Brandon Wu

A timeline visually representing the advice from my post, emphasising how dramatically and reliably having more time, with a testable build, converts to your game being better and your studio being safer.

I've been running an indie games studio for 15 years now, and it felt like a good time to boil down what I've learned into 4 pieces of advice:

www.pentadact.com/2026-01-08-1...

I hope it's of use, not least because goddamn I forgot how long blog posts take to write.

According to the National Archives, this is the very first image of Santa Claus to appear in Japan in 1900.

His name name was too foreign sounding so the author called him 三太九郎 (さんたくろう)

dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1168287/...

Word-game designers worldwide celebrate the birth of the crossword puzzle today, invented on 21st Dec 1913 by one Arthur Wynne.

#gamedev

D&D D20 Dice Christmas Bauble Ornaments by theBrandonWu MakerWorld: Download Free 3D Models My D&D group loved these when I gave these to everyone at the table at our Christmas One Shot! You can print up to 5-6 in 45 minutes. Makes for a great last minute gift. Roll for Holiday Spirit! 🎲...

I printed some D20 baubles for my D&D group last week - uploading the models to share if anyone's got a 3D printer and in need of a last minute gift for a TTRPG friend!🎄

makerworld.com/en/models/21...

#dnd #d&d #ttrpg #3dprint

Caves of Qud - 1.0 Out Now Trailer YouTube video by Kitfox Games

I keep Caves of Qud open at all times. It's the perfect 20-second break when I need to look away from the IDE—the best cure for IDE fatigue.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nG-...

#gamedev #cavesofqud #coq

Had a long list of things I wanted to improve in the game and couldn’t decide. Then this morning, staring at the build, a thought hit me:

What does the game want?

Not what players want or what devs want, but what the game itself is asking for.

Feels like the answer might be hiding there

#gamedev

Nothing makes you feel older quite like returning players describing the game as “nostalgic“ 😆

#gamedev

Xmas Season Update! — BattleTabs From Earmuffs to Santa Hats, the new season is upon us and will be released today (2025-11-26)! 10 Seasonal cosmetic parts for the avatar 5 Seasonal emotes 3 Ships and 2 Skins…

I pushed out a new season update for BattleTabs yesterday - a weight off my shoulders!

I love seasonal content in live service games, but it definitely adds a certain amount of stress for devs.

Glad it's shipped & the community seems to like it so far!

battletabs.com/blog/2025/11... #gamedev

Closing in on 6m

#gamedev

Lessons Learned From the Sudden Collapse of Dauntless In this story, discover the behind-the-scenes of the fall of Phoenix Labs and Dauntless, and the three lessons the team learned from it.

My latest deep dive into a closed game/studio examines the fall of Phoenix Labs and Dauntless, and the three lessons the team learned from the experience.

I hope you get something out of the story.

80.lv/articles/les...

Nostalgia overdrive 🔥

Love to find out more!

Between reconnecting with peers, giving a talk on our journey with BattleTabs, and enjoying Kölsch, some reflections from Gamescom 2025: thebrandonwu.substack.com/p/passion-pe...

#gamedev

I've been printing custom D&D miniatures for a campaign I was DMing. Pretty new to 3D printing but decided to share the models! You can find them here: makerworld.com/en/@thebrand...

#3dprinting #dnd #miniature #D&D #ttrpg

Thanks - and love your pixel art pieces!! 🔥 🔥 🔥

Fandom drives creation

#gamedev

Weapons in games peaked with fire flower

#gaming #gamedev

Fans, what do I do without them ❤️ (from our discord community discord.com/channels/770...)

#gamedev #fanart #battletabs

Polaroid's knocked this one out of the park

#polaroid #creativeadvert

Update on my pixel art guide for beginners:

Transferred all the information from Tumblr to a Google Doc, so anyone who doesn't have a Tumblr account can now read through the whole thing!
I also updated quite a bit of information too.
I hope it will help somebody!

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

The post also contains the Steam store assets if you want some reference or use as template. Awesome project!

#gamedev

a black and white drawing of a person 's hand holding a gun ALT: a black and white drawing of a person 's hand holding a gun

I’d like to make a chess game with permadeath

#gamedev

To a T is what we all need right now.

#gamedev

Slideshow: Check out Keita Takahashi's storyboards for 'to a T' Take a look at a handful of formative sketches from Wattam and Katamari creator Keita Takahashi and see the concepts that would become the 2025 video game 'to a T'.

Behind the Scenes: Check out Keita Takahashi's adorable To a T storyboard sketches

Apple has its first-ever internal studio after acquiring Sneaky Sasquatch dev RAC7 The two-person team will now develop video games under the Apple banner.

Apple has its first-ever internal studio after acquiring Sneaky Sasquatch dev RAC7

🙌🙌 Your game looks amazing

Long Gone on Steam Decades have passed, play as a survivor stranded in an old-world suburban neighborhood. Explore the secret lives of people Long Gone through their forgotten belongings and platform through overgrown s...

Steam page: store.steampowered.com/app/1977610/...

"...love letter to retro adventure games " — I am here for the 2.5D transitioning to low-poly 3D. Gorgeoous ✨✨

#gamedev #indiegame #gameart

Moebius-style Rendering in Godot YouTube video by netbuffer

Moebius-style Rendering in Godot, from an indie game that's aimed to be a mix between Attack on Titan and Gundam. SIgn me up! www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F9C...

#godot #madeingodot #gamedev #shader

🍞 The world can certainly use more fun like this right now 😻