Sign in

Nicholas Karpuk

@thekarpuk.bsky.social
95 followers 357 following 1.1K posts

Father, Database Developer, Frustrated Novelist

PostsRepliesMedia
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 8h
There's plenty of bad writers that brag about not consuming anything in their genre. All it means is they don't realize when they using devices and ideas that are played out. Dan Houser is a bad writer.
ign.com
We Found the One Person Who Won't Be Playing GTA 6: Ex-Rockstar Boss Dan Houser. But He's Got a Good Reason
Dan Houser, the former co-boss of Rockstar Games and former creative director on the Grand Theft Auto series, doesn't play a lot of open-world games. And he doesn't plan on playing GTA 6 either. But i...
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I've noticed over the course of my life as a man who's not really a joiner and doesn't hang out with that many men is that guys who do often seem to encourage transgressive behavior to see if you'll be complicit with their bullshit. A lot of edgy male behavior is confirming what's tolerated.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is one of those times with powerful people where I just think, "Either they're stupid, or they're lying, possibly both."
arstechnica.com
Anthropic’s IPO pitch includes a warning about human extinction
The Claude maker warns its own models could resist shutdowns and cause catastrophic harm.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
@kylethompsondev.bsky.social has spent the 2020's just absolutely mastering the Metroid-style game experience.
backloggd.com
TheKarpuk's review of Well Dweller | Backloggd
Anytime an indie developer has this kind of devastating track record with their games it reminds me that I'm glad I'm playing games in this day and age. In the span of less than 5 years Kyle Thompson ...
020
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
OMG, you mean they went with the most basic-bitch take on how to handle an existing property? I am shocked.
avclub.com
A darker Mary Poppins TV series is in the works
A darker Mary Poppins TV series is in the works
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I don't know why people care so much about what Chris Hansen thinks about this movie, compared to other biopic subjects. He's a hack who spent years entrapping pedophiles for entertainment.
avclub.com
Chris Hansen has finally watched Primetime, gives Robert Pattinson's performance a "D"
Chris Hansen has finally watched Primetime, gives Robert Pattinson's performance a "D"
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I'm not sure how well society would function if most people knew just how stupid the average CEO was.
100
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I'm not sure how often in history this grift has ever worked in this direction.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The last update for this series was in 2019. How on earth is this still being worked on?
store.steampowered.com
HIVESWAP: ACT 1 - HIVESWAP: ACT 3 Demo Available Now - Steam News
This is a free demo for HIVESWAP: ACT 3, a point-and-click adventure set in the HOMESTUCK universe. Jeevik Week is finally here!
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I felt a little suckered in by the presentation on Twisted Tower.
backloggd.com
TheKarpuk's review of Twisted Tower | Backloggd
I don't think this game is particularly doing anything wrong, but I also don't think it's doing anything all that compelling. If it was going to for a narrative angle, it would have required better ac...
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A thing I hadn't considered about corporations absorbing other companies: When things start to go badly they basically collapse a chunk of the whole industry.
eurogamer.net
Hellblade developer Ninja Theory to be shut down in new wave of Xbox cuts, as two separate agreements collapse
Ninja Theory - developer of the Hellblade series - is shutting down as part of today's Xbox cuts. Its proposed buyers pulled out, resulting in the closure.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I'm starting to think that repeatedly raising the prices on bread and circuses isn't working out.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There are a lot of Americans who aren't moved unless you come for their comfort and convenience.
040
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I will note that Dawn of the Bloodwalker has almost the same vibe as the title they went with.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
There's a possibility this game might actually underperform, with all these weird limitations, high sticker price, non-physical release, and billion-dollar budget. And oddly, it might actually impact the entire industry if it did.
eurogamer.net
GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption 2 maker Rockstar Games updates modding guidelines, restricts mods that alter the dev's missions and storylines
Rockstar Games has updated its modding guidelines, restricting mods that alter the developer's missions or storylines in games like GTA and Red Dead Redemption.
110
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The James Bond Jr was actually James Bond's nephew in the cartoon, which is funny, because if ever there was a fictional character who would have had kids he didn't know about, it's James Bond.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
IMDB users have some of the worst takes about media on the entirety of the Internet.
011
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Nerds complaining about Wolverine are so close to getting the point. So much of what they're mad about is systemic. Insomniac made Sony a billion dollars and still got hit with layoffs while trying to make this game. Who does their best like this?
forbes.com
An Upset Insomniac Says PlayStation Layoffs Are ‘Unprecedented’
Insomniac Games has issued a public statement about the layoffs on their main Twitter account, something other big developers affected like Naughty Dog have not done.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Runaway to the Stars continues to be one of the best comics currently running and it's almost offensive that I get to read it for free. I really need to buy some merch off them.
runawaytothestars.com
Runaway to the Stars
Runaway to the Stars is a hard scifi story focused on communication, accommodation, and everyday life in co-species spaces.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I don't know if I've ever seen any convincing evidence that layoffs aren't purely destructive, damaging to entire industries, and ultimately useless in terms of actually helping with anything meaningful. It's like amputating your leg if you want to lose weight.
gamesradar.com
Japanese companies like Nintendo, Capcom, and Konami are healthier because they have smaller teams, don't have frequent layoffs, and don't pay executives $30 million, says expert
"They didn't get swept up in the live-service trend, or into these mega-blockbusters with 500-person teams"
011
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I feel like the asymmetrical nature of American politics is that right-wing pundits say things more extreme than this on a daily basis and no one even notices anymore.
051
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Most American game studios seem like they're only one failure away from closure. There's not a lot of wiggle room to try things.
gamesradar.com
Hyper Light Drifter dev lays off "nearly everyone at the studio" after publisher backs out of new game: "I'm not sure yet how or if Heart Machine survives"
"Navigating an increasingly challenging industry has been extremely difficult"
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It's wild how much CEOs brag about how bad they suck at their jobs now.
000
Reposted by Nicholas Karpuk
michael lutz @ztul.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Barber CEO: You Risk Falling Behind If You Don't Get A Haircut "Right Now" Industry Experts Foresee Future In Which Everyone Receives Multiple Haircuts Every Day Today Your Hair, Tomorrow The World: Barbers Say They Are On Track To Build A Pair Of Scissors So Big, It Could End Life As We Know It
142237646
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Every reviewer I've seen seems to hate the Wolverine game, but it manages to have a Metacritic rating of 77. Why is that? Because there's a dozen websites you've probably never heard of who gave it a rating of 90 or higher. There is no rating system worth a damn online.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
No, it wasn't worth it to take years off peoples' lives to make a dork-ass space RPG. Crunch is a failure of management and planning.
gamesradar.com
BioWare crunched "21 days on, one day off" making Mass Effect, says former dev: "That was really, really hard, but really worth it"
Cinematic designer Armando Troisi says the RPG was developed with "a level of ambition that I think was just unheard of at the time"
011
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I don't think most people play enough games to actually make these services worth it.
eurogamer.net
More than 40% of people cancelling Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online US subscriptions blamed rising costs, "but liked the service"
People who cancel subscriptions to Xbox Game Pass, PS Plus and NSO are more likely to blame rising costs, even if they enjoy what the video game services offer.
011
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Art is always exists as an experience, and the method through which it's acquired interfaced with is a part of that experience, so it doesn't shock me that people would want something that provides a token of that relationship.
gamesradar.com
Tired of digital everything, more people are buying physical media: CD sales are up 58% and vinyl records jumped 17%, according to new report
Younger generations have shown increasing interest in discs
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
People will do so much stuff to avoid having an uncomfortable conversation. Young people need sex education that's actually worth a damn.
wired.com
A Teen Girl’s Death Is Prompting Calls to Ban Choking in Porn
Despite the many health risks, sexual strangulation has become popular among young people—with some experts blaming adult content for normalizing it.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Bloodborne was when I realized that the disc you buy is no longer the game you play. Without the first patch, the load times between deaths were torturous. I don't know if there's a way for anyone to preserve the actual functional versions of games.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I like how indie games can be about anything. You can run a magical shop, harass people as a goose, explore an island with friends. But AAA games are mostly about driving, sports, or murder.
110
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The right could never weaponize Charlie Kirk's death properly because any normal person who saw a clip of him would realize he was a smug weasel of a man who always acted like he'd won an argument before it started. His shtick wasn't never meant to be persuasive or sympathetic.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This is about as compelling as a parrot talking to its reflection.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I'm begging news outlets to be a little more incredulous about the wacky lies people making gen AI are peddling.
gamespot.com
AI Could "Kill All Humans" In Next Decade, Anthropic Lead Says
Nice knowing ya.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Steelrising is kind of a novel premise, but it starts with a long dull conversation involving Marie Antoinette and launches you into a hedge maze dungeon that wouldn't look out of place on the PS2. Even as a free Epic game it's inferior to just replaying an actual good soulslike.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The thing with my favorite Zelda games is I don't think most of them need a remake. A Link to the Past, Wind Waker, and Breath of the Wild all look the way they do pretty intentionally, and a new coat of paint wouldn't really do much.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
If gen AI was such a great film-making tool we would already know it by now. This sort of thing is only appealing to power mad old men who are tired of having to communicate with other artists.
avclub.com
Paul Schrader says he's ready to make an all-AI-"actor" movie
Paul Schrader says he's ready to make an all-AI-"actor" movie
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Nothing weird going on here, just a millionaire with dead eyes and a what he seems to think is a smile making people play games for his amusement for potential cash prizes.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
People who do things like use generative AI or support problematic people could simply shut the fuck up about it. It seems like being defensive is actively giving more support to that thing.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I don't think these C-suite video game people fully appreciate that they're not just competing against other game studios, they're competing against other ways people can spend their time. If you make gaming uninviting enough, people will go do something else. That's what the Atari crash was.
eurogamer.net
How does Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney reckon we can fight the industry's "Crash 2.0"? By building "massive new factories" - and he thinks it'll definitely happen
In a new interview, the Epic Games CEO has dropped his two cents about how the games industry can survive "the worst crash we've seen since the 1980s."
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The article itself is fine, but that headline sucks so bad, and the editor should feel bad.
gamespot.com
Arc Raiders Prioritized The Game And Its Devs' Health. It Could Cost Them Dearly.
Embark Studios took months between major updates for the health of the game and its creators. Is a live-service game allowed to do that?
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Give a man a fish and they'll eat for a day. Teach them to fish and they'll still need fishing gear, somewhere to legally fish, a fire to cook it on, and a place to eat it.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
This game is looking crazy-boring to me, and I find myself wondering if its under-performance could actually damage the world economy.
ign.com
GTA 6's Morality Meter Can Reportedly Break If You Cause Too Much Chaos
Grand Theft Auto 6's morality meter can reportedly "shatter" and lead to you becoming essentially irredeemable for an entire playthrough of the game.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This is just straight-up dishonest. At no point since the PS3 have Sony ever presented purchases made on their platform is licenses or rentals. It was never clearly sold as a temporary, no matter what the legalese says. This company is wildly overconfident about their brand.
010
Reposted by Nicholas Karpuk
Basil 🌱 @basil-mage.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Dog and bunny
Drawing of a puppy with a pink bunny and the caption; "I hope you heal from the things you don't talk about"
5496072709
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
How crazy that companies that are constantly lying are hyping up how dangerously powerful their products are. You'd think if their product was so dangerous they might stop doing what they're doing.
wired.com
The Cybersecurity Apocalypse Is Coming in ‘Months,’ AI Giants Warn
Plus: Hackers target over 100 US water systems, ICE puts in an order for robot dogs, and you’ll never guess what “MrChildPorn” was arrested for.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Target releasing a minstrel show costume is the exact reason why corporations started doing DEI, to prevent clueless privileged people from doing buffoonish shit. Multiple departments and management levels had to sign off on that.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I'm rarely surprised by this administration because all you have to do is ask, "What would a dumb, petty asshole do in this situation?" That's it, that's going to get you most of the way there.
010
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The way you can tell a gen AI executive is lying is when you see their mouths moving.
000
Nicholas Karpuk @thekarpuk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
There's an entire genre of short-form video that's just someone airing their grievances about their marriage, and I wonder how often that content is used in divorce proceedings.
010