Eric Lang

The “corporate needs you find the difference between pics / they’re the same pic” meme using ICE supporter in 2026 Gestapo supporter in 1933

YouTube video by Beyond Solitaire Thoughts from a Minnesota Gamer

Signal boosting an excellent person with an excellent podcast (which I was a guest on!), getting real about shit that matters.

Solidarity, LIz! 👊

Got word from Modiphius that Mass Effect: the Boardgame is on its 5th printing and continuing to sell strong and steady

At risk of being humble, it’s a great game and I’m very proud of it.

So glad we found our audience

TIL that Leprosy still exists today, with 200k new cases annually 👀

Reforming ICE is like taking Tylenol for cancer.

Abolish. Eliminate. Prosecute.

Standard definition: paid to design games

Have gone through the various end-to-end processes of having a game published and being paid for it (even if that number is $0)

It’s REALLY HARD - because you don’t want to be an asshole, but very few understand that even making the demand is aggressive and borderline unreasonable.

"So Eric, how DO I ask you to evaluate my protoype in a non-professional setting"

The quick answer is: don't.

The real answer is: don't, please.

And before firing off that righteous "bad take, gatekeeper bro", please consider re-reading every post in this thread.

Maybe twice.

Thank you! ❤️

And I can hear the replies now: "that sounds too guarded, I would NEVER be that much trouble"

Chances are you'd be worse than anything described above.

Because you believe you're the exception.

You are not.

It's not your fault. You're not seasoned.

Again, not your fault

But it's a big ask

The above I described is happening within minutes of the casual ask.

We haven't even discussed the game in question. I'm just preparing for the mental transition from casual interaction to professional

I won't even cover the next steps here, that's a whole other thread.

There's also a massive power gap to consider. They're not asking a random person for this feedback; they're asking a credible and known professional, and will thus treat every word with proportionate weight

This in mind, I am unwilling to give a "once over" and flippant advice without due diligence

This delta between expectation (my labour of love is ready to show the world) and reality (you're probably going to need to start again from scratch) is devastating, and I refuse to be the asshole who puts that bluntly.

The conversation to follow necessarily will be massive emotional labour

Non-professionals generally put intense and labourious hours (weeks, months, years) into half baked games because that's the correct way to do things when you don't know what you're doing.

But from an expert POV it often takes a quick glance to tell if (likely) the game is 5% done _at best_

Non-professionals are understandably NOT TRAINED to receive professional grade feedback

More often than not, they have a high level brainstorm or proof of concept that they believe is a finished game, and the "feedback" they seek is actually game design

I'm preparing to "let them down easy"

Even being asked to evaluate a game (especially in a non-work setting, like a game store, or a game table where we're playing stuff for fun) is a triggering demand.

It immediately puts me into work mode.

Immediately I'm running parallel management techniques to prepare for the next steps

I charge A LOT of money for this for publishers and professionals. Because it's part of my job and it's understandably very high value applied expertise.

This is, however, not about the money. And I do pro bono work all the time (especially with mentees)

It's about boundaries and self preservation

Thread about a delicate topic. Here goes.

As a public designer in a very prolific role, I am often asked casually by gamers, in a non-work setting to evaluate their prototype.

This is a demand for professional grade consultation with a minefield of unspoken expected outcomes.

In the midterms, remember this

Democrats that whine about “purity tests” are complicit controlled opposition

Purity test the fuck out your candidates

Primary anyone who doesn’t at least clear the subterranean bar of “prosecute MAGA and abolish ICE”

Otherwise winning is symbolic and meaningless

UM YOU TOO

This can’t be overstated. Daybreak feels amazing while having a meaningful message because it’s a uncompromisingly a satisfying game first

Votes for Women fits this category too

You can make values-forward games without being cringe. It’s incredibly hard, and the successful ones deserve HUGE props

First time I played DAYBREAK (by the incomparable Matt Leacock and promising newcomer Matteo Menapace)

I finished with “this is the game I wanted Terraforming Mars to be”

It’s fantastic, feels amazing to win, fosters values camaraderie like no coop board game I’ve seen

And made by good people

I have a policy where I don’t talk badly about other published games

It’s a good policy and I stand by it

Terraforming Mars is a shit game by shit people

Policy intact

Bear: OM NOM NOM NOM

Adobe reader is one of the worst offenders. I hate it so much

Dear every software I’ve been using since 2010

I do not want your new AI feature to auto-fill my inputs.

STOP FUCKING PROMPTING ME EVERY CLICK

History isn't a golden age, it's a crime scene we keep pretending was a theme park. The country isn't declining. Your preferred hierarchy is.

My primary issue with conservatism in a paragraph

My brother in christ please stop tone policing people criticising ICE

We’re fucking adults; we know they’re not *exactly* the gestapo, or the SS, or whatever.

Priorities, man.

Be less online, maybe. Gods

One of my regular lunches is Nasi Melayu (rice with a buffet of chosen meats, veggies and curries)

Today’s: lemongrass fried chicken, spicy bamboo shoots, fish curry and cucumber.

Total cost of lunch including watermelon juice: around $6

Sometimes a user will post a joke and then that very same user will post something sincere. And I as the reader am expected to understand this, using my brain?