A few example gaming opinions that quickly tell me we won’t be compatible as game designers and maybe even players: “Agricola is a gateway game” “The Mind isn’t even a game, it’s an activity” “Party games are a waste of time” “Any coop game that doesn’t solve alpha player is worthless”

My god Malaysians put a lot of sugar in their food. Probably one of the reasons I love it so much 😋😋😬

Catching up with my buds today! (Pictured below: the adorable Dusky Langur, native to Malaysia and some other SEA countries)

Here’s a silly but really effective mental health discipline I swear by Whenever you see a baby, smile at them. If circumstances allow, make them laugh You practice it consistently, and your baseline mood just improves.

Thank you very much for your snap opinion on my area of expertise, reply guy. I never considered just doing the obvious first mistake everyone makes after a couple hours of practice!

It finally happened: I played a game I found so boring I went and designed a vaguely similar but far less convoluted and grindy an experience (I don’t generally trash published games in public so no further tea)

How many manatees does it take to screw in a lightbulb? WHO CARES OMG LOOK SO CUUUUUUTEEEE

I never understood the smug condescending urge to proclaim “I never liked [shitty artist] anyway” in a conversation among wounded fans coming to terms with bad news

“But dad, do I have to brush all my teeth all the time?!” “Nah, baby. Just the ones you want to keep”

Calvin (@ithayla.bsky.social) taught me One Round, which of course I loved Timeline meets Just One? YES PLEASE And because I’m an insufferable pro nerd, I have … feelings about the name and the box cover 😂 But game fun. Yay!

Emma is a gem and would elevate any org that takes her on

“Ayn Rand was a hypocrite because she was on social security” is a terrible take IMO She sucked because her ideas are poisonous and Atlas Shrugged is literally the bible for some of the worst people in the world But as a human being, availing herself of public works to survive is faultless.

The reason I don’t engage comments on social media, even from non-trolls Is that 90% of the discourse goes For X = 1 to 100 “Please engage with what I actually said, not what you think I said” “I did” “Can you please repeat what I said?” (Completely different statement) Next X

The aphorism I hate most is “The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over, expecting a different result” As though context magically never changes This bullshit sounds smart, yet is so toxically dumb that it kills smart people’s brain cells That’s how much I hate it

This is Derek the Durian. I like him.

Beary christmas!

Hype time: there's a game coming from Connie Vogelmann (@connievdc.bsky.social) in the a couple years that is pure excite. No details - it's not my place, and please don't bug her. But I'm excited, because she's a designer I knew was gonna be a superstar within minutes of meeting

I heart my second home (Georgetown, Penang Malaysia)

Jesus god, it’s not “bad game design” to lose progress on a thing you built because of other players. That’s a game exceeding your loss aversion threshold. Others like that. All kinds of games, including take-that, have a place in today’s market.

Don't go back to the nazi bar. They want to pretend they're not the nazi bar. They're the nazi bar. Nothing else matters.

Got 3D files for a dream game from a publisher this morning and I squealed like a 5 year old. Omg you guys this game is gonna be so damn cool.

Rob Reiner. God damnit 😢

Mandatory food report (these will slow down) Breakfast Curry Mee - thin rice noodle, thick egg noodle in a white curry with chili paste I like mine with just the spongy tofu and without the blood cubes (which it normally comes with)

Moar food porn: Char Koay Teow (pictured below) Flat rice noodles in lard and soy with egg, shrimp, scallions, garlic and other optional things (I generally go very basic) The key is the wok it’s flash fried in. The best are generations old and you can really taste the wok itself! 😋

We Penangites drink our watermelon juice from a bag

May the Democrat senators and ALL of DNC leadership who orchestrated to end the shutdown never know a moment of peace.

More essential breakfast documentation Below is Hokkien mee: thin rice noodles and thick egg noodles in a sour chili broth with shrimp, pork, egg and veggies. I don’t eat this heavy every morning, but no

Some of those that work forces Are the same that burn crosses

Another breakfast fave, pictured below: Roti Canai with chicken and veggie curries, fresh squeezed lime juice and my usual teh tarik Total cost 5.20 Ringgit (which equals about 1.27 USD) 😋😋

There’s an unspoken rule: you don’t name the street cats Cos you’ll get attached And even though they’re well cared for in Malaysia, it’s a hard life - and it’s hard when they’re suddenly gone It’s a good rule Anyway, this is Simba. And Boots. And Gandalf

Music nerds: can anyone with real experience playing the Zildjan Alchem-e electronic drum kit have a good comp it to any of the latest Roland V-drums? I’m super compelled by the real (attenuated) cymbals, but read conflicting reviews of the varying fidelities

Caught a nasty tropical bug en route to Asia and only now recovering. Even with the rough start, happy to be back in Penang Malaysia, our second home! Plenty of food and cat pics to follow (oh, and I did another iteration of an upcoming Hasbro game I can't wait to get to the table! I know...)

Heads up: I am not the Eric Lang credited on this book, and had nothing to do with it.

Nerd alert: one of my many favourite things about Singapore Changi Airport Is the sheer number of A380s flying out of here. The plane is a technological marvel, probably way ahead of its time, and sadly increasingly rare by the year

Documentarians have located the bear in his favoured habitat

Reunited with my old breakfast buddy from my old Singapore neighbourhood! He remembered me 😍

My breakfast comfort food: wonton mee (pulled noodles with soy, garlic and scallions), pork char siu and teh tarik

Catching up with old Singaporean gamer friends. Several folks here I’ve known for decades, some new friends

It requires no conspiracy, merely aligned self-interest among the worst powerful people in the world “Make people eventually accept AI as human output” is 100% a core goal, driven by natural oligarch needs, and there’s no material difference between that and a pipeline to control

Consider that LLMs *by design* accomplish two evils: 1. Erode our collective sense of veritable truth over time, exhausting us into complicity 2. Repeatedly trigger collective hypervigilance to overwhelm and exhaust us into complicity

Arrived in Singapore on our way to Malaysia - and my ritual first meal pictured below: Dandan la Mian (spicy chili peanut pulled noodles with scallions)

So the goal was to take all of December off And I will Yet here I am at Paris CDG building wireframes for a new card game I dreamed up on the plane.

Predators and exploitation are totally okay, but we draw the line at gay

A hyperbole walk into a crowded bar Their entrance totally blows everyone away

I sometimes wonder how many dad jokes in a row I can post before being blocked by the entire internet

Fun fact: for over half my 30 year game design career, I made less than $40K/year (pre-tax) For about 7 of those years I had a second job.

My best game industey friends and I have the most wholesome convos. I

*charges into room* I HATE TABLETOP SIMULATOR WITH THE HEAT OF THE SUN *breaks furniture* *leaves quietly*

Watched The Matrix again, for the first time in many years, and reminded what a perfect movie it is. Selfishly, I hunger to make art this impactful, this inspiring, and this *enduring*