James Margaris
@markymarg2.bsky.social
A perfectly harmless box. Game dev, half of Dark Roast Entertainment. Games criticism at http://jmargaris.substack.com
Got it again.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
January 17, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Got it again.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
"We win when we fight." I guess the implication here is that they refuse to fight unless they get your money first.
Liz Warren please let me watch this SF2: Hyper Fighting video in peace.
Ok - I'm frustrated! And I'm all for cancelling these assholes. (Bring cancel culture back twice as bad!)
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
January 11, 2026 at 2:59 AM
Ok - I'm frustrated! And I'm all for cancelling these assholes. (Bring cancel culture back twice as bad!)
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
That said, I see literally nothing on his feed that mentions ICE, and on Twitter I see him arguing with the people defending ICE.
I need a one example before I hate someone.
Same publication and same author!
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
January 7, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Same publication and same author!
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
There's a distinct lack of "Baby Steps needs an easy mode" discourse so this contradiction exists in games media as a whole, but it extends to individual viewpoints as well.
All games need an easy mode except this game. Why though?
When this was announced I was going to snark on it but I figured I'd wait for the results.
Anyway this is exactly what I expected - a list of favorite games created by very online bluesky types. Extremely heavily weighted towards posters.
Anyway this is exactly what I expected - a list of favorite games created by very online bluesky types. Extremely heavily weighted towards posters.
January 5, 2026 at 12:02 AM
When this was announced I was going to snark on it but I figured I'd wait for the results.
Anyway this is exactly what I expected - a list of favorite games created by very online bluesky types. Extremely heavily weighted towards posters.
Anyway this is exactly what I expected - a list of favorite games created by very online bluesky types. Extremely heavily weighted towards posters.
Me watching the Cantonese-dubbed Boss Baby 2: "Getting zero Boss Baby vibes here!"
December 30, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Me watching the Cantonese-dubbed Boss Baby 2: "Getting zero Boss Baby vibes here!"
Chinese gamers see the similarity. (Because they have working eyes)
December 30, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Chinese gamers see the similarity. (Because they have working eyes)
The Chinese trailer has a bunch of Chinese comments saying it looks like Expedition 33 lol
December 30, 2025 at 12:59 AM
The Chinese trailer has a bunch of Chinese comments saying it looks like Expedition 33 lol
There are a lot of Chinese comments on the Chinese trailer saying they're getting big Boss Baby vibes lol.
Yes it's annoying when people do the "finally white people have perfected the JRPG" thing but sometimes a horse is a horse and calling it a horse isn't ignorance or cultural chauvinism.
Yes it's annoying when people do the "finally white people have perfected the JRPG" thing but sometimes a horse is a horse and calling it a horse isn't ignorance or cultural chauvinism.
December 29, 2025 at 1:59 PM
There are a lot of Chinese comments on the Chinese trailer saying they're getting big Boss Baby vibes lol.
Yes it's annoying when people do the "finally white people have perfected the JRPG" thing but sometimes a horse is a horse and calling it a horse isn't ignorance or cultural chauvinism.
Yes it's annoying when people do the "finally white people have perfected the JRPG" thing but sometimes a horse is a horse and calling it a horse isn't ignorance or cultural chauvinism.
They could have written "Kick Ass Series of Chinese RPGs Gets a New Entry" which, fair enough.
But the new entry looks a lot like Boss Baby I don't think we have to pretend not to see it.
BTW if you watch the Chinese trailer the Chinese comments spam 33 lol
But the new entry looks a lot like Boss Baby I don't think we have to pretend not to see it.
BTW if you watch the Chinese trailer the Chinese comments spam 33 lol
December 29, 2025 at 1:43 PM
They could have written "Kick Ass Series of Chinese RPGs Gets a New Entry" which, fair enough.
But the new entry looks a lot like Boss Baby I don't think we have to pretend not to see it.
BTW if you watch the Chinese trailer the Chinese comments spam 33 lol
But the new entry looks a lot like Boss Baby I don't think we have to pretend not to see it.
BTW if you watch the Chinese trailer the Chinese comments spam 33 lol
I think if someone makes another CI animated movie about a baby that runs a corporation and wears a suit it's ok to say that it kinda looks like Boss Baby.
December 29, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I think if someone makes another CI animated movie about a baby that runs a corporation and wears a suit it's ok to say that it kinda looks like Boss Baby.
I've recently been playing a bit of Astral Chain and the other-dimensional environments look nicer than they should.
One reason is that to get this nice specular effect from different directions there's basically 2 mirrored directional lights facing each other.
Cheating is good. (in this context)
One reason is that to get this nice specular effect from different directions there's basically 2 mirrored directional lights facing each other.
Cheating is good. (in this context)
December 29, 2025 at 8:41 AM
I've recently been playing a bit of Astral Chain and the other-dimensional environments look nicer than they should.
One reason is that to get this nice specular effect from different directions there's basically 2 mirrored directional lights facing each other.
Cheating is good. (in this context)
One reason is that to get this nice specular effect from different directions there's basically 2 mirrored directional lights facing each other.
Cheating is good. (in this context)
I find this a huge turnoff. This kind of setup is less a conversation than it's a depth-first search through a tree.
It's surprising that more games don't try to gamify this in some way like giving you a limited number of "conversation points" to spend on options or disallowing backtracking.
It's surprising that more games don't try to gamify this in some way like giving you a limited number of "conversation points" to spend on options or disallowing backtracking.
December 29, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I find this a huge turnoff. This kind of setup is less a conversation than it's a depth-first search through a tree.
It's surprising that more games don't try to gamify this in some way like giving you a limited number of "conversation points" to spend on options or disallowing backtracking.
It's surprising that more games don't try to gamify this in some way like giving you a limited number of "conversation points" to spend on options or disallowing backtracking.
Just the other day I saw a video for a Unity "make your own fighting game" package (Universal Fighting Engine) that swaps these terms so I can see why people are confused.
(I tried to google for this image and the first result was my own blog post lol)
Red = hitbox, blue = hurtbox, green = bounds
(I tried to google for this image and the first result was my own blog post lol)
Red = hitbox, blue = hurtbox, green = bounds
December 22, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Just the other day I saw a video for a Unity "make your own fighting game" package (Universal Fighting Engine) that swaps these terms so I can see why people are confused.
(I tried to google for this image and the first result was my own blog post lol)
Red = hitbox, blue = hurtbox, green = bounds
(I tried to google for this image and the first result was my own blog post lol)
Red = hitbox, blue = hurtbox, green = bounds
As part of my 2025 wrap-up I managed to cram in some stuff about Last Defense Academy and Virtue's Last Reward as "map games", a topic I find very interesting that I rarely (if ever) see discussed.
December 19, 2025 at 1:04 AM
As part of my 2025 wrap-up I managed to cram in some stuff about Last Defense Academy and Virtue's Last Reward as "map games", a topic I find very interesting that I rarely (if ever) see discussed.
I didn't mention political punditry when I wrote this but it was an angle I'd thought about.
Yglesias is doing "imagine a mom who loves Warhammer 40k."
"Imagine a guy who agrees with me or makes my point" is not a great way to start an argument! You can imagine anything!
Yglesias is doing "imagine a mom who loves Warhammer 40k."
"Imagine a guy who agrees with me or makes my point" is not a great way to start an argument! You can imagine anything!
December 18, 2025 at 11:31 PM
I didn't mention political punditry when I wrote this but it was an angle I'd thought about.
Yglesias is doing "imagine a mom who loves Warhammer 40k."
"Imagine a guy who agrees with me or makes my point" is not a great way to start an argument! You can imagine anything!
Yglesias is doing "imagine a mom who loves Warhammer 40k."
"Imagine a guy who agrees with me or makes my point" is not a great way to start an argument! You can imagine anything!
I'm shocked I don't see this image or some variant more often.
December 17, 2025 at 5:07 AM
I'm shocked I don't see this image or some variant more often.
100% agree, the guys at the top like to talk *a lot* and much of it comes off as cynically calculated to get gamers to clap for them for being friend-to-all-gamer types who "get it."
I've always thought it weird that nobody else found this annoying!
I've always thought it weird that nobody else found this annoying!
December 17, 2025 at 4:42 AM
100% agree, the guys at the top like to talk *a lot* and much of it comes off as cynically calculated to get gamers to clap for them for being friend-to-all-gamer types who "get it."
I've always thought it weird that nobody else found this annoying!
I've always thought it weird that nobody else found this annoying!
The key graphic of their trailer being "inspired" by Gustave Dore looks a little more suspicious in this light.
GET 'EM BOYS!!!
Ok in all seriousness, it does raise the question: "was this inspired by Gustave Dore or was Dore just hoovered in by an AI-driven process?"
GET 'EM BOYS!!!
Ok in all seriousness, it does raise the question: "was this inspired by Gustave Dore or was Dore just hoovered in by an AI-driven process?"
December 16, 2025 at 11:15 PM
The key graphic of their trailer being "inspired" by Gustave Dore looks a little more suspicious in this light.
GET 'EM BOYS!!!
Ok in all seriousness, it does raise the question: "was this inspired by Gustave Dore or was Dore just hoovered in by an AI-driven process?"
GET 'EM BOYS!!!
Ok in all seriousness, it does raise the question: "was this inspired by Gustave Dore or was Dore just hoovered in by an AI-driven process?"
1. Start reading this
2. Pretty much agree
3. Thing about RT'ing it
4. Realize that 1/167 means there are 167 images
5. Start clicking through them
6. See that #4 is me!
Ha.
I've always preferred "engrossing" to "immersive"
2. Pretty much agree
3. Thing about RT'ing it
4. Realize that 1/167 means there are 167 images
5. Start clicking through them
6. See that #4 is me!
Ha.
I've always preferred "engrossing" to "immersive"
December 16, 2025 at 3:29 AM
1. Start reading this
2. Pretty much agree
3. Thing about RT'ing it
4. Realize that 1/167 means there are 167 images
5. Start clicking through them
6. See that #4 is me!
Ha.
I've always preferred "engrossing" to "immersive"
2. Pretty much agree
3. Thing about RT'ing it
4. Realize that 1/167 means there are 167 images
5. Start clicking through them
6. See that #4 is me!
Ha.
I've always preferred "engrossing" to "immersive"
Karen Allen at the end of Starman
(Also a half dozen different Sergio Leone faces but that feels like cheating)
(Also a half dozen different Sergio Leone faces but that feels like cheating)
December 13, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Karen Allen at the end of Starman
(Also a half dozen different Sergio Leone faces but that feels like cheating)
(Also a half dozen different Sergio Leone faces but that feels like cheating)
Left is Divinity trailer, right is Gustave Dore's Empyrean
December 12, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Left is Divinity trailer, right is Gustave Dore's Empyrean
This is one of those interviews that, were the game a hit might be endearing, but with the game struggling reads pretty unfortunately.
(www.amazongamestudios.com/en-gb/news/a...)
(Based on the trailer showing a bunch of sawblades and other traps I assumed this was some sort of Meatboy spinoff)
(www.amazongamestudios.com/en-gb/news/a...)
(Based on the trailer showing a bunch of sawblades and other traps I assumed this was some sort of Meatboy spinoff)
December 11, 2025 at 11:50 PM
This is one of those interviews that, were the game a hit might be endearing, but with the game struggling reads pretty unfortunately.
(www.amazongamestudios.com/en-gb/news/a...)
(Based on the trailer showing a bunch of sawblades and other traps I assumed this was some sort of Meatboy spinoff)
(www.amazongamestudios.com/en-gb/news/a...)
(Based on the trailer showing a bunch of sawblades and other traps I assumed this was some sort of Meatboy spinoff)
Everyone who played the game a lot was driven crazy by this music since Spider-Man was the most popular character.
December 10, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Everyone who played the game a lot was driven crazy by this music since Spider-Man was the most popular character.
I do like a good takedown and I *really* empathize with the impulse to push back against these guys. I have "bogost.jpg" saved to my desktop as a shorthand way to do that.
December 9, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I do like a good takedown and I *really* empathize with the impulse to push back against these guys. I have "bogost.jpg" saved to my desktop as a shorthand way to do that.