paul
@thecastlebuilder.bsky.social
he/they. once a software guy. newbie ttrpg designer. I blog about video games and ttrpgs biweekly blog: https://thoughtsabout.games/ games: https://thecastlebuilder.itch.io/
@thecastlebuilder.bsky.social and I made a game for @onepagerpgjam.bsky.social. It's about space scumbags looting the corpse of a dead generation ship. I'm very happy with the way it turned out!! zodiacheavyindustries.itch.io/hullvultures
HULLVULTURES by zodiacheavyindustries
zodiacheavyindustries.itch.io
For my woefully late post this week, I had a nice little ramble about my gaming habits when I travel and a personal goal to find more patience and attentiveness in my play thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...
Novelty, Patience, and Travel Games
thoughtsabout.games
If you're interested in 2 TTRPGs 🎲 that: - Use bespoke mechanics actually suited to tell Star Wars-style stories - Are made by indie creators instead of WotC - Are award-winning games - Don't require a GM WOW do we have the exact Kickstarter for you: www.kickstarter.com/projects/gal...
Michael Siglain@msiglain.bsky.social · 6d agoJust announced at Gen Con. More to come.
"But as a solo dev--" You must learn the power of your own limitations. If your art is crap, either get better at art, figure out a way to make its crappiness look intentional, or ask for help.
I've been a day late a few times since I started my biweekly blogging cadence at the beginning of the year, but I think this is the first one that'll fully slip unfortunately (travel followed by getting sick really set me back). I hope to still post something later this week to get back on track!
Badly promote your TTRPG: Give up at the end or probably die
Jennifer Adcock@jenkatwrites.bsky.social · 2w agoBadly promote your TTRPG: so the good news is that you found the hill you're willing to die on, literally. the bad news is that you are going to have to.
I would play the SHIT out of a fantasy mail delivery service game where you have to deliver mail to increasingly fantastical locations.
beetle moses@beetlemoses.bsky.social · 2w ago
abhorrent and disgusting. far more important an issue than the completely fake discourse about woke casting or whatever.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3w agoChristopher Nolan’s Odyssey used occupied land as a film set. That feels like a betrayal | Mohamed Sleiman Labat
You just gotta follow Kim. One of the best to ever do it! (It being Art)
Kim Hu@kim-hu.com · 3w agoHi #PortfolioDay - I am Kim Hu Freelance Illustrator & Concept Artist Looking for cool new projects in the second half of 2026 📂 kim-hu.com ✉️ hello@kim-hu.com
this could be you .. .. . .. . .
@awfulelectricheat.bsky.social · 3w agofinished UNBEATABLE. holy shit
A little late on my post for this week. Recently I dusted off Wanderhome to bring to a table I've been playing with and I wanted to write about some of the things that make it such a joy to prep for as a Guide (kind of like a GM).
Traits and Natures in Wanderhome
thoughtsabout.games
I don't mean to imply that the author's clinical training gives him unique authority to judge art, but I do find his reading really sharp and vindicating. it articulates the reasons why the "one big choice" ending schema feels so inadequate to the entire 30+ hours of world-building it resolves
Maddy Myers 🏳️🌈@midimyers.com · 4w agothis one's for all the people who felt unsettled and even disappointed about the twist and the choices at the end of clair obscur: expedition 33. whether you agree with dr. mcwilliams or not, he's gonna give you some good thoughts to turn over in your mind
Today's post was a little bit rushed, but hopefully came out coherent. With Mina the Hollower I am on the opposite side of the "game is too hard" argument than I was with Silksong. I talk a little bit about how it's changed how I play and engage with it thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...
Digging Deep in Mina the Hollower
thoughtsabout.games
Today's post was a little bit rushed, but hopefully came out coherent. With Mina the Hollower I am on the opposite side of the "game is too hard" argument than I was with Silksong. I talk a little bit about how it's changed how I play and engage with it thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...
Digging Deep in Mina the Hollower
thoughtsabout.games
as someone who was carefully (and maybe only half-intentionally) directed away from creative fields as I grew up, it's crazy that we're getting to a point where this applies even to the boring-but-lucrative thing I was ultimately pushed towards instead of video games or writing: software engineering
Dr. Emily Friedman@friede.bsky.social · last mo.I think about this a lot — so much so that I recall saying to one Actual Play person who is my age/career stage that we have similar challenge: our successes are not replicable by the route we took, but we ALSO want to help folks figure out new paths.
I think about this a lot — so much so that I recall saying to one Actual Play person who is my age/career stage that we have similar challenge: our successes are not replicable by the route we took, but we ALSO want to help folks figure out new paths.
Leon Barillaro@barilleon.com · last mo.I think if your advice amounts to “don’t” then you’re being as unrealistic as those who are trying to pretend everything is Fine. we can and must acknowledge that the industry is especially precarious right now while figuring out how to help newcomers navigate that entrypoint
🌞 It's the Itch Summer Sale! 🌞 I'm taking 25% off every ttrpg, 50% off if you buy a bundle, and 60% off if you buy everything! Only until 7th of July-ish! itch.io/s/192874/sum...
My tragic time traveller journaling game is in this bundle as well as a ton of other cool stuff, you should absolutely check it out!
RPG Trader@rpgtrader.bsky.social · last mo.🎲 Initiative rolled. The bundle is LIVE!💥 This ^EPIC^ bundle is free to claim. If you find value in the bundle and want to support the creators behind it, you can contribute any amount. Earnings shared equally amongst creators featured in the bundle.🫶 rpg-trader.com/products/102...
I was a little bit slower to the party, but I've uploaded some of my stuff to @rpg-trader.bsky.social! So far it's a subset of what's on my itch page, but I'm curious to try the print-on-demand features at some point too rpg-trader.com/creator/852/...
Paul Doyle on RPG Trader
I make story-driven tabletop games about a variety of things. I like messing around with TTRPG conventions and making small games that tell big stories. I sometimes blog about video games and TTRPGs a...
rpg-trader.com
I got to playtest and do some editing for this! It's extremely cool, Connie really nails a particular sort of internet/video game aesthetics from yesteryear Exploring the game's "world" really does feel like unearthing something old and sifting through it Go check it out!!
Connie@conniewhatever.bsky.social · 2mo agothingsbyconnie.itch.io/ware My free to play discord-based asynchronous rpg has finally released after a year of picking at it. Get yourself a copy if you're a freak for early 2000's internet culture.
I'm not huge on shounen so I did not think that @friends-table.bsky.social's Media Club Plus series about Hunter x Hunter would be my jam, but I ended up watching along and loving it. Now it's happening again with The Sopranos... just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in....
Trying to get back on track with biweekly blogging; it feels strange that it's been a little over a year now since my first post about TTRPGs, and at this point I'm talking about designing them as often as I am about playing and running them. This is about a game I'm working on now!
Janken Duel: Mind Games and Metagaming
thoughtsabout.games
game design is easy. it’s the “designing the games” that’s hard
For me giving a shit means having principles and sticking with them. It means not really caring if my principles make you feel bad because you just wanted to watch the xbox show. you should feel bad, I won't sugarcoat it. Feel bad, change your shit up, get with the program
No Escape from the Tyranny of Virtue 🏴🏳️⚧️🇵🇸@noescapevg.com · 2mo agoIn the spirit of @puke.bsky.social's post from April, I am Simply Once Again Asking For People To Give A Shit noescapevg.com/i-just-want-...
Hey guess who did some art for this! Go check it out 😎👉👉
paul@thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 3mo agoRidge City Riders is now live on itch! Ridge City Riders is a GM-less storytelling #TTRPG that uses a unique dice-exchanging system. Rip through Ridge City on customized hoverbikes, use spare parts to give your fellow riders an edge, and dream of a brighter future. I hope you check it out!
as a hitman fan and as someone who's been watching paul play 007, we've had a lot of fun comparing and contrasting the two. Of course, Paul is much more eloquent and thoughtful about it compared to me in our chats like "meanwhile agent 47 is like. give me a gun"
paul@thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 2mo agoI've had an interesting feelings about the first few missions of 007 First Light, and I couldn't help but put them in conversation with Hitman in order to process them. This is a little more contemplative and strange than my usual posts but I think it lands somewhere interesting!
I've had an interesting feelings about the first few missions of 007 First Light, and I couldn't help but put them in conversation with Hitman in order to process them. This is a little more contemplative and strange than my usual posts but I think it lands somewhere interesting!
007 First Light and the Politics of Violence
thoughtsabout.games
been to dozens of metal concerts but tonight I'm at my very first hip hop show. happy that it's in a small venue, it already reminds me of some of my favorite little venues I used to go to in high school
