Motor Oil and Sword is still coming along! The party is starting to form up. Having fun making cities-as-menus, scene art, monster art, and battle backgrounds.

Really well-made game world that's a joy to explore and get to know! 10/10 would find my boyfriend's farm animals again

John@farawaytimes.bsky.social · 2w ago

~Windswept Isle~ New release! Explore a vast, hand-tiled island to find your lost animals and make your cute boyfriend smile again. Play for free now on Itch. (EasyRPG-compatible for non-Windows users!) farawaytimes.itch.io/windswept-isle #rpgmaker #rm2k3 #lgbt

Just watched @alanahpearce.bsky.social's insightful video on Sony pulling the plug on disc manufacturing in favor of a cloud streaming subscription future and then immediately saw this news right after. What great times we live in. youtu.be/_Znc7MVsSlg?...

everyone is missing the point

YouTube video by Alanah Pearce

youtu.be

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social · 4w ago

XBOX Insiders - "Today, we’re starting to test an ad-supported way to stream select games from your library for a limited time, available to XBOX Insiders." Players will have one hour session limits across supported devices and regions. news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/0...

Chapter 3 is coming together! Added inventory and skill icons, finished art for protagonist #3. Game is aaaaalmost ~25% playable

At the end of the term I asked my college creative wriing students to submit anonymous thoughts on AI. No real surprises: Mood ranges from resignation to despair, capitulation from embittered erosion of standards to total, feelings of betrayal from deep to furious. 1/

i have hijacked the vextro brand and i'm using it to spread evil rpg propaganda. please enjoy the first issue (hopefully of multiple) of our evil one-page rpg videogame bulletin, featuring 4 evil microreviews and an evil 500-word feature vextro.itch.io/darkworld

RPG Dark World by vextro

Fanfares from the shadow of the industry

vextro.itch.io

jaseiken me crazy@tunditur-unda.itch.io · 2mo ago

trying a new experiment where i make a weird rpg zine, so if you wanna plug someone's zero-budget indie or an obscure retro rpg and you think you can sum up what's cool about it in ~100 words, hit me up and i will print it and make sure as many people lay eyes on it as humanly possible

Obscurity is a curation problem. kastelpls.itch.io/obscurity-is... A manifesto on why obscurity is a feature, not a bug, of the discoverability crisis. Obscurity is symptom of the failure to curate. For the Manifesto Jam 2026.

Obscurity is a curation problem by Kastel

A manifesto on discoverability

kastelpls.itch.io

ugh oh no something on the internet resonated with me hard enough that i posted an emotionally charged thread on social media... again!

SAY IT LOUDER

Mike Cook@mtrc.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I wrote a manifesto for making games, and (not) selling them, for #manifestojam illomens.itch.io/no-one-is-go...

if you have any posts you like on the rpg maker forums, save/archive them before dec 11 2026 because the forum is closing & there will be NO official public archive en link: forums.rpgmakerweb.com/forums/impor... jp link: forum.tkool.jp/index.php?fo...

Motor Oil and Sword progress! Chapters 1 and 2 are playable, Chapter 1 is almost at a "vertical slice" level of polish. Spent most of this month working on music.

Just released a new game, significantly expanded and refined from a jam game I made on May 8. Unlike most of my platformers, this is not a puzzle game at all and kinda technically demanding. I hope it's fun. Free at @itch.io for Windows and macOS. #gamedev #gamemaker jdmgames.itch.io/the-flappers

The Flappers by Whatnot

Run! Flap your wings! Get gems!

jdmgames.itch.io

now's a great time to make a game... if not, don't worry, this runs into next weekend too :)

🎀 i'm katey!@bagenzos.house · 4mo ago

running a game jam this month. pick some time in the next two weeks to make a small piece of interactive art in a small tool. 🙂 details inside itch.io/jam/smilejam

Absolutely insane numbers on data center buildout. I haven’t vetted these by they’re about right based on memory/back of the envelope.

Facets is cool, Cookie Cutter is cool, John's thoughts on small games are cool, this was a great interview!

Electric Airship✨ JIMMY NOW ON CONSOLES!!@electricairship.com · 4mo ago

NEW INTERVIEW! John Thyer AKA farawaytimes is a freeware game developer and blogger-critic. Most recently, they hosted the 'Cookie Cutter RM2K3 Jam'! www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqgS...

If someone pooped in your computer that's a deuce ex machina.

new tool: 🐈 plano a small in-browser engine for creating your own flatgames. add images, gifs, and text to make a little collage-like world for a character to walk around in play on itch

Calling all queer creators on itchio! The #PowerOfPride2026 Bundle is now open for submissions! Digital games, physical games, books, zines, comics, assets & tools— we're accepting them all! NSFW OK! We want to work with you to share your projects. itch.io/jam/power-of... Tell your friends too!

It's an open world game where you recruit characters to overcome roadblocks you encounter at the start of the game and... haha oh no woops I just remade Digimon World AGAIN

Alex Higgins@alexandrah.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New game! Villain Sword II: Ash Returns. Created for the RM2k3 Cookie Cutter Jam. itch.io/jam/cookie-c...

1. Horrifying ruling out of the 4th Circuit. An all-Republican 4th Circuit panel has just ruled that states can compel trans adults to "appreciate their sex" by enacting care bans. It even directly says that trans adult care bans are legal in the ruling. Subscribe to support our journalism.

4th Circuit Rules That States Can Compel Trans Adults To "Appreciate Their Sex" Via Care Bans

They ruled that states "encouraging citizens to appreciate their sex" through care bans is a constitutional goal, affirming West Virginia's Medicaid ban for trans adults.

erininthemorning.com

New blog update! -I talk a little about Villain Sword II -I talk A LOT about Motor Oil and Sword (working title) -I made a lot of fun little changes throughout the site alexandrah.neocities.org/blog/posts/2...

Dev and Site Updates (Villain Sword II/Motor Oil and Sword)

alexandrah.neocities.org

The submission deadline for @farawaytimes.bsky.social's Cookie Cutter RM2K3 Jam has closed, meaning I can finally announce... DUNGEONFEST! A two-day streaming event where I'll play as many entries as I can from the FIFTY-SEVEN submissions! SAT 7TH 12:00 GMT SUN 8TH 12:00 GMT twitch.tv/jdubdotexe

John@farawaytimes.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Oops I'm running a game jam! Make an RPG using pre-made maps; figure out how to give it your own spin without changing any of the tiles. Feel free to join in on the fun! itch.io/jam/cookie-c...

they saw someone post this and were like "oooooooh we should get one of those"

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco.com · 6mo ago

They don't *need* AI to make these decisions. But they *want* AI to make these decisions. Because the tech gives them plausible deniability--something to blame (other than themselves) when things go wrong.

me: "AI" as a public or public-facing technology is primarily oriented toward the performance of plausibility and the post hoc rationalization/justification of a priori assumptions on the part of the user or audience. cs people: nuh uh!!!

nitasha tiku@nitasha.bsky.social · 6mo ago

WSJ reporting that the U.S. used Claude for the air strikes in Iran. Centcom has been using Claude "for intelligence assessments, target identification and simulating battle scenarios" www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

Slowly making my way through Cookie Cutter jam entries. Keep it Aubergine is *hilarious* - I don't remember the last time a game made me laugh this much bjorknfork.itch.io/keep-it-aube...

Keep It Aubergine by bjorknfork

u could be a sheep who has something 2 do.

bjorknfork.itch.io

New game! Villain Sword II: Ash Returns. Created for the RM2k3 Cookie Cutter Jam. itch.io/jam/cookie-c...

Villain Sword II: Ash Returns by Alexandra Higgins for Cookie Cutter RM2k3 Jam

The game must continue

itch.io

It seems all Kansas-issued trans drivers' licenses are invalid, effective tomorrow It is now illegal for trans people to drive a car until they surrender their license at a DMV (that most will need to drive to) and have it reissued with the wrong gender marker This was never about woman's sports

Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses

"The legislature did not include a grace period."

erininthemorning.com

Had a blast with @alexandrah.bsky.social's Jailbird Nocturne! Great writing and crunchy fights and a wonderful hand-crafted style, there's just tons to love here alchiggins.itch.io/jailbird-noc...

Jailbird Nocturne by Alexandra Higgins

Escape Interzonal Space

alchiggins.itch.io

The Queer Games Bundle is officially disbanding. There will not be another bundle this year. Thank you for your support over the years. Please continue to help each other. A community can only exist if it helps each other survive in a meaningful way. Read our final statements here:

LRT, so many good quotes: "I don't think [gen AI is] simply bad optics but an attack on how we make art in creative communities together."