Ah! So the French in Europe - they know how to lobby. It doesn't happen by accident or because games are huge, but because the French studios make sure their gov't knows what they are up to.
Somehow even the automotive and oil/gas industries are able to put their individual needs aside to work together to lobby the government with a consistent message and a broad perspective. Games folks... not so much.
It's because the games industry doesn't take lobbying seriously. So many studios and others in the ecosystem approach lobbying and gov't consultation as a means to benefit their specific studio instead of the greater industry. Which makes it difficult to coordinate proper lobbying.
The people who are terrified of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) are desperate for a return to systems based on PENIS (privilege, exclusion, nepotism, insecurity, and the status quo).
Source? All the terms and policies on their website were effective as of April 14, 2025... Thank you.
Had the same thought when I saw the list...
I've been researching allegations regarding the founder and leadership of AbleGamers. From alleged abuse and harassment, financial mismanagement, and failure of leadership to protect employees, sources recount a hostile environment. Read my latest @ign.com story here: www.ign.com/articles/for...
The lesson to be learned from the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is very similar to the thing you can learn from Baldur's Gate 3, which is that if you were exactly that group of people at exactly that moment in time doing exactly that specific thing, it'll work out for you.
Congratulations, friends! The game art looks amazing, can't wait to play it ๐
Stuff like this is perfect because it shows how utterly devoid of creativity genAI evangelists are.
Great you recreated a photo that already exists in a drawing style that only has currency because of who you're stealing it from giving the world something with absolutely no value or meaning.
๐ April cover reveal
The theme of the April magazine is travel! ๐๐ฎ
๐ Our cover is graced by Rooster
๐ฆโโฌ Take flight in Just Crow Things
๐ท Capture the world through Lushfoil Photography Sim
๐ชถ Environmental storytelling in games
๐ซ๏ธ Survive the eerie landscapes of Mundaun
Subscribe by the 24th!
This commission statement refers to people with Autism, ADHD, asthma, auto-immune disease, and chronic illness as a โdire threat to the American people and our way of lifeโ.
This is a manifesto against disability.
This is the language of eugenics.
Thank you everyone for the follows so far. I am not posting much because we are so close to more announcements on our new game Rooster - follow @stickybrainstudios.bsky.social to learn more!
Iโm not kidding: those who delegate all their writing, thinking and creative expression to machines are going to wake up one day and discover that they can no longer write or think. You need to make your own art. You need to keep your brain working. You need to stay human.
Generative AI art made without human "creativity" cannot be protected by copyright laws
www.gamesindustry.biz/generative-a...
An ink brush style illustration with red, green and yellow paint blotches against a beige parchment background. Red and gold paper objects surround a smiling brown snake, including a lantern, a fan, and a red diamond decoration with a gold Chinese "fu" symbol and tassels. Two oranges are in the bottom right corner near the snake's tail, and a bowl of tang yuan (pink and yellow rice balls filled with black sesame in a sweet soup) is in the centre of the image.ย Orange, green, yellow and blue flower shapes are just above the snake's head.
Happy Lunar New Year from Sticky Brain Studios!
Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy, prosperous, and lucky Year of the Snake.
#ChineseNewYear #LunarNewYear #ๆญๅๅ่ดข #YearOfTheSnake #ChineseCulture #Rooster #PlayRooster #IndieGames #SteamGames #CozyGames #PCGaming
Indie developers: Please never sign away your IP to a publisher unless you are getting a massive deal out of it and you genuinely do not care. Please please please do not do this without a strong reason AND the publisher guaranteeing/giving up a significant amount in return.
Rooster isnโt just a game. itโs also a way to learn and appreciate Chinese culture. Every part of the game both visual & written is carefully researched to share real and accurate facts about ancient China.
On the left side of the image, text says, "Chinese New Year, Year of the Snake 2025, now through Feb. 9 (PST)," above an illustration of a yellow snake wearing a dragon hat and a red scarf. On the right side of the image, art from "Rooster" shows the game's ink brush logo, a young Chinese couple holding hands in a village as a rooster and dragon smile at them. The image background is red with yellow fireworks.
The same as the first image, except it is translated into simplified Chinese.
We're excited that Rooster is part of the Steam Chinese New Year event! Thanks to our publisher, @astrolabegames.bsky.social, for making this happen. Visit Steam between January 27 and February 9 to check out the promo โจ๐ฎ
#ChineseNewYear #LunarNewYear #SteamGames #Steam #CozyGames #PCGaming #Gaming
Whoo hoo!
So excited that we get to announce this!!! Thank you to @astrolabegames.bsky.social for picking up Rooster :)
Thank you everyone for the follows so far. I am not posting much because we are so close to more announcements on our new game Rooster - follow @stickybrainstudios.bsky.social to learn more!
If you live in Ontario and are trying to understand why our public colleges and universities are starting to announce program cuts due to the changes in international student permits - here's a quick background: www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-di...
Now I really want to play Dagger Isles! So much that can be done with games when we take a global lens to them that isn't Eurocentric.
๐งต1/12
It's Indigenous Peoples Month so support Indigenous game devs!
Starting with @achimogames.bsky.social's Hill Agency! (my first commercial game and @sadekaronhes.bsky.social's like fourth or fifth?)
(For those who prefer itchio: achimogames.itch.io/hill-agency-...)
Ugh, thank you for the head's up. I wondered why I had a large increase of random calls from California this week. That is probably why...
Graph showing estimated layoff headcount and announcements in the game industry from Jan 2021 through Feb 2024
My best estimates indicate about 9000 layoffs in the games industry in 2023. We haven't finished February 2024 yet, and we're already at around 8000 for the calendar year. This is just based on the ones we know about.
We're attending GDC mostly to focus on on title on its own path, but would love to connect to learn more about Armor Games, (how you work, what you're looking for) as we work through other projects on our slate :)
Everyone's been asking CEOs and analysts why the industry continues to be rocked by mass layoffs. That's important to do. But figured it would be good to also hear from the developers themselves. I spoke to over 40 of them, and wrote this:
www.ign.com/articles/ive...
Narrative Designers, if you were to give advice to students looking to get into video games as narrative designers, what would it be?
Please signal boost. I'm compiling this stuff and will credit you for an upcoming class. ๐
