Like, NextFest is a thing on Steam where devs post demos of their games to get people wishlisting them. Even just a few years ago, it'd be you and a few hundred more people - 2000 at most. Now it's almost impossible to be noticed in NextFest.
The whole "the laid off devs can start indie studios" thing is bullshit not just because money, but because the state of affairs for indie devs has never been worse in terms of being able to support yourself financially. Even many "successful" games on steam can rarely support even a single dev.
I saw the other day where Deck & Conn sits on on the chart of all steam games in terms of profit and it's surprisingly high up the list considering it isn't earning enough money to support just me for more than another month.
99% of the money on steam goes to the same handful of projects, few of which are indie.
I'm not saying it should be guillotines, but... it should be guillotines.
Sound clips from DOS games that have never left my head, 30 years on:
- "Don't have time to play with myself."
- "Xatrix Entertainment! Yup."
- "Under my guidance, Britannia will *flourish*!"
- [Monkey Island theme on PC Speaker]
- "From God to Cain to Seth... I am his right hand."
There are words that have been soiled by AI. You run into these words or phrases when doing a search for something you need to know on the internet, and every time I run into them I wince as I quickly realise the page I've clicked on is just AI slop.
It's infuriating.
"Worth Flagging" is the latest one.
I really just want to stop using the web. Entirely. I should stop wanting to know things. Can you train yourself into doing that?
Daylight savings fucking sucks. I do not want more daylight in the evening.
Make the sun go away faster please. The less the better.
I remember, years ago, watching Apple keynotes and, corpo-fap aside, often being excited for some new device or other. Have felt the complete opposite for basically a decade at this point.
Yesterday I got my XTEiNK 4 Pro. A simple enough ePaper device. Had a play with it, nuked the OS and seamlessly installed CrossInk instead, turning it into a MUCH better device.
That? That's the good feeling. The only good feeling a device can give me these days. When it lets me do what I want with it.
It's not -gadgets- that I've lost excitement for, it's hating that what I"m usually being sold is just another hook, going into my skin, keeping me tethered to some corporate service or other.
THE UFOs FROM OUTER SPACE!
The only science fiction film which DARES ask the question... what if Martians were Aussies?
Watch it now!
For the curious, mine is an Argus A2B, manufactured about ten years after the one Indiana Jones is depicted as having.
Which is super interesting to me because I have almost exactly this model of Argus! Still takes wonderful photos, too.
Mine is a newer model with a built in physical light meter (yes, really). So cool.
Someone did a deep dive into Indiana Jones' camera from The Great Circle.
Deck & Conn, my dieselpunk turn-based spaceship command game is OUT NOW on Steam! It's on Linux, macOS and Windows, with a 20% launch discount!
After much consideration, I've concluded that the reason things are bad online and/or using tech generally is because nothing works and everything is terrible.
I genuinely think one day I am going to retire from all things tech and run a bar or something. The least possible amount of computering the most possible amount of human contact.
Apple Watch: "There has been a trend change in your exercise"
Yeah, I know you pan-fried galoot! I've been sick and haven't left my apartment in like 5 days...
I have grown surprisingly fond of getting my cards read, the older I get. It's a thing I'd have mocked even a few years ago.
I heard tarot described as telling stories, and I think that fits perfectly. It helps you structure something you're going through through the lens of a series of concepts picked by random chance. A thought experiment, with some nice art too.
Of course it helps that my BFF does it and is very good at it.
![A collection of items on a table at night - tarot cards in place on the table, wine, a candle, the detritus from a dinner, a faux typewriter to one side and a Spanish tile with "Aqui vive un Gay" [Here lives a Gay] written on it.](https://eigenmagic.net/system/media_attachments/files/117/011/645/691/131/469/original/59a15d8643b2400f.jpeg)
The problem with working from home is that you do your morning routine, then... you start work.
No commuting by train, saying hi to the random people you bump into on the way changing trains at central, going into the office to dump your stuff, catching up with Baz and asking him how his evening was, going down to get a coffee with Jill and Dave, then having some watercooler talk before finally getting 5 minutes work done before you're dragged down for a second coffee at 10:30.
How am I supposed to get no work done if all I have to do with my day is work?
Dungeons of Freeport, our play-once-a-day extraction roguelike is now fully out on steam and itch!
Huge thanks to @marceles_pixel, @Nekomancer and all our testers for making this happen.
https://funtimeelectrics.itch.io/dungeons-of-freeport
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4579170/Dungeons_of_Freeport/
DUNGEONS OF FREEPORT IS OUT!
An Extraction Roguelike Dungeon-Crawler for Linux, macOS and Windows - you and every other player get the same procedurally generated dungeons to delve into each day!
Have you gone delving yet today?
So, the thing about procedurally generated dungeon names is...
Uhm...
Can't decide. Should I fix it so this can't happen or just... run with it? 😅
Or given it's an Evaluate, is that some regexp thing? I can never tell which of these are cribbed from real period accurate languages I'm unfamiliar with, or just hollywood code.