Jay Baylis
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Jay Baylis
@jaybaylis.bsky.social
Game Director @ the BAFTA-Nominated Bytten Studio ► We made CASSETTE BEASTS ► Game Design/Narrative Design/Art Stuff/Animation ► Brighton, UK
I think Halo is nosediving to what you could definitely describe as "trick franchise" in 2026, absolutely. Massive recognisability but currently lacking in a broader sense of "personal attachment" or investment in it as a set of characters and universe. Funko Pops gathering dust at Forbidden Planet.
January 22, 2026 at 2:05 PM
great shout, perfect example
January 22, 2026 at 2:02 PM
If you're old enough to have grown up with He-Man on TV you were born in the 70s! You could have grandkids by now! Baffling investment.

FWIW the best piece of He-Man media is probably the "Toys That Made Us" episode on its creation, incredibly funny stuff in there
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM9q...
Origin of Battlecat - He-Man
YouTube video by derp
www.youtube.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:34 AM
It's also extremely 80's and pulled from a big post-Conan the Barbarian (another trick franchise in 2026 there) interest in swords and sorcery media which, as you say, probably doesn't translate.

Compare with Transformers, where I think the appeal of "transforming robot toys" is evergreen
January 22, 2026 at 11:29 AM
The poster child of the trick franchise is, of course, Tron. Sorry in advance to the Tronheads out there and I know the Tron: Legacy soundtrack goes.

Other suggestions welcome! I'd nominate Power Rangers here in 2026, and maybe Tomb Raider outside of the games.
January 22, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Congrats! Really happy to hear the launch has gone so well, and that it's a Godot game, too!
January 22, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Pixel art characters aside, Cassette Beasts *is* a 3D Godot game - and on console, too. Always happy to talk to other devs about our experience working on it!
January 19, 2026 at 11:21 AM
I hate that this is making me kind of want to watch a "Stranger Things documentary"
January 13, 2026 at 10:45 AM
yoooooo
January 12, 2026 at 10:23 AM
Reposted by Jay Baylis
fans know this but "Metroid" isn't actually the name of the main character, it's the name of the green energy crystal
December 19, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I'm glad this plot hook paid off in Prime 4, we waited 20 years for an explanation for this
December 19, 2025 at 11:58 AM
fans know this but "Metroid" isn't actually the name of the main character, it's the name of the green energy crystal
December 19, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I thought this was where it was going!
December 19, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Me recalling all the middling reviews saying how the game drops off hard in the last act
a bald man with a surprised look on his face is looking at the camera .
ALT: a bald man with a surprised look on his face is looking at the camera .
media.tenor.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Boooo Joel
December 16, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I also love how much it breaks the myths about eastern games, or western games, being developed in culturally isolated bubbles. Everything starts with the American Wizardry/Ultima, themselves based on D&D, itself having roots in European war games. It's all one global experiment in play!
December 12, 2025 at 7:09 PM