Dan Johnson (hire me)
@coil.bsky.social
Schipperke owner @PNW
Game Systems Designer, dangerously unsupervised (prev Big Blue Sky Games, Blizzard, Bungie, Irrational, etc)
Hire me!
#GameDev
he/him
Game Systems Designer, dangerously unsupervised (prev Big Blue Sky Games, Blizzard, Bungie, Irrational, etc)
Hire me!
#GameDev
he/him
Pinned
Dan Johnson (hire me)
@coil.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Hello newskies! I'm Dan, a game designer currently hailing from the Seattle area. I have lots of schipperkes, ADHD, and many (mostly crafty) hobbies in varying states of hyperfocus or neglect.
Favorite game: Journey
Color: Aqua
Album: Paul Simon - Graceland
Cocktail: Red Hook
Dinosaur: Amargasaurus
Favorite game: Journey
Color: Aqua
Album: Paul Simon - Graceland
Cocktail: Red Hook
Dinosaur: Amargasaurus
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
what society has lost is basic decency and, importantly, holding each other to expectations of it
people who make decisions like this should be shunned, no matter their class, wealth, network. people need to grow backbones.
people who make decisions like this should be shunned, no matter their class, wealth, network. people need to grow backbones.
February 4, 2026 at 5:14 PM
what society has lost is basic decency and, importantly, holding each other to expectations of it
people who make decisions like this should be shunned, no matter their class, wealth, network. people need to grow backbones.
people who make decisions like this should be shunned, no matter their class, wealth, network. people need to grow backbones.
Wowwwww
Update: their PR manager wrote me back and said that my position on AI was wrong and called me unprofessional for commenting on the game development credentials (or lack thereof) of their board and CEO
February 4, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Wowwwww
Y'all I FROZE.
Then I fell off.
Then I fell off.
February 4, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Y'all I FROZE.
Then I fell off.
Then I fell off.
Imagine if a third of the US economy was being propped up by a paradigm that XKCD took to the cleaners TWENTY YEARS AGO.
xkcd.com/327/
Infosec has been segregating execution and data for decades, and genAI just looked at all that progress like Garfield looking at a "No Garfields" sign.
xkcd.com/327/
Infosec has been segregating execution and data for decades, and genAI just looked at all that progress like Garfield looking at a "No Garfields" sign.
February 4, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Imagine if a third of the US economy was being propped up by a paradigm that XKCD took to the cleaners TWENTY YEARS AGO.
xkcd.com/327/
Infosec has been segregating execution and data for decades, and genAI just looked at all that progress like Garfield looking at a "No Garfields" sign.
xkcd.com/327/
Infosec has been segregating execution and data for decades, and genAI just looked at all that progress like Garfield looking at a "No Garfields" sign.
An orthopedic podiatrist/physical therapist called Maslow's Higher Arches And Knees
A store to purchase Seed & Feed called Maslow's Hierarchy of Sneed's (formerly Chuck's)
A store for once-ler garments called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Thneeds
February 4, 2026 at 6:51 AM
An orthopedic podiatrist/physical therapist called Maslow's Higher Arches And Knees
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
Ubisoft failures, Adobe Animate stupidity, Unity killing its market, and the list goes on. This'll all continue with so many workers getting hurt until the rules and compensation for execs no longer give easy golden parachutes. People need to fail in a way that's meaningful.
February 4, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Ubisoft failures, Adobe Animate stupidity, Unity killing its market, and the list goes on. This'll all continue with so many workers getting hurt until the rules and compensation for execs no longer give easy golden parachutes. People need to fail in a way that's meaningful.
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
UPDATE: Following user backlash Adobe has changed plans, saying that while active development on Animate will cease, it will remain available for download.
Adobe Is Ruthlessly Killing Off Software That Animators Around The World Are Using Every Day [Update]
'The entire toolshed is being demolished'
aftermath.site
February 4, 2026 at 12:16 AM
UPDATE: Following user backlash Adobe has changed plans, saying that while active development on Animate will cease, it will remain available for download.
I do appreciate the studios that bother to decline my applications instead of just leaving them unanswered, hanging in the ether.
Still sucks.
Still sucks.
February 3, 2026 at 11:23 PM
I do appreciate the studios that bother to decline my applications instead of just leaving them unanswered, hanging in the ether.
Still sucks.
Still sucks.
Honestly the best thing Florida has ever done.
February 3, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Honestly the best thing Florida has ever done.
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
Thinking about this again and realizing that we as an industry need to accept that this is real and that Seventy Bucks is a Hundred Bucks.
February 3, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Thinking about this again and realizing that we as an industry need to accept that this is real and that Seventy Bucks is a Hundred Bucks.
Hire an award-winning* level designer today!
*probably, I didn't check. Award-deserving at least. Are there level design awards?
*probably, I didn't check. Award-deserving at least. Are there level design awards?
February 3, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Hire an award-winning* level designer today!
*probably, I didn't check. Award-deserving at least. Are there level design awards?
*probably, I didn't check. Award-deserving at least. Are there level design awards?
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
Thread
White supremacists and transphobes will choose to remain in a social circle brimming with pedophiles as long as there are no black and trans people in them. Youtubers chose this. Network anchors chose this. Presidents chose this. Happily. Willingly. Are STILL choosing it.
Hi I hate it here thanks.
February 3, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Thread
Tremendous.
Some terrifically titled papers from a discovered collection of NASA research documents found in a skip
(with thanks to @juliarez.placid.horse)
(with thanks to @juliarez.placid.horse)
February 3, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Tremendous.
Man, this screencap makes me extremely glad I didn't click when I first heard this.
That's horrifying.
That's horrifying.
Xfinity has just released its Jurassic Park-themed Super Bowl ad that features a digitally de-aged Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. https://bit.ly/4rmRhrK
February 3, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Man, this screencap makes me extremely glad I didn't click when I first heard this.
That's horrifying.
That's horrifying.
That'll definitely fix the cost issue.
SpaceX has officially acquired xAI with new focus on creating orbital AI data centers
SpaceX has officially acquired xAI with new focus on creating orbital AI data centers
SpaceX and xAI will team up on deploying orbital AI data centers.
dlvr.it
February 2, 2026 at 11:35 PM
That'll definitely fix the cost issue.
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
This talk at GDC 2013 by Ruth Tomandil is a huge part of why I became a producer. I think it’s still a great primer on what a producer is and why the role is important. gdcvault.com/play/1017680...
Producer Bootcamp: Production 101
Making games is fun, but complicated. The complexities of games increases with each new generation of gaming, and customer expectations grow. Production roles have become even more critical, whether y...
gdcvault.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:47 PM
This talk at GDC 2013 by Ruth Tomandil is a huge part of why I became a producer. I think it’s still a great primer on what a producer is and why the role is important. gdcvault.com/play/1017680...
Kitchen hack: sourdough
February 2, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Kitchen hack: sourdough
I'm sure she has at LEAST 1000 on AO3.
If anyone says Lupita Nyong’o is miscast as the most beautiful woman in the world, you know you can safely discard any further opinions from that person
February 2, 2026 at 8:56 PM
I'm sure she has at LEAST 1000 on AO3.
Kitchen hack: Bartender's Friend
February 2, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Kitchen hack: Bartender's Friend
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
Honestly a thousand ships seems a little light for Lupita Nyong'o.
February 2, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Honestly a thousand ships seems a little light for Lupita Nyong'o.
Who up surging and yawing
Six degrees of freedom? In *this* economy?
Anyway, TIL that translational movement has specific terminology: surge (forward/back), heave (up/down), and sway (left/right).
Anyway, TIL that translational movement has specific terminology: surge (forward/back), heave (up/down), and sway (left/right).
February 2, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Who up surging and yawing
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
there's also something to be said about how producers/community managers are seen as expendable and do way more invisible work as a games field with more women and nonbinary people in it compared to like, male dominated programming but that's a ramble for another day
February 2, 2026 at 6:18 PM
there's also something to be said about how producers/community managers are seen as expendable and do way more invisible work as a games field with more women and nonbinary people in it compared to like, male dominated programming but that's a ramble for another day
In solo dev this is usually called caffeine
Many game studios have "shadow production", in which someone sets up a parallel (but functioning) system of organization to compensate for the inadequacies of whatever methodology the actual producer insists on employing; thus requiring an act of continuous translation between the two.
February 2, 2026 at 5:12 PM
In solo dev this is usually called caffeine
Reposted by Dan Johnson (hire me)
Hell yeah! No matter where I go in this industry my heart will always be with Blizz QA where I started, and those folks have long needed a union. Bursting with pride for this accomplishment.
NEW: QA workers at Blizzard Albany and Austin have ratified a union contract with Microsoft after three years of negotiations.
The contract delivers protections against generative AI tech in the workplace, wage increases, disability accommodations, crunch restrictions, and much more.
The contract delivers protections against generative AI tech in the workplace, wage increases, disability accommodations, crunch restrictions, and much more.
QA workers at Blizzard ratify union contract with Microsoft
The three-year contract delivers generative AI protections, wage increases, disability accommodations, and more.
www.gamedeveloper.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Hell yeah! No matter where I go in this industry my heart will always be with Blizz QA where I started, and those folks have long needed a union. Bursting with pride for this accomplishment.
An endless scroll of this, one for every state in the country.
"We are looking for a Game Developer to join our team to train AI models. You will measure the success of these chatbots..."
"We are looking for a Game Developer to join our team to train AI models. You will measure the success of these chatbots..."
February 2, 2026 at 10:23 AM
An endless scroll of this, one for every state in the country.
"We are looking for a Game Developer to join our team to train AI models. You will measure the success of these chatbots..."
"We are looking for a Game Developer to join our team to train AI models. You will measure the success of these chatbots..."