iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

It's estimated between 20-25% of people dislike mayonnaise yet nearly all premade sandwiches have mayo. This is why I often go for a meal deal but end up leaving empty handed. My local shop only ever gets one 'just ham' delivered a day. Who decided nearly all sandwiches should have mayo?

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

I often feel like I should post more but social media fatigue is real. I don't even have the energy to read other people's posts. 😕

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Bugs, bugs and more bugs. The worst part about adding a new mechanic is getting it to mesh nicely with the other systems. 🥲 #GameDev #SoloDev #IndieDev

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Open for freelance work 👋 I bring 15+ years of experience with Unreal Engine, specialising in system design using Blueprints. If you need robust gameplay systems, clean architecture, or help turning ideas into reality, let’s talk. Drop me a DM. #GameDev #UE5 #Freelance #IndieDev #GameJobs

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Perhaps it's time to start taxing capital that is borrowed against... After all it's just a way to avoid paying tax... Just saying.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I think this will be the final mechanic I add to Hexion. Surrounding a pentagon tile with the same elements will result in them being pulled together preventing them from being interacted with by the player. Use an ability or hope the board shifts in your favor. #UE5 #IndieDev #SoloDev

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Its an interesting place to be. Play testing is another one, often spending hours just playing your own game, looking for bugs and minor tweaks you can make to improve the experience.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I'm available for freelance work. I have over 15+ years working with unreal. My main area is system design using blueprints. Drop me a message to see how I might be able to help bring your vision to life. #GamesJobs #UE5

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Someone forget to smooth normals... Rookie mistake.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Starting to feel fatigue making my game. So many little bits to finish off and lots of balancing. Play testing is starting to take up a lot of time. 😭 #IndieDev #SoloDev #Fatigue

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

I have a squirrel living in my loft. The kids have named them 'Nutty' as we see them frequently. Nutty however thinks they're a gecko clinging to the walls of the house. #Nature #Squirrel

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

I'm glad I learnt how to make gameplay systems instead of just scripting gameplay. Two new upgrades and one new ability setup pretty quickly. I only had to fix some UI stuff which was due to me being lazy the first time I set it up. 😅 #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev #Hexion

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

I'm currently working on the palettes for colour blindness. I need help to see if the picked colours are distinguishable enough. There's 5 colours in each of the palettes. If you are colour blind or know someone that is, your help would be greatly appreciated. #GameDev #IndieDev #ColourBlind

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Its not really procrastination though is it... I call it strategic reflection time. 😁 Is any one else buying it? #GameDev #IndieDev

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

How important are descriptions in games? How many people actually read them? I feel like its a nice to have but I'm ashamed to say I often don't read them. 😅 This makes me wonder if I'm wasting my time adding them. 🫣 #GameDev #IndieDev #Hexion

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Yep the hidden scale on bones. 😅 It gets even more fun if everything looks fine but its x100 scale and you attach something to it. Haha.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I know the feeling. For me I think its actually easier. Plus I can't afford (nor would I want to use) Illustrator. I had used an old version of PS for a long time (never liked the cloud subscription tactic) and its not great at vector graphics.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

A while ago I had the idea to use blender to create icons and design UI for my game. I still feel like it was an amazing decision. Is this something anyone else would try? #GameDev #IndieDev #Blender

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

If I had to pick one I'd say a Spinosaurus. Like a TRex but likes both land and sea.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I had some feedback that the colours for some of the tiles can be difficult to distinguish... There for you can now select a colour palette. I just need to create palettes tailored for colour blindness. 💪 (lots of research ahead of me) #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev #Accessibility

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

So... I set up a fiverr page and damn! The number of spam messages in just a few hours is wild. Easily over 20 messages trying to phish for my bank details with bogus orders. #fiverr

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I'd be procrastinating on how I wanted to handle the various tutorial prompts but i think I happy with this. Still need some work but it feels better than what I had previously. #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev #Hexion #Tutorials

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Its been a while but I've finally started working on radioactive tiles. After X amount of moves, the time will decay to a lower level element. Still lots to do. #UE5 #IndieDev #GameDev #Hexion

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Part 1 of my new tutorial series is now live. We'll take the Combat Template and rebuild some of it into a scalable, reusable attribute system. youtu.be/uc609OIJr_8 #UE5 #GameDev #Tutorial

youtu.be

From Basic to PRO: Attribute System | UE5 | Pt1

YouTube video by Michael Pattison

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

So I've been getting rather frustrated today. It's been a while since I've edited a video and normally use Clip Champ for some of the final assembly. Bug after bug or just terrible design choices that make no sense. Then there's the push to try get me on the cloud. #Clipchamp #Microsoft #Frustrated

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

As additional context, I have a widget that can be assigned a payload object. When this happens some logic gets called to shrink the widget before updating its appearance based on the new payload. Call the play animation node during pre construct frequently causes an engine crash.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

When using UE5, there might be times you only want something to happen at runtime. There's no dedicated method to distinguish this in BP but... You can just do an 'Is Valid' check on the game mode. As this only gets created at runtime, it'll be invalid during editor calculations. #UE5 #UETips

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

So it didn't take a long to turn my mock-up into some functional UI. It definitely looks and feels better than the old design. Is there anything you might change? #GameDev #IndieDev #UE5 #UI

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I've not shared anything in a while so this is what I'm currently working on. I've opted to remake the compound group UI. This is where you select the individual compounds to build/complete. With the mock-up done, i just need to make it work. #GameDev #IndieDev #UE5 #UI

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

In preparation for setting up some tutorial prompts I'll need to explain some of my game rules, I got my kids (6 & 8) to play my compounds mini game. I was surprised when they go it and bashed 20 levels out. I just need to remember how I explained it to them. 😅 #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Enhanced inputs can seem scary at first but its simpler than you'd first think. For example, if you want two possible events happen using the same key (E) but when it's pressed or held, this can be achieved using the 'Tap' and 'Hold' triggers and two input actions. #UE5 #GameDev #EnhancedInputs

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I've been going through some things that have left me completely emotionally drained. I've been reading 'The Body Keeps the Score' which has made me realise I should probably talk about it more. #mentalhealth

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

The feeling I get from gaming isn't the same as when I was younger. Even when playing some of the older classics. It's hard to say why but it makes me wonder if it's something to do with not really being able to 'complete' games these days.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

This might be a controversial opinion but... any game with in app purchases should have an option to disable all prompts for in app purchases by law. Nothing worse than having to help an 8 year old navigate them.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Deciding you need to move a BP class to C++ can be difficult as it is but you can get help creating the header using the header preview option from the right click menu. #UE5 #UETips

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

As a project grows and ideas change, old (early) systems can become unfit for purpose. It's important to make this assessment early so you can decide whether you want to use some band aids or rebuild and refactor. So... yes, I think i'll be remaking the upgrade system. 😅 #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

I'll be honest, the urge to just reply with 'Wrong' was very strong. 😅 But yea, a pretty spot on message though. There's definitely more delicate ways to raise someones incorrectness.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I'm currently mixed on AI voice synthesizers. From a game perspective, actually being able to have 100's of NPC with their own unique voices is appealing. But, I've already heard stories of individuals pretty much having their voices stolen. 😔

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I'm a part of the group that hasn't watched the #GameAwards. Anything worth checking out? I'm going to assume there was nothing regarding: ES6, FO5, Portal 3 or Half-Life 3

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I'm not in the need for any concept art but I certainly know who to reach out too if the need arises. ;) Best of luck finding commissions though. I know it can be difficult at the moment.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

This is amazing. Great attention to detail. I'd love to see day 100+ of surviving in the wild version. (Messier hair, more dirt, clothes a little more warm, maybe even holding a hand crafted tool that's aided in survival)

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Are they the same sort of people that when asked to provide evidence for their statement/claim, just tell you to do your 'own' research?

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Here's a little update of what I've been working on. Sometimes the little things can make a difference. #GameDev #UE5 #IndieDev

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

After some testing, I've decided to combine assembling compounds and upgrades in Hexion. So today I've worked on a mock-up for the new compounds menu. The idea is when you complete a compound group, you get the upgrade. 5 (maybe 7) compounds per group. #UE5 #GameDev #IndieDev #Hexion

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

It still baffles me that console gamers still pay just to get online. If they tried this on PC, there'd be an uproar. The idea should have been stomped out from the beginning.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Do I really want to deal with drag and drop behavior from the UI to the world? That is today's question and that's because I know how much of a farse it is to setup. 😅 Like, I will but that doesn't mean I want to. 😂 #UE5 #GameDev

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Reposted by Michael Pattison

Bench (Ben Frenchman) @benfrenchman.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

One of my mainstay ongoing freelance projects is sadly coming to an end this month, so I'm on the lookout for narrative design/writing opportunities! I mean, I already was, but now I'm looking harder

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

It being an online only game is one of the reason I never bothered with it. Visually it looks great and the gameplay looked interesting. Its a shame that a lot of big studios focus so heavily on online only games. It feels like a lot of effort from a large team going to waste.

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Michael Pattison @mpattym.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Thanks for the feedback. The sounds are freely available ones so I can see why you think that. 😅 I'll definitely keep it in mind when I source more final SFX. Any places you felt were missing SFX? It's a puzzle type game where you merge elements together and build compounds.

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