Brian Gomez

My favorite novel. I think I’ve read it more than any other book. Enjoy!

I think The Criterion in St Andrews needs to hire this crow to perch on their sign full-time.

#scotland #StAndrews #corvids

YouTube video by 4JStudios TU5 Teaser Trailer

I’ve been so busy making Reforj, I didn’t even notice we dropped a title update teaser last night.

#reforj #indygames #scotland #gamedev

youtu.be/yHoXXLLYAI0?...

Last light of the day on Kinnoull Hill.

#scotland #perth #autumn

I’m overachieving on NYT Puzzles this morning.

TerrorBytes: The Evolution of Horror Gaming The ultimate exploration and celebration of Horror in video games. Five incredible episodes featuring 50 of the biggest names in horror gaming.

Happy Halloween! What’s your favorite horror game? Whatever it is, chances are the 50 horror game creators (including yours truly!) featured in Terrorbytes: The Evolution of Horror Gaming probably dissected it, layer by bloody layer!

terrorbytesdoc.com

You think that’s bad? You should hear the way some product managers talk about their player base in F2P games… 😬

The story told around WDI is that Walt coined the term because his dogs would follow him around the house if he showed them a hotdog. The “dumb hungry dogs” bit is news to me. Not saying it didn’t happen, but also never heard it put that way while I was at Disney.

At Walt Disney Imagineering, the equivalent was what John Hench had dubbed “the weenie” — using a landmark and environmental storytelling to lead the guests towards the main attraction.

YouTube video by 4JStudios Reforj Q&A with Devs and Designers - August 2025

Over the summer, our lead designer and I did a live stream and Q&A for our game in early development, Reforj. If you’re into open world survival games, I hope you’ll add it to your wishlist and visit us on Discord.

#reforj #gamedev #indygames #MadeInScotland

youtu.be/BsohbhdAn30?...

Marshmallows on a skewer roasting over a fire in an antique Godin wood burning stove.

Toasting marshmallows on the wood burning stove. For breakfast.

#autumn

Fungi spotting around Dunkeld today.

My view, right now.

#autumn #scotland #dunkeld #hermitage

Any chance we’ll ever see a vinyl repress of Year Zero…?

Siouxsie and the Banshees Kaleidoscope on vinyl, beside a signed copy of Budgie’s biography, Absence

Tonight’s entertainment: Reading a signed copy of Budgie’s biography while listening to his first album as a Banshee.

#budgie #siouxsie #postpunk #goth

Procrastination, taking the guise of a sleeping black cat draped across my computer keyboard.

For some reason I’m finding it very hard to get any work done tonight…

My part-Latina daughter just complained that living in Scotland has turned her “Daniel Radcliffe white.” I wonder how it came to be that Radcliffe is her benchmark for a pale complexion?

It doesn’t seem that bad, actually. More than 10% of players are getting to the end of the game (or what I assume is the end — I’ve not played it.) When I worked at Disney and Universal, I got to regularly see retention data and that looks like a pretty common drop off.

Feeling kinda fungi today, so I took a walk to Maspie Den in Falkland.

#scotland #fungi #mushrooms

If you’re at the Games Day at the Big Real event in Dundee today, find me during the breaks and say hello! (You can also get a chance to play Reforj!)

#gamedev #indygames #dundee #reforj

Reforj looks pretty good on a 9k wraparound screen. I wish everyone could play it on one of these!

A black cat seated at a kitchen table, giving the photographer some brutal side-eye.

My cat is having none of my shit today.

Mark your calendar, grab some popcorn and tune in to the first ever official Reforj stream on Thursday 8th May at 3pm BST!

Join Tom, our lead designer, plus Joe and Nathan for a guide to Reforj, a tour of its mechanics and a live Q&A.

Tune in here:
🔴 youtu.be/nYmO5Lh4fro
🟣 twitch.tv/4JStudios

Thanks, I hope you get a chance to play it soon! We just launched our pre-alpha test two days ago.

Writing a GDD is having the hard conversation, even if it’s with yourself. As soon as you need to explain a system, loop, mechanic, etc. to another person (even if that other “person” is just your design journal) you discover things — edge cases, exploits, contradictions, etc.

From a former Disney colleague, Armando Soto: “If you find yourself on a project with an unclear vision energy devoted to changing or clarifying the vision is going to be more productive than solving all the endless problems and progressing with an unclear vision. Have the hard conversations.”

Go without a GDD and you get the Roomba production methodology: head off blindly in any direction, run into a wall, pivot, repeat.

We've had some overwhelmingly positive feedback from the Reforj Pre-Alpha! We're already working on shipping the first fixes and planning the next update.

Sign up now for a chance to become a Pioneer: reforj.game

YouTube video by Prowl Reforjed The BEST Building System EVER In A Survival Game | Reforj Pre-Alpha

I’m really enjoying Prowl’s in-depth feedback and coverage of REFORJ. Every bit of feedback is helpful, positive and negative alike (but this one does have a lot of nice things to say!)

youtu.be/_kK6lhPy-8Y?...

Airtable | Everyone's app platform Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Get started for free.

Following the outdated and lifethreatening decision over transrights from the UK Supreme Court ,as a sector we owe it to our friends, colleagues and the transcommunity to speak up for change.

Please sign this openletter from the cultural sector to the EHRC

airtable.com/appJjTpDvAuS...