iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Loading screens, cutscenes, and conversations: you can hide them, or you can make them something you play, rather than something you endure.

open.substack.com

Gameplay Dead Spots and How to Handle Them

Loading screens, cutscenes, conversations -- make them playable, or make them invisible

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Skipping conversations and cutscenes: the bane of the narrative designer. But why do players do it? And what can we do to make it more appealing to stay?

open.substack.com

Why do Players Skip?

Getting back to the action

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Reposted by Fred Z.

Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

primary every centrist democrat

If Democrats want a role model ahead of this year's midterm elections, they could not do better
than Analilia Mejia, the newest member of Congress. The winner of an April special election to fill a suburban New Jersey seat that party insiders thought would favor a centrist, Mejía, a former political director for Senator Bernie Sanders and the director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, ran as a progressive who was prepared to take on the "bosses and bullies in both parties to get things done." After emerging as the victor in a crowded and complicated primary—in which she backed Medicare for All, guaranteed paid sick leave, and a moratorium on AI data centers; accurately described Israel's assault on Gaza as a genocide; and declared that "it's time to abolish ICE"—Mejía won the general election by a 20-point margin (more than double the margin that the district gave Kamala Harris in 2024). Mejía embraced her mandate by immediately proposing to raise the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour.

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Reposted by Fred Z.

Cameron 🇺🇸🗽🦅 @cameroncorduroy.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

>Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson were all on Russian payroll >Orban loses in Hungary >Rod Dreher immediately leaves Budapest >The Daily Wire fires half their staff was all the right-wing conspiracy posting about USAID just massive fucking projection?

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Reposted by Fred Z.

HAL @hal-monitor.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

BASEBALL YURI (1/5)

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I may be the only narrative designer who hates cutscenes in games.

open.substack.com

Bugbears: the Cutscene

Play, don't show

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

This is a stupid and frustrating time to be alive. Being alive is still probably better than the alternative, but don't quote me on that.

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

I write primarily as a way to process my thoughts on complex topics and big feels. Lots of writers do this. Sometimes I also write to vent. These pieces usually involve more florid and profane imagery. But I know I'm really in a bad state when I'm driven to that dread refuge of the damned: poetry.

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Reposted by Fred Z.

John Rogers @johnrogers.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

After hearing this, my grandfather would’ve taken a bullet for this man. Just a crazy skill of making great speechwriting (written by and with others, I’m sure) sound conversational.

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Reposted by Fred Z.

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 14/03/2026

thevaultoftheatomicspaceage.tumblr.com/post/8110863...

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Delighted to hear @shutupshow.bsky.social reminisce about Amalur's "beautiful neon fantasy colors"! Always a pleasure to hear it fondly remembered. If you liked it too, check out the now-funding board game featuring @seanandrewmurray.bsky.social, Amalur's lead concept artist! www.cityofgateway.com

cityofgateway.com

Gateway

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Players love breaking your game, and it takes a brave designer to let them. The results can be horrible — and greater than you can imagine.

open.substack.com

Player Investment: Break It Your Way

Be willing to sacrifice tone for something unexpected and wonderful

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Reposted by Fred Z.

Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Is anybody ever gonna take a step back and realize the "Russia Russia Russia" people — derided as lunatic wine moms — were actually underplaying the foreign influence stuff, and the loud people who kept insisting it was all fake are now saying Jeffrey Epstein was kind of a cool guy?

theguardian.com

NSA detected phone call between foreign intelligence and a person close to Trump

Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

How a simple walk with Dad took a bloody turn in Fallout 3 — and what it takes to make unexpected story moments in games, both from the designer and the player.

open.substack.com

Emergent Narratives: Finding Ghosts in the Machine

Finding the stories that show up between the rules

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Reposted by Fred Z.

Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) @iwriteok.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

this is such weak baby behavior. just say whistles should be illegal because fuck you, that's why. trying to justify this by whining that your big brains can't handle loud noises is coward shit

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Reposted by Fred Z.

Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Crowd is massive, now overflowing Congress Plaza and taking up a block-long stretch of Michigan Avenue. Reminder: this event was only announced yesterday.

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Interactive media requires writers to give up some control to the player. But why would a writer want to do that in the first place? And what does it require from the players who take that extra agency?

open.substack.com

The Trade-Offs of Interactive Media

What game writers give up, all in hopes of reaching a deeper connection

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Fred Z. @fred-zed.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Game design, bones, and AI slop. Why it’s troubling when a studio head says they’re using AI “but it won’t be in the final game.” (with thanks to @unburntwitch.com for inspiring me to write this, and to @jasonschreier.bsky.social for the original interview)

open.substack.com

Do the Work

The bones of a game, AI slop, and how an idea becomes reality

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