I’ve read An Artist of the Floating World at least four times before now and somehow this is the read that hits me the hardest

so many sordid things about the game industry a lot of people have decided to look the other way on for so long but the companies working hand in hand with arms manufacturers and the US military have to be at the very top of that list

Hey fellow devs! A friend of mine wants to get into game marketing. She is looking for a dev/team to support with FREE marketing for 2 months to learn and improve her skills. 🐧💡 Are you interested or know anyone? ✍️Leave a comment 🔁 RTs appreciated #gamedev #indiedev

Fairly raw notes on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I have the skeleton for three full articles on aspects of the game (the FADT of the parries, a turn based rhythm game GDD and my ever-growing immersion article) and hopefully will get them out too. whynotgames.in/2026/01/23/c...

Photos from our first trial run last week. Great turnout, so many highlights, and some off-the-charts energy. Felt like a good one. If you were there, truly hope you had a ball and would love to see you next month. (📸: @yancong.bsky.social) Newsletter: buttondown.com/untitledgame...

Also you’ll should read A Paradise built in Hell by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social. It is so daunting to start a collective power, but it is small actions that compounds over time. Like the books say, you are your neighbor’s first responder.

I finally caught the last season of GAMETHING by @pippinbarr.bsky.social and David Wolinsky and their episode on The Golden Nugget is rattling around in my mind because we focus so much on number go up in game design but self-destruction has a lot of space to explore and a history of subaltern play.

Today's the last day game designers in the Netherlands can send in an application to work on the Hidden Folks Universe! hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/... Some tips based on the applications so far: - be in NL - don't be a minor (we had 1 lol) - don't say HF seemed inspired by a game that cloned ~us~

TR-49 is our best launch, ever, in 14 years. I admit I'm surprised! Made in 9 months, mostly as an experiment to learn Godot, and an excuse to play with some actors. (And for me to do some acting.) One thing I think IS cool: it's a "one-sitting" game. 4 hours; $7. No commitment required.

I've been playing Hitman 3 this week and this really is the genre of Pokemon Snap while Alba was in the same genre as A Short Hike

it's all so post-modern and absurd. which makes the whole right wing thing about hating post-modernism extra ironic. it's just like an assorted mashup of different historical symbols of wealth played out as if chosen by AI, not sure if it's being ironic or not or triggering the libs or not anymore.

Condo is an excellent game-as-space

I finally played Game Poems 1. If you're in a game design space, you really should take an hour and check them out. www.gamepoems.com/issue01/?pag...

See also: Joyce

I'm writing a Dark Souls 2 article for RPS and I'm looking for a few quotes from game devs / designers to contextualize its reputation... is Dark Souls 2 the best or worst designed? good-weird or bad-weird? why? replies open

So here's the fight. I am dubious of systems built by anyone who has *not* wrestled seriously with the idea that systems don't matter. It is not necessary that they *think* SDM, but it's super important to have seriously thought through it. Because you need to learn what NOT to do.

Excited to announce a trial run of [Untitled Games Event], a new Amsterdam-based space for experimental games and playable arts 👾 This will be a monthly 'book club' of sorts for games and conversations about play, inspired by @molleindustria.org + others' LikeLike. Help us spread the word!

I enjoyed this piece by @apechalin.bsky.social drawing lines between Pathologic 3 and Russian literature. www.eurogamer.net/pathologic-3...

I often think about Jonathan Cooper's posts about TLOU2, that the studio ran out of seasoned game animators because its reputation was so bad and thus had to hire film folks who had to be taught how to put games together.

I'm excited to share that Game Poems Issue 1 is now live at www.gamepoems.com/issue01 A new online literary magazine dedicated to exploring the artistic and poetic potential of short-form videogames by publishing new games directly in a playable format. Thanks for playing and sharing!

Look, I don't know if $8 is $10, I don't know if $7.99 is $5, but I do know that $8 being $10 does not mean that $7.99 is also $10.

I am looking into this, I've reached out to Steam directly, and I'm actively pitching stories on this subject of the platform's shaky moderation. If any other devs have experienced something similar with reviews and moderation, do reach out.

It’s very funny to call out Queen Victoria’s taste in reading in a book titled The Victorians and their Reading

We also have a Showcase Zero 2025 bundle live now on itch.io/b/3476/showc.... Get 8 incredible games from @kobanya.bsky.social @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social @andrewgillis.bsky.social @cutestpatoot.itch.io @yanahn.bsky.social and me at over 50% off!

the Steam team responded to my support request and said they will not remove the review calling me a liar and ridiculing my sexual assault because of censorship concerns. steamcommunity.com/profiles/765... if Steam refuses to enforce their community guidelines and allows harassment, what can i do?

it’s early yet but i’m actually feeling more friction in pathologic 3 than in 2. like sure 2 had survival mechanics that were v punishing but “eat food and don’t get stabbed” is a game loop we are all familiar with. “don’t do combat while sad or you’ll shoot yourself in the head” is something else

Huh? AP Thomson's what? AP Thomson's what's the name of that game? Finally I can fuckin talk about it!!!!! store.steampowered.com/app/2364580/...

Microlandia looks very interesting (courtesy @edwinet.bsky.social) www.rockpapershotgun.com/microlandia-...

I wrote about Despelote, and how it’s unique presentation paves a way forward for new forms of documentary storytelling.

This @edwinet.bsky.social talk with Hooded Horse highlights that prototype assets easily become production assets. When I worked as a prototyper, I made a point of poison-pilling the prototype to make sure that it wouldn't become production. www.rockpapershotgun.com/hooded-horse...

friends! acquaintances! help! i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks. know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty! hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...

This is not healthy for the industry. www.eurogamer.net/playstations...

join us 2/19 for our first ever lecture series event, featuring @ellaguro.bsky.social: "What Doth Videogame? A personal history of art and life in the age of collapse." following the talk will be a listening party for liz's new album, Saint Elizabeth! rsvp here: www.eventbrite.com/e/boshis-lec...

Incredibly shocked and saddened to learn of Steve Dee’s passing. His passion for making games and sharing the craft of gamemaking was unmatched. He made a whole bunch of great games (It Is Forbidden is stellar), and in his memory I want to share my favourite:

I’m planning a column about women and games next year. I want to discuss how stories about women are told/received in games, and how does womens’ criticism exist- where/what is it? If you are a woman game writer/dev/critic and would like to share your thoughts, dm or email [email protected] !

The third Quake Brutalism Jam - launched last night. Largest community project of its kind. The biggest surprise: It's available both as a mod or as a FULLY STANDALONE FREE GAME. 77 one-shot Quake adventures using a whole new set of weapons, enemies and a whole lot of concrete. qbj3.slipseer.com

This is a great list from @edwinet.bsky.social. The Bustling World is my most anticipated game for 2026 and I've had an eye on Folk Emerging for a while. I'm definitely going to give Mars Tactics a spin as well. www.rockpapershotgun.com/edwins-most-...

I like to think about games by looking at the breadth of their imagination. What is in the possibility space afforded by the game and what is not. eg; in Sid Meier's Colonization, the natives can never live like the colonists and the colonists can never live like the natives.

1. Go to your personal library 2. Find a book you haven't read in a while. 3. Take a moment and remember your favorite part of the book. 4. Tear those pages out. You're never reading it again. Your book now has a hole in it. Too bad.

I had no idea about Benjamin Disraeli writing novels to skewer aristocratic fashions

1,5 years of making "a game for Steam players" + €40k promoting the Steam release (YT/T creators, ads, etc) but Rift Riff's daily revenue is 4x higher on mobile with €0 marketing spent there……? Rift Riff's daily avg net revenue: ±$100 on Steam ±$400 on mobile (90% App Store, 10% Google Play)

I guess now I have to find some time to reread The Count of Monte Cristo so that I can play The Count of Monte Clicker www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-sele...

see also: the work of V.A. Graham

i keep itching at the way that tile based videogames and textile aesthetics overlap. not done anything with this yet, but i keep trying to.

another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls

Demon Bluff sounds very interesting. www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-rps-sele...

I’m extremely excited to finally get to this one

Look, I'm loving this call out of AAA writing that's going around, but let's be honest; a lot of indie games do the same things.

AAA video game character going to the toilet: "I'll take these stairs." "Ah, there it is, the bathroom." "Better open the door." "The door's open, nice." "Gonna pull my trousers down now." "Sitting down." "Okay, here we go." "I needed that." "Okay, time to fl