Mare Sheppard
@maresheppard.bsky.social
Designer, Artist, 1/2 of Metanet Software Inc www.maresheppard.com / www.metanetsoftware.com
She/her
She/her
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
We don’t use generative AI at Strange Scaffold and I can confirm that a *lot* of other studios are not—whether indie or AAA.
Get outta here with this normalization bullshit.
Get outta here with this normalization bullshit.
“It’s important to assume every game company is now using AI.” Nexon CEO comments on role of human creativity as AI tools become the norm
automaton-media.com/en/news/its-...
automaton-media.com/en/news/its-...
“It’s important to assume every game company is now using AI.” Nexon CEO comments on role of human creativity as AI tools become the norm - AUTOMATON WEST
In an interview following the launch of ARC Raiders, the CEO of Embark Studios' parent company Nexon shares his views on AI.
automaton-media.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:25 AM
We don’t use generative AI at Strange Scaffold and I can confirm that a *lot* of other studios are not—whether indie or AAA.
Get outta here with this normalization bullshit.
Get outta here with this normalization bullshit.
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
TEN++ bonus update! We've added support for Steam Cloud and fixed the save corruption issue -- hooray! Hope this helps everyone have an even better time playing N++ <3
store.steampowered.com/app/230270/N...
store.steampowered.com/app/230270/N...
November 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
TEN++ bonus update! We've added support for Steam Cloud and fixed the save corruption issue -- hooray! Hope this helps everyone have an even better time playing N++ <3
store.steampowered.com/app/230270/N...
store.steampowered.com/app/230270/N...
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
November 2, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
It’s always so delightful to hear @raiganburns.bsky.social cackling with glee as players encounter the gotchas in his fave N++ levels 😅
Happening now! 🔥 www.twitch.tv/metanet_soft...
October 18, 2025 at 7:55 PM
It’s always so delightful to hear @raiganburns.bsky.social cackling with glee as players encounter the gotchas in his fave N++ levels 😅
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Re-posting for the weekend crowd -- it's TEN++, the 10th Anniversary of N++, and we're celebrating! <3
It's time! Today we're celebrating N++'s 10th Anniversary, aka TEN++, with style -- a fancy free update to the game and a Daily Deal on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/230270/N...
Save 75% on N++ (NPLUSPLUS) on Steam
N++ is a fast-paced, momentum-based platformer about darting around obstacles, narrowly evading enemies and collecting gold in a beautiful minimalist landscape.
store.steampowered.com
October 18, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Re-posting for the weekend crowd -- it's TEN++, the 10th Anniversary of N++, and we're celebrating! <3
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
@raiganburns.bsky.social will be playing some of the new levels at 3pm EST! If you want to join in the fun, we'll be streaming here: www.twitch.tv/metanet_soft...
and you can sign up in the discord to play (details below)!
and you can sign up in the discord to play (details below)!
And the celebrations don't stop here! This weekend, @raiganburns.bsky.social will be playing through the brand new multiplayer levels on twitch with fans - want to play too? He'll be arranging things on the multiplayer channel of the N++ discord, so get on over there! :D discord.com/invite/nplusplus
Join the N++ Discord Server!
N++ is a fast-paced, momentum-based platformer about dodging around obstacles and narrowly evading enemies. | 4390 members
discord.com
October 18, 2025 at 4:38 PM
@raiganburns.bsky.social will be playing some of the new levels at 3pm EST! If you want to join in the fun, we'll be streaming here: www.twitch.tv/metanet_soft...
and you can sign up in the discord to play (details below)!
and you can sign up in the discord to play (details below)!
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
AND ALSO, the lede buried in our blog post -- we're working on something new! 👀 Want to find out about it (soonish)? Sign up here: www.metanetsoftware.com/newgame
October 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
AND ALSO, the lede buried in our blog post -- we're working on something new! 👀 Want to find out about it (soonish)? Sign up here: www.metanetsoftware.com/newgame
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Want to get a sneak peak of the super-secret TEN++ Solo levels? One of the best players in the world is streaming them right now! :D
www.twitch.tv/hiya_5
www.twitch.tv/hiya_5
ひや麦 - Twitch
N++ - !?, ?! Tab
www.twitch.tv
October 16, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Want to get a sneak peak of the super-secret TEN++ Solo levels? One of the best players in the world is streaming them right now! :D
www.twitch.tv/hiya_5
www.twitch.tv/hiya_5
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
And the celebrations don't stop here! This weekend, @raiganburns.bsky.social will be playing through the brand new multiplayer levels on twitch with fans - want to play too? He'll be arranging things on the multiplayer channel of the N++ discord, so get on over there! :D discord.com/invite/nplusplus
Join the N++ Discord Server!
N++ is a fast-paced, momentum-based platformer about dodging around obstacles and narrowly evading enemies. | 4390 members
discord.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:54 PM
And the celebrations don't stop here! This weekend, @raiganburns.bsky.social will be playing through the brand new multiplayer levels on twitch with fans - want to play too? He'll be arranging things on the multiplayer channel of the N++ discord, so get on over there! :D discord.com/invite/nplusplus
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
We've also made a bunch of limited-edition merch to commemorate TEN++! @maresheppard.bsky.social made some very special level art, plus we created a TEN++ logo tshirt, a ninja hat, a super cool extruded N++ logo tshirt, a merch pack for the superfans out there, and more: www.etsy.com/shop/metanet
October 16, 2025 at 5:46 PM
We've also made a bunch of limited-edition merch to commemorate TEN++! @maresheppard.bsky.social made some very special level art, plus we created a TEN++ logo tshirt, a ninja hat, a super cool extruded N++ logo tshirt, a merch pack for the superfans out there, and more: www.etsy.com/shop/metanet
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
The TEN++ celebrations continue with ten (natch) new Featured Levels, hand-picked by the intrepid community curation team from over a hundred thousand (!!!) userlevels made over the last decade.
Hear about these amazing levels here: metanetsoftware.tumblr.com/post/7975845...
And then go play them!
Hear about these amazing levels here: metanetsoftware.tumblr.com/post/7975845...
And then go play them!
N++
It's here, the 10th Anniversary of N++! To celebrate, we've updated the game (on Steam, consoles coming soon) with new super secret super hard Solo levels and some very hard multiplayer levels as...
metanetsoftware.tumblr.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:36 PM
The TEN++ celebrations continue with ten (natch) new Featured Levels, hand-picked by the intrepid community curation team from over a hundred thousand (!!!) userlevels made over the last decade.
Hear about these amazing levels here: metanetsoftware.tumblr.com/post/7975845...
And then go play them!
Hear about these amazing levels here: metanetsoftware.tumblr.com/post/7975845...
And then go play them!
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
So many feelings! We wrote about them over on our blog: www.metanetsoftware.com/2025/celebra...
October 16, 2025 at 5:06 PM
So many feelings! We wrote about them over on our blog: www.metanetsoftware.com/2025/celebra...
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
TEN++ is a big thank you to everyone who has played the game and supported us over the years -- you rock! Check out this amazing video community member abho made for us to help celebrate: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8gs...
Happy 10th Anniversary, N++!
YouTube video by metanetsoftware
www.youtube.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:04 PM
TEN++ is a big thank you to everyone who has played the game and supported us over the years -- you rock! Check out this amazing video community member abho made for us to help celebrate: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8gs...
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
It's time! Today we're celebrating N++'s 10th Anniversary, aka TEN++, with style -- a fancy free update to the game and a Daily Deal on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/230270/N...
Save 75% on N++ (NPLUSPLUS) on Steam
N++ is a fast-paced, momentum-based platformer about darting around obstacles, narrowly evading enemies and collecting gold in a beautiful minimalist landscape.
store.steampowered.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:02 PM
It's time! Today we're celebrating N++'s 10th Anniversary, aka TEN++, with style -- a fancy free update to the game and a Daily Deal on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/230270/N...
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Whatever you do, please don’t stop reading.
Read for joy. Read for education. Read for resistance. Read banned books. Read books by marginalized authors. Read about experiences that differ from your own.
Just. Keep. Reading.
Read for joy. Read for education. Read for resistance. Read banned books. Read books by marginalized authors. Read about experiences that differ from your own.
Just. Keep. Reading.
September 18, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Whatever you do, please don’t stop reading.
Read for joy. Read for education. Read for resistance. Read banned books. Read books by marginalized authors. Read about experiences that differ from your own.
Just. Keep. Reading.
Read for joy. Read for education. Read for resistance. Read banned books. Read books by marginalized authors. Read about experiences that differ from your own.
Just. Keep. Reading.
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Feel like I should make a bigger deal of this. You can pre-order, right now, all three issues of exp. and get my extraordinarily funny and insightful writing on video games and the 1970s for just $20 USD (+shipping) in a bundle. And the set looks really cool! expzine.com/product/exp-...
September 18, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Feel like I should make a bigger deal of this. You can pre-order, right now, all three issues of exp. and get my extraordinarily funny and insightful writing on video games and the 1970s for just $20 USD (+shipping) in a bundle. And the set looks really cool! expzine.com/product/exp-...
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
And day to day, life's a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful life is, is from the vantage point of death.
September 18, 2025 at 7:21 AM
And day to day, life's a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful life is, is from the vantage point of death.
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Oh no! This is actually devastating. He was such a sweet baby and instrumental in creating the cat-based internet we love today. He lived a very long a full life.
Maru the Box-Loving Cat, Once the Most Viewed Animal on YouTube, Dies at 18
Maru the cat, a Scottish Fold feline, died at the age of 18 following a decline in health and a cancer diagnosis. The feline is famous for squeezing into boxes, antics that were documented in popular ...
people.com
September 11, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Oh no! This is actually devastating. He was such a sweet baby and instrumental in creating the cat-based internet we love today. He lived a very long a full life.
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
lately when i’m feeling hopeless i just think of the Katamari cat wearing scuba gear. if she can survive in an inhospitable environment then so can i
September 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
lately when i’m feeling hopeless i just think of the Katamari cat wearing scuba gear. if she can survive in an inhospitable environment then so can i
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
September 6, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
The Play for Peace: Games for Palestine charity bundle is now live! Nearly 400 games from creators all around the world, with proceeds going directly to Gaza relief efforts.
Bundle link: itch.io/b/2979/play-...
We made a launch trailer to celebrate this moment👇 Please RT.
Bundle link: itch.io/b/2979/play-...
We made a launch trailer to celebrate this moment👇 Please RT.
September 2, 2025 at 4:22 PM
The Play for Peace: Games for Palestine charity bundle is now live! Nearly 400 games from creators all around the world, with proceeds going directly to Gaza relief efforts.
Bundle link: itch.io/b/2979/play-...
We made a launch trailer to celebrate this moment👇 Please RT.
Bundle link: itch.io/b/2979/play-...
We made a launch trailer to celebrate this moment👇 Please RT.
Reposted by Mare Sheppard
xSkylighter - Twitch
the only one being read here is me (DAY 14)
www.twitch.tv
September 1, 2025 at 9:35 PM
As someone who loves an em dash—and is no fan of AI—yes to all of this: www.theringer.com/2025/08/20/p...
Stop AI-Shaming Our Precious, Kindly Em Dashes—Please
Human writers have always used the em dash. In fact, it’s the most human punctuation mark there is.
www.theringer.com
August 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
As someone who loves an em dash—and is no fan of AI—yes to all of this: www.theringer.com/2025/08/20/p...