iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's so funny that on the final day of my game-a-day challenge, I am technically late. But I did it. I played 30 different games on itch and as usual, I had a blast! It's always so inspiring to see what people can do. These tiny games are what make games so wonderful itch.io/blog/1648908...

itch.io

2026 Game-a-Day Challenge

I've been doing my Game-a-Day challenge since 2021. What started as an exercise for me to simply play more games has now turned into a tradition I look forward to every year. And while I've consistent...

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Emmy @emmfoolery.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Happy October Eve! For Hallozeen this year, I made a 16-page walkthrough for a 36 year-old shareware classic. Primarily out of trash. I have no idea who the target audience is for this, besides me, but here you go! emmfoolery.itch.io/a-hallozeen-... #dosgaming #retrogaming

The opening game screen of Hugo's House of Horrors, by David P. Gray, for MS-DOS. A game released like, two weeks before I was born. Hugo's outside a haunted house! Spooky.

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Alex RS - WOIM🪱✂️🥚 @dogspawn.net · 15/09/2026

sometimes all you need is a little teamwork… #godot #indiegame #gamedev

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I feel like gaming is the only medium where you can have the "the book is better than the movie" argument but it's for the same game just released at different times.

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Reynaldo @naldodrinan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

"Hey we just wanted to add that the kickstarter for BREAK!!'s very first supplement, START, is still accepting late pledges at www.kickstarter.com/projects/gre... " "AAAAH SKELETONS!"

Two skeleton's waving to an armed chib adventurer, once again from the BREAK!! rpg

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I've been doing a game-a-day challenge since 2021 and I'm so excited to keep it going! I play one game a day (ideally a short, experimental game) and showcase it. If you're interested in what I play, I'll be posting it here! Can't wait! 💫

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The Hotline Miami soundtrack continues to be a banger

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I love Ace Attorney but man the thought of always being channeled to help out those in the living world sounds like absolute hell. Let that woman rest, goddamn!

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

How the hell do people put games on Steam. Like, I have watched so many tutorials and still have issues. What are y'all doing to get a game successfully on steam?

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I made a twine game where you can turn into an animal (only if you want to, of course). All images are from the Cuddeback Trail Cameras gallery. Take a look! shonte.itch.io/animal-story

shonte.itch.io

Animal Story by Shonte

Play in your browser

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Got inspired by the Cuddeback photo gallery, so I made short game about animals and the afterlife. shonte.itch.io/animal-story

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

With only a few hours left of the itch summer sale, I've put my little murder mystery game Murder at the Cat Show for sale! 2.50 for a cute, funny, and kinda sad mystery! shonte.itch.io/murder-at-th...

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Jared Rigby @jaredrigby.co.uk · 24/06/2026

Our indie studio is looking for some freelance support for our current project Mithra. If you are a 2D artist or narrative designer based in the UK, check out our job listings!

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I genuinely want to make more shitty little games, but I'm working on a larger, less shitty game, and I'm unsure how to juggle them both. But I've always had a desire to make one shitty game a month

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Cameron “Inevitability Enjoyer” Suey @cameronsuey.com · 16/06/2026

A video game studio should be allowed to make a bad game and gain some institutional knowledge without being gutted, skinned, and melted it down into glue every fiscal year.

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

The game I am making is slowly starting to make sense in nonsensical ways, and I'm very pleased with this.

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Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I wrote a manifesto for making games, and (not) selling them, for #manifestojam illomens.itch.io/no-one-is-go...

illomens.itch.io

NO-ONE IS GOING TO BUY YOUR GAME by ill omens

A Manifesto For Making Games

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Daniel Fineberg @shedworksdan.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Announcing ✨ In The Drift ✨ A dreamy narrative platformer about fixing the internet in space 🌠 Drive across asteroids in your truck, repair old infrastructure, make friends with your crew and find a place where you belong 🌌 Wishlist now on steam! store.steampowered.com/app/4712630/...

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

This probably sounds obvious, but solo gamedev for me has been a lot of talking to myself. I have a whole document dedicated to my thoughts, questions, concerns...and I'm the one who has to answer them all!

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Chris Franklin @errant-signal.com · 07/05/2026

I really love Signs of the Sojourner. Just the core conceit resonates: that life experiences can change the way you talk/think about the world in ways that can both connect and alienate you from other people, that growing as a person sometimes means changing your relationships with others.

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Game development feels like making puzzle pieces without fully knowing how or where they are going to join together. But then when they DO join together...man, that's just amazing.

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Holly Green @winnersusedrugs.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

A eulogy for Paste Games

Today, Paste Games, the outlet I made my home as assistant editor for several years, is no more.

It's hard to even articulate how much poorer the industry is for the loss. Back when Paste Games was kicking things into high gear, games media as a whole was at a crossroads. We were transitioning from covering games as a toy to covering games as a participatory art form, one that could convey narrative in a way that no other medium could. Not everyone agreed on how that should be done. But Paste Games was an exploratory space. It gave people an opportunity to play around with ideas of what games could be while celebrating the beauty of what they are. The resulting artistic collaboration and intellectual engagement were inspiring. It gave me a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

The vertical was gaining popularity as diversity in games media became a greater priority, and we took that responsibility seriously. While I was assistant editor, I often scouted and recruited new writers, took pitches, developed ideas, and edited the finished product. Being so hands-on throughout the process was a labor of love. I learned that if you value diversity of thought, you have to put in the work to meet people where they're at, valuing the idea over the execution. Editing is the art of stepping back and letting other people shine: of uplifting them, strengthening their message, and making their work unassailable. You give their work the best chance of succeeding in public by doing the hard work in private. You give the gift of ensuring that their arguments will be persuasive and well-received. You give. You give. You give. Changing a culture means sacrifice and self-erasure.

It means you give.

So many people came through Paste Games at varying stages of their career: some fully trained masterful writers who were already on the cusp of greatness, and others who were still a seed seeking fertile soil. Many of those writers have since gone on to create some of the most interesting stories and innovative narrative devices in the industry. I believe we played a part in that, however small.

It made my career. It made me a better person, a better writer, a better editor. When I became the editorial coordinator at Game Developer, I walked in already fully equipped and empowered to engage with game designers on their level, to pluck out their ideas and strengthen them, to embrace their writing and increase its accessibility to other developers. By doing so, we got to teach. How inspiring is that? One of the best things we can do for people is help them gain the knowledge and insight they need to make sense of the world around them and find a path forward. To be in game development is to celebrate the beauty of creative thinking and human ingenuity every single day.

Paste Games truly changed how games are covered for the better. RIP. I loved you so much.

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Admittedly, I took a huge break from writing and reading any games criticism because I felt incredibly burnt out and frustrated by all of it (low pay, very few full-time jobs, etc.). My thoughts are unfinished. I just wish for it all to be better.

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Oh no, not Paste Games. From 2017 - 2019, Paste was really the only place that consistently gave me a place to let my gaming thoughts fly. It was a welcoming place, and I'm so sad to see it leaving.

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I've got a poem out today at MudRoom! Thank you so much for giving my poem a wonderful home.

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I just finished The Three Body Problem and that shit was good. Hit me in the same spot as Outer Wilds. No matter how scientific it got, it always boiled down to wanting a better life, and the thought that something better is out there in space.

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Bo Thompson @gaudipern.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

For folks who watch indie game industry news, Slay the Spire 2, in early access, outsold the *lifetime earnings* of Hades 2 AND Silksong in its first two weeks alone. Soft estimates suggest they are on track to make $250M over the next 12 months; a new record high for the Godot engine.

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

I feel like I need to reintroduce myself: I started out as a games journalist/critic and have had articles in the usual space, Kotaku, Vice Gaming/Waypoint, Motherboard) until I pivoted to games writing (my love!) I worked at a few indie studios and even Blizzard, but unfortunately...

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Shonte Writes @shontewrites.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

If you like: - A kooky, silly, short murder mystery 🔎 - Adorable hand drawn characters 🐈‍⬛ - A 2 hr game for ONLY $5 dollars (what?!!)! 🤑 Then play Murder at The Cat Show, coming soon on Steam! Or a wishlist works too 😜🐈‍⬛🐈🐈‍⬛🔎 store.steampowered.com/app/1864930/...

store.steampowered.com

Murder at the Cat Show on Steam

After a cat show competition, three contestants, Claudette, Aberdeen, and Illia, head back to their hotel rooms to decompress and unwind. The next day, Claudette's body is found floating in the hotel'...

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