iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I don't want to come on here and act like I'm telling the ABC how to do their job, but I'm pretty confident nobody needed an expert to tell them this

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

People say AI is making people stupider but I can't help but wonder if it's doing it deliberately

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

How to give a generation of gamers PTSD

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Alright it's Saturday, I have housework I don't want to do, a bowl full of tasty black grapes, and Schrödinger's Cat Burglar from @abandonedsheep.com I consider this a good set of decisions.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

If we're being fair, Oblivion Remastered already did away with the saturated and bloomed out fantasy aesthetic of the original in pursuit of a more grounded and realistic look. So I'm not really sure if the DLSS 5 version can be considered destructive of the artistic intent or not at this point.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Should I: A) cut this knot and risk losing my grip on the teabags and dropping them in the cup, or B) accept my fate and make one really strong pot of tea.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Big fan of the Prime games, keen to finally jump into a new entry in the series 😄

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Duolingo has begun showing me some extremely suspect ads. Between these and the ad based micro games with fake skip buttons that load into the game rather than closing it, is some real hellish dark pattern BS and I'm questioning why I still continue to use this app.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

Some of these are really on point!

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I am VERY impressed with the effort indies have gone to this year decorating their booths! It's so much fun walking around and seeing them all. Here's just a small selection.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

Where I will be frantically trying to redirect the attention of people headed towards the Nintendo booth this weekend.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

Note to self: you have a booth of your own to run and the game comes out in December anyway. ...But I wanna play it! 😭

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

"This is still an Xbox" is not as reassuring as you think it is.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

I am a professional game developer

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Google exec 1: "This new AI tool in the Photo editor that automatically pops up and every time the user changes tabs, it's not too intrusive is it?" Exec 2: "Nah people are practically begging for this stuff." Exec 1: "OK great, ship it!"

A screenshot of google photo edit mode showing an intrusive AI edit interface obscuring a large portion of the image while the user is trying to make adjustments to the lighting.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Decorate your booth. Yes people are there for the games but a pretty booth attracts more attention than a white table with a laptop. At least buy some cheap cloth from a fabric store to drape over the table. Better yet, decorate on-theme! Who wouldn't stop at On Point's glorious booth?

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

The indie pods are small but you can cram in a lot if you're smart about it. IMO the ideal setup is the "three screens" method. Below is my usual booth setup. This is easier if you're a local or are driving to the show. More difficult if you're limited by what you can take on a plane.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

PAX Aus is fast approaching! Last year I posted a thread of tips and advice for indies exhibiting at the show on the site formally known as Twitter. Here's an updated and expanded thread for this year (settle in, its a long one) 😀 #pax #paxaus #indiedev #gamedev @paxaus.bsky.social

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Ain't got nothin' to be ashamed about.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Been using the companion app to track down the last of few odds and ends in Tears of the Kingdom, but did not turn it on for Koroks. So now that I've done everything else, how many did I happen upon naturally? 61%. Cool. So let's just see how many are left and oh crap that's a lot 😬

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

"I wonder why my keyboard isn't working correctly? Maybe it just needs cleaning."

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Turns out Star Wars has characters from Fortnite now

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Not a great night for the Greens either, they seem to have lost most of their lower house seats. But despite that they had a strong swing in my local electorate, which they have been gaining ground in for the past elections.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

This is why I always import store-bought assets into a 3D app first before they go in game 😒 (These shots are all from the same mesh).

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Cripes you can even dig down into specific body features.

Screenshot from Lightroom showing selection of specific body parts.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

I mean, it even recognizes that there are two people in this photo (and one isn't even fully in it), and I can simply click a button to isolate them from the mask. It's a little confused around the child's leg, but fixing that selection is nothing compared to the time spent doing it all manually.

Lightroom's subject selection tool isolating a subject from a photo.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Yeah, look, I get it Steam, I played a lot of Cyberpunk this year OK? I don't need it pointed out to me.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

This year I was putting in 30-45 minutes per day, but beginning to feel like I was learning how to maximise XP more than I was learning German. Since Oct I've been making an effort to ignore all the gamefication and focus more on absorbing the lessons. Aiming for 30mins of focused learning per day.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

I feel sorry for whichever of my friend's children has to use this cursed controller.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Catching trains in Australia be like

Waring sign that reads: Caution! Snakes may be present in this area. Please travel with care and alert station staff of any snake sightings.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

The player character from my indie game.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Sceptical of this coffee machine's use of the term "SmartTamping" for what appears to be just a hand operated lever.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

No afraid but possibly confused.

Cockatoo tilting its head sideways like it's questioning the photographer's motivation.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Google's AI overview is really f*ing useless. Stating the exact opposite of the search results its referencing.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 10/10/2024

Fun and games at Federation Square tonight. Crossy Road comp on the main stage with the jump board controller was great to watch!

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 18/04/2024

Today I learnt that a small town in regional NSW owns half a submarine. Specifically the top half.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 18/04/2024

The toilets at this cafe can be bolted shut from the outside while someone is inside. I feel like I'm putting a lot of faith in humanity by stepping inside.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

I don't think all of these are impossible problems for AI tools to solve though, like refining details and integrating existing designs. Though they probably wont be able to produce results with the level of care and intention as a human can.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 28/12/2023

Today's gaming session will involve modded Goldeneye on original hardware on CRT.

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Ben Droste @bendroste.bsky.social · 21/12/2023

My Steam Year in Review explained

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