I’ve been getting into RimWorld Odyssey. It’s so fun to land on an asteroid base, take out all the pirates in creative ways, lure them past turrets, or into a vacuum. Then, of course, I realised somehow the grav ship had taken off with the dog on it who was slowly dying of cold. …

People. The e-cyclists on my 10km lake walk are totally out of hand. Why doesn’t Rebel sell some kind of spiked hiking pauldron?

Playing Dissembler with my class as they arrive. What a great game. dissembler-game.com

It’s the time of year where we start finding decorations and I get to experience the best ever card I got from my younger one all over again, after finding it in the decoration box. “Dear Woman. Happy Easterl. Loef from LynPon.”

My musical husband and and musical son just introduced me to ‘fat cat got drowned at east Brighton’ and now I’m grumpy.

I’ve never thought of myself as someone who can audiate sound particularly well, although I can (much more so than visuals), but I’ve been reading a million student essays today and I’ve been hearing every one in each student’s voice. I feel like there’s probably some kind of bias created by this?

Last week of teaching and I feel quite busy and stressed. In a move that is possibly quite counterintuitive, I started a new rimworld. But. Today I worked for about 5 hrs, then got completely lost in the game for 40 mins and it’s hard to understate how good that is for my mental health, I think.

Pls come and read about Key Fairy and Enter the Chronosphere from the old gal who can’t use a controller; me.

Read people who are writing about PAX indies!! One. www.qualbert.com/top-10-indie... And two. www.qualbert.com/top-10-indie... Such cool games this year.

In other news, Enter the Chronosphere. Free demo. So good. store.steampowered.com/app/1969810/...

It’s amazing how emotionally moved I was by the end of Andor S2, given I did not understand a lot of what was happening … What a great show. I think I need to watch it like 6 more times.

I’ve been playing Bits and Bops. And it’s sooooo good. (Free demo.) store.steampowered.com/app/1929290/... I dispute that it’s a rhythm game, though. It’s an aural game. Cc @musophrenic.bsky.social

I feel validated that @webbysoft.bsky.social loved the PAX game Soulful as much as I did. And I’m still disappointed they didnt have a demo.

I knew Constellations was going to be good but it exceeded my expectations. Read about it here.

IGEA is collecting data for the 2025 Australian Game Development Survey and input from Australian game developers is crucial. If you didn’t receive the email invite, you can still participate: bond.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Let’s work together to support the Australian game development sector!

During this HSC season, props to the tik tok creators who are contributing to a kind of ‘incidental study’ thing in our house. (Also to the guy who made the ping pong video about multiplication by negative numbers.)

I've been trying to make some 90s synths, and I've been listening to Ultima 7. I never noticed how thematically related the shrines are (to each other and their virtue). www.ultima.rabbitslair.de/ultima7/15%2... cc @elprezau.bsky.social

Geese, cats and a whole lot of footy - a comprehensive list of everything we saw at PAX Australia 2025! www.sifter.com.au/post/sifter-... #MIGW25 #PAXAus2025

@olipotter.bsky.social I liked your new profile pic so much, I matched it with my own, haha. cc @yarnspinner.dev

If there is a game more precisely marketed to me, I do not know what it is. store.steampowered.com/app/3105440/... cc @elprezau.bsky.social @hailtonothing.bsky.social

There were SO many roguelike games at PAX AU this year. Read my previews. Play along at home (on free Steam demos). www.player2.net.au/2025/10/pax-... Please share. Devs, game media, we are stronger together. Support our peers.

As usual, @firkraags.bsky.social spent her time at #PAXAUS playing every single indie game she could get her hands on. As a result, we all get cool articles to read, like her look at three Roguelikes that managed to capture attention on the show floor. www.player2.net.au/2025/10/pax-...

Let's work together to support ANZ games, and the sharing of info, in this dire year of 2025. Here is a great indie game wrap up from PAX by Jenn Christodoulou on the excellent @player2au.bsky.social I remember all of these. Really cool little selection of games. www.player2.net.au/2025/10/2025...

I have a very small sore throat post PAX etc and so my 18yo just lay in bed with me for 30 mins explaining my immune system, piece by piece, and I think he’s probably prepared for his biology HSC on Friday.

In today's edition: I try to quantify the rise of Indies at #PAXAus, with the help of both @scree.bsky.social and @firkraags.bsky.social aags.bsky.social. Both reporters have been recording the number of games on exhibition. While not an exact science, the trend is there!

@waypoint-events.com Hello, Waypoint BlueSky account. What the best way to reach Ryan to follow up on a thing?

Had a great time at Waypoint Constellations tonight, playing games, enjoying tunes, listening to some great talks about the Australian game dev scene, and generally chatting with folks a schooner in my hand. Wish more places did events like these. events.humanitix.com/waypoint-con...

The only good things about the whole ‘game reviewing in 2025’ situation is that I’ve been meeting new people, subscribing to new sites, reading a lot more Player 2 and reading substacks. I did not know what substack was a week ago. And @jickle.net still seems to have work.

One of the best things about Waypoint Constellations last night was a guy smiled at me and I was like like “footy … bash?” and he was like “jank”. I know @jasonimms.bsky.social will understand this but possibly no one else …

Spreadsheet solidarity. So much work has gone into this.

LRT - I like being one half of Michael Jordan. And. Lyndon is an exceptional workmate.

Meg and her son Lyndon together are the Michael Jordan of covering indies at PAX Aus, a generational family work ethic. Incredible stuff. Commission Meg now, I know from first hand experience that she can write compellingly about any one of these 150 (!!!) games.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets... this is a link to mine. There's some info missing as I haven't had time to go through the cards I received yet. The discord names I need to adjust as well.

Here is a player facing spreadsheet of 150 indie games from PAX. Aus, NZ and SE Asia. Game name, steam (or other) link, demo y/n, genre, comments (which I'm editing). Please share. Let's work together to connect people to Aussie indies. I'm going to tag people next. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

I should probably be working on this week's teaching. But. Gonna play PAX games. And the excellent @edmondtran.bsky.social actually suggested this in 2022, good plan - covering games with free demos, so people can play along at home. Going to play this first. the-lazy-bones.itch.io/pinball-hero

As a claustrophobic disliker of tunnels, can I just give props to Sydney metro for the massively high ceilings etc? Every bit of space and light they could make, they did. So far underground right now …

Btw. Lyndon and I are on the skybus but can someone please tell the devs of Killing Things With Your Friends that he just got the joke?

Finish the indies early and THIS happens.

This year was the year of the metroidvanias and the roguelite mashups. Pinball Hero was an absolute standout. Chess Plus, also great. There are a couple of sites I’m hoping to write up a bunch of indies for. My shortlist currently has 25 on it, but I might aim for 10.

Well. I have seen 149 indies which is a very annoying, and not entirely true (for various reasons) number. I’m going to try to self publish a list this year but it will have lots of holes. Luckily I met @scree.bsky.social who may be able to help me fill some.

Another new PAX experience. An older guy just had a chat with me about how he and his brother used to have a milk stand on this very spot.

Winning this cow is still a highlight.

@jickle.net The horror game on the showcase. Really wonderful.

Lyndon is still having too much fun, thanks to the NZ dev of Apothocurse … We are up to 120 something. Still NZ and a Uni to go tomorrow.

Frankly, I’m surprised that was the (or at least my) first PAX evacuation. So many people. Planning on going back at 5 for some more indies. But how do I know if/when people are going back in?

Very important panel discussion. @hey.paris @desplesda.net @mcjones.bsky.social

Meet us at 10pm tonight in the Dropbear Theatre at #PAXAus if you wanna learn @yarnspinner.dev! We’ll be doing Interactive Storytelling 101! Join me, @firkraags.bsky.social, @mcjones.bsky.social, and @desplesda.net!

Have seen 71 games. And Lyndon is having too much fun.

Have seen 18 games and @jickle.net @manfightdragon.bsky.social @hewso.bsky.social and @rebeccafernandez.bsky.social Please come and say ‘hi’. PS Jickle, Indonesian pixel art horror game, row one of indie section.

@rebeccafernandez.bsky.social Oh. We do follow each other. That’s good. Everyone was scattered to the wind of social media.