BESW
@besw.bsky.social
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Legitimately sitting down to write a games manifesto entitled "Against Games That Tell Me I Can Do Anything (But I Can't Play Sonic the Hedgehog)"
January 13, 2026 at 4:16 AM
Legitimately sitting down to write a games manifesto entitled "Against Games That Tell Me I Can Do Anything (But I Can't Play Sonic the Hedgehog)"
Reposted by BESW
This year myself & 15 other Aussie creators compiled our 2025 games into one $10 game bundle.
Growing Thylacine, my short, beginner-friendly, pilot-a-tassie-tiger game is included!
Proceeds split evenly among us with the remainder going to the Anangu-led NPY Women’s council
itch.io/b/3462/ausrp...
Growing Thylacine, my short, beginner-friendly, pilot-a-tassie-tiger game is included!
Proceeds split evenly among us with the remainder going to the Anangu-led NPY Women’s council
itch.io/b/3462/ausrp...
AusRPG Round Up 2025 by Reizor and 16 others
AusRPG Round Up 2025: 16 items for $10.00
itch.io
January 8, 2026 at 1:55 PM
This year myself & 15 other Aussie creators compiled our 2025 games into one $10 game bundle.
Growing Thylacine, my short, beginner-friendly, pilot-a-tassie-tiger game is included!
Proceeds split evenly among us with the remainder going to the Anangu-led NPY Women’s council
itch.io/b/3462/ausrp...
Growing Thylacine, my short, beginner-friendly, pilot-a-tassie-tiger game is included!
Proceeds split evenly among us with the remainder going to the Anangu-led NPY Women’s council
itch.io/b/3462/ausrp...
Reposted by BESW
A reminder that Apple’s (not Hoefler’s) Hoefler Text: is buggy. Hyphens and dashes are in the cap position (too high). It’s been reported many times on Apple’s feedback site and mentioned to various employees. Perhaps Apple has simply decided that this is not a bug.
#HoeflerText #Apple #Fonts
#HoeflerText #Apple #Fonts
January 9, 2026 at 6:26 AM
A reminder that Apple’s (not Hoefler’s) Hoefler Text: is buggy. Hyphens and dashes are in the cap position (too high). It’s been reported many times on Apple’s feedback site and mentioned to various employees. Perhaps Apple has simply decided that this is not a bug.
#HoeflerText #Apple #Fonts
#HoeflerText #Apple #Fonts
Reposted by BESW
The Flickr album of my favorite signs just passed 100: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
Best of Signs
Explore this photo album by Stephen Coles on Flickr!
www.flickr.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:44 PM
The Flickr album of my favorite signs just passed 100: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
Here’s the map view: www.flickr.com/photos/stewf...
As always, Flickr remains the best place to store, organize, and share photos.
#Signs #Lettering #Photography #Flickr
Reposted by BESW
Success/failure and life/death are often *not* the most interesting stakes in a given TTRPG session or campaign. How something is done and its consequences can be more interesting!
Session Zeroes can help establish the "themes" of the game, which any player can double down upon in juicy ways.
Session Zeroes can help establish the "themes" of the game, which any player can double down upon in juicy ways.
Reframing my GM mindset from “challenge comes from threatening the PCs’ lives” to “challenge comes from threatening their goals” has made my experience at the table more fun.
The tension can come from the chance of them completing their goals rather than the possibility of death.
#ttrpg
The tension can come from the chance of them completing their goals rather than the possibility of death.
#ttrpg
January 5, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Success/failure and life/death are often *not* the most interesting stakes in a given TTRPG session or campaign. How something is done and its consequences can be more interesting!
Session Zeroes can help establish the "themes" of the game, which any player can double down upon in juicy ways.
Session Zeroes can help establish the "themes" of the game, which any player can double down upon in juicy ways.
Reposted by BESW
There’s actually only one time loop module, but we’re encountering it at different times.
How many Mothership modules about time loops do you know? I can count 4.
(They're all pretty good.)
(They're all pretty good.)
January 5, 2026 at 9:01 AM
There’s actually only one time loop module, but we’re encountering it at different times.
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This painting is very notable as it earned Ireland our very first OLYMPIC MEDAL in Paris in 1924, when painting was an event
The Liffey Swim, Dublin, 1923, painting by Jack B. Yeats, 1871-1957 (National Gallery of Ireland).
January 4, 2026 at 11:53 AM
This painting is very notable as it earned Ireland our very first OLYMPIC MEDAL in Paris in 1924, when painting was an event
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Design is a physical act. Print it out. Hold it in your hands. Cut it to shape. Paste it onto another book or zine.
Design for the hands, the hold, the fold, and the weight.
Even if your game is digital-only, the physical prototype will show you the typos.
Design for the hands, the hold, the fold, and the weight.
Even if your game is digital-only, the physical prototype will show you the typos.
January 3, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Design is a physical act. Print it out. Hold it in your hands. Cut it to shape. Paste it onto another book or zine.
Design for the hands, the hold, the fold, and the weight.
Even if your game is digital-only, the physical prototype will show you the typos.
Design for the hands, the hold, the fold, and the weight.
Even if your game is digital-only, the physical prototype will show you the typos.
Reposted by BESW
THIS IS THE LESSON OF ZIR’AN
Secrets of Zir’an could have been huge. It was a fantasy game with airship and Final fantasy sensibilities released when those ideas were still novel. It entered a market rife with opportunity, with graphic and design elements that learned from all that came before it.
Secrets of Zir’an could have been huge. It was a fantasy game with airship and Final fantasy sensibilities released when those ideas were still novel. It entered a market rife with opportunity, with graphic and design elements that learned from all that came before it.
Never skip the press proof before the final print run. You'll always catch something in the demo book or zine that you'd regret seeing in the final product.
December 29, 2025 at 9:26 PM
THIS IS THE LESSON OF ZIR’AN
Secrets of Zir’an could have been huge. It was a fantasy game with airship and Final fantasy sensibilities released when those ideas were still novel. It entered a market rife with opportunity, with graphic and design elements that learned from all that came before it.
Secrets of Zir’an could have been huge. It was a fantasy game with airship and Final fantasy sensibilities released when those ideas were still novel. It entered a market rife with opportunity, with graphic and design elements that learned from all that came before it.
Reposted by BESW
eeyyy #RPGSEA mention *waves our little flag*
I spent most of my very early morning (like.... 6-7am?) watching this and it has been a nice little reminder of the space that I've been trying so hard to flirt with for a long time. Thank you so much, Aaron. This was such a delightful thing to watch.
I spent most of my very early morning (like.... 6-7am?) watching this and it has been a nice little reminder of the space that I've been trying so hard to flirt with for a long time. Thank you so much, Aaron. This was such a delightful thing to watch.
My End of Year video is on the "Golden Age of Indie RPGs," from roughly 2010 to 2025. I start with Apocalypse World's release, work through the Google+ Era, and follow design lineages and historical events that have impacted the hobby up through 2025.
The Golden Age of Indie RPGs: 2010-2025
YouTube video by A.A. Voigt
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 12:29 AM
eeyyy #RPGSEA mention *waves our little flag*
I spent most of my very early morning (like.... 6-7am?) watching this and it has been a nice little reminder of the space that I've been trying so hard to flirt with for a long time. Thank you so much, Aaron. This was such a delightful thing to watch.
I spent most of my very early morning (like.... 6-7am?) watching this and it has been a nice little reminder of the space that I've been trying so hard to flirt with for a long time. Thank you so much, Aaron. This was such a delightful thing to watch.
Reposted by BESW
It is not a golden age because forge/story games ideas have become more successful.
It is a golden age because people around the world are making new games, and to them all that stuff is just one more input among many.
It is a golden age because people around the world are making new games, and to them all that stuff is just one more input among many.
December 29, 2025 at 11:16 PM
It is not a golden age because forge/story games ideas have become more successful.
It is a golden age because people around the world are making new games, and to them all that stuff is just one more input among many.
It is a golden age because people around the world are making new games, and to them all that stuff is just one more input among many.
Reposted by BESW
December 27, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by BESW
[Hear ye Hear ye]
Tune in on 28th December 19:00 GMT +8 for Southeast Asia Games Onward 2025 presentation!
Premiere video:
youtube.com/watch?v=uUEK...
Tune in on 28th December 19:00 GMT +8 for Southeast Asia Games Onward 2025 presentation!
Premiere video:
youtube.com/watch?v=uUEK...
Southeast Asia Games Onward 2025 - Official Presentation
YouTube video by SEAGamethetic
youtube.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:48 AM
[Hear ye Hear ye]
Tune in on 28th December 19:00 GMT +8 for Southeast Asia Games Onward 2025 presentation!
Premiere video:
youtube.com/watch?v=uUEK...
Tune in on 28th December 19:00 GMT +8 for Southeast Asia Games Onward 2025 presentation!
Premiere video:
youtube.com/watch?v=uUEK...
Reposted by BESW
Surprise!
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
December 24, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Surprise!
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
100 community copies are now available for ARC, Magus, Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri, and What Dust Remains! 🔥
Download these games for free—for a limited time only.
momatoes.itch.io/arc
momatoes.itch.io/the-magus-or...
momatoes.itch.io/inang-uri
momatoes.itch.io/what-dust-re...
Reposted by BESW
www.affinity.studio/blog/fcr
Attention older affinity users. That free font collection is now available for you. (You can get it from the welcome screen in v2 apparently)
Attention older affinity users. That free font collection is now available for you. (You can get it from the welcome screen in v2 apparently)
A special type of thank you for Affinity V1/V2 users
The new Affinity app is free for everyone to download, but we’re also gifting something else to our early supporters...
www.affinity.studio
December 22, 2025 at 1:19 PM
www.affinity.studio/blog/fcr
Attention older affinity users. That free font collection is now available for you. (You can get it from the welcome screen in v2 apparently)
Attention older affinity users. That free font collection is now available for you. (You can get it from the welcome screen in v2 apparently)
Reposted by BESW
Reposted by BESW
Making art is not all joy and fungus reanimated bunnies! That’s okay. That’s normal. That’s part of why art is important and also why artists and writers need to be paid for their work. If you keep dragging yourself back even when it’s hard, you’re doing fine.
December 20, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Making art is not all joy and fungus reanimated bunnies! That’s okay. That’s normal. That’s part of why art is important and also why artists and writers need to be paid for their work. If you keep dragging yourself back even when it’s hard, you’re doing fine.
Reposted by BESW
Here's a surprisingly interesting game design problem that I've been pondering. Take a standard D6 with dots, and figure out what the next six dot patterns would be, continuing the existing sequence. These are only some of the options I came up with.
December 19, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Here's a surprisingly interesting game design problem that I've been pondering. Take a standard D6 with dots, and figure out what the next six dot patterns would be, continuing the existing sequence. These are only some of the options I came up with.
Reposted by BESW
We don’t wait to open presents from each other in this household we open them as soon as they arrive and THE PRESENT BEN GOT ME ARRIVED TODAY. A WOODEN RIVEN PUZZLE BALL. A RIVEN PUZZLE BALL!!!
December 18, 2025 at 6:10 AM
We don’t wait to open presents from each other in this household we open them as soon as they arrive and THE PRESENT BEN GOT ME ARRIVED TODAY. A WOODEN RIVEN PUZZLE BALL. A RIVEN PUZZLE BALL!!!
Reposted by BESW
Beware of companies promising to make sites completely accessible, compliant, and immune from lawsuits with just a few lines of code. This just isn't possible. Disabled users have long said these tools don't actually help them, and can often make things worse.
December 16, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Beware of companies promising to make sites completely accessible, compliant, and immune from lawsuits with just a few lines of code. This just isn't possible. Disabled users have long said these tools don't actually help them, and can often make things worse.
Reposted by BESW
99% of rpg zines and books should have page numbers.
And that's just the start. There's actually a lot of technique and intentionality behind things like page numbers, running headers, etc.
Let me know what you think!
www.explorersdesign.com/designing-si...
And that's just the start. There's actually a lot of technique and intentionality behind things like page numbers, running headers, etc.
Let me know what you think!
www.explorersdesign.com/designing-si...
How to Design Signals in Books
User-friendly definitions, tips, and tricks for tabletop rpg designers.
www.explorersdesign.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:59 PM
99% of rpg zines and books should have page numbers.
And that's just the start. There's actually a lot of technique and intentionality behind things like page numbers, running headers, etc.
Let me know what you think!
www.explorersdesign.com/designing-si...
And that's just the start. There's actually a lot of technique and intentionality behind things like page numbers, running headers, etc.
Let me know what you think!
www.explorersdesign.com/designing-si...
Reposted by BESW
happy first birthday to this thread in which I set out to make fun of myself and half the indie ttrpg community took splash damage
Okay, my meeting with my boss has been postponed by three hours, which is not enough time to start a new work task but too much time to sit around twiddling my thumbs. So I'm making a thread of What Your TTRPG Product's Title Font Says About You: Featuring Only Fonts I Already Own.
December 14, 2025 at 6:04 AM
happy first birthday to this thread in which I set out to make fun of myself and half the indie ttrpg community took splash damage
Reposted by BESW
For screen readers to recognize headings, heading text can't just be body text or normal text that's been made to look bigger and bolder. It must be formatted as a heading. In Microsoft Word and Google Docs, this can be done in the styles box. In HTML, use the tags h1 through h6.
December 14, 2025 at 1:23 AM
For screen readers to recognize headings, heading text can't just be body text or normal text that's been made to look bigger and bolder. It must be formatted as a heading. In Microsoft Word and Google Docs, this can be done in the styles box. In HTML, use the tags h1 through h6.
Reposted by BESW
Hey friends - trying to finally broaden my knowledge of the indie side of RPGs beyond the low hanging PbtA side of things. What games, esp from the 2000-2015 era, would you recommend for getting a better feel for the development of indie RPGs?
December 12, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Hey friends - trying to finally broaden my knowledge of the indie side of RPGs beyond the low hanging PbtA side of things. What games, esp from the 2000-2015 era, would you recommend for getting a better feel for the development of indie RPGs?
Reposted by BESW
One life eclipses another; Smilodon takes down a whitetail deer. Inspired by petroglyphs, cave art, and ancient Scythian art. It's weird to think that the whitetail deer survived the ice age and made it to the present but many of its predators did not. #art #smilodon #paleontology #rockart #deer
October 28, 2025 at 2:03 PM
One life eclipses another; Smilodon takes down a whitetail deer. Inspired by petroglyphs, cave art, and ancient Scythian art. It's weird to think that the whitetail deer survived the ice age and made it to the present but many of its predators did not. #art #smilodon #paleontology #rockart #deer