iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

We watched Buster Keaton's "The General" recently in cinema, accompanied by live music. What a treat. Incredible how a comedy movie a hundred years old still works if the pacing is good and the humor is mostly universal and for all ages.

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Paintbucket made The Darkest Files 🕵️‍♀️ @paintbucket.de · 10/09/2026

🎉 IT’S FINALLY HERE! 🎉 We’re incredibly happy to announce that Moka Efti - A Babylon Berlin Story is RELEASED TODAY! 🥂✨ As a journalist, you’ll follow the clues to a mysterious case at the famous nightclub - but can you really trust your memories? You can now play the game for FREE ON STEAM!

Cover art of the game A Night at Moka Efti: A Babylon Berlin Story

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Death Trash progress report: We are working on the Northern Waste content update and it's getting closer. We have locations and scenarios in place, most of the artwork painted, most of the dialogue written now and are spending time on filling in the missing details and improving the existing parts.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

My reading highlights this year (no particular order): The Melancholy of Resistance - László Krasznahorkai The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin Der Zauberberg - Thomas Mann The Complete Stories - Clarice Lispector Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea - Emily Wilson The Sickness Unto Death - Søren Kierkegaard

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I've maintained an extensive reading habit over the last few years. Every time I look for books I find a few cases of "definitely want to read this". The more I read, the more my interest broadens and deepens. Feels like the best kind of long-term investment into "never getting bored until I die".

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

The Windows Clock app wants me to sign in with my Microsoft account. Sends me on a "WTF?"-spiral each and every time.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

In Rilke's letters to a young poet he talks about how artists need to work through creative thoughts internally and have patience with that. "In this there is no measuring with time, a year doesn’t matter, and ten years are nothing." I feel vindicated by a dead old poet, at least.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

One issue I have with Death Trash is the world building inviting so many ideas, but choosing and implementing them being a costly endeavor. Example: "Edible servants." A short thing in my notes I spotted again and it draws my mind to places and scenarios. But that would be just the beginning.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Someone asked about the next Death Trash update. tl;dr -> On the beta branch "soonish". Wow, am I looking forward to having this update done. Because, afterwards, update rhythm towards 1.0 should be more frequent. steamcommunity.com/app/941460/d...

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I was about to quote post this with "same", and a longer "actually making the game" phase, of course, but then I thought about it for a moment and realized that I am still experiencing joy in this late stage development.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Main goal when picking the next project will be to pick something that will be finished in less than a decade. (some laughing-crying emoji)

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Kind of related: I want the game to be done and I also want the game to continue living. And I am looking forward to having enough time to try out some of the other game ideas.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Finished version of the Death Trash scene piece.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Concept art for a new Death Trash scene piece.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Sometimes things take ages. And other times it takes only a few hours to hammer out the level design for a new location. (Thank you, tools.)

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Another common thing: People saying that the developers behind long-in-development games have a problem with discipline. If discipline were a problem, we wouldn't be here anymore.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

After some party-compatible decades inbetween I am now coming full circle with my young self again: Books, games, reflection, and occasionally talking to other people. What else do I need, right?

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Joram Wolters @joramwolters.com · 09/06/2026

Gamers will never understand that making a game means you have to make every part of the game, and that making any one part is difficult just by itself.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I can totally understand why some people are unhappy with the long development time for Death Trash (reason: complex game with small team), but what gets me is the "abandoned game", "dead game" calls while showing up to work every day like clockwork and even posting a daily development log.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

This recent Steam change sounds like the end of an era, honestly. Your tiny indie game, formerly shown next to other upcoming games, now moved to niche. store.steampowered.com/news/app/593...

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Working on some Death Trash scene art this week.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

For those who of you who love reading minute details of game development (who doesn't?) I have a regular development log over here: steamcommunity.com/app/941460/d...

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Old painting of mine which I still like.

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Oh Apollo! ✨ wishlist now! @ohapollogame.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

mortals 👀 I am in a game. it is called Oh Apollo! you work at my oracle. you fix my temple. you try to impress me. wishlist on Steam 🔥

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Working on some Death Trash scene art today.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

I have become more efficient and productive over the last years, but I feel more and more like a person stuck in the past, not using AI tools. (I see how they can be useful and time-saving in some cases, but I hate basically everything else about them.)

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

I'm planning to be more active here... (imagine this, tonally, like a blog entry, promising to write more regularly soon, but that promise already being four years old with no new post in sight) ...but in the meantime there's my regular dev log over here: steamcommunity.com/app/941460/d...

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Playing Bloodborne intensively while lying sick in bed for days is one of my favorite gaming memories. Perfect immersion for the sickness theme of that game. (Nothing to do with playing video games badly, sorry.)

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

I feel old, sitting on the train, not swiping my phone.

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Liz England @lizardengland.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

So in Arc Raiders there is a door glitch. You don't need to know what it is, just that the gamers are brainstorming all the "easy" ways to "fix" the doors and it's simultaneously hilarious and horrifying. My two favorite solutions are "add a kill volume" and "put a second door behind the door".

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

@jesawyer.bsky.social This might be of interest to you: bsky.app/profile/blue... (Made by a few friends from the Saftladen.)

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Oh Apollo! + The Berlin Apartment + Constance - Blue Backpack @bluebackpack.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

✨IT'S MOVING DAY✨ Are you ready to explore the apartment, renovate it and uncover its turbulent past? Out on Steam (Steamdeck verified!), PlayStation and Xbox NOW!

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Adam Alexander @atomander.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Checked out @deadstaticdrive.com today - not sure I've seen something so immediately stylish and suffused with atmosphere in a long time! Very dreamlike experience so far...

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Cäcilia Eming @caeming.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Should I stay or should I go? #pixelart

Pixel art of Piglet standing in front of an open door leading into a room with a few chairs in a cirkle and a table with a coffee machine and mugs in the back. Piglet seems to think about if they want to enter the room, which is still empty. A sign beside the door frame says: Today, 09:00 AM, Sidekick self-help group.

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Felipe Pepe @felipepepe.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

So, today I'm announcing a new book project... and doing a call for papers: crpgbook.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/t... It's an anthology of video game history outside the usual US perspective - an accessible & exciting panorama of different realities - and I'll pay 300 USD per article. Please share :)

crpgbook.wordpress.com

The Video Game History Expansion Pack – Pitch your story

Today I’m putting my money where my mouth is and launching a new project — a book focused on game history outside of the usual North American perspectives.

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Death Trash Update 0.14.4 and a few words on the current focus of development: (content, of course) store.steampowered.com/news/app/941...

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eric stirpē @stirpicus.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

🚨DEAD STATIC DRIVE HAS A RELEASE DATE!!!🚨 www.deadstaticdrive.com/releases NOVEMBER 5TH Y'ALL. Congrats to @mike.reuben.games, @leena.reuben.games, and the whole DSD team - I've been DYING to play this one.

deadstaticdrive.com

Dead Static Drive | Coming to PC and Xbox

Grab your bat, steal a car, and take your chances against the unearthly horrors found along Route 666. This is Dead Static Drive.

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Cäcilia Eming @caeming.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

field of flowers at ghibli park #peachtober25poppy #pixelart

Pixelart of a meadow with poppies, grasses, cornflowers and french daisies. In the background are some trees and the iconic elevator tower.

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Cäcilia Eming @caeming.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Nuts, anyone? #acorn #peachtober25 First time trying out a color palette.

Pixelart of an acorn-shaped booth. Inside is a squirrel selling different nuts. The booth has a sign with the word "nuts" painted on the outside and inside is a board with unreadable chalk writing. Some nuts are presented in paper bags, some in a basket and some are piled up.

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Saftladen Indie Games Collective 🍊 @saftladen.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

As we all know the game industry is going through very turbulent times, unfortunately this has also affected several members of our collective. The silver lining is that one of the largest rooms in our coworking space in Berlin will be available from September 1st. More info in thread...

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Stephan Hövelbrinks @talecrafter.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

The Saftladen, the indie games collective I'm part of here in Berlin, is looking for new members to rent some desks. Infos over here: www.linkedin.com/posts/saftla...

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Lorenzo Pilia @lorenzopilia.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Posted this a few months ago when itch went offline (following the bogus phishing report from Funko), still very relevant today for different reasons

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UnlocTeam @handle.invalid · 18/07/2025

Хтось не знав, а хтось уже й забув, що є чудовий послідовник класичних #Fallout — #DeathTrash. Поки гра в дочасному доступі, переклади додаються як модифікації. Запрошуємо спробувати й наш переклад, який ми сьогодні оновили до поточної версії гри: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/...

steamcommunity.com

Steam Workshop::Українська локалізація

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Dave 💾 Powerhoof @dave.powerhoof.com · 17/07/2025

🔥 The Drifter is OUT NOW! 🔥 Solve your own murder in our fast-paced point 'n click thrill-ride. 15% off for launch! Steam 🤜 store.steampowered.com/app/1170570/... GoG 🤜 www.gog.com/en/game/the_... It's been a long road working on this one- so exciting to finally get it in people's hands!

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