Denis Zlobin
@dzlo.bsky.social
Lead Audio Designer at Ubisoft RedLynx. A curious idiot. Opinions are my own.
South Park: Phone Destroyer, Trials Rising, Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2)
I sometimes write about functional sound design in games: https://deniszlobin.medium.com/
South Park: Phone Destroyer, Trials Rising, Star Wars Outlaws (Switch 2)
I sometimes write about functional sound design in games: https://deniszlobin.medium.com/
This entire industry needs to get some proper sleep. Yes, everyone.
November 19, 2025 at 7:32 PM
This entire industry needs to get some proper sleep. Yes, everyone.
Then we can finally say that game industry peaked and relax a little bit?
November 19, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Then we can finally say that game industry peaked and relax a little bit?
Fast travel is a mechanic, it doesn't have an intrinsically coupled narrative wrapper, which is up to the devs. In Witcher 3 nothing indicates the character teleporting, because nothing in the world reacts to it as is he did. But it could be different in other games.
November 18, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Fast travel is a mechanic, it doesn't have an intrinsically coupled narrative wrapper, which is up to the devs. In Witcher 3 nothing indicates the character teleporting, because nothing in the world reacts to it as is he did. But it could be different in other games.
I once had people on the Teams call talking to me from my electronic piano.
November 18, 2025 at 8:20 AM
I once had people on the Teams call talking to me from my electronic piano.
Imagine a “Text industry” awards where fiction books, poems, fashion magazines, newsletters and bluesky posts compete for the jury votes. What a stupid idea! Oh, wait.
November 17, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Imagine a “Text industry” awards where fiction books, poems, fashion magazines, newsletters and bluesky posts compete for the jury votes. What a stupid idea! Oh, wait.
The next step is a bagpipe
November 17, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The next step is a bagpipe
I skipped a few events, but otherwise talked to almost everyone about nearly everything and then had to waste a couple of full hours before the finale.
November 11, 2025 at 8:26 PM
I skipped a few events, but otherwise talked to almost everyone about nearly everything and then had to waste a couple of full hours before the finale.
The failure points are mostly in the tutorial, the time mechanic is very soft, mainly to nudge you to make mindful choices, but overall there is enough time to solve everything while being curious about the details.
November 11, 2025 at 8:12 PM
The failure points are mostly in the tutorial, the time mechanic is very soft, mainly to nudge you to make mindful choices, but overall there is enough time to solve everything while being curious about the details.
Have you played The Roottrees are Dead? Also Lorelei and the Laser Eyes has some similarities.
November 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Have you played The Roottrees are Dead? Also Lorelei and the Laser Eyes has some similarities.
Being finite games that serve a small and hungry audience, they create a rising tide that lifts all boats. Instead of competing for audience attention like infinite games do, they grow their market together. This is healthy. I have a very good feeling about this niche.
November 5, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Being finite games that serve a small and hungry audience, they create a rising tide that lifts all boats. Instead of competing for audience attention like infinite games do, they grow their market together. This is healthy. I have a very good feeling about this niche.
When people make such conclusions… Well, this article from 10 years ago aged like fine wine: galyonk.in/your-target-...
Your target audience doesn’t exist
Why you shouldn’t talk about “MOBA audience”, “core gamers”, “female gamers” and instead think smaller.
galyonk.in
October 31, 2025 at 11:47 PM
When people make such conclusions… Well, this article from 10 years ago aged like fine wine: galyonk.in/your-target-...
It is called "The Booj", there is a cool 20 000 Hertz podcast episode about it: www.20k.org/episodes/the...
The Booj: The secret sound formula behind blockbuster trailers — Twenty Thousand Hertz - The stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.
This episode was written and produced by Abigail Barr . Movie trailers have undergone a huge evolution. They’ve gone from those cheesy voice-of-God narrators in the ‘80s and ‘90s, to boojes and...
www.20k.org
October 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
It is called "The Booj", there is a cool 20 000 Hertz podcast episode about it: www.20k.org/episodes/the...
One example is the "Transformers"-inspired wobbly synthetic textures onmipresent in media 10-15 years ago (A friend once said that the villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is attacking with dubstep). I can expect the current "low-mid rumble" trend will be percieved similarly in a few years from now.
October 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
One example is the "Transformers"-inspired wobbly synthetic textures onmipresent in media 10-15 years ago (A friend once said that the villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is attacking with dubstep). I can expect the current "low-mid rumble" trend will be percieved similarly in a few years from now.
I have one use case when it is genuinely helpful. Whenever you have a crazy new idea about anything, ask it to criticize it and outline what could go wrong without providing a solution. This way it really helps me find blind spots in my own thinking and designs with little bullshitting.
October 20, 2025 at 8:43 AM
I have one use case when it is genuinely helpful. Whenever you have a crazy new idea about anything, ask it to criticize it and outline what could go wrong without providing a solution. This way it really helps me find blind spots in my own thinking and designs with little bullshitting.
My day was a little bit better before I read this.
October 4, 2025 at 8:08 AM
My day was a little bit better before I read this.
F2P is good, but it fundamentally lacks one important thing: ending, closure, conclusion. And humans have a need for finite experiences. TV ended the Hollywood’s golden age, but didn’t kill film as a medium. Something similar will probably happen here.
October 3, 2025 at 7:28 PM
F2P is good, but it fundamentally lacks one important thing: ending, closure, conclusion. And humans have a need for finite experiences. TV ended the Hollywood’s golden age, but didn’t kill film as a medium. Something similar will probably happen here.
I once managed to do 50 in a year, having a daily commute with 1.5 hours in public transport. It was great, also made me realize how much time I spent on social media before, and how little satisfaction I got from it. Since then I only travel abroad with my Kindle and phone, no other gadgets.
October 2, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I once managed to do 50 in a year, having a daily commute with 1.5 hours in public transport. It was great, also made me realize how much time I spent on social media before, and how little satisfaction I got from it. Since then I only travel abroad with my Kindle and phone, no other gadgets.
Cal Kearns has a perfect illustration for this story (and everything else)
September 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Cal Kearns has a perfect illustration for this story (and everything else)
It has been slowly getting cured in the recent years, but it won’t change the fact that most of the existing game credits are already made like that.
September 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
It has been slowly getting cured in the recent years, but it won’t change the fact that most of the existing game credits are already made like that.
Omitting “special thanks” is even more incorrect because in many cases these people are actual developers who left the company or the project before the beta or some other arbitrary milestone defined in the company credits policy.
September 14, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Omitting “special thanks” is even more incorrect because in many cases these people are actual developers who left the company or the project before the beta or some other arbitrary milestone defined in the company credits policy.