iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

If you are my kid, you might get a weird birthday drawing.

This drawing done in Procreate shows a comical cartoon take on a monster hunter character that is chronically online. The drawing itself is black chinky pencil and gray shading on gray paper. The text says happy birthday from chronically online monster Hunter, bro. A speech bubble says “It’s giving birthday! You are giving main character energy, so touch grass and skibidi bro, not even glazing.”

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

“Kill them with freaking kindness.”

Cartoon illustration featuring a small green character offering an ice cream cone to a larger character that has been bullying them.

Cartoon illustration featuring a small green character offering an ice cream cone to a larger character that has been bullying them. Close up of the smaller character’s face (which features a black eye) as he hands the ice cream to the bully.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Now might be a good time for us humans to reassess how we decide which other humans on this planet are worth listening to.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Tell me you don't understand what art direction is. Having your argument revolve around "Gamers just aren't used to having games look so good" is a wild approach. Ugh. www.fastcompany.com/91510549/nvi...

fastcompany.com

Nvidia is reskinning games with AI. Gamers are angry about it, and wrong

The company’s new DLSS 5 technology enhances game visuals to make them look more real, but some hardcore gamers are having none of it.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

February 25, 29014, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare launched. It was an insane idea: Take one of the most beloved game IP's ever and make a third person shooter. Should have been a disaster. Should have been a cash-grab. But a talented, scrappy team ended up making it a passion project.

An image from the game Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, showing a Chomper plant bursting from the ground and getting ready to "chomp" a basic "Browncoat" zombie. The setting is a typical backyard, complete with picket fences, a pink flamingo, and a yard gnome.

An image from the game Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, showing a Bonk Choy plant sitting in a pot and punching a basic Browncoat zombie in the head. The zombie is recoiling from the impact. The setting is a suburban sidewalk, and you can see more zombies stumbling along in the background.

An image from the game Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, showing a zombie Foot Soldier and an All-Star (two classes in the game) running toward the camera with their weapons blazing. The setting is a typical suburban neighborhood, and there are additional basic zombies stumbling around in the background.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

People who can draw horses are magic.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

One of the many things that have materialized thanks to the oppression and murder in Minnesota: A rock solid list of people who I would never hire, and frankly never agree to work with. People are really feeling comfortable being terrible humans online. We can see you, and will not forget.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Cleaning out an old drive, and I found these quick sketches I did forever ago to show off a little pirate game idea.

A rough sketch showing a rowdy group of pirates looking out across an expanse at a giant treasure chest. The text "Go get the gold! Plunder and pillage" sits at the top of the image, and there is a green "GO" button in the lower right corner.

A rough sketch showing a concerned group of pirates looking out over their fort wall and across an expanse at an incoming horde of enemy pirates. The text "Pirates Ahoy!" sits at the top of the image, and there is more text on the right that says "Shiver me timbers! Pirates Attacking! We sent our crew after gold, but we are under siege! Now you must defend your treasure." There is a "DEFEND!" button in the lower right corner.

This rough mock-up shows an idea for a simple game mode selection screen, from a never-made pirate game. On the left is an image representing single player mode, and on the right one representing multiplayer mode.

A rough sketch mock-up of a title card for a mobile game idea. This sketch shows a large pirate flag in the center, housing the title "Pirate Rush." There is a skull and crossbones on the flag as well. At the bottom of the flag, there are silhouettes of two teams of pirates running at each other from each side of the image. There is a play button at the bottom center of the screen.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

"Have courage and be kind. Everything else is out of your control." I'm going to try to make this my 2026.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Throughout my career, I’ve communicated creative and artistic direction through some of the worst drawings imaginable. That’s how it’s supposed to go! Your job is to set up the people on your team for success by letting THEM interpret the rough ideas into beautiful things with their unique brains.

Simple rough sketch on the back of note paper showing the shape of a human standing in front of a set of screens.

Simple rough sketches on a white board showing the flow of a game utilizing simple shapes and boxes.

Simple rough sketch showing sticker figure characters climbing out of the pages of an open book.

Simple rough sketch showing a robot standing at the bedside of a character lying in a hospital bed.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Lots of great examples of raw "idea art" in the comments. I think people would be shocked to know how many of their favorite scenes in both movies and games started on a napkin or Post-It. :)

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

If you use Generative AI to create concept art for your game, I would argue that your game is absolutely shipping with AI in it. Concept art is perhaps the most creatively influential step in developing a new idea, and it affects almost every step of the development process that follows.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Huge congrats to @expedition33.bsky.social for winning all of the awards last night at @thegameawards.com. It is lovely to see a small team make a "small" game and keep the quality bar so high. I also know just how hard that is to accomplish. Our industry needs more of this!

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I've seen other devs mention this, but I want to stress: Working with voice actors is one of the highlights of working on a game. Seeing your words come to life in a way that is BETTER than what you imagined, thanks to the skill of a living, breathing artist, is one of the best things ever.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Leadership, or lack thereof, is maybe the biggest issue facing the game industry today. This article is a terrifying but very accurate callout. I have seen every one of these in action, up close. (Boy, do I have some stories for you!) www.gamedeveloper.com/production/h...

gamedeveloper.com

How poor leadership slows down game development

No tool—AI or otherwise—can speed up game development if leaders don't rise to the occasion.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

I just want to post fun doodles and crack jokes with my friends again.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

I play Roblox pretty much every evening with my daughter before bed. Have for a while now. I don’t love Roblox, but it gives us something to do together and I’d rather be with her when she plays. It turns out I’ve put in a lot of hours…

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Andor continues to feel prophetic.

Zoë “Baddie Proctor” Quinn @unburntwitch.com · 11/09/2025

Reposted by Jeremy Vanhoozer

idk man if I had just lost my kid to a school shooting and the news cycle was dominated by people loudly mourning the loss of a guy whose life’s work was radicalizing people, largely children, into thinking that’s a cool and normal thing to do while contributing nothing else, I’d probably go insane

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Call me crazy, but I don’t think game studios should expect their roles to be “onsite” anymore. Having run a large studio team, I understand the benefits, but you can’t expect new hires to relocate in this mess. The market is too volatile, and the risks are too high for people and their families.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Sorry, but I'm not going to shut up until my country doesn't look like this anymore. This is not who we are. #resist

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

If you can get donors to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build you a golden ballroom, it seems that if you were a better human, you could get donors to make sure that kids didn’t starve, or even just make sure they had school supplies. Or that insulin was free.

Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Yes. This. And what a process it is.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Hey, Superman was good. Very enjoyable. Very “human” in the best way. Very “comic book. Gorgeous. A little too intense for an eight year old, but that’s my fault. Formative memories! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

media.tenor.com

a man in a red cape is standing in front of a body of water .

Alt: Superman flying quickly through an icy landscape.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

A tree outside my kitchen window, soaking in the morning sun. Trying to notice the little things. :)

A picture of a leafy tree basking in warm sunlight.

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Jeremy Vanhoozer @vanhoozerbot.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Skull Kitty: How it started, and where it went.