Adam McDonald
@adammcdlt.bsky.social
Game dev from the Vancouver area. Senior Game Designer at Studio MDHR. Views are my own.
Making Chronoblazer, a 2D shmup with progression and light exploration, in my spare time.
https://adammcdonald.itch.io/
https://adammcd.com
Making Chronoblazer, a 2D shmup with progression and light exploration, in my spare time.
https://adammcdonald.itch.io/
https://adammcd.com
Pinned
Adam McDonald
@adammcdlt.bsky.social
· Oct 21
Here’s my BlueSky intro thread!
I’m mostly here for game dev related stuff. As of this past September, I work full time as a designer at Studio MDHR on an unannounced project. Before that I was with The Initiative/Microsoft working as a level designer on Perfect Dark.
I’m mostly here for game dev related stuff. As of this past September, I work full time as a designer at Studio MDHR on an unannounced project. Before that I was with The Initiative/Microsoft working as a level designer on Perfect Dark.
Reposted by Adam McDonald
Haven't destroyed the WORLD-EGG yet? Haven't even traversed the ACTUALITY CONSTRUCT? Well now's your chance, because BIRDCAGE is 10% off for the weekend! 🥚🗡
store.steampowered.com/app/2158550/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2158550/...
Save 10% on BIRDCAGE on Steam
Shoot, slash and weave through bullets and enemies in this story-driven arcade shooter. The RADON Daughters have launched their ultimate weapon. Take control of the experimental gunship HALCYON and br...
store.steampowered.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Haven't destroyed the WORLD-EGG yet? Haven't even traversed the ACTUALITY CONSTRUCT? Well now's your chance, because BIRDCAGE is 10% off for the weekend! 🥚🗡
store.steampowered.com/app/2158550/...
store.steampowered.com/app/2158550/...
So far I've been pushing the "make your own bad art but slowly try to get better at it." Though the "slowly" part is only really an option if you're chipping away at a project for many years. And your goal for "better" art should be realistic.
Indie game devs, when you use the slop machine in your game, it makes it clear to players that you don't give a fuck and just want money.
Draw crappy but genuine art instead.
Draw crappy but genuine art instead.
February 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM
So far I've been pushing the "make your own bad art but slowly try to get better at it." Though the "slowly" part is only really an option if you're chipping away at a project for many years. And your goal for "better" art should be realistic.
Every creative instinct I've had that turned out pretty good was like "I just have a feeling that I want to make this thing."
man about to invent the greatest science fiction movie ever made "i knew i wanted to do a scary movie on a spaceship with a small number of astronauts"
this is how artists actually talk
this is how artists actually talk
February 11, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Every creative instinct I've had that turned out pretty good was like "I just have a feeling that I want to make this thing."
Thoughts and prayers for my UPS package being held due to "extreme weather delay" in my city, the weather in which currently resembles a beautiful spring day.
February 10, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Thoughts and prayers for my UPS package being held due to "extreme weather delay" in my city, the weather in which currently resembles a beautiful spring day.
Reposted by Adam McDonald
Make Art (1/4)
February 10, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Make Art (1/4)
I do miss when Facebook was ubiquitous enough that you could post a random anecdote about your day and a coworker from 10 years ago would comment on it. It was neat to have a social media site where half the people you’d ever met were active. Shame how it turned out.
February 6, 2026 at 4:03 AM
I do miss when Facebook was ubiquitous enough that you could post a random anecdote about your day and a coworker from 10 years ago would comment on it. It was neat to have a social media site where half the people you’d ever met were active. Shame how it turned out.
I am very curious about this but $100 USD for a thing that will go away whenever the service ends, and requires a subscription to maintain, feels steep. I'm not sure I'd want to pay that much for real Virtual Boy hardware.
I really wish they had just officially put these games out on the 3DS VC.
I really wish they had just officially put these games out on the 3DS VC.
Virtual Boy preorders back up on My Nintendo Store (NSO membership required) buff.ly/9szBYL4
February 3, 2026 at 9:07 PM
I am very curious about this but $100 USD for a thing that will go away whenever the service ends, and requires a subscription to maintain, feels steep. I'm not sure I'd want to pay that much for real Virtual Boy hardware.
I really wish they had just officially put these games out on the 3DS VC.
I really wish they had just officially put these games out on the 3DS VC.
Reposted by Adam McDonald
Reposted by Adam McDonald
subscription software is a subscription first, software second
Called and spoke with Adobe customer support and the guy told me Adobe is discontinuing Animate because apparently the company can't think of any new features to add to the program and they feel it's gotten stale.
So they're just GETTING RID OF IT???
So they're just GETTING RID OF IT???
February 3, 2026 at 12:53 PM
subscription software is a subscription first, software second
I’ve been fighting collision bugs in Chronoblazer lately, and one I never quite understood involved certain enemies shoving you into/through a wall. I do some stuff to mitigate it but it still happened sometimes.
Today, I was working on a separate enemy collision thing…
Today, I was working on a separate enemy collision thing…
February 1, 2026 at 11:10 PM
I’ve been fighting collision bugs in Chronoblazer lately, and one I never quite understood involved certain enemies shoving you into/through a wall. I do some stuff to mitigate it but it still happened sometimes.
Today, I was working on a separate enemy collision thing…
Today, I was working on a separate enemy collision thing…
You’re telling me there are rules to this stuff and you don’t just keep making changes until your tummy says it’s good???
Our feature tutorial/artist today is this great little set of notes by
@IsaacOrloff! The idea of breaking your environmental details into forms of DIFFERENT SIZES is the key to varied, visually interesting designs :) #howtodraw #gamedev #animationdev #gameart #animation
@IsaacOrloff! The idea of breaking your environmental details into forms of DIFFERENT SIZES is the key to varied, visually interesting designs :) #howtodraw #gamedev #animationdev #gameart #animation
January 31, 2026 at 6:16 PM
You’re telling me there are rules to this stuff and you don’t just keep making changes until your tummy says it’s good???
Reposted by Adam McDonald
cool economic system we’ve got here, where the people who have all of the money and none of the brains generally get to determine everything about the rest of our lives
Video game stocks are suddenly crashing today with the launch of Google's Project Genie as investors think games will start magically getting made with AI
➡️ ca.investing.com/news/stock-m...
#GoogleGemini #TakeTwo #CDProjektRED #Roblox #videogames
➡️ ca.investing.com/news/stock-m...
#GoogleGemini #TakeTwo #CDProjektRED #Roblox #videogames
January 30, 2026 at 5:37 PM
cool economic system we’ve got here, where the people who have all of the money and none of the brains generally get to determine everything about the rest of our lives
Reposted by Adam McDonald
my son is five, same age as Liam Ramos. you don't need to have a child the same age to be fucking horrified by the violence we are doing (and HAVE BEEN doing) upon immigrant children in this nation. but that he keeps asking for his spidey backpack is the kind of detail that rips my heart in two.
January 29, 2026 at 8:32 PM
my son is five, same age as Liam Ramos. you don't need to have a child the same age to be fucking horrified by the violence we are doing (and HAVE BEEN doing) upon immigrant children in this nation. but that he keeps asking for his spidey backpack is the kind of detail that rips my heart in two.
Sometimes when I’m creating digital art I get a bit self conscious about like, am I using layers in an organized and efficient way. But I spent a bit of time drawing on paper over the past few months and… lol. It almost feels quaint to care so much about it now.
January 28, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Sometimes when I’m creating digital art I get a bit self conscious about like, am I using layers in an organized and efficient way. But I spent a bit of time drawing on paper over the past few months and… lol. It almost feels quaint to care so much about it now.
I don't have time to play that many games in a given year, so I enjoy quality YouTube channels that highlight all the weird stuff that I may or may not eventually make time for. HotCyder is a great one.
I played 150 games in 2025. These were the best
YouTube video by hotcyder
youtu.be
January 27, 2026 at 9:39 PM
I don't have time to play that many games in a given year, so I enjoy quality YouTube channels that highlight all the weird stuff that I may or may not eventually make time for. HotCyder is a great one.
My wife has been kind of into "romantasy" books and I'm reading (listening to) the one she said was her favourite, Fourth Wing. I will say it's extremely interesting to just experience a form of literature I never would have typically engaged with. And it's quite good so far.
January 27, 2026 at 6:39 PM
My wife has been kind of into "romantasy" books and I'm reading (listening to) the one she said was her favourite, Fourth Wing. I will say it's extremely interesting to just experience a form of literature I never would have typically engaged with. And it's quite good so far.
The American people are stronger than the current administration. Keep fighting.
January 26, 2026 at 9:12 PM
The American people are stronger than the current administration. Keep fighting.
Reposted by Adam McDonald
Gavin Newsom had Ben Shapiro on his podcast 10 days ago where he was cozying up to Shapiro. Newsom also said that ICE aren't terrorists, walking back his claim from days prior and also said there is no genocide in Palestine.
January 26, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Gavin Newsom had Ben Shapiro on his podcast 10 days ago where he was cozying up to Shapiro. Newsom also said that ICE aren't terrorists, walking back his claim from days prior and also said there is no genocide in Palestine.
Reposted by Adam McDonald
It must be wild being a Republican. Literally no beliefs other than a burning desire to have a bigger, more confident man tell them what to do.
January 24, 2026 at 10:38 PM
It must be wild being a Republican. Literally no beliefs other than a burning desire to have a bigger, more confident man tell them what to do.
Whenever I think I’ve fixed my collision bugs I discover I’ve only made them slightly harder to encounter.
January 24, 2026 at 5:17 AM
Whenever I think I’ve fixed my collision bugs I discover I’ve only made them slightly harder to encounter.
Reposted by Adam McDonald
Iv said it many times before, the games held up as cultural touch stones that people point to for decades are often inspired by art, architecture and real stories and experiences outside of games.its why I share reference. Go into the world and bring back the cool stuff.
The author of the novels that inspired Shin Megami Tensei and Persona says developers should take more inspiration from other media to invent new gameplay systems.
If they only take inspiration from games they'll just make the same games, he says.
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/megami-...
If they only take inspiration from games they'll just make the same games, he says.
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/megami-...
Megami Tensei author says devs must take inspiration from other media if they want to invent new gameplay systems | VGC
If creators draw inspiration from games, they’ll just make the same games…
www.videogameschronicle.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Iv said it many times before, the games held up as cultural touch stones that people point to for decades are often inspired by art, architecture and real stories and experiences outside of games.its why I share reference. Go into the world and bring back the cool stuff.
My most recent 5:
Japanese Breakfast (2025)
Mannequin Pussy (2025)
Rilo Kiley (2025)
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs (2024)
Screaming Females (2023)
I also saw Elephant Gym in 2024 - not counting because they are mostly instrumental, but the only member that ever sings is female.
Japanese Breakfast (2025)
Mannequin Pussy (2025)
Rilo Kiley (2025)
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs (2024)
Screaming Females (2023)
I also saw Elephant Gym in 2024 - not counting because they are mostly instrumental, but the only member that ever sings is female.
Five concerts you've seen with women lead singers
Garbage
St Vincent
The Creatures
Alanis Morissette
Japanese Breakfast
Garbage
St Vincent
The Creatures
Alanis Morissette
Japanese Breakfast
Five concerts you’ve seen with women lead singers
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Belly
Concrete Blonde
Poe
I mean, Lilith Fair has to count too
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Belly
Concrete Blonde
Poe
I mean, Lilith Fair has to count too
January 23, 2026 at 11:57 PM
My most recent 5:
Japanese Breakfast (2025)
Mannequin Pussy (2025)
Rilo Kiley (2025)
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs (2024)
Screaming Females (2023)
I also saw Elephant Gym in 2024 - not counting because they are mostly instrumental, but the only member that ever sings is female.
Japanese Breakfast (2025)
Mannequin Pussy (2025)
Rilo Kiley (2025)
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs (2024)
Screaming Females (2023)
I also saw Elephant Gym in 2024 - not counting because they are mostly instrumental, but the only member that ever sings is female.
I have a 4 year old and 6 year old. The idea that anyone would do this to a kid at this age is truly reprehensible. They are truly innocent and just starting to make sense of the world around them.
I guess I do think if you participated in the arrest of a five-year-old you are probably just fundamentally incompatible with society. That you are not a safe person for humanity to be around, generally
January 22, 2026 at 5:41 AM
I have a 4 year old and 6 year old. The idea that anyone would do this to a kid at this age is truly reprehensible. They are truly innocent and just starting to make sense of the world around them.