iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Steven Messner

Wes Fenlon @wes.readonlymemo.com · 28/06/2026

Remember the internet before Google, before algorithmic feeds, before monolithic social media corralled us onto the same handful of apps? When small, *personal websites* and webrings linking them together reigned supreme? Time to bring it back.

readonlymemo.com

Introducing Warp Point, a Web 1.0 gaming blog directory built for 2026

It's a webring! And a website!

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Ah, shoot. Sorry that it wasn't more clear. It's actually Friends-wank.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

You've all heard of or played Friendslop, sure. But today I want to show you something special... *Rips tarp off of $90 AAA social game* This. Is. Friendswank.

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Reposted by Steven Messner

The Spaceshipper 🚀 @thespaceshipper.com · 24/05/2026

Hardspace: Shipbreaker was released 4 years ago today. Last year, @bbigames.bsky.social reached an agreement with Focus Entertainment, their publishing partner, to reacquire full ownership of the Hardspace: Shipbreaker intellectual property. And they're now working on "new Hardspace experiences." 🚀

A colorful digital illustration by Jude Smith from the video game "Hardspace: Shipbreaker" features a lone astronaut in a yellow and black spacesuit floating in front of a massive, partially destroyed spaceship. The astronaut is actively working with a tool in their right hand, seemingly cutting or dismantling the ship, as sparks and debris fly around them. Bright orange explosions and fiery bursts are visible around the spaceship, indicating ongoing demolition or damage.

The spaceship itself is a colossal, blocky structure with various modules, some intact and some heavily damaged, exposing internal components and glowing hot metal. Its colors are predominantly dark grey, red, and yellow.

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Reposted by Steven Messner

Alex Delamaire @alexdlmr.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Deep dive into a game @stevenmessner.bsky.social, the @bbigames.bsky.social team, and myself proudly helped with - by one of the finest purveyors of sci-fi content ❤️ Now to get the talented folks at @softrains.bsky.social one of those #CanadianGameAwards🍁🏆 they are nominated for 😉

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

I've already been enjoying Marathon immensely, but knowing that Brian and Jason worked on its narrative has me a billion times more hyped!

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Poisons the whole well with it because there's a lot to enjoy with it! There's also a lot to criticize! And the skepticism around Bungie is well-earned! But all of that nuance feels drowned out by tHiS dOeSnT cAtEr To mE and Arc Raiders fanboys out to kill anything they perceive as competition, etc

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

The Marathon discourse sure is exhausting, huh.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Seconding this. Steam Deck has completely taken over for me. When PC games are too demanding, I stream them from my PC with Moonlight/Apollo. I even use Chiaki and some other app I can't think of to stream Xbox and PS5 games to it, lol.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Can someone explain to me why VR has such a distinct smell

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Yeah, what convinced me to finally sit down and watch it was seeing how highly reviewed Bone Temple was. Now having seen 28 Years, I'm soooooooo intrigued to see where it goes. Praying that its box office performance doesn't result in Sony cancelling the third one, though 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

If I ever get infected I 100000% wanna be one of these crawlin, worm-suckin big boys

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Finally watches 28 Years Later. Had held off because it was so divisive, but I ended up enjoying it a lot -- especially because it's such a fever dream that takes some wild risks. I get why some people bounced off, though. Really excited to watch Bone Temple next.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

But if we truly live in the darkest timeline, the hardware shortages will cause a slow but tectonic shift toward streaming/cloud-basef platforms where you don't own the hardware but instead pay to stream from a data center. That'd truly be dystopian though.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Haha, oof! Now the big can of worms, eh? Well, 6 months ago I wouldve has a totally different answer. But the RAM shortages caused by AI is very concerning, imo. I think, eventually, consoles as we think of them will fade away as PCs continue to become more accessible/casual-friendly.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Totally. I also still love FF14 (even if becoming a dad means I might never actually play it again, lol)!! But even you saying that raises a whole can of worms discussion about what MMO gameplay even is, y'know?

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Hard agreeee. The other thing I think a out is, like, what do MMOs even offer now? When you see games like Arc Raiders being so lively and social, it just feels the value proposition of MMOs has been the victim of an Oceans 11-style heist.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

That said, there are always exceptions. Smaller, budget-friendly MMOs like Project Gorgon or Foxhole can thrive. And China is a dark horse in this race because the economics that make MMO development impossible in the west can change dramatically in Asia. So, yeah. It's complicated 😂

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

The problem is the same that a lot of AAA games are feeling now, too. It's unsustainable. How can a new MMO realistically compete against every other MMO with a decade headstart? Does the "Massively" even mean anything when 99% of those players are basically just ghosts you'll never talk to?

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

I think I saw the writing on the wall at the time, a bit. And, to be clear, what I'm trying to say is that new MMOs face a nigh-impossible climb to sustainability, in part because of WoW, FF14, ESO, etc. So it's not that ALL MMOs are doomed, but I think the MMO landscape is almost inhospitable.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Yeah, totally. I more mean like, MMOs as a species, is (mostly) dead. What we have left are titans that will probably outlive us all. But I think there's a cool conversation about whether MMOs even have a value proposition anymore as compared to, like, Arc Raiders or other social-heavy MP games.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

I couldn't resist being dramatic, sorry. What I meant to say is that MMOs are dead* *Unless your MMO business is intentionally designed to be sustainable by a small community and you have really solid production pipelines. Then you can have ~ Modest Success ~

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

MMOs are dead! The genre is fundamentally unviable. There's almost zero business case for them. And the only trad MMOs succeeding do so on inertia and sunk cost fallacies. The rest are doomed to be, at best, the MMO du jour until the next thing inevitably comes along and retention collapses.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

That said, I have little sympathy for people who paid and are now pissed. If you're going to spend on crowdfunding campaigns that promise the moon, go for it. But raging after you get burned is like getting mad that a slot machine didn't give you a jackpot. It's gambling. Simple as.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

In part, Intrepid proved my skepticism wrong. They built a game that managed to get to Early Access! But, at the same time, saying you could build an MMO of this scale for a mere $30m was borderline foolish. ...

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Not having paid much attention to it since I left journalism (but having read all the latest), my instinct is to just feel sad for everyone involved. The players AND the devs. I'm not saying "told you so" because my reporting at the time was heavily anchored in it barely having playable software...

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

A moment of silent prayer for all those who have to watch a movie with their family on a TV that has motion smoothing enabled... 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

I've been a big fan of EVERSPACE 2 since it launched in Early Access all those years ago, so being able to bundle it with Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a big treat. And with both games discounted during the Steam Winter Sale, I'm excited for all the new players that'll get to play such awesome games!

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Okay thanks! I'm keen to play it and might just start fresh because that game is such a fun trip, anyway.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Oh okay! Yeah I 90%ed the campaign back at launch and wasn't sure because I saw a bunch of stuff about how the DLC is best experienced from the start of a new game... Any thoughts on that?

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Did you start a whole new game for the DLC or fold it into an existing playthrough?

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

It wasn't framed as a question but I had a friend who thought my job was to make posters for games. That was the depth of his knowledge about game marketing, I guess.

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Just shovelled a foot of snow off the walks which, coincidentally, was the last quest I needed to complete my Seasonal Depression battle pass!

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Reposted by Steven Messner

Alex Delamaire @alexdlmr.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

ICYMI #AmbrosiaSky🪐 - ACT ONE from our friends at @softrains.bsky.social just launched last week, with @bbigames.bsky.social lending a hand here & there!

youtube.com

Ambrosia Sky 🪐 | Launch Trailer

YouTube video by Soft Rains Games

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Reposted by Steven Messner

Ambrosia Sky 🪐 @softrains.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

ICYMI ✨ Ambrosia Sky: Act One is now available! Don't miss out on the launch week discount (15%!) or pick up the soundtrack at the same time for a bigger discount. (20%!) For more info on our launch: store.steampowered.com/news/app/358...

store.steampowered.com

Ambrosia Sky - Ambrosia Sky: Act One is now available! - Steam News

In this update: new launch trailer, community links & how to submit bug reports & feedback, and a letter from studio head Joel Burgess providing some clarity on the act structure.

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Reposted by Steven Messner

Ambrosia Sky 🪐 @softrains.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

We are spinning up our final guested segment of the evening, with @stevenmessner.bsky.social from @bbigames.bsky.social! I (Colin) am playing Hardspace: Shipbreaker for the first time??? Let's do this! Catch the stream here: twitch.tv/softrainsgames Donate here: tiny.cc/sr-extralife2025

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Wordle 1,603 1/6 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I knew this day would come...

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Reposted by Steven Messner

Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 07/11/2025

Hi Bluesky 👋 Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵

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Steven Messner @stevenmessner.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

The vibes in Arc Raiders' solo queue are so chill. I haven't felt *this* enchanted by a multiplayer game since Classic WoW. Met a buddy and looted, then at extraction met two other players, exchanged pleasantries, and then caught the elevator down together. Yes, I was terrified the whole time.