Our special correspondent @laurelinewho.com just got back from the #ParisGamesWeek! The Games Made in France booth was full of gems - let's showcase our favorite French discoveries of the week 🎮🧶👇

Une citation importante, en effet, dont voici la VF en avant-première Valable là-bas comme ici, alors comme aujourd'hui. ✊

I cannot yell about this enough. So many times I've seen an idea with lots of potential get thrown out because it wasn't "perfect" initially, only to be replaced with another underbaked idea, when we could have taken the same amount of time to reflect upon, tighten up and grow the first idea more.

One issue generally overlooked in the whole screenwriter vs gamewriter, discussion is time. Beyond anything to do with training, ability, style etc is the amount of time screenwriters get to invest in a script. Whilst there are time pressures on any writer, the vast amounts of script that- 1/9

When someone aks what we think about the use of AI, the first question that comes to mind is always: But why? Why would we, or anyone really, want to use it? Here's @mittovac.bsky.social's piece about this very topic. Please share to anyone who needs to read this ⬇️ fromthevoid.net/blog/ai-in-g...

Have you supported your local degenerates today?

Well, it finally happened. Someone trained an AI on my voice, and used it to generate narration for their YouTube video. Feels pretty bad! Don't like it! I've submitted a privacy complaint with YouTube - hopefully they'll take it down soon.

Appelons un chat un chat : cette campagne de réedition de notre livre Années 80 est avant tout une campagne de sauvetage de notre société. J'ai très envie de passer les mois qui viennent à bosser sur une nouvelle formule de JV plutôt que de pointer au chômage. fr.ulule.com/generation-j...

As I start getting ready to unleash my consultancy business for game devs and publishers, I figured I'd start a dedicated Bluesky list including some friendly faces you might know. Ping me to get added and do repost this if you can go.bsky.app/MAZEBwd

Trying to fit the character limit on mobile games be like

ouais ouais baguette camembert tout ça petit rappel à toustes les narrative designers et auteurices francophones qui écrivent ET en français ET en anglais : bah vous assurez en fait bien joué gg (gros gâteau)

BLACKSHARD IS OUT! 🥳🥳🥳 A dreamlike journey into uncharted liminal spaces awaits. You will roam strange places, endless corridors and unreal architectures... Are you ready to cross the threshold? ➡️ store.steampowered.com/app/3223390/... OST by @alt236.bsky.social & @al9000music.bsky.social 🤍

O U I.

Any streamer / journalist / content creator interested in weird walking simulators, liminal spaces and brutalist megastructures around here? Asking for a friend 👀 (please contact us)

I don't see the wrong here

On the importance of ✨localizing your game title✨ 'Ta mère' literally means 'Your mother' in French. Thing is: on its own like that, out of any sentence or context, saying 'ta mère' to someone is a solid way of telling them to f*** off. Probably not the initial intention here.

GDC? Nah I'm Gonna Demonstrate against Conservatism (join your local women's day march!)

This also works if the 'company' is, in fact, you. Freelancers are definitely not safe from burning out. Please rest, you're actually better at your craft when you're calm & happy. (Message sponsored by the permanent sticky note on my desk desperately trying to protect me from myself)

Dear bsky friends, as you may know, there's a Visual Novel Fest currently ongoing on Steam. Nova-box is part of it. To celebrate, most of our games are currently on sale. You know the drill, please follow the link to learn more: store.steampowered.com/developer/no...

Our walking sim BLACKSHARD is participating in this #SteamNextFest! Come get lost in the labyrinth, roam forgotten liminal spaces and uncover metaphysical mysteries... Demo available now 🖤🚪 store.steampowered.com/app/3223390/...

The #SteamNextFest is on, and BLACKSHARD's demo is LIVE 🌠 Come get lost in our metaphysical walking sim made by 2 devs, and uncover the mysteries of forgotten liminal spaces... Ready to enter the labyrinth? 🚪 store.steampowered.com/app/3223390/...

Ursula le Guin, on the accusation that fantasy is an escape from reality

5 tongue-in-cheek game writing exercises that are a more realistic representation of what most game writers do (in my experience) than a branching dialog tree:

My talented friends & former acolytes made something really weird and beautiful... The kind of unique indie projects you want to have a look at 🩶

THE BEST AGENCY IN THE BIZ (in my humble opinion). Seriously, Anthony and the team are fucking rad and excellent at what they do (which is making your game's story better).

Let's share some numbers for our agency in 2024 Reminder—We do all kind of narrative services: worldbuilding, support, dialogues, story, sparkling… Sometimes we work a couple of days on a game, sometimes it's months. Our website is here: acte-zero.com We have a cool portfolio if you need one 👀

T-8 days before we make this dream of @rasheedabueideh.bsky.social and many others a reality: a narrative and stealth game set during the 1948 Nakba, telling the story of Palestinians being evicted from their lands by the oppressing Israeli apartheid regime. 🔗 www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/...

If it’s not clear here: I’m saying systems ARE narrative. Design IS narrative. The two are not mutually exclusive. Everyone also has a responsibility to tell stories on a team and agree what it is. That’s what game pillars are.

🏴🚩 Le STJV rejoint la CGT en appelant à une journée de grève et de mobilisation le 12 décembre prochain, pour la sauvegarde des emplois dans tous les secteurs, et dans le jeu vidéo en particulier. Texte complet de notre appel à la grève : www.stjv.fr/2024/12/...

Two stages of writing: 1) This shouldn't take too long 2) Oh no

exec after years of bad decisions: the industry has shifted,

So, the project I've been working on for 7mo is cancelled. A drop in the ocean of cancelled games, I know, but this one was a real leap of faith & hope that I wish we could have taken. Still, I had an amazing team from start to finish (@iamleyeti.bsky.social 🩵), and for this I am grateful.

As translators, our first mission is to connect people. This is what we found beautiful in Operation Olive Branch: this spreadsheet is a direct way to help real humans & families trapped in Gaza. You just have to select a link and give what you can 🤍 🫒👉 www.google.com/url?q=https:...

Optimist: The cup is half full. Pessimist: The cup is half empty. Writer: Aw shit, I forgot about my tea again

Little thread of talks about writing and interactive narrative I've done, so I can pin it here: First up - Sparkling Dialogue from Adventure X; how to make interactive conversations that have flow and meaning to them www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vRf...

Introduce yourself with your worst feedback from school: Hello, I'm Laureline and my writing is good but "not enough to hide the fact that you didn't actually read La Rochefoucauld's essay." (It was indeed true, in 5 years of literature I never gave in to the moralists)

If I had the time to prepare a talk, it would probably be "Let Me Write, For Fuck's Sake" trying to find the right words and tools to address the problem when you are a writer: everybody believes they are a writer as well.