mouseandmongoose.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

I have to assume that at some point Unity is going to hit rock-bottom, but it sure seems like they think there's room to keep digging. I've seen estimates like 1,800, 2,000 people laid off - that has to be entire teams, right? Whole swathes of functionality being closed up?

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

Unity cuts jobs once again as it makes "important organisational changes" www.gamesindustry.biz/unity-cuts-j...

submitted 17 days ago • 1 comment

The US Copyright Office has declared that generative AI art and text generated by prompts cannot be copyright protected. (Read more: The Verge)

submitted 29 days ago • 75 comments

Indie developers: Please never sign away your IP to a publisher unless you are getting a massive deal out of it and you genuinely do not care. Please please please do not do this without a strong reason AND the publisher guaranteeing/giving up a significant amount in return.

submitted 32 days ago • 1 comment

here's a way Caves of Qud was described

submitted 33 days ago • 4 comments

think like tank girl <3

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

Also true of making and releasing video games

submitted 35 days ago • 2 comments

the Tactical Nexus developers released a lengthy and rambling manifesto about the decision to change their future DLC pricing to 1 dollar each and honestly, I really appreciate this section on their refusal to remove hard edges from the game (temporenup.fuyu.gs/tac_20250125...)

submitted 35 days ago • 3 comments

I slam the face of one of them against a screen showing an '80s movie shot featuring an inch-thick black matte line with crazy gate weave on either side of it, "THAT LOOK PERFECT TO YOU, BUDDY-BOY???"

submitted 42 days ago • 18 comments

I've been dipping my toes into digital game design, and can highly recommend this video by @freya.bsky.social. Today, I was dabbling with HP bars and thought, "I need a lerp!" And guess what, I did! And it worked! Thanks for the knowledge, Freya!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzjF...

submitted 36 days ago • 2 comments

everyone's like "bluesky is just a clone of old twitter" but like old twitter with oldschool verification semantics/etc was just fine, as far as media platforms go. Like you can imagine better, but if that's all bluesky is, I'm cool with that, especially if the block/mute is more powerful.

submitted 37 days ago • 4 comments

video games should cost at least $100, man; really they should cost about $130

submitted 37 days ago • 10 comments

AAA studios are like "nobody will buy a big game" and then dont make very big interesting systems driven games and instead make them all polish and go "why is noone buying my glitzy stuff that you watch like a movie it must be the market that is wrong"

submitted 37 days ago • 40 comments

yet another issue with the “indies will save us” narrative outlined (and debunked) on the latest you are error aftermath.site/you-are-erro...

submitted 42 days ago • 9 comments

You know what would help indies? If they weren't losing 40% (30% plus returns, chargebacks and taxes) of their income on the primary PC storefront where they are in fact subsidizing AAA games which get sweetheart deals

submitted 44 days ago • 22 comments

if you haven't read it, please check out my long post from 2023 that discusses some history of the like late 2000's/early 2010's indie boom era in more detail, my impressions of it at the time, and a lot of the conflicts and problems it had: ellaguro.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-...

submitted 70 days ago • 4 comments

I keep being surprised by people attributing the general global economic downturn to AAA video games being [insert any adjective] and ignoring how the rest of the economy, the software industry, or even the rest of the game industry, are doing.

submitted 76 days ago • 2 comments

submitted 79 days ago • 5 comments

Not every feature in every game needs to be the most elaborate and engaging version of itself. This isn’t an argument about minimalism and perfectionism, merely an acknowledgment that the intended player experience may require the focus to be elsewhere. It’s not even about the budget, per se.

submitted 89 days ago • 2 comments

Stray thought; some of the most compelling heroic conflicts are not external struggles between good people and bad people, but the internal struggles of good people between apathy and compassion.

submitted 118 days ago • 0 comments

There's no way to run these massive online 'free' games and also ensure user safety. The results are completely predictable. Content moderation is thankless. It is a vital element of running any online space. If you can't afford it, especially on a site for children, you shouldn't be in business.

submitted 142 days ago • 0 comments

Yeah. My personal, weird, arbitrary opinion on copyright length is, You should be able to raise kids and retire on your output, but your grandkids shouldn't expect to be set up for life on it. Natural Life plus a decade or two for individuals always felt like plenty.

submitted 173 days ago • 9 comments

love you, ted chiang.

submitted 180 days ago • 17 comments

It really is as simple as that.

submitted 181 days ago • 5 comments

It's a lot like the supposed origin of Game of Thrones! Supposedly, GRR Martin posted on a Usenet group like "OK, enough fucking around, time to write a bestseller. What are some good tropes?" Except Hook's lyrics are so incredibly bitchy! "MTV is so 'PC,' yuck, so here's some slop for Billboard."

submitted 181 days ago • 7 comments

when life gives you lemons, select lemons on the equip screen and then confirm “equip lemons”

submitted 195 days ago • 19 comments

The Jonathan Blow/Braid piece that people are talking about is a good lesson in that A: The market is constantly changing and what worked once doesn't always work now, and B: Your "name" doesn't hold a lot of weight unless you are consistently putting out games people want to play.

submitted 212 days ago • 0 comments

I know, “I do not dream of labor” etc., but it’s very telling that all of my friends and colleagues - many of whom have worked in games for the last 15+ years - cannot name a single place they would be excited to receive an offer from any more.

submitted 212 days ago • 1 comment

I think @ironspike.bsky.social has posted similar stats about recent Iron Circus campaigns too

submitted 219 days ago • 1 comment