Most games simulate some real life scenario. So how do you decide which parts of the real world to represent in game mechanisms? This is where the real artistry of game design comes into play. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/13-...

Our pal @calebporzio.bsky.social stopped by to do a retrospective on what went well, and what we'll do differently next time at Wire:live. Lots of lulz podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/79-...

After each play test of my games, I have dozens of half baked notes on what to fix next. But which changes do I actually make before the next test? As always, the answer is to break it down into problem statements. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/12-...

Honored to have @mattstauffer.com on the podcast! @tighten.com has been a model for us in so many ways, so we grilled Matt with questions about how to build a great team, hiring senior devs, and strategy / differentiation. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/78-...

Project-based estimates/pricing are a bet that someone necessarily loses. Either we overestimate and the client overpays, or we underestimate and get hosed. Total misalignment of incentives. Trust is difficult to build. That's why we have always and will always bill hourly.

I ate at this sushi restaurant weekly. Incredible service. Outstanding reviews. Packed every night. They decided to retire, and shut the business down at its peak. So contrary to the conventional American wisdom of selling / milking profits with declining quality. Kind of beautiful.

The wildest part is that even if Sliwa or Cuomo had dropped out, he still would have won. The people have spoken loud and clear.

So funny to watch non-NYers crashing out on twitter about the mayor of a city they never visit, whose policies will in no way affect them, who got over 1M votes from the people he actually represents.

Back to our regularly scheduled program

The further you get from the southern border, the more brazen white people get about putting random foods in a tortilla and calling it a taco.

Livewire v4 beta has been tagged! Go forth ⚡️ github.com/livewire/liv... Docs can be found here livewire.laravel.com/docs/4.x/upg...

We’re live! … wire:live 😏

👑

Distribution is harder than making things. I printed 1500 games, then sold 600 via kickstarter, conventions, connections, friends, and family. So how they heck do I sell the other 900? notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/11-...

"AI types fast. So if you think work is typing, it seems really productive." - (paraphrasing) @coulb.com

We missed a couple weeks. And this episode explains why 😓 podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/77-...

Ok link is live. Game will run mon-fri this week, and you can join late! Start a team, coordinate, build an empire, lie, cheat, steal. thesocialgame.gg/games/370174...

I'm building an online "board game" that can accommodate hundreds of players at once. If you want to test it with us next week, join the discord! (link below) notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/10-...

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

Games are complex. But there are good ways to communicate that complexity to players without overwhelming them. Shout out to one of my fav games 7 Wonders 🫶 notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/9-m...

getting ads for both, and it's getting real confusing

AI is a miracle for programming. But it's horrible at creative work. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/8-a...

I've been using Forge daily for years, so it means the world to me that I got to play a role in building this new generation. So proud of this team. Can't wait to see what people do with all these new tools. Also this video is sick.

This is a fun one. Brainstorming the conference talks we want to give podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/76-...

This is the single most useful piece of game design advice I wish I had gotten 10 years ago. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/7-e...

oops, we talked about politics! podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/75-...

My white whale: a game that can be played cooperatively or competitively, and players get to choose how they play. I haven’t cracked it. But this week I got a lot closer. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/6-l...

Every time we've gotten into a hard situation, the solution was to just plainly speak the truth. I love this episode. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/74-...

I've had way more success carefully writing my application code, then telling Claude, "This already works. Don't touch it. But write tests for it."

So psyched for this event. Livewire, bowling, hangouts, hacking, great people. Tickets available here: t.co/pc8jMLrdI1

Every time I start making a game, there are two voices in my head. One says, "This is the best idea of all time." The other says, "It ain't gonna work." I don't know which is true. But I do know which is more USEFUL. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOOZ...

Doing a little streaming on Kapow with @johnrudolphdrexler.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpJ2...

My short form game design podcast is now on YouTube so you can judge my collection while I yap. This week: everything I learned from having a booth at my first games conference. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObEL...

:)

This one is for the folks who don't want to hear about our business, at all. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/72-...

See you in Buffalo. Livewire 4 beta launch, cool talks, hang time, bowling, and some hacking. Hosted by ⚡Livewire and 💥Thunk t.co/oebGpzYhpI

code reviewing AI code is not half as fun as writing code.

Lots of talk about tariffs at this board game convention. All the best manufacturers are in China. This is causing the cost of new games to skyrocket. People are waiting to publish and launch kickstarters. It’s so stupid. Self inflicted wound.

Most people should be on Do Not Disturb most of the time.

Started a new short-form podcast about game design, inspired by @calebporzio.bsky.social's Notes On Work. Every week I'll talk about a hard game design problem, something interesting I'm working on, or a game that's inspiring me. notesonplay.transistor.fm

probably our best episode to date. Some outstanding callbacks in here. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/71-...

puppy average daily metrics: 3.2 miles of walks, 17 hours of sleep.

We had a lot of fun last time. This time we’re reviewing a big PR that Claude built.

Visited my cousin’s farm. Mama sow was lumbering around, very pregnant. We hosed her off to help with the heat. The next morning we find this! Beautiful.

Showcasing Colossi at this awesome event next weekend in NYC!

I would pay someone $10,000 / year to make it so I never need to even think about Thunk's taxes again. Know about deadlines for me, understand random local tax requirements, pay things on time, and just email me, "It's done." Our CPA doesn't do this. Please help.

@joshcirre.com and @davehicking.com had literally thousands of frames to choose from for this thumbnail 🤣😂

Considering starting a game dev podcast. Partly “notes on work” for whatever game design problem I’m working on that week. But then also bring in relevant guests: collaborators, or industry people when I need guidance.

I talked about this on the podcast. An absolutely captivating 154 minutes, on par with Game of Thrones. Top tier social game. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef56...

What's a random smart thing you heard someone say offhandedly that is now stuck in your brain? Mine is @mattstauffer.com (paraphrasing): Don't express your creativity by ignoring conventions and changing the code style of a project. Express it by solving problems in smart ways.