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Jesse V

@jessev.bsky.social
274 followers 219 following 765 posts

Writer, Game Designer, sometimes authority figure. I’ve been a journalist, a publisher, a producer, a designer, and more. Attractions, alt controllers, audio games, films, etc. These days I teach at USC Games. Cohost @everydamnframe

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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Every couple at a Ghost concert be like:
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Ha! My mom didn’t let me rent Brave Little Toaster after All Dogs go to Heaven. But she did accidentally imstead rent a movie for her Star Wars droid loving child that honestly she should have known better about
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The books of John Bellairs with art by Edward Gorey. Just unbelievable terror when you least expect it. Where Goosebumps went big and obvious these books went subtle and full of dread in deeply fucked up ways.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Every now and then it’s important to remember that life can be good with surprisingly little.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I’m teaching a new class this fall and I wasn’t sure if I was really nailing it all summer but I think this class is gonna be good after all.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I muted the audio because it’s mostly a click track, but here’s a sample run through the alpha 1 milestone. Still needs tons of tuning and visual polish, and a ton of audio work but for a one button game I’m building in a hotel room I’m pretty enthused about this as a creative project.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
One button arcade game about being a sysadmin defending from Gibsonian cyberspace icebreakers-using Godot for the first time, building it in my hotel room while teaching my workshop. It’s using vector art but runs in a sophisticated music system I designed so secretly everything happens on the BEAT
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I am doing my own assignment in the hotel room just to prove I’m not a monster and it’s possible to make a fun game using only one button that can accomplish a simple experience goal. I rolled “just one more game” and “you are a giant eyeball” and brainstormed some ideas in front of my shy class.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
I made this in the hotel room for the workshop attendees. Hi, by the way, I’m in Beijing. I used Google translate on the text until my student assistants get here to fix it. If it’s wrong please forgive me, native speakers will adjust it before it is deployed. If it’s hilarious please tell me.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
I’m teaching a design workshop for the next two weeks and we’re starting by building this controller. I know. But just wait. I think some remarkable things will come from designing for this controller.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
So it turns out our old podcast hosting service and its AI helper were LYING to me and gaslighting me deeply about whether or not they were compressing and altering the audio I uploaded even to their own AI’s specifications. I spend this morning migrating us and finally had proof. 1 is RIVERSIDE.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Seeing both trailers back to back before Spider-Man I think we were wrong to call it #DunesDay when we could clearly be calling it #PughsDay
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I am currently waiting in line to be allowed to use the @amctheatres.bsky.social app for anything at all. I am given to understand this is Christopher Nolan’s fault? www.yahoo.com/entertainmen... But I don’t care about that movie. I just wanted to use my A-List today on my only afternoon off
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
You know… I haven’t auditioned for anything in ages. I think that means I’ve got a lot of good auditioning saved up. My usual song is from Little Shop, do we think that works?
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Some quick highlights from what’s likely 80+ games at the #USCGames expo, these ones I taught and mentored and they did so much work out of class to get them show-ready
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
I still need to add some sound, but as a stage prop this is ridiculous. I’m so pleased all my stupid life skills have made me an awesome dad who gets to stage a theatrical adaptation of an incredibly influential film in my life.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Once again going a little too hard on directing and staging the elementary school play.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
FWIW I believe Welles didn’t intend to hoax but hoped it was going to sound convincing. Listen to his non-apology at the conclusion of the episode and you can hear his smirk, also seen here: c8.alamy.com/comp/HD1TGR/...
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Google AI summary taking me at my word:
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Me, fighting my own SA telling a student to use better LLM prompting to fix a problem in their GenAI broken ass code instead of the $15 plugin I’ve been using since 2009, which has been used in work for fucking theme parks which always just fucking works.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
So. Uh. I am literally spending my day canceling subscriptions to things I don’t need for basic survival.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Quick stupid update. My vending machine lives and I’m already very pleased with the *magic trick* I’m gonna do with the display.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
This already rocks. I can now scan objects into my vending machine by scanning their upc code.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Look at this cool ass vending machine and know that I am already in Unity laying out a cursed vending machine. I’ve also ordered $250 worth of hardware. Where the hell did I put the barcode scanner I bought? (This mania brought to you by finally feeling creatively viable again)
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I like how all of the animals in this shot are checking to see if you, the reader, also feel like the AP should have workshopped that headline
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Hey. Genuinely could use some help. It’s the middl of the night here in Los Angeles. I’m listening to the rain outside and I can’t sleep because I can’t stop thinking about the many good games my alt control/attractions/arcade games class have been whiteboarding. Here’s what I need help with: 🧵
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Timeline cleanse: today I saw corgis race.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
First playtest of alpha 2 with the 10 year old. I literally designed, built, and fabricated a one of a kind custom toy just to feel any joy or purpose in 2026. Two rotary encoders, 77 RGB LEDs, an Arduino uno, and (coming) one speaker and one battery pack. Lots of refining to do, BUT it’s Fun!
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Actually! Got some decay on the “ball” spin and I can now hit it back and forth (still need to tune it and feedback it and implement the rest of the game. But what playground pastime am I building a 1979 throwback electronic game version of?
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Pretty good progress. The game progresses.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Actually, OpenAI, when you say “You Can Just Build” let me tell you the building is kinda the hard part. I’d vastly prefer you come do all the tedious soldering and let me write my own damn novel.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Here we go again.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Controls mostly work. I think the FEEDBACK COULD BE BETTER? I might want to design a different knob that shows the LED position better
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Need to up the infill on the knob to make it more opaque. But I’m mostly pleased with the setup.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Knob. Lightning. Test fit
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Welp! Finding the one tiny little error causing the short circuit meant even more fiddly soldering, but I did manage a success, and I have code that correctly jumps to the inner ring at the same spot each time
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Man I hope I didn’t mess that up because that was awful
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Version 2 ! Everything fits slightly better. And the lens snaps pleasingly into place. Unfortunately the next step is some extremely fiddly soldering that I am not looking forward to.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I’m building some “new retro” electronic portable games, like from the pre-screens era of the 70s and early 80s. As a thee I’m designing them based on playground games. The first one was tug-o-war, with dueling pressure sensors. This one will be tetherball.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Welp. It took forever and I got really freaking close, but not enough room for batteries, need to re-engineer the lens, move some stuff around for stability. But at least I nailed all the measurements and the screw placement. Power switch fits perfect too!
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Nailed it. A short 22 hours to print the top. Sigh.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Technically this is a 14 day project but the dead printer put us on a 2 week hiatus
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
The problem with wanting to do things The Right Way from now on… is it’s hard and takes more time.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Ooooh the problem was a crummy one! Cracked housing deep in the ams was the root of all problems. I was gonna scream two hours ago and now I feel like a Real Man Who Fixed a Thing! And then I 3D printed a part to fix it the next time it cracks.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Brief pause on the project because the 3D printer needed some serious maintenance. Replacing/repairing all four filament feeders.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I saw many good animals at the San Diego zoo this weekend, but check out this JC Penny ass senior graduation photo I took of a tiger.
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Jesse STOP you have so much other more important work to do
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Continued progress on the housing. I’m trying trying trying to think this through as a proper toy design exercise including how to keep the wiring as nice as possible
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Jesse V @jessev.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
End of work session progress
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