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Nicola Cocchiaro

@wildbat.bsky.social

500 followers 140 following 540 posts

Software engineer/indie game dev. I started @synapticsugar.games and do programming, design, music. Former gameplay and AI programmer on Red Dead Redemption 2, Front Mission Evolved, GI Joe: the Rise of Cobra; backend engineer on Sony PlayStation Now; etc

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · Nov 13

My current project is a story-driven rhythm game for Playdate called Agents of Groove, in which a group of undercover dancers stumbles upon a conspiracy and attempts to stop it. It would be cool if you checked it out at synapticsugar.games/games/agents...!

Agents of Groove

Agents of Groove is a rhythm game currently in development for Playdate with a dynamic soundtrack, a compelling story and a fun cast of characters.

synapticsugar.games

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 16h

I'm just trying to make games 🤷‍♂️

synapticsugar.games

Synaptic Sugar

Artisanal, small batch, mindful videogames made by humans

synapticsugar.games

Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely loving Strange Antiquities! The improvements over its predecessor Strange Horticulture are all welcome and the puzzles take things to a whole new level with all the additional layers. Couldn't be happier with it!

Bad Viking Games (Rob & John). Strange Antiquities OUT NOW! @badvikinggames.bsky.social · 5d

>1000 reviews!

Overwhelmingly Positive!

Overwhelmingly grateful to everyone who has played and taken the time and effort to review the game.

Keep playing and reviewing indie games!

An image showing the latest number of steam reviews for Strange Antiquities (1069 Overwhelmingly Positive)

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 1d

call me when the robot can do my dishes and laundry for me and put them all away in the correct drawers/cabinets/closets without my input. that would give me more time to write, the thing AI keeps trying to do (poorly) for me instead.

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 6d

What is this robot after, and how is it connected to the G.R.O.O.V.E. case? A case more unsettling at every step, like a tall tale told by an excitable sailor in exchange for the promise of more attention. Find out in #AgentsOfGroove!

#playdate #gamedev #indiedev #ScreenshotSaturday

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 2d

Hey, well done. Glad it worked out in the end!

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Rhianna Pratchett @rhi.bsky.social · 3d

In Discworld, cities thrive because they welcome dwarfs, trolls, vampires, and humans alike. Ankh-Morpork works because everyone belongs. Funny how fiction can seem more humane than policy sometimes.

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 4d

So sorry for your loss

Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · 5d

📣 Germany's close to reversing its opposition to mass surveillance & private message scanning, & backing the Chat Control bill. This could end private comms-& Signal-in the EU.

Time's short and they're counting on obscurity: please let German politicians know how horrifying their reversal would be.

Signal @signal.org · 7d

We are alarmed by reports that Germany is on the verge of a catastrophic about-face, reversing its longstanding and principled opposition to the EU’s Chat Control proposal which, if passed, could spell the end of the right to privacy in Europe. signal.org/blog/pdfs/ge...

signal.org

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Rebecca Heineman @burgerbecky.bsky.social · 6d

I’ve started a GoFundMe to help with my cancer battle gofund.me/6850175a3

Donate to Help Rebecca Ann Heineman Fight Aggressive Cancer, organized by Rebecca Heineman

I’m Rebecca Ann Heineman. The very first video game champion, creat… Rebecca Heineman needs your support for Help Rebecca Ann Heineman Fight Aggressive Cancer

gofund.me

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 6d

But the fonts are 👨‍🍳👌

Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 7d

This is the future, and I'm not even kidding

Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 14d

Melody Handler, information expert on the #AgentsOfGroove team, works behind the scenes planning missions, accessing remote systems, and guiding the agents. Often Daley's last defense against danger, she just as often has to save him from himself.

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday

A portrait of a smiling woman wearing stylish glasses, large hoop earrings, and a black turtleneck is on the right side. A text card is on the left side, with the text: "As such, you won't generally see me in the field much, but you'll certainly hear from me!", and an icon representing the A button lies underneath it.

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 10d

a man is holding up a sign that says 5 days since our last nonsense

Alt: Scene from the show The Office. Jim holds up a sign that says "5 days since our last nonsense". Dwight stands up and erases the number 5

media.tenor.com

Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

.chantal//RYAN @thoughtrise.bsky.social · 11d

one of my favourite quotes stopped me dead in my tracks when i first heard it. Kazuo Ishiguro said in his Nobel acceptance speech:

"But in the end, stories are about one person saying to another:
This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it feel this way to you?”

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

UncrankdPD @uncrankdpd.bsky.social · 10d

The clock is ticking! Don't miss the deadline to submit your trailer by October 7th for the upcoming Autumn #Playdate Community Direct on November 1st.
forms.gle/1LGaTVp1Mw3R...

Make sure to spread the word and get those submissions in!

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 12d

It's not too late to get into #playdate, in fact now may be the best time!

Thanks @mattkamen.bsky.social and WIRED for interviewing us for this piece!

WIRED @wired.com · 13d

With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it. www.wired.com/story/three-...

3 Years Later, Playdate Is Still Gaming's Best-Kept Secret

With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Matt Kamen @mattkamen.bsky.social · 11d

My deep dive retrospective on @play.date at three years old, over @wired.com - from getting started to the current development scene of this quirky handheld!

Thanks to developers @synapticsugar.games, @raphcal.bsky.social, and @loudo.lugludum.com for their contributions!

WIRED @wired.com · 13d

3 Years Later, Playdate Is Still Gaming's Best-Kept Secret

With almost laughably low power, a monochrome screen, and unique controls, niche-micro console Playdate shouldn't make any sense in a world of modern gaming. Yet, it's near impossible not to love it.

www.wired.com

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 14d

a woman is looking at a plate of food and making a surprised face .

Alt: Emma Stone saying Yummmm over a plate of delicious food

media.tenor.com

Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 14d

I believe in you

Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 14d

a man wearing sunglasses is driving a car and says " yo do a kickflip "

Alt: Tony Hawk looking out his car's passenger window, shouting "yo, do a kickflip"

media.tenor.com

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 15d

Ugh I can't stand the opposite-land version of themselves thing

Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Synaptic Sugar @synapticsugar.games · 20d

Let's start a series about the characters of #AgentsOfGroove! And who best to start with than Daley Bellbottoms, legendary undercover dancer and Rhythm wrangler of secret organization G.R.O.O.V.E.? 🪩

#gamedev #indiedev #playdate #ScreenshotSaturday #pixelart #1bit

A portrait of Daley Bellbottoms, a friendly-looking man with a big head of curly hair, glasses and thick sideburns and mustache. Some chest hair pokes through the open collar of his shirt. A dialog card on the right side of the portrait reads: I've been doing this for a long time, with Mel's help of course!

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

jenny @qdork.bsky.social · 16d

actually i changed my mind store.steampowered.com/app/2359120/... #gaming #indiegames #gamedev #indiegamedev #videogames

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Nicola Cocchiaro @wildbat.bsky.social · 16d

Wow, this is 10/10 posting today

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Reposted by Nicola Cocchiaro

Adams Immersive @adamsimmersive.bsky.social · 17d

CALL FOR BETA TESTERS for #OutsideParties, my #Playdate horror game. A “hidden-picture”/“Where’s Waldo”-style audio/visual scavenger hunt across a massive panoramic HDR image you can zoom & pan.

(Testers must promise not to reveal spoilers.)

Teaser trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoV-...

40+ New Playdate Game Trailers! The Playdate Community Direct - October 5, 2023

YouTube video by Tiny Yellow Machine

www.youtube.com

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