iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ian Holstead @ianholstead.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

And to be clear, 0 shade to Ghost, it's awesome to see something you made enjoyed enough to be translated to another game!

000

Ian Holstead @ianholstead.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Oh hey, that looks familiar! (it's very similar to the missile reversal skill I made for Assassin's Creed Valhalla) youtu.be/IbSRS-nPo9Q?... I actually wrote a dev blog on the creation of that ability! www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/a...

youtu.be

Missile Reversal

YouTube video by Ian Holstead

210

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Vision Zero Vancouver @visionzerovancouver.ca · 03/10/2026

We tried to do something in Vancouver but ABC voted it down. They put cars over children. Oh by the way it's the first day of early voting and the sun is shining ☀️

318244

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Len @len.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Folding Obsidian into Bethesda really demonstrates how interchangeable we all are to the money people. Who cares about studio culture or identity, right? If I put tuna on a meatball sub I can eat two sandwiches at once.

3681188

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Mike Bithell @mikebithell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Videogame CEOs, consider the exciting opportunities afforded you by shutting the fuck up.

261726271

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Brie @briechindeyerle.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Louder for people in the back, "Art has throughput and quality bars. Engineering has velocity, defect rates, build health. QA has coverage and escape rates. Production has burndowns and forecasts... The decision layer has status updates." www.productionalchemist.com/p/inever-see...

productionalchemist.com

I Have Never Seen a Game Fail Because the Artists Were Too Slow

AI is optimising the cheapest part of production

418362

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Chequered Ink @chequered.ink · 25/07/2026

We have literally just gone on image flip and made like 7 of these because we A) need money B) want you to have 1200 fonts for commercial use for just $19 ci.itch.io/all-fonts-pack

The car veering off the highway meme. The left road is AI GENERATED TEXT, the right road is 1200 COOL-ASS FONTS, the car is veering right and has the caption: YOU, I HOPE.

3934951553

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Esper Quinn 💠 @esper.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

happy pride month shout out to my aro/ace friends. their plight is the same as anyone else in the LGBTQ+ spectrum; understanding and acceptance of their existence, and we are stronger by fighting that fight together. by far some of the kindest, sharpest, most vibrant people i know.

310229

Reposted by Ian Holstead

chelsea bridge 🩸 @secretaboutbox.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

IF YOU SEE THIS CLOSE THE TAB IMMEDIATELY this is a trick to install malware on your machine. it is not a real captcha system.

11292006631

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

slate.com

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

253133929734

Reposted by Ian Holstead

COYOTE @coyotemedia.org · 26/03/2026

New today: @reveleth.com has spent over 10 years obsessed with so-called “gender verification” tests. Proponents claim they have history and science on their side. They don’t. www.coyotemedia.org/the-olympics...

coyotemedia.org

The Olympics Has a New Sex Testing Policy. The Evidence Doesn’t Add Up

I’ve spent over 10 years obsessed with so-called “gender verification” tests. Proponents claim they have history and science on their side. They don’t.

1213116

Reposted by Ian Holstead

François Arias @paco15.eurosky.social · 05/03/2026

Mandatory :

3735236

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Tommy Thompson @tommy.aiandgames.com · 21/02/2026

Spent a whole issue of @aiandgames.com last month ripping these surveys apart. Everyone from AI providers to GDC like to pretend they represent the voice of the industry. All of them talk out their ass and over-inflate their worth. www.aiandgames.com/p/separating...

aiandgames.com

Separating Truth from Fiction in AI Surveys | 21/01/26

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.

1205

Reposted by Ian Holstead

keilan irvine @keiframes.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Absolutely and utterly tragic loss. My sincere condolences to Vince’s family and friends, as well as to the others in the accident who didn’t make it. This is heart wrenching.

081

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Anna 🌿👁️ @annacwebs.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I gotta hand it to whatever advertising firm Informa hired to make these, there really is something almost poetic about GDC's advertising being "an AI-looking depiction of an industry staple being destroyed with no clear elaboration of what comes after." Masterclass in unintentionally nailing it.

6714131

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Alanah Pearce @alanahpearce.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

I realized I’ve been sort of mourning the internet lately. It’s odd. This ‘place’ that used to contain a wealth of actually valuable information, and introduced me to many people I now call friends, and which paved the way for my career, has almost completely rotted away. It’s not coming back.

492289390

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Old DeuTaranomy🧶⚒️ @kindofstrange.com · 30/09/2025

Bloody hell, well played

237858

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Jacob Janerka @jacobjanerka.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

The WORST thing about getting published by Devolver is that we had to get rid of this

253239828

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Jay Stevens @jaystevens.me · 01/09/2025

Gamedev peeps! You should go give Soupy a follow! Fantastic designer from OG Infinity Ward/Respawn; he made Rust in COD MW2 (2009), he made Into the Abyss (the factory level) in Titanfall 2 (among other things), he's done a GDC talk (youtu.be/CkHGuHd9BgU), and he somehow has under 100 followers here

youtu.be

Designing Unforgettable Titanfall Single Player Levels with Action Blocks

YouTube video by Game Developers Conference

2197

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Liz Edwards @lizaledwards.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

i mean they can change what they want it's just weird to give he fangs out of nowhere

screenshot of alter's game model showing her regular teeth

4122

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Liz England @lizardengland.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

GDC talk submissions are open and just wanted to point out to people that if you were planning to apply to talk at a summit (like indie summit, narrative summit, tools summit, etc.) that there's only one call for submissions now and it's only open for a month: gdconf.com/gdc-call-for...

29959

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Eric | Nobody Crown @nobodycrown.com · 24/06/2025

introducing the "puzzle compass," a certifiably correct and statistically proven chart of my infallible opinion what games need added? let me know, because i am the authority on this purely objective study #gamedev #indiedev #indiegames #gamestudies

A four-zone chart used to place puzzle video games, where one axis is "use of normal logic is legal" to "divorce yourself from reality" and the other is "just keep your eyes open" to "gotta galaxy brain that shit." There are also colored blobs that paint different sectors of the chart, including "feel stupid zone," "how the fuck zone," "satisfaction zone," "classic zone," "easy-going zone," and "mind blown zone."

971067253

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Aura @aurahack.ca · 16/06/2025

Windblown fully went under my radar because I saw it was early access and did the usual "I'll wait 'till 1.0" thing, which also caused me to miss that a) Danger did the OST b) it's less a soundtrack and more a new original album. it BANGS

youtube.com

9:22 Bully Ballad

YouTube video by Danger - Topic

1211310

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Alexa Ray Corriea @alexaray.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

I left this studio in the spring but this still feels so fucking bad. Some of the most talented people I have ever worked with were at this studio. If you want some truly incredible designers, engineers, programmers on your team, consider the folks from Cliffhanger.

3438108

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Dominic Tarason @dominictarason.com · 17/05/2025

Seriously, do not buy, stream, or otherwise support of promote more Harry Potter bullshit. It is no longer theoretical - Rowling is funelling those wizard bucks into getting the law changed to actively oppress an already-vulnerable minority.

4049042213

Ian Holstead @ianholstead.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

Some of the skins... Take some artistic liberty 😅

010

Ian Holstead @ianholstead.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

The tail isn't a part of her. I believe we described it 'rolling up like a tape measure' inside the little pack. It's controlled by the antenna/head piece. If you look closely on the original skin, has wires that run down to the tail. Close ups if you haven't seen them www.ea.com/games/apex-l...

ea.com

Cosplay Guide - Alter

220

Reposted by Ian Holstead

りと @ritom.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿😈💚🩷 実装して1年ですね！ #ApexLegendsFanart #ApexLegends

1399

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Catherine McKenna @cathmckenna.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Exercise your right to vote today, Canadians! Own your democracy! 🇨🇦🗳️

201124291879

Ian Holstead @ianholstead.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

My 2025 GDC talk has been posted to the vault! I'm quite proud of how it turned out, and hope that any gameplay engineer could take something away from it! If you have vault access, check it out! gdcvault.com/play/1035276...

gdcvault.com

GDC Vault

061

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Andrew Weldon @andrew-weldon.design · 19/04/2025

Imagine Ben shows up at your studio's door with one of the most staggering digital art portfolios in games, and it falls apart because someone wants him feeding the AI prompt mines instead of, you know, making actual art. Clown town.

221047

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Sarah Cawkwell @skullqueen.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

My son works for this company here in the U.K. It was playing the video game ‘Deus Ex’ that set him on the path to becoming a Biomechanical Engineer. Sometimes, it’s nice to highlight the good things that video games can do. And also remind myself just how proud of him I am.

3845761196

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

A true heater 48 hours for The Onion, in my unbiased opinion.

212221193321

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Lotus 🤎🧡🤍🩷❤️ @lotusloveslotus.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

hey so uh one of the main Nintendo Switch 2 Direct streams completely ate our trailer due to I guess technical difficulties?? so if you guys could share this it would mean a lot 😅

5441802671

Reposted by Ian Holstead

| c a s e y | 🦇🖤 @caseroos.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Nessie is here to say: TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

181

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Slothy @slothy.com · 29/03/2025

It’s wild to me that the most useful thing - debugging code - is wildly out of reach for AI but these hucksters keep saying bigger and bigger promises. Do your engineers spend more time typing new code or debugging?

3133

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Tobbee ── .✦ @toffeebit.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

POV: you are the last slice of cheesecake in the fridge.

210627

Reposted by Ian Holstead

Dominic Tarason @dominictarason.com · 22/03/2025

The AC shrine 'controversy' is absolutely unhinged. Gamergaters managed to convince a crank Japanese politician to ask 'Wouldn't it be fucked up if people were inspired by games to destroy real life shrines?' and the prime minister replied 'Yeeeees???' and Ubisoft panic-patch in invulnerable shrines

12785147

Ian Holstead @ianholstead.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Coding up the exodia logic was pretty tough, but I think the payoff was worth it

050

Ian Holstead @ianholstead.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Thank you! Navmesh enjoyers unite!

010