Matt Hargett
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matthargett.bsky.social
Matt Hargett
@matthargett.bsky.social
550 followers 220 following 180 posts
coding since 1984. writing songs since 1996. husband since 2000. dad since 2015. 2X founder, currently of Rebecker Specialties. ex-LG, PlayStation, Roblox.
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Reposted by Matt Hargett
mathewkumar.com
From the exp. Chrimbo archive: Santa's Sleigh Ride (Energy Games, 1981), the first commercially released Christmas game ever. Probably.
Santa’s Sleigh Ride (Energy Games, 1981) - exp.
The first commercially-released Christmas video game ever. Probably.
expzine.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
mattjohnss.bsky.social
opening some concept art commission slots .ᐟ.ᐟ let me help build your worlds, explore character designs, props etc. .ᐟ.ᐟ recent commission spread below ミ★

$80 per spread, accompanied with annotations

contact: [email protected] for more info ◡̈

#gameart #conceptart #gamedev #worldbuilding
sketchbook spread exploring an underwater environment, the characters, creatures, foliage and objects that might exist here. #characterdesign #gamedev #environmentdesign #conceptart #visualdevelopment #sketchbook #worldbuilding #games sketchbook spread exploring some characters and environmental structures for an underwater environment, characters imbued with with mana illuminate the deep trenches of this environment, relics of the past are covered in algae, magical characters made of water exist here. sketchbook spread exploring more tool and object concepts, glyphs are an ancient language present in this underwater space - this language can attach itself to creatures, purpose changes and secrets unravel. more of the same haha ◡̈
December 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
phylumsinter.bandcamp.com
@doublefine.com's craftsmanship + @leepetty.bsky.social's masterpiece 'Keeper' is beyond anything else I've played in years.

Perfect execution, SCULPTED in #VR with @adobe.com's Substance 3D during the pandemic, this is this generation's 'Journey' or 'Fantasia', soaked in synaesthetic moments.
One of an endlessly picturesque and living moments inside the PC version of 'Keeper', a wordless narrative where you are a Lighthouse, post-humanity. You and your bird buddy 'Twig' go for an instantly engaging walk. Can't recommend this game enough. Very inspirational to see such mastery in scenes that would need to be completely pre-rendered anywhere else.
December 5, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
timoflegend.bsky.social
Keeper update!
▪️Noir mode!
▪️Ultrawide monitor support!
▪️New accessibility features!

You would think a colorful game like Keeper would loose a lot going black & white, but this version has been tuned by @leepetty.bsky.social himself so it really highlights the drama. (As well as his love for AC/DC.)
Key art for Keeper "Noir" Mode The "Back in Black & White" Update.
December 4, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
myperfectconsole.bsky.social
Today, we’re joined by Mark Cerny, one of the most influential creators in the history of video games. Designer of iconic Marble Madness; founder of the team behind Sonic the Hedgehog 2; and lead architect of the PS4 and PS5 consoles that have defined a generation.

Don’t miss it: bit.ly/4ophkg1
Mark Cerny, lead system architect, PlayStation 4 & 5.
My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin · Episode
bit.ly
December 2, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
sharkabytes.bsky.social
I love BYTE magazine's covers of the early 80s, anticipating all the ways computers will enter our homes in the coming computer revolution years. Things like smart devices and appliances, envisioned in the only ways they could then: radio waves and ultrasonic.
A Byte magazine cover with an illustration of a boxy minicomputer on an elegant dining table with a wine glass and pair of white gloves next to a walkie-talking looking thing. The computer screen and keyboard is inset in posh polished wood.
November 29, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
shing.bsky.social
Stoppard's stage directions for the desk clutter in Arcadia lives rent free in my head. A playwright and director who truly understood all parts of a theatre production working together to make magic. Rest in peace.
catacalypto.bsky.social Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 8d
A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:
"Years and years ago, there was a production of The Tempest, out of doors, at an Oxford college on a lawn, which was the stage, and the lawn went back towards the lake in the grounds of the college, and the play began in natural light. But as it developed, and as it became time for Ariel to say his farewell to the world of The Tempest, the evening had started to close in and there was some artificial lighting coming on. And as Ariel uttered his last speech, he turned and he ran across the grass, and he got to the edge of the lake and he just kept running across the top of the water — the producer having thoughtfully provided a kind of walkway an inch beneath the water. And you could see and you could hear the plish, plash as he ran away from you across the top of the lake, until the gloom enveloped him and he disappeared from your view. And as he did so, from the further shore, a firework rocket was ignited, and it went whoosh into the air, and high up there it burst into lots of sparks, and all the sparks went out, and he had gone. "When you look up the stage directions, it says, 'Exit Ariel.”
November 29, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
petedimitrovart.com
Reading old computer graphics white papers is super fun because every so often you come across the most liminal, weird looking images. Like this one from 1983.
A screenshot from a Computer Graphics white paper dubbed "Pyramidal Parametrics" by Lance Williams, 1983. It looks at mipmaps as a concept. The screenshot here shows two dark images. It consists of black background with exploded cubes on top. On each side of the cube, imagery is mapped. One looks like an eye, the other like an overexposed coin, and the other one like 4 heads next to one another. It all has creepy colors and visuals. Under it reads "Figure 8-9" Sunstone by Ed Emshwiller, segment animated by Alvy Ray Smith Pyramidal parametric texture mapping on polygons."
November 28, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
atariarchive.org
To add onto this, Jaquays also was involved in video games, particularly with Coleco early on and later with Quake and Age of Empires. I wrote about one of her projects, Tarzan, a while ago (sadly not long after she passed away, so I couldn’t interview her too): gamehistory.org/atari-2600-t...
November 18, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
jparish.bsky.social
In the decade-plus I've been making my weekly videos, Rebecca was the only developer to have jumped into my comments to clear up a point I was unclear about—then she graciously agreed to be on the podcast. I found her to be as generous and kind as she was talented. It's truly tragic that she's gone.
November 18, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
sharkabytes.bsky.social
The Second Life of its day: Lucasfilm's Habitat (1986-1988)

Lucasfilm were one of the companies at the cutting edge of computer game software, and pioneering some really cool stuff, such as this social MMO for the Commodore 64 available via the QuantumLink service.

#VideoBytes
November 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
digitaleclipse.bsky.social
Mortal Kombat fans and collectors — this is your chance to own history! Up for auction are new original artworks by John Tobias, signed collectibles, and rare items you will not find anywhere else.

All in support of the Raiden Science Foundation!

tiltify.com/raidenscienc...
November 1, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
enhance-experience.com
We see you eyeing this announcement, 👀 looking at your Steam library 📚 and salivating over finally playing Lumines Arise, Tetris Effect: Connected, Rez Infinite and HUMANITY in VR. 🎉

Which would you play first? 🤔
valvesoftware.com Valve @valvesoftware.com · 25d
Announcing: New @steampowered.com Hardware, coming in 2026:

Steam Controller
Steam Machine
Steam Frame. 

Watch our jazzy announcement video and wishlist now: steampowered.com/hardware
Steam Hardware
The Steam Hardware family officially expands in early 2026.
steampowered.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
edgarwright.bsky.social
Hello there! Click the link above for my TOP 50 SONGS OF 2024. It's still an utter pleasure to share with you my end of year playlist, with fifty(one!) tracks I've been loving in the last twelve months. Please, play loud, in order and ENJOY! linktr.ee/edgarwright
December 21, 2024 at 4:11 AM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
paranoiadragon.bsky.social
Anyone want a newly released 2 pack of PC Engine homebrew games never before released on physical HuCards?

aetherbyte.com/aetherbyte-a...
Aetherbyte Aethermix
aetherbyte.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
amanogames.bsky.social
Our pinball game for the @play.date "Devils on the Moon" is coming out this February! Can't wait for y'all to play it. you can wish it here play.date/games/devils...

#indiegames #pixelart #pinball #Playdate
November 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
coderox.bsky.social
Animation plays a key role in spatial experiences on Apple Vision Pro.

@elkraneo.bsky.social put together an article for @stepinto.vision that goes into great depth about which animation techniques will work best for your creative vision.

stepinto.vision/articles/dee...

#AppleVisionPro #visionOS
November 4, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
p1xelcoder.bsky.social
This illustrates the full process of capturing the "Essence" of a mesh to be used in a morph. The distance field is retrieved and then the mesh is projected onto the cube-shaped "screen" in order to pack its surface properties into two cubemaps.
November 4, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
frankcifaldi.bsky.social
Y'all, I know two hours is a big time commitment, but this panel I arranged and hosted last month is one of the most important things I've ever done for video game history. The launch of the NES is a crazier story than most people realize, and my guests were extremely generous with their memories.
November 3, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
kohler.bsky.social
This is a great read. Ninja Gaiden isn't given half the credit it deserves in terms of its impact on games as a cinematic medium
November 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
atariarchive.org
I forget who, but years ago someone once referred to my Atari videos as the "Velvet Underground" of historical retrospectives in that they didn't get massive viewcounts but were influencing how other people considered their approaches and perspectives
ldlewiswrites.blacksky.app L. D. Lewis, Sea Witch Apologist 🍂 @ldlewiswrites.blacksky.app · Oct 24
What is the best compliment you ever received? Putting aside whether or not you believed it.
October 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
archive.org
Two shifts, twice the microfiche scanning 📄💪
The #InternetArchive Democracy’s Library #livestream runs 7:30 AM–Midnight PT.

Watch public records being scanned & preserved in real time — all set to mellow #lofi vibes.

📡 www.youtube.com/live/SxUjwZY...

#GovernmentDocs #LiveNow
lofi Archive radio 🎞️ beats to scan/read microfiche to
Off Hours? Watch a 2hr stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gibUecoF1bEEver wonder how government documents, locked away on tiny sheets of microfiche, b...
www.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
sleepyadam.bsky.social
Maybe not the most surprising thing, but it is extremely cool to me this 30+ year old laptop can run the latest version of Nethack on MS-DOS.
Compaq Contura 4/25C running Nethack. A version tag : PC Nethack djgpp Version 3.6.7 - last build Thursday July 11th 12:43:57 2024
October 24, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Matt Hargett
stephentotilo.bsky.social
I told people about Ball x Pit, and now people tell me they can't stop playing

Sorry/ you're welcome.

www.gamefile.news/p/a-catchy-g...
A catchy game full of playable jokes
PLUS: The ex-head of Assassin’s Creed says "Ubisoft asked me to step aside"
www.gamefile.news
October 20, 2025 at 7:01 PM