iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Jacob Vela

Studio Vela- STAR RIFT SAGA is available now! @studiovela.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Star Rift Saga is part of the Indie Adventure Collection with Ollie and the Merchant of Dreams by @lavadropeu.bsky.social, DigitaZeon and Into the Underdusk! You can get 4 games by small developers at a discount through the bundle.

store.steampowered.com

Save 24% on Indie Adventure Collection on Steam

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Rad. Happy to see this come together. It's a really good publisher-developer/game fit. I've had fun every time I've played Haunted Attractions, and it's come a long way.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Had another moment of the AI summaries being really terrible and making you check the sources. Wanted to know if Granblue Fantasy Versus had performance issues on Switch 2. Turns out it was pulling from sources talking about Granblue Fantasy Relink, a different game.

Google search AI Summary for "granblue fantasy versus rising switch 2 performance"
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising on the Nintendo Switch 2 targets stable performance with a locked 30 FPS or optimized fighting fidelity, featuring exclusive motion controls and full crossplay.Performance and Visual FeaturesFrame Rate: Runs smoothly at a locked 30 FPS during matches, prioritizing stability and visual fidelity over higher frame rates.Visual Quality: Delivers high-resolution artwork and character models comparable to base home console versions, with clean image quality in both handheld and docked modes.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

After years of being told that my own game reminds people of Mega Man, I finally played one to the end. (MM11)

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Excited to be on the podcast again! I can't give any specific advice, but I'm happy to discuss general information or just whatever oddities you may have heard about.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This was the original 2026 BlizzCon announcement. It has a Storm. Various voices of characters from Blizzard games. "Legends gather together." "What was lost can be found again." A vaguely hexagonal shape in the ground. At this point it's downright cruel if they're not doing anything with HOTS.

youtube.com

BlizzCon | Announce Trailer

YouTube video by Blizzard Entertainment

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Oh no. Don't give me false hope for Heroes of the Storm. Not right now. Please be real.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I just did a presentation where the topic was covered, and this was pretty much my conclusion. I would advise any developer against gen AI for assets, it's just not worth it. The contracts I draft for clients already call out its use, and it's becoming increasingly common to see at all sizes.

gamesradar.com

Echoing Palworld dev, video game lawyer says all her clients have anti-AI contracts because gamers hate it and it's a copyright landmine: "I think we're going to see lawsuits"

"Don't touch it. It's not worth the legal liability"

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

"Man, I have so many appointments today" I say as if those appointments aren't chatting with game developers about their projects and helping them, in the best legal job ever.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I think that there are solutions, but the concepts of "open world" games would initially seem to be at odds with the ideas of gated progression as Metroid does it. Especially when you tell the developers that it has to be like BOTW and TOTK. Hence, cursed concept versus bad execution.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The bike sections aren't the worst on their own, but I do think they create cascading issues that amplify other rough spots of the game. It's really no different from flying to other planets in MP3. It's funny though, the ending didn't stick out to me as bad (gameplay anyway) as much as MP3's.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

I've run into this. Something about caching or something.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

3D Metroidvania isn't the design challenge- that's been done. The challenge is the idea of an open world MV since the devs were tied to the large open world concept by Nintendo. What I wonder is if there's a way to pull it off like that. Having the areas be more connected is a start.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

They're a bit of a trek up from Salem, but worth it.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

I think that there are lessons to be learned and things that can be done to pull the concept off, so I hope they get a chance to do Metroid Prime 5 before too much longer.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

MP4 has me stumped. Is the concept of an open world metroidvania in the sense of driving between destinations with a large open area just flawed, or is the implementation of it here just bad? Because that's definitely the weakest part of the game, but I don't know that it can't be pulled off.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Anyway, the best kind of networking is the kind where I get to play games, and I'm grateful to have such a cool job and hobby and to have PIG Squad nearby.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

There were a bunch more that I either saw, or played and couldn't drop them all. Very cool stuff. Anyway, congratulations to @pigsquad.com on a successful con. Here's to many more years to come. Excited to see how this evolves. Going to take this motivation and make progress on my own next game.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Another honorable mention that I didn't get a chance to play but have in the past, Retromine is a game about deckbuilding, mining, and in my experience losing to your own hubris. @ccdigital.bsky.social told me that the new version emphasizes risk/reward more, so hubris is coming for me.

store.steampowered.com

Retromine on Steam

Retromine is an ultra-satisfying tough-as-nails deckbuilding roguelike. Delve into the caves, mine resources, and escape before the caverns collapse! Spend your ore to buy new cards, upgrade your deck...

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Honorable mentions that I didn't sit down with: I've played Bun G Bop before (and broke it, physics be wild when you have two players and a bungee cord) but didn't this time, but I could not get over just how nice this one looked on a CRT. @kyecaven.bsky.social is doing fun stuff with this one.

store.steampowered.com

Bun G Bop on Steam

An online/local 2-player co-op platformer about bungee cord wielding buns climbing and tagging industrial sites. Duos of all skill levels can have a good time in this low-stakes casual game.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

In the Alt Control section, people brought some games with unusual controllers. I got pictures here of a 1 dimensional game on an LED strip with a wobbly rod, pressure sensitive squishy button ghost pong, and one with switches and a button by @nextlevelbanana.online that triggered nuclear war a lot.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Checkmage by @oleogustus.itch.io is a deckbuilding chess game that already made me think about clever combinations of pieces and spells. I don't envy having to create a chess engine that can do all that it does, but it outplayed me occasionally.

store.steampowered.com

Checkmage! on Steam

A chess-based strategy game with casual deckbuilding elements. Build your deck by trading cards and battling lovable, hand-drawn characters.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I'm liking what Devil Lift by @oi.games is offering in terms of gameplay, and am really interested in checking out the tag-team deckbuilder when the UI is more complete. That's hard to get right, but the core is there already and it stylish.

store.steampowered.com

Devil Lift on Steam

Demon hunting is a day job in Devil Lift, a tag battle roguelike deckbuilder. Play as the Lilith Society, a group of underpaid and overworked demon hunters as they protect humanity from the Archbeasts...

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

@petalcrash.com Petal Crash 2, like the best puzzle games, is simple to understand but also gives me the feeling of not being smart enough to wrap my head around the big combos, but also making it so that I can see where I could get good. Going to have to see what high-level play looks like.

store.steampowered.com

Petal Crash 2 on Steam

The freshest in arcade puzzle action blossoms again! Crash blocks together into dazzling chain reactions in a puzzle like no other - now completely refreshed with refined gameplay, arcade graphics, br...

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Haunted attractions by @evanegibbs.bsky.social is coming along nicely and is coming to Steam at some point. It scratches that number go up part of my brain just enough, and has a relaxing board game feel, which makes sense given Evan's past works in tabletop. Interested in seeing the full game.

store.steampowered.com

Haunted Attractions on Steam

Build haunted theme parks and supervise ghosts in this cozy afterlife sim. Construct fun attractions, manage resources, recruit cute ghosts and haunt the park in order to spook and delight the guests!

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Every time I play Snakewitch by @yellowsriracha.bsky.social it comes a little farther. I really like the general direction of being a classic style Castlevania-like but actually feeling good to control. Ever since the controls were improved, I've felt so capable every time.

store.steampowered.com

SNAKEWITCH on Steam

The action-packed tale of the exiled SNAKEWITCH. Swing and strike your way through cursed areas, battling monsters and freeing possessed creatures along the way. With your snake companion, break into ...

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

I went to PIG Con by @pigsquad.com this weekend. (My firm was even a sponsor!) I spent almost the entire time on Saturday on the show floor playing games and talking to the developers. Here's some of the highlights of what I got to check out.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

I had a good time with this, and the game itself became unhinged at just the right pace. Switches felt good to flip. Atomic warfare became inevitable, I tried.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

You got breaks at PRGE? (They did do a good job of making sure that we could get food and get a break, it was just always a busy day regardless.)

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Most of the team that you work with works hard during the project to remove bugs. Meanwhile you are out here actively adding bugs to the soundtrack. Apologize for nothing.

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Reposted by Jacob Vela

The Wyndfinder @catlordgames.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

The Wyndfinder is now Coming Soon on Steam! Would be so thankful if you would consider adding it to your Wishlist, and sharing with your friends! #indiedev #gamedev And, I mean, the art by @teammlcstudio.bsky.social . My goodness! store.steampowered.com/app/4671110/...

store.steampowered.com

The Wyndfinder on Steam

The Wyndfinder is a party-based CRPG inspired by the classics. Create your Wyndfinder, choose from nine unique characters to join your party, and answer the question: If the heroes of old become the v...

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

It also shouldn't be taken to the extreme of removing all mechanical execution. It's a problem when some games emphasize mechanical execution to the detriment of strategic choice, especially at lower skill levels where the need to emphasize strategy over execution is highest.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Good points. A multiplayer game is as hard as your opponent, one game or genre is not inherently harder than any other, it just emphasizes different skills. A lot of this is very applicable to fighting games.

youtube.com

There are no hard multiplayer games

YouTube video by The fog is your friend

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Reposted by Jacob Vela

Portland Indie Game Squad @pigsquad.com · 12/05/2026

We were on KOIN 6 AM Extra this morning to talk about PIGCON! Lots of little shoutouts in here :) www.koin.com/am-extra/gam...

Will Lewis from PIGSquad sits with hosts Emily Burris & Mia Villanueva of KOIN 6 News AM Extra to talk about PIGCON, the Portland Indie Game Convention.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

I have finished Expedition 33. Game is good, go play it. I say that as someone who really doesn't enjoy most RPGs, even the ones I know are very good. If you have friends who are playing it, check in on them from time to time to make sure they're okay emotionally.

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Reposted by Jacob Vela

👊 Super Salem Fighters @salemfighters.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Thanks to everyone who made it out today! #SF6 🥇 @jacobvela.bsky.social 🥈Crocoswine 🥉Oma #2XKO 🥇 @jaxas.bsky.social 🥈 @jaredtheho.bsky.social 🥉 @jacobvela.bsky.social #KOF13 🥇Bahn Yuki 🥈 @tarrakhawes.bsky.social 🥉Orochi Clark 🎥 www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... See you next time!

youtube.com

May 9th, 2026 | SSF Saturday! - YouTube

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

If I tried to do work for a client that I didn't know how to do but gaslit them into believing that it was done right it would be malpractice. When the machine does it it's emerging technology and acceptable.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

One of the big dangers of generative AI isn't that it's bad at tasks, it's that it pretends to not be bad at those tasks and then gaslights with so much confidence that people believe that it can in fact do those things. When you have people increasingly relying on it you run into problems.

youtube.com

ChatGPT rates the song I made

YouTube video by FatherPhi

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

My wife referred to a "diss track" as a "defamation song," and I don't know if that reflects more on her or me.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I tried it. It had some cool ideas. I disagree with the complaints that it was too complicated, it was clear what you were supposed to do. It was a neat core game. I think most of my personal issues with the game boiled down to a simple "it is a shooter" and everything that comes with that.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I wish that there was more room in the current game landscape for games to be moderate successes instead of either massive games or shutting down. I am a bit disappointed to see the internet dunking/memeing on this (or any) game though, if only because I know that people worked hard on it.

gameinformer.com

Highguard Is Shutting Down For Good Next Week

The troubled siege shooter's short life is coming to an end.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

I have been saying for years that Castlevania has to be one of the easiest franchises to resurrect. Literally just give it to some indie studio that's capable and let them cook. In that same thought, I've also said that Evil Empire/Motion Twin is the single most obvious pick to do it.

youtube.com

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse - Official Announcement Trailer

YouTube video by GameSpot

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

I have genuinely tried to get generative AI to help me do things for work. But it gets so much wrong and is so confident about what it gets wrong. This is in things that it should be very good at. The best way to see that LLMs really aren't that great is to ask it about something you know about.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

This also highlights why so many live service games seem to close these days. They directly compete with each other for time even if they're in different genres, and it's hard for players to maintain too many in a rotation.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

It's a good way of looking at it. While I do think that looking at the "video game industry" as a single thing can be useful in some places, it's not as much when you're looking at what is competing with your game for their player's time.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Having seen you help and guide people with their projects, I'd argue you're more of a "resource" card than "tool."

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Unfortunate cropability. (But we do love some Retromine around here!)

A picture of Merlin in green with the label "tool".

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I've thought about this, and I tend to think that the best spectator games are the ones that are fun to watch even if you don't know the rules, you can grasp the goal immediately. This does make tabletop games harder in this specific thing, since the feedback is slower and more rulesey.

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Jacob Vela @jacobvela.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Support your local tournament organizers. (by inflicting unnecessary distress to the ones that are fans of Metroid like @jaxas.bsky.social)

JazzHands: Mackenzie for Smash
Jaxas: Delete This

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