James Youngman
@jyoungman.bsky.social
2.1K followers 610 following 2.1K posts
He/him Game Designer, composer, writer https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/ten-lessons-over-ten-years http://jamesyoungman.bandcamp.com https://jyoungman.itch.io Senior Tech Designer at Elsewhere. All opinions my own. #gamedev | #gamedesign
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Reposted by James Youngman
delafina777.bsky.social
Okay, with 187 samples in (still looking for more!) let's talk about results so far!
delafina777.bsky.social
Hey all, I'm trying to get a baseline for how good people are at detecting whether fiction is AI-generated or human-written (most of the research on this is for nonfiction and my hypothesis is we're better with fiction).

If you have time, give it a try?

jlp-experiment.github.io/ai-detection...
AI vs Human Fiction Detection Test
jlp-experiment.github.io
jyoungman.bsky.social
Friend of mine asked me, when we were sitting down to take the test, to summarize 1984, which he hadnt bothered to read.

You're thinking the punchline is that he got a better grade than I did. He did, but it isn't.

The punchline is the teacher used his essay as an example the next year.
lauralorson.net
We should all tell our stories like this...mine is "the time I totally forgot about an essay and cranked out a paper on Deleuze & Guattari's Anti-Oedipus in two hours and ended up winning an award for it"
monkeyminion.com
I wrote a 15 page report on heraldic symbolism in medieval armor and weapon design for my art history class the night before it was due (8am class). Made up 90% of it (only found one book for reference) and got an A. GenAI could fucking never.
Reposted by James Youngman
writnelson.bsky.social
You would not believe how many stories like this have been popping up over the last ~5 years

Not just full games cancelled—entire characters and plot lines removed or changed, leaving less time for making the *rest of the game better*, to try avoiding a small and malicious contingent of voices.
stephentotilo.bsky.social
SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...
Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year
Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File
www.gamefile.news
Reposted by James Youngman
planetoffinks.bsky.social
this is how I, a resident of LA, found out that the Palisades fire was arson, that they caught the guy, and that he used gen AI to work his way up to doing the crime
nikigrayson.com
the city of los angeles burned in january in part because of a man who couldn’t stop generating images of burning cities on ChatGPT, and then after he lit the fire he asked if the fire he started was his fault
Reposted by James Youngman
ramiismail.com
When @aceottorney.bsky.social first told me about this I said "this could change people's lives and stop developers from getting exploited" and having seen the final resource, I think I was not wrong. I'd call it a must-bookmark for indie devs.
aceottorney.bsky.social
Proud to announce Deviant Legal’s Game Developer’s Guide to Publishing Agreements: a free resource for developers wanting to learn about publishing deals. Publicly accessible, without requiring to provide your data: deviantlegal.com/guide/game-d...
An image about the game developer's guide to publishing agreements feauturing otto the otter
Reposted by James Youngman
mikestrawmedia.com
Sports games continue to dominate video game sales charts.

For August, 3 of the top 5 games were sports titles:

1. NBA 2K26 (On the market for two days)
2. Madden 26
5. College Football 26

Even the two EA football bundles were in the top 10.

FULL STORY: insider-gaming.com/sports-games...
Sports Games Take The Top Spots In August's Best-Selling Video Games
According to the latest sales data, NBA 2K26 was the best-selling game for August 2025, and sports games continued to thrive.
insider-gaming.com
Reposted by James Youngman
rystorm.com
It's crazy how saving and quitting in videogames is still frustrating to do. Even in games released within the last year!

Here is an explanation of how to design a save dialogue, with a bunch of examples over the decades: rystorm.com/blog/save-ga...

There is no reason to still mess this up.
Reposted by James Youngman
ohlookbirdies.bsky.social
"but it's everywhere now so we just have to accept it's the new reality" motherfucker we can just stop putting it everywhere! we did it with asbestos and CFCs and lead-based paint or petrol and make-up with arsenic in it! if everyone is using something and it's bad, we can choose to stop!
ohlookbirdies.bsky.social
"anti-AI people should just learn more about it" motherfucker I know so much about it, that's why I'm anti-AI
jyoungman.bsky.social
Something I haven't seen brought up in the discourse around slurs for AIs is that it accepts and advances the AI grifter lies that they have, will, or can build sentient machines.

Not to mention it redirects ire from the people doing the harm (gen AI grifters and users) to the computer itself.
jyoungman.bsky.social
Which makes it a waste to invest in a sixth character. They've got systems setup for you to have a deep bench, but as a practical matter, five superheros is a better roster than a dozen capable specialists.

In some ways it's a shame, but it also lets you focus on build craft.
jyoungman.bsky.social
Yes! Alaska and Maine have statewide ranked choice voting, and it gets used in some other smaller jurisdictions as well.

2 down, 48 to go!
jyoungman.bsky.social
It's the Maine way of voting!
jyoungman.bsky.social
Works out to a little over a third of median income. US equivalent would be $593/week which would have been life changing for me at many points in my life.

The same is true for countless other game developers, and artists of every medium. We could have another Renaissance.
mikeachim.bsky.social
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."
jyoungman.bsky.social
Some countries use a party roster system. You vote for a party, not an individual. Seats are allocated to parties based on vote percentage received, then legislators selected from each party by working down a pre-registered candidate list until they've filled all the seats they've earned.
jyoungman.bsky.social
Thinking about the gerrymandering battle between Texas and California. Obviously this is bad for the Republic, but I can't help but wonder if third parties and ranked choice voting advocates have an opportunity here.
Reposted by James Youngman
trulyaliem.bsky.social
imagine all the indie games that could be made for you to play.

imagine all the new music that could be made for you to hear.

imagine all the new comics, novels, and short stories that could be made for you to read.

this would benefit *everyone*, not just artists.
Reposted by James Youngman
trulyaliem.bsky.social
1600 dollars a month forever as long as you keep making art? that doesn't free you from needing to be productive but it does mean that you can create more and live on meager earnings. and start up on just a part time job.

this would be a huge breakthrough. so of course the billionaires hate it.
mikeachim.bsky.social
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."
jyoungman.bsky.social
Do as you will. But I shall save the Republic.
Reposted by James Youngman
yourlamentablefriends.com
Don't confuse experience with intellect, never stop letting yourself enjoy the world, and don't stagnate in your compassion. Listen to new music, it's the voice of those after you. Never become an "I just don't get why this generation..." elder. Teach and tell. Listen and learn. Don't lose that.
essencesimmone.blacksky.app
Those who are 35+, what advice do you have for people just entering their 30s?
jyoungman.bsky.social
I get why this is the iconic line, but it's so much better in context, and I don't think it's the best part of the soliloquy. The whole thing is so good!
mobydickatsea.bsky.social
from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee
jyoungman.bsky.social
The scale of the large monsters in Monster Hunter is usually under-sold, but the power clashes in Wilds do a good job, not just of reminding you how large these beasts actually are, but of making holding them back feel heroic.
Reposted by James Youngman
delafina777.bsky.social
The question of “how many fascist government actions make a country a fascist country?” is a semantics distraction.

The real question is “Is the country doing fascist things?”

If the answer to that is yes, we need to be focusing on how to stop them.