nathaniel
@pedrothedagger.bsky.social
game developer (derogatory). Lead Systems Designer at Epic Games on Lego Fortnite
February 10, 2026 at 4:06 AM
tho one point he did make is that only having 5 vowel sounds also makes it a lot harder. So I mean if you pick 2 words at random pretty good chance they rhyme lol
February 10, 2026 at 2:19 AM
tho one point he did make is that only having 5 vowel sounds also makes it a lot harder. So I mean if you pick 2 words at random pretty good chance they rhyme lol
Ugh I said every vowel rhyming but I meant every verb lol
February 10, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Ugh I said every vowel rhyming but I meant every verb lol
I hadn’t really thought about ideas like voiced/devoiced consonants as a musical tool but I would 100% believe it’s part of the intuitive toolbox of great rappers in English, too
February 10, 2026 at 12:20 AM
I hadn’t really thought about ideas like voiced/devoiced consonants as a musical tool but I would 100% believe it’s part of the intuitive toolbox of great rappers in English, too
Specifically reminded me of some chats we had about slant rhyme that reminded me of the discussion in the video. rap is such a rich form and I love learning how other languages adopt not just the visual aesthetic but the rhythmic language aesthetic
February 10, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Specifically reminded me of some chats we had about slant rhyme that reminded me of the discussion in the video. rap is such a rich form and I love learning how other languages adopt not just the visual aesthetic but the rhythmic language aesthetic
This talk is fantastic, you owe it to yourself to watch if you like rap or linguistics! Seems obvious now but had never considered how every vowel rhyming in Japanese might make pose a problem for rap lol.
Also memories of talking with @jessethorn.bsky.social back in college re OutKast paper lol
Also memories of talking with @jessethorn.bsky.social back in college re OutKast paper lol
Had the honor of sitting down with Dr. Shigeto Kawahara of Keio University to discuss his work on the linguistics of #Japanese hip hop. Check it out:
youtu.be/55oLVaVwgS4?...
youtu.be/55oLVaVwgS4?...
The Linguistics of Japanese Rap: Interview with Dr. Shigeto Kawahara of Keio University
YouTube video by Scripting Japan
youtu.be
February 10, 2026 at 12:11 AM
This talk is fantastic, you owe it to yourself to watch if you like rap or linguistics! Seems obvious now but had never considered how every vowel rhyming in Japanese might make pose a problem for rap lol.
Also memories of talking with @jessethorn.bsky.social back in college re OutKast paper lol
Also memories of talking with @jessethorn.bsky.social back in college re OutKast paper lol
yeah it was a very funny bit of wow subteam anthropology. I shifted from the quest team to the encounter team and on my first boss I used bunnies and then adopted the infernals for everything else after lol. Nobody said I had to but it was just what you did lol
February 10, 2026 at 12:04 AM
yeah it was a very funny bit of wow subteam anthropology. I shifted from the quest team to the encounter team and on my first boss I used bunnies and then adopted the infernals for everything else after lol. Nobody said I had to but it was just what you did lol
Well maybe not required, but dramatically more efficient
February 9, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Well maybe not required, but dramatically more efficient
Yeah IMO classes can accelerate especially at the start but immersion is required I think.
February 9, 2026 at 11:12 PM
Yeah IMO classes can accelerate especially at the start but immersion is required I think.
Yeah it’s not about difficulty at all imo, it’s about stress, individual pressure, and only having yourself to blame when you lose. fighting games definitely don’t seem any harder to play fundamentally than mobas, for sure
February 9, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Yeah it’s not about difficulty at all imo, it’s about stress, individual pressure, and only having yourself to blame when you lose. fighting games definitely don’t seem any harder to play fundamentally than mobas, for sure
The funniest thing is that you can (or could at least) tell if something was made by the quest team or the encounter team based on whether it was made with an invisible bunny or an invisible infernal
February 9, 2026 at 11:04 PM
The funniest thing is that you can (or could at least) tell if something was made by the quest team or the encounter team based on whether it was made with an invisible bunny or an invisible infernal
Reposted by nathaniel
If it's happening, bunnies are doing it. Probably.
Players discover once again that World of Warcraft is powered by invisible bunnies that make everything work
Great truths are only briefly forgotten.
www.pcgamer.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:01 PM
If it's happening, bunnies are doing it. Probably.
when you see your rival fall on their face and you’re like “mmmm the ground does look pretty delicious tho”
February 9, 2026 at 10:56 PM
when you see your rival fall on their face and you’re like “mmmm the ground does look pretty delicious tho”
IMO the inherent sweatiness of 1v1 competitive games represents a fundamental challenge to success in the f2p space (without something like pay to win mechanics)
February 9, 2026 at 10:37 PM
IMO the inherent sweatiness of 1v1 competitive games represents a fundamental challenge to success in the f2p space (without something like pay to win mechanics)
1v1 competitive games are inherently sweaty in a way that I think represents a massive barrier to the kind of audience you’d need to succeed in the f2p space
February 9, 2026 at 10:35 PM
1v1 competitive games are inherently sweaty in a way that I think represents a massive barrier to the kind of audience you’d need to succeed in the f2p space
I don’t think “normal” language classes actually meaningfully contribute to language acquisition vs immersion. At least that was very much my experience with Japanese (tho I did an intensive immersion program in school that was extremely effective, but things like apps seem worthless to me)
February 9, 2026 at 10:33 PM
I don’t think “normal” language classes actually meaningfully contribute to language acquisition vs immersion. At least that was very much my experience with Japanese (tho I did an intensive immersion program in school that was extremely effective, but things like apps seem worthless to me)
I love fighting games. I really do. but I do not think there is a universe where a fighting game is successful at the scale they would have needed it to be to work as a free to play game from Riot
February 9, 2026 at 10:30 PM
I love fighting games. I really do. but I do not think there is a universe where a fighting game is successful at the scale they would have needed it to be to work as a free to play game from Riot
oh also never heard someone do the Mariah Carey whistle tone thing to accompany a guitar solo and, friends, it’s perfect www.tiktok.com/@chandoenjoy...
Ado - DIGNITY 4K HD LIVE PERFORMANCE From 2024 Shinzou #ado #live #shinzou #dignity #adomin #adomination #adoworldtour #adoworlddomination #adoutaite #utaite
TikTok video by chandoenjoyer (RIP adoenjoyer)
www.tiktok.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:59 PM
oh also never heard someone do the Mariah Carey whistle tone thing to accompany a guitar solo and, friends, it’s perfect www.tiktok.com/@chandoenjoy...
it’s even funnier because if you know the part of the game where this happens it actually works
February 9, 2026 at 9:43 PM
it’s even funnier because if you know the part of the game where this happens it actually works
Was this a thing? it’s so dumb I couldn’t believe they actually made it up for this lol
February 9, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Was this a thing? it’s so dumb I couldn’t believe they actually made it up for this lol
I really fucked my language acquisition journey when I decided in high school “oh I really wanna learn Japanese” and “I’ll start on other languages once I feel comfortable in Japanese” lol
it's also a pretty damn easy language to learn, coming from english, too
February 9, 2026 at 9:37 PM
I really fucked my language acquisition journey when I decided in high school “oh I really wanna learn Japanese” and “I’ll start on other languages once I feel comfortable in Japanese” lol
I mean 2XKO is free to play so comparing it to SF or Marvel doesn’t work. SF and Marvel both extract a door fee from the audience. For a F2P game to succeed, since not everyone pays you either need many multiples more people to play or you need a biz model that encourages whale behavior
the entire foundation of Riot's success as a studio is to essentially copy and remake other proven popular games so I could see them panicking believing 2XKO is a failure because it hasn't outperformed the lifetime sales of Street Fighter and Marvel in three weeks
February 9, 2026 at 9:22 PM
I mean 2XKO is free to play so comparing it to SF or Marvel doesn’t work. SF and Marvel both extract a door fee from the audience. For a F2P game to succeed, since not everyone pays you either need many multiples more people to play or you need a biz model that encourages whale behavior
What could the team have done to succeed? If they stole 100% of SF6 CCU would that have really been a success? You want to ship in a niche genre, you spend niche resources and time, and let the game grow.
February 9, 2026 at 8:57 PM
What could the team have done to succeed? If they stole 100% of SF6 CCU would that have really been a success? You want to ship in a niche genre, you spend niche resources and time, and let the game grow.
not at all a mark against 2xko devs who did a fantastic fucking job. But the idea of spending 10 years of even a relatively small Riot team burn rate on a fighting game - a genre which I love but which does not in any way have F2P CCU audience numbers - feels like product/biz model malpractice imo
February 9, 2026 at 8:54 PM
not at all a mark against 2xko devs who did a fantastic fucking job. But the idea of spending 10 years of even a relatively small Riot team burn rate on a fighting game - a genre which I love but which does not in any way have F2P CCU audience numbers - feels like product/biz model malpractice imo
Reposted by nathaniel
Ten years on 2XKO, 12 at Riot and I got laid off with 30min notice lol
Gonna take some time.
Gonna take some time.
February 9, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Ten years on 2XKO, 12 at Riot and I got laid off with 30min notice lol
Gonna take some time.
Gonna take some time.