iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Wow!!!! What a blast from the past. Cleaning out some shelves and found my OG hard copy of the Medal of Honor GDD. I wrote like 90% of this. #psx #medalofhonor #gamedesign #nostalgia

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

My typical week. Not the worst. Not a lot of leisure time. I’m not sure I’d have it any other way.

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends! 🦃 Taking a short break to recharge and prep some great new Brain Arcade content. Next season, I’ll be deep-diving into game dev topics across multiple episodes! What do you want to learn about? Drop your ideas below! #GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

So fun even Joe is enjoying his own voice. 🤣🤣🤣

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

External development teams are often the key to shipping games, but how do we invest in these partnerships and empower them to do their best work? 🎙️Janyl Lambee Tanoy joins Brain Arcade to talk building trust, clarity, and synergy with external dev teams. Listen here! buff.ly/YAwNIRM

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

What does it take to ship an indie game in 2025? Joe Mirabello walks us through creating Battle Train and surviving 4 years of dev, funding, growing a company, and finding the right publisher to successfully make a 9/10 on Steam! 🎧 buff.ly/WqvtYDH #BrainArcade #GameDev #IndieDev #battletrain

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

The layoffs keep coming! We need to talk about what happens when spreadsheets and creativity meet. Steve Hoffmann joins me on Brain Arcade to talk game history and the business of creative industries. 🎧 Join the convo! buff.ly/CmVXsVq #Gamedev #Indiegamdev #Brainarcade #Gamepodcast

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

I hire designers who make sound effects 🎶 Sounds ridiculous but sound design and game design truly go hand in hand. Jon Ontiveros talks how audio can shape a player’s heartbeat, heighten tension, and build terror. 🎧Listen Now! buff.ly/iNEAlot #GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade #Sounddesign

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Can’t find the MMO you want to play? David Siddock couldn’t either, so he’s building one. We talked nostalgia, what we're missing today, and what MMOs could be next. Listen here: buff.ly/iNEAlot #indiegamedev #MMORPG #gamedev #BrainArcade

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Blockchain? Yeah, I know some of it's crazy😅 but knowledge is power so let's talk about it! Is there a way small teams could use it to build trust and transparency? Episode here: buff.ly/nHMQHsq #IndieDev #GameDev #BrainArcade #NewPodcast

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

I’ve got notebooks full of small multiplayer game ideas but the server costs always killed them. Talking to Ken Anderson about serverless, peer-to-peer games felt liberating! No servers. No sunsets. Just games that could live forever. 🎧 Listen in—Ken’s always a great guest! buff.ly/I9RBvNG

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

What can indie teams learn from Spider-Man? Veteran Art Director, Art Manager, and Lead Artist Jason Priest talks building smarter with procedural modeling, modular assets, environment storytelling, and the illusion of realism. 🎧 Listen Now! buff.ly/I9RBvNG #GameDev #BrainArcade #GameArt

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Creative, embraces challenges, and always player-first: Tatiana Funk talks designing for Nightingale in a live game environment. If you're into game design or trying to break in, this episode of Brain Arcade is for you! 🎧New Ep: buff.ly/zLUmtfj #GameDev #GameDesign #BrainArcade #Nightingale

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Theater to Games! Jessica Woodard, Writer/ Producer Terrible Posture Games, talks building thriving indie teams and how stagecraft maps directly to game dev. Congrats to Jess & team on Battle Train! buff.ly/njW5KDK 🎧 New Ep buff.ly/YZBWgxM #gamedev #brainarcade #IndieDev #gameproductoion

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

“Games are a series of interesting choices.” Too many? That’s how you get analysis paralysis! UX lead Ed Moore gives us tips about information hiding, cognitive load, friction, and designing with empathy. 🎧 Episodes: buff.ly/YZBWgxM 🧠 What game overwhelmed you? #Gamedev #UXdesign #BrainArcade

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Retro games are time machines! 🪄 They bring us back to a specific place and time. Stubbs from Retro Handhelds chats about why handheld emulation is booming, the strength of nostalgia, and lessons from old game design. 🎧 Episodes here: buff.ly/3v6Qqrz #GameDev #RetroHandheld #RetroGames

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

✨Neopets! What made this kids game so successful? Natalie Odien, Design Director, talks about her work on Neopets, the difference between designing “for kids” vs. “family-friendly” and how respecting young players creates lifelong fans. Episodes: buff.ly/bHndkkS #GameDev #BrainArcade #GameDesign

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Don't know where to start with your story? Finding the theme is really about finding the truth you're asking your audience to believe. We talk to story expert Martin Montgomery about his experience writing for Telltale and Silent Hill Ascension. Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Finding your audience can be tough! A lot of us are making games that we want to play and I think that's a perfect place to start identifying how to describe your player base. HUGE fan of Ayla Derrick and her voice in the indie revolution space. Ayla's Game: store.steampowered.com/app/3236330/...

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

My good friend, media expert Mark Netter, sat down with me to talk about the current zeitgeist, capturing your audience, and the move from monoculture towards tribalism. Mark and I can talk for hours about this stuff! open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Looking forward to being part of this panel today!

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

I've been a studio Creative Director for 8 years and I get a lot of question about how I got here. My journey has been totally untraditional and how I got here might surprise you! This week on Brain Arcade, I share my career story and talk about the psychology of asking "why".

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

This week I sat down with my good friend Liam from Nova Codes to talk about analysis paralysis, player boredom, the rules of 7s, and what all this means for good game design! Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww... Find us everywhere: electracast.com/podcast/brai...

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

This week on Brain Arcade we talk to the fantastic Liam McDonough from Nova Codes about the state of the games industry, business trends, and even drop some behind the scenes industry stories! www.youtube.com/@Brain-Arcade open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww... electracast.com/podcast/brai...

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

So stoked to launch this pod! Want to know what makes games really hit? Me too! On Brain Arcade, we're breaking down the psychology of games with awesome guests every week. After 30+ years in this crazy industry, I've got some stories to share! Find us everywhere! electracast.com/podcast/brai...

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

I survived GDC! In all seriousness, I loved catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones! It was great to finally meet Alex from Game Design Skills (check out his cool educational platform). Went to a couple events and wow, the advances in the AI game making space are moving very quickly.

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

This steam releases by year chart is going to keep trending up.

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I'm on TV! So pumped to be a part of Game Changers and to be part of this cool piece of gaming history. The Discovery series dives into the stories behind everything from Pong to Call of Duty. Give me a shout if you spot me! #GameChangers #GamingHistory #Documentary #GameDev #IndieGameDev

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CoffeeWithCross @coffeewithcross.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

So cool! I’m in the Nintendo and COD episodes. I recorded so much more than what made it in. #documentaries #videogames Stream Game Changers on Max play.max.com/show/6013dda...

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