One aspect of hip hop that I don't see much discussion around is when artists reference past rap songs in their lyrics. For example in the J Cole song Sparks Will Fly he says: "I love you like a fat kid loves cake and shit, I love you like a bad kid loves breaking shit." youtu.be/aLNksgXTSKc?...

Are you a writer or narrative designer attending GDC? For the first time, GDC is hosting a Narrative Portfolio Review Workshop! I've assembled a literal dream team of Senior/Lead narrative folks to review portfolios, so bring your materials! Deets: schedule.gdconf.com/session/narr...

Feeling nostalgic. 15 yrs of my studios: 1. Not pictured (2009-2011): South Korea. Cheap table, 44.1k interface, SM57 mic, overheating shoebox PC. I recorded my first solo album here & started working with @smartereveryday.bsky.social ashellinthepit.bandcamp.com/album/the-ma...

Heading into 2026, I'm still looking for fulltime or contract work as a senior writer or narrative designer. If you need someone who can write sharp characters, poetic prose, and emotional stories, I'm available! You can find my portfolio here: www.hazelmonforton.com

A great article that I generally agree with, especially this quote from Tim Friedlander:

Yeah. When I was in school I was big into “networking”, I would read networking guides, constantly redo my business card, think about how to stand out, etc I made a lot of linkedin connections! …None of which have ever been even 1% useful. That whole concept is worthless

I have completed a 4th draft of a Light Novel I've been working on for years. I'm really happy with how the story has turned out and I'm ready for Beta Readers. If any mutuals would like to read it and give me feedback please let me know!🧵

My 3 y.o. saw this album art on my phone while we were listening to music and asked me: "Papa, is that your brother?"

I would give an award to the people who write meaningful documentation that solves problems long after they've left a company.

This really is a must read for anyone in academia.

How do you know you're in a fancy mall? There are signs...

Two months after firing over Charlie Kirk comments, Ghost of Yotei dev blames harassment campaign, not 'bad joke' aftermath.site/sucker-punch-c...

A Knight’s Tale is a sports anime

Audio (sound effects, music, and dialogue) has a weird relationship with temp assets, mostly because of issues revolving around human psychology. Problem #1: How do you communicate that something you're hearing is temp?

If your game has voice acting, then working with the voice actors is half of your writing process. It's not complete until you've heard it interpreted and reimagined by a voice actor. And they always reimagine it in ways that elevate the writing, in ways you never would have imagined yourself.

All these people were trying to do was make sure they could continue to work at a massive game studio in a safe and fair environment. If you love videogames you should be outraged. People make games, not corporations. youtu.be/c9nOwjeznjI?...

Chatting with Future Class inductees for my latest at @theguardian.com. They paint a pretty clear picture of the perils of performative allyship. Thanks to all who spoke with me, and always, to Keza for the chance to do important work!

One of the things I’m most proud of at my time at Bungie was creating Veteran Vanguard there, especially as a veteran myself that really struggled coming back to civilian life at first. I ugly-cried in the best way seeing this, love it 🥹😭

For gamers who aren't in game dev, you should know that we are in one of the worst periods in game dev history in terms of industry stability and the reason you're not seeing that play out through products is because the average development window of games is 3-7 years so it hasn't reached you yet.

A chat with Insomniac’s WOLVERINE (Liam McIntyre), Ghost of Yotei’s Atsu (@erikaishii.bsky.social) & SAROS’ Arjun Devraj (@rahulkohli13.bsky.social)! It was so lovely to get to chat to these three awesome people about their careers, and their new roles as PlayStation leads! youtu.be/e2eLJ8KHlDU

I really enjoyed working on this image! Congratulations @suckerpunchprod.bsky.social and @erikaishii.bsky.social on the release of Ghost of Yōtei! 🧡 It looks stunning, and I can't wait to play it myself!

He wouldn't call himself a hero... youtu.be/s3pDMUWlA6I?...

If you’re one of the companies I work for, and need a brilliant writer, hire Hazel.

I just finished "Blood Over Bright Haven", a novel by M. L. Wang. I highly recommend it! It's like a fantasy version of "This is what radicalized me." It's curious, detailed, and infuriating in all the best ways. I blasted through it and now I can't stop thinking about it!

What impact is AI having on jobs in the tech industry? I've been collecting stories from tech workers—from engineers at giants like Google to content mods at TikTok to coders at small startups—to find out. Here, in their words, is how AI is transforming, degrading, and yes, replacing their jobs.

One game you've worked on - no words just trailers youtu.be/YEuUgJpFi9Y?...

My 6 y.o. daughter asked why Juneteenth is a holiday and that led to a discussion of slavery at the dinner table. I didn't get into the gnarly details and I think I managed to explain the large concepts pretty well. And quickly brought it back to how Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom.

I've finally figured out why Esquie felt so familiar...

SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike suspended at noon PT today. All SAG-AFTRA members are instructed to return to work on productions under the IMA, including work promoting or publicizing projects produced under the IMA. READ MORE: www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-vi...

So happy! Great job to everyone involved!

layoff stages of grief: today I am simply very mad that we were not able to ship the Black Panther game. all of you nerds – from the old school Marvel comics fans to the procedural narrative scholars – would have been very spoiled

The new hit song "Gnarly" by Katseye has a pre-chorus beat inspired by the 90's Mortal Kombat theme Techno Syndrome. Don't push me, I'm a DJ, I can prove it. youtu.be/WDzvp-y5Xm4?...

I just saw Sinners at my nearest IMAX. I'm not normally a fan of spooky movies but for Coogler and Jordan I'll make an exception. An awesome film, go see it if you can.

My parting words to the Destiny community from the foreword to the Art of Destiny, Volume 3. I wrote this *after* the layoffs, wrapping up my work on the Art of Destiny on contract, so it was especially impactful to have this last chance to talk to the community that gave us so much over the years.

I feel like I’ve played a lot of video games in the last few years that have a great story but bad writing. What does that mean? It’s time for a gamedev thread! 1/11

hey so uh one of the main Nintendo Switch 2 Direct streams completely ate our trailer due to I guess technical difficulties?? so if you guys could share this it would mean a lot 😅

Happy Q1 to those of you who celebrate!

Trans rights are human rights!

Drifter and Eris ❤️ @morla.bsky.social

Happy to introduce myself from Seattle. I'm Kareem and I'm a Dialogue Lead at Insomniac Games working hard on Marvel's Wolverine! I have a pinned thread in my profile explaining my work. This is #WhatAGameDevLooksLike! Shout out to my friend @drjclau.bsky.social for creating this awesome trend!

Today, we are announcing the formation of United Videogame Workers-CWA, an industry-wide union formed by @codecwa.bsky.social and @cwaunion.bsky.social 💪🎮 We're launching at #GDC2025 this morning to build a video game industry that works for us. We're done playing.

Led by Astarion himself (Neil Newbon), some of the biggest actors behind your favorite gaming characters are banding together to level up their craft — and fight for more recognition. Read all about the Pixel Pack: ew.com/pixel-pack-m...

Prof. Kim and the Yale team has been making big strides lately! Their breakthroughs will lead to better representation in games and animated movies/shows! www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Happy International Women's Day to all the women in game dev helping create these amazing stories, to all the women who play games, especially to those gaming later in life and to all the female characters who inspire us! #InternationalWomensDay

Since Western news is not covering it: Israel has now openly stated it is continuing its genocidal starvation policy in Gaza, while the concentration camp population is in the middle of Ramadan. Israel won't stop murdering until every child & adult in Gaza is dead. www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblo...

It's the last day of February! Read through if you're interested in my assortment of facts. If you want to donate to help the cause please consider the Equal Justice Initiative, I wrote about them for BHM #29 in the thread! eji.org charitynavigator.org/ein/631135091

BHM #29: The Equal Justice Initiative (@eji.org) is a non-profit that works to fight racial injustice in the United States. Their program includes efforts in criminal justice reform, public education, poverty relief, and racial justice. The film Just Mercy is about their founder Bryan Stevenson.🧵