Nicola Cocchiaro
@wildbat.bsky.social
Software engineer/indie game dev. I started @synapticsugar.games and do programming, design, music.
Former gameplay and AI programmer on Red Dead Redemption 2, Front Mission Evolved, GI Joe: the Rise of Cobra; backend engineer on Sony PlayStation Now; etc
Former gameplay and AI programmer on Red Dead Redemption 2, Front Mission Evolved, GI Joe: the Rise of Cobra; backend engineer on Sony PlayStation Now; etc
Pinned
Nicola Cocchiaro
@wildbat.bsky.social
· Nov 13
Agents of Groove
Agents of Groove is a rhythm game currently in development for Playdate with a dynamic soundtrack, a compelling story and a fun cast of characters.
synapticsugar.games
My current project is a story-driven rhythm game for Playdate called Agents of Groove, in which a group of undercover dancers stumbles upon a conspiracy and attempts to stop it. It would be cool if you checked it out at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
One of the cruelest tricks society played on creative people was planting the idea that being proud of your work is somehow unseemly and egotistical.
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
November 20, 2025 at 12:54 AM
One of the cruelest tricks society played on creative people was planting the idea that being proud of your work is somehow unseemly and egotistical.
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
America's first ever esports champion was Rebecca Heineman, a trans woman. She went on to found some of your favorite video game studios and worked on your favorite video games. Next time you see somebody rail about 'woke' and 'DEI'
Remember that.
Remember her.
Remember that.
Remember her.
"I code so others can dream."
Gayming Icon and LGBTQ+ video game pioneer, Rebecca Heineman, has sadly passed away after a short, tough fight with aggressive cancer.
Read our obituary to this true industry trailblazer: gaymingmag.com/2025/11/gaym...
Gayming Icon and LGBTQ+ video game pioneer, Rebecca Heineman, has sadly passed away after a short, tough fight with aggressive cancer.
Read our obituary to this true industry trailblazer: gaymingmag.com/2025/11/gaym...
Gayming Icon and LGBTQ+ games pioneer, Rebecca Heineman, has died - Gayming Magazine
Rebecca Heineman, a trailblazing figure in the video game industry and a celebrated icon within the LGBTQ+ gaming community, has died.
gaymingmag.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:11 PM
America's first ever esports champion was Rebecca Heineman, a trans woman. She went on to found some of your favorite video game studios and worked on your favorite video games. Next time you see somebody rail about 'woke' and 'DEI'
Remember that.
Remember her.
Remember that.
Remember her.
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
For the first time since its inception, I'm happy to report that ALL nominees of #TheGameAwards include #TranslatorsInTheCredits! We've come a long way since the dark days of credit withholding, and none of this would've been possible without your support!
November 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
For the first time since its inception, I'm happy to report that ALL nominees of #TheGameAwards include #TranslatorsInTheCredits! We've come a long way since the dark days of credit withholding, and none of this would've been possible without your support!
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Make bad art. Make uncertain art. Make indifferent art. Make confused, and confusing, art. Make uninspired art. Making bad art is the essential and irreplaceable aspect of making great art, next time
make bad art because some of the worst people you know are making even worse art and literally nothing you make will be that bad.
make bad art!!! it's better than making no art!!!
November 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Make bad art. Make uncertain art. Make indifferent art. Make confused, and confusing, art. Make uninspired art. Making bad art is the essential and irreplaceable aspect of making great art, next time
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Thank you Uncrank'd for featuring the #AgentsOfGroove trailer in the season 3 finale of Uncrank'd TV! 🪩 🕺
#playdate
#playdate
The season 3 finale of Uncrank'd TV is live!
#playdate news, projects, trailers, a season 3 recap and thoughts from the crew.
youtu.be/6t49K76iUMY
#supportplaydatedevs
#playdate news, projects, trailers, a season 3 recap and thoughts from the crew.
youtu.be/6t49K76iUMY
#supportplaydatedevs
November 15, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Thank you Uncrank'd for featuring the #AgentsOfGroove trailer in the season 3 finale of Uncrank'd TV! 🪩 🕺
#playdate
#playdate
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Random person who plays indie games, you are the most important cog in an indie game's success.
Most gamers don't know or care that indies exist.... unless a friend tells them.
Our games succeed because you tell other people you liked our game. Word of mouth is the best marketing there is.
Most gamers don't know or care that indies exist.... unless a friend tells them.
Our games succeed because you tell other people you liked our game. Word of mouth is the best marketing there is.
November 14, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Random person who plays indie games, you are the most important cog in an indie game's success.
Most gamers don't know or care that indies exist.... unless a friend tells them.
Our games succeed because you tell other people you liked our game. Word of mouth is the best marketing there is.
Most gamers don't know or care that indies exist.... unless a friend tells them.
Our games succeed because you tell other people you liked our game. Word of mouth is the best marketing there is.
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
We don't use generative AI and have gone to some lengths to find collaborators who don't. Focusing on the human element is an important part of our work and "made by humans" has become part of our motto!
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-...
November 12, 2025 at 3:47 AM
We don't use generative AI and have gone to some lengths to find collaborators who don't. Focusing on the human element is an important part of our work and "made by humans" has become part of our motto!
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Today the British union IWGB said it has filed formal legal claims against Rockstar Games for firing 30+ employees two weeks ago, as Bloomberg first reported. Rockstar said the employees were leaking information. The IWGB calls it union-busting. More to come as the legal process plays out...
November 12, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Today the British union IWGB said it has filed formal legal claims against Rockstar Games for firing 30+ employees two weeks ago, as Bloomberg first reported. Rockstar said the employees were leaking information. The IWGB calls it union-busting. More to come as the legal process plays out...
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
credits that include the names of everyone who worked on the game at any point
November 11, 2025 at 4:32 AM
credits that include the names of everyone who worked on the game at any point
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
In case you missed it, we recently released a new trailer for #AgentsOfGroove, and announced our goal to launch before the end of 2025!
#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
New trailer for #AgentsOfGroove on #playdate! 🪩 🕺
vimeo.com/1121610427
We're aiming to launch on itch.io before the end of the year, with a Catalog release soon after!
Learn more about this story-driven rhythm action game at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!
#gamedev #indiedev #TrailerTuesday
vimeo.com/1121610427
We're aiming to launch on itch.io before the end of the year, with a Catalog release soon after!
Learn more about this story-driven rhythm action game at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!
#gamedev #indiedev #TrailerTuesday
November 8, 2025 at 10:48 PM
In case you missed it, we recently released a new trailer for #AgentsOfGroove, and announced our goal to launch before the end of 2025!
#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
July 18, 2025 at 4:12 AM
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold more copies than any other game in the last 7 years, and is the fourth-biggest-selling of all time
www.eurogamer.net/red-dead-red...
www.eurogamer.net/red-dead-red...
November 8, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold more copies than any other game in the last 7 years, and is the fourth-biggest-selling of all time
www.eurogamer.net/red-dead-red...
www.eurogamer.net/red-dead-red...
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
I think we need to stop calling it empathy and go back to calling it decency. It isn't a favour you're doing someone else, it's you proving that you aren't a fucking ghoul
November 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I think we need to stop calling it empathy and go back to calling it decency. It isn't a favour you're doing someone else, it's you proving that you aren't a fucking ghoul
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
A plea for help. 🙏
One of the lead playtesters of Blue Prince, Iggy, has polycystic kidney disease and has only a few months to find a living kidney donor.
His story, contact and donor information can all be found on
iggyland.org
Please help us in sharing his story and getting the word out.💙
One of the lead playtesters of Blue Prince, Iggy, has polycystic kidney disease and has only a few months to find a living kidney donor.
His story, contact and donor information can all be found on
iggyland.org
Please help us in sharing his story and getting the word out.💙
November 8, 2025 at 12:42 AM
A plea for help. 🙏
One of the lead playtesters of Blue Prince, Iggy, has polycystic kidney disease and has only a few months to find a living kidney donor.
His story, contact and donor information can all be found on
iggyland.org
Please help us in sharing his story and getting the word out.💙
One of the lead playtesters of Blue Prince, Iggy, has polycystic kidney disease and has only a few months to find a living kidney donor.
His story, contact and donor information can all be found on
iggyland.org
Please help us in sharing his story and getting the word out.💙
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
New trailer for #AgentsOfGroove on #playdate! 🪩 🕺
vimeo.com/1121610427
We're aiming to launch on itch.io before the end of the year, with a Catalog release soon after!
Learn more about this story-driven rhythm action game at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!
#gamedev #indiedev #TrailerTuesday
vimeo.com/1121610427
We're aiming to launch on itch.io before the end of the year, with a Catalog release soon after!
Learn more about this story-driven rhythm action game at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!
#gamedev #indiedev #TrailerTuesday
November 4, 2025 at 7:50 PM
New trailer for #AgentsOfGroove on #playdate! 🪩 🕺
vimeo.com/1121610427
We're aiming to launch on itch.io before the end of the year, with a Catalog release soon after!
Learn more about this story-driven rhythm action game at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!
#gamedev #indiedev #TrailerTuesday
vimeo.com/1121610427
We're aiming to launch on itch.io before the end of the year, with a Catalog release soon after!
Learn more about this story-driven rhythm action game at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!
#gamedev #indiedev #TrailerTuesday
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Shoutout to all the devs and everyone who checked out the Pumpkin Patch + Play Showcase. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3HW...
The 2025 physical #Playdate Advent calendars are available for purchase!
uncrankd.myshopify.com/products/the...
More stuff coming tomorrow in the QNU!
The 2025 physical #Playdate Advent calendars are available for purchase!
uncrankd.myshopify.com/products/the...
More stuff coming tomorrow in the QNU!
November 4, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Shoutout to all the devs and everyone who checked out the Pumpkin Patch + Play Showcase. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3HW...
The 2025 physical #Playdate Advent calendars are available for purchase!
uncrankd.myshopify.com/products/the...
More stuff coming tomorrow in the QNU!
The 2025 physical #Playdate Advent calendars are available for purchase!
uncrankd.myshopify.com/products/the...
More stuff coming tomorrow in the QNU!
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Sometimes i get sad at those “I wanted to look up what kind of horse pulled medieval wagons It’s three hours later and playtex bra sewers made spacesuits i have a problem” no. No, you don’t. Hydrate and get back in there
I strongly recommend everyone do research sometimes 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯.
Look something up on Wikipedia. Go to the little citation. Follow it. Read the article it's referencing. Follow links to the original interview. Read the paper written by the interviewee
It genuinely makes you appreciate journalism
Look something up on Wikipedia. Go to the little citation. Follow it. Read the article it's referencing. Follow links to the original interview. Read the paper written by the interviewee
It genuinely makes you appreciate journalism
November 2, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Sometimes i get sad at those “I wanted to look up what kind of horse pulled medieval wagons It’s three hours later and playtex bra sewers made spacesuits i have a problem” no. No, you don’t. Hydrate and get back in there
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
For any #Playdate developers using @panic.com’s Nova code editor, I made an extension to help work with launch card animation.txt files: you can name your frames, and you can format the file freely with newlines and tabs for readability:
devforum.play.date/t/here-s-a-n...
devforum.play.date/t/here-s-a-n...
Here’s a Nova Extension to help work with animation.txt files
I made an extension for Panic’s Nova code editor (which has great integration with the Playdate SDK!) to make it easier to create the animation.txt files for launch card animations, and to edit them l...
devforum.play.date
November 2, 2025 at 7:49 AM
For any #Playdate developers using @panic.com’s Nova code editor, I made an extension to help work with launch card animation.txt files: you can name your frames, and you can format the file freely with newlines and tabs for readability:
devforum.play.date/t/here-s-a-n...
devforum.play.date/t/here-s-a-n...
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Watch the Uncrank'd Pumpkin Patch & Play Showcase in only a few hours and you'll see a new trailer for our spy rhythm action game #AgentsOfGroove! 🕺
📅 - November 1st!
🕘 - 9 AM US Pacific / 🕛 - 12 PM US Eastern time
🪩 - youtu.be/G3HWYy5uM1o
(Agents of Groove is coming soon to a #playdate near you!)
📅 - November 1st!
🕘 - 9 AM US Pacific / 🕛 - 12 PM US Eastern time
🪩 - youtu.be/G3HWYy5uM1o
(Agents of Groove is coming soon to a #playdate near you!)
WHAT A DAY! Bugs and an ongoing power outage didn't stop the Uncrank'd Pumpkin Patch + Play Showcase!
Updated link: youtu.be/G3HWYy5uM1o
Nov. 1st at 12pm US EST/9am US PST.
13 #Playdate trailers packed into 40 minutes
Join the live chat. Hope to see you there.
#supportplaydatedevs
Updated link: youtu.be/G3HWYy5uM1o
Nov. 1st at 12pm US EST/9am US PST.
13 #Playdate trailers packed into 40 minutes
Join the live chat. Hope to see you there.
#supportplaydatedevs
November 1, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Watch the Uncrank'd Pumpkin Patch & Play Showcase in only a few hours and you'll see a new trailer for our spy rhythm action game #AgentsOfGroove! 🕺
📅 - November 1st!
🕘 - 9 AM US Pacific / 🕛 - 12 PM US Eastern time
🪩 - youtu.be/G3HWYy5uM1o
(Agents of Groove is coming soon to a #playdate near you!)
📅 - November 1st!
🕘 - 9 AM US Pacific / 🕛 - 12 PM US Eastern time
🪩 - youtu.be/G3HWYy5uM1o
(Agents of Groove is coming soon to a #playdate near you!)
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Thanks to new capabilities from @play.date 15 dev teams came together to make a spooky Halloween TREAT available NOW and for FREE!
ledbetter-games.itch.io/ware-wolf
Ware-wolf Campfire Stories shows off some of the most creative and varied gameplay in the Pulp engine - exclusive to the Playdate!
ledbetter-games.itch.io/ware-wolf
Ware-wolf Campfire Stories shows off some of the most creative and varied gameplay in the Pulp engine - exclusive to the Playdate!
October 30, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Thanks to new capabilities from @play.date 15 dev teams came together to make a spooky Halloween TREAT available NOW and for FREE!
ledbetter-games.itch.io/ware-wolf
Ware-wolf Campfire Stories shows off some of the most creative and varied gameplay in the Pulp engine - exclusive to the Playdate!
ledbetter-games.itch.io/ware-wolf
Ware-wolf Campfire Stories shows off some of the most creative and varied gameplay in the Pulp engine - exclusive to the Playdate!
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
btw, I'm setting aside all of my November income from Playdate sales and Twitch to donate to www.communityfoodclubgr.org, an organization providing food security to the Grand Rapids MI area.
If you stop by my channel or purchase XTRIS, you'll be supporting food for families losing access to SNAP
If you stop by my channel or purchase XTRIS, you'll be supporting food for families losing access to SNAP
October 30, 2025 at 10:43 PM
btw, I'm setting aside all of my November income from Playdate sales and Twitch to donate to www.communityfoodclubgr.org, an organization providing food security to the Grand Rapids MI area.
If you stop by my channel or purchase XTRIS, you'll be supporting food for families losing access to SNAP
If you stop by my channel or purchase XTRIS, you'll be supporting food for families losing access to SNAP
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
A lot of the business failures of the games industry are really rooted in this desire to create a product that dominates the market. The recent Amazon thing really highlights that: they wanted to create a product that outperformed Steam, but they didn't understand Steam or what the audience wanted.
October 30, 2025 at 10:24 AM
A lot of the business failures of the games industry are really rooted in this desire to create a product that dominates the market. The recent Amazon thing really highlights that: they wanted to create a product that outperformed Steam, but they didn't understand Steam or what the audience wanted.
Highly specialized and successful single-player game studios pivoting to multiplayer live service games:
October 29, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Highly specialized and successful single-player game studios pivoting to multiplayer live service games:
Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro
Thank you for joining us on this series about the main characters of #AgentsOfGroove! Our story-driven rhythm action game is coming to #playdate soon, and we'll have many more updates shortly! 🕺 🪩
synapticsugar.games/games/agents...
#gamedev #indiedev
synapticsugar.games/games/agents...
#gamedev #indiedev
Agents of Groove
Agents of Groove is a story-driven rhythm action game for the Playdate console with a dynamic original soundtrack and a fun cast of characters.
synapticsugar.games
October 25, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Thank you for joining us on this series about the main characters of #AgentsOfGroove! Our story-driven rhythm action game is coming to #playdate soon, and we'll have many more updates shortly! 🕺 🪩
synapticsugar.games/games/agents...
#gamedev #indiedev
synapticsugar.games/games/agents...
#gamedev #indiedev