Sometimes you gotta hit 'em with a real scare. MOOOOOOO! 🐮 #indiehorror #gamedev
Vagabond Dog
@vagabond.dog
Retired indie game developers now giving bad advice. Bookings for Dev Consultancy and Birthday Parties at vagabond.dog
Comparing the oldest menu scene for @tolerance.group with the current one and really seeing the difference. Not just higher fidelity, but the new has a lot of details that will make more sense as you play the game. Which station would you rather work at? #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiehorror
ATTENTION OPERATIVES: Reports from location NOLA-04 suggest an increase in unexpected intruders and additional coverage is requested. To remedy the situation, The Tolerance Group is now recruiting provisional Test Subjects with monitoring experience. Apply within, today: 💻 tolerance.group
Just launched this Anomaly Experts feed for Bluesky. Highlights new posts from #anomaly and #horror creators. If you are a #gamedev or #streamer wanting to share your content with #indiehorror fans, give it a like or share to be added to the feed. Reply with your projects, to help our curation! 💀
None can escape the truth of determinism.
droqen and 24 others@droqen.bsky.social · 2mo agorandomness doesn't exist we made it up
We have a small handful of Steam Keys available for anyone interested in our active #playtest of The Tolerance Group. If you'd like early access, visit tolerance.group to join us. Reply below with any streamer you'd like us to invite. #indiehorror #gamedev 🎮 🩸
The Tolerance Group@tolerance.group · 2mo agoRECRUITMENT NOTICE: Continuity at Location NJ-01 continues to deteriorate. We are seeking new Test Subjects to join us and monitor for further breaks, reporting all unexpected variances. Those comfortable in horror, should apply today: 💻 tolerance.group Worthy operatives will be recognized.
Reality is collapsing all around us. The Tolerance Group is seeking operators to detect and report failures in continuity across several monitored locations. Recognizing these deviations in reality is the only thing preventing our world's plunge into further chaos. Apply Today: tolerance.group
THE TOLERANCE GROUP
Continuity must be maintained. Apply for field assignment.
tolerance.group
Realized there wasn't a good feed for #indiegame publishers so built one for all #gamedev to follow. 💵 🎮 💵 Get that money, gang!
Do you want to write about or cover Toronto Games Week 2026, happening from June 11-17th? We'd love to hear from you... and have media passes! Fill out our media & content creator application in order to be considered! forms.gle/woGM4EjvjFWL... 📸
There's a strong argument that economic value has overtaken cultural or qualitative values in many regards. The very concept that 'goodness' is detected by the market is a fallacy. Awareness of your game must coincide with proximity to power, capital, or social leverage. Even more in a skeptic age.
Carol Mertz@carolmertz.itch.io · 6mo agoI recently saw someone try to make the "if a game is good, it'll find an audience" argument the other day and I've been mad about it since. Success is never guaranteed. You can do everything you can to improve your chances, but I wish more people recognized that quality work ≠ guaranteed audience.
Folks said the same thing back in 2021... and 2016... and... Truth being, it's more of everything always, forever.
Brian Shea@brianpshea.bsky.social · 6mo agoThere are just so many video games.
Eight bucks is basically Five bucks, but 2,000 V-Bucks is basically 2,400 which is really like $22.99, but that's more like Twenty-Five bucks...
Kotaku@kotaku.com · 6mo agoThe newly added Peak Scout skin in Fortnite costs more than $20 in V-Bucks. Peak is only $8 on Steam.
This is very true, and yet so many fresh developers shelve their best efforts because they don't want to feel like a ripoff or copycat, even when there's something new and unique in the mix. Truth is, we all enjoy more of a good thing. "Holy shit, two cakes!"
Jamie D@uk-resistant.bsky.social · 6mo agoI think the best indie games are ones that are devs going "I want to make my version of an existing thing" but also putting something of themselves, experiences & tastes into it as well (beyond narrative, I mean). I personally want a compelling reason to play a game beyond "it's like zelda"
The great irony of AAA game dev is that often the fella with actual hands on keys gets fired during cutbacks, while the guy who points at screen receives a six-figure bonus.
Ncs_artist@artistncs.bsky.social · 6mo agoI like whenever there’s a video game dev video showing the workspace, there’s always someone pointing at the screen to whatever the person in the chair is doing
Tough to balance the unconstrained imagination and the realities of completion, which gets worse in isolation. Many indie devs are explosively creative, and redesign on behalf of hypothetical audiences or theoretical issues. Get real playtesters! Trust, there will be real feedback to react to.
Eternal Skies TCG RPG@eternalskies.neocities.org · 6mo agoIn indie game dev, every time your scope creeps, you add more work to do and may never finish the game. However, every time your scope creeps you add things that help set your game apart from the giant mass of games. It's not quite as simple as never change the scope of your project.
As developer economies suffer, continuing to produce video games instead of surveillance, gambling, or military technology is an act of defiance against the coldness of reality. Your talents can bring joy, which is a sustenance, whereas many other uses of your skills can only extract or exploit.
Indie games have always been alluring in-part because of the humanity behind them. We become aware of real people doing something personal and difficult, and grow attached because it is inspirational and heartening to witness. Don't be shy, at least not deliberately. Open yourself up, if you can.
Eurogamer@eurogamer.bsky.social · 6mo agoTower defence game Tangy TD has made over $250k since an early March launch on Steam, prompting its solo dev to burst into tears twice already www.eurogamer.net/tower-defenc...
Like most creative realms, our games industry is full of highly empathetic individuals and emotions often play a huge role in orchestration. Being aware of feelings while developing better patience, understanding, and a willingness to listen will help you find greater potential than any raw matter.
Anyone who's been in this industry long enough eventually realizes that at a core level, satisfaction has never been fulfilled by graphics. Sometimes they enable new experiences (2D -> 3D) but sheer fidelity seldom contributes to the engagement that games provide, regardless of their appearance.
Beyond destroying artistic intent, the greatest issue with this DLSS 5 is the division in user experiences it will cause. Players become siloed within visuals nobody had any say in, then come to review your game based on it. What role will NVIDIA play in managing those inconsistent bug reports?
Will “Available for Contracts” Smith@willsmith.fun · 6mo agoNVIDIA: What if we introduce ray tracing so you can have really high quality real-time lighting, models that cast shadows on themselves, and game lighting that looks _really_ real? Also NVIDIA: What if we do that, and then throw out that lighting to run the yassify filter so everyone looks HOT?
Wow, money! Interesting structure with indie devs paying up the publisher, rather than royalties retained and split back down. Requires better indie accounting, but worthwhile for control. Also cool there's more open contracts like those from @rawfury.bsky.social and @whitethorngames.bsky.social
Outersloth@outersloth.com · 6mo ago💰THE OUTERSLOTH CONTRACT 💰 We just released the FULL contract and terms that all our games sign! We hope this challenges the status quo of what you see out there. In a nutshell: 💸 Pre-recoup 50/50 💸 Post-recoup 15/85 💸 Terms after 7 years www.innersloth.com/the-outerslo...
Unfortunate to see more of these 'good will' attacks. There's a rash of scams with folks posing as notable game developers or friends-of-friends, with pleas to "play my game!" Running the .exe steals your passwords (or worse). Only real answer is for everyone to rely on provable release channels.
PixilRena@pixilrena.bsky.social · 6mo ago@discord.com is the worst fucking company I've ever seen I got hacked because my fucking friends who is into game development asked me to test their game, and not only was my fucking computer hacked, my account was DISABLED, and my new account was just fucking flagged for ban evasion Fuck discord
Seems every cultured country of ample means realizes the economic uptick that comes from empowering their local games industry. As grant recipients in Canada, and knowing others worldwide in Sweden, Australia, France, and elsewhere... we've seen first hand the growth these funds can help commence.
AUTOMATON WEST@automatonwest.bsky.social · 6mo agoJapanese government makes indie game developers eligible for grants of up to $60,000 USD, covering production costs and promotion automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...
Another day, another game apocalypse! While there will definitely be "casualties" in the most gluttonous projects, this is the kind of hardship where lean indies thrive by doing as much as they can with as little as possible. Summon those ancient game dev spirits who worked magic with only 256 KB.
WIRED@wired.com · 6mo agoFrom the global RAM shortage driving up console prices to job loss in the industry, gaming is shaping up to be one of the AI boom's biggest casualties. www.wired.com/story/gamers...
Don't haggle with artists. Even though our culture insists upon the stupid dance of overshot and whittle-down, the difference in quality from satisfying unmet needs for creatives will outperform whatever you save avoiding their (very rare) overpay. Budget can't match? Scrimp elsewhere if you can!
This can be subverted by digging in your heels and calling yourself an auteur while repeating "git gud" or "you don't get it" until you win a bunch of awards.
Mike Bithell@mikebithell.bsky.social · 6mo agoGame development is a process where you move a slider to full, then grudgingly move it down by 5% every week until others can stand the output.
Over 10x more titles release on Steam today than when we first joined the games industry. It used to be that making something novel and unique was a way of standing out from the crowd, but now it's sort of an essential defence against the absurd nihilism of it all. Just go make whatever you want!
You can waste a lot of time trying to explain yourself and the things you're doing to people who will only try to conform your ideas to their preexisting mindset. If you can game dev without validation, then tough out the long silence with confidence in yourself. It gets things done!
This presentation from @foddy.net is quite revelatory in terms of understanding the sort of motivations that can help you find your own unique style / voice / method in game dev. Worthwhile for anyone doubting the pursuit of their own weirdness. www.twitch.tv/videos/27148...
NYU Game Center Lecture Series Presents Bennett Foddy - nyugamecenter on Twitch
nyugamecenter went live on Twitch. Catch up on their Just Chatting VOD now.
twitch.tv