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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yup based in Cambridge, England

Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Btw love the smiling fox podcast. I enjoyed the different takes you all have on each subject. Latest interview with Chris was ace. One of my favourite non-actual play TTRPG podcasts! 👏

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

That is a good point! I had completely forgotten to lean into the mythic nature of the game. There was a warfare flashback battle and I was perhaps too eager to see which PCs would survive it. Love the idea you’ve mentioned - faking their own death is definitely something I am going to try! 👍

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I am very late to the party here, but would love to be added! Been a video game developer for decades and since two years ago started running TTRPGs and loving it. I also started writing down my thoughts about the hobby here at sessionzero.substack.com 😬

sessionzero.substack.com

Session Zero | Brandon Wu | Substack

Two decades making video games. Now learning to run tabletop ones. Click to read Session Zero, by Brandon Wu, a Substack publication. Launched 2 months ago.

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Advancing time between sessions in a TTRPG campaign gave us an opportunity to play with time - flashbacks, intercutting past and present scenes. It's narratively creative, and mechanically intriguing. Highly recommended! sessionzero.substack.com/p/playing-wi... #ttrpg #mythicbastionland

sessionzero.substack.com

Playing with Time

Advancing time, flashbacks, and intercutting between past and present

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Before I sit down, as soon as I start thinking about the what’s happened in the campaign so far ;)

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Prep as Meditation: Prepping for that TTRPG session forced me out of my usual head space and transported me to another world. sessionzero.substack.com/p/prep-as-me... #TTRPG

sessionzero.substack.com

Prep as Meditation

Time flies when you prep

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

One of my favourite reviews for BattleTabs. With the number of games coming out every day, being part of anyone's weekly rotation is a high honour! #gamedev

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Finally finished my submission to @onepagerpgjam.bsky.social — Fractured Kingdom, a solo journaling TTRPG about being a diplomat in a fractured, magical kingdom. thebrandonwu.itch.io/fractured-ki... My very first TTRPG - certainly wouldn't be my last! #ttrpg #gamedev #solo-rpg

thebrandonwu.itch.io

Fractured Kingdom by @theBrandonWu

One Page TTRPG — Be a Diplomat in a Fractured Kingdom

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

My entry to @onepagerpgjam.bsky.social, a one-page Diplomacy game, got too complex for me to think through. Time to simplify and wrap this thing up. Shorter isn't Easier: My One-Page Diplomacy TTRPG Got Too Complex sessionzero.substack.com/p/shorter-is... #ttrpg

notes for one-page rpg jam for my game about diplomacy

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I am going to talk about my journey with BattleTabs at Cambridge Game Makers event tonight - and I'll will be pressing that Steam release button during the talk! ;) www.eventbrite.com/e/cambridge-... #gamedev

eventbrite.com

Cambridge Game Makers Monthly Meetup!

Casual monthly meetup for local game developers of all stripes!

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

One-page RPG Jam is a yearly event for #TTRPG games that can only fit on one piece of paper. Love the constraint requires designers to be intentional with every element, when video games require 10GB+ storage, TTRPGs multiple volumes of books! @onepagerpgjam.bsky.social / itch.io/jam/one-page...

itch.io

One-Page RPG Jam 2026

A game jam from 2026-07-12 to 2026-08-16 hosted by Unknown Dungeon. The One Page RPG Jam returns for its sixth year running. This ENNIE award-winning game jam is about making new, one-page table-top r...

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Video games are defined by rules. My experience with #TTRPG on the other hand, taught me the importance of rulings in games. Rules & Rulings open.substack.com/pub/sessionz...

open.substack.com

Rules & Rulings

What drives play in games

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Btw I couldn't help myself and turned this into a site that other referee/GMs can use to visualise NPC relationships. Feel free to give it a try! keep-rpg.netlify.app (also added a dice tool for fun 😆)

keep-rpg.netlify.app

The Keep

An NPC and relationship visualiser for tabletop RPG game masters.

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Got it thanks. I like visual charts for relationships and being able to click on nodes has been useful for prep and as reminders for players. I want to add a section to add my session logs too :)

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Thanks! it was built just for this campaign, but I can probably make it so people can add their own campaign if people might find that useful. How do most people track their NPCs/relationships at the moment?

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

I couldn't get our Steam version ready in time to apply for the Ocean Fest, but if pvp Battleship with overpowered ships is anyone's jam, check out the BattleTabs Demo! ;) store.steampowered.com/app/4457520/...

store.steampowered.com

BattleTabs on Steam

A strategic twist on Battleship where every ship has unique abilities. Build your fleet of 4, outsmart your opponent with cooldown-based powers, and climb the ranked leaderboards. Free to play with cr...

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Made a site to track NPCs & relationships in our #MythicBastionland campaign with interactive chart/node/card views + dice tool and hex map view. Player review: "Brandon, you’ve gone too far…" 😆 (if you haven't tried @bastionland.bsky.social's Mythic Bastionland, you really should) #TTRPG

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Why I prioritise my #TTRPG time. “If you want to build community, you have to be willing to “waste time” with people. The irony is that this kind of time is never truly wasted. It’s where trust grows. It’s where belonging takes root. “ open.substack.com/pub/vivekmur...

open.substack.com

If You Want to Build Community, You Have to “Waste Time” with People

And a handful of ways to find "unproductive" time

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Friday night, 11:30pm, BattleTabs DB decides it's had enough. Nothing keeps a solo dev honest quite like that 😅 #gamedev

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Late nights some of the times 😆 I have a few things set up to ping me when things require my attention, and protocol in place for when things fail, and I use CC Channel when I am out and about. Our community on Discord has been incredibly helpful to help anyone out with issues and flag issues to me

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Hah so true! Our last hour of the session was mainly combat, which required less narrative mental power. Perhaps some hooks for players to roleplaying among themselves to give ourselves a break would be good 😌

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Players all got into roleplaying right away and enjoyed the freedom and speed of combat encounters. We'll certainly be revisiting this again!

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

It also felt less “DM vs PCs” in encounters. Perhaps because the game isn’t set up as “defeat the baddies” as the goal. And since I don’t come with a predefined narrative, I don’t have a strong preference how things go - we are all finding out what happens as we play.

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Running the game: it felt like there was very little down time as the referee (DM). I was constantly looking stuff up on the random tables, thinking through actions / consequences and trying to connect the dots. It felt quite full-on and mentally stimulating (in a good way).

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Mythic Bastionland 1st session hightlights (thread): I love how how the story quite literally unfolds at the table through the roleplaying, dice rolls, and a ton of improv. Incredble how much story can evolve from just a couple of sentences to start with. #TTRPG #mythicbastionland

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Going to run Mythic Bastionland for the first time. Very exciting! #ttrpg

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Ooh yeah I totally missed this! good one I gotta check it out

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

On-boarding was very different back then. Get your printer ready! (revisiting Heroes of Might and Magic III) #gamedev

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Reposted by Brandon Wu

Spoon & Tamago @spoon-tamago.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

According to the National Archives, this is the very first image of Santa Claus to appear in Japan in 1900. His name name was too foreign sounding so the author called him 三太九郎 (さんたくろう) dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1168287/...

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Word-game designers worldwide celebrate the birth of the crossword puzzle today, invented on 21st Dec 1913 by one Arthur Wynne. #gamedev

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

I keep Caves of Qud open at all times. It's the perfect 20-second break when I need to look away from the IDE—the best cure for IDE fatigue. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nG-... #gamedev #cavesofqud #coq

youtube.com

Caves of Qud - 1.0 Out Now Trailer

YouTube video by Kitfox Games

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Had a long list of things I wanted to improve in the game and couldn’t decide. Then this morning, staring at the build, a thought hit me: What does the game want? Not what players want or what devs want, but what the game itself is asking for. Feels like the answer might be hiding there #gamedev

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Nothing makes you feel older quite like returning players describing the game as “nostalgic“ 😆 #gamedev

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

I've been printing custom D&D miniatures for a campaign I was DMing. Pretty new to 3D printing but decided to share the models! You can find them here: makerworld.com/en/@thebrand... #3dprinting #dnd #miniature #D&D #ttrpg

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Thanks - and love your pixel art pieces!! 🔥 🔥 🔥

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Weapons in games peaked with fire flower #gaming #gamedev

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Brandon Wu @thebrandonwu.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Fans, what do I do without them ❤️ (from our discord community discord.com/channels/770...) #gamedev #fanart #battletabs

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Reposted by Brandon Wu

Tofu @tofupixel.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

Update on my pixel art guide for beginners: Transferred all the information from Tumblr to a Google Doc, so anyone who doesn't have a Tumblr account can now read through the whole thing! I also updated quite a bit of information too. I hope it will help somebody! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

A screenshot of the 'so you want to learn pixel art?' google doc

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