Gareth Fox

@gareth.develops.games

Director of @bunguin.games ᵗʰᵉ ᶜʰᶦˡᵈʳᵉⁿ ʸᵉᵃʳⁿ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉˢ

When Luxon says "I don't know how to be clearer", I feel it's true in a way he doesn't intend. It may end up being the signature phrase of his term, and we are all the worse off for it

I always feel guilty using Edge to download my browser of choice. Today I noticed the prompt: "Are you sure? All the features you need are right here!". I was a web dev during the late 2000's and am karmically entitled to punt Edge - but I stil feel bad. It's not you, it's your ancestors.

Just wrapped the Indie Games Showcase hosted by GridAKL. I love these things, catching up with old friends and new. So much passion and talent in one space, and some amazing projects to boot. And thanks so much @nz-code.nz for the post-event pizzas!

Thrilled about this! The team has been working hard on getting our demo ready for our first playtests. Crazy that this project has only been live since November! Big shout out as always to @nz-code.nz . Yes, they provide the funding, but it's the mentorship that gets us through the tricky bits.

Cold Salvage - A Multiplayer Horror Game@coldsalvage.com · 6mo ago

Cold Salvage is a #multiplayer #co-op #horror #survival game set in the reaches of space. You're not a soldier - you're an engineer. Load up on gear, Explore, Repair, Survive. Public playtests coming in 2026

I snapped something in my leg playing indoor netball, luckily I'm told these things grow back. Honestly, I'm kind of shocked i don't get injured more often running my 44yo butt off against the 20yos. Too dumb to quit, clever enough that I'll do the physio and rehab 😆

Wuthering Heights: one of the most fascinating, visually rich cinematic masterpieces I've seen, with an amazing score, set, costume design, top quality acting. It made me so deeply uncomfortable. The characters are utterly repulsive, and it felt like torture. 10/10 film, will never watch again.

It's totally normal to have a favourite submersible right? Not weird. For me it's HOV (formerly DSV) Alvin. It's a literal ship of theseus, because the whole thing has been rebuilt many times since the 60's www.whoi.edu/what-we-do/e...

HOV Alvin - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Since its launch in 1964, Alvin has taken more than 3,000 scientists, engineers, and observers to the deep sea, including visits to the Titanic and the discovery of hydrothermal vents.

whoi.edu

Random shout out to one of my favourite podcasts: The Skeptic Zone: skepticzone.libsyn.com Every week without fail Richard Saunders and his team of contributors put out a podcast about science, skepticism, and reason, with a lovely aussie lens. (Also give @australianskeptics.bsky.social a follow!)

The Skeptic Zone

The Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason. Join Richard Saunders and the crew for interviews and reports from around the world.

skepticzone.libsyn.com

One of my friends called these shiny number rocks, and I've decided that's the best possible description for them and I will henceforth call them that. While it's true i only really need one set to play, what if I need to colour match? A DM needs options #shinynumberrocks #dnd

Bild

I just picked up Adaptory by NZ studio Stormcloak Games (it released in early access today). It's not my usual genre, but I'm utterly charmed. No astroturfing, it's just a really satisfying early access title with lovely music and game loops. Indie dev is hard, and it's nice to see this title out

I re-watched Black Mirror's "Eulogy" again. Paul Giamatti delivers an absolutely gut-punching, beautiful, sad, bittersweet performance as a man who is given a chance to peek back in to what was, or might have been. Peak sci fi makes you feel things, and haunts you after. #blackmirror

Thanks to Morgan Freeman's gravelly voiceover, I found out that grasses only evolved after the dinosaurs were already extinct. The past really is a different world, I really don't know why this sort of stuff fascinates me. Evolution and nature nerds, #LifeOnOurPlanet is worth your time on #netflix

How-to guides and manuals have always been content, click driven. But the AI enshittification of the internet maybe should have a carve out for manuals? It's not great to have an AI generalize or hallucinate a fix for my fridge, i need the actual manufacturers service codes 😬😬😬

I am currently working with the theory that the input scheme in Blender is an elaborate prank and no one wants to admit it. For me, it goes byunintuitive, past counterintuitive in to "actively hostile" territory. If you use this software, I have a level of respect for you that cannot be expressed.

New filter idea: "LLM Epoch". Only shows content published before 1 December 2022: ChatGPT's launch. Why do we need this? Check YouTube on any topic - the first several pages are AI slop.

I'm not one for self promotion, but I'm very excited to be a speaker at the upcoming SXSW Sydney. I'll be presenting a talk called "The Parasite and the Half-Baked Cake" - about how creative constraints helped to guide and shape our quirky game about a giant headlouse. October 13-19 in Sydney 🇦🇺

Samsung, I don't know how to say this delicately. You make great phones. But... I don't want your bloat apps. I don't want Bixby in my life, and I'm deeply suspicious of anyone who does. I'm never going to use Samsung Health. I love the hardware. But for me it's only physical. I'm sorry.

Ah yes, the nightly mating call of the critically endangered 𝐵𝑜𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖 𝑀𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑠. The male of the species uses roaring V8s and squealing tyres in urban areas to attract a mate. Unfortunately, the sound only attracts other 𝑀𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑖. Auckland used to be home to thousands; now a solitary few remain.

I know I am very late to the party here, but as a lifelong trekkie, Strange New Worlds is so seriously good. It's such a perfectly measured take on serious themes and genuinely interesting sci-fi while also embracing the inherent goofiness of the franchise. Season 2, Episode 9 🤣🎶

Seeking feedback on art can be a pretty rough experience. And if you're going to multiple sources, that can feel like you're eating a steady diet of criticism. Lucky for me, I have experience. I'm not just a game dev - I'm an amateur novelist too! I'm not even sure I know what praise tastes like 🤣🤣🤣