loren schmidt
@lorenschmidt.bsky.social
i make art, mostly with computers. currently working on an open world RPG with roguelike roots and an experimental bent. cat mom. she / her or they / them.
Pinned
loren schmidt
@lorenschmidt.bsky.social
· Nov 25
i am making an open world roguelike.
i have been imagining this world for years, and i want to make this game so people can go there and live many lives in it!
the game features whole-cloth, accessible design, deep mysteries, and a meticulous generated living world.
i have been imagining this world for years, and i want to make this game so people can go there and live many lives in it!
the game features whole-cloth, accessible design, deep mysteries, and a meticulous generated living world.
Reposted by loren schmidt
Tens of thousands of us. I am so proud. Justice for #ReneeGood! Justice for #KeithPorter! #ABOLISHICE
January 11, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Tens of thousands of us. I am so proud. Justice for #ReneeGood! Justice for #KeithPorter! #ABOLISHICE
fun fact: this skill and piece of world building were actually inspired by a bug which for some reason made crystal shards visible as they spawned.
![white text on dark grey:
[loss] scrying
it is a fundamental principle of magic that energy cannot be destroyed, it can only change forms. energy bound to a part of the world, when "spent", will reappear in another location.
[loss] scrying is a strange form of scrying in which the caster creates a small pyre which consumes some amount of crystallized magical energy. this is not actually a spell: the magic energy does not do anything, it is merely burned away. however as the energy cycles, there is a short window in which the caster's attunement to the energy persists. this creates a glimmer of perception at whatever location the magical energy reenters physical space.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:n4v3w2lmcptvczaspsyanfhy/bafkreiav6mjqbjrcnucnaonki2yjyqtiaba235cuaywsg7r3isjawakpiy@jpeg)
January 10, 2026 at 10:47 PM
fun fact: this skill and piece of world building were actually inspired by a bug which for some reason made crystal shards visible as they spawned.
i'm adding some support for cell type interactions. in general, the game isn't dogmatic about what types of materials can exist or how they should behave- individual generators can have custom decorative tiles, etc.. but then what happens if you swing your sword at a custom type of cell?
January 10, 2026 at 10:39 PM
i'm adding some support for cell type interactions. in general, the game isn't dogmatic about what types of materials can exist or how they should behave- individual generators can have custom decorative tiles, etc.. but then what happens if you swing your sword at a custom type of cell?
i am playing quake levels faster than i'm writing down analyses, but i have new screenshots and am attempting to catch the thread up.
January 10, 2026 at 10:03 PM
i am playing quake levels faster than i'm writing down analyses, but i have new screenshots and am attempting to catch the thread up.
hmm i don't know if it would make sense in my project, but i feel like flesh-eating horses inspired by the mares of Diomedes would be so spooky and good in a game.
January 10, 2026 at 2:05 AM
hmm i don't know if it would make sense in my project, but i feel like flesh-eating horses inspired by the mares of Diomedes would be so spooky and good in a game.
Routine looks super pretty, has anyone played it? what are your thoughts on other aspects of it?
January 9, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Routine looks super pretty, has anyone played it? what are your thoughts on other aspects of it?
today we're playing a near relative of poschengband, frogcomposband.. i don't know the near relatives of this one well, so i can't say which fork contributed what, but this one has some pretty neat, dense level generation. and, interestingly, collapsed ceilings with foliage (right) as in zangband.
January 9, 2026 at 8:46 PM
today we're playing a near relative of poschengband, frogcomposband.. i don't know the near relatives of this one well, so i can't say which fork contributed what, but this one has some pretty neat, dense level generation. and, interestingly, collapsed ceilings with foliage (right) as in zangband.
ok i have a really weird maximalist HUD idea.
game is a tile based dungeon crawler.
in one corner is a roguelike, zoomed out top down view. it has controls and a message field with an e/s/w/n scheme.
game is a tile based dungeon crawler.
in one corner is a roguelike, zoomed out top down view. it has controls and a message field with an e/s/w/n scheme.
January 9, 2026 at 7:40 PM
ok i have a really weird maximalist HUD idea.
game is a tile based dungeon crawler.
in one corner is a roguelike, zoomed out top down view. it has controls and a message field with an e/s/w/n scheme.
game is a tile based dungeon crawler.
in one corner is a roguelike, zoomed out top down view. it has controls and a message field with an e/s/w/n scheme.
Reposted by loren schmidt
Reposted by loren schmidt
nice part of rulespace
January 6, 2026 at 11:05 AM
nice part of rulespace
Reposted by loren schmidt
Pathologic 3 is out!!!
I did localization editing on it, with several of my friends. We polished the English language game text.
If you've ever been interested in Pathologic, you can start with this one - no need to play 2 first. (But you should play both!!!) store.steampowered.com/app/3199650/...
I did localization editing on it, with several of my friends. We polished the English language game text.
If you've ever been interested in Pathologic, you can start with this one - no need to play 2 first. (But you should play both!!!) store.steampowered.com/app/3199650/...
Steam Store
Steam is the ultimate destination for playing, discussing, and creating games.
store.steampowered.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Pathologic 3 is out!!!
I did localization editing on it, with several of my friends. We polished the English language game text.
If you've ever been interested in Pathologic, you can start with this one - no need to play 2 first. (But you should play both!!!) store.steampowered.com/app/3199650/...
I did localization editing on it, with several of my friends. We polished the English language game text.
If you've ever been interested in Pathologic, you can start with this one - no need to play 2 first. (But you should play both!!!) store.steampowered.com/app/3199650/...
this is a really good overview of the oil company side of the politics of the USA actions in Venezuela. it goes against the prevailing narrative in significant ways.
Big Oil has distanced itself from the raid in Venezuela, and people are buying that they might not actually want in.
Huge thanks to journalist @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social, an expert in wars fought over oil, for talking with me about what's actually going on here.
for ExxonKnews & @levernews.com
Huge thanks to journalist @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social, an expert in wars fought over oil, for talking with me about what's actually going on here.
for ExxonKnews & @levernews.com
On Venezuela and ‘the greatest lie the oil industry ever told us’
Author and investigative journalist Antonia Juhasz, an expert in wars fought over oil, weighs in on U.S. oil companies’ efforts to distance themselves from Trump’s raid in Venezuela.
www.exxonknews.org
January 9, 2026 at 2:11 PM
this is a really good overview of the oil company side of the politics of the USA actions in Venezuela. it goes against the prevailing narrative in significant ways.
i am playing quake. i have played this a ton, but i haven't played this in a few years (4?) so i am going in with a relatively large amount of objectivity. i am compiling some of my design notes here.
January 8, 2026 at 6:00 PM
i am playing quake. i have played this a ton, but i haven't played this in a few years (4?) so i am going in with a relatively large amount of objectivity. i am compiling some of my design notes here.
this is an illuminating piece of reporting on how ICE is obtaining warrantless information on people's locations and personal information. it's a 1-2-3 of poor security, unethical data brokers, and companies who are eager to weaponize this information.
New: we've obtained material explaining how an ICE surveillance system, called Webloc, works. Draw shape on a map, see all phones available there, follow them home. All without warrant
“This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
“This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods
404 Media has obtained material that explains how Tangles and Webloc, two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. Webloc can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or t...
www.404media.co
January 8, 2026 at 3:46 PM
this is an illuminating piece of reporting on how ICE is obtaining warrantless information on people's locations and personal information. it's a 1-2-3 of poor security, unethical data brokers, and companies who are eager to weaponize this information.
Reposted by loren schmidt
Where the hell are Google and Apple enforcing their app store terms of service on X? Grok doing CSAM should instantly be a removal from the app store. Any other app doing this would be pulled instantly. Journalists should be asking for comment from these companies.
January 7, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Where the hell are Google and Apple enforcing their app store terms of service on X? Grok doing CSAM should instantly be a removal from the app store. Any other app doing this would be pulled instantly. Journalists should be asking for comment from these companies.
roguelike movement question:
some games let you move freely along diagonals, and others restrict it when going in or out of corridors. what are your feelings about these options?
(i'd also love to hear any out of the box opinions- nonsquare grid fetishists, you are welcome here.)
some games let you move freely along diagonals, and others restrict it when going in or out of corridors. what are your feelings about these options?
(i'd also love to hear any out of the box opinions- nonsquare grid fetishists, you are welcome here.)
January 8, 2026 at 5:47 AM
roguelike movement question:
some games let you move freely along diagonals, and others restrict it when going in or out of corridors. what are your feelings about these options?
(i'd also love to hear any out of the box opinions- nonsquare grid fetishists, you are welcome here.)
some games let you move freely along diagonals, and others restrict it when going in or out of corridors. what are your feelings about these options?
(i'd also love to hear any out of the box opinions- nonsquare grid fetishists, you are welcome here.)
the per-mille foliage is staying, i really like it.
January 8, 2026 at 5:00 AM
the per-mille foliage is staying, i really like it.
i am invested in basic movement being a traversal through a set of interesting and elegant choices.
January 8, 2026 at 4:55 AM
i am invested in basic movement being a traversal through a set of interesting and elegant choices.
well, guess who bailed on the witcher 3 and is now playing Quake
January 8, 2026 at 1:56 AM
well, guess who bailed on the witcher 3 and is now playing Quake
what if foliage over pits acted like destructible bridges? maybe you have to move on it a little carefully?
January 8, 2026 at 1:05 AM
what if foliage over pits acted like destructible bridges? maybe you have to move on it a little carefully?
if you want to alert people that an image circulating is made by generative AI, please post how you know and any evidence you have, because otherwise it's indistinguishable from a guess (and a some such claims /are/ guesses).
did you use a detection tool? visual assessment? word of mouth?
did you use a detection tool? visual assessment? word of mouth?
January 8, 2026 at 1:02 AM
if you want to alert people that an image circulating is made by generative AI, please post how you know and any evidence you have, because otherwise it's indistinguishable from a guess (and a some such claims /are/ guesses).
did you use a detection tool? visual assessment? word of mouth?
did you use a detection tool? visual assessment? word of mouth?
