) en "Jeux Systémique".
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
This chart is *extremely* dire. Indie game players are so out of the norm that they are simply a rounding error 🙈
January 15, 2025 at 7:06 PM
This chart is *extremely* dire. Indie game players are so out of the norm that they are simply a rounding error 🙈
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
Here we go, something I've been drafting for a long, long time: how the US-centric approach to video games and their history / culture basically gaslights us who come from other realities:
felipepepe.medium.com/the-gentrifi...
AKA, why LAN Houses, PokéTibia & Bomba Patch rule.
felipepepe.medium.com/the-gentrifi...
AKA, why LAN Houses, PokéTibia & Bomba Patch rule.
The Gentrification of Video Game History
We’re not all suburban kids who got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas
felipepepe.medium.com
January 3, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Here we go, something I've been drafting for a long, long time: how the US-centric approach to video games and their history / culture basically gaslights us who come from other realities:
felipepepe.medium.com/the-gentrifi...
AKA, why LAN Houses, PokéTibia & Bomba Patch rule.
felipepepe.medium.com/the-gentrifi...
AKA, why LAN Houses, PokéTibia & Bomba Patch rule.
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
add into the fact that games were heavily marketed at children, and especially heavily marketed at boys, and there has always been a very active connection with games to the military/arms manufacturers, and it's not really that hard to see where a lot of it comes from. it's not some new phenomenon!
December 21, 2024 at 7:51 PM
add into the fact that games were heavily marketed at children, and especially heavily marketed at boys, and there has always been a very active connection with games to the military/arms manufacturers, and it's not really that hard to see where a lot of it comes from. it's not some new phenomenon!
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
the point of intersection here is Nintendo. so much of the ideas of their games are about kind of conjuring up this magical pastoral lost past, like Disney does. they often do it in a way that is very culturally ambiguous, but there is definitely a conservative message there!
December 21, 2024 at 7:47 PM
the point of intersection here is Nintendo. so much of the ideas of their games are about kind of conjuring up this magical pastoral lost past, like Disney does. they often do it in a way that is very culturally ambiguous, but there is definitely a conservative message there!
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
if you look at the retro game space for even a little bit, it's very easy to tell that the narrative of an eternal nostalgic RETVRN to 80's/90's childhood of a perfect Nintendo world is way more of the active venue for fascism in the space than 'wholesome/cozy' games are, and it has been for decades
December 21, 2024 at 7:42 PM
if you look at the retro game space for even a little bit, it's very easy to tell that the narrative of an eternal nostalgic RETVRN to 80's/90's childhood of a perfect Nintendo world is way more of the active venue for fascism in the space than 'wholesome/cozy' games are, and it has been for decades
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
gamers love to posture at being pro-consumer fighting against exploitation but that always manifests as just lecturing poor developers to just have money to do everything for free. baldurs gate does it why dont you. lazy devs greedy devs. no empathy or actual awareness of the real problems
December 19, 2024 at 10:04 PM
gamers love to posture at being pro-consumer fighting against exploitation but that always manifests as just lecturing poor developers to just have money to do everything for free. baldurs gate does it why dont you. lazy devs greedy devs. no empathy or actual awareness of the real problems
Reposted by Jean-Phénix De
for me "wholesome"/"cozy" games that are forgettable twee second-screen content and generic violent action games with sci-fi greeble aesthetics where you just shovel through the same shit are basically two sides of the same coin. both are very low on the artistic totem pole
December 19, 2024 at 5:26 PM
for me "wholesome"/"cozy" games that are forgettable twee second-screen content and generic violent action games with sci-fi greeble aesthetics where you just shovel through the same shit are basically two sides of the same coin. both are very low on the artistic totem pole