iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 05/05/2026

D'ici une semaine, @emmamorin.bsky.social (Crush House, Reigns, Just Dance, ...) viens d'Angers pour nous présenter son expérience sur UI et UX. Ne le ratez pas la dernière Game Dev Afterwork de la saison à #Nantes ! @atlangames.com

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Atlangames @atlangames.com · 20/04/2026

📣 Game Dev Afterwork Nantes - mardi 12 mai à 19h à La Centrale Mini-conf par Emma Morin UX/UI designer (Reigns, Crush House, Just Dance…) “C’est quoi une bonne UX/UI dans le jeu vidéo ?” 📝 Inscription obligatoire www.helloasso.com/associations... Le showcase actu docs.google.com/presentation...

helloasso.com

Game Dev Afterwork [NANTES]

Conférence organisé·e par Atlangames à Nantes - Retrouvez le réseau Atlangames dans le cadre des Game Dev Afterworks pour échanger, partager ou présenter des idées et des projets, avec une communauté ...

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 04/03/2026

Les Producers ont-iels toute leur tête ? Mardi prochain c'est Romain Taupin qui nous fera une présentation sur le producing... ➡️ www.helloasso.com/associations...

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Atlangames @atlangames.com · 24/02/2026

Le prochain Game Dev Afterwork à Nantes a lieu mardi 10 mars à 19h à La Centrale. Romain Taupin fera un talk sur le producing de jeu vidéo (Runes Studio, Endroad, Capital Games). Inscription obligatoire : www.helloasso.com/associations... Showcase : docs.google.com/presentation...

helloasso.com

Game Dev Afterwork [NANTES]

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Atlangames @atlangames.com · 06/01/2026

📢 Le prochain Game Dev Afterwork à Nantes, c'est la semaine prochaine mardi 13 janvier à 19h à la Centrale avec @roilulu.bsky.social Art Director, Character Designer et Game Artist ! Inscription obligatoire : www.helloasso.com/associations...

helloasso.com

Game Dev Afterwork [NANTES]

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lulu @lucieviatge.art · 07/01/2026

Petit teaser de ma présentation au prochain Game Dev Afterwork à Nantes 👀 Venez nombreuux

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Atlangames @atlangames.com · 04/12/2025

📣 Le prochain Game Dev Afterwork à Nantes, c’est mardi 13 janvier à 19h à La Centrale ! On accueillera @roilulu.bsky.social, Art Director, Character Designer et Game artist (Goodbye Volcano High, GNOG, Anarcute…). 📝 Inscription obligatoire : www.helloasso.com/associations...

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 06/06/2025

We have a demo of the game, and we’re looking for that very special publisher to finish development. Streamers too, let us know if you’d like to try it! Players, if you want to know when the game comes out, join our mailing list! playcurious.games/subscribe/ 3/3

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 06/06/2025

Secret Woods is based on a real place, a forest in southern France with incredible biodiversity. All the creatures are real too! When you click on an objective, we give hints about where they might be hiding. This “genette” likes to stay up high. 2/3

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 06/06/2025

Grandma has gone missing in the old forest. Good thing she left you with this map! Find the lizard under the rock, and the bird nest in the tree. Search by the moonlight. Win stickers. Solve puzzles about food webs. Rekindle old memories. Maybe they will lead you back to her? 1/3 #PitchYaGame

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 05/06/2025

But in fact, a pitch deck is the main documentation that the whole publishing team will see, across different departments like marketing and production that I can't present to. Therefore, it has to stand on its own. In other words, the pitch deck _is_ the presentation. 2/2

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 05/06/2025

It was quite an experience to have my 15-slide pitch deck pulled part and critiqued for an hour! www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKtW... Until now, I mostly thought of the deck as visual support for my presentation, and maybe as notes for the publisher after the meeting. 1/2

youtube.com

Live Pitch Deck Review

YouTube video by IndieGameBusiness®

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 16/05/2025

Wouldn't these spritesheets work well as wallpaper for a kids room? #indiegame #gamedev

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Tibo @tibohimself.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Check out the video of our new demo ! We added an illustrated intro and puzzles. Streamers and publishers - if you're interested in testing out demo, please tell me in the comments 😉 And give us some love ❤️ #indiegame #demo #gamedev #publisher #gamedesign #teaser

youtu.be

Secret Woods - Vertical Slice Teaser

YouTube video by Play Curious

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 13/05/2025

This Sunday I'm headed to Kraków for the #DigitalDragons #gamedev event. Despite living in Europe for the past 20 years, this will actually be my first time in Poland, and I'm excited to discover it! I've heard great things about the historic center. Hit me up if you're there and we can meet!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 08/05/2025

Comment créer un jeu VR ? J'ai hâte de découvrir ce va nous raconter Erwin Eninger sur la direction artistique de Blade & Sorcery chez @warpfrog.bsky.social Il présente le mardi 13 mai chez @atlangames.com. La billetterie est ici : lnkd.in/eBwVhE5P www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdPd...

youtube.com

Blade and Sorcery | Official Update 10 Trailer - The Dungeons Update

YouTube video by The Baron

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 06/05/2025

Who's hiding in the tree? Making levels for Secret Woods is a lot of fun! #indiegame #gamedev

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 24/04/2025

We're adding sticker puzzles to our hidden objects game. I just worked on having a nice intro where the pieces fall. What do you think? #gamedev

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 17/04/2025

Recently I ran a brainstorming workshop for a game about soil health for the Benchmarks EU project. The game is inspired by Reigns, and players make hard decisions and see how they impact the soil. After playing the rough prototype, the participants came up with new cards we can integrate.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 11/04/2025

I had a blast last week showing Secret Woods at the @londongamesfest.bsky.social. Most of the attendees were either streamers, publishers, students, or game devs. So I got to have a lot of fun conversations! Also, who knew that Secret Woods ran on a Steam Deck? I’m impressed!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 08/04/2025

ChatGPT likes me! 😂 Someone wrote on our website asking how to try our game. I figured they had seen Secret Woods at the London Games Festival last week. But when I asked how they heard about us, they wrote: "I ask to chatGPT for educational game on blockchain and it suggested you :)"

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 01/04/2025

Quite a stark contrast at the #GDC bookshop this year! I guess video game culture is evolving. Or is it splitting in two?

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 25/03/2025

I never saw so many game design books in one place as there was at the #GDC shop! I couldn't resist, and bought 2 that I'm sure to love. "Building Simcity" traces the classic city builder and the history of simulation games. "Game Balance" seems to be a bible on this most difficult of subjects.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 14/03/2025

I'm not exactly surprised, but given how often I see people ask ChatGPT questions rather than searching, it is alarming indeed. arstechnica.com/ai/2025/03/a...

arstechnica.com

AI search engines cite incorrect sources at an alarming 60% rate, study says

CJR study shows AI search services misinform users and ignore publisher exclusion requests.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 10/03/2025

Our game Secret Woods was accepted into the London Games Festival!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 10/03/2025

I'll be in London showing off the game, so come by and say hi!

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New Game Plus @newgameplus.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

➕Playable at New Game Plus➕ 🪵 Secret Woods - Play Curious The Moss-t Fascinating Hidden-Object Adventure! A cozy hidden-object game about uncovering the wonders of an old-growth forest. 🎟️tickets.games.london | #LGF25 #NewGamePlus

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 10/03/2025

@stfj.net I have a daily trivia game called Mixstory, and I wonder if it could be a good fit for Puzzmo. If you're at GDC I'd love to meet and get your thoughts. Thanks!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 26/02/2025

Life, the board game, seemed normal at the time, but now it feels more like you're a gangster who held up a bank, kidnapped some kids and is making a run for it.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 13/02/2025

I just got my tickets to my first #GDC! The Game Developers Conference is a huge #gamedev event, with something like 30k people attending. But because it is in San Franc, and it VERY expensive, I’ve never made it over there yet. Until this year! If you’re going too, let me know!

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Doot 🪲🪷 Wishlist Milki Delivery 🐮🚲 @dodoot.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

If you follow game dev, you might know that work conditions in big studios are often awful. To fight this, a French union (STJV) is organizing a global strike and made an incredible bundle to help raise some funds! Minami Lane and Froggy's Battle are both part of it ✊💕 Link ⬇️

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 06/02/2025

I was told that this reflects how the museum business is run. In many museums, apparently, those running the gift shop are completely separate than those running the exhibits.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 06/02/2025

Recently, I went to #MuseumConnections, a trade show for museums that takes place in Paris. Immediately, I noticed that the show floor was divided into two sections- a smaller one for selling equipment and know-how to build exhibits, and a larger one dedicated to gift shops!

A huge lion made of Lego. I kinda forgot why...

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 04/02/2025

If you're a tech person looking for a job, you might want to check out this list. A bunch are remote work... news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4291...

news.ycombinator.com

Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2025) | Hacker News

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 03/02/2025

Here's a 30 second glimpse into Secret Woods, including some new gameplay elements #indiegame #gamedev

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 30/01/2025

The suggestions range from adding out-of-bounds lines, to allowing the ball to bounce, to allowing both players to defend the serve. I’m excited to see what this process results in!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 30/01/2025

The “Roundnet Rules Revolution” brainstormed and analyzed a large number of possible rule changes, with pros and cons for each. They grouped the rules into "packages", and encouraging teams to experiment with them, and give their feedback.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 30/01/2025

So how to fix it? One idea is to look for inspiration into how other ball games deal with serving. In tennis, you can only serve into a small region of the court, and every player gets to serve about the same number of points. Table tennis does the same, but doesn't allow a 2nd serve at all.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 30/01/2025

Players have developed killer techniques. In particular, "cut" serves that spin off to the side are so hard to catch that at the latest men's championship, only about 10% of points were rallies. Instead, most points are either aces or double-faults. The result is a game that’s pretty boring.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 30/01/2025

#Roundnet - When sports meets #gamedev! For the past year-and-a-half I’ve been loving playing Roundnet (aka #Spikeball). It’s a new sport that's evolving quickly. Ironically, this innovation can sometimes lead to the game becoming imbalanced, and losing what made it fun in the first place!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 27/01/2025

Finally, I did check out the Indie Game Zone, where there were a bunch of game demos. Big shoutout to The Telegraphist from @cubepotato.eu - a rhythm game where you tap out Morse Code to stop Russia invading Poland in the post-WWI years. What a cool idea!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 27/01/2025

My schedule was packed, so I didn’t get to see a lot of talks, but I really enjoyed Jarvis Croft’s presentation on the state of indie publishing. The video game industry is under a lot of strain right now, but it’s good to know that at least some projects are going through!

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 27/01/2025

Well @pocketgamercom.bsky.social in London was a real blast! I got to meet with a whole bunch of publishers, scouts, as well as some fellow game developers. For the most part, it was people who I don’t normally get to meet at French events.

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 14/01/2025

Ilyes gave another class for the ESSEC Finance master last week using Blockchain Battle, and the students continue to find it an exciting way to learn about an otherwise tedious topic. Go game-based learning! 4/4

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 14/01/2025

This choice might have handicapped us from a business perspective, because we didn’t ride the crypto bubble a few years back. But on the other hand, perhaps it helped the class stand the test of time, as all the topics we discussed are still pertinent and accurate today. 3/4

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Jesse Himmelstein @heavenstone.net · 14/01/2025

We don’t talk about how to make money from betting on crypto at all. While we do talk about future applications, we didn’t preach some kind of inevitable web3/NFT/metaverse revolution. In other words, we focus on the complex and abstract parts, and make them exciting in their own right! 2/4

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