Derek Quenneville

Save 10% on The Roottrees are Dead on Steam A genealogical mystery straight out of 1998. Scour the early Internet for clues, uncover hidden connections, and piece together the family tree behind the secretive Roottree Corporation.

The Roottrees are Dead is now out on Steam!

Solve the mysteries of the Roottree family in this puzzle game that's been described as Return of the Obra Dinn meets Her Story:

store.steampowered.com/app/2754380/...

Tell all your mystery loving friends and family to take a look!

The Roottrees are Dead on Steam A genealogical mystery straight out of 1998. Scour the early Internet for clues, uncover hidden connections, and piece together the family tree behind the secretive Roottree Corporation.

Seven days into 2025 and I've already played what I suspect will be one of my favorite games of the year: The Roottrees Are Dead, a narrative logic deduction game (à la Obra Dinn) that has you searching for clues to unravel the dramatic story of a rich family store.steampowered.com/app/2754380/...

Okay it's official! I'm coming back to MAGFest, and I'm going to do a LIVE DEMO of our library system for the first time ever You will want to see it! 📚

The Gentrification of Video Game History We’re not all suburban kids who got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas

Here we go, something I've been drafting for a long, long time: how the US-centric approach to video games and their history / culture basically gaslights us who come from other realities:
felipepepe.medium.com/the-gentrifi...

AKA, why LAN Houses, PokéTibia & Bomba Patch rule.

Was curious if I’d get an apology similar to when they ripped off Art Of Engineering, but I guess I’m not a big enough YouTuber to be a concern. (And while it feels nice that everyone familiar with my work is baffled that I’m not a huge YouTuber, it’s so frustrating that I can’t answer that either.)

The Crimson Diamond 2021 holiday card!

Thank you, @mobilesyrup.com (via @bradshankar.bsky.social) for including The Crimson Diamond in "Canadian developers made some of 2024’s best games"! It's STILL 20% off for the ☃️Steam Winter Sale!☃️ store.steampowered.com/app/1098770/... Please write a Steam review, they're the best game dev gift!

Writers: you can't just call call it Mephisto Corp LLC, who does that

Real Life:

Two cups of hot cocoa, one is much wider at the top and both are filled with mini marshmallows

If you use a shorter, wider mug you can have as much cocoa and 3x the marshmallows

Follow me for more life hacks

Vertically-mounting the 2600 (and +) is a revelation! You get visible cartridge labels & rear difficulty switches, and accessible controller ports!

Were we supposed to be playing in this orientation all along? 😅

sesame street isn't supposed to make money. the post office isn't supposed to make money. not everything is supposed to MAKE MONEY

A screenshot from the GitHub Acceptable Use Policy. It says: "11. User Protection You must not engage in activity that significantly harms other users. We will interpret our policies and resolve disputes in favor of protecting users as a whole."

So I wrote this, and it's the best thing I've ever written.

"We will resolve disputes in favor of protecting users as a whole."

That right there. That tells everyone how Trust & Safety is going to act, and it gives T&S profound latitude. They're not there to rules-lawyer or first-amendment.

left: screenshot of a really nice cat model from Turbosquid user "Furok" right: screenshot of Catly trailer with a very similar cat, except it has a funky orange stripe on its face

Catly Steam store page. About game: "Step into an enchanting dream where humans and cats forge the ultimate bond. Collect stories and chase memories through the eyes of both human and cat. Embark on playful escapades, craft cozy havens, explore vibrant landscapes, plant, laugh, race, decorate, create, steer robots, dress up, mingle, cuddle, groom. Heartwarming delights await in a tale of breathtakingly beautiful cats." An image of a dead-eyed 3D fuzzy cat stares into the camera

Catly website, AI generated image of a pink cat wearing goggles I guess, and another pink cat wearing yellow sunglasses and a cloak made of flowers, except its feet are all messed up, like they look like furry boots.

Catly: the Steam page is nonsense written by AI, the website is nonsense images generated by AI, and the trailer shows nothing but a bunch of inconsistent (probably) bought assets jumping around... so they can't explain the game, show the game, or show any ability to make it 🤔

YouTube video by GDC 2025 Solving an Invisible Problem: Designing for Color-Blindness in Games

If you want to learn more about the topic, here's an excellent talk from an awesome colourblind #gamedev, @ludiotic.bsky.social - www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbFs...

This is the right way to support a community you want instead of hand-wringing over banning the worst people. If you own the platform you can just decide to protect it!

Punch-Out!! prize cart by Nintendo for the Nintendo Famicom has been scanned in high resolution. Thanks to @kohler.bsky.social for scanning this and saving me hundreds of dollars! Spent a lot of time cleaning this rarity up. Enjoy! www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2024/12/p...

The 25 best comics of 2024 The 25 best comics of 2024

I'm thrilled people are connecting with FANTASTIC FOUR, and beyond flattered to be at the #1 position (!!!) on Newsarama's list of the 25 Best Comics of 2024! There's so many great comics here, all of them better than mine, and I recommend you read EVERY ONE :0

www.gamesradar.com/comics/best-...

YouTube video by Kitten Cup Studio Capy Castaway Wholesome Snack 2024 Teaser

Did you catch us on @wholesomegames.com Wholesome Snack?!
Dig, explore, and find trinkets as an unlikely duo of a young capybara and crow!

"I FLY, YOU DIG. WE’RE A TEAM, THAT’S THE DEAL."

Watch the teaser now www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4RW...

#wholesomesnack2024 #cozygames

Balatro and UFO 50 have both captured a bunch of my time - I'd also add Arctic Eggs and The Crimson Diamond to this list!

I kid you not, @itch.io has been taken down by Funko of "Funko Pop" because they use some trash "AI Powered" Brand Protection Software called Brand Shield that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain

Secret 3D Scans in the French Supreme Court The Rodin Museum and the French Ministry of Culture threaten freedom of information and public access to cultural heritage

Big update on my 3D scan FOIA lawsuit against the Rodin Museum and French Ministry of Culture. I'm going after French national museums' 3D scans, and my case is now before the French supreme court: cosmowenman.substack.com/p/secret-3d-...

The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games (Expanded Edition) The CRPG Book reviews over 450 defining Computer Role-Playing Games from 1975 to 2019 across 684 pages, such as Ultima, Wizardry and underrated genre treasures alike.

BTW, the hardcover version of the CRPG Book is back in stock!
www.bitmapbooks.com/products/the...

684 pages on hundreds of Computer RPGs, from 1970s PLATO RPGs to Disco Elysium. Plus extras on French, Korean and Taiwanese/Chinese RPGs, RPG Maker and online RPGs! All author revenue goes to charity ❤️

Alright, it's time for a thread. The Video Game History Foundation is a tiny organization, and we did a LOT this year. We're in the middle of our annual fundraiser, so it's time to recap all the exciting things we've been up to—and what's next! 🧵

The Hand Eye Society Ball is almost upon us! Whether you're supporting us in Toronto or online, check out tonight's talk from Game Workers Unite, feat. Bethesda developers! We'll be streaming and partying!

Twitch going live around 6:30pm (in 30m)! twitch.tv/handeyesociety

Why Arctic Eggs are a dish best served cold Developer Keven Brown tells us why he chose a chilly, bleak setting for a game about the social experience of eating.

Arctic Eggs is a cooking game that isn’t about the food, so much as the “uniquely human ritual” of lingering over a shared meal

Here’s why developer Keven Brown built a whole game around flipping an egg

Screenshot of the Steam Awards user interface nominating Arctic Eggs for Game of the Year

I hope that you'll all join me in nominating Arctic Eggs for game of the year in the Steam awards! 🍳

GitHub - sanni/cartreader: A shield for the Arduino Mega that can back up video game cartridges. A shield for the Arduino Mega that can back up video game cartridges. - sanni/cartreader

That's so cool!

FYI, the link got truncated and 404s, but here's the full URL for anyone who needs it: github.com/sanni/cartre...

thanks!

Screenshot of Donkey Kong for Atari 2600

Finally, we also have an interactive exhibit where you can play console releases of Donkey Kong and compare how successfully they brought the arcade experience home to Atari 2600, Intellivision, and ColecoVision in 1982.

Nintendo Virtual Boy system and its box on a bookcase

Also: Several rare and interesting video game consoles will be available to play, including Nintendo Virtual Boy, Phillips CD-i, the Vectrex, Sega 32X, and more!

We'll be using the Open Source Cartridge Reader github.com/sanni/cartre... that can back up NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, Master System, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance games. It can even handle save data - want to preserve your Pokemon for all time? 😄