Robert Carlson
@robertcarlson.bsky.social
Professional programmer, aspiring writer, and sometimes solo game developer. Designer of "The Amateur Deity Society": https://store.steampowered.com/app/3241070/The_Amateur_Deity_Society/
Pinned
Robert Carlson
@robertcarlson.bsky.social
· Dec 18
Save 40% on The Amateur Deity Society on Steam
A point-and-click interactive fiction game. Navigate cryptic dreams, hide your insanity from your classmates, and try not to break the school computer.
store.steampowered.com
#SteamWinterSale is on, and The Amateur Deity Society can be had for $3 until it's over: store.steampowered.com/app/3241070/...
I'd normally try to convince you it's good myself, but thankfully I can now simply link to @botherer.bsky.social's review instead: buried-treasure.org/2025/12/the-...
I'd normally try to convince you it's good myself, but thankfully I can now simply link to @botherer.bsky.social's review instead: buried-treasure.org/2025/12/the-...
Reposted by Robert Carlson
11 years ago I put this as my job description as a silly little absurd joke that no sensible person would take seriously but now there are people out there doing this very thing and calling themselves animators instead of silly little absurd jokes that no sensible person would take seriously #fuckai
January 27, 2026 at 9:09 AM
11 years ago I put this as my job description as a silly little absurd joke that no sensible person would take seriously but now there are people out there doing this very thing and calling themselves animators instead of silly little absurd jokes that no sensible person would take seriously #fuckai
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Small, free act you can do to bring some good in this world: add positive reviews to ALL you Steam games, especially the small indies. You don't need to write anything smart, just "game good" is enough. Every positive steam review tips the algorithm and helps your fav artists get more sales
January 25, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Small, free act you can do to bring some good in this world: add positive reviews to ALL you Steam games, especially the small indies. You don't need to write anything smart, just "game good" is enough. Every positive steam review tips the algorithm and helps your fav artists get more sales
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Veronika, our queen 👑 🐮
January 23, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Veronika, our queen 👑 🐮
Success.
Can't brag, since all I did was dig through decades-old forums until I found example code my compiler actually works with, but I've got the video mode I want with DOS/4GW. Can address any pixel in a nice, linear array. Way friendlier than the 16-bit real-mode alternative.
#gamedev #dos
Can't brag, since all I did was dig through decades-old forums until I found example code my compiler actually works with, but I've got the video mode I want with DOS/4GW. Can address any pixel in a nice, linear array. Way friendlier than the 16-bit real-mode alternative.
#gamedev #dos
January 23, 2026 at 3:30 AM
My quest to get 640x480x256 in a DOS program is in a tricky spot. I've managed it in a 16-bit binary, but not in 32-bit protected mode yet, which would be much better for the hypothetical "actual game." I know what DPMI interrupt functions I need to use, but something's still amiss.
#gamedev #dos
#gamedev #dos
January 22, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Robert Carlson
There's an account I kove on Mastodon called LucasArts Places that just posts background art from LucasArts adventure games. Seeing the scenes without characters or UI really underscores the immense talent of the artists who worked on the games. A few examples:
January 22, 2026 at 9:43 AM
There's an account I kove on Mastodon called LucasArts Places that just posts background art from LucasArts adventure games. Seeing the scenes without characters or UI really underscores the immense talent of the artists who worked on the games. A few examples:
Don't know if you're reading this, but big thanks to the kind and cool person who left my game a review on Steam last night. Each one really helps.
#indiegaming
#indiegaming
January 18, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Don't know if you're reading this, but big thanks to the kind and cool person who left my game a review on Steam last night. Each one really helps.
#indiegaming
#indiegaming
Me: "I don't need to comment my code THAT much. It's not like I'll be putting this down for a few months and then forgetting a bunch of it."
Me, a few months later: "Oh joy, how I love puzzles."
#gamedev #programming
Me, a few months later: "Oh joy, how I love puzzles."
#gamedev #programming
January 17, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Me: "I don't need to comment my code THAT much. It's not like I'll be putting this down for a few months and then forgetting a bunch of it."
Me, a few months later: "Oh joy, how I love puzzles."
#gamedev #programming
Me, a few months later: "Oh joy, how I love puzzles."
#gamedev #programming
Reposted by Robert Carlson
SEO-funded games journalism is in freefall with no floor and it's up to you now to fund quality coverage out of pocket. Support @aftermath.site, @remapradio.bsky.social, @secondwindgroup.com, @vgbees.com, @rogue.site, @skyboxcritics.com, @bloodgodpod.bsky.social, @mothership.blog, @3ma.bsky.social
January 16, 2026 at 8:05 PM
SEO-funded games journalism is in freefall with no floor and it's up to you now to fund quality coverage out of pocket. Support @aftermath.site, @remapradio.bsky.social, @secondwindgroup.com, @vgbees.com, @rogue.site, @skyboxcritics.com, @bloodgodpod.bsky.social, @mothership.blog, @3ma.bsky.social
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Reposted by Robert Carlson
on netflix at least, they leave the Detective Conan post-OP sponsorship pauses in, which inevitably leads my brain to fill in the blanks, which leads my body to do this kind of dumb shit 😀
January 12, 2026 at 3:36 AM
on netflix at least, they leave the Detective Conan post-OP sponsorship pauses in, which inevitably leads my brain to fill in the blanks, which leads my body to do this kind of dumb shit 😀
#GameDev question. I want to port my game to Mac, but buying a Mac would be a steep purchase for me right now. I know Godot CAN technically do a Mac export on a non-Mac, but I'm given to understand this isn't viable for a commercial release (e.g. on Steam). Am I mistaken on this?
#IndieDev #Godot
#IndieDev #Godot
January 13, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Reposted by Robert Carlson
the discourse on what jobs are acceptable to replace with generative AI reveals a lot about what we think of other people's jobs
January 9, 2026 at 6:48 AM
the discourse on what jobs are acceptable to replace with generative AI reveals a lot about what we think of other people's jobs
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Instead of drinking morning coffee (which I never do, because I'm a morning tea drinker), I played and completed Celestial Coffee Quest by @waveygames.bsky.social !
Pretty cool short EGA adventure game! It's free!
☕ wavey-games.itch.io/celestial-co...
Pretty cool short EGA adventure game! It's free!
☕ wavey-games.itch.io/celestial-co...
January 10, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Instead of drinking morning coffee (which I never do, because I'm a morning tea drinker), I played and completed Celestial Coffee Quest by @waveygames.bsky.social !
Pretty cool short EGA adventure game! It's free!
☕ wavey-games.itch.io/celestial-co...
Pretty cool short EGA adventure game! It's free!
☕ wavey-games.itch.io/celestial-co...
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Just found out my wife might be losing her job, so I'm desperately searching for work. Contract, full-time, freelance, whatever. Press, PR, consulting, anything. I have 16 years of editorial experience and have been writing about games for 13. Reviews, news, previews, guides, etc. RTs appreciated.
January 8, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Just found out my wife might be losing her job, so I'm desperately searching for work. Contract, full-time, freelance, whatever. Press, PR, consulting, anything. I have 16 years of editorial experience and have been writing about games for 13. Reviews, news, previews, guides, etc. RTs appreciated.
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Guys, we did it. We invented the Commodore 64
Also neat at CES: HP’s battery-powered PC built into a keyboard. Sort of a screenless laptop.
January 6, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Guys, we did it. We invented the Commodore 64
There will be a lot of talk in corporate spaces about how you need to learn to use AI as a software dev in order to keep pace, and it'll be hard to tune out, but ignore it. What companies will really need in 10 years are devs whose brains haven't atrophied from relying on AI.
#softwaredev #gamedev
#softwaredev #gamedev
January 7, 2026 at 12:09 AM
There will be a lot of talk in corporate spaces about how you need to learn to use AI as a software dev in order to keep pace, and it'll be hard to tune out, but ignore it. What companies will really need in 10 years are devs whose brains haven't atrophied from relying on AI.
#softwaredev #gamedev
#softwaredev #gamedev
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Hey, if you've got a demo going into Steam's Detective Fest on Monday, email me at [email protected] and I'll include a bunch in a post once it all goes live.
January 6, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Hey, if you've got a demo going into Steam's Detective Fest on Monday, email me at [email protected] and I'll include a bunch in a post once it all goes live.
A hearty thank you to everyone who bought The Amateur Deity Society during the #SteamWinterSale for collectively covering my X-mas shopping expenses this year, which I didn't think I'd get to say a few months ago. I haven't been at my new job for very long yet, so this helps a good deal.
January 6, 2026 at 12:58 AM
A hearty thank you to everyone who bought The Amateur Deity Society during the #SteamWinterSale for collectively covering my X-mas shopping expenses this year, which I didn't think I'd get to say a few months ago. I haven't been at my new job for very long yet, so this helps a good deal.
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Game dev devlog up, text adventure engine update edition!
projectrootproxy.newgrounds.com/news/post/15...
projectrootproxy.newgrounds.com/news/post/15...
Gamedev devlog update
What is happening? This week I finished the simplistic text adventure game engine. It's a wasm on the engine side, and JavaScript on the ui side, all running in the client. The idea is to release mult...
projectrootproxy.newgrounds.com
January 3, 2026 at 4:16 AM
Game dev devlog up, text adventure engine update edition!
projectrootproxy.newgrounds.com/news/post/15...
projectrootproxy.newgrounds.com/news/post/15...
Reposted by Robert Carlson
Happy Public Domain Day!
Lots of rich material is now free to use in your own artistic expressions (including games!).
Highlights include The Little Engine That Could, 1930 Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Tintin’s debut—the list is long
#gamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in...
Lots of rich material is now free to use in your own artistic expressions (including games!).
Highlights include The Little Engine That Could, 1930 Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Tintin’s debut—the list is long
#gamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in...
2026 in public domain - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 1, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Happy Public Domain Day!
Lots of rich material is now free to use in your own artistic expressions (including games!).
Highlights include The Little Engine That Could, 1930 Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Tintin’s debut—the list is long
#gamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in...
Lots of rich material is now free to use in your own artistic expressions (including games!).
Highlights include The Little Engine That Could, 1930 Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Tintin’s debut—the list is long
#gamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in...