James Youngman
@jyoungman.bsky.social
He/him Game Designer, composer, writer
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/ten-lessons-over-ten-years
http://jamesyoungman.bandcamp.com
https://jyoungman.itch.io
Senior Tech Designer at Elsewhere. All opinions my own.
#gamedev | #gamedesign
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/ten-lessons-over-ten-years
http://jamesyoungman.bandcamp.com
https://jyoungman.itch.io
Senior Tech Designer at Elsewhere. All opinions my own.
#gamedev | #gamedesign
Reposted by James Youngman
i personally think any opportunity to get out and tell people that a better world is possible is a good one
February 13, 2026 at 6:36 PM
i personally think any opportunity to get out and tell people that a better world is possible is a good one
Reposted by James Youngman
Buy this book and support a bunch of rising stars in game narrative
February 13, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Buy this book and support a bunch of rising stars in game narrative
Curious to see if a third party acts on this opportunity in a serious way.
New Mexico Republicans have made history, just not in a way anyone wants to: For the first time since the Land of Enchantment became a state in 1912, Republicans won’t field a candidate in a U.S. Senate race.
Morning Digest: For the first time ever, New Mexico Republicans won't field a Senate candidate
It's one of three statewide races that the GOP is forfeiting this year
www.the-downballot.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Curious to see if a third party acts on this opportunity in a serious way.
Reposted by James Youngman
I feel this way about pretty much all vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. You shouldn't be allowed to dump cyanide into municipal drinking water and you shouldn't be allowed to recreationally spread viruses around shared public spaces.
My most authoritarian opinion is that the MMR vaccine should be mandatory, with only medical (not religious or floofy) exemptions allowed. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
This Is How a Child Dies of Measles
When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak
www.theatlantic.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:09 PM
I feel this way about pretty much all vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. You shouldn't be allowed to dump cyanide into municipal drinking water and you shouldn't be allowed to recreationally spread viruses around shared public spaces.
Reposted by James Youngman
What if we brought back forums but as a bonus other thing we rebooted Trillian and contact lists as well?
February 13, 2026 at 5:50 AM
What if we brought back forums but as a bonus other thing we rebooted Trillian and contact lists as well?
Reposted by James Youngman
The far right is international. People are correct to scorn America in particular, but don't get complacent about what is happening in your own backyard.
Sweden deports eight month old baby to Iran without his parents, national public radio reports. The ruling is a consequence of the harsh immigration laws initiated by the success of the nazi-originated party that is now crucial to the government’s mandate, but most parties are behind these laws.
Born in Sweden, baby Emanuel to be deported to Iran - Radio Sweden
After a ruling by the Migration Agency, eight month old baby Emanuel, who was born in Sweden, is facing a deportation order to his family's homeland of ...
www.sverigesradio.se
February 13, 2026 at 10:17 AM
The far right is international. People are correct to scorn America in particular, but don't get complacent about what is happening in your own backyard.
Reposted by James Youngman
Reposted by James Youngman
Gamers and content creators tend to criticize games thinking that the pressure will fall on the company owners or the publishers, but the first one to suffer all the harsh comments and the hate are the developers who invested years of their lives on them.
This is not a complaint, just a reminder.
This is not a complaint, just a reminder.
"We were turned into a joke from minute one" - fired Highguard developer reflects on game's ill-fated launch and "false assumptions" after Game Awards reveal www.eurogamer.net/we-were-turn...
February 13, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Gamers and content creators tend to criticize games thinking that the pressure will fall on the company owners or the publishers, but the first one to suffer all the harsh comments and the hate are the developers who invested years of their lives on them.
This is not a complaint, just a reminder.
This is not a complaint, just a reminder.
Reposted by James Youngman
Just over 750,000 people in the U.S. are getting infected with COVID every day.
The risk of developing Long COVID goes up with each infection.
The upper bound for developing Long COVID after three+ infections is 47%.
The average American has had over 5 infections.
www.pmc19.com/data/index.php
The risk of developing Long COVID goes up with each infection.
The upper bound for developing Long COVID after three+ infections is 47%.
The average American has had over 5 infections.
www.pmc19.com/data/index.php
February 13, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Just over 750,000 people in the U.S. are getting infected with COVID every day.
The risk of developing Long COVID goes up with each infection.
The upper bound for developing Long COVID after three+ infections is 47%.
The average American has had over 5 infections.
www.pmc19.com/data/index.php
The risk of developing Long COVID goes up with each infection.
The upper bound for developing Long COVID after three+ infections is 47%.
The average American has had over 5 infections.
www.pmc19.com/data/index.php
Reposted by James Youngman
Again, there ought to be a 'war council' of lawyers somewhere in Democratic Party land spending the next three years gaming out the mechanisms by which these goons can be held accountable, so there's a game plan on the table Day One for a new administration with a new attorney general.
February 13, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Again, there ought to be a 'war council' of lawyers somewhere in Democratic Party land spending the next three years gaming out the mechanisms by which these goons can be held accountable, so there's a game plan on the table Day One for a new administration with a new attorney general.
Reposted by James Youngman
Always do a final check of people's names, not just for spelling, but also make sure it's their chosen name. You don't want to end up dead naming people in your credits. When in doubt use our free IGDA resources igda.org/sigs/credits/
February 13, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Always do a final check of people's names, not just for spelling, but also make sure it's their chosen name. You don't want to end up dead naming people in your credits. When in doubt use our free IGDA resources igda.org/sigs/credits/
Reposted by James Youngman
🧵💔
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_i...
It's interesting to look at how Epstein directly, via hundreds of thousands of emails with his pedo buddies in academia, made US academia incredibly hostile to women for *decades*.
How many Emma Noethers never were, even before any of it was put into legislation?
It's interesting to look at how Epstein directly, via hundreds of thousands of emails with his pedo buddies in academia, made US academia incredibly hostile to women for *decades*.
How many Emma Noethers never were, even before any of it was put into legislation?
February 13, 2026 at 2:49 PM
🧵💔
Reposted by James Youngman
Been thinking about Highguard and the impermanence of games these days (which is to say, moreso that usual)
February 13, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Been thinking about Highguard and the impermanence of games these days (which is to say, moreso that usual)
Reposted by James Youngman
I hate having to do it all by myself. I can build a game engine, which is what I've done, but I'm not good at UI design, or marketing, or writing, or sound design, and I wish I could hire Some Guy (gender neutral) for those tasks
"There should be a balance between 'work for free, you will get paid at the end, pinky promise' and 'become an one-man and do it all because you cant pay others, then explode'" I keep saying to myself, but dunno, all feels bleak in a space where the mere concept of keeping your job, is almost utopic
February 13, 2026 at 5:06 AM
I hate having to do it all by myself. I can build a game engine, which is what I've done, but I'm not good at UI design, or marketing, or writing, or sound design, and I wish I could hire Some Guy (gender neutral) for those tasks
Reposted by James Youngman
Every single time a story like this is reported, we must assume that there are many many more that do not.
CBP didn’t give her or anyone any water; she asked 3 times accg to other reports. CBP killed a 7yr old.
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
7-Year-Old Migrant Girl Dies Of Dehydration And Shock In U.S. Border Patrol Custody
The girl's death underscores the crisis precipitated by large groups of families seeking asylum where there are inadequate facilities to detain them.
shorturl.at
February 13, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Every single time a story like this is reported, we must assume that there are many many more that do not.
Reposted by James Youngman
“Scholarly attention has rightly focused on the forced reproduction of enslaved Black women, but that focus need not come at the expense of understanding the position of enslaved Black men, who were also denied sexual autonomy, including the ability to choose with whom they would have children.”
Black Men Endured Sexual Exploitation Under Slavery. Their Story Is Rarely Told.
Historian Thomas A. Foster discusses his new book Rethinking Rufus: Sexual Violations of Enslaved Men.
truthout.org
February 12, 2026 at 10:31 PM
“Scholarly attention has rightly focused on the forced reproduction of enslaved Black women, but that focus need not come at the expense of understanding the position of enslaved Black men, who were also denied sexual autonomy, including the ability to choose with whom they would have children.”
Reposted by James Youngman
I once again feel compelled to remind folks that you feel science news/new scientific developments are bad and destructive because you are not reading science news: You are reading techbro press releases, regurgitated uncritically by outlets that long ago fired all their science/tech beat reporters.
February 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
I once again feel compelled to remind folks that you feel science news/new scientific developments are bad and destructive because you are not reading science news: You are reading techbro press releases, regurgitated uncritically by outlets that long ago fired all their science/tech beat reporters.
Reposted by James Youngman
This is mostly a good thread, but this is some victim-blaming.
I agree that Zionist conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism makes it harder to *fight* antisemitism, but the antisemitism was always there.
I agree that Zionist conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism makes it harder to *fight* antisemitism, but the antisemitism was always there.
The exact thing that antizionist/non-Zionist Jews have been warning would happen, is happening — thanks to the Israeli government's insistence that Israel, by definition, speaks for world Jewry and that any criticism of Israeli's policies is antisemitism.
This inevitably LEADS to antisemitism.
This inevitably LEADS to antisemitism.
February 12, 2026 at 5:03 PM
This is mostly a good thread, but this is some victim-blaming.
I agree that Zionist conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism makes it harder to *fight* antisemitism, but the antisemitism was always there.
I agree that Zionist conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism makes it harder to *fight* antisemitism, but the antisemitism was always there.
Reposted by James Youngman
Can I offer you a queer teen romcom in this trying time?
February 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Can I offer you a queer teen romcom in this trying time?
February 12, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Friendly reminder that you can use Thunderbird instead of Google's email clients
Holy shit gmail is not even asking if you want AI to write a reply
It HAS GONE AHEAD and read the email and already composed a ‘suggested reply’ waiting at the bottom of the email for you
Then, when you ignore it, it pops up with a Help Me Write prompt
It is we who are being prompted
It HAS GONE AHEAD and read the email and already composed a ‘suggested reply’ waiting at the bottom of the email for you
Then, when you ignore it, it pops up with a Help Me Write prompt
It is we who are being prompted
February 12, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Friendly reminder that you can use Thunderbird instead of Google's email clients
Reposted by James Youngman
feels like i should re-post this every few weeks
NEW: Substack founders finally respond to Substackers Against Nazis. They say Nazis publishing and earning money on their platform is fine with them.
Their full statement here: substack.com/@hamish/note...
Their full statement here: substack.com/@hamish/note...
February 12, 2026 at 4:17 AM
feels like i should re-post this every few weeks
Reposted by James Youngman
On Lincoln's birthday, it's useful to remember he believed the primary goal of the American experiment was to guarantee "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and the best way to achieve that goal was through free and fair elections. It's basically the thesis of the Gettysburg Address. 1/2
February 12, 2026 at 12:43 PM
On Lincoln's birthday, it's useful to remember he believed the primary goal of the American experiment was to guarantee "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and the best way to achieve that goal was through free and fair elections. It's basically the thesis of the Gettysburg Address. 1/2
Reposted by James Youngman
Know anyone interested in writing video games? I'm chatting about it next Thursday, 6PM at MIT, so plan ahead #writing #gamedev
www.meetup.com/bostongamede...
www.meetup.com/bostongamede...
[BPM] AAA Q&A: Discussing Game Writing with Anna Megill, Thu, Feb 19, 2026, 6:00 PM | Meetup
The BPM crew sit down with Anna Megill, a multi-award winning AAA game writer, to discuss her career, writing for games, and working within the AAA space. We will also have
www.meetup.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:07 PM
Know anyone interested in writing video games? I'm chatting about it next Thursday, 6PM at MIT, so plan ahead #writing #gamedev
www.meetup.com/bostongamede...
www.meetup.com/bostongamede...
Reposted by James Youngman
Perhaps related: in Washington state, the clerk or bartender who serves an underage person is personally liable for the fine. There’s a lesson in there for people who wonder whether personal liability might focus the mind of corporate decision makers.
February 12, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Perhaps related: in Washington state, the clerk or bartender who serves an underage person is personally liable for the fine. There’s a lesson in there for people who wonder whether personal liability might focus the mind of corporate decision makers.