iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alexei Pepers

I've been given the honor of giving the closing talk at this year's #Roguelike Celebration @roguelike.club, joining a stellar speaker lineup. I'd share my talk's title, but it would go over bsky's character limit! Check out the full program: www.roguelike.club/event2026.html

The Decades-Long Design Experiment That Escapes Permadeath and Finds a New Form Every Run
I’ve been making roguelikes for more than two decades, and I’ve come to realize that I haven’t really been making dozens of separate games: instead I’ve been running one very long design experiment. This talk follows the ideas that have survived that experiment: mechanics, systems, interfaces, world-generation techniques, and questions that disappear for years only to emerge again and sometimes find a working shape.

This isn’t a story of steady progress toward better games, rather an exploration of how curiosity, iteration, failure, and unfinished work accumulate over time. (true) Roguelikes are built around the idea that knowledge persists across runs even when characters don’t, I think game development can work the same way.

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Nathan Savant @baldsavant.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Hey look! I'm giving a talk this year! It's about Reactivity in Roguelikes, building characters that can feel alive and responsive to player action. You should come see it!

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Reposted by Alexei Pepers

Roguelike Celebration @roguelike.club · 03/10/2026

Our full schedule is up, and what an amazing one it is! roguelike.club/event2026.html Our delightful alternate-sports themed MUD will be open for you to watch all of this goodness live on October 17-18!

roguelike.club

Roguelike Celebration 2026

Roguelike Celebration 2026 is taking place October 17th and 18th, with a weekend of talks, games, and conversations about roguelikes and related topics, including procedural generation and game design...

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This was *such* a good talk, major kudos to @martinpi.bsky.social who got through a whole breadth of ideas at such a measured pace. Always impressive to be both information-dense and relaxing to watch!

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Chelsea Thompto @cthompto.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Very excited to be speaking at this event! Finally getting to talk about the games/proc gen influences in my art work :)

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Scott Anderson @impossible.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Come watch me talk about falling sand

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The last is especially awesome because Dan Stormont and Michael Howk sent two separate submissions referencing the same inciting event and then very kindly agreed to band together and share the slot when we told them that we wanted both angles on the story instead of choosing just one!

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Some personal highlights: - Qud localization, obviously - @everest.bsky.social on gamers yearning for the mines - @droqen.bsky.social making a sudoku poem LIVE - @codingcrafter.bsky.social on proc gen and pedagogy - a 45 minute special on recovering and repairing the Hack sourcecode

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The schedule for @roguelike.club is up! We’ve got yet another stunning lineup with multiple people who are such a good fit I had assumed they’d spoken already 🤣 Time is fake and it’s just over two weeks until the con so check it out, buy a ticket, come hang out! www.roguelike.club/event2026.html

roguelike.club

Roguelike Celebration - Event 2026

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Reposted by Alexei Pepers

Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The schedule's out - I'm speaking at the Roguelike Celebration again this year! My talk is titled "The City, The Street, The Lens" and it's about street photography, collisions in time and space and how to think about procedural generation differently. More here: www.roguelike.club/event2026.html

A photo of a truck by the side of the road in Tokyo. The driver's leg is sticking out of the window resting on the side of the trailer. The title of the talk is written on the truck. It will happen on October 18th, online. Tickets are roguelike.club

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I do feel a bit guilty to spam repost speakers talking about their RLC 2026 talks when I haven’t yet written the newsletter email about it 😅 but in my defense, only the former is something I can do on my phone during my stupidly long uni commute. I promise I’ll write words at big computer soon!

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Dr Paris Buttfield-Addison 🔜 MIGW26 @hey.paris · 28/09/2026

SUPER EXCITED to say that I'll be speaking at @roguelike.club about making HINT LINE '93, the silly game that @yarnspinner.dev, @themartianlife.com, and @firkraags.bsky.social made with talented Tasmanian actors' photos as callers for @acmimuseum.bsky.social! www.roguelike.club/event2026.ht...

roguelike.club

Roguelike Celebration - Event 2026

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Reposted by Alexei Pepers

nic tringali @nictringali.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm speaking at Roguelike Celebration this year! Come see me talk about the only three games that matter: Blackjack, Skull, and Can't Stop

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leggy @leggystarscream.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Roguelike Celebration schedule is absolutely incredible this year, and not just because I get to yap about Pokemon for 15 minutes :D www.roguelike.club/event2026.html Seriously, y'all should check this out

roguelike.club

Roguelike Celebration - Event 2026

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Reposted by Alexei Pepers

Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

New Post: Why I Love AI Next month it'll be twenty years since I went to university, learned to program, and studied AI. I wrote about why I loved it, why I still love it, and why, unfortunately, it no longer exists. www.possibilityspace.org/blog/posts/i...

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Oooh that’s a new one for me, so spiky! I’ll admit my first thought was actually earwig until I remember it would need the back pincers. I’ve learned about rove beetles before but had to remind myself by searching “flexible long beetle” 😂

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Yeah no idea how to tell actual species - and there are videos of how their wings open up that are bonkers, it’s so rad they can fit so much wing in there!

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Looks like a kind of rove beetle I think! It looks like a common species is called a devil’s coach horse beetle which is rad as hell.

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The event is over but what a good tease for what was an awesome talk, can’t wait to be able to share the recording

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Preview event is coming up soon, hope to see some familiar faces! All 3 talks are very exciting, the preview speakers are champs for letting me get away with adding more talks to the year by hustling to prepare for now instead of October. The content is just is good, and it’s early + free!

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Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Very forceful statement by Terry Tao about AI and math. terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/11/a... Note, he is not claiming the models aren't real and powerful. He's talking about how that power should be used. This, I believe, is what all AI discussions should center.

terrytao.wordpress.com

A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics

I am proud to be among the list of 25 initial signatories — all Fields Medallists — to the declaration below, which grew out of discussions between ourselves over the last week. We have…

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Aww well thank you, that’s so lovely to hear 🥰 I really do reference this talk a lot after you shared it at Polaris, it’ll be great to have a definite way to share it with folks.

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The early version of this talk is one that immediately lodged in my brain and became part of how I think about game design - highly recommend!

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Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

hell yeah

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I am still so happy with this paper, glad other designers are finding it!

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Reposted by Alexei Pepers

Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Oh hey since this is going around again - while the GDC talk is still trapped in the vault, I re-presented it at last year’s @roguelike.club preview event! So if you want the presentation instead of the paper, check it out :) m.youtube.com/watch?v=H5EU...

m.youtube.com

Alexei Pepers - Designing for System Suspense

YouTube video by Roguelike Celebration

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

m.youtube.com

Alexei Pepers - Designing for System Suspense

YouTube video by Roguelike Celebration

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I’ve been back at uni for exactly one lecture and have already initiated a mutiny.

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JRho @jrho.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The most absolutely massive flex from the state fair exhibit. This quilt is made of 40 years of prize ribbons from various categories at the New Mexico State Fair won by Carol St. Clair Johnson. She also won a prize for this quilt.

Massive quilt made of prize ribbons in blue, red, yellow, and white

Center square of quilt made of yellow and red ribbons and yellow rosettes

Block of quilt made of blue, yellow, red, and white ribbons. Ribbons state the year. Some have the prize winning object written on in marker

Carol St. Clair Johnson
born 1954; resides Albuquerque, NM

O Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years
2023
satin ribbons

After unexpectedly winning her first blue ribbon for a sewn cape in 1981, Carol St. Clair Johnson developed an enduring love for the New Mexico State Fair. The quilt Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years incorporates more than six hundred of the ribbons she won at the fair every subsequent year except 2020 (when the fair was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic). Johnson earned ribbons for needlework, knitting, crochet, pies, cookies, cakes, canning, jewelry, flowers, vegetables, and potted plants. The title of the quilt is a reference to the state song, and the design places the state's Zia sun symbol at the center. The quilt earned Johnson yet another ribbon: Best in Category (miscellaneous quilt) at the 2023 New Mexico State Fair.

Courtesy of Carol St. Clair Johnson

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Reposted by Alexei Pepers

Roguelike Celebration @roguelike.club · 07/09/2026

Excited to see y'all in our freshly painted MUD space with preview event speakers @martinpi.bsky.social, @matronboy.bsky.social, and Greg L. who made this lovely little ad as part of a coding demo for his talk! September 13, 2026, 2PM PDT | 21:00 UTC www.roguelike.club/event2026.html

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Reposted by Alexei Pepers

Bat-Tali 🦇🎃 (Vancouver era ✨) @talidev3d.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

this is a conversation I would overhear from my game designer coworkers after asking them how they want the door I just modeled to open

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martin pichlmair @martinpi.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I'm giving a little talk on how a lot of the ideas we work with when making Roguelikes (or any other form of systems-driven/procedurally generated game) can be traced back to much more ancient games and art forms. Join us! ti.to/roguelike-ce...

ti.to

Roguelike Celebration: Preview Event 2026

Roguelike games have been part of gaming culture for over 30 years and they have a deep and special place in our hearts. We'd love to get to spend some time with you all learning about roguelikes and ...

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Jamie Brittain @matronboy.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Delighted to announce I'll be one of the speakers at the preview event for the legendary @roguelike.club with a talk titled "Don't Save The @: What Roguelikes Teach Us About Story Structure" Details here: www.roguelike.club/event2026.html

roguelike.club

Roguelike Celebration - Event 2026

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Younès ★ @pyrofoux.itch.io · 25/08/2026

The author of this article investigates the mysterious absence of couscous in London. In the process, he finds a bittersweet truth that Maghrebis like me have to live with. You should give it a read.

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Chris Weisiger @byobattleship.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Climb the tower, kill the boss, and maybe make the world a better place! After three years of hard work, my cyberpunk match-3 roguelike TORMENT HEXUS is now in Early Access! Check it out, and spread the word! store.steampowered.com/app/3238420/...

store.steampowered.com

Torment Hexus on Steam

Technofascist cyberpunk CEOs must die! Charge spells with the match-3 grid, then cast them on your enemies in turn-based tactical roguelike combat. Climb the tower, kill the boss, and maybe make the w...

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Elliot 🫪 @nameoftheyear.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I will be forever wistful about the Blaseball (2023) that we never got to release, and the unhinged concepts we had on deck for what to do with a game that already has like 50k active players willing to be part of explicitly gamified, explicitly evil social experiments. lmao

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

If you want the excuse to collect many cute little bowls and beautiful big bowls, I suggest getting into stir fry and maximizing your mise.

A row of 5 bowls of ingredients in varied patterns and sizes - one pattern is pokemon looking out cafe windows, another is monochrome dinosaurs, another a beautiful blue and black.

Finished bowl of ground pork and zucchini with a chili garlic sauce

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Roguelike Celebration @roguelike.club · 12/08/2026

Due to an unexpectedly large number of submissions, we will need to close applications to the Roguelike Celebration Steam Event THIS FRIDAY, August 14th! This is your last chance to get your game considered for the event! forms.gle/Nka47iktejxp...

forms.gle

Call for Steam Event Participants 2026

Roguelike Celebration is an annual festival featuring the development, history, community, and play of roguelike games, procedural generation, and related topics. Our Steam event is an extension of th...

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I had no idea that’s who you work for, amazing 🤣

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Alexei Pepers @apepers.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Kawa’s new job involves a piece of software called Splunk which, if your brain is rotted by Blaseball naming conventions like mine, is simply not a thing you should use in the workplace.

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James Wood @omgmorejames.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Roguelike Deckbuilder

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Pita @pita-m.com · 29/07/2026

Assets that I made for the 2024 Roguelike Celebration Steam sale page. 🧑‍🎨 The tallish tile size here I'm very fond of. I choose it because it reminds me of the tall grid often in ASCII roguelikes, but it also had some benefits when it came to actually draw the tiles & sprites.