Alec Austin
@alecaustin.bsky.social
Game systems designer at Netflix, reader, occasional writer. He/Him. Looking for book recs and nuanced discussions.
Reposted by Alec Austin
Okay, the crowd going nuts like someone just scored a touchdown at the Super Bowl all *through* the KDH performance is a hell of a thing to see hear/see:
November 27, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Okay, the crowd going nuts like someone just scored a touchdown at the Super Bowl all *through* the KDH performance is a hell of a thing to see hear/see:
Reposted by Alec Austin
I imagine most of the people trying to claim that stealing indie ebooks is leftism simply have never had to worry about paying rent or for groceries but sorry, your desire for free luxury goods is outweighed by the material needs of their creators
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
I imagine most of the people trying to claim that stealing indie ebooks is leftism simply have never had to worry about paying rent or for groceries but sorry, your desire for free luxury goods is outweighed by the material needs of their creators
Reposted by Alec Austin
Always love a nice relaxing game of Vampire Survivors
November 26, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Always love a nice relaxing game of Vampire Survivors
Reposted by Alec Austin
If someone's actually healing you in Marvel Rivals it might be this dog https://kotaku.com/marvel-rivals-dog-healer-twitch-streamer-2000647271
November 25, 2025 at 4:59 PM
If someone's actually healing you in Marvel Rivals it might be this dog https://kotaku.com/marvel-rivals-dog-healer-twitch-streamer-2000647271
Reposted by Alec Austin
Fish have committed credit card fraud
November 19, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Fish have committed credit card fraud
Reposted by Alec Austin
Reposted by Alec Austin
Can we stop reducing narratives to tropes?
Stories are so much more than the sum of their tropey parts.
Or maybe I'm the only one bothered by it, in which case, as you were. 😊
Stories are so much more than the sum of their tropey parts.
Or maybe I'm the only one bothered by it, in which case, as you were. 😊
November 16, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Can we stop reducing narratives to tropes?
Stories are so much more than the sum of their tropey parts.
Or maybe I'm the only one bothered by it, in which case, as you were. 😊
Stories are so much more than the sum of their tropey parts.
Or maybe I'm the only one bothered by it, in which case, as you were. 😊
Reposted by Alec Austin
"Player who does not pay attention may be confused," has been a problem forever, but our modern age makes distraction easier and high-level folks especially scared of any friction. I believe in getting information flow right, but the "please handhold more" directions I got were rough sometimes.
You wanna know why we're having nag line discourse in 2025? Because developers know we're fighting an attention economy war we'll lose no matter what. Players don't read, have TikTok open next to them, god forbid we are scared you miss something and then blame us for not giving you all the info.
November 14, 2025 at 8:10 PM
"Player who does not pay attention may be confused," has been a problem forever, but our modern age makes distraction easier and high-level folks especially scared of any friction. I believe in getting information flow right, but the "please handhold more" directions I got were rough sometimes.
Reposted by Alec Austin
O dear God I had no idea this almost happened!!!
November 14, 2025 at 2:17 AM
O dear God I had no idea this almost happened!!!
Reposted by Alec Austin
I want SHERMAN
"They want Grants, not McClellans." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/o...
Opinion | Democrats Sure Taught Trump a Lesson
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:22 AM
I want SHERMAN
Reposted by Alec Austin
This is one of those "tractably hard" problems; general-purpose optimizing is tricky but you can throw a lot of heavy math at it and get somewhere.
It takes a while to realize that for most applications this is the *easy* part of the problem.
It takes a while to realize that for most applications this is the *easy* part of the problem.
November 12, 2025 at 6:29 PM
This is one of those "tractably hard" problems; general-purpose optimizing is tricky but you can throw a lot of heavy math at it and get somewhere.
It takes a while to realize that for most applications this is the *easy* part of the problem.
It takes a while to realize that for most applications this is the *easy* part of the problem.
Reposted by Alec Austin
Man. Back when I worked in AI we had a system designed to do conference planning. At one point it decided the optimal conference would have every talk be in the same room, one minute long each. (They'd all have great seating and AV access, you see!) Glad to see the state of the art hasn't improved.
Just saw a similar anecdote on Reddit. Poster's company had decided to use an "AI assistant" to schedule interviews, so that they'd be evenly distributed throughout the week. All 50 applicants were, you guessed it, called up on the same day, at the same time.
November 12, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Man. Back when I worked in AI we had a system designed to do conference planning. At one point it decided the optimal conference would have every talk be in the same room, one minute long each. (They'd all have great seating and AV access, you see!) Glad to see the state of the art hasn't improved.
Reposted by Alec Austin
Reposted by Alec Austin
say what you will about nancy pelosi but her caucus didn’t DARE vote against her wishes or they knew she’d shank them
I don’t believe it’s his doing but he certainly doesn’t have a full hold of his caucus.
November 9, 2025 at 11:00 PM
say what you will about nancy pelosi but her caucus didn’t DARE vote against her wishes or they knew she’d shank them
Reposted by Alec Austin
D&D is a lot like a boardgame in that it's more popular than RPGs.
November 7, 2025 at 7:44 AM
D&D is a lot like a boardgame in that it's more popular than RPGs.
Reposted by Alec Austin
Something worth noting: Rockstar is leaning HEAVILY on the excuse that the unionising employees were "leaking private company information"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
"Rockstar, Rockstar, you're disgusting, we charge you with union busting," the protesters declared.
'All you had to do was follow the damn law, Rockstar!': Workers are protesting outside Take-Two after GTA 6 dev's alleged 'brazen' union-busting
"They can get used to seeing us on their doorstep."
www.pcgamer.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Something worth noting: Rockstar is leaning HEAVILY on the excuse that the unionising employees were "leaking private company information"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
Reposted by Alec Austin
i got some rhyolite that looks like pork belly
November 3, 2025 at 1:18 AM
i got some rhyolite that looks like pork belly
Reposted by Alec Austin
I worked at Friendster when we had an n-dimensional graph, and mostly what we discovered at vast expense was... After 2 degrees, you are strangers.
Off the top of my head, in terms of degrees of separation I managed to get from myself to *Jimi Hendrix* in "three hops," this is a WILD assertion to make
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
November 2, 2025 at 3:02 AM
I worked at Friendster when we had an n-dimensional graph, and mostly what we discovered at vast expense was... After 2 degrees, you are strangers.
Reposted by Alec Austin
This game is my favorite in the "puzzle game but masquerading as turn-based-tactics" genre (is that a genre? Who cares, it's great).
Tactical Breach Wizards is 40% off in today's Daily Deal! The cheapest the wizards have ever allowed us to price them.
To celebrate, we've added a community missions pack, featuring some great ones players have made since launch.
store.steampowered.com/app/1043810/... .
To celebrate, we've added a community missions pack, featuring some great ones players have made since launch.
store.steampowered.com/app/1043810/... .
Save 40% on Tactical Breach Wizards on Steam
In Tactical Breach Wizards, you lead a team of renegade wizards in kevlar through turn-based battles to unravel a modern conspiracy plot. Combine their unique spells in clever ways, or rewind time to ...
store.steampowered.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:41 PM
This game is my favorite in the "puzzle game but masquerading as turn-based-tactics" genre (is that a genre? Who cares, it's great).
Reposted by Alec Austin
On the left, the refurbished Lincoln bathroom. On the right, picture I took in Saddam Hussein's palace in Basra in 2005.
October 31, 2025 at 5:57 PM
On the left, the refurbished Lincoln bathroom. On the right, picture I took in Saddam Hussein's palace in Basra in 2005.
Reposted by Alec Austin
i agree that the "being a doomer is just REALISM" tendency is extremely seductive, which is why it's dangerous
There is nothing more dangerous for a smart person in high anxiety/depression mode than the thought, "but why should I get help? I am the one being realistic." If you feel isolated in your realism and you know you're clever? Red flag. Been there, done that, help will help.
October 27, 2025 at 8:25 PM
i agree that the "being a doomer is just REALISM" tendency is extremely seductive, which is why it's dangerous
Reposted by Alec Austin
“We hate tutorials, we hate yellow paint”. Exactly 30 seconds later in the Steam reviews: “this game sucks we got lost and it’s hard to play because we didn’t understand a core mechanic”
One of the most important jobs of a designer is understanding that there are some things that everyone says they want, but then absolutely hate if they get it
October 24, 2025 at 7:53 AM
“We hate tutorials, we hate yellow paint”. Exactly 30 seconds later in the Steam reviews: “this game sucks we got lost and it’s hard to play because we didn’t understand a core mechanic”
Reposted by Alec Austin
i am sorry if you think it's "icky" that america is a superpower. we're gonna go on being a superpower whether you feel good about it or not. as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. the question is how well we discharge that responsibility.
October 24, 2025 at 8:31 PM
i am sorry if you think it's "icky" that america is a superpower. we're gonna go on being a superpower whether you feel good about it or not. as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. the question is how well we discharge that responsibility.
Reposted by Alec Austin
“oh so you think the east wing being demolished is worse than-“ it’s a synecdoche, man. a visual metaphor. there’s a reason the aliens in Independence Day don’t aim a huge laser at SNAP benefits
October 23, 2025 at 6:04 PM
“oh so you think the east wing being demolished is worse than-“ it’s a synecdoche, man. a visual metaphor. there’s a reason the aliens in Independence Day don’t aim a huge laser at SNAP benefits
Reposted by Alec Austin
"Oxford commas are a sign you write with ai" I will find such a unique way to rip out your spine that they'll make a movie about it
October 23, 2025 at 4:50 PM
"Oxford commas are a sign you write with ai" I will find such a unique way to rip out your spine that they'll make a movie about it