Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 23/09/2026another day, another exclusive™ invite (whoa!) to an "all new AI-native game engine" 000
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I played this at the NYU spring showcase two years ago- when I found out they were undergrads I was like shit fuck (it was sick even then) 000
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 25/08/2026A not-so-quick recap of my summer job, designing games for a venture capital firm: shrubino.substack.com/p/riskgaming...shrubino.substack.comRiskgaming for fun and profitFinance, simulation, and a massive multiplayer moon colony 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 03/08/2026My game got top #100 in both Creativity and Enjoyment in the #GMTK game jam🥹 Check it out here! shrubino.itch.io/boom-boxshrubino.itch.ioBoom Box by shrubinoPlay in your browser 110
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Forgot to post my #GMTK game if any Bluesky-ers want to check it out (and give me a rating!) shrubino.itch.io/boom-box 000
Reposted by Stephen RubinoGame Maker's Toolkit @gamemakerstoolkit.com · 27/07/2026Well, it finally happened! After 9 years of Unity dominance, Godot was the most used game engine for GMTK Game Jam 2026 submissions. 🤖 Godot - 47% 🎮 Unity - 34% 🛠️GameMaker - 5% 🚀 Unreal Engine - 3% ✨ Other - 11% 9356221233
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Got my #GMTK basic prototype up and running, now working on scaling up the Rube-Goldberg-ing 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Proud to have worked (a very tiny bit) on this game! Finlay is the future king of educational gaming and their instincts were absolutely right about the direction this game should take 100
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 23/06/2026I've been trying to generate something like this for a long time and I really appreciate Jon's categories here. Relatedly, I'm working on a game that has at least 4/5 of these in it! I really wonder what the "optimal" number of these in one game is before it gets swampy with complexity 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 30/04/2026Do you like 30-second long games? (built in flickgame?) Well then I have good news for you: shrubino.itch.io/nailshrubino.itch.ioNail by shrubinoA short Flickgame 000
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 05/01/2026recapped the first semester of my MFA and my final presentation's thesis: open.substack.com/pub/shrubino...open.substack.comHow not to make a gameAnti-ludemes and other lessons from semester #1 of Game School 000
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 29/12/2025balatro so good it's got me downloading Love2D. as if that was the problem 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 01/12/2025Finally wrapped up Grolf, my gravity-swapping, minimalist minigolf game. Play it on Itch and lemme know what you think! shrubino.itch.io/grolfshrubino.itch.ioGrolf by shrubinoA puzzling little round of Grolf 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 25/09/2025A quick piece about how shitty games sections are finding their way into every website shrubino.substack.com/p/why-does-e...shrubino.substack.comWhy does every website need a "games" section?Does anyone play the Netflix games? 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 17/09/2025made a little postcard from my summer in GameMaker 120
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 04/08/2025The rumors are true: I, too, took part in GMTK 2025 with my pal @shreeshayelameli.bsky.social. Lots of learning, some laughs, and four days of scrappy spriting and coding. Is our game good? It's a game! Give NEBULON 5000 a go, and see if you can beat my high score: shrubino.itch.io/gmtk-filler-...shrubino.itch.ioNebulon 5000 by shrubinoRace against the racers! 111
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 15/07/20255-min bird for today's theme. I kinda hate this guy @pixeldailies.bsky.social 0131
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 10/07/2025quick #guts sketch for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 050
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 01/07/2025I wrote about games that actually tell a story vs. those that just hint at one: shrubino.substack.com/p/does-chess...shrubino.substack.comDoes chess have a plot?What are games saying when they're not saying anything 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 13/06/2025quick #loading sketch for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 11/06/2025some successful, some unsuccessful -- dithering and lighting practice for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 06/06/2025this was take #3 on today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social theme, boulder 130
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 03/06/2025Wrote down some thoughts about memes as decodable language that follows the structure of gameplay. give it a read! open.substack.com/pub/shrubino...open.substack.comMemes-as-code; Code-as-gamesThe race to deeper-fried memes 000
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 02/06/2025quick #cephalopod(s) study for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 0141
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 26/05/2025#acorn for @pixeldailies.bsky.social -- I'm wildly out of practice on my cursive 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 23/05/2025Launching a substack to write more about games, jokes, narratives, pathfinding. First post is a depository of all the ideas I'll never be able to finish: open.substack.com/pub/shrubino...open.substack.comThe PileupMy ideas graveyard gets a public home 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 23/05/2025#Locus for @pixeldailies.bsky.social, or: more concept art for a game I'll never finish. "Universail", a sunship yacht racing game where you navigate gravity and solar currents to outcompete your rival at Mercurial Royale Marina 030
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 14/05/2025#plinko (Smart Ball!) for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 040
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 09/05/2025Little #carrot using all 13 colors of this palette for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 030
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 07/05/2025"if you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind" quick little @pixeldailies.bsky.social to get back in the habit -- theme is "cold" 030
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 21/04/2025today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social is a fanart of any trans creator's work, obviously there's only one option: 0222
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 21/04/2025today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social theme is #orange, slowly finding ways to make lil animations faster 000
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 19/04/2025today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social theme was "cover" but at first I read it as "clover" which is, conveniently, a type of cover 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 15/04/2025Back on the @pixeldailies.bsky.social #pixelart grind, today's theme is #snowboard 040
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 07/04/2025For the #B1T game jam, my pal @whoiskevinflynn.com and I made a lil game in a week! 110
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 31/03/20251-bit yarn studies for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 030
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 24/03/2025animated 1-bit #jars for @pixeldailies.bsky.social 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 20/03/2025first shot at animation for @pixeldailies.bsky.social "forklift" #pixelart -- wayy more time intensive than I'd like, but that's learning for ya 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 18/03/2025Trying to get better at 1-bit drawing in prep for the #B1T game jam... much harder than I thought! Today's #pixelart for @pixeldailies.bsky.social : "Ammo" 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 17/03/2025"Skyship" for @pixeldailies.bsky.social #pixelart 030
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 16/03/2025today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social #pixelart theme is "lance" -- I like to imagine that's the name of the horse 070
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 14/03/2025today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social #pixelart theme is "robot controller" -- it's not a robot controller, it's a *robot controller*, get it? 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 12/03/2025Concept #pixelart for a game I'll never make: G LEAGUE A disgraced NBYay player is banished to the G League, a tournament of Eastern European middle schoolers and JV rejects. Rhythm games are played to make plays and run up obscene scores against children. [1991, Arcade] @pixeldailies.bsky.social 040
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 10/03/2025"Your fingernails grow into sharp talons" -- DCSS-inspired #pixelart for today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social theme, "beastly" 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 07/03/2025today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social #pixelart theme is "Character Creator" -- we love the symmetry feature, don't we 020
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 04/03/2025today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social #pixelart theme is "mode" -- (been slacking b/c I'm on vacation but will hopefully post more this week) 010
Stephen Rubino @shrubino.bsky.social · 01/03/2025I got into the NYU Games Center MFA!! In other news, I'm working on a grappling hook mechanic based on Worms: Armageddon's ninja rope, which happens to coincide nicely with today's @pixeldailies.bsky.social #pixelart theme: "Scale" 050
