Alan Au

Today's "I should be sleeping" thought is that I'm a bad role model. Although, I suppose it really depends on what metric you use to define success. But even so, I will continue to insist that my life path is not replicable. You could do everything I did and not end up where I am. 🙃

Gong Hei Fat Choy! 🧧 Happy Year of the Horse! 🐴

🫂

Gung Hei Fat Choy! 🧧
Sun Tai Geen Hong! ❤️

The way the longevity is baked-in also matters to me. In particular, I resent the idea of being held hostage to FOMO and time-limited events required for keeping up with the zeitgeist.

And sure, I like seasonal content, but if missing it means I've fallen behind, then I may just decide I'm done.

Normally I tell people that "you should never meet your heroes" but really I think we just need better heroes. 🤩

We are so back.

Weird how tech-based promises like this are always "soon" and never "now." They are selling the dream and not the reality. (I'm not sure who actually wants this, but that's a separate problem.)

the impossible number of games that release on Steam every day has been discourse for years

why would anybody want to play a game nobody could be bothered to make

I've heard it called both of those things and still think it's neither. Maybe a sweatshirt? I guess that's what I might call a hoodie without the hood?

Also, yes, this applies to dating. Social norms require a level of politeness, but if things aren't working out, you are not obligated to suffer through it.

Sometimes I meet new people and immediately decide "we should not be friends" and this is okay. You do not have to be friends with everyone.

That said, it can be good to sometimes step out of your comfort zone, and relationship-building takes effort. But recognize that not everyone is compatible.

One thing that I think gets lost in some of this discourse is that we wrote the Stochastic Parrots paper in Sept-Oct of 2020 -- more than two years before ChatGPT was released and the AI hype really took off.

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We think that kids need to spend less time on screens, but the alternatives are few and far between.

Activities that were once free are now rare and privatised, and anyone trying to organise or build their own activities for kids now must contend with ton of regulation.

Sadly, no additions to the chocolate stockpile this time. Discounts haven't been particularly enticing lately. At best they're modest discounts as a holiday promotion, not so much a clearance.

On the plus side, they've got some nice Lunar New Year discounts on stuff like oranges and dumplings.

YouTube video by Miss Twisted I made a knight in shining JARMOUR

The Canadian tuxedo has evolved into the Canadian suit of armor

YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan How much money I made as a game designer in 2025

In today's video I go over what I earnt as a full time game designer in 2025, comparing my income over the past few years and how it varies from game to game.

My aim has always been to increase transparency in the industry and help newer designers with what to expect.

youtu.be/avLL2siSmyc

🎲✂️

Random fun fact: the vast majority of modern "Japanese swords" are knock-offs (as you might expect). The actual process of producing a proper Japanese sword is highly regulated, and the artform was almost lost in the post-WW2 era due to severe restrictions on making them.

But when you figure out a puzzle, it makes you feel like a genius.

correct! every post about fixing a broken games industry that involves [specific games industry tweaks] and not [destroying a speculation-mad executive class and using their bones for compost] is just wasting everyone's time

Stardew Valley also has multiplayer now. For a more dedicated factory experience, there's also Factorio. We've had very hit or miss experiences playing Eco; it's intended for short play sessions and a high degree of specialization, so it depends on your group.

Do you have a theme in mind? How do you feel about factory games?

The games my group has engaged with the most are:
- Minecraft (of course)
- Terraria (classic)
- 7 Days to Die
- Valheim
- Satisfactory

Games like "Space Engineers" and "Icarus" are a bit more niche but might also work.

stealth = no still-living enemies know I'm here

I miss couch coop, but screen real estate is such a tricky thing.

I'd also like a greater variety of online coop games that support more than 3-4 players. And I get that things scale weirdly as you increase that number, but I also have more than 3 friends that I want to play with regularly.

I very briefly looked into work deduction stuff during the pandemic when trying to figure out if any of my home office stuff was deductible. And the answer I found was ... maybe some, but I'd have to log its use, and it'd have to exceed the standard deduction to be worth the effort.

Feeling better after a night's rest, but trying to figure out if that knot in my stomach is because of exercise, something I ate yesterday, or existential dread.

I am both horrified and inspired by the number of games released on Steam daily. Some are likely garbage that just make it hard to find the quality stuff. But otherwise, it's just more choices. People don't have to play everything. Find stuff you personally like. (Granted, discovery is a problem.)

Happy Singles Awareness Day to those who celebrate. Do something nice for yourself; you deserve it.

I've been disappointed by the selection the last couple of years. Reminds me that there was some discounted candy after last Halloween, but of mixes I don't eat personally.

asian parents: don't study history because you can't get a job
me: don't study history because you'll just feel like Cassandra regardless of your job