your core users are people who have already demonstrated a willingness to abandon a more popular social media site for another, in the most part for disliking the politics of the people who run it. write this on a big whiteboard somewhere in the office

I never buy merch. This may be the time to buy merch. * yearning sighs *

My burned out ass needs to hear stuff like this - it applies to not just art, but to any human endeavors. Improvement happens when you push through the voices telling you you can't do it, when you stick to a practice that's just one level of discomfort above your current skill. Now.. to go live it.

Every week something like this comes out without the corollary “and this is what we are going to do about it” report

Here's the edited down version of the VOD with Fair Play Collective in case you missed it live 😄 👉 youtu.be/cSApmwvXO4I

Really hyped for this interview, should interest all indies so hope you can join in and listen now! 🫡 Game Dev Chat | A new & sustainable backing concept for indie studios with Dylan from @fairplaycollective.org 🥰 🔗 www.twitch.tv/ancastasia

Dev Chat - my irregular live series of chatting with other game devs - starts in 50 min 🥕 Guesting @thenoble1.bsky.social to speak about working on game design and writing for the steampunk fantasy TTRPG High Winds by @scaleboundgames.com and answer questions! Proceed 👉 www.twitch.tv/ancastasia

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.

Game NEEDS to be finished, it's got vibes up the wazoo and somehow an even more incredible lore

@godotfest.bsky.social is still seeking some volunteers to assist video recordings. Free ticket. Discord: discord.com/invite/vA4pN... Form: forms.gle/73X7M5pa59Dc... #godot #godotfest #godotcon

On the docket today: the angry girl energy of Frieda is Changing before @mucksgames.com take down the demo, then if we're cheeky we're starting ABZU?? See ya in a bit at twitch.tv/ancastasia #indiegames

Does a whopping 600 games for 10$ sounds like a good back to school deal to you? 🔥 If so you have until the 10th of September to grab the Queer Games Bundle! itch.io/b/3062/queer... #indieGames #bundle #deals

Super hyped for Button Man 😍 If you're at #gamescom go visit these nice folks' booth!

reminder everybody do not attempt to fight or suppress the bees because you'll definitely lose, instead work on becoming the bee commander, study and train in the arcane art of the bee butt wiggle sun angle dance step, you must be the conductor of the bee orchestra, I forgot what we're talking about

The censorship mill from bigoted payment companies that have no business imposing these rules keeps churning 🙄 If you can call MasterCard's hotlines and complain, keep doing it lol

AdventureX, the narrative gaming expo in November, is still looking for sponsors - if you know any companies (development, hardware, software etc) that might be a good fit and interested, let me know or tag them in the comments! www.adventurexpo.org/sponsorship @adventurex.bsky.social

Trans kids are more likely to be kicked out of a family home, landlords are more likely to discriminate against trans folks, employers frequently discriminate against trans employees in the hiring and firing process, and this compounds to make it more difficult to find stable housing and security.

Top of the list of insane names parents have decided to embarrass their kids with, so bonkers it wraps around to supporting my guts laughing

Sub-Verge by @interactivetragedy.com is freakin gorgeous and we're checking it out rn, thanks @pantaloon.io for the free key! Puzzles of the dark depths time www.twitch.tv/ancastasia | #indiegames

Make your weird, uncomfortable, sexy, political, gross, naked, violent, video games. They deserve to exist. Art deserves to exist.

Everything is sausage if you try hard enough - that's the mantra youtubers like Ordinary Sausage would have you believe, and also the @dunderbeckgame.com demo I'm playing this stream right now 🔪 #indiegames Mouth sounds stay ON on a licktuber stream, you've been warned. www.twitch.tv/ancastasia/

I have a lot more respect for this than pretending like we're one off year election away from going back to "normal"

GAME, the German game industry trade association, released this *damn* good statement on the unjust NSFW game takedowns www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

visa and mastercard deciding what games are allowed to be sold is an apocalyptic level threat to the games industry. phone calls are the highest impact way to help. this is an all hands on deck situation. the enemy got results with 1000 phone calls. we can beat them phone numbers and a script:

There's no anomaly here. People, globally, volunteer their time to powerful public goods the moment they're not actively terrified that they'll lose their home, their food, and their freedom. Which means that capitalism requires us all to live in fear, always - because it can't compete with free.

Rimming now live with the (Space) Odyssey mod at www.twitch.tv/ancastasia #rimming is a good word #rimworld

Tempted to self-sabotage finally making a TikTok for the studio by inserting "fuck" in every post until it becomes the new meta that'll get us viral

Congratulations, it is now that much harder for victims to tell their own stories and process their own experiences and grief.

I get why people are angry at Itch. But Steam will now also just remove things based on payment processor vibes I don't like any of this. partner.steamgames.com/doc/gettings...

Hey, if you want to make sure Visa and Mastercard can’t determine that your game is NSFW and delete it from the internet, sign this thing chng.it/ZJsZysywBD

Whole thread is on point

The Fair Play Collective is an experiment in player funded #gamedev mutual aid. Take a look. Help shape something good. Fairplaycollective.super.site

Got asked to translate a Steam page into Romanian. Now I not only gotta resuscitate my rusty mother tongue but also experience the wild mix that is Steam in Romanian. You got "great on Deck" translated as "impeccable on Deck" and "wishlists" as "list of desires", while "moddable" goes untranslated 😂

One of the absolute pillars of the adventure game community, Roberta Vaughan, is facing a very serious medical crisis. I won't get into what it is but trust me, it's bad. If you have the means, please consider donating to this medical fund organized by ex-Sierra designer Josh Mandel.

The release is finally out now 👀

Explains why I had an icky feel from some of the Death Stranding I've watched played. 2 especially seems to go really hard with the motherly role of women.

I've been playing #OldSkies on stream for what feels like time immemorial... And this game keeps surprising me with plot twists! Somewhere at the start of chapter 6 now at www.twitch.tv/ancastasia 🌀

Damn why do these both call me out 😅

Last week we had the pleasure to host a laid-back meetup at our office, just look at all these cool buddies 🥹 @happytroutstudios.bsky.social @styraxron.bsky.social @shellyalon.bsky.social @reinke.bsky.social @pipapogames.bsky.social fox-assembly.com www.kieranmcauliffemusic.com ♥️ #indie #gamedev

I hate to post this today, with all the news, but the genocide goes before all. Microsoft confirms it is supporting the genocide with AI tech. Israel never does anything but hurt Palestinians in Gaza, so "it's not used to harm Palestinians" is bullshit. www.rockpapershotgun.com/microsoft-co...

Call for a voice actor! We’re looking to cast a female actress for our next game. Vocal age 25-35, Northern England accent, preferably Mancunian, incl. Pakistani and Indian Mancunian accents. That’s you? Then send a sample to [email protected], marked “casting call”. Paid gig, ofc <3 RTs!

hey I am posting this because I didn't know it, and so others might not either: but the BBB has NOT PASSED YET-- it's passed the senate & now it must pass the house. It's time to call reps RIGHT NOW. Johnson is going to push the vote ASAP before backlash can form so the calls need to start NOW.

I did heartbreakingly refund the game this morning after reading about this. Didn't expect this kind of cutting corners and non-disclosure from @11bitstudios.bsky.social

Game writing tip of the day: Your text should not repeat what the player can already discern from the visuals So if the player sees a dead body, your char does not have to say 'ohno dead body'. Instead use that space to add more info the player can't see, like 'what am I going to tell his wife?'

She paradoxed all over herself in the 9/11 chapter of #OldSkies which I'm continuing rn over at www.twitch.tv/ancastasia 😶‍🌫️ #twitch #adventuregames and such

Who called it a condom and not a hardcover?

Netanyahu has spent the better part of two decades trying to strong arm the United States into an unprovoked war against Iran and finally found a president stupid enough to do it for him. Unbelievable.

We are delighted to announce that AdventureX will happen on 22-23 November at LSBU Hub in London. Save the date! Ticket sales are expected to open in August. More tickets will be available than in 2023! Applications to exhibit/speak at #AdvX25 will open next week from Mon 23 June - 14 July.