iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nicola Cocchiaro

@wildbat.bsky.social

570 followers 167 following 709 posts

Software engineer/indie game dev. I started @synapticsugar.games and do programming, design, music. Former gameplay and AI programmer on Red Dead Redemption 2, Front Mission Evolved, GI Joe: the Rise of Cobra; backend engineer on Sony PlayStation Now; etc

Posts Replies Media

Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Man, you can tell times are tough when the Illuminati come to *you*, and via email

Email subject reading: RE - Greetings Join the Illuminati today to become rich, powerful, and famous and change your life forever.

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

A captcha showing various portions of musical compositions and the phrase: select all images where if you were to add a decrescendo it would add to the musicality of the piece without being interpreted as an overly heavy-handed metaphor within the context of the thematic material

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

The recent game nailed the vibe too

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

If animated GIFs you recently added to your pages on itch.io no longer animate, try converting them to APNG! A successful workaround for me for an issue that has been around for months now. I don't know user Noree but I have to thank them for pointing this out.

Screenshot of a forum post on itch.io by user Noree, saying "I don't know if there's another solution yet, but I discovered that .gif files work perfectly if you convert them to .apng!"

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

I have to admit I didn't know about this! Don't mean to hijack the thread, but Agents of Groove also has one

Screenshot from Agents of Groove by Synaptic Sugar. The character Daley Bellbottoms traverses the back of a museum and, among crates, boxes and artifacts, a moai is seen against the back wall.

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Highly specialized and successful single-player game studios pivoting to multiplayer live service games:

Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas, in a Santa Claus costume complete with long white beard.

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

I'm listening

Screenshot of Andreas Maler poking his head through a window, from outside

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Blue Prince (2025)

A bookshelf with some books standing up, some laying flat, and in the middle an oversized rook chess piece

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Replay beautifully interweaves the true stories of three generations, highlighting many personal and touching moments of courage, family, and humanity with elegant illustrations by @jmechner.bsky.social himself. A perfect companion to his published journals, or a great standalone read.

Three of Jordan Mechner's books are spread out: from left to right "The making of Karateka", "The making of Prince of Persia", "Replay - Memoir of an uprooted family"

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

First attempt at making a dakbokkeumtang recipe by @maangchi.com that a friend recommended. The result was absolutely delicious spicy braised chicken 🤤 #GoodLunch

Dakbokkeumtang served in a bowl with chopped green onion on top. Chicken, potatoes and onions are all visible

The pot of dakbokkeumtang before serving. Delicious chicken, onions and potatoes are swimming in a spicy broth

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Another #AgentsOfGroove level that has come a long way, as seen here, Daley's office looks a lot different today compared to its earliest version (the disco ball is still there for the tutorials that need it). Getting closer to the final look. #gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday #playdate

The early iteration of the level art had the same concept of a dance floor in front of a semi-circular couch, with a fish tank in the background and a turntable in the foreground at the bottom. Daley Bellbottoms is in the middle, ready to start dancing.

The latest iteration follows the same concept as the first, but had all its art redone, there's a lot more detail, and the turntable is also all new.

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Gamedevs, post your first shipped game and your latest shipped game.

Cover art for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

The docks level in #AgentsOfGroove has come a long way since we first showed it, and this is an example of that. Here's an earlier screenshot compared with the current state of the art. We keep working to improve this and the rest of the game. #gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday #playdate

An earlier version of the docks level with temporary art. In particular the suspicious upside down box on the left that appears to be moving with feet sticking out the bottom, the flooring, background and trashcan props have been revamped.

The current version of the docks level, with improved art, still a work in progress. The upside down cardboard box is a bit larger and looks better, as do crates on the ground, a lamp post to the left, and the building in the background.

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Smoked salmon on garlic spread, with tomatoes and onions, on pizza crust 😲 It's indeed a #GoodLunch

Smoked salmon on garlic spread, with tomatoes and onions, on pizza crust, as advertised

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Four games I've worked on (including one I'm still working on):

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 17/10/2024

Best part of that other site honestly

Notification from the other site saying "Cat Manning liked 3 of your posts"

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 16/09/2024

The Crimson Diamond does not disappoint: it nails the vibe of the games that inspired it, but stands solidly on its own as a modern (at times even educational!) adventure with a compelling mystery to solve. Well done @juliaminamata.bsky.social!

Nancy Maple, the protagonist of The Crimson Diamond, raising her glass in a toast in a scene from the game

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 10/04/2024

The Musk deposition really went to some weird places huh

Partial transcript of the deposition that reads:

Q. Okay. So when this quote talks about the random turds, those aren't your random turds; those are other people's random turds?

A. I mean, I suppose I -- I could be guilty of a random turd too, but it's -- what I'm really referring to

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 03/10/2023

I was not prepared for this Psycho Mantis moment in Pillars of Eternity where the soul that the Watcher is reading turns out to be my own

Hour after hour, you hammer away, feeling the tools grow heavy in your grip as your breath fogs your vision. You want to do better work than this. You can do better work than this.

But no one's building new houses in Stalwart. The last table you crafted was put into the fishery, and pike entrails now trace the fine dovetail joints you so lovingly crafted.

Now, you mend the stockade, because that's what's needed.

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