iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The cluelessness of this reminds me a lot of the NFT grift. The thing about NFTs was that it was mainly something finance bros were into, and when they were trying to worm their way into gaming, their pitches were an abyssal trench of bad ideas because they couldn't grasp why people played games.

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Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Just helping with editing here. These bots aren’t sentient. They’re doing what they’re programmed to do. OpenAI, a private company supposedly bound by laws, committed federal crimes.

Screenshot of BBC article: OpenAI bots (struck through) meddled with multiple US government agency sites

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I keep up with anime less than I'd like but I still needed to limit myself to series (no movies) to narrow it down my9animes.com/en/share/efb...

3x3 grid of anime covers/titles: Darker than Black, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Steins; Gate, Trigun, Kill la Kill, Kino's Journey, Hunter x Hunter

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Sandy Pug Games Gaiden @sandypuggames.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

esp in Affinity the juice with styles is the ability to pile on and combine and tweak a ton of decorations and finetune the font till it looks slick as hell, then apply it to the whole doc very easily. I really liked how styles let me make, like, GM Advice style Asides in boxes and stuff

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headfallsoff @headfallsoff.com · 19/09/2026

also. the thing people hate is not ‘the technology’ it is the tech industry. they hate move fast and break things. they hate having everything they say tracked and processed while companies do whatever they want. they hate every single ideological value that animates silicon valley

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Nicholas ➼ feeling larval 🐛 @omophagic-beast.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

My fweaking car 😭😭😭 A moment of silence for this beautiful beast. She gave herself life for mine, and for many of our games as well. 😔 I am ok though! Made it out with 15 stitches and some bruises. Light work 😎

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

IPR has been one of my first brushes with wider distribution in the indie ttrpg world and Nic was kind, helpful, and professional throughout our correspondence. he's truly given me a wonderful welcome into this space, please please please help him out!

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I'm not always satisfied with how I deliver horror at the table but one thing that can be effective is to work outward from imagery. Take a dramatic moment to describe something in sickening detail, and leave broader implications to be puzzled out.

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Eric @mokkograd.net · 13/09/2026

It's been a week since I published the Steam page for Eswahr Eternal. I can't see the game's numbers, so I just assume that it is, as the people might say: "trending". Have you visited said steam page? You should go there and do what needs to be done: store.steampowered.com/app/5198420/...

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Connie @conniewhatever.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

mspaint mech 2

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Bruno Dias @brunodias.dev · 09/09/2026

Like an underrated harm of LLM coding is that it basically starts to strangle actual evolution of software engineering as a field. Why invent better ways of doing things? Why come up with better languages, better abstractions, better tooling?

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Eric @mokkograd.net · 06/09/2026

"Eswahr Eternal" is a fantasy role-playing game about becoming a King. You will travel an empty land, slay Giants, sacrifice your principles for power and then you will rule. For Eternity. Go and wishlist it on Steam, or else: store.steampowered.com/app/5198420/...

store.steampowered.com

Eswahr Eternal on Steam

Eswahr Eternal wants you to become a King. You will wander across an eternal Kingdom. You will slay the four Giants of the Land. You will sacrifice your Principles for Power. You will take the Throne....

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VƎX Werewolf @vexwerewolf.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Blowing a D&D purist's mind by pointing out that newspapers are more anachronistic than guns in medieval settings.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

This is a long post, but I think it's worth sharing a bit more widely than I usually do. @househouse.com's Big Walk found me at a time when I had a lot of particular feelings about walking, and was a lens through which to process them.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I'm behind on my blogging, so here's a big one to justify the delay. This starts with a video game and goes into some other stuff that's been going on in my life recently. To everyone I regularly play games with, or go on adventures with: know that I love you thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/b...

thoughtsabout.games

Big Walks, Taken and Not

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Kim Hu @kim-hu.com · 01/09/2026

For everyone else as well; Currently fully booked until November, but still plenty of availability in 2027 🩷

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headfallsoff @headfallsoff.com · 01/09/2026

an honest brutal legend 2 would be the saddest game of all time. i would play it but just thinking about rod halford recording alone in the booth fucks me up

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Bruno Dias @brunodias.dev · 01/09/2026

A fundamental problem with "oh it's useful for coding" is that "generating more software faster" has, if anything, negative marginal utility in itself. The world is not suffering from a software shortage. The world is suffering from a software quality crisis, which LLMs seem more likely to worsen.

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🐾Skitty🔥 @sugrrnspice.art · 28/08/2026

friendslop.....💙

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Open Hearth Gaming Community @openhearthrpg.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Open Hearth Podcast Ep 22: Basic Fantasy RPG, Fearful Symmetries, Void Technicians Host Tea talks Moria and Shane about things they recently played, cover three RPGs in more depth, and then the group finishes up with some things they've been digging recently. #ttrpg

aroundthehearth.openhearthgaming.com

Around the Hearth | Open Hearth Podcast Ep 22: Basic Fantasy RPG, Fearful Symmetries, Void Technicians

In this episode of the Open Hearth Podcast, host Tea talks with a couple of community members about their gaming. This time Moria and Shane discuss things they recently played, cover three RPGs in ...

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I took a queer literature course at my community college in spring and had a pretty freeform final project, so I explored queerness (and invitations to roleplay within and around it) in several of Avery Alder's works 1/5

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I missed this boost from Tomas when the game first launched, but his testimonial is one of the ones I used on the itch page and it was some of the first feedback that made me feel confident that players would see what I was going for, even without me at the table. thanks again for playtesting!!

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IWGB @iwgbunion.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Don’t boycott GTA VI. Fight for justice for the people who made it: youtube.com/shorts/hhIES... T-shirt preorders open now! All proceeds from the t-shirts, which are ethically made and designed by us, will go towards the fired Rockstar workers’ legal funds. bit.ly/4xLc4IP

youtube.com

Don't Boycott GTA VI. Fight for justice for the people who made it.

YouTube video by IWGB Union

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Indie Press Revolution @ipr.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

New! Ridge City Riders is a GM-less RPG for 3-5 players of building hoverbikes from scrap and racing them into the dream of a brighter future. www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/

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Joshua Rivera @jmrivera.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I don’t want to pick on this person, this is just a really illustrative reply. something happened along the way where arguing from a place of conviction—believing that your opinion is correct — is received as prescriptive, an imposition. This is not a great development, imo

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eash @eash.dev · 16/08/2026

a song & some art to go with it music.eash.dev/track/primer

a person with glowing armor and a large curved sword stands between two dark blue pillars that have orange glows. Between the two pillars on the ground the person stands on, a bright yellow/white sandstone path leads to a large structure in the distance with an unbelievably massive hole. two guards stand on either side of the hole.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I appreciate writing like this that reiterates why the line drawn by the BDS boycott is both reasonable and important. Kotaku's recent article about South of Midnight being untethered from Xbox was useful informational reporting but still felt so much like have-and-eat-your-cake enthusiast press...

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This analysis rings very true for me! Most folks I regularly play TTRPGs with are not in creative fields and don't have a lot of time for creative hobbies; game rules provide inspiration by establishing context and giving a framework for what to say and do; they help everyone creatively participate

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I'm still catching up and getting back on track, but for this week's blog post I wrote up a big ol' retrospective about the campaign of Heart: The City Beneath that I wrapped up recently with some good friends thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/h...

thoughtsabout.games

Heartfelt Goodbyes

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Keith J Carberry @carberry.deals · 06/08/2026

Why are dirty sodas literally everywhere this is a Mormon psyop leave me alone

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Connie @conniewhatever.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

@thecastlebuilder.bsky.social and I made a game for @onepagerpgjam.bsky.social. It's about space scumbags looting the corpse of a dead generation ship. I'm very happy with the way it turned out!! zodiacheavyindustries.itch.io/hullvultures

zodiacheavyindustries.itch.io

HULLVULTURES by zodiacheavyindustries

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

For my woefully late post this week, I had a nice little ramble about my gaming habits when I travel and a personal goal to find more patience and attentiveness in my play thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...

thoughtsabout.games

Novelty, Patience, and Travel Games

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Jumpgate Games @jumpgategames.itch.io · 31/07/2026

If you're interested in 2 TTRPGs 🎲 that: - Use bespoke mechanics actually suited to tell Star Wars-style stories - Are made by indie creators instead of WotC - Are award-winning games - Don't require a GM WOW do we have the exact Kickstarter for you: www.kickstarter.com/projects/gal...

Galactic & Going Rogue Late Pledging on Kickstarter, with art of a bunch of rebels in space

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Heather Flowers (500FF DEMO OUT NOW) @hthrflwrs.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

"But as a solo dev--" You must learn the power of your own limitations. If your art is crap, either get better at art, figure out a way to make its crappiness look intentional, or ask for help.

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

I've been a day late a few times since I started my biweekly blogging cadence at the beginning of the year, but I think this is the first one that'll fully slip unfortunately (travel followed by getting sick really set me back). I hope to still post something later this week to get back on track!

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Badly promote your TTRPG: Give up at the end or probably die

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Tait, the Salty Sage @taittheterrific.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I would play the SHIT out of a fantasy mail delivery service game where you have to deliver mail to increasingly fantastical locations.

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headfallsoff @headfallsoff.com · 16/07/2026

abhorrent and disgusting. far more important an issue than the completely fake discourse about woke casting or whatever.

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Relmin @relmin.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

You just gotta follow Kim. One of the best to ever do it! (It being Art)

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the story is true @dcellgames.com · 18/07/2026

this could be you .. .. . .. . .

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

A little late on my post for this week. Recently I dusted off Wanderhome to bring to a table I've been playing with and I wanted to write about some of the things that make it such a joy to prep for as a Guide (kind of like a GM).

thoughtsabout.games

Traits and Natures in Wanderhome

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

I don't mean to imply that the author's clinical training gives him unique authority to judge art, but I do find his reading really sharp and vindicating. it articulates the reasons why the "one big choice" ending schema feels so inadequate to the entire 30+ hours of world-building it resolves

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Today's post was a little bit rushed, but hopefully came out coherent. With Mina the Hollower I am on the opposite side of the "game is too hard" argument than I was with Silksong. I talk a little bit about how it's changed how I play and engage with it thoughtsabout.games/blog/posts/g...

thoughtsabout.games

Digging Deep in Mina the Hollower

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

thoughtsabout.games

Digging Deep in Mina the Hollower

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paul @thecastlebuilder.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

as someone who was carefully (and maybe only half-intentionally) directed away from creative fields as I grew up, it's crazy that we're getting to a point where this applies even to the boring-but-lucrative thing I was ultimately pushed towards instead of video games or writing: software engineering

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Dr. Emily Friedman @ecfriedman.com · 27/06/2026

I think about this a lot — so much so that I recall saying to one Actual Play person who is my age/career stage that we have similar challenge: our successes are not replicable by the route we took, but we ALSO want to help folks figure out new paths.

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Mynar Lenahan ✨Looking For Gigs @mynarlenahan.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

🌞 It's the Itch Summer Sale! 🌞 I'm taking 25% off every ttrpg, 50% off if you buy a bundle, and 60% off if you buy everything! Only until 7th of July-ish! itch.io/s/192874/sum...

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