If we're going to keep doing DICE at the Aria every year I'm gonna need the two Starbucks on the second floor to receive unique designators so we can tell them apart.

How it started vs. how it's going. www.youtube.com/shorts/TmH7v... #gamedev #indiegames

Feels good, yo. #gamedev #survivalcrafting youtube.com/shorts/f1JUc...

I forgot to put #GameDev

Give Stars Reach a follow! If anyone should make it through this industry downturn, Playable Worlds should be on the list. www.kickstarter.com/projects/sta...

I am exhausted by the Attention Economy.

Believing "everything happens for a reason" makes people look for someone or something to blame whenever something bad happens. Humans are profoundly uncomfortable with the idea that the universe is nothing but chaos with no purpose.

One of us.

I no longer have to be jealous of the sledding in the north east. We have a sledding hill at home.

Always explore, never return to base. youtube.com/shorts/0pu_7...

I have never seen an episode of Adventure Time. I do quote Jake the Dog, tho.

Ya'll I'm a crochet prodigy. I made a frog.

If you forgot to get me a Christmas gift, here's what I want. shop.supercosmo.studio/products/ful...

It happens all the time. The people who decide what games get made are the people who control money. That's true of everything, though. Games are not unique in this, they just have longer dev times than many things so the cut is deeper when it happens.

Sometimes people repost their most popular posts of 2024 to get more engagement. Here's mine.

Modern manliness is using a utility knife to cut the yarn tails off the wooble lily pad you just finished.

Test post 2, please ignore #gamedev

Test post, please ignore #GameDev

Stream starting! www.twitch.tv/sprocketgames

Next stream! discord.gg/D7EKXVJz?eve... December 21, 2024 6:00 PM PT @capothedev.bsky.social will be bringing a few friends to play through with a full (maybe overfull...?) group. Should be fun, come hang out. #GameDev

Come say hi, friends! #gamedev

How about something a little more direct. HERE'S PROJECT COSMOS! Much more is on the way. Hang out on Discord: discord.gg/projectcosmos #gamedev #survivalgame #indiegames

Yo, I don't know who to tell, but I'm so happy we have tooltips in our game now. #GameDev #trueinnovation

So I was muddling through analysis paralysis in figuring out what social media content is worth making... so I looked at Pirate Software to see what format they use for videos. I clicked a random video and it HAPPENED TO BE THIS ONE. www.youtube.com/shorts/ktDhv... Thanks @piratesoftware.live. lol.

What if I heart all my own posts... does that tell the algorithm I have strong self-esteem?

Hi! I’m Rowan, Lead Narrative Designer @sprocketgames.bsky.social. In the past I’ve worked at Riot, Telltale, Obsidian, Square Enix, and Blizzard. I’m an advocate for EDI in games and a big ol’ nerd. Games - and devs - rock. I love dessert, crafting, coffee, cats, and you. 🖤

My manager at Riot once told me he gave up Software Engineering for management because people have harder problems to solve and he wanted the challenge. I've seen him proven right so many times. Building software is, by far, the easiest part of Software and people are, by far, the hardest.

My froglets are steadily becoming frogs.

Ty, spotify discover algorithm. I needed the nostalgia blast. open.spotify.com/album/0wzexc...

Marketing lesson #1: can't go viral if you never post anything.

Shout out to SkyCord. This lil discord bot does exactly what it says on the tin and the dev is pretty nice, too. #GameDev top.gg/bot/13005624...

Me: Working from home is isolating... I should engage more with the #GameDev community Also me, trying to write a one sentence post:

Testing bsky bot. Feeling cute, might delete later.

I used to be a software engineer. Now I'm a CEO, COO, Product Manager, Community Manager, Head of Bizdev, Head of Marketing, Head of HR... and more, I'm sure. #GameDev

One big difference between low budget indie games and large budget investor or studio backed games is that game devs decide what indie games get made. For bigger budget games, the people who control the money (who may not even play games) decide what games get made.

#GameDev Intro: I'm Josiah, CEO/co-founder of Sprocket Games. I started my game dev career with 8 years at Riot Games, as a software engineer: 5y on League of Legends (infrastructure, automation, scalability) and 3y on Legends of Runeterra (owned the game server, all content authoring tools).

Welcome to v4 of the Blue Sky Game Dev orientation 🧵! Let's get you started with the basics of Bluesky, finding other devs, and posting about your games! Btw, this is based on the artist orientation thread from @purlane.ink; make sure to check it out if you’re also on the art side of game dev!

Trans Day of Remembrance ✊🏳️‍⚧️

Transgender Day of Remembrance is tomorrow, November 20th. glaad.org/tdor/ My studio gives this day as a paid holiday each year. Does anyone have things they do on TDOR that feels meaningful?

One of the reasons Sprocket exists is to make the games industry a better place. Turns out spaces like Sprocket are more necessary than ever. In times like these, "we're gonna do what we always do: create safe spaces, build community, and take care of one another as best we can."

Feel free to ask me about venture capital, software, game dev and studio operations (or frogs... I also know a lot about frogs). I'm happy to share my experience.

The thing I miss most about being an IC in game dev is the long periods of focus on a single problem until it's solved. It's rare I hit a flow state as a CEO.

Advice for starting a game studio #8 Hiring international employees is generally not difficult, operationally. (See services like Deel) What you should be more concerned about is how to best collaborate cross timezone and cross culture. It can be done, but it is not free.

Advice for starting a game studio #7 Don't compromise on benefits that make your devs' lives stable. Healthcare (vision and dental), parental leave, 401k, etc. are not the places to cut costs. Devs who have stable personal lives have more risk tolerance at work... which is critical in a startup.

Advice for starting a game studio #6 Don't sniff at outsourcing and short term contracts. Salaries stack up burn very fast and laying devs off is painful for both those who go and those who stay. A 3 month contract can stop at 3 months with fewer hard feelings as long as expectations are clear.

Advice for starting a game studio #5 Hiring and culture are the most important things (so says the cliche) in any company. It's necessary but not sufficient to be successful. Smart and talented people in a room don't necessarily make a good game/product. Don't neglect product management.

Advice for starting a game studio #4 For getting venture funding, pedigree and networks still matter a lot. If you don't have a glowing track record and resume, you're going to need a playable demo that stands out. These days, in 2024, you increasingly need a released game with retention metrics.

Advice for starting a game studio #3 As CEO, learn as much as you can about disciplines you have not worked in.

Advice for starting a game studio #2 Employee trust comes first. If things are going well, celebrate it. If things are not going well, don't hide it. Tell people how much runway you have left and tell them when that materially changes. Tell them what investors say after pitches and when they pass.

Advice for starting a game studio #1 Don't underestimate company operations. Automate and outsource as much as you can. If you're the CEO, either hire a COO or admit you are the COO. You won't have time to write code or drive product development as COO, cause operations are not optional.