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Abbas

@recognizingpattern.bsky.social
28 followers 26 following 158 posts

25+ year vet in Transmedia, Games, and Animation - executive producing cool stuff! Failed Bass player. Cat dad.

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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Godot powered 47% of games at the world's biggest game jam, but just 4.1% of Steam games earning over $500k. It's free. But on consoles, a smaller version of the off-switch that drove developers from Unity came back. #GameDev #Godot #GamesIndustry #IndieGames
substack.com
A Free Game Engine Is Taking the Power Back
Godot costs nothing, answers to no shareholder and now powers nearly half the games at the world’s biggest game jam. But the games making real money still mostly run on Unity and Unreal, and console
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Ladytron is timeless! youtu.be/7heLwuTa08o?...
youtu.be
Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch (Live on KEXP)
YouTube video by KEXP
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Netflix kept the games that survive a train tunnel. Thirty minutes long, phone as controller, nothing installed, nothing lost when the signal drops. Everything it closed made games you have to find, install and come back to. #IndieGames #GameDev substack.com/home/post/p-...
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Sony says ending PlayStation discs is about consumer preference. Its own $649.99 flagship bundle this month is digital-only, no disc option, while the base game still ships on disc and plays fine without one. That's not neutral. #PlayStation #IndieGames #GameDev
substack.com
Sony Killed the PlayStation Disc. Consumer Preference Is Only Half the Story.
Consumer preference explains ten years of data. It doesn’t explain why Sony chose zero instead of gradual, a gap two analysts working from opposite directions have already closed.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
We've lost Dolly Parton and Peter Cullen within a few days ;(
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
RIP Dolly Parton. I've always loved her music and who couldn't love her as a person. Here is a YouTube playlist of some of her best. music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
music.youtube.com
Presenting Dolly Parton
Playlist • YouTube Music
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Why that matters for anyone modelling a 2027 mobile launch, plus the sourcing audit on three widely quoted statistics that do not match what the firms published: substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
Mobile Games Never Had To Answer Which Players Pay
Half the revenue comes from one in twenty of the people, and nobody has made the industry explain it.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The first 5% of your players are worth roughly three times the next 5%. Moloco: the top 5% generate 48% of worldwide mobile in-app purchase revenue. The bottom 75% produce 23% between them. Fifteen times the people. Half the money. #MobileGaming #GameDev #FreeToPlay #IndieGames
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
The Link can be found at: t.co/Jv70i8QMYX
t.co
https://substack.com/home/post/p-210375813
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Steam's 2024 revenue is quoted everywhere as $10.8 billion. One page credits it to GameDiscoverCo. The same page credits it to Alinea Analytics. At least one is wrong, and Alinea's real figure is $4.6 billion higher. And even worse, its undermining their work. #gamedev #gamesindustry #indiegames
static.klipy.com
Rich Man with Wall of Money
ALT: Rich Man with Wall of Money
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Reposted by Abbas
GameBrief @gamebrief.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
A lot of indie roguelikes are quietly capping runs at 20-30 minutes now instead of the hour-plus loops from five years ago. Better pacing, or just a response to how little uninterrupted time players actually have? #indiegames #roguelike
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Ten years of gacha (paid randomized pulls for rare characters) did not train Chinese players to resist paying. It trained them to want the alternative. Black Myth at $60. Road to Empress at $8.49. Stellar Blade at ¥268. Three price points, one audience, same answer. #GameDev #Gacha #IndieGames
recognizingpatterns.substack.com
China's Gacha Paradox
Why A Decade Of Extraction Made Chinese Players The Most Premium-Friendly Audience On Steam
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
You know Sega as Sonic. That Sega nearly died twice. Today's games business makes about what it did in 1997, built on Persona and Total War instead of one console. This is not reinvention. It is a pattern. recognizingpatterns.substack.com/p/sega-the-m... #GamesIndustry #Sega #GameDev
recognizingpatterns.substack.com
Sega: The Master System of Constant Reinvention
Sega cancelled an $882 million future in the same year it turned nine birthdays into a business unit. That is not a coincidence. That is the plan.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Slay the Spire 2 took a fifth of roguelite revenue in six months. Hundreds of similar games launch into a harder market next year. Most won’t survive it. #GameDev #Roguelites #IndieGames
open.substack.com
The Roguelite Cull Hasn’t Happened Yet. The Data Already Decided It.
Slay the Spire 2, Megabonk, and 33 Immortals aren’t survivors of a graveyard that doesn’t exist yet. They’re proof the mechanism is already running. A structural read on what mid-2026 data already con
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I'm citing Burton directly here. He says heavy AI use often correlates with other decisions that lead to a poorly crafted game. His model controls for publisher, dev experience, genre, and timing, but not a direct quality score. I'm not looking for a debate, just open to correction.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Cal… where did you get that baby?
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Check out @dragonsnacksgames.bsky.social out - they’re doing a play test nowadays. Discord is at discord.gg/B38h7qVhqz
discord.gg
Join the Dragon Snacks Games Discord Server!
Check out the Dragon Snacks Games community on Discord – hang out with 563 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Solo or small team? Steam doesn't require AI disclosure for build tools or testing, only for what players see or hear. Cross that line and Game Oracle found you lose 53% of reviews. #gamedev #indiedev #AI
substack.com
Use AI to Build Your Game. Just Keep It Out of the Part Players Feel.
Iron Nest shipped with zero AI, Dragon Snacks put its AI in the build pipeline, and Valve’s own policy already explains why both of them won
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Two developers entered the biggest Next Fest ever with 250,000 wishlists banked. They left with 200,000 more. Festivals don't discover games anymore; they amplify what you already built. #GameDev #SteamNextFest #IndieGames
recognizingpatterns.substack.com
Steam Next Fest June 2026: Communities Won It, AI Disclosure Lost It
The largest Next Fest ever ran 8,682 games. A quarter of the field disclosed AI use; one cracked the top ten. The winners entered with communities already built. The October clock is running.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Fine. I'm becoming a pirate. And our flag will have Chris Cairn's face on it with cross bones.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I would be affected severely. NZ is my escape island hideout
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
First Time User Experience: The 60 Seconds That Decide If Your Player Stays. Adrian Wüst of Steer Studios and I collaborated to break down. I handled the PC/ Console side of FTUE while he covered mobile FTUE. Adrian's Article is here lnkd.in/dunu2bzY Mine is below #IndieGames #GameDev #FTUE
open.substack.com
First Time User Experience: The 60 Seconds That Decide If Your Player Stays.
The first 60 seconds in a game are the most critical experience for a player. Capturing their attention within this time is the difference between a good and bad game
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
No Jason. Handhelds like AYN and Ayaneo.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
AI Disclosure at Steam Next Fest fell to 11% in June, down from 17%. But a Kotaku spot check found AI signs in 10 of 16 demos. The field disclosed less, not used less. The breakout? A 2-person handcrafted team at 99%. substack.com/@recognizing... #IndieGames #GameDev #Steam #NextFest
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Chinese studios took a dead format and fused it with a clippable one. FMV had been dormant for 30 years. They rebuilt it with microdrama pacing: every death and branch becomes a clip built for Reels. It is microdrama with a controller! #GameDev #IndieGames
substack.com
How China Turned 90-Second Soap Operas Into a Billion-Dollar Game Genre
You Weren't Watching Microdrama. The Audience Deciding Your Steam Launch Was.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Summer Game Fest featured legacy publishers courting dads. @glitchprod.com built 18M Gen Alpha fans from a bedroom and is now making games for the audience of 2027 and beyond. substack.com/home/post/p-... #IndieGames #GameDev
static.klipy.com
Jax and Pomni in The Amazing Digital Circus
ALT: Jax and Pomni in The Amazing Digital Circus
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
In 2022, 40% of gaming hardware buyers earned over $100k. By 2025, 53%. Under-25s fell from 10% to 3%. Console gaming quietly became a hobby for the rich. The priced-out are walking to handhelds and the phone in their pocket. #IndieGames #GameDev #Steam #Handheld #MobileGames
substack.com
Who Can Still Afford to Play?
Why the Next Billion Players Aren’t Buying a Console
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Cool. Let me Dm you my calendly.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
so you're totally cool if i give you a haircut?
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
it depends on what youre building. I keep free slots open for indies so you could book a call and we could go through things.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Chinese games are pretty wild. Have you tried Fireworks (Moonlight Cockroach)?
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Studios need to stop treating Chinese campaign as localization. It's marketing. The Awakener placed third at the last Next Fest with no Western press. The Chinese campaign had been running on Bilibili six months before the demo dropped. Run two campaigns in parallel. #IndieGames #GameDev
substack.com
Congratulations, You Ignored the Chinese Games Market. Here's What You Lost.
The China Multiplier, and the studios already winning while Western publishers monitor the market
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Can we talk some more? I’ve DM-d you.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
This is a good demo. Are you going to next fest?
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
I need to play this!
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Most cozy games being greenlit for 2027 are pitching to an audience that has been training receptors for live service tells for a decade. Three questions tell you whether your game is shipping a contract or a casino. #IndieDev #GameDev #CozyGames #LiveService
substack.com
Cozy Games Are Starting To Repeat Live Service's Mistake
Live service spent four years turning its own label into a warning. Cozy is on the same arc, four years behind.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Using memes to market and grow your community extends beyond games. It's also about animation. One upstart Australian studio has cracked Gen Alpha access in a way no legacy media has. 421M views on one pilot. 80% of production funded by merch. #IndieGames #Animation #YouTube #Glitch #TADS
substack.com
Glitch Studios: How Two Brothers in a Sydney Bedroom Built the Operating System for Gen Alpha Entertainment
421 million views on a pilot. $1.7 million on a Kickstarter (fourth biggest in comics history). Netflix and Amazon distribution in 240 countries. Disney’s most acclaimed showrunner of the last decade
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
@ftrain.bsky.social voice notes me that every morning!
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Thank you for your comment. It's what keeps me going. The thing is and I will say this over and over it's always about the community. If you can do an ad for 50 bucks anywhere and get some people to test your game, youve started. If the game works, the people believe in it, youre on your way.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
If you are an indie dev shipping in 2026, the marketing engine you can run actually beats the marketing engine a billion-dollar publisher can run. Four community engines, three that work. #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGames
open.substack.com
The Four Community Engines that Market Your Game
Push-marketing just cost Sony a billion dollars at Bungie. Three other engines are running the games that actually launched in 2026. Here's how to tell which one your studio is on.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Three questions every indie should answer before touching AI: Is your story load-bearing or texture? Have you built a community trust account yet? What's your downside if you don't disclose? Full framework on the substack. #GameDev #IndieGames #AI
substack.com
The Industry's AI Question is Wrong. Here's the One that Actually Matters.
AI didn't create your studio's biggest problem. It's about to reveal it.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
In light of recent and current events I am posting pictures of my cat
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Pencilslop started as a pro-AI insult. Audiences reclaimed it. Mouse: P.I. For Hire is outselling AAA on hand-drawn craft alone. AI is not dead. It has a place. The studios that know which is which are the ones who will survive. #IndieDev #GameDev #Steam
substack.com
The Revenge of Pencilslop
The pro-AI crowd coined it as an insult. The games industry is about to find out why that backfired.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Every agency is citing Dead as Disco as a TikTok win. It isn't! Songcrafter, the system around which the game is built upon lets any player import any song and fight to it. 87% of demo players used it. Vertical video is distribution. UGC built into your game's DNA is growth. #IndieDev #GameDev
substack.com
I Told Investors, Publishers and Pretty Much Everyone Else That This Game Would Print Money
Dead as Disco’s zero-budget playbook, the Next Fest studios that took it further, and the three questions every indie founder needs to answer before launch day.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
I finally got a decent ai rigging tool into the pipeline of studios I consult so I’ll agree with it
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Making AI decisions for your studio? I've mapped the mistakes others are making across three pieces: community resistance, studio vulnerability, and where AI actually belongs in your pipeline. substack.com/@recognizingpatterns/note/c-247311283 #GameDev #AI #IndieGames Thumb @stylosa.bsky.social
substack.com
Recognizing Patterns (@recognizingpatterns)
If you are making decisions about AI in your studio right now, I’ve mapped these three pieces will save you from the mistakes others make. Part 1: https://recognizingpatterns.substack.com/p/the-reven...
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Stay safe Cal.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Disney-Epic acquisition story isn't about Fortnite. A significant portion of Disney's ecosystem already runs on Epic's toolchain. The real question is whether Disney buys the foundation it's renting. #GameDev #IndieDev #UE5 #Fortnite
substack.com
The Engine Beneath the Magic Kingdom
Disney isn’t buying Epic for Fortnite. It’s buying the operating system it’s already built on.
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Abbas @recognizingpattern.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Here we go algorithm. I got a new kitty. #NewCatDay #GameDev
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