"Great writing can't be taught." Total bullshit. Writing is just as much of a teachable and learnable skill as playing an instrument or acting or painting. You don't have to have any prodigy to write a great book - just a strong work ethic, years of practice, and a willingness to innovate.

My team is hiring narrative designers again! * Entry to mid-level! * Casual mobile games with campy fun stories * Big caveat: after a few months remote, you gotta do a year or two in-office in Beijing! * Pay is low by US standards but great for Beijing or Europe www.linkedin.com/posts/alexan...

Curious about our GDC Pass program? One recipient said: "[...] It was a complete support system, allowing me to have the community, safety, & guidance I needed to take the next steps on my journey in games" #GDCScholarshipImpact ➡️ More info: pixelles.ca#gdcensemble

Happy holidays from all (two) of us at Work With Indies🎄! We're going offline for the next two weeks, which means posts will resume on January 5th, 2026! Until then, enjoy his year's holiday card created by incredible artist & long-time community member, @ericalee.cc.

This is true of fiction, too. No matter how similar the concept/setup of your story might sound to someone else's, the mere fact that it's you writing it will make it different, and the fact is most readers won't even make the connection/comparison. Don't worry about it.

Indie Dev discovers the game they're making basically already exists, worried of being deemed a ripoff. Original dev responds.

I don't want gen AI in my browser I don't want gen AI in my pc I don't want gen AI in my art I don't want gen AI in my games I don't want gen AI in my music I don't want gen AI in my movies I don't want gen AI in my books I don't want gen AI in my cart I don't want gen AI in my life

this is a good reminder of how things that are shitty but have been accepted as normal and inevitable can actually turn out to be abnormal and evitable with some science, time, education and political will

GET EVERY STRANGE SCAFFOLD GAME FOR LESS THAN $60 BUCKS IN THE STEAM WINTER SALE *13* DANG GAMES OF WILD VARIETY AND AMBITION--AND DISCOUNTS ON EVERYTHING ELSE WE DO GOING FORWARD MAYBE CHECK IT OUT BECAUSE THAT'S A WILD DEAL??? store.steampowered.com/bundle/35090...

after being in a similar situation, a therapist told me that i was a victim of narcissistic abuse merrillmarkoe.substack.com/p/enough-abo...

Keep thinking about this term "pre-digested" that Kojima used to describe art that's instantly gratifying. And how it's better when people grow to love something instead. I've gravitated, as player and designer, toward the latter, but that term "pre-digested" is new and feels very strong.

I think about this too often. But it also makes me determined to have a voice and tell the stories of our communities. We exist and our stories matter.

One of the hardest things I had to unlearn from my emotionally abusive stepmom was "Everytime something goes wrong in communication, it's still your fault." You end up living in the weird zone where you're a narcissists favorite person: Easy to guilt trip, even easier to dodge guilt from.

⚡️ NEW: A PR opportunity at one of gaming's leading studios! 📣 💼 Communications Specialist 🏢 Gameloft 🇨🇦 Montréal, QC 📃 Full Time 🎚 Intermediate 🏷 #PublicRelations, #PRJobs Link to apply below 👇

⚡️ NEW: Test Coffee Stain's upcoming titles! 💪 💼 QA Engineer 🏢 Coffee Stain Studios 🇸🇪 Göteborg 📃 Full Time 🎚 Intermediate 🏷 #QualityAssurance, #QA, #GameTesting Link to apply below 👇

Orange Cat Studios is hiring a Technical Game Designer to help build a wave-based co-op zombie FPS inspired by classic survival modes! 🛰️ Remote, Part-time 🔫 Made in Unreal Engine 5 🛠️ 2+ years XP required ⤵️

Uncommon Games is hiring a Narrative Writer to help with content & lore for Animalkind, a cozy, co-op open-world game! 📍 Remote, Contract (US) 📝 Professional writing XP 🖥️ Familiarity with game engines a + ⤵️

And as others say: you want the placeholder to be obvious so you remember how to replace it

The Necromancer's Tale is Mortismal's favourite indie RPG of 2025. This means a lot to me, Mortismal being a very in-depth RPG reviewer with high standards! Well done @unfetteredmuse.bsky.social @zgpope.bsky.social @michaelthomet.com @davetheallthing.bsky.social Damir and all the voice actors! :-)

Many people are saying this (especially me. Games Workshop you must let me write my Drukhari novel.)

✨ Wylde Society First Look ✨ Step back in time as Vivian Wylde; witch & socialite and do things like:  🎨 Decorate your boarding house 📝Choose and host witchy tenants 💖 Matchmake for lavish social events ✨ Perform powerful and charming spells Enjoy, and please share✨

The Necromancer's Tale is in the #ChooseWiselyFestival this week, celebrating branching narrative games where choices matter! Thanks @studioephua.bsky.social for hosting! 20% discount this week... time to dabble in the occult and raise an undead army 💀💀💀💀💀 store.steampowered.com/app/1315320/...

Reminder that I'm still looking 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

This week on Planetside… Game writing tests can be overwhelming, but they’re essential. Discover how to impress the studio. Portfolios in Game Writing continues with “Skill Tests for Video Game Writers” by @johnryanwrites.bsky.social : www.sfwa.org/2025/12/02/s...

Always good to have fun at the office😜 Game Development is hard but we're always motivated to improve as much as possible and thanks to the feedback from our community, we're doing fast improvements! Add the game to your wishlist on Steam, Epic, & PlayStation! Early Access release is on March 3rd.

it also puts you in a position where you will go "hmm. that's not how I would've done it" bad stuff works as a _fantastic_ prompt. "if you couldn't use this crutch, what would you do?" "if this annoys you, what's a good solution?" there is no awe the way we sometimes feel for something excellent

tapping the sign

Hey all, The Onion is accepting applicants for our writing, video and graphics fellowships. Fellowships last six months, pay well, and provide full benefits. You can apply at theonion.com/fellowship.

I made a tiny game for PicoSteveMo with @dicey.bsky.social ! ➡️ It's called King Stephen ➡️ You play as King Stephen (King of England 1135-1154) ➡️ It's a Reigns-like decision-making game ➡️ I did the writing + portraits ➡️ Made for a Stephen King game jam ➡️ It's very silly dicey.itch.io/king-stephen

A blast from my past - the Medieval Soldier database takes nearly 300,000 military service records from 1369-1453 and makes them available as a searchable database. An invaluable resource for understanding medieval warfare, society and the English medieval state. Learn more in the link. 🗃️

This is the number one issue I find with junior game designers (and unfortunately, non-designers who think anyone can design). So many people cannot tell the difference between "a game I like" and "a game that's designed well" and they get REAL mad if you point out there's a difference

Feel better now? Support my free #gamedev lessons if you can to share the love! www.ko-fi.com/dellak

We're excited to announce YOUNG SUNS: a new narrative-rich co-op life sim set on Jupiter. Experience life in an optimistic future full of colorful characters. Play solo or with up to 3 friends. Visit planetoids, ruins, and stations. Craft and decorate. Help society heal. youtu.be/rVEWbp1FiKg?...

Friends! The Necromancer's Tale is aiming for nomination in the Steam Awards 2025, for Story-Rich games released this year. If you get a chance to nominate us at this link, it would be really appreciated! :-) steamcommunity.com/games/131532...

networking is an incredibly important part of maintaining a professional presence in your creative industry, but it can be daunting. have you tried being completely fucking ridiculous online

GB Patch Games is looking for a Background Artist to help bring cozy fall vibes to their LGBTQ+ visual novel, Our Life: Now & Forever. 🛰️ Remote, Freelance 📚 Examples of your previous work required ⤵️

The thing about Mamdani is that he’s a talented politician but not otherworldly or one in a billion, he’s just a competent guy with popular ideas who ran against an entitled piece of shit and to me it’s a lot more optimistic to imagine 1000 campaigns like his than to view him as a unique phenomenon

“Why is literacy important?” Socioeconomic Politics Nerd: *rambles on about civic engagement, material enrichment, individual well-being, etc* Joyce Carol Oates: If you are literate, you can drive a billionaire into a mental breakdown!

Not to be the fun police but I do hope people know that Arc Raiders does use generative AI for voice acting, and by supporting the game you're letting higher-ups know that this is an okay practice. They try to downplay this on the Steam store page by describing the AI usage as vaguely as possible.

So in terms of actionable advice here, if you're constructing a quest for a game and it's not really feeling like anything, ask yourself if it's just a chain of straightforward "therefore..." cause and effect. You're probably missing a "but!" somewhere in there.

Being a fantasy writer is typing "they extended an olive branch" and then going "shit, do they even have olives in this world?"

81monkeys is hiring a Producer to champion "Joy at Work" and lead their team to new heights! 📍On-site, Full-time (Port Moody, BC) 🤝 Exceptional written and verbal skills 💵 Starting salary: $85k - $100k/yr ⤵️

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. Introducing: Warhammer Survivors, coming 2026. The endless night closes around you in the universes of Warhammer. Pick a champion and eviscerate endless swarms of enemies ⚔️ Watch the trailer 👇

The 400 richest Americans are now worth a record $6.6 trillion. The entire bottom 50% of America is worth just $4.2 trillion. Read that back. When 400 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.

I've been working on a little game in the background for a month or so now.... It's basically going to be snake + guns rogue like type thing. Here's where me and the team are at so far! #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday #unity3d

Control Ultimate Edition is $3.99 on Steam buff.ly/Dnw1oEM US PS+ buff.ly/frHZM1v XBL buff.ly/aSLJDFj Deck verified also on Game Pass Premium/PS+ Extra

the next time we send out a newsletter we may or may not be announcing our next game 😇 Sign up so you don't miss it buttondown.com/ko_op