iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 17h

I've been having a pretty rough week, but then I got an email that turned my 'everything is kinda falling apart' anxiety into 'everything could suddenly become incredible so long as I don't mess this up' anxiety. Not happy with the constant chest tightness, but It'll be worth it if this pans out.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Planning on sending out the invite links to a few friendgroups tomorrow, and anxiety's hitting me hard. Had several comments of interest when we first raised the possibility, but very little response to questions and polls posed later. Still... got a few confirmed folks, and I'm sure we'll have fun.

A broad screenshot of the spawn zone of the Vintage Story server, featuring a river valley and some distant hills. A stone teleportation stone represents where players will spawn into the world, and a rope bridge crosses over the wide river nearby.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Got some of my past (and one present) folks who I'd be honored to see find new lives!

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

My FIRST first character has been lost, but my first true main, Ibex, lives on. Had a bit of a Kralkatorrik phase and lost her leg in Cantha, but otherwise doing pretty well. Also, it's hilarious to me that so far all of the responses I see are Charr :P

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I have stumbled into a fallen world, able only to piece together a best guess at what used to be and what could have been from the context clues of what remains...

A screenshot of the above post and the 'post not found' of whatever it was replying to.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

God, I have not laughed this hard at a game in a LONG time.

The Portrait of Pope Julius II by Raphael, but with a face that looks like it was drawn in crayon because there is a tiny tube-man hiding in front of it. From the game 'Meccha Chameleon', a prop-hunt style game where you paint yourself to hide in the environment.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Welp, finally managed to clear the time to watch the TADC finale. I am content.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

I love when timelines line up perfectly :P

Immediately above the post about loving human artists, there is a still from an animated short from Legends of Avantris featuring Chuckles the clown having just drunk from a flagon of piss. This is not a counterpoint to Cat's post, but in fact a shining, glorious example.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Powerwash Simulator was not enough for me. I craved greater challenges. More inconvenience. PURE CLEANING. Also, come on, fellow Scientists. This place was a serious biohazard. Bodily fluids must be handled with proper care! @abioticfactor.com

Multiple screenshots from Abiotic Factor of the Security Sector, which is normally entirely coated in blood splatters to imply the horrific fates of the people who used to work there, now perfectly clean (but still dark and monster-filled).

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

This Starfox debacle has finally gotten me to condense a feeling on character design I've had lately into words: If 'the character is fuckable' is a required cornerstone for a likable character, we will only ever agree on the quality of a design by chance. We need more weird and/or 'ugly' designs!

Skeletal Gruntilda from Banjo Tooie (though regular Grunty would have also worked)

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

So did I! Wishing us both the best of luck!

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Made one of those game opinion grids that's been going around. I tried to limit myself to not having duplicates too often, but also if I could the 'best soundtrack' slot would just be a rotating image of half the games on here :P

An 'About Me: Video Games' meme grid.
Favorite Game: Dishonored 2
Best Story: Disco Elysium
Favorite Art Style: Curse of Monkey Island
Biggest Personal Impact: Rayman
Best Combat: Elden Ring
Overhated: Civilization 7
Underrated: Abiotic Factor
Overrated: Cave Story+
Needs a Remake: Ghost Master
Criminally Overlooked: Etherlords 2
Favorite Protagonist: Silksong
Favorite Antagonist: Curse of Monkey Island (LeChuck)
Best Soundtrack: Rimworld
Best Multiplayer: Guild Wars 2
Not Usually My Thing, But...: Planet Zoo
Turn My Brain Off: Risk of Rain 2
Best With Friends: Halo 3
Best Retro Game: Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Nostalgic Childhood Game: LEGO Rock Raiders
Game Everyone Should Play: Esoteric Ebb

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

And that's credits on Esoteric Ebb. Hell of a game. Highly recommended for any fans of Disco Elysium or the kinds of folks who like dissecting the ethical ramifications of fantasy cosmology and worldbuilding. With a list of special thanks like this, it was basically made for me!

A list of Special Thanks from the end credits of Esoteric Ebb, specifically calling out Dungeons & Dragons, The Secret of Monkey Island, Planescape: Torment, and Disco Elysium

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Trying to cook something substantial for myself and my roomies at least once a month, and February nearly got away from me. Managed to grab a bunch of stuff to make green-and-mole enchiladas with some preshredded carnitas from the grocery store. A+ Will make again because I overbought ingredients.

A casserole dish that appears to be mostly filled with brown goo and some browned colby-jack cheese. The plated version was even less attractive, but I promise it tastes great.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Oh oh! I actually have something for this! Artists! Quote with something dramatic 💥

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Only took a few years, but as an EXTREMELY casual GW2 player, feels good to finally have a Legendary Weapon! Now to... I guess try and make a few more?

The 'Congratulations' post for having crafted the Guild Wars 2 Legendary, 'The Predator'.

A glamour shot of one of my characters holding the weapon.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Took part in a Tales From Myriad one-shot today. The system as a whole may not be for me, but I love the character creation tables, which led me to Bumpkin the Animus, who was sent by the Stars to wander the world. Turned a guy into a pumpkin, nearly ended the world, saved the day. Good stuff!

A dramatic, arcane explosion frames a strange, robot-man with a pumpkin on his head in fiery light.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

And that's PWSim 2 100%ed. Just as pleasant as the original, with just as fun and goofy of a story. The fact they manage to have one at all in a game about washing (a variety of very cool) objects and places is outstanding, let alone how enjoyable it is.

The Steam overlay showing 100% achievements unlocked in Power Wash Simulator 2.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Day 25: Raft One of the first survival-crafting games I ever played with a concrete story and relatively linear progression through it, and all the better for it. I hopped onto this one about halfway through its early access days, and it was great to go through again with each major update.

A sunburned figure stands with a hook in one hand and the other hand rested against the mast of a makeshift sail. They stare out over water filled with garbage and a shark towards a deep water platform on the horizon.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Day 24: Dwarf Fortress A true classic. I can draw a line directly from my old obsession with the game through to just about all of the games I play most and youtube channels I follow to this day. Also, if you recognize the basis for the dwarf in the foreground, you're a real one.

A dwarf digs at a rock wall in the foreground while another in a Fey Mood is rounding the corner with a bucket filled with gems and bones. Behind them down another hall, an Ancient Beast is about to introduce everyone to the concept of Fun.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Day 23: Valheim Can't believe I didn't think of this one sooner! One of my favorite survival-crafting games before Abiotic Factor came around, and it's still fantastic (and only getting better) with the recent updates.

A figure in blue leather armor stands on a rocky outcropping holding a copper-tipped polearm. Over another hill, through fog and shadow, the shape of a Troll can be seen looming over the player.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Day 22: Terra Nil A beautiful game I'm surprisingly bad at. For all it's designed to be a very zen puzzle game, it turns out if you aren't good at comparative number-crunching, it can be quite tricky :P

A squared-off landscape of trees and grass and bushes. There is a dear in the middle distance, some geese in the air, and an airship flying by in the upper distance.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Day 21: Rounds Alternative Title: 'When your gun is too good' I can't believe it took me this long to get to this one. An incredible little duel game that almost instantly gets extremely silly. I need to start playing this again...

A circle with little arms and legs is holding a gun and making an extremely worried face as a massive explosion approaches them from off-screen.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Day 20: Shadows of Doubt Based on a true story. Turns out, you don't have to subdue your target if you just sneak into their apartment while they're sleeping! Not my best work, but I tried to draw this one at a tiny resolution to be 'accurate' and now I know not to bother next time.

In a dark room lit by a pink neon sign, a standing figure has crept out of a wall vent with a pair of handcuffs and is standing over someone in a bed. The standing figure is saying 'Shhh... You're under arrest...'

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Day 19: PowerWash Simulator 2 Alternative title: 'How to gain an RSI in just over an hour'

An edited photo of two hands in front of a computer screen, with radiating pain lines over the right wrist. On the screen, the hands were clearly playing PowerWash Simulator 2 (and watching Dropout on the other screen) and was seized by this wrist pain in the middle of washing a dick into the latest building.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Day 18: Curse of Strahd Hardcore, Season 2 @worldofioyt.bsky.social It's a game being played by independent developers, it counts! Nothing like being in a conversation with your party where someone is being far too honest for anyone's wellbeing.

A dwarven figure is asking yet another question about the setting while the NPC is clearly losing his mind at the end of the table. Two figures off-screen are attempting to get their party member to stop talking, and a stitched-together woman on the other side of the table is sitting there with no reaction to anything happening.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Day 17: Children of the Sun A game I blitzed through pretty damn fast, but popped into a few times here and there ever since. Wild visual style and a fantastic gameplay loop. Just a shame that near-midnight on a Tuesday isn't the best time to learn to properly paint explosions.

A split image. In the top left corner, the face of a girl in a paper mask is lightly illuminated by the muzzle flash of a sniper rifle. In the main image, a white line emerges from a small shack backlit by the moon. From there, it streaks between the bloodied head of a glowing yellow figure in the distance, off the panel to the right into a massive explosion, and curves back up into view towards the head of a second yellow figure in the foreground, revealing itself to be the trail of a bullet.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Day 16: Risk of Rain 2 The new expansion is on the horizon, and after seeing them recovering from the flubs of the previous one, I'm really excited for it! There were a lot of options of survivors to include, but I went with the one that I was enjoying most last I played. Good ol' Railgunner!

A screenshot of the Scorched Acres environment from Risk of Rain 2. A raingunner is making a leaping shot at the eye of an Imp Overlord, while a number of lesser wisps and a Greater wisp hover in the background.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Day 15: The Amazing Digital Circus It's my list, I get to make the rules! It's a game in-universe, right? Basically counts! Don't ask me why my first thought for an 'Uberphish' character for that world was an octopus living in a scrawny diving suit. I don't have an answer for you...

A still image background taken from work heavily inspired by the Glitch animated show, The Amazing Digital Circus. A string-bean of a character that looks like an octopus crammed into the helmet of an old diving suit is looking worriedly at Kinger, who seems to be attempting to make them feel better by pointing out a nice little butterfly.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Day 14: Balatro It had to show up here eventually.

A bearded figure with long hair, a grey jacket, and sunglasses leans back in a chair, looking nonchalant except for the beads of sweat rolling down his face. He has several stacks of chips in front of him, at least two aces in an obscured poker hand, and several items in front of him: A banana, an egg with a face painted on it, a bottle of cola, and some sort of ballot slip with a hole-punched card with the punched part not quite loose from the rest of the sheet. In the foreground, a hand points a gun at the man, presumably for cheating.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Day 13: Project Zomboid Another one I haven't gotten back into SUPER recently, but still a really great survival game if you can stomach the constant anxiety and the knowledge that, eventually, you'll get just a bit complacent and end up bitten. Enjoy that timer to your inevitable demise!

A bearded figure with a bandaged leg kneels over a pair of legs belonging to some unfortunate dead person on the side of a residential road. He's looted a small red panda doll from the body, and is looking over his shoulder at a number of zombies emerging from a house across the street to come after him.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Day 12: ARK: Survival Ascended (I haven't slept yet, so it still counts!) One of my favorite games that I absolutely would not recommend, every time a friend spins up a server I find myself building a new house and taming a new killsquad. All hail the Rhyniognatha!

A drawing in the rough style of an old medieval manuscript. A figure in a brown robe kneels before a fallen brontosaurus, from which is rupturing a green rhyniognatha - a gigantic insect monster - that has burst out of its rib cage. A golden circle is behind it, with god rays radiating in all directions.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Day 11: Rimworld Getting back into the swing of things with some slightly simpler fare. Amazing how only a few days off and I felt like I forgot how to do anything...

A shot of the Thrumbo from Rimworld slashing and stomping a number of people apart as a guy with a cowboy hat and a plasteel knife sprints into the foreground in an attempt to escape. A small, wooden block-house sits in the background, no doubt on fire slightly out of frame.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Day 9: Enshrouded Another of my top survival games of all time, this one started as what I THOUGHT would be a simple idea. Turns out, a simplistic paint-over of an in-game screenshot is anything but simple when you've got no actual scenery-painting prowess. Still, I finished it and I'm proud of it.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

Day 8: He Is Coming I really need to dig into this game again. I really appreciated the feeling of escalating power only to get smacked down by the next Major Boss in order to learn what your goals were. I was just bad at assembling functional builds :P

An image in the style of He Is Coming's solid colors and stark, black backgrounds. It features the Leshe boss (a giant, starving elk-person wielding a shovel) standing over a spooked version of 'me' who was about to grab a fancy new sword.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Day 7: Megabonk You give me any game with an escalating DoT mechanic and I will IMMEDIATELY gravitate towards it. I love me a good tick-tick-tick of damage.

An image copying the pose of Al Pacino's character from Scarface, sitting in a desert level in front of a table covered in Megabonk's 'Moldy Cheese' item, a few poison bottles, a genie lamp, a gas mask, and a green glove resting on a toxic waste barrel. The 'chair' from that scene is a large, stone magnet.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Day 6: Abiotic Factor Played through this with my sisters, and it almost immediately became one of my favorite survival-crafting games of all time. Someday I want to do a full mock-up of all of our characters and our endgame loadouts, but for now it's just me in our base and definitely nothing else!

An actual screenshot of our main atrium base in Abiotic Factor, with a drawing of my character wielding the Carbon Pickaxe and the Quantum Pick while wearing the High Inquisitor suit. Far in the background, the Leyak is peeking around a corner.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Day 5: Blue Prince I hit credits on this game, learned just what else there was waiting for me beyond, and rapidly decided that I knew the limits of my ailing brain-meats. Still, a fantastic puzzle box (if you've got the stomach for repetition and randomness).

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Day 4: Peak I had an original plan of designing a character that I would use in future entries as a sort of player surrogate when the player character was less specific, but that fell through, so enjoy some friendly beans on a simple climb!

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Day 3: Dread Delusion It's occurring to me as I do these last couple and thinking about games to come that I've got a lot of pixel art/textures to deal with, and I am _not_ good at replicating that. Something to practice going forward! In the mean time, DAMN this game is interesting to look at.

Art inspired by the game Dread Delusion. A figure in a black cloak with a sort of gun-club sits on a rock beneath a tree and looks out over a number of floating islands, lit by a bright pink sun. The vague silhouettes of a massive squid-like creature and a winged snake are visible within the clouds.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Day 2: R.E.P.O I've been playing the hell out of this with my sisters off and on, most recently with some mods to let us get a bit further in without getting entirely squashed. Power tends to make us a bit more aggro than we should probably be. (Reposted to put these into a thread)

Draw-over of a screenshot of a room in REPO, featuring a purple semibot firing a tranq dart at a Headman. There is also a blue bot hiding behind a doorframe, an orange bot charging up a Cart Laser, and a green bot dead on the ground using the DeadTTS mod to shout 'head head head' over and over again.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Sketchtober day 2 I got a bit more ambitious, and used a bit of screenshot manipulation to honor the wild family games of R.E.P.O. we've been playing lately!

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Decided that rather than commit to a premade, themed list for this year, my impromptu sketchtober will be themed around indie games I've been playing. Today's "panicked drawing at the end of the day" scribble? My Thri-kreen D&D character talking maps with Silksong's Shakra.png

A sketchy drawing of a tall, lanky bug character next to official sprite art of the character Shakra from Hollow Knight: Silksong. The OC bug is holding a map and wearing a sort of ghillie cloak with a stick poking out of it. A small dragonfly is perched on the end of that stick. Because it's just a default pose, Shakra looks extremely uninterested in the poor guy's map. He worked very hard on it.

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Ryan "Uberphish" Tompkins @uberphish.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

It is done. I have beaten the fight. I'm sad that it soured things so much for me in the end, because narratively I loved everything about that sequence and what came after, but the near two hours of barely-contained rage took a while to fully subside. Glad I played it; glad to be done.

The Game Completion screen for the True Ending of Hollow Knight: Silksong. 100% completion with a time of 64 hours, 55 minutes, and 41 seconds.

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