iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

the woke agenda took Botox Marcus Fenix from us

Gears of War Game Informer Magazine cover featuring yassified Marcus Fenix and a locust

Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 29/09/2026

been watching the floor for weeks and couldn’t spot @danryckert.com. We’re like five episodes in and have rewinded so many times thinking we spotted him. We’ve been watching the wrong damn season.

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 23/09/2026

Anything from Olly Moss. As far as I know he's still working at Valve these days

olly moss' return of the jedi movie poster

Olly Moss' lord of the rings trilogy movie print featuring the broken Elvish blade, Narsil, the hilt of which looks like the eye of sauron

a gritty, mostly-monochrome print of Howl's Moving Castle with a bright red hand-drawn Kanji font

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 18/09/2026

mom found pictures of the gorilla costume she made me out of feathers for Halloween in ‘96

An old photo of me wearing a gorilla costume made of black feathers as a kid

Old photo of me posing with my aunt (left) and mom (right) while wearing a homemade gorilla costume. There’s a SEGA genesis box on the floor in the background

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 15/09/2026

happy to be home with my little lady

My grey tuxedo tabby cat named Hazel, resting on my leg (not pictured) that’s covered by a knitted blanket.

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 12/09/2026

was waiting for an interview at BlizzCon and LE SSERAFIM came outta nowhere and suddenly a crowd swarmed us lmao

LE SSERAFIM posing in front of a BlizzCon backdrop for a media photo opp

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 22/08/2026

always sad to leave them… Gamescom bound. I’ll be around Cologne all week. If you see me, say hi! If you confuse me with @seamoosi.bsky.social I’ll forgive you

My wife holding our cat to snuggle and he looks trapped

My grey tabby cat Hazel resting on a chair in the sun

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 20/08/2026

I usually don’t share my songs on here (mostly use Instagram for that) but why not here’s a little [unpolished] song I started writing last night: “Orbit”

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 17/08/2026

imported the Osmo Pocket 4 Pro 🙏🏻

DJI Osmo pocket 4 packaging with Chinese printed on the box

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 13/08/2026

Weird way to say you laid off the entire team @restart.run, especially after they had just finished covering SDCC for you

Screenshot of Restart’s blog post titled “What’s next for Restart.” The highlighted text is an excerpt from the larger piece, stating, “The daily desk is winding down and the team that ran it is moving on to other things.”

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 08/08/2026

Jesse’s Layoff Sub-A-Thon is entering Day 2 after being featured on the Twitch front page overnight!! What started as a joke has become a real possibility: @mamavitelli.bsky.social is halfway to the Top 1000 streamer spot!! TUNE IN & SUB: Twitch.tv/MamaVitelli

Screenshot of twitch app showing MamaVitelli streaming Dead by Daylight to 129

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 06/08/2026

listening to peak 2011 today

Album art for La Dispute's "Wildlife" album

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 03/08/2026

We can finally talk about Big Walk by House House? Yay! Finished it a week ago, late at night with dear friends after an exhausting week of caretaking IRL. It’s a delight from front to back and a must-play for puzzle fans or people with friends GG @seamoosi.bsky.social @mamavitelli.bsky.social

A screenshot of my character in Big Walk holding up Jesse’s dead character (he DC’d) above the ocean waves

A screenshot of Big Walk’s island. In the foreground my character is holding a blue Walkie Talkie

Sitting on top of a rock watching a sunset with Eric (right) and Jesse (left)

Following Jesse and Eric up a hill at nighttime in Big Walk. Eric’s character is carrying a glowing orb light above his head

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 02/08/2026

I need more friends to follow on LetterBoxd boxd.it/3jOPp

A screenshot of my letterboxd account.

Favorites: Spirited Away, Parasite, Lord of the Rings, Crazy Rich Asians

Recent Activity:
The Drama (4/5 stars)
The Odyssey (5/5 stars)
The Invite (4.5/ 5 stars)
Marty Supreme (3.5/5 stars)

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 29/07/2026

I’ve only got time for one TCG in my life so I’m trying to offload the bulk of my Pokémon collection. If you’re looking for any cards from 2015-2023 lmk :)

Sushi rolls, fried rice; and miso soup on a table with Pokémon cards strewn atop a pen and paper with prices written down

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 28/07/2026

hoping to get a few “hell yeahs”

a picture of my desk with my two pc monitors browsing Steam new and trending and next to my keyboard is a to-go container of corn, potatoes, and chicken tenders

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 24/07/2026

Met to this peaceful little friend today

An orange cat laying in the sunlight amidst the grass and plants that populate a fence line

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 22/07/2026

Back home in Virginia and I see memories everywhere. I rented a fake copy of The Last of Us in 2013 from this gas station’s Red Box and it bricked my PS3

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 18/07/2026

This book is a must-read for anyone covering games professionally. I have been reading it from the perspective of a hobbyist game dev but it has also allowed me to better connect with devs in press interviews Get a top-down view of the game development pipeline from start to finish

“A playful production process” by Richard Lemarchand

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 16/07/2026

they’re gonna drop the best Luxe Box we’ve seen

The Washington post google result: “Authorities investigate Taco Bell and lettuce as cyclosporiasis […]”

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 13/07/2026

I guess this is my aesthetic

A series of music pedals, an ableton push 3 standalone, a steam deck, and rollercoaster tycoon classic

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 13/07/2026

Wilson fell asleep with his toys 😭😭

Wilson sleeping in his cat bed surrounded by dozens of toys

Black and white Siberian cat laying in a plush bed with various toys

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 09/07/2026

Headed to Gamescom + Gamescom Dev in August. Please email me (see bio) with any press opps, general pitches, or invites to get coffee or Kölsch 🥨

gamescom press ticket snippet for Alex Van Aken / Game Informer

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 06/07/2026

Looking for recommendations on new games from small teams that have flown under the radar this year? Ideally less than 1,000 Steam reviews Examples: Don't Let It Starve, Dunecrawl, Titanium Court

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 02/07/2026

Well that’s a pretty great Collector Booster pack

Holo foils of the Marvel Magic the Gathering set including The Kingpin of Crime, Tony Stark, and two copies of Wolverine, Best There Is (one foil, one non foil)

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 30/06/2026

I really like how my hand-painted leaves turned out. the nice thing is my game camera is going to be zoomed out so I can make several variations / LODs for small vegetation and larger tree leaves

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 19/06/2026

we’ve been making clay MTG tokens at home and the latest is a poison counter

A clay sculpt of a purple vial that is corked but dripping green ooze. Two bones form an X on the bottle

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 16/06/2026

had a great game in Meccha Chameleon tonight

screenshot from Meccha Chameleon where I curled up in a horse statue's mane and painted myself to look like the marbled texture

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 15/06/2026

Thank you thank you thank you @chrisbratt.bsky.social, Anni, and @itsquinns.bsky.social for this incredible experience. ❤️

A wide angle photo of my camera rig filming Jerry, an 84-year-old man wearing a sweater and knitting a garment. The walls of his house are decorated in colorful fans

A photo of one of the custom cards powering Jerry’s Map. It is covered in color and doodles with a few instructions: “28,” “new seed sheet,” “scan,” “map paint”

A rooster on a farm awkwardly posed next to two wood hatchets stuck in a stump

A photo from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Jerry, Quinns, Chris, and Meg are walking along the sandy dune as the sun sets

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 03/06/2026

Finished @gameinformer.com's animated Summer Game Fest stinger just in time! Today is packing day. 😴

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 30/05/2026

WE’RE SEEING PHOEBE FUCKING BRIDGERS

Kayla and i’s Phoebe Bridgers ticket wristbands #339 and #340

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 30/05/2026

woke up and drove 90 minutes to Eau Claire for a chance to see Phoebe Bridgers tonight! I *think* we made it under the ticket cap. There’s probably 600+ in line

Phoebe Bridgers FAQ sheet from Eau Claire, WI show

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 29/05/2026

Love Island US AND Love Island UK are airing simultaneously this summer. Both start next week and I’m trying to fit them into my Summer Game Fest schedule

Ariana Maddox standing in front of a few singles playing in the ocean. A heart-shaped sun is behind her

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Alex Van Aken @itsvanaken.games · 20/05/2026

was digging the diegetic / personified camera orb in Motorslice and then realized the orb is the protagonist’s horndog companion

Motorslice screenshot showing the protagonist and her robot companion / camera “slacking off” in an arid abandoned city

Motorslice screenshot of the protagonist looking out at a massive, empty city

Motorslice screenshot of the protagonist stretching while idle in front of the camera robot

Motorslice screenshot wherein the camera / player is praising the protagonist for finding weird holes. “Are you done spelunking?” And “You are a good girl for finding this!” Are the two dialogue options. The protagonist is bent over, rear to camera, inspecting the holes

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