Rose Willard
@rosewillard.bsky.social
Games developer of 14 years, current role is Test Lead with Blizzard on WoW Classic (my views do not reflect the views of my company or team). Here to talk about gamedev and QA things. Trans Woman She/Her, Bisexual and Polyamorous
Pinned
Rose Willard
@rosewillard.bsky.social
· Mar 19
Hi, I'm Rose and I have worked on lots of things you have probably played or heard of:
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Beyond Two Souls
MLB the Show
The Last of Us
Star Trek Online
Subnautica
Subnautica Below Zero
Immortals of Aveum
and now, World of Warcraft Classic
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Beyond Two Souls
MLB the Show
The Last of Us
Star Trek Online
Subnautica
Subnautica Below Zero
Immortals of Aveum
and now, World of Warcraft Classic
Reposted by Rose Willard
John Carmack's been openly a huge dirtbag on twitter for years and years and it drives me absolutely mad how seemingly no one ever notices. I hate John Carmack. All my homies hate John Carmack.
John Carmack making a eulogy post for Rebecca Heineman and deadnaming and misgendering her throughout, that classic Carmack tact and thoughtfulness
November 21, 2025 at 12:05 AM
John Carmack's been openly a huge dirtbag on twitter for years and years and it drives me absolutely mad how seemingly no one ever notices. I hate John Carmack. All my homies hate John Carmack.
Reposted by Rose Willard
This week in generative AI being good for things:
Childrens toy safety: God no.
Mental health: Nope.
Water supplies to towns: Nooooope.
Global warming: haha fuck that.
Employment: Not on your life.
Medical decisions: hahaha no.
Judges decisions: nope
Power bills, energy consumption: fuuuuck nooooo
Childrens toy safety: God no.
Mental health: Nope.
Water supplies to towns: Nooooope.
Global warming: haha fuck that.
Employment: Not on your life.
Medical decisions: hahaha no.
Judges decisions: nope
Power bills, energy consumption: fuuuuck nooooo
November 18, 2025 at 7:10 AM
This week in generative AI being good for things:
Childrens toy safety: God no.
Mental health: Nope.
Water supplies to towns: Nooooope.
Global warming: haha fuck that.
Employment: Not on your life.
Medical decisions: hahaha no.
Judges decisions: nope
Power bills, energy consumption: fuuuuck nooooo
Childrens toy safety: God no.
Mental health: Nope.
Water supplies to towns: Nooooope.
Global warming: haha fuck that.
Employment: Not on your life.
Medical decisions: hahaha no.
Judges decisions: nope
Power bills, energy consumption: fuuuuck nooooo
Reposted by Rose Willard
Saddened to hear that Rebecca Heineman has passed away. She was a true legend and all my interactions with her were insightful, fun and inspiring. A true one of a kind. RIP Burger Becky.
November 18, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Saddened to hear that Rebecca Heineman has passed away. She was a true legend and all my interactions with her were insightful, fun and inspiring. A true one of a kind. RIP Burger Becky.
Reposted by Rose Willard
Rebecca Heineman passed today.
She was a unique talent, to understate things. Anyone could see that in her long list of accomplishments.
But we are not just our catalogs of retail products. She was a force of nature, a light in the darkness.
This is an unimaginable sadness.
She was a unique talent, to understate things. Anyone could see that in her long list of accomplishments.
But we are not just our catalogs of retail products. She was a force of nature, a light in the darkness.
This is an unimaginable sadness.
November 18, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Rebecca Heineman passed today.
She was a unique talent, to understate things. Anyone could see that in her long list of accomplishments.
But we are not just our catalogs of retail products. She was a force of nature, a light in the darkness.
This is an unimaginable sadness.
She was a unique talent, to understate things. Anyone could see that in her long list of accomplishments.
But we are not just our catalogs of retail products. She was a force of nature, a light in the darkness.
This is an unimaginable sadness.
Reposted by Rose Willard
Reposted by Rose Willard
If you get to a trillion dollars you should have to start the game over from the beginning at a higher difficulty like your parents not owning a bunch of emerald mines or whatever idk that’s just a random example
November 17, 2025 at 6:50 PM
If you get to a trillion dollars you should have to start the game over from the beginning at a higher difficulty like your parents not owning a bunch of emerald mines or whatever idk that’s just a random example
Reposted by Rose Willard
RIP to a games industry pioneer and legend, Rebecca Heineman (@burgerbecky.bsky.social) If your unfamiliar, look her up. Her career is like the story of videogames itself.
November 18, 2025 at 3:01 AM
RIP to a games industry pioneer and legend, Rebecca Heineman (@burgerbecky.bsky.social) If your unfamiliar, look her up. Her career is like the story of videogames itself.
Reposted by Rose Willard
to say it plainly: everyone was all about indie when only white men with access to Steam and other resources that allow you to focus on your art project were doing it in the 2010s. Now that others have broken in, funding has magically dried up and the industry is “dead”, according to the same guys.
November 17, 2025 at 11:40 PM
to say it plainly: everyone was all about indie when only white men with access to Steam and other resources that allow you to focus on your art project were doing it in the 2010s. Now that others have broken in, funding has magically dried up and the industry is “dead”, according to the same guys.
Reposted by Rose Willard
Absolutely devastating that our industry has lost the incredible Laralyn McWilliams, Jennell Jaquays, and now Rebecca Heineman within a couple of short years. We really will never truly be the same. We forge on in the shadows of giants, y’all.
November 18, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Absolutely devastating that our industry has lost the incredible Laralyn McWilliams, Jennell Jaquays, and now Rebecca Heineman within a couple of short years. We really will never truly be the same. We forge on in the shadows of giants, y’all.
Reposted by Rose Willard
#3157 A helpful tutorial
November 17, 2025 at 11:40 PM
#3157 A helpful tutorial
Reposted by Rose Willard
It's also the coolest and most fun part of the job, why would you want to cut it out!?
November 11, 2025 at 2:54 PM
It's also the coolest and most fun part of the job, why would you want to cut it out!?
Reposted by Rose Willard
AI can't do that. It can't understand the words or the characters it's "voicing." It can't understand your intent and has no intent of its own. You need a real actor to do this.
November 11, 2025 at 2:53 PM
AI can't do that. It can't understand the words or the characters it's "voicing." It can't understand your intent and has no intent of its own. You need a real actor to do this.
Reposted by Rose Willard
If your game has voice acting, then working with the voice actors is half of your writing process. It's not complete until you've heard it interpreted and reimagined by a voice actor. And they always reimagine it in ways that elevate the writing, in ways you never would have imagined yourself.
November 11, 2025 at 2:52 PM
If your game has voice acting, then working with the voice actors is half of your writing process. It's not complete until you've heard it interpreted and reimagined by a voice actor. And they always reimagine it in ways that elevate the writing, in ways you never would have imagined yourself.
Reposted by Rose Willard
"AI is a tool."
No. Empirically not. A tool empowers people; helps people. It solves an extant problem. Generative AI in creative mediums is being used as a cudgel that diminishes and eliminates people, and the only "problem" being solved is fiscal.
Stop validating it, even in passing.
No. Empirically not. A tool empowers people; helps people. It solves an extant problem. Generative AI in creative mediums is being used as a cudgel that diminishes and eliminates people, and the only "problem" being solved is fiscal.
Stop validating it, even in passing.
November 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
"AI is a tool."
No. Empirically not. A tool empowers people; helps people. It solves an extant problem. Generative AI in creative mediums is being used as a cudgel that diminishes and eliminates people, and the only "problem" being solved is fiscal.
Stop validating it, even in passing.
No. Empirically not. A tool empowers people; helps people. It solves an extant problem. Generative AI in creative mediums is being used as a cudgel that diminishes and eliminates people, and the only "problem" being solved is fiscal.
Stop validating it, even in passing.
Reposted by Rose Willard
Just want you to know that when I asked Geoff why he gave the silent treatment to an open letter written by his own "future of games" program (& co-signed by 3000+ industry peers), he replied:
"Because that's my show and nobody gets to tell me how I should use my platform". 💀💀💀
"Because that's my show and nobody gets to tell me how I should use my platform". 💀💀💀
“Don’t gather some of the most brilliant activists in the industry, treat us like crap, and then expect us to do nothing about it.” After the Game Awards cancelled its Future Class programme, @alyssamerc.bsky.social talked to its former honorees
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
“We were effectively props”: young stars of game development feel let down by the ‘gaming Oscars’
Announced in 2020 by the Game Awards as an inclusive programme for the industry’s next generation, the Future Class initiative has now been discontinued. Inductees describe clashes with organisers and...
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Just want you to know that when I asked Geoff why he gave the silent treatment to an open letter written by his own "future of games" program (& co-signed by 3000+ industry peers), he replied:
"Because that's my show and nobody gets to tell me how I should use my platform". 💀💀💀
"Because that's my show and nobody gets to tell me how I should use my platform". 💀💀💀
Reposted by Rose Willard
We have this man so many opportunities to prove us wrong and he inevitably disappoints us again and again. The decision below proves that he doesn't care about people. He cares about profits.
The price of tickets, the sponsorships, the amount folks pay for trailers, features and more... So yeah
The price of tickets, the sponsorships, the amount folks pay for trailers, features and more... So yeah
Apparently, Keighley doesn't have time to reply to @alyssamerc.bsky.social's request for comment, but he sure does have time to post about his latest business deal surrounding the awards on LinkedIn.
November 11, 2025 at 6:51 PM
We have this man so many opportunities to prove us wrong and he inevitably disappoints us again and again. The decision below proves that he doesn't care about people. He cares about profits.
The price of tickets, the sponsorships, the amount folks pay for trailers, features and more... So yeah
The price of tickets, the sponsorships, the amount folks pay for trailers, features and more... So yeah
Reposted by Rose Willard
It's purely managers wanting to live in a world where ideas guys write a prompt and a fully-formed game comes out of the machine (and people buy that slop because their ideas are soooo goooood of course). I don't ascribe it serious motives. It's coming from a place of hating creatives, period.
November 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM
It's purely managers wanting to live in a world where ideas guys write a prompt and a fully-formed game comes out of the machine (and people buy that slop because their ideas are soooo goooood of course). I don't ascribe it serious motives. It's coming from a place of hating creatives, period.
Reposted by Rose Willard
The thing that strikes me about replacing voice actors with AI slop is that, in the scope of a big AA/AAA production it barely saves money? These people aren't even full time. It's immizerating people because immizerating people is your goal, nothing more.
November 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The thing that strikes me about replacing voice actors with AI slop is that, in the scope of a big AA/AAA production it barely saves money? These people aren't even full time. It's immizerating people because immizerating people is your goal, nothing more.
Reposted by Rose Willard
"geoff's a bad person? who woulda known!!"
yeah well that snark doesn't help the marginalized folks who wanted to give him a chance, and who wanted to give this program the benefit of the doubt :)
yeah well that snark doesn't help the marginalized folks who wanted to give him a chance, and who wanted to give this program the benefit of the doubt :)
if speaking out and being loud about TGA and its gross mishandling of the Future Class makes me less employable, that says more about our industry and the people in positions of power than it does me. i have a platform, i'm privileged that i feel safe to speak up. think about folks who might not.
November 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM
"geoff's a bad person? who woulda known!!"
yeah well that snark doesn't help the marginalized folks who wanted to give him a chance, and who wanted to give this program the benefit of the doubt :)
yeah well that snark doesn't help the marginalized folks who wanted to give him a chance, and who wanted to give this program the benefit of the doubt :)
Reposted by Rose Willard
I will never use AI.
Good morning! AI is being force-fed to you by a handful of billionaires who will lose a bunch of money if they fail to convince you that you need it. You do not need it 🫶
November 7, 2025 at 12:37 AM
I will never use AI.
Reposted by Rose Willard
So not only is Square Enix going to try to replace 70% of its QA with AI, it's also apparently laying off at least 100 people (possibly significantly more) as it continues to consolidate its operations further and further:
www.ign.com/articles/squ...
www.ign.com/articles/squ...
Square Enix Announces Mass Layoffs As It Reorganizes to Consolidate Development in Japan - IGN
Square Enix has announced mass layoffs today, potentially impacting over 100 individuals, alongside a broader effort to consolidate its publishing organization and focus its development work in Japan.
www.ign.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:46 PM
So not only is Square Enix going to try to replace 70% of its QA with AI, it's also apparently laying off at least 100 people (possibly significantly more) as it continues to consolidate its operations further and further:
www.ign.com/articles/squ...
www.ign.com/articles/squ...
Reposted by Rose Willard
Trans folks reading this: don't panic too much, the supreme court thing is about injunctions pending a larger court case
Cis folks reading this: Try to understand how terrifying it is to be a minority the government openly hates, and they start fucking with your ability to *leave the country*
Cis folks reading this: Try to understand how terrifying it is to be a minority the government openly hates, and they start fucking with your ability to *leave the country*
This fight isn't over. Our case challenging President Trump's executive order will still move forward.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
November 6, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Trans folks reading this: don't panic too much, the supreme court thing is about injunctions pending a larger court case
Cis folks reading this: Try to understand how terrifying it is to be a minority the government openly hates, and they start fucking with your ability to *leave the country*
Cis folks reading this: Try to understand how terrifying it is to be a minority the government openly hates, and they start fucking with your ability to *leave the country*
Reposted by Rose Willard
That's not to say those of us in Future Class are done. If anything, they made the mistake of putting us all in the same room together because together, we're unstoppable.
Love my ❤️ at Future Class.
As a reminder: we are not props.
Love my ❤️ at Future Class.
As a reminder: we are not props.
November 6, 2025 at 9:22 PM
That's not to say those of us in Future Class are done. If anything, they made the mistake of putting us all in the same room together because together, we're unstoppable.
Love my ❤️ at Future Class.
As a reminder: we are not props.
Love my ❤️ at Future Class.
As a reminder: we are not props.
Reposted by Rose Willard
Reposted by Rose Willard
It's important that we name it when we see it. That we say it so it lives in the open. Not just in the way that the Future Class has been abandoned, but the half-baked acknowledgment of the turmoil in the industry by The Game Awards. All of it.
Don't claim what you don't care about. (5/5)
Don't claim what you don't care about. (5/5)
November 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
It's important that we name it when we see it. That we say it so it lives in the open. Not just in the way that the Future Class has been abandoned, but the half-baked acknowledgment of the turmoil in the industry by The Game Awards. All of it.
Don't claim what you don't care about. (5/5)
Don't claim what you don't care about. (5/5)