Katie Chironis
@kchironis.bsky.social
mom x2. used to be funny, now tired. made elsinore by night. by day, game designer currently working on a frog-type game at teamLFG (sony).
😈 Maleficent, the evil queen, had her goblins searching for Sleeping Beauty for 16 years.
🛑 BUT…. they were looking for a baby the whole time. Acceptance criteria fail!
🧠 This is why it’s so important for villains to leverage AGILE practices. Don’t let this become your team. My new ecourse will
🛑 BUT…. they were looking for a baby the whole time. Acceptance criteria fail!
🧠 This is why it’s so important for villains to leverage AGILE practices. Don’t let this become your team. My new ecourse will
November 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
😈 Maleficent, the evil queen, had her goblins searching for Sleeping Beauty for 16 years.
🛑 BUT…. they were looking for a baby the whole time. Acceptance criteria fail!
🧠 This is why it’s so important for villains to leverage AGILE practices. Don’t let this become your team. My new ecourse will
🛑 BUT…. they were looking for a baby the whole time. Acceptance criteria fail!
🧠 This is why it’s so important for villains to leverage AGILE practices. Don’t let this become your team. My new ecourse will
me, curled up in fetal position, sick, prepping for 4 thanksgivings and 8 holiday events: i’m alive but please— no more
the universe, kicking me in the ribs with her glittery heels: get up bitch. you need to somehow secure a pumpkin pie for your kid’s class thanksgiving party by tomorrow morning
the universe, kicking me in the ribs with her glittery heels: get up bitch. you need to somehow secure a pumpkin pie for your kid’s class thanksgiving party by tomorrow morning
November 20, 2025 at 4:53 PM
me, curled up in fetal position, sick, prepping for 4 thanksgivings and 8 holiday events: i’m alive but please— no more
the universe, kicking me in the ribs with her glittery heels: get up bitch. you need to somehow secure a pumpkin pie for your kid’s class thanksgiving party by tomorrow morning
the universe, kicking me in the ribs with her glittery heels: get up bitch. you need to somehow secure a pumpkin pie for your kid’s class thanksgiving party by tomorrow morning
friday soapbox: as a designer, if you want something to be a skillful action for players, and you want growth in this skill to be very deep/meaningful, then you need to also let players be bad at it. sometimes horrendously bad. players hate this pain, and designers often want to mitigate it away.
November 14, 2025 at 8:42 PM
friday soapbox: as a designer, if you want something to be a skillful action for players, and you want growth in this skill to be very deep/meaningful, then you need to also let players be bad at it. sometimes horrendously bad. players hate this pain, and designers often want to mitigate it away.
Reposted by Katie Chironis
it's on miro. it's literally on figma. you have to log into okta. it's in jira. it's on zoom. it's on pureref. it's on flow. it's on perforce. it's on slack. you can find it on slack. you can go to slack and find it. log onto slack right now. you can slack it. slack has it for you. it's on slack.
November 12, 2025 at 10:15 PM
it's on miro. it's literally on figma. you have to log into okta. it's in jira. it's on zoom. it's on pureref. it's on flow. it's on perforce. it's on slack. you can find it on slack. you can go to slack and find it. log onto slack right now. you can slack it. slack has it for you. it's on slack.
the developers clowning around in chat vs the producer who is desperately trying to keep this team ritual on the rails and get everyone to pay attention
November 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
the developers clowning around in chat vs the producer who is desperately trying to keep this team ritual on the rails and get everyone to pay attention
Reposted by Katie Chironis
Just friendly advice for the Dodgers fans: most fans of other teams are going to be rooting for the Jays no matter what, embrace the villain role and you will be much happier than trying unsuccessfully to convince everyone else that the Dodgers are the heroes everyone should root for
October 21, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Just friendly advice for the Dodgers fans: most fans of other teams are going to be rooting for the Jays no matter what, embrace the villain role and you will be much happier than trying unsuccessfully to convince everyone else that the Dodgers are the heroes everyone should root for
never invite a group of game dev parents to a “digital lab” toddler play place, i promise you we will be insufferable. why is this art wall stuttering and running at 10fps? how come the grass in the frog minigame is like 30k polys? is nobody doing the gameplay clarity work here???
November 1, 2025 at 9:11 PM
never invite a group of game dev parents to a “digital lab” toddler play place, i promise you we will be insufferable. why is this art wall stuttering and running at 10fps? how come the grass in the frog minigame is like 30k polys? is nobody doing the gameplay clarity work here???
sorry i can't respond to your text right now, i am in hell! aka 10 minutes into a 45 minute unreal engine tutorial video on some obscure part of the tech pipeline where a guy is mumbling rapid fire instructions over a dubstep backtrack
October 29, 2025 at 4:23 PM
sorry i can't respond to your text right now, i am in hell! aka 10 minutes into a 45 minute unreal engine tutorial video on some obscure part of the tech pipeline where a guy is mumbling rapid fire instructions over a dubstep backtrack
the older i get the more i think there might only be 3 kinds of millennial midlife crisis: Vans Warped Tour, Funkopop, and Making Sous Vide Your Entire Personality
October 23, 2025 at 3:16 PM
the older i get the more i think there might only be 3 kinds of millennial midlife crisis: Vans Warped Tour, Funkopop, and Making Sous Vide Your Entire Personality
Reposted by Katie Chironis
pleased to announce that there seems to be a passive-aggressive conflict roiling the august pages of Cooks Illustrated, Fall Harvest recipes edition. allow me to explain:
October 20, 2025 at 3:35 AM
pleased to announce that there seems to be a passive-aggressive conflict roiling the august pages of Cooks Illustrated, Fall Harvest recipes edition. allow me to explain:
level designer and gameplay designer: our friendship is strong. we're not playing your little game
design lead in a Saw mask: oh you can leave anytime, but first you have to agree about what kinds of ramps are allowed in this game
(level designer and gameplay designer look at each other in horror)
design lead in a Saw mask: oh you can leave anytime, but first you have to agree about what kinds of ramps are allowed in this game
(level designer and gameplay designer look at each other in horror)
October 22, 2025 at 11:28 PM
level designer and gameplay designer: our friendship is strong. we're not playing your little game
design lead in a Saw mask: oh you can leave anytime, but first you have to agree about what kinds of ramps are allowed in this game
(level designer and gameplay designer look at each other in horror)
design lead in a Saw mask: oh you can leave anytime, but first you have to agree about what kinds of ramps are allowed in this game
(level designer and gameplay designer look at each other in horror)
Reposted by Katie Chironis
most annoying part of having a baby is how everyone you know is all "can I see the baby" "where's the baby" "I don't see the baby" "is there actually a baby" "I don't mean to imply anything" "it's just that... You've been different lately" "ever since you fainted during that weird electrical storm"
October 10, 2025 at 11:48 PM
most annoying part of having a baby is how everyone you know is all "can I see the baby" "where's the baby" "I don't see the baby" "is there actually a baby" "I don't mean to imply anything" "it's just that... You've been different lately" "ever since you fainted during that weird electrical storm"
developer: put it down. we don't need another one
concept artist: (clutching tighter) no. this is my emotional support sky whale
concept artist: (clutching tighter) no. this is my emotional support sky whale
October 10, 2025 at 7:58 PM
developer: put it down. we don't need another one
concept artist: (clutching tighter) no. this is my emotional support sky whale
concept artist: (clutching tighter) no. this is my emotional support sky whale
Reposted by Katie Chironis
Learned that I am being laid off from Heart Machine, and will be leaving the studio later this month.
Do you need a contractor? I've got a track record of leading scope-friendly script revisions late in dev. I have also done a lot of consulting on new IPs and pitches/demos. Feel free to DM me!
Do you need a contractor? I've got a track record of leading scope-friendly script revisions late in dev. I have also done a lot of consulting on new IPs and pitches/demos. Feel free to DM me!
October 7, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Learned that I am being laid off from Heart Machine, and will be leaving the studio later this month.
Do you need a contractor? I've got a track record of leading scope-friendly script revisions late in dev. I have also done a lot of consulting on new IPs and pitches/demos. Feel free to DM me!
Do you need a contractor? I've got a track record of leading scope-friendly script revisions late in dev. I have also done a lot of consulting on new IPs and pitches/demos. Feel free to DM me!
every expedition 33 journal is like “sadly, our attempts at kitesurfing into the final boss failed” “we tried dabbing on the nevrons and we’re completely out of ideas” “will we ever be free of this tyranny”
October 2, 2025 at 3:39 PM
every expedition 33 journal is like “sadly, our attempts at kitesurfing into the final boss failed” “we tried dabbing on the nevrons and we’re completely out of ideas” “will we ever be free of this tyranny”
it's normal to walk around with the fiscal quarter end dates burned into your brain so that you know exactly which weeks to be most anxious about bad industry news, right
September 30, 2025 at 4:50 PM
it's normal to walk around with the fiscal quarter end dates burned into your brain so that you know exactly which weeks to be most anxious about bad industry news, right
the marshmallow test for game developers, except every day you come into work there's a big button saying JUST ADD A HOOKSHOT TO THE GAME and you have to exert every single ounce of free will to stop yourself from pushing it
September 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
the marshmallow test for game developers, except every day you come into work there's a big button saying JUST ADD A HOOKSHOT TO THE GAME and you have to exert every single ounce of free will to stop yourself from pushing it
i just think if you’re hot, you shouldn’t have to learn how to parry
September 20, 2025 at 9:26 PM
i just think if you’re hot, you shouldn’t have to learn how to parry
(holding up tablet) and here you can see the oldest known human writing, it's about one hundred billion years old. it's a message written by a designer to their engineer, begging the engineer to build them something and explaining "it'll be simple"
September 19, 2025 at 4:22 PM
(holding up tablet) and here you can see the oldest known human writing, it's about one hundred billion years old. it's a message written by a designer to their engineer, begging the engineer to build them something and explaining "it'll be simple"
you: what are we having for dinner
game designer: great question. i wrote some pillars to help us align on a good outcome here.
you, reading: wait, this pillar is just "food must be edible," that seems pretty vague
game designer: ah, that's where the secondary pillars about Edibility come into play
game designer: great question. i wrote some pillars to help us align on a good outcome here.
you, reading: wait, this pillar is just "food must be edible," that seems pretty vague
game designer: ah, that's where the secondary pillars about Edibility come into play
September 18, 2025 at 4:57 PM
you: what are we having for dinner
game designer: great question. i wrote some pillars to help us align on a good outcome here.
you, reading: wait, this pillar is just "food must be edible," that seems pretty vague
game designer: ah, that's where the secondary pillars about Edibility come into play
game designer: great question. i wrote some pillars to help us align on a good outcome here.
you, reading: wait, this pillar is just "food must be edible," that seems pretty vague
game designer: ah, that's where the secondary pillars about Edibility come into play
every JRPG for some reason: …and that’s why on the 17th of the coldest month, all our children must be frozen to death and fed to demons, begging for their lives
JRPG: anyway, here’s a minigame where you can teach a dog how to runway model while some bubbly EDM track plays in the background
JRPG: anyway, here’s a minigame where you can teach a dog how to runway model while some bubbly EDM track plays in the background
September 7, 2025 at 4:06 AM
every JRPG for some reason: …and that’s why on the 17th of the coldest month, all our children must be frozen to death and fed to demons, begging for their lives
JRPG: anyway, here’s a minigame where you can teach a dog how to runway model while some bubbly EDM track plays in the background
JRPG: anyway, here’s a minigame where you can teach a dog how to runway model while some bubbly EDM track plays in the background
i have a lot of issues trusting folks and being vulnerable with them. i realized recently-- it's because i frankly do not ask them to go on enough quests for me. i need them to go find a gas canister and some food to prove i can trust them. or go kill my rivals' leader in that base over there
September 3, 2025 at 4:52 AM
i have a lot of issues trusting folks and being vulnerable with them. i realized recently-- it's because i frankly do not ask them to go on enough quests for me. i need them to go find a gas canister and some food to prove i can trust them. or go kill my rivals' leader in that base over there
used to do duolingo for French until I started Expedition 33. now armed with my new arsenal of curse words, i’m well equipped for the Parisian vacation of my dreams
August 31, 2025 at 6:13 AM
used to do duolingo for French until I started Expedition 33. now armed with my new arsenal of curse words, i’m well equipped for the Parisian vacation of my dreams
sometimes i wonder why i don’t have energy for a DnD campaign right now. then i have nights like tonight where i, a foreign queen hosting a banquet, must convince the “flower princess” (my 3yo) that she should eat protein. this is of course so she can prepare for the coming flower war
August 29, 2025 at 1:32 AM
sometimes i wonder why i don’t have energy for a DnD campaign right now. then i have nights like tonight where i, a foreign queen hosting a banquet, must convince the “flower princess” (my 3yo) that she should eat protein. this is of course so she can prepare for the coming flower war