nathaniel
@pedrothedagger.bsky.social
game developer (derogatory). Senior Game Designer at Epic Games on Lego Fortnite
oh so thats what the F stands for
Gamedevs when everyone complains about having to look up feltching:
there is almost no feedback I will reflexively ignore as a game developer but “you shouldn’t name something X because people don’t know that word” is one of them. oh no! You might learn a new word! God forbid you take away a piece of knowledge from a game that’s not a brand of gun or some shit lol
November 25, 2025 at 7:55 AM
oh so thats what the F stands for
also, and I mean this as the greatest compliment possible:
caves of qud
caves of qud
there is almost no feedback I will reflexively ignore as a game developer but “you shouldn’t name something X because people don’t know that word” is one of them. oh no! You might learn a new word! God forbid you take away a piece of knowledge from a game that’s not a brand of gun or some shit lol
November 25, 2025 at 7:38 AM
also, and I mean this as the greatest compliment possible:
caves of qud
caves of qud
btw when a game teaches me a new word it’s like it gave me a perfect little gem that I will never lose. It’s the best feeling in the world. FFXIV has me doing the onion sickos meme all day
November 25, 2025 at 7:27 AM
btw when a game teaches me a new word it’s like it gave me a perfect little gem that I will never lose. It’s the best feeling in the world. FFXIV has me doing the onion sickos meme all day
there is almost no feedback I will reflexively ignore as a game developer but “you shouldn’t name something X because people don’t know that word” is one of them. oh no! You might learn a new word! God forbid you take away a piece of knowledge from a game that’s not a brand of gun or some shit lol
November 25, 2025 at 6:52 AM
there is almost no feedback I will reflexively ignore as a game developer but “you shouldn’t name something X because people don’t know that word” is one of them. oh no! You might learn a new word! God forbid you take away a piece of knowledge from a game that’s not a brand of gun or some shit lol
all I ask is that you not bring the “guy with a pain fetish for being yelled at” lib takes guy into my feed. ya he has bad takes we all hate him I get it now stop giving the fire oxygen thanks
November 25, 2025 at 6:48 AM
all I ask is that you not bring the “guy with a pain fetish for being yelled at” lib takes guy into my feed. ya he has bad takes we all hate him I get it now stop giving the fire oxygen thanks
more journalists should be required to post video game takes so that I can more accurately apply my gell-mann amnesia filter to them lol
November 25, 2025 at 6:43 AM
more journalists should be required to post video game takes so that I can more accurately apply my gell-mann amnesia filter to them lol
growing up I thought I would be a musician and now I am a system designer. At first these seemed unrelated but realizing they are both ways of using applied mathematics to elicit an emotional response
November 24, 2025 at 7:17 AM
growing up I thought I would be a musician and now I am a system designer. At first these seemed unrelated but realizing they are both ways of using applied mathematics to elicit an emotional response
This is broadly true of every game with a large content creator following that I’ve experienced. It is vanishingly rare to get a genuine reaction from a player exposed to one of these online communities
One of the producers on Guilty Gear Strive said it was basically impossible to source player feedback on balance changes online because nobody had original opinions and would just parrot what the most popular content creators said and so they had to rely on data and I think about that every day.
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 AM
This is broadly true of every game with a large content creator following that I’ve experienced. It is vanishingly rare to get a genuine reaction from a player exposed to one of these online communities
I mean, yes, but also I do always think about how he’s very much a reverse weeb and how a lot of western devs get an undeserved pass for the level of cringe Japanese shit they put in their games lol
*beededededoop* Sam, it's Cat Wrightman-Ng. I need to talk to you about metaphors.
someone has said and I agree that Kojima is an excellent illustration of the difference between narrative design and writing
November 23, 2025 at 10:40 PM
I mean, yes, but also I do always think about how he’s very much a reverse weeb and how a lot of western devs get an undeserved pass for the level of cringe Japanese shit they put in their games lol
for me this is final fantasy XV lol
someone has said and I agree that Kojima is an excellent illustration of the difference between narrative design and writing
November 23, 2025 at 9:51 PM
for me this is final fantasy XV lol
Reposted by nathaniel
someone has said and I agree that Kojima is an excellent illustration of the difference between narrative design and writing
November 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
someone has said and I agree that Kojima is an excellent illustration of the difference between narrative design and writing
Reposted by nathaniel
bluesky checked the IP addresses of pro-turkey posters and they're all posting from hungry
November 23, 2025 at 8:47 PM
bluesky checked the IP addresses of pro-turkey posters and they're all posting from hungry
Reposted by nathaniel
everyone remembers what happened to Isabel Fall.
I think we lost some work because authors were afraid to show their weirdnesses, rough edges, to ask uncomfortable questions.
We can debate all day about who got cancelled and whether or not they deserved it, but one thing I have noticed is that a lot of queer YA written from ~2019-2022 has a kind of sterile after-school-special vibe where you can just tell they sanitized the fuck out of it to appease the Twitter hivemind
November 18, 2025 at 9:00 PM
everyone remembers what happened to Isabel Fall.
XLOOKUP? i dunno, I find googling people you used to date isn't very emotionally healthy
November 18, 2025 at 9:33 PM
XLOOKUP? i dunno, I find googling people you used to date isn't very emotionally healthy
lol TIL adderall is a better nasal decongestant than pseudoephedrine
November 17, 2025 at 9:01 PM
lol TIL adderall is a better nasal decongestant than pseudoephedrine
I mean I don’t even know if it’s my favorite but it is perfect
November 17, 2025 at 7:32 AM
I mean I don’t even know if it’s my favorite but it is perfect
Reposted by nathaniel
intrusive thought
November 15, 2025 at 12:00 AM
intrusive thought
instanced structs are the best UE feature in recent memory change my mind
November 12, 2025 at 12:15 AM
instanced structs are the best UE feature in recent memory change my mind
i think it's pretty clear. the shutdown was starting to affect the constituency they actually care about - upper middle class professionals
I'm having a hard time even figuring out this Democratic cave. Like ever work with a guy so stupid he will do something and you can't even tell exactly what he was trying to do
November 10, 2025 at 5:18 AM
i think it's pretty clear. the shutdown was starting to affect the constituency they actually care about - upper middle class professionals
Reposted by nathaniel
also sorry I am never going to call deduction games “metroidbrainias”. sorry. I am open to other terms but not to that one
November 9, 2025 at 12:25 AM
also sorry I am never going to call deduction games “metroidbrainias”. sorry. I am open to other terms but not to that one
CPI inflation is not nearly the problem that asset inflation is imo
NYC is home to “384,000 millionaires” while 20% of residents are on #SNAP.
“.. the extent to which some .. have it all while others have absolutely nothing .. without a civil uprising .. is a minor miracle unto itself.”
@downtownjoshbrown.bsky.social
www.downtownjoshbrown.com/p/there-s-so...
“.. the extent to which some .. have it all while others have absolutely nothing .. without a civil uprising .. is a minor miracle unto itself.”
@downtownjoshbrown.bsky.social
www.downtownjoshbrown.com/p/there-s-so...
November 8, 2025 at 11:56 PM
CPI inflation is not nearly the problem that asset inflation is imo
without being too much of a shill if you like daft punk you should totally do the daft punk experience in fortnite, shit slaps imo
November 8, 2025 at 2:58 AM
without being too much of a shill if you like daft punk you should totally do the daft punk experience in fortnite, shit slaps imo
Solving a production problem with game design is one of the most curiously satisfying parts of being an experienced designer imo
November 7, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Solving a production problem with game design is one of the most curiously satisfying parts of being an experienced designer imo
Hm. I don’t think Wizardry/Nethack/Diablo and Super Metroid belong to the same structural family or have the same structural benefits.
Whenever I’ve heard the term megadungeon I’ve always taken it to mean the Metroid style sprawling interconnected dungeon and not the layer cake Diablo thing
Whenever I’ve heard the term megadungeon I’ve always taken it to mean the Metroid style sprawling interconnected dungeon and not the layer cake Diablo thing
"Why megadungeons?" My pitch is that they are a campaign format that concentrates ideas, maximizes novelty, uses familiarity to advantage, and can be run in 2-4 hour sessions. Plus, between Silk Song and Delicious in Dungeon- everyone knows what they are! icastlight.blogspot.com/2025/09/why-...
WHY MEGADUNGEONS? A Campaign Structure for Modern Lives
Why Megadungeons? Over on the Prismatic Wasteland Discord, a member asked essentially, "Why megadungeons?" This is a good perennial questi...
icastlight.blogspot.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Hm. I don’t think Wizardry/Nethack/Diablo and Super Metroid belong to the same structural family or have the same structural benefits.
Whenever I’ve heard the term megadungeon I’ve always taken it to mean the Metroid style sprawling interconnected dungeon and not the layer cake Diablo thing
Whenever I’ve heard the term megadungeon I’ve always taken it to mean the Metroid style sprawling interconnected dungeon and not the layer cake Diablo thing