iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 29/09/2026

That said it would be really funny to do it anyway and then just swap the asset out for a lolly pop if it gets flagged, 4Kids style.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 29/09/2026

Weird question if anyone has a clue about this; how does “Use of Tobacco” affect a game’s ESRB or regional equivalent rating? I am aiming for like a PG13 rating for Solaire (cartoon violence, no bad swears etc.) and want to show a character smoking, but not if it will drastically affect the rating.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 28/09/2026

Yeah absolutely! As long as the battle system is engaging enough to not get too stale or repetitive then I don’t think that there’s an issue. A lot of the games people have specific issues with (Pokemon etc) also have agonisingly slow battles too which compounds the issue.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 28/09/2026

I will still probably include some kind of on/off toggle (maybe with an in between that turns off encounters once you reach the “target level”) but I think it would be basically impossible to ensure balanced progression (can always put a warning on the setting lol).

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 28/09/2026

The tricky thing is players who might turn the encounter rate all the way down (or off) before being over leveled causing knock on effects with game balance. Solaire’s blue magic system also makes it tough because you get more immediate resources than exp from just about every fight.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 28/09/2026

Yeah it’s for sure an issue with specific games. Pokemon Red & Blue filling the first dungeon of the game with enemies that inflict multiple annoying status ailments while not being really worth fighting AND the encounter rate being high did irreversible damage to people.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 28/09/2026

I don’t know why we’re talking about Random Encounters today but Solaire has them and I’m glad that there’s a lot of push back on the “they’re bad cause I don’t like them” thing. They’re in my game cause I do like them (and they make a lot of other design stuff much simpler).

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Mia Serena Official @gbaspgamer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It's quite frustrating that there's been a lot more conversations lately about friction and how we should meet games halfway and accept their quirks. Yet every time when it comes to RPGs it's always "nooooo random encounters are inherently bad".

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Mia Serena Official @gbaspgamer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Idk if this is a hot take but I do sometimes feel like people's experiences with Pokémon as a child have tainted their entire view on RPGs as a genre. Got annoyed at one too many Zubats so now all random encounters are inherently bad. Never had to use buffs to win, so clearly they're useless.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 24/09/2026

I’m gonna go with a plinth personally.

That one frame from fairly odd parents where the dad is like “This is where I would keep my trophy…”

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Dorian @doriandotexe.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Happy bisexuality visibility day!

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Pasha – 𝙂𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙉 𝙎𝙐𝙄𝙏𝙎 @toster12d3.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Another reason to switch to Godot

Ed Sheeran is saying: My shows are about this. They're about unity.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 21/09/2026

Thanks for the insight! The talk was good but a lot of it is mostly focused on motion capture and Monolith's proprietary pipeline. Definitely good info in there though! Thanks again!

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 20/09/2026

(I have tried searching for myself but have only ever found A) animating one character at a time for games (which I know how to do) or B) animating two characters together for pre-rendered…let’s say “artistic animations”)

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 20/09/2026

Weird question but are there any write ups, guides or industry talks about how to handle animating in-engine cutscenes for games (specifically handling multiple characters interacting)? I’ve made it up as I go so far and it *works* but I feel like I’ve taken the long way to the worst solution.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 16/09/2026

No thank you so much!! That means a lot I’m so glad you’re looking forward to it!

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Eternal Skies TCG RPG @eternalskies.neocities.org · 16/09/2026

Dear trans people who see this: you are all very brave, and I could never be as brave as you. I cannot express the respect I have for being yourself even if it makes the world hate you. That is all.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 15/09/2026

Anyone who decompiles the game will see an entry for them in the save data but it’s all dummied out as “Ser not appearing in this demo”

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 15/09/2026

Solaire will not be part of party based tpg fest mostly because the demo is not done but also there are only two party members in the demo. Thats not a party thats just two people hanging out.

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Ed Markey @edmarkey.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

In Massachusetts, we have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable and stand up for those who need it. We don’t throw trans kids under the bus for political points. We protect them—and all of our neighbors—because trans rights are human rights.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 10/09/2026

Yep! Full controller support was one of the first things I made sure to set up :P I haven’t done any steam deck testing yet since I don’t have one, but I have done extensive playtesting under Proton and it runs flawlessly (though there’ll probably be a native Linux release if I can figure that out)

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 10/09/2026

Oh sorry, I thought they were open. Will shoot you an email then :)

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 09/09/2026

Very angry salad (idk I don’t eat meat)

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 09/09/2026

Sometimes I think UX designers must just be really hungry based on how they name stuff. I mean, Snackbar?? Bread crumbs??? BURGER Menu????? Like buddy go have lunch jeez

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 09/09/2026

I am very excited for Metroid Ravenous. I am also very excited for lunch. It’s eat or be eaten.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 09/09/2026

The icons make me think it’s fake, all the boss ones look like they’re made with screenshots from Golden, and the ones with Igor and Margaret look like P4D.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 09/09/2026

Hi Tom, if your DMs are open I’ll shoot you my email address, otherwise DM me.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 07/09/2026

Not enough money in the world to get me to pick through nonsensical slop code ;P

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 07/09/2026

I’m at the point where if my game flops I’m just gonna give up programming entirely and go back go washing dishes. Okay that’s a lie I’ll keep making weird shit in my own time but I’m not going back to software engineering; not after I’ve seen ai psychosis ruin my current place of employment

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 05/09/2026

Once again I’ve got a bunch of new followers (hello!!) from people reposting starter packs (thank you!!!) so I should probably reintroduce my game (again) - Solaire! bsky.app/profile/sync...

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Eternal Skies TCG RPG @eternalskies.neocities.org · 05/09/2026

Daniel is sharing his starter pack of game devs that don't use AI, so I figured rather than just repost it, I would quote post it with my three no AI game dev starter packs. go.bsky.app/6DRdowf go.bsky.app/AS5R4p7 go.bsky.app/7K7JDCJ

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Daniel J. Menezes @danjohnston.uk · 05/09/2026

Creating this no-ai indie games starter pack is one of the best things I ever did on BlueSky. Lots of great developers in here, making things with their own hands, some of whom I might not have found otherwise!! go.bsky.app/78u8M6Y

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Jasmin🌸 @theboobtaster.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

that’s wild. he’s tanking damage for us.

Hasan Piker has officially surpassed
"Transgender" as the most mentioned culture war issue on Fox News for the month of August.
348 mentions of Trans/Transgender
398 mentions of Hasan Piker

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SushiFerret @sushiferret.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Im not only going to outlive every transphobic fossil in office but im gonna turn their grave into a gender neutral restroom when they die

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Luis @loosf.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

YEAH YEAH

Emily 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
@EmilyEnough@hachyderm.io
My biggest problem with the concept of LLMs, even if they weren’t a giant plagiarism laundering machine and disaster for the environment, is that they introduce so much unpredictability into computing. I became a professional computer toucher because they do exactly what you tell them to. Not always what you wanted, but exactly what you asked for.

LLMs turn that upside down. They turn a very autistic do-what-you-say, say-what-you-mean commmunication style with the machine into a neurotypical conversation talking around the issue, but never directly addressing the substance of problem.

In any conversation I have with a person, I’m modeling their understanding of the topic at hand, trying to tailor my communication style to their needs. The same applies to programming languages and frameworks. If you work with a language the way its author intended it goes a lot easier.

But LLMs don’t have an understanding of the conversation. There is no intent. It’s just a mostly-likely-next-word generator on steroids. You’re trying to give directions to a lossily compressed copy of the entire works of human writing. There is no mind to model, and no predictability to the output.

If I wanted to spend my time communicating in a superficial, neurotypical style my autistic ass certainly wouldn’t have gone into computering. LLMs are the final act of the finance bros and capitalists wrestling modern technology away from the technically literate proletariat who built it.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 24/08/2026

I've thrown out some optimistic dates about the Solaire demo coming out but realistically it'll probably be a couple months more until it's like, actually ready. I don't think it'll be later than Q1 next year though, most of the meaty content is done I just want to give myself ample time to polish.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 22/08/2026

Even then. My experience with how much food costs in the US is essentially “it’s the same number as here, but the currency is worth like 40% more”

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 22/08/2026

$20 USD for a pizza is incredibly steep though, if you’re smart with voucher codes and stuff you can typically get one here for about $12-15 AUD (idk like $8-10 USD maybe? Idk the conversion rate)

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 22/08/2026

Pizza prices as a yard stick for how much your game should cost in a given region is actually genius I am totally gonna do that.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 20/08/2026

Is it okay to break my “no ai ever” rule if I just use it one time to write my letter of resignation cause that’s about the level of effort I think they deserve

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 20/08/2026

Wrote a few paragraphs bringing up an issue with my manager at work regarding some processes and the response I got was essentially “That’s a good point, let me get copilot to rephrase that and I’ll raise it with people” Could you not just…send them what I wrote? Or put me in contact with them?

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X ΘΔ (Giant Tyrant Overlord) @xkeeper.net · 17/08/2026

new error page deployed

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 17/08/2026

That said I’m not that surprised my coworkers have become extremely dependent on ai vibe coding and are constantly amazed how I manage to get by without using it at all.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 17/08/2026

The company I work for makes heavy machinery and you would not believe the number of images I have seen in presentations with incorrect company logos and nonsensical engineering, like wheels on a vehicle which does not have wheels. I don’t know why everyone except me seems fine with it.

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Dakota // Syncaroonie @syncaroonie.com · 17/08/2026

People making internal corporate power points try not to put completely pointless gen ai slop on every slide for no reason that makes it all look extremely unprofessional and shit challenge: impossible, apparently.

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Daniel J. Menezes @danjohnston.uk · 16/08/2026

Hey! Are you an indie dev who doesn't use gen AI and have a game you're currently promoting? I'm looking to make a starter pack and you could be in it! Reply below with a link to your game 👇 go.bsky.app/78u8M6Y

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