I listened to Heartbeats by Jose Gonzales today, and was reminded of the spectacular Sony Bravia colored balls commercial. Remember that one? It occurred to me that that may be a perfect example of what genAI would ruin for us today. I'll explain. 1/2

AppleTV+ wasn’t on my radar for the longest time, but I really enjoyed their SILO treatment, and Widow’s Bay was even better, so I let them take the wheel and dove into Sugar, and my god this is incredible television. Every part of this show needs to be studied. It’s like they’re making it for me.

Shareholders

Best Indie Games@clemmygames.bsky.social · 9mo ago

I'm so tired of thinking about which new secret ways the tech companies that make the devices I use every day are deploying to (ab)use my data for bullshit nobody asked for, while the rest of us suffer in soaring heat and soaring prices and crashing economies.

The tutorial section of First Light rules. "Here race a car for 20 seconds. Did you do well? Doesn't matter, here, jumpcut to a shooting range, bam bam bam, okay cut to a fistfight, parry this guy, oops, you're back into the car. Did you beat your previous time? Who knows. Congrats you're an agent!"

I’m still alive.

Happy to see a Dutch independent games journalism collective spawning at @unpause.nl, joining the likes of a @remapradio.bsky.social, @aftermath.site, @jank.cool, or @secondwindgroup.com, who have escaped from the hellscape of corporate greed which has killed so many good newssites. Go support!

I lost my creative drive for a while, as it’s been a rocky couple of months, but it seems to be coming back! Today I seized the opportunity to start greyboxing the next Ruin Wanderer location 👀

Bro found the narrowest niche possible. (Also I don't think principals make quite nearly enough to buy yachts left and right... Legally, anyway. Maybe that's why it needs to be discreet..?)

jank.cool has a very good footer.

that feeling when a game you want to play on your wishlist is discounted and it has reached an approachable price point but you can't rationalize the time investment

Gosh remember when every game had CHEAT CODES and you had to enter them via some sort of ritualistic dance ingame and then silly things would happen?

WebDesignMuseum@webdesignmuseum.org · 9mo ago

IGN Cheats website in 2004

Stereogum says Google's switch to AI Overviews reduced its ad revenue by *70 percent* www.theverge.com/entertainmen...

Stereogum soldiers on in the era of streaming and AI

Stereogum Founder Scott Lapatine on the importance of independent media in the age of AI slop and algorithms.

theverge.com

“AI workers said they distrust the models they work on because of a consistent emphasis on rapid turnaround time at the expense of quality.”

Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI

When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say

theguardian.com

With October coming to a close things really escallated quickly. We now know of so many games industry layoff waves in 2025 that we're only one short of matching 2024, and we have two months still to go.

I just discovered Rumicat, a newsletter service, and I love their manifesto. "Rumicat was born from the loss of spaces designed for authentic connection and personal expression." www.rumicat.com/about

About | Rumicat

A space that honors the gentle art of personal publishing. Where writers write for the joy of writing, and meaningful connections matter more than metrics.

rumicat.com

One of the grad students I counselled at the HKU just announced his game, a wild mix of genres with a unique style - keep an eye on this one!

mardt@mardt.dev · 10mo ago

FINALLY ANNOUNCING UNSHINE ARCADE! An action-roguelite horror fusion in an abandoned arcade where you have to win tickets, collect gachas and free the mysterious virtual pet from the prize cabinet. Wishlist on Steam!

I am CAPTIVATED by Blake Manor. The stunning style, the most excellent detective mechanics, all those suspicious guests skulking around the hotel at their own schedules, it is really living up to the promise of those first screenshots years ago.

Spooky Doorway@spookydoorway.com · 10mo ago

The wait is over. The Séance of Blake Manor is OUT NOW! Begin your investigations into the disappearance of Evelyn Deane. The fate of everyone may just depend on you. store.steampowered.com/app/1395520/...

This man don’t quit!

Nath@headwaregames.bsky.social · 10mo ago

HOLLOWBODY V2.0 IS NOW LIVE! ⚠️ 💸40% off 🇪🇸 Spanish 🇷🇺 Russian 🇧🇷 BZ-PT 🇯🇵 Japanese 🖥️Engine Upgrade 📈Loading Optimisations 🐛Bug Fixes + Tweaks Available NOW! store.steampowered.com/app/2123640/... Special thanks to @thewarlocs for their work on the localisations❤️ Happy 1st bday to Hollowbody🥹

I wish streaming platforms had something like a 'reading list', for albums I want to check out when I have time to sit down with them.

Hey friends, I just lost my job—I’m looking for new work! See a thread of work below 🧵, or visit oldmanofthefire.com I’m an artist and programmer. As an art director I’ve lead art teams on projects for Netflix, Apple, Sony, and more. If you’d be so kind, please share this to get the word out!

Hey, it’s back! A formative stealth game, missing from storefronts for too long. And a great Steam Deck game. I’ve made a custom controller configuration for it since it has no controller support out of the box, can be found under community layouts.

Liam @ GamingOnLinux@gamingonlinux.com · 10mo ago

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow gets a Steam release #SplinterCell #PandoraTomorrow #Ubisoft #PCGaming

I’m opening a movie theater in which I show recently released films that I ripped from the internet but the studios are welcome to opt out if they wish.

The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 11mo ago

Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.

Hello it’s me Sam Altman I have a zillion dollar idea it’s a chat bot that tells teenagers to kill themselves and you can generate csam with it and it poisons the air and water and it’s wrong most of the time and we’re going to put it in your refrigerator and stuff 👍 I need more money for this btw

We sure won't be starved for interesting historical fiction games soon - Valor Mortis, Blight, God Save Birmingham, La Divina Commedia, Kaidan, Ghost of Yotei - but I'm happy to see someone in AA also went for the idea of a Green Knight-like, which I am chasing too! www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIg5...

1348 Ex Voto - Official Reveal Trailer | gamescom 2025

YouTube video by IGN

youtube.com

MIT’s NANDA initiative found that 95% of generative AI deployments fail after interviewing 150 execs, surveying 350 workers, and analyzing 300 projects. The real “productivity gains” seem to come from layoffs and squeezing more work from fewer people not AI.

MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing

There’s a stark difference in success rates between companies that purchase AI tools from vendors and those that build them internally.

fortune.com

The word is out! BlackMill’s newest game, which I’m doing some work for, got announced at GamesCom 🎉

WW1 Game Series | Wishlist Gallipoli!@blackmillgames.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Gallipoli is a new authentic FPS game set on the Middle Eastern Front of WW1! Fight across battlefields ranging from Gallipoli to Lower Mesopotamia with realistic weaponry, historical classes and upgraded gameplay features. Watch the trailer: youtu.be/Yp0WfD85DzU

Damn, I wish I worked on Star Trek Strange New Worlds in some capacity, just so I could stand up at the end of the internal screening of the season 3 premiere and yell "HELL YEAH! NOW THAT'S TELEVISION!"

I finally had time to pay full attention to Harold Halibut, and it hit me right this time. It's like slow tv; you just inhabit this sunken spaceship and do menial tasks and breathe in the lore, and then one day you find an alien! And you talk to it about your ex while classical music plays.

Save 50% on Harold Halibut on Steam

Harold Halibut is a handmade narrative game about friendship and life on a city-sized spaceship submerged in an alien ocean. Join Harold as he explores a vibrant retro-future world in his quest to fin...

store.steampowered.com

My new(ly remade) homage game The Ruin Wanderer is out now on Steam! Step into the boots of an intrepid adventurer in this tiny indie game, and go raid that tomb. Takes about 15-30 minutes, runs great on a Steam Deck #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity s.team/a/3775390

The Ruin Wanderer on Steam

Somewhere in the Great Desert, an ancient tomb awaits an eager explorer. Can you make it past the traps and escape with the treasure in this short episodic single-player adventure?

s.team