iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

“This album sounds like it was recorded in Snuffleupagus’ ass” Is my new all-time favorite music critique

Boosting not because they need the help, but because Queen's Gambit was a genuinely great game and this looks AWESOME Great pick for Restoration. Love it

kickstarter.com

The Lord of the Rings™: The King’s Gambit

The final, fateful battle in the war for Middle-earth plays out across four epic fields of battle.

35813

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 18h

Was checking out the cool looking Kings Gambit Kickstarter (queens gambit as LOTR?! Please and thank you!) And didn’t even notice Aragorn was black until the racists showed up. You can always count on the racists to be annoying and boring.

5772

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

For the last few years I've been most excited by designs of mine that start from the title, or a toy hook. I'll never make anything as perfect as Hungry Hungry Hippo, but I'm getting better at gamer-coded classic style hooky games. Question is: who would publish them?

1130

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Marketing in a nutshell is the discipline of aligning product with consumer, to scale An S-tier strategic marketer has honed their clarity of vision to the point where honestly the only thing standing between them and game design is some learnable skills You're already starting on third base IMO

1161

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Gamers, I love ya but The correct response to “I hate (genre of game)” is almost never “oh you should try (my favourite game archetypal of the genre)” 😂

5393

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I think of marketing and game design as a Venn diagram that largely overlaps. Where the delta is mostly autism 😂

0150

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Studying marketing, as a discipline, with genuine curiosity, will make you a better game designer. Guaranteed. Or your money back.

6243

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I was today years old hearing “bacronym” for the first time Never looked it up. I get it, and i love it

1170

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I know that someone has never worked in TCGs when they say dumbass shit like "the meta today is simple to fix"

5381

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

When publishers and designers say their game has been play tested hundreds of times, they're not wrong but The published version you're playing has likely not been tested more than a handful of times, and zero times is a distinct possibility. It's not a bug, just a feature of complex iteration

3567

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I feel like people are almost always correct about what they need But only sometimes correct about what they want

3110

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Midafternoon musings: Media platform algorithms are getting better at serving you exactly the content you want to see. This is a bad thing. Our core memories are often formed by inputs that surprised us or subverted our expectations. The most meaningful discovery is wild and stochastic

4272

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I come up with weird radical new ideas for games all the time Like silly “what even is a game?!” sophomoric thought experiments. All the time It’s fun, but not super productive What thrills me more is innovating in well trodden spaces I think I prefer “fresh” to “wildly innovative”

3220

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Oops. I forgot I also wrote about this game This one I’m pursuing with some excitement. Looking forward to surprising the publisher I’ve got in mind :)

1191

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Oh yeah, that game I had mostly done last week? Dropped it. It’s cute and fun, but honestly I don’t think the world needs another “entry level worker placement” game from me Onward

0240

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

If you generally have your shit together You’ll get nearly zero empathy the few times when your shit falls apart Often acute hostility

1381

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

If I never had another new game idea I’d still have enough to release a new game per year for the rest of my life (Weird shit to think about as you get older)

4453

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Drumming makes both my soul and my autism happy.

3250

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Came up with a game concept that’s sadly kinda trendy right now But also it’s a game I think only I could (or would) make Will make a quick prototype and see I’ll let y’all know if it survives next week

4510

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Hit me with a good dad joke I’ve never heard before (I’ve heard a ton of dad jokes)

1261

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Good morning team HR has brought to our attention that we’ve been in crunch mode the last seventeen months We recognize team health is also important, and are pleased to announce a paid week off to all non-critical* devs next quarter (*Flagship releases are critical) Crush it!

2343

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Good morning team Our monetisation consultant from Ten Cent provided a detailed report about every angle in which the game is under-monetised. Essentially stealing from our bottom line Leadership is in alignment and we expect every point addressed by next standup Theft is serious

1241

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Holy shit the new Mastodon might be my favourite since Crack the Skye What a delightful treat!

1160

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I still come up with new game ideas on a regular basis Like, on last week's very long flight, I came up with basic rules for 3 different family games What's changed is that I rarely get obsessed enough to finish most of these Takes a lot more than "just a fun game" to take me there lately

2310

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Btw if you’re an asshole, eventually nobody will want to publish your games no matter how “good” you are As it should be, IMO

1501

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Successful creatives practice radical honesty. Particularly with themselves. “How do I know if I’m being creatively honest?” Your body knows. Do the work to build, or rebuild trust in yourself.

1210

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

“Publishers know what players want better than—“ Nope. We’re all just guessing and pretending to know better Make art you love. Work hard to get better at making art you love. The rest is admin

313320

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I see too much media educating game designers on how to make games publishers want Publishers make games that buyers want We need to make games for players, not gatekeepers

615420

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Good morning team We sadly announce Buddy McTalent’s termination from design effective yesterday While many of you enjoyed the prototype he made for Project Destruction, the CEO didn’t like it and doesn’t appreciate being contradicted Understandable! We wish Buddy well! Keep crushing it

1300

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Good morning team, Please watch the TED talk “Games that don’t monetise aren’t fun, actually” by Petro Thoil Leadership would like a deep dive PowerPoint from each of you on how to incorporate learnings from this profound talk. Skip to 2:04:56 for the ten minute segment on gameplay Go team!

0250

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Good morning team Leadership was told we need a game about feminism, to appeal to females, and we’ve assembled a killer team For the game FEMAEL EMPOWERMENT Pls welcome lead designer Rich Mann, exec producer Patrick Hermann And a junior assistant team of ALL FEMEALS So proud. Go team!

3617

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Incuriosity is anathema to me. Biggest turn-off ever

2300

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Good morning team Leadership has expressed disappointment that some are not following the company-wide mandate to incorporate AI into our process We’d like all TCG teams to shelve card sets they’ve done without AI and produce new ones starting with Claude We’ll get better at this! Go team

2260

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Seeing superstar young designers get their validation fills my cup. So much.

0502

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Q: Hey Eric, why the burnout? A: Those “good morning team” posts you’ve been reading? Minus light comedic filter and name changes, mostly verbatim Go team! Crush it

8540

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Good morning team Marketing has challenged us to come up with better product sales bullets than “great hook” or “great game” It’s a competitive market out there, and a great product is table stakes We need to do better Looking forward to productive solutions for next standup Crush it!

4210

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

When I say “this game needed a few more months development” I usually mean “the team needs meaningful time away from this to reset their perspective”

2360

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Being reliable takes a shit ton of work, no matter who you are It’s not some magical natural personality trait.

0553

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Good morning team Leadership believes that a BGG rating of lower than 8 on any forthcoming game should be considered a failure and grounds for termination While maybe somewhat harsh, senior management is aligned Please focus efforts on excellence going forward Let’s crush this together!

1362

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Ok. Real talk. CRPGs based on “kill things get their stuff” I hate it more than anything when they scale all enemies to your current level. It’s gamist and gross to me; I’m playing these murder games to see numbers go up and bully the critters that were impossible a few levels ago!

13964

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Unfinished business: I’d like to do a narrative adventure game like Mass Effect but instead original IP, focused on player-driven narrative rather than “players uncover my deep story” Would y’all be interested in a story driven campaign game with 5 total sessions and like 30 different endings?

16671

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Good morning team We hired Unfiltered Gamer Joe to rewrite the rulebook, after his YouTube “rants” about our rules impressed the CEO’s son Tests have been promising, with “general lack of comprehension” being the only issue across all groups We appreciate the team solving this for next standup

3441

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Echo echo echo, a thousand times echo. The folks who were loudly shitty to me in public were never ever ever public with their amends. Ever.

1462

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Good morning team The CEO played Epic Battles of War with his non-gamer neighbours at his monthly barbecue And they were shockingly confused by the rules set. Many saying the game didn’t seem fun at all Management considers this to be showstopping. We must address next standup Crush it!

4352

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Good morning team Last week’s mandate of “release fewer, better games” And the Q3 release schedule doubling our previous release cadence Are not contradictory Leadership would appreciate the creative team’s approaching this challenge with enthusiasm rather than judgement Thanks! Go team

0381

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Good morning team Recent complaints about our SVP of Strategy’s conduct at Gencon are noted Though it may seem like coincidence, the layoffs of our female demo team members is a strictly budgetary coincidence Also please welcome Peter Happytouch to our HR department! Go team

0321

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Good morning, team Congratulations on the incredible performance reviews! Leadership has taken notice Unfortunately the CEO’s Pussy Grab TCG and the ensuing class action suit drove financials below the line So sadly no bonuses this quarter. Layoffs will be announced next week. Great job, all!

2422

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Good morning team We’ve partnered with Influencer Chad to create a series of abstract but story driven legacy campaign party games His design doc is one line of marketing text, but that’s the difficult, critical 80% Please have the game design ready for next standup Thanks! Keep crushing

6433

Eric Lang @ericlang.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Game designers always tell me their game is “simple, everyone gets it” And then I watch them demoing at conventions doing 90% of the heavy lifting and repeating rules over and over. Your game ain’t simple, hombre. You just really like it.

111227