Jon Huffman
@straighthogglin.bsky.social
Game Developer, Team Leader, Amateur Cook, Hobbyist Gardener, and the occasional painter of miniatures.
aftermath.site/most-video-g... Phantom Rowboat policy is that all devs, be it art, design, programming, whatever, are allowed to use their work in portfolios for job-seeking purposes. All we ask is that they do their best to secure the material and not share it with the public in general. #gamedev
Most Video Game Artwork Will Never Be Seen - Aftermath
NDAs and contracts keep most artist's work uncredited and locked away, forever
aftermath.site
Most GameDevs leave the industry after 5-6 years. AAA games take 5+ years to make. This means most Devs in AAA games have never been there for a game's full dev cycle. Meaning most JRs are learning from mentors that haven't experienced it all. That's an institutional problem. #GameDev
I am so very angry about how little Americans seem to care about how their LACK of climate change policies has directly affected the frequency and intensity of the forest fires in Canada. Your land burns? We show up. We care. We help. Ours burns? You threaten us with SANCTIONS?! Absolutely not
Excited to see this indie title out of Halifax hit the stores! #newgame #indiedev
Talberon Games@talberon.com · 9mo ago📢RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCEMENT! Draft your units and prepare for war as 🌟Superstar Strategy launches on Steam NOVEMBER 28! ❤️Wishlist the game so you get notified on launch day! store.steampowered.com/app/1756730?... #steam #srpg #rpg #indiegame
I'm not a Game Designer by profession, but being a good Game Developer means practising diverse skills. Here is my stab at an analysis of Marvel's Midnight Suns and why is struggled with players. #marvel #gamedev
Phantom Rowboat@phantomrowboat.bsky.social · 4w agoNew blog post! This time is an analysis of Marvel's Midnight Suns by Firaxis, a well-reviewed game that failed to resonate with players. phantomrowboat.com/log/2026-07-... #GameDesign #BlogPost
Coming back to some work I did a month ago and what I see locally is different from my deployed preview builds. 15 minutes of head scratching and troubleshooting only to realize its a branch mismatch...
I thoroughly enjoyed my chat with @peternowak.bsky.social. It was great to dig into the larger trend of closures and layoffs in the video games industry. It's a challenging time but video games aren't going anywhere. However it's looking like it may be time to re-evaluate how they're made.
Adam Hartling@xenosns.bsky.social · last mo.Jon Huffman of @phantomrowboat.bsky.social talks on the Do Not Pass Go podcast about what occurred during the unionization and closure of Ubisoft Halifax, and the broader video game industry challenges today. www.donotpassgo.ca/p/inside-the...
Co-ops and Cassettes. Back from Toronto Games Week and getting into the swing of things. Check out the notes! phantomrowboat.com/log/2026-06-...
Structure, Solidarity, and Cassette Tapes: A Toronto Games Week Dispatch — The Log — Phantom Rowboat
Two panels in two days: Notes from a weekend at Toronto Games Week.
phantomrowboat.com
My hometown is struggling to get control of their community hall and are looking for help. If you can take 5 minutes to checkout out their story, I'd really appreciate it! www.waldhofhall.ca #ontario #nwo
Save Waldhof Community Hall
A community built it. A school board owns it. Over 100 years of stewardship — and they're still waiting.
waldhofhall.ca
I'm moderating this, come through!
Jon Huffman@straighthogglin.bsky.social · 2mo agoLooking forward to joining this panel today at #TorontoGamesWeek to talk about game dev, worker organization, and what the last few years have taught us. If you're curious about where the industry is headed, come by and bring your questions. 📍 TacoTaco, 319 Augusta Ave. tinyurl.com/cwa-uvw-tgw-...
Looking forward to joining this panel today at #TorontoGamesWeek to talk about game dev, worker organization, and what the last few years have taught us. If you're curious about where the industry is headed, come by and bring your questions. 📍 TacoTaco, 319 Augusta Ave. tinyurl.com/cwa-uvw-tgw-...
Toronto Games Week — June 11–17, 2026
A week-long celebration of playful arts and games culture in Toronto, Canada. June 11–17, 2026.
tinyurl.com
Stopping by @babyghosts.org's talk to hear what they have to say and hopefully meet some cool devs. Say hi if you see me! #torontogamesweek torontogamesweek.com/schedule.htm...
Toronto Games Week — June 11–17, 2026
A week-long celebration of playful arts and games culture in Toronto, Canada. June 11–17, 2026.
torontogamesweek.com
Ontario worker co-op game studios. One roundtable. NO BOSSES! @covertsky.bsky.social @polyvalestudios.bsky.social @rocketadrift.bsky.social ++ more on building cooperative studios. Free, June 12 at North York Central Library. Register: tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/6a15b0acf56bd86e00b22249
I'm off to Toronto to join #TorontoGamesWeek! If you see me around say hi!
Game workers across the continent are organizing and winning. Come hear how. ✊🎮 "Fight and Ye Shall Receive: How Game Worker Unions Win!" A panel at #TorontoGamesWeek 📅 Sat. June 13th @ 1pm 📍 TacoTaco Q&A + mixer with snacks to follow → tinyurl.com/cwa-uvw-tgw-...
Toronto Games Week — June 11–17, 2026
A week-long celebration of playful arts and games culture in Toronto, Canada. June 11–17, 2026.
tinyurl.com
Ubisoft EMBARGOED news to outlets about the layoffs and studio closures, FYI. Employees were told this morning. And then many reached out to us. Companies trying to embargo layoffs and closures might be the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in my 16 years.
XP Atlantic down, Toronto Games Week next! Gonna rep some Halifax talent while taking part in "Fight and Ye Shall Receive: How Game Worker Unions Win!" Come say hi! torontogamesweek.com/schedule.htm... #TGW26 #indiedev #gamedev
Toronto Games Week — June 11–17, 2026
A week-long celebration of playful arts and games culture in Toronto, Canada. June 11–17, 2026.
torontogamesweek.com
So when you throw out reason and jump gung-ho into a new prototype you sometimes make mistakes. This is the story about how we hit the #github LFS limits in a week and how we solved it, rapidly bringing our repository in-house. phantomrowboat.com/log/2026-06-... #devops #gamedev
We Outgrew GitHub. Here's What We Did About It. — The Log — Phantom Rowboat
GitHub hit us with an LFS bandwidth limit mid-sprint. This is the story of how we moved to a self-hosted GitLab instance on existing home lab hardware, and what it took to do it right.
phantomrowboat.com
We've posted before but now it's official: say hello to Phantom Rowboat! 🛶 The newest indie studio in Nova Scotia comes out of the aftermath of the #Ubisoft #Halifax closure. Time to start building something of our own. phantomrowboat.com #indiedev #gamedev
Phantom Rowboat — Studio
Five game developers, one small boat, one friendly ghost — and a journal kept by lantern light.
phantomrowboat.com
I'll be at Game Connect Atlantic on the 5th, come out and say hi!
The legend of Dirty Rectangles continues... Long ago, James, Liam and Kezia travelled from the city of Ottawa to Toronto. After a long, perilous, journey they found what they sook. A thriving game development community calling out for a monthly show & chill. And so the saga continues...
I love seeing this because its explaining it. "May" is the important qualifier here, it's about ensuring you can have a supporter in the room if you want one. If everyone just does what they should already be doing, then union reps will rarely get involved. And that's the point!
United Wizards of the Coast - CWA@uwotc-official.bsky.social · 2mo agoMyth: The union won’t let you talk directly to management This is a mischaracterization of ‘Weingarten Rights.’ In any meeting that could result in disciplinary action (aka an “investigatory interview”) an employee may ask for a union representative to be present.
Saturday May 23rd at Taco Taco! United Videogame Workers/CWA will be hosting a watch party of the Game Workers Conference stream. This is one of many, many watch parties occurring all over the world. Food is provided! Please check it out 🙂 actionnetwork.org/events/offic...
Official Toronto Game Workers Conference Watch Party!
Join your fellow Toronto game workers for an in-person watch party of the 2026 Game Workers Conference's final hours! Food will be provided. Schedule as follows: 2:30 - Intro, mingling and lunch 3:3...
actionnetwork.org
Mina looks great! If you enjoyed the classic Zelda games (or the recent Link's Awakening remake) you'll probably love Mina the Hollower. I know we're looking forward to it!
Yacht Club Games@yachtclubgames.bsky.social · 3mo agoTRUE FINAL RELEASE DATE!! 🐭🙌 Mina the Hollower launches May 29 for only $19.99! Prepare yourself for one of the greatest top-down adventures ever to be delivered directly to your soul for less than 20 bucks. Mark your calendars. Tell your friends. Wishlist now - links below! 🧵
I had a chance to meet one of the Professors behind this survey. They are looking to find out how AI is affecting the Games industry. If you have 15 minutes, please let your experience! #GameDevelopment #AI #VibeCode #indie
Ubisoft Workers of Canada: Halifax@uwch.bsky.social · 3mo agoAre you a game developer? Cornell and Western Universities are looking to hear about how AI has been impacting you! If you have 15 minutes, help the profs learn about AI in our industry. cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... #GameDev #AI #ClaudeCode #ChatGPT #Copilot
With everything going on in #gamedev and particularly with #Ubisoft this is a great time to build your support network! @gwu-montreal.bsky.social is a great organization, so check them out!
CTIJ Montréal / GWU Montreal@gwu-montreal.bsky.social · 2y agoVeux-tu bâtir une meilleure industrie du jeu vidéo & apprendre plus sur notre pouvoir collectif en tant que travailleu·se·rs? Rejoins nous! / Do you want to build a better game industry & learn more about our collective power as workers? Join the movement! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please help us fight back against the closure of Ubisoft Halifax. Send a letter or join our Halifax rally!
I support the workers affected by the closure of Ubisoft Halifax. Closures following union certification raise serious public‑interest questions. Workers deserve transparency, accountability, and respect for their legal rights. @uwch.bsky.social @ubisoft.com
Reopen Ubisoft Halifax – Emergency Rally! Solidarity with Ubisoft Halifax Workers Thursday, Jan. 29 10:00 am Grand Parade – 1790 Argyle St Take action now! Send a letter to Ubisoft and Canadian labour ministers to urge Ubisoft to reopen the studio: actionnetwork.org/letters/re-o...
