Grimelios ❄️
@grimelios.bsky.social
Programmer, streamer, and cat owner. Indie game developer. I also do speedruns.
Pinned
Grimelios ❄️
@grimelios.bsky.social
· Oct 18
With an influx of new users, I'm Grim. My background is in software development and music. I've been an on-and-off speedrunner for years, including numerous GDQ appearances. Currently, I'm working full-time as a solo indie developer using a custom 3D engine, aiming for a commercial release on Steam.
I recently learned how to dither to reduce color banding. Try using arrow keys to swap back and forth between these two images and it should be obvious that the second (which uses dithering) renders gradients that are perceptually MUCH smoother. The technique is magical and basically free.
December 24, 2025 at 2:32 AM
I recently learned how to dither to reduce color banding. Try using arrow keys to swap back and forth between these two images and it should be obvious that the second (which uses dithering) renders gradients that are perceptually MUCH smoother. The technique is magical and basically free.
Some people spend their Saturday nights partying. I spend mine learning how to use RenderDoc to capture my game's Vulkan output. I think it's super cool honestly.
December 21, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Some people spend their Saturday nights partying. I spend mine learning how to use RenderDoc to capture my game's Vulkan output. I think it's super cool honestly.
Excellent article. There are parallels in programming too. When I scan a codebase, I'm not just seeing the code, but considering how and why a developer may have written that code (or what they intentionally DIDN'T write). An LLM doesn't have (and will never have) that ability.
We spoke to a dozen professional concept artists who are currently or have previously worked in game development about whether generative AI image tools have made their jobs any easier.
Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder.
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...
Zero said it did. Most said it made things harder.
thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/conc...
Concept Artists Say Generative AI References Only Make Their Jobs Harder
“The ‘early ideation stages’, when worlds are being fleshed out by writers and artists, are literally crucial to the development of a game’s vision,” said one artist.
thisweekinvideogames.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Excellent article. There are parallels in programming too. When I scan a codebase, I'm not just seeing the code, but considering how and why a developer may have written that code (or what they intentionally DIDN'T write). An LLM doesn't have (and will never have) that ability.
Re: the Larian interview, now feels like an appropriate time to voice my personal stance: if a game uses generative AI, I will not purchase it. For me, it's that simple.
December 17, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Re: the Larian interview, now feels like an appropriate time to voice my personal stance: if a game uses generative AI, I will not purchase it. For me, it's that simple.
s.team/y25/fdrmgvm?... One of my 2025 goals was to play more games. Per Steam, I played 11 more games and got 203 more achievements. These numbers don't count non-Steam games like Overwatch and OSRS, so I'd say I succeeded in that goal.
Grimelios's STEAM REPLAY 2025
Check out my 2025 Steam Replay
s.team
December 17, 2025 at 12:32 AM
s.team/y25/fdrmgvm?... One of my 2025 goals was to play more games. Per Steam, I played 11 more games and got 203 more achievements. These numbers don't count non-Steam games like Overwatch and OSRS, so I'd say I succeeded in that goal.
In 2025, I played 39 distinct games. 29 were single-player, while the remaining 10 were multiplayer. Highlights include Firewatch, FAR: Lone Sails, Spyro Reignited, Nine Sols, Blue Prince, A Short Hike, Black Mesa, Control, Crow Country, Isles of Sea and Sky, Silksong, and of course OSRS :)
December 16, 2025 at 1:12 AM
In 2025, I played 39 distinct games. 29 were single-player, while the remaining 10 were multiplayer. Highlights include Firewatch, FAR: Lone Sails, Spyro Reignited, Nine Sols, Blue Prince, A Short Hike, Black Mesa, Control, Crow Country, Isles of Sea and Sky, Silksong, and of course OSRS :)
A thought relevant to TGA: might it make sense to classify indie, AA, AAA, etc. based on "man-months" of work? Far from a perfect metric, but if lines are to be drawn arbitrarily, people * time feels, to me, closer to correct than vibe-based classification.
December 12, 2025 at 1:50 AM
A thought relevant to TGA: might it make sense to classify indie, AA, AAA, etc. based on "man-months" of work? Far from a perfect metric, but if lines are to be drawn arbitrarily, people * time feels, to me, closer to correct than vibe-based classification.
Reminder that adventofcode.com exists if you're one for programming challenges. Shortened this year, but still a lot of fun. I'm particularly proud of my solution today (day 7). Pretty cool to compute a solution north of 15 trillion in a millisecond (in Python, so it could be even faster).
Advent of Code 2025
adventofcode.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Reminder that adventofcode.com exists if you're one for programming challenges. Shortened this year, but still a lot of fun. I'm particularly proud of my solution today (day 7). Pretty cool to compute a solution north of 15 trillion in a millisecond (in Python, so it could be even faster).
Years ago, I described AI as a plague. I haven't been dissuaded from that conclusion since.
Crucial is shutting down — because Micron wants to sell its RAM and SSDs to AI companies instead. It’s already getting hard to build an affordable PC, and the exit of the longstanding provider of consumer memory is going to make that even more challenging www.theverge.com/news/837594/...
Crucial is shutting down — because Micron wants to sell its RAM and SSDs to AI companies instead
Another blow to PC gaming.
www.theverge.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Years ago, I described AI as a plague. I haven't been dissuaded from that conclusion since.
Silksong's OST has joined Tears of the Kingdom as a productivity killer. Every time a Silksong track plays, I have to stop working and listen.
December 2, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Silksong's OST has joined Tears of the Kingdom as a productivity killer. Every time a Silksong track plays, I have to stop working and listen.
It's stupid how good Isles of Sea and Sky is. Gives Baba Is You a run for its money, which is extremely impressive. Maybe one day I'll even beat it.
November 30, 2025 at 6:29 PM
It's stupid how good Isles of Sea and Sky is. Gives Baba Is You a run for its money, which is extremely impressive. Maybe one day I'll even beat it.
Due to Tim Sweeney, it's likely I'll never purchase a game on the Epic Games Store again. Conveniently, Steam is a much better storefront on its own merits.
Tim Sweeney got that silicon valley brain worm.
Hey Tim, you're providing a service to customers, not to your shareholders.
Hey Tim, you're providing a service to customers, not to your shareholders.
Opposing Steam's AI disclosures, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says game stores should drop "the AI tag" because "it makes no sense" when "AI will be involved in nearly all future production"
Steam has actually made AI disclosures even more prominent
www.gamesradar.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Due to Tim Sweeney, it's likely I'll never purchase a game on the Epic Games Store again. Conveniently, Steam is a much better storefront on its own merits.
Vulkan's a blast to work with, but it's not for the faint of heart. Just spent the better part of six hours meticulously debugging a crash that nearly bricked my GPU each time. Root cause was overlapping memory. One-line fix once I finally figured that one.
November 19, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Vulkan's a blast to work with, but it's not for the faint of heart. Just spent the better part of six hours meticulously debugging a crash that nearly bricked my GPU each time. Root cause was overlapping memory. One-line fix once I finally figured that one.
After the AI bubble pops, I hope we never forgive the companies and individuals who promoted it. AI is a plague and I can't wait for it to end.
November 14, 2025 at 12:55 AM
After the AI bubble pops, I hope we never forgive the companies and individuals who promoted it. AI is a plague and I can't wait for it to end.
A master volume slider.
November 12, 2025 at 12:46 AM
A master volume slider.
It's snowing in Wisconsin today, so I'm a happy boy.
November 9, 2025 at 12:56 AM
It's snowing in Wisconsin today, so I'm a happy boy.
Pretty great day. Beyond the obvious political victories, I'm playing first trumpet in a piece of music (Polar Express) I played way back in high school. I struggled back then, but I'm very close to nailing it now. Feels good to have my practice pay off.
November 6, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Pretty great day. Beyond the obvious political victories, I'm playing first trumpet in a piece of music (Polar Express) I played way back in high school. I struggled back then, but I'm very close to nailing it now. Feels good to have my practice pay off.
Programming tip: alongside your primary project, create an empty, "clean" project used to quickly verify language features or spin up small reproducibles for bugs. I've found my clean project to be an invaluable tool while building my game engine.
November 4, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Programming tip: alongside your primary project, create an empty, "clean" project used to quickly verify language features or spin up small reproducibles for bugs. I've found my clean project to be an invaluable tool while building my game engine.
Pretty fun getting to time travel twice a year, especially when I gain back an hour.
November 2, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Pretty fun getting to time travel twice a year, especially when I gain back an hour.
Happy Halloween! 👻
October 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Happy Halloween! 👻
I regret to report that I've become inspired to play La-Mulana. I played it for five hours a decade ago, so fingers crossed things will go more smoothly this time.
October 26, 2025 at 3:13 AM
I regret to report that I've become inspired to play La-Mulana. I played it for five hours a decade ago, so fingers crossed things will go more smoothly this time.
I've had reposts disabled on BSky since I joined. Yesterday, as an experiment, I re-enabled them. While browsing today, it's pretty starkly noticeable how much angrier I feel, and I get angrier the more I scroll. I don't think that's a coincidence. May be worth experimenting for yourself.
October 24, 2025 at 12:16 AM
I've had reposts disabled on BSky since I joined. Yesterday, as an experiment, I re-enabled them. While browsing today, it's pretty starkly noticeable how much angrier I feel, and I get angrier the more I scroll. I don't think that's a coincidence. May be worth experimenting for yourself.
It's funny how often I find myself anthropomorphizing my code. "It's true that removing a model by entity might be inefficient, but that's not the render engine's problem. That's the batch's responsibility." as if I'm not the one ultimately doing the work anyway. Makes me laugh sometimes.
October 23, 2025 at 12:53 PM
It's funny how often I find myself anthropomorphizing my code. "It's true that removing a model by entity might be inefficient, but that's not the render engine's problem. That's the batch's responsibility." as if I'm not the one ultimately doing the work anyway. Makes me laugh sometimes.
Silksong's OST absolutely slaps.
October 20, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Silksong's OST absolutely slaps.
Started Overwatch S18 with three consolation matches in a row, which is effectively three forced losses. Something's very wrong at Blizzard if they think this matchmaker is acceptable. It's been broken for 18 seasons with no sign of improvement. Does anyone on the team play competitive?
October 14, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Started Overwatch S18 with three consolation matches in a row, which is effectively three forced losses. Something's very wrong at Blizzard if they think this matchmaker is acceptable. It's been broken for 18 seasons with no sign of improvement. Does anyone on the team play competitive?