droqen
@droqen.bsky.social
droqen.com
lost game designer
(toronto)
lost game designer
(toronto)
Pinned
not sorry
sorry to some folks, but if we want games to be viewed as consequential art and not products - eventually game development at large is going to have to move past the realm of linkedin, forbes 30 under 30, how to market your game, professional business conference stuff and into something else.
December 3, 2025 at 1:12 AM
not sorry
i've seen a significant volume of people who are interested in making "games as art" essentially stop making games as art because of thE lack of clarity and acceptance here. you can't just say "games are obviously art" & then still primarily valourize games for the features which make good products.
the HORSES stuff is obviously ridiculous and depressing, but it is also worth asking ourselves: who has benefited from the "games are art" campaign? it has certainly not been the artgame makers, whose work continues to be shunned and dismissed as "not games"
holy fuck this is ridiculous, how can we claim games are art if art is this scary to our two primary distribution channels?
December 2, 2025 at 7:06 PM
i've seen a significant volume of people who are interested in making "games as art" essentially stop making games as art because of thE lack of clarity and acceptance here. you can't just say "games are obviously art" & then still primarily valourize games for the features which make good products.
serious question for academics and other non-fiction writers
how the Hell do you get started organizing all the snippets that you want to use for later citation and reference from such vastly different sources as podcasts, videogames, physical and digital books, videos, etc.?
how the Hell do you get started organizing all the snippets that you want to use for later citation and reference from such vastly different sources as podcasts, videogames, physical and digital books, videos, etc.?
December 1, 2025 at 7:10 PM
serious question for academics and other non-fiction writers
how the Hell do you get started organizing all the snippets that you want to use for later citation and reference from such vastly different sources as podcasts, videogames, physical and digital books, videos, etc.?
how the Hell do you get started organizing all the snippets that you want to use for later citation and reference from such vastly different sources as podcasts, videogames, physical and digital books, videos, etc.?
not quite done listening but a lot of great conversations in this one. so much Stuff to think about, lots of history revisited and remembered
BIG NEWS:
We are no longer Eggplant. We are, simply:
The Secret Lives of Games
AND ALSO:
We've launched the first episode of All Systems Brough, a year-long, one-a-month series exploring the work of @smestorp.bsky.social. Join us and play along!
secretlives.games/all-systems-...
We are no longer Eggplant. We are, simply:
The Secret Lives of Games
AND ALSO:
We've launched the first episode of All Systems Brough, a year-long, one-a-month series exploring the work of @smestorp.bsky.social. Join us and play along!
secretlives.games/all-systems-...
The Secret Lives of Games: All Systems Brough - Introduction
We're joined by Frank Lantz (Q-UP) and Mare Sheppard + Raigan Burns of Metanet (N++) for the first episode of All Systems Brough, a year-long exploration of the work of Michael Brough. We share our th...
secretlives.games
December 1, 2025 at 6:57 PM
not quite done listening but a lot of great conversations in this one. so much Stuff to think about, lots of history revisited and remembered
On a whim I put together a sublime text custom syntax highlighter so that I could write notes in multiple colours quickly/easily and it is so useful. I can actually record multiple contradictory thoughts I'm having simultaneously in a way that produces a readable document instead of a huge mess
November 28, 2025 at 4:18 AM
On a whim I put together a sublime text custom syntax highlighter so that I could write notes in multiple colours quickly/easily and it is so useful. I can actually record multiple contradictory thoughts I'm having simultaneously in a way that produces a readable document instead of a huge mess
omg, a new negative steam review dropped. i can feel the energy welling up within me to examine a lot of the various responses to TEOG as i meant to do long ago, but i really want to leave one quick message. a quick reply.
November 26, 2025 at 11:32 AM
omg, a new negative steam review dropped. i can feel the energy welling up within me to examine a lot of the various responses to TEOG as i meant to do long ago, but i really want to leave one quick message. a quick reply.
Someone out there has got to have a copy of "Sense of Connectedness"
Does anyone happen to have a copy of any of the games I've listed on my website as "released but no longer hosted"? (the bottom 14 www.smestorp.com)
brog
Michael Brough
www.smestorp.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Someone out there has got to have a copy of "Sense of Connectedness"
Reposted by droqen
Does anyone happen to have a copy of any of the games I've listed on my website as "released but no longer hosted"? (the bottom 14 www.smestorp.com)
brog
Michael Brough
www.smestorp.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Does anyone happen to have a copy of any of the games I've listed on my website as "released but no longer hosted"? (the bottom 14 www.smestorp.com)
having encountered many times over the past few years large online tech platforms deciding not to let me put my stuff on them for strange and arcane reasons and refusing to elaborate i really feel this--it's nice to read another account of such a Platform Experience.
Our upcoming game HORSES was preemptively banned from Steam, with no path to appeal. The game will still launch next week on December 2nd and will be available on EGS, GOG, Humble, and Itch for $4.99. Here is a detailed FAQ covering what happened: horses.wtf/BannedFromSt...
November 25, 2025 at 9:55 PM
having encountered many times over the past few years large online tech platforms deciding not to let me put my stuff on them for strange and arcane reasons and refusing to elaborate i really feel this--it's nice to read another account of such a Platform Experience.
🫡
November 25, 2025 at 8:26 PM
🫡
Reposted by droqen
animal facts don't interest me. in my twilight years of industry I concern myself with Animal Factories
November 23, 2025 at 6:18 PM
animal facts don't interest me. in my twilight years of industry I concern myself with Animal Factories
the , ah, the promise of being incomprehensible, something there frees me to write , say, be, something beyond the truth, i'd like to access that space in m y own every day life turning toward the moon bright reflectiing mirror sun face like im a mirror for the cities i inhabit grey skyscrapers gold
November 20, 2025 at 7:17 PM
the , ah, the promise of being incomprehensible, something there frees me to write , say, be, something beyond the truth, i'd like to access that space in m y own every day life turning toward the moon bright reflectiing mirror sun face like im a mirror for the cities i inhabit grey skyscrapers gold
I wish that I wanted to write a third bleet, but even the thought emerging about how perfect a trifecta would be took me out of it! I have returned to Normal Operating Conditions. thank you for listening
-normal human droqen
-normal human droqen
November 20, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I wish that I wanted to write a third bleet, but even the thought emerging about how perfect a trifecta would be took me out of it! I have returned to Normal Operating Conditions. thank you for listening
-normal human droqen
-normal human droqen
the middle o f things. It takes an overwhelming amount of conscious effort to make sense? or i could do whatveer i want, let it out, bug even o ercoming the instinctive habit to communicate pro perly with other human being.s. everything i do makes sense, so what if i stopped trying to convince you o
November 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
the middle o f things. It takes an overwhelming amount of conscious effort to make sense? or i could do whatveer i want, let it out, bug even o ercoming the instinctive habit to communicate pro perly with other human being.s. everything i do makes sense, so what if i stopped trying to convince you o
crawling like death ou t into the world. words are really difficult and really beautiful even when terrible? every day gameplay emerges in my mind and it must be killed. i will keep trying to allow bts of ym self to spill onto the internet to be preserved. awful,really, the translation. this is not
November 20, 2025 at 6:58 PM
crawling like death ou t into the world. words are really difficult and really beautiful even when terrible? every day gameplay emerges in my mind and it must be killed. i will keep trying to allow bts of ym self to spill onto the internet to be preserved. awful,really, the translation. this is not
my tarot is back :0 with some really beautiful new packaging by [redacted]. (we wrapped these by hand. vellum, laserjet, and gluestick babyy.)
the last run sold out in like a week, so don't wait?
www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4...
p.s. tariffs are included for the USA in the shipping. they aint cheap :(
the last run sold out in like a week, so don't wait?
www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4...
p.s. tariffs are included for the USA in the shipping. they aint cheap :(
November 15, 2025 at 7:59 PM
my tarot is back :0 with some really beautiful new packaging by [redacted]. (we wrapped these by hand. vellum, laserjet, and gluestick babyy.)
the last run sold out in like a week, so don't wait?
www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4...
p.s. tariffs are included for the USA in the shipping. they aint cheap :(
the last run sold out in like a week, so don't wait?
www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4...
p.s. tariffs are included for the USA in the shipping. they aint cheap :(
Reposted by droqen
@adamatomic.bsky.social have you read Girls Last Tour, and Saturn Apartments? a couple i love for their megastructures & artstyle
November 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
@adamatomic.bsky.social have you read Girls Last Tour, and Saturn Apartments? a couple i love for their megastructures & artstyle
there aren't polls on bluesky right
ok manual poll time:
in the "shorter games with worse graphics" meme do you interpret games' shortness and graphics' worseness as
A. instrumental
(i.e. necessary for achieving devs paid more to work less)
or
B. an end in and of itself?
(short/worse = desirable)
ok manual poll time:
in the "shorter games with worse graphics" meme do you interpret games' shortness and graphics' worseness as
A. instrumental
(i.e. necessary for achieving devs paid more to work less)
or
B. an end in and of itself?
(short/worse = desirable)
November 11, 2025 at 9:17 PM
there aren't polls on bluesky right
ok manual poll time:
in the "shorter games with worse graphics" meme do you interpret games' shortness and graphics' worseness as
A. instrumental
(i.e. necessary for achieving devs paid more to work less)
or
B. an end in and of itself?
(short/worse = desirable)
ok manual poll time:
in the "shorter games with worse graphics" meme do you interpret games' shortness and graphics' worseness as
A. instrumental
(i.e. necessary for achieving devs paid more to work less)
or
B. an end in and of itself?
(short/worse = desirable)
design notes by sylvie
November 11, 2025 at 7:57 PM
design notes by sylvie
from nov 6-7 later this week i'll be in Rochester for a pop-up arcade of my games @ VSW. if you're nearby, come see me & nilson talk about my work! (i will try also to get video.)
www.vsw.org/vsw-salon/sa...
www.vsw.org/vsw-salon/sa...
November 4, 2025 at 4:04 AM
from nov 6-7 later this week i'll be in Rochester for a pop-up arcade of my games @ VSW. if you're nearby, come see me & nilson talk about my work! (i will try also to get video.)
www.vsw.org/vsw-salon/sa...
www.vsw.org/vsw-salon/sa...
Reposted by droqen
my tarot deck & i will be here at the ball tonight! if you can't make it i also have a brand new online shop :: shop.droqen.com
November 1, 2025 at 9:26 PM
my tarot deck & i will be here at the ball tonight! if you can't make it i also have a brand new online shop :: shop.droqen.com