Thomas Nickel
@tapirfortuna.bsky.social
Writer, teaching game design & history. M!- & book-author, occasional Retronaut and dabbling in localization. Also somewhat making games - http://coria.itch.io/coria! Fck nazis, fck bigots. he/him
Pinned
So many new people here! So... who am I and what do I do? Well, my name´s Thomas and I´ve been writing about games since the late 90s in English and German. I localized various cool games, supported and worked on a few projects and I´ve also been teaching game-design and history for many years now!
A visual statement on the absolute misery of shopping at German Media Markt. The employees ripped of every game's price-sticker - now customers have to check the website or ask an employee about prices because they "change every hour". Guys. It's an electronics store, not a fucking gas-station.
November 16, 2025 at 7:59 AM
A visual statement on the absolute misery of shopping at German Media Markt. The employees ripped of every game's price-sticker - now customers have to check the website or ask an employee about prices because they "change every hour". Guys. It's an electronics store, not a fucking gas-station.
20 years ago, Dragon Quest found its modern western identity: Dragon Quest VIII finally kept its original name, went with a wonderfully british dub, orchestral music and a beautifully reworked interface - an amazing adventure that set the tone for most that came after. Also: Yangus was awesome!!
November 15, 2025 at 8:18 AM
20 years ago, Dragon Quest found its modern western identity: Dragon Quest VIII finally kept its original name, went with a wonderfully british dub, orchestral music and a beautifully reworked interface - an amazing adventure that set the tone for most that came after. Also: Yangus was awesome!!
Of course - slop begets slop.
Whereas we've seen AI cause outrage in PC and console games, it's far more accepted in mobile. "I think in the free-to-play world, it's not so much of a topic," says InnoGames chairman Hendrik Klindworth. "We are positive about the opportunities of AI."
www.gamesindustry.biz/in-the-mirro...
www.gamesindustry.biz/in-the-mirro...
In the mirror world of mobile, AI outrage is remarkably absent
InnoGames chairman Hendrik Klindworth explains why the mobile firm is "positive about the opportunities of AI" – and why casual gamers are more accepting of it
www.gamesindustry.biz
November 14, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Of course - slop begets slop.
I turned on an Xbox 360 console again today after a long, long time to check if DOAX2 still works - this is also part of my elective on games and dating. The 360 WAS a rather nice hardware, even though MS dropped the ball HARD after the first fantastic years.
November 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I turned on an Xbox 360 console again today after a long, long time to check if DOAX2 still works - this is also part of my elective on games and dating. The 360 WAS a rather nice hardware, even though MS dropped the ball HARD after the first fantastic years.
A big RPG-day! A quarter-century ago, Final Fantasy IX and Skies of Arcadia made their way west on the same day. The former is the final incarnation of classic 90s Final Fantasy, the latter a technically amazing swashbuckling pirate-adventure - two real highlights, back then and today!
November 13, 2025 at 9:03 AM
A big RPG-day! A quarter-century ago, Final Fantasy IX and Skies of Arcadia made their way west on the same day. The former is the final incarnation of classic 90s Final Fantasy, the latter a technically amazing swashbuckling pirate-adventure - two real highlights, back then and today!
It's always nice to see one's text and name in a game. I´m really glad I had a chance to work von Verho - Curse of Faces! store.steampowered.com/app/3017330/...
November 12, 2025 at 10:07 AM
It's always nice to see one's text and name in a game. I´m really glad I had a chance to work von Verho - Curse of Faces! store.steampowered.com/app/3017330/...
One thing I absolutely did NOT expect is Artdink bringing back Tail of the Sun of all games. I bought it back in the PS1-days and was equally baffled and intrigued. Artdink Game Log... I like the sound of this. And Aquanaut's Holiday is next! store.steampowered.com/app/4038680/...
November 12, 2025 at 9:36 AM
One thing I absolutely did NOT expect is Artdink bringing back Tail of the Sun of all games. I bought it back in the PS1-days and was equally baffled and intrigued. Artdink Game Log... I like the sound of this. And Aquanaut's Holiday is next! store.steampowered.com/app/4038680/...
30 years of Romancing SaGa 3 - the cover-art of this game alone is as amazing as it is inspiring. Back then a localized western release didn't happen, but a pretty neat remaster finally came out in 2019. And I would say: It certainly was worth the wait!
November 11, 2025 at 5:10 PM
30 years of Romancing SaGa 3 - the cover-art of this game alone is as amazing as it is inspiring. Back then a localized western release didn't happen, but a pretty neat remaster finally came out in 2019. And I would say: It certainly was worth the wait!
Well, and I thought my respect for Keighley and his stupid game awards couldn't sink any lower... the industry really, really needs to get rid of this grifting leech. But then he is all a CEO could ever want - spineless, dull and malleable. www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
‘We were effectively props’: young stars of game development feel let down by the ‘gaming Oscars’
Announced in 2020 by the Game Awards as an inclusive programme for the industry’s next generation, the Future Class initiative has now been discontinued. Inductees describe clashes with organisers and...
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Well, and I thought my respect for Keighley and his stupid game awards couldn't sink any lower... the industry really, really needs to get rid of this grifting leech. But then he is all a CEO could ever want - spineless, dull and malleable. www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
Out today on Steam: Verhin - Curse of Faces - a dark first-person RPG in the style of From Software's King's Field. I had the please to do the German localization for this! youtu.be/FjWR2qemuJk?...
Verho - Curse of Faces - Release Trailer
YouTube video by CobraTekku Games
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Out today on Steam: Verhin - Curse of Faces - a dark first-person RPG in the style of From Software's King's Field. I had the please to do the German localization for this! youtu.be/FjWR2qemuJk?...
I finally found and bought this record and I regret NOTHING.
November 9, 2025 at 8:06 AM
I finally found and bought this record and I regret NOTHING.
Here's something nice for #randomgamesaturday: my copy of Burai Fighter for Famicom which I just bought yesterday. A friend's NES-version was maybe the first shooting game I ever played back around 1990 or so. I later got the excellent Game Boy port and now I finally have the original!
November 8, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Here's something nice for #randomgamesaturday: my copy of Burai Fighter for Famicom which I just bought yesterday. A friend's NES-version was maybe the first shooting game I ever played back around 1990 or so. I later got the excellent Game Boy port and now I finally have the original!
After a succesful day of teaching game history at Hochschule Offenburg, I went over to Strasbourg in france for a bit of walking, shopping and Flammkuchen. 100% worth it.
November 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
After a succesful day of teaching game history at Hochschule Offenburg, I went over to Strasbourg in france for a bit of walking, shopping and Flammkuchen. 100% worth it.
For my game-romance-elective, I had a student play and prepare a presentation on Sakura Wars. After that, we discussed the game and its mechanics and took a look at later games in the series. The audience was duly impressed at SW2&3's intros - but they really cheered when they saw Sagitta from V!
November 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
For my game-romance-elective, I had a student play and prepare a presentation on Sakura Wars. After that, we discussed the game and its mechanics and took a look at later games in the series. The audience was duly impressed at SW2&3's intros - but they really cheered when they saw Sagitta from V!
Reposted by Thomas Nickel
We have a new website as of today! All the old content and lots of new stuff on the way. Give it a look!
Proud and excited to share that the new Digital Foundry website is live - please do check it out at www.digitalfoundry.net. Read our opening post about what we're doing and why: www.digitalfoundry.net/news/2025/11...
Digital Foundry
Digital Foundry was founded in 2004 and specialises in technical analysis of video games and hardware, using our own bespoke tools for frame-rate analysis – covering everything from console, PC and be...
www.digitalfoundry.net
November 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
We have a new website as of today! All the old content and lots of new stuff on the way. Give it a look!
Straight from Japan: The beautiful @sdxgames.bsky.social - version of @yuzokoshiro.bsky.social 's and Makoto Wada's brilliant STG Earthion! I love that game and the whole SDX-package is once again top notch! Love their work!
November 4, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Straight from Japan: The beautiful @sdxgames.bsky.social - version of @yuzokoshiro.bsky.social 's and Makoto Wada's brilliant STG Earthion! I love that game and the whole SDX-package is once again top notch! Love their work!
Happy 30th birthday, Beyond the Beyond! I replayed a bit of it not too long ago and it didn't feel as bad as it's made out to be.
November 3, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Happy 30th birthday, Beyond the Beyond! I replayed a bit of it not too long ago and it didn't feel as bad as it's made out to be.
Crazyness!! It's legendary Virtual Boy Puzzler Virtual Lab for Mega Drive... Who could have expected that!! www.plutiedev.com/blog/20251103
November 3, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Crazyness!! It's legendary Virtual Boy Puzzler Virtual Lab for Mega Drive... Who could have expected that!! www.plutiedev.com/blog/20251103
It's finally here - I´ve been following John's plans for this podcast for a long time, the search for music and the chance to finally do it once DF got rid of IGN's corporate shackles. Great to see/hear it at last!
When Digital Foundry went independent, one of the new things we wanted to do was a brand-new retro podcast. Thanks to the massive efforts of John and his friends, the DF Retro Super Show goes live today, revisiting the launch of PlayStation 2. youtu.be/DqtLH0MOkgI
*NEW* DF Retro Super Show #1: PlayStation 2 25th Anniversary - Launch Titles Revisted
YouTube video by Digital Foundry
youtu.be
November 2, 2025 at 8:25 PM
It's finally here - I´ve been following John's plans for this podcast for a long time, the search for music and the chance to finally do it once DF got rid of IGN's corporate shackles. Great to see/hear it at last!
The new M! Games @maniaconline.bsky.social is out - if you read german, take a look, there's cool stuff in there! Like my article on my visit to Tokyo Game Show. And a look back at Terranigma und Secret of Evermore which were both released 30 years ago - I'm looking back at both of them. And then...
November 2, 2025 at 8:06 PM
The new M! Games @maniaconline.bsky.social is out - if you read german, take a look, there's cool stuff in there! Like my article on my visit to Tokyo Game Show. And a look back at Terranigma und Secret of Evermore which were both released 30 years ago - I'm looking back at both of them. And then...
Reposted by Thomas Nickel
Remember all the breathless reporting of Nintendo “banning” RTA in Japan (speedrunning event) from using Nintendo games? That was demonstrably untrue.
RTA in Japan just unveiled their Winter 2025 lineup, and 30 selected entries are Nintendo games: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
1/
RTA in Japan just unveiled their Winter 2025 lineup, and 30 selected entries are Nintendo games: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
1/
November 2, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Remember all the breathless reporting of Nintendo “banning” RTA in Japan (speedrunning event) from using Nintendo games? That was demonstrably untrue.
RTA in Japan just unveiled their Winter 2025 lineup, and 30 selected entries are Nintendo games: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
1/
RTA in Japan just unveiled their Winter 2025 lineup, and 30 selected entries are Nintendo games: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
1/
10 games to get to know me
November 2, 2025 at 9:20 AM
10 games to get to know me
Arc the Lad 2 is turning 29. Like its predecessor, I really love this game. While 1 was short and simple, Arc 2 expands on almost every aspect. The adventure is long, complex and in parts pretty difficult. I finished it in japanese and later in english and enjoyed both playthroughs tremendously.
November 1, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Arc the Lad 2 is turning 29. Like its predecessor, I really love this game. While 1 was short and simple, Arc 2 expands on almost every aspect. The adventure is long, complex and in parts pretty difficult. I finished it in japanese and later in english and enjoyed both playthroughs tremendously.
A dungeon-crawler on Vita for #randomgamesaturday. It's one of the many, many dungeon-games made in the wake of Etrian Odyssey's success. And while it can't match EO, I think it's one of the better ones. For whatever reason, I put quite a few hours into this. It also came to PS4 and PC a bit later.
November 1, 2025 at 9:40 AM
A dungeon-crawler on Vita for #randomgamesaturday. It's one of the many, many dungeon-games made in the wake of Etrian Odyssey's success. And while it can't match EO, I think it's one of the better ones. For whatever reason, I put quite a few hours into this. It also came to PS4 and PC a bit later.