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Josh Sobel

@joshiepoo25.bsky.social

1.3K followers 800 following 430 posts

🎮 Head of Rigging @ Wildlight 🎥 Prev: Disney, DreamWorks, Blue Sky Studios 🦴 Owner @ fRigging Awesome Studios 📕 Author of Alligator Heretics ▶️ Occasional Final Fantasy YouTuber 🧠 Autistic 📍 Los Angeles 🔗 beacons.ai/joshiepoo25

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Dec 28

Hi! I’m Josh, and I’ve done rigging/techart/etc for animation/games for 10yrs+ (currently head of rigging @ Wildlight).

I also run the online rig store fRigging Awesome, self-published a novel in 2023, and occasionally dabble with YouTube when I feel like rambling about FF7.

Let’s be friends! 😊

Josh Sobel drinking a tea in front of a Christmas tree.

Josh Sobel and Sleepezi and SchrodingersBabySeal at The Game Awards 2024, with Yoshinori Kitase (director of FF7) and Naoki Hamaguchi (director of FF7 Rebirth).

A bunch of projects Josh Sobel has worked on.

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Reposted by Josh Sobel

Del @handle.invalid · Jun 14

📢 Game Devs, please share. Our game studio is currently looking for an on-site QA Lead for the Santa Monica office or San Rafael office. Responsibilities, Application Portal, and Salary range are listed in the link:

www.absurdventures.com/careers#4734...

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Jun 11

No single snowflake is responsible for an Avalanche. #ff7

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Jun 10

My heart is incredibly full after Summer Game Fest. I’ll cherish these memories forever.

@schrodingersbbseal.bsky.social @profnoctis.bsky.social @marignetic.bsky.social @subtxt.bsky.social @sleepezi.bsky.social @bltzz.bsky.social @curiousjoi.gg @thespherehunter.bsky.social

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Jun 10

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

ProfNoctis @profnoctis.bsky.social · Jun 10

I feel like I could defy destiny with these people. #SummerGameFest
Gonna miss yall @sleepezi.bsky.social @finalweapon.net @bltzz.bsky.social @joshiepoo25.bsky.social @curiousjoi.gg @marignetic.bsky.social @subtxt.bsky.social Not pictured but never just a memory @schrodingersbbseal.bsky.social

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Jun 1

youtu.be/XhUa_sIMEu4?...

How Expedition 33 Subverts Final Fantasy's BIGGEST Trope | Story Analysis + Ending Explained

YouTube video by Joshiepoo

youtu.be

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Jun 1

My new video about how Expedition 33 subverts Final Fantasy’s biggest narrative trope is live now. ✨ There’s some dark musings in here that I haven’t seen discussed yet, relating to topics such as the power of human will, what it means to be a good god, and more. 19min ▶️.

🔗⬇️

Maelle, Verso, and The Paintress from Expedition 33, and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. At the top it reads “GODHOOD.” At the bottom it reads “How Expedition 33 Subverts Final Fantasy’s BIGGEST Trope.”

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 17

It’s so rare that brand new pieces of media come out and wow me, and yet the past few years have given me a new favorite movie, game, and 2 TV series’.

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 15

youtu.be/aexh6OkeEJY

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 15

I haven't stopped thinking about @expedition33.bsky.social's world, narrative, & moral challenges since rolling credits a week ago. So I came out of video essay retirement to gush and analyze.

Thumbnail illustration by
@tholiabentz.bsky.social.

Please keep spoilers out of the bsky replies!

🔗⬇️

A YouTube thumbnail for a video called Cruel Choices: The Moral Philosophy of Clair Obscur, featuring an illustration of Maelle from Expedition 33.

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 12

Life is now divided into 2 chapters: Before and after Expedition 33.

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 6

Definition of indie can be up for debate, but per the other points, they're not owned by any publisher, the devs have said a large portion of the team are junior level, and the budget was reportedly around $50m, compared to most AAA games being hundreds of millions.

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 6

When you emerge from a 7hr Expedition 33 play session and remember that the orange man is president, AI art exists, residents are being kidnapped by masked government agents daily, foreign film production has 100% tariffs, and an average LA breakfast burrito is $20.

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 6

While $80 becomes the industry standard, an indie team (with outsourcing) on a micro-budget sells 2 million copies (in addition to Game Pass downloads) simply by being a banger, as ensured by the lack of board rooms calling the shots. Creativity and passion will always win.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 @expedition33.bsky.social · May 6

Twelve days in, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has crossed two million copies sold.

We’ve watched in awe as so many of you began your journey. Feeling every step, every emotion, every revelation alongside you.

To those just joining us: welcome.

Tomorrow comes.

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 4

May the 4th be with you. #expedition33

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 3

That was supposed to be a GIF. 💀

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 3

It’s bizarre to experience something in real time that you know will go on to become a core memory that defines your tastes. I think the French spin on fantasy is what makes Expedition 33 so enrapturing, like Japan did to fantasy in the 80s/90s. Instantly iconic and timeless.

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 3

I finished Expedition 33. It’s my favorite game in decades, but I’m gonna need to spend some introspective days formulating what my final takeaways are. 🖌️🖼️

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 2

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 1

Two worlds, one family. Fantasy realms engulfed in grief; fighting against monochromatic death with the hopes of vibrant colors. Two iconic juggernauts of fantasy I’ll be replaying until Sin or The Paintress take me. (Almost done w/ E33, no spoilers pls)

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · May 1

I’ve reached endgame in Expedition 33. Along the journey, every time I thought “I dunno about this,” they pull another switcheroo and elevate the experience further. Incredible game. So excited to explore every nook and cranny of the world before heading to the final boss.

Reposted by Josh Sobel

Serge Birault @papaninja.bsky.social · Apr 30

Looking for new opportunities !

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Apr 27

I’m 1/3 through
@expedition33.bsky.social, and it’s groundbreaking. It defies so many industry standards, instantly undoing DECADES of “modern players don’t like that” assumptions. A forgotten sub-genre just evolved 20yrs in a day. We are blessed. What a debut for
Sandfall Games!

Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Apr 23

I imagine the image was made by a European user. But it has 92 metascore from 50+ reviews.

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Josh Sobel @joshiepoo25.bsky.social · Apr 23

YES!

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Reposted by Josh Sobel

Indie Book Spotlight @bookspotlight.bsky.social · Apr 16

King Alex Hirsch is going OFF on Twitter against gen AI, and I have never loved Gravity Falls more 👑🔥

A comment that reads: If you really think that copyright gives artists power over their work as is, ask yourself, who owns the rights of Gravity Falls? It's not Alex Hirsch. It's Disney.

Why are we bending over backwards to defend the "rights" of these megacorporate IP fuedal lords?

Alex Hirsch responds with: lol wat. Disney owns GF because I *chose* to sell it to them, and I was compensated. Ghibli didn’t choose to sell their art to OpenAI, and Ghibli wasn’t compensated. Why are you bending over backwards to defend the “rights” for a 157 billion dollar company exploiting artists

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