The hard truth is manmade systems do not “self”-regulate (design by evil, neglect, require your pushback.) Hard truth is no parents. But the hard truth is you CAN change things. It takes sacrifice, dealing with people. (The hidden truth is there lies priceless clarity, strength, camaraderie.)

Folks and friendlies in the locales (Montreal, Maryland, Austin, Dallas), show these devs some love and support! Some were there for decades. 💜✊💜

It's impossible to take Xbox seriously when it says it wants to reach one billion players per day. It's not a plan, it's red meat for shareholders

It also doesn't matter if you work on a game that's critically panned or only sells okay. I assure you, there's someone for whom that is their *favorite* game. An example: I worked on Iron Man 2, the game. It's okay. It was made under deathmarch crunch conditions and the team was harmed.

(I'm not dead, just not in my posting era for sure, & happy/anxious to be busy, mainly with directing! If you're a pal I would *love* to be thought of for acting or directing, mainly in the fall & beyond. This has been my at-this-rate annual? social media post. I still love games, & still love you!)

Friends! I'm dang proud n honored to be directing a meditation mini-series for @ashlyburch.bsky.social 's I'm Happy You're Here! Puppets??!! Mental health encouragement n good info with silly goofs n cozy lighting n music???? THIS SHOW HAS EVERYTHING, and is made by lovely humans! Pls go watch!

All Systems Brough: A Chat with Michael We’re joined by @smestorp.bsky.social himself to celebrate the launch of 868-BACK (out now!), as we discuss his journey to launch, how his process has changed over the years, his impressions of our series so far, and more. secretlives.games/all-systems-...

Zeke and I are up at 12:33 PDT I think! A little less than 2 hours. Tune in all day today and tomorrow for inspiration from folks across the industry doing the good good work ✊💜

TALK ANNOUNCEMENT📢 Sarah Elmaleh & Zeke Alton | SAG-AFTRA In this talk, Sarah & Zeke provide insight into how performers do their jobs, share details from the 2024/2025 Interactive Strike, and answer some questions from their fellow Game Workers

All Systems Brough - Corrypt We're joined by @halfrobot.com and @flantz.bsky.social to discuss the 5th game in our yearlong coverage of @smestorp.bsky.social's beguiling oeuvre. secretlives.games/all-systems-...

Why you should try Post Games: - An NPR-quality weekly podcast on video games - Hosted by a 19-year games media veteran - Rare interviews with the most interesting people in gaming, from philosophers to CEOs, sex game designers to Dunkey - And scripts, editing, and music that respect your time!

The 868-BACK launch date trailer is here! The game releases 28 May 🥳 Congratulations, @smestorp.bsky.social ! youtu.be/IUr6WiT3KX8

Quick lil strawpoll, because I'm curious - are you in a club? (More qs: In person or online? What type is it? How often do you meet? How did you hear about it? Tell me all about it, I wanna know!)

$1 gets you access to Video Game Journalism 101. I adapted my NYU course into a 5-part video series. You'll learn the history of games media from the '80s to today. And you'll learn about writing, editing, and how the biz actually works. Plus, the rest of Post Games! Sale ends Monday at midnight.

Ep. 156: Filling Buckets with Tonda Ros (Blue Prince) We’re joined by the creator of Blue Prince (on the one-year anniversary of its release) to discuss the game’s yearslong development process, the power and peril of hunches, and staying a step ahead of players. secretlives.games/156-filling-...

I got to chat about one of my favorite games with a squad of brilliant game designers! In sports broadcasting, you'd call me the color commentary

Every time I see someone say "indies will save us", I think about all the game dev mutuals I have who have made it very clear the same problems facing AAA funding are impacting indies, too.

The Venn diagram is a picture of my face and so into the cart it goes Into the cart and onto the deck (and home before dark)

Part One of my Extremely Overdetermined Adventure Game Tier List, in which we sort 50 adventure games into tiers using MATH and GOOD TASTE. made w/ @questingrefuge.bsky.social, featuring @selmaleh.bsky.social & @pamd.bsky.social, thumbnail art by @highlandkall.bsky.social youtu.be/yxl7BD1rCjE

It might be more helpful to replace the AAA/indie labels with a freakometer to see how freaky the game is

Folks! @secretlivesofgames.bsky.social is podcasting from the very show floor today 10-11:30am (bottom of south lobby escalators) Will it be perversely fun to observe us like hamsters in what I believe is a glass box while we pod? Perhaps! Be you listener, friend or both it’d be nice to see ya

During the festival, Perfect Tides: Station to Station is part of a bundle with other IGF Narrative Award nominees. Some of these (including PT) are also discounted so it's a really good deal! store.steampowered.com/bundle/68612...

IGF AWARD REHEARSAL @karriebear.bsky.social @robdubbin.bsky.social

Capcom accused of ditching union contracts on Mega Man: Dual Override

GDC! See you tomorrow! (?)

NEXT THURSDAY "Why did I make this?" NYU Game Center Lecture Series Presents Bennett Foddy March 5th 7pm - 8:30pm RSVP: bennettfoddylectureseries.eventbrite.com (Also live streaming at twitch.tv/nyugamecenter) Join us for a career retrospective with @foddy.net! Poster by @cromsferatu.bsky.social

I hope everyone is excited about Verses! We would love it if folks would check out our patreon. It's the fastest way to play the game! patreon.com/superfutureg...

GDC attendees! We'll be having our annual listener meetup at 4pm on Wednesday, at the usual spot (around the cement benches just beyond the northeast edge of the park). Hope to see you there! maps.app.goo.gl/Xx4CBusosu92...

Ep. 152: Walking Over It w/ Gabe Cuzzillo and Bennett Foddy (Baby Steps) Rob, Sarah, Doug, and Andy are joined by @foddy.net and @gcuzzillo.bsky.social to talk about their (with @maxiboch.bsky.social) multi-IGF-nominated, multi-faceted adventure game. secretlives.games/152-walking-...

Yes!!!!!! Haha listen closely, you’ll hear the trauma behind the smile (but you are actually hearing my huge and genuine giddiness to be back!) So grateful to the team for standing by the Service Technician. Really moved by players who missed her. If only I could emote-hug you all. 🫂💪 #helldivers2

All Systems Brough - Vertex Dispenser Rob and Andy are joined by @droqen.bsky.social, @tinysubversions.bsky.social, and Tara Macalister to discuss the second game in our yearlong coverage of @smestorp.bsky.social's work. secretlives.games/all-systems-...

The memoir game isn't new, but it is having a moment. I blogged about the boom of autobiographical games in the early 2010s -- and why the sub-genre is now returning with a vengeance.

UPDATE: The awards ceremony will now be at 12:00 PST! The best place to watch is on steam: store.steampowered.com/sale/IndieCa... In the meantime, why not check out some of our incredible nominees?

The Indiecade Awards are in a little less than half an hour! Join us on Steam or YouTube at 11AM PT! @elysewillems.bsky.social and @selmaleh.bsky.social and I are excited to celebrate these wonderful indies with you! @indiecade.bsky.social check indiecade.com for more info!

Folks, the @indiecade.bsky.social Awards are in just a couple hours!!! 11am PT! After a year away I’m BACK with the radiant @islahinck.bsky.social & @elysewillems.bsky.social to goof, gag and deliver the most wonderful slate of indies to you, and honor their creators Steam home page! Indiecade.com!

I really meant to log on one more time in Anthem before it sank gently into the abyss….the flying was so fun, & the promise of fleshing out combo-based ME3 style co-op was a worthy pursuit. Love and kinship to all the Freelancers who stuck around. Love and kinship to the devs.

Our almost 4-hour GOTY 2025 special is live now! The gang's all here to count down our favorite "games" of "2025", alongside a bevvy of great picks from previous guests and listeners. secretlives.games/151-games-of...

Join us on Steam on January 17th for the IndieCade Awards with our hosts Sarah Elmaleh, Isla Hinck, and Elyse Willems! Ceremony will air at 11 am PST / 2 pm EST. Learn about the nominated games here: www.indiecade.com/festival-202... #gamedev #indiedev #indiegames #indiecade #Awards #games

What's actually involved in getting a human voice actor to record lines for a game, and how does that compare to an AI replacement? @maddie-b-a.bsky.social speaks to actors and audio engineers like @selmaleh.bsky.social and @jeffvandyck.com to try and demystify what goes into giving games a voice.

61 workers at Ubisoft Halifax have formed the first North American union at Ubisoft. www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ubi...

I created a Blue Sky starter pack of all the game worker unions across the world. There are a lot of us now! Give them a follow, they're all great! 4/ go.bsky.app/PNcLPFU

Here's how the joining process works behind the scenes at the union. In case you're wondering, "Ben.... Where did you get this information? I've heard other things before...," my source is the Executive Director of Customer Experience at SAG-AFTRA.

HEY! If you want 2026 to be THE year that labor gets the upperhand on corporations forcing AI culture, then you need to learn from the early wins. Here's voice actor union rep @selmaleh.bsky.social explaining how gaming voice actors fought (for over a year!!) to guarantee protections from AI.

Celebrate the IndieCade Festival 2025 Nominated Games with Awards hosts Sarah Elmaleh, Isla Hinck, and Elyse Willems! youtu.be/5fJmGRO7f4E?... Learn more about the games here: www.indiecade.com/festival-202... #gamedev #indiedev #indiegames #indiecade #Awards #games

We want to hear from YOU, #SagAftraMembers! Join us on December 17 at 2 PT/5 ET for our artificial intelligence caucus in preparation for the 2026 TV/Theatrical/Streaming contract negotiations. Use your voice! Get more info/RSVP here: https://ow.ly/mR5s50XIHCo

Dwarf Fortress and Caves of Qud are on sale at the same time! 🍄⛏ Get both with the Best Patch Notes bundle: store.steampowered.com/bundle/38314...

“For years they said it would never happen and it fucking is. [They’re] facing everything from stalling at the bargaining table to mass firings, and deciding that it's worth it for a shot at real agency in shaping their working conditions” @selmaleh.bsky.social postgame.substack.com/p/18-reasons...

I crammed all of your favorite video game podcasts into one Holiday Special! What are your favorite gamers grateful for? Hear from @kumail.bsky.social and Emily V. Gordon, @austinwalker.bsky.social @lucyjames.games @blessingjr.bsky.social @chrisbratt.bsky.social @teanah.bsky.social, and more!

This takes SO MUCH PREAMBLE out of hyping this beautiful podcast I’m so blessed to run with. So hyped for this rebrand and peep this lovely homegrown art by the one and only Dick Hogg!