iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alan Au @alanau.bsky.social · 8h

I'm all for a spooky October, but *not like that*.

Alan Au @alanau.bsky.social · 14h

Back when Epic wanted to advertise the Unreal Engine, they made Shadow Complex and said "hey, look what we made" and it was actually a good game. If Unity could make good games with gen AI, they would have done it. Instead, we got "Space Corridor."

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Alan Au @alanau.bsky.social · 14h

I vaguely remember hearing that Ashley gets a bit of a redemption arc over the course of the trilogy? I mean, I wouldn't know; I never rescue her.

Blue Prince @blueprincegame.bsky.social · 14h

Reposted by Alan Au

Not only is every title in The Hidden Depths bundle currently on sale in the Steam Autumn Sale, but you save an additional 15% with the bundle. (The savings apply even if you own some of the titles.) ANIMAL WELL | FEZ | TUNIC | Outer Wilds | Blue Prince store.steampowered.com/bundle/70688...

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Reposted by Alan Au

Chris Person @papapishu.bsky.social · 14h

For @aftermath.site: I had a borderline religious experience playing Titanfall 2 VR, a fantastic and still improving conversion of an already perfect game. It is one of the most moving single experiences I've had in VR since Half-Life: Alyx

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Alan Au @alanau.bsky.social · 14h

They're advertising their "incredible new technology" that lets people implement any* idea imaginable, and they end up with "Space Corridor"? *🤣

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Yeah, I've also started replacing "easy/hard" with "straightforward/complex." What's easy for some people is hard for others and vice-versa, and in any case you still need to put in the work.

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Cara Ellison @caraellison.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Why am I so out of it today? ... Oh right, I did not get enough sleep last night. So yeah, this is probably solvable? 😵‍💫

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Reposted by Alan Au

Hello! I will be available for game direction, writing and design work from next month for the first time in a very long time. If you enjoy any of the games listed in my portfolio here, please do get in touch at caraellison at gmail caraellison.co.uk/divebar/about/

caraellison.co.uk

C:\Cara Ellison\about\

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Reposted by Alan Au

Emmurder Killwell えま @emmakidwell.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

if you're a woman in games/a writer who follows me please sound off, i need to follow y'all back

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"Despite the layoffs, Holt insists that the game is still on target for a 2027 release." 😠😠😠

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I'm tempted to restart it for the story, but I don't want to have to grind for all of the random-drop stat booster modules again. 😅

I'm worse at simulation racers but still bad at "fun" racers, which is to say, I never even feel competitive. This even applies in single player, so it isn't just against my well-practiced friends.

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Reposted by Alan Au

lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 06/10/2026

Somehow, I am very bad at racing/driving games and I do not understand why. Obviously, a couple hundred hours of practice would probably help me improve. But also, is there some fundamental aspect of the technique I simply do not understand? I'm not even sure what I'm doing wrong (if anything)!

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Reposted by Alan Au

the main tradeoff of going to grad school isn't money or prestige. that would be laughable. the main reason to do it is so you can ruthlessly pick apart movies that touch on your area of subject expertise

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FWIW, hazing is bullshit. Just because you suffered doesn't mean other people should suffer too. If you want to promote bonding through shared adversity, go tackle an actual problem instead of manufacturing one.

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That's like, what, only 50% tomato-by-volume?

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Yeah, this was added to AC:Origins as part of a weird Final Fantasy XV crossover.

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Why the fuck am I awake right now? 😖

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What's weird about saying that outsourcing done this way is bad?

The internal screaming is definitely messing with my sleep schedule. 🙃

Gail Simone @gailsimone.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Reposted by Alan Au

Post Harry Potter art, I'm blocking you without hesitation. I don't care what the excuse is, don't support monsters.

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I saw "The Empire Strikes Back" at a very young age and was definitely frightened of Yoda. The ending of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was probably a close second.

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I have this weird craving for corn right now. 🌽

Outsourcing is not new; I feel like the main differences now are the pricing model and mode of interaction. But you are giving up control in the name of convenience (and presumably cost). And if you outsource the work, you're not doing it. So what's the skill being used? Specification validation?

There are lots of underlying problems with the tech, how it was implemented, and how it's being governed. But at the end of the day, I think the problem that will ultimately make vibecoding untenable as a business is that you're essentially outsourcing the work.

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Chris Person @papapishu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Ah, breakfast, the most important meal of the day. *eats another piece of Hi-Chew candy*

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Reposted by Alan Au

The funniest part of the Titanfall 2 VR mod is that it has proper scope shadow and bolt action so the Kraber becomes as big a pain in the ass to fire as a real .50 caliber anti-materiel should be. Like you have to pull and push the bolt handle every single shot, it rips.

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Reposted by Alan Au

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Random career tidbits: I have two out-of-print published games (won't say which) that went from initial concept meeting to "files to the printer" in less than a week. Quarriors was turned down by 5 publishers before Wizkids took it. I've still designed more TCG content than any other type of game

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Reposted by Alan Au

Adrian Hon @adrianhon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

icymi the cover for my new book, THE AGE OF IMMERSION is out! Here's why I wrote it, what's going to be in it (everything from medieval tournaments and pageants to panoramas, installation art, Happenings, the Starcruiser, and jubensha), and how I researched it.

mssv.net

The Age of Immersion is coming June 2027

Why my next book is about the history and future of immersive experience.

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Reposted by Alan Au

"How did you get into TTRPGs?" ENCOM Digitizing Laser

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I like to remind people that "you don't get seniors unless you first have juniors."

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Oh yeah, it's a mess. I had to get the "Hitman GOTY" DLC for Hitman 2 because at the time (and maybe still), it wouldn't count my EGS copy properly towards "already owned content." The import into 3 was also advertised as a "one-time transfer" but realistically I only ever play 3 (rebranded as WoA).

I think Hitman WoA officially has the *worst* "which edition do I buy" problem of any modern game. I have an EGS copy of Hitman 1 and bought 2 on Steam. Later I got the Hitman 1 missions for 2. I finally bought 3 on Steam, which gave me the 1 & 2 missions because I already owned them.

"How did you get into TTRPGs?" ENCOM Digitizing Laser

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Factoring in a break for food, that means you have another 9 hours to play Raiden today.

This is a solvable problem.

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rowan kaiser @rowan.monster · 02/10/2026

I've heard Bazzite is getting better, but yeah, the main thing tethering me to Windows right now is my Steam library.

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Reposted by Alan Au

Spotted on Facebook: sicko game worlds colliding

"My bf is a developer and just made me a program to use his racing pedals to sew realistically. It also adjusts the speed the more you press down the pedal 😭 he just upped my game so hard 🥲🤣
Game: Dressmaker"

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Part of the joy in "Edge of Tomorrow" is watching his character die repeatedly.

I sometimes suffer from something I call "fingers faster than brain" and I suspect it also applies to my spoken stuff too. I wonder if I've always been like this or if it's getting worse (?) as I age? 😓