Afterlife Games
@afterlifegames.bsky.social
Independent studio dedicated to advancing storytelling through gameplay and interactivity. ゲームプレイとインタラクティブ性で話芸を展開する独立系ゲームスタジオ。
TWITCH AI TRAINING IS LIVE - ON BY DEFAULT here's how to turn it off: - settings - security and privacy
"Narrative-based" games fail at storytelling because they never take the player into consideration. When we leave the real world and step into a virtual one, we cross a threshold. That's the transition from Act 1 to Act 2. So playing as a character who does the same the same thing is redundant.
Neo Plugging To Matrix
ALT: Neo Plugging To Matrix
static.klipy.com
Game designers: If I tell you I'm familiar with the genre on your difficulty selection screen, don't show me tutorials as if I've never played a game before in my life.
Happy 30th anniversary, Quake! RIP id Software
Quake Shambler Breakdancing
ALT: Quake Shambler Breakdancing
static.klipy.com
The practice of basing game prices around the 60-80 dollar point shouldn't exist! The only reason it does is because Japanese companies in the arbitrarily decided that pricing games lower would be perceived as being low quality. There's no reason a AA game should cost the same $60-80 as a AAA game.
Afterlife Games@afterlifegames.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe MSRPs of video games have been a scam for a very long time. The fact that a game that cost $10m to make and a game that cost $100m could both be $60 on storefronts is proof of that. If games were allowed to have more variable price ranges, that would solve the problem.
The MSRPs of video games have been a scam for a very long time. The fact that a game that cost $10m to make and a game that cost $100m could both be $60 on storefronts is proof of that. If games were allowed to have more variable price ranges, that would solve the problem.
Aaron van Dorn@aaronvandorn.bsky.social · 3mo agoBoy people really dislike the idea that videogames are underpriced.
Game design pro strat: Try your best to avoid utilities that only have one use. For example, if the player can punch and they need to push a button or pull a levers, no need to create a separate animation. Just use that same punch animation! Your work-life balance will thank you.
@mcchris.bsky.social So I've been playing Kingdom Hearts 2...
If you made a game that can be finished and refunded in less than two hours, don't use Steam as your distribution platform. Or if you do decide to use Steam, don't complain when people refund your game.
I've been thinking a lot about auto-aim. It feels like a lost art form in shooting games. And that's a shame, because I just know the concept has a massive amount of untapped potential.
This is simply false. Players buy features EXCLUSIVELY. That's why every physical copy of a game includes a bullet point list on the back of the box. In many cases, that list is literally titled "features."
Gabreu Senra - Wishlist Cozy Littlequarium@gabreusenra.bsky.social · 5mo agoYour game isn’t "too niche," your hook just isn’t clear. If you can’t explain why your game is fun in five words, you’re toast. Players don’t buy features; they buy a specific fantasy. What is the 5-word pitch for your current project? 🎤 #gamedev #indiedev
- Remake classic game as a forgettable experience - Remake loved by those who never played the original - Majority begins to see AAA games as disposable - AAA publishers start revoking access to games - Nobody complains because they've been conditioned to see their games as forgettable + disposable
Ghost Girl@ghostgirlblues.itch.io · 6mo agopopular consensus is that the capcom keeps hitting these remakes out of the park, but i think they are all a bit disappointing (even if they are generally fine as stand alone experiences). fool's gold. ironic, given that RE1 remake is the gold standard of remakes www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KA...
Measuring the value of a game in terms of how long it takes to beat is gross.
Hey, everybody: Stop looking at the value of games in terms of playtime. No game is worth $70. And expecting developers to deliver a minimum number of hours leads to gameplay padding like Grace's snail-pace "run" speed in RE9.
Conte Da Jackal@datdangjackal.bsky.social · 6mo agoWhile I enjoyed RE: Requiem, I'm genuinely tired of spending $70+ on games with 12 - 13 hours of playtime. Especially games from enormous developers. Pathologic 3 (which I adored) took 50 hours to finish - and the game still has major replayability. Plus, it's from a small, indie developer.
Always be aware of the possibility: This "excursion" in Iran and the Artemis II missions are just distractions to make you forget about the Epstein Files.
After some digging, the parry mechanic we all know today originated with fighting games. No surprises there—beat-em-ups like DMC and Bayonetta trace everything back to fighters. It started with Samurai Shodown 2 in 1994, which later evolved into the parry in SF3. #gamedev #gamehistory
K'eeg@armormodekeeg.blacksky.app · 6mo agotaking devil may cry and bayonetta to task for making action game designers think that giving the player the ability to guard attacks normally (as in, not a parry or perfectly timed guard or something) was bad
CRPGs are dead to me. They all play exactly the same. Different icons and damage values aren't enough for me anymore. Worldbuilding is NOT game design. If the most interesting thing about your game is something other than gameplay, you're in the wrong medium.
Game design: another casualty of capitalism. We need money, so devs just copy the mechanics of other popular games. Slap a new coat of paint onto another successful game and you'll do just as well, right? No. If you wanna copy to learn, great! Just don't be surprised when your game gets buried.
Arcades were HIGHLY predatory. They were the electronic equivalent of the carnival game scams that have existed for hundreds of years. If arcade games weren't predatory, why are we now aware of terms like "input reading"? Why isn't it possible to finish Jurassic Park (1994) without getting hit?
Sean Jordan | Sharing Great Games You Probably Never Played!@greatestgames.substack.com · 6mo agoThere was a lot going on, but it boiled down to arcades having to shift to novelty mechanics to attract players because home consoles could deliver the same or better experiences. Arcades weren't predatory. $50 plus $200-300 for a console to own a game was way more than an arcade game cost to play
Indie devs: Keep resisting AAA bullshit. You're indie for a reason. You don't have to appeal to the Lowest Human Denominator like a AAA game has to. Be about something. Establish a niche. If someone's playing wrong, they're probably not a fan of that genre in the first place.
Sandpenguin - Broken Relic@sandpenguin.bsky.social · 6mo agoSomething AAA taught me that a lot of indie devs resist: If a player doesn't understand something in your game, that's not the player's fault. It's yours. Many indie devs get upset that players are "playing wrong." In AAA that sentence doesn't exist. If they're playing it wrong, you built it wrong.
Arcade games were "accessible" in the sense that anyone could do well if you had enough quarters. The reason why arcades died wasn't because players could get the same experience at home, it was because designers moved on from an exploitative pay-to-win business model.
Sean Jordan | Sharing Great Games You Probably Never Played!@greatestgames.substack.com · 6mo agoThere's a lot of truth to this! Many indie game devs should study arcade games from the 80s and 90s. They had to be accessible and fun or they would immediately fail because no one would want to play them. Seeing what succeeded and why is a great teacher!
“Expedition 33 should not have won Indie Game of the Year Award.” Folks at #GDC2026 had hot takes on the Game Awards and what should be considered an "indie game." #indiedev #gamedev #bezitakes #expedition33
At the very least, someone who conceivably has the best hardware available should be able to get max settings from any game. If a game's max settings can only be achieved by future tech that might not even exist, that game is an utter failure. And so are the people who made it.
Dana the Elf@danatheelf.bsky.social · 7mo agoThey predicted where hardware was going, and got it wrong. Not a crime. If hardware to run those settings never existed, you just can't use them - there's a sense of entitlement from people I disagree with; it's very "I paid for it, so I deserve max settings!!" when... no. You get what you can run.