John Wordsworth

Things that cost nothing - but is a HUGE help for any and all indie devs:

Wishlisting - it gives games data to show publishers there is interest.

Leave a Review - ESPECIALLY if you liked the game. Reviews on steam lead to the algo serving you up to others.

Reposting - it's an attention economy.

We’re changing game engine.

Once again, make a hit game loved by many... and you still get hit by a truck.

The industry is pretty sick right now.

I also cancelled the recurring subscription today. 10 days to finish Silksong then a few months gap before I probably jump on again but only for a couple of months at a time from here on in…

Looks like Xbox Game Pass is going the way of many of my other subscriptions “just subscribe for a few months, then take a break for a few months while the content builds up”. Will be unsubscribing when Anno 117 comes out for sure!

We are starting to share a first playable version of our game with a select few people over the coming days. Both exciting to see how far it’s come but also somewhat intimidating. Either way, stoked to hear how people get on with it!

She surely has to change her name to “Devon Pritchard-Peach” or something similar if she is taking the role after someone named “Bowser”!

It's so good and just inherent in the core rules. I love theorizing how these games came about. I know it started with carom billiards with no pockets, but it baffles me how one day someone said "I want a table, with recessed edges, felt top, 3 ivory balls and some sticks. I'm gonna make a game!"

Been playing pool with a friend every fortnight for maybe 3.5 years now and we still end nearly every night just one or two games apart (even though we play 30-40+ matches). Love that pool has a built-in catch-up mechanic and surprised that it's still so fun after all these years!

Most of my groups have shifted from “endless/years long campaigns” to 3-15 session campaigns (depending on the game/group). I really like this format - it’s long enough for story and character progression, you get to experience more RPG worlds that way and you get an ending before it falls apart.

Had a really busy month, but things are starting to clear up now and I'm excited to get back to creative side-line projects such as the RPG and the solo card game I was prototyping before. Always a bit of a hurdle getting back into it though - but can't wait to get into the flow again!

Not sure I like the huge Fisher Price rounded corners on my windows and much taller app menu bar eating into my screen real estate, but other than that macOS26 seems to be treating me well.

Text mounted on a screen reads as follows: WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION? 1. DOESN'T MATTER 2. WHO CARES 3. MARKETING DEPARTMENT'S PROBLEM 4. NOT YOURS

Simply the best slide I have ever seen in a powerpoint presentation care of @premeemohamed.com’s talk at @banffcentre.bsky.social re: Putting the Science in Science Fiction

Super early look at Kenney Creator, my new modeling software for indies. It'll feature many blocks and tools to create any sort of model - aiming for a Q1 2026 release! ✨

I always share this every time I see it in the wild.

So many C# posts on Stack Overflow...

Question. Why can't I do X in C#?

A: Why would you want to?
B: Don't be silly, that's not possible due to the way Y works.
C: You should never do that anyway.

7 years later...

D: Feature is coming in C# 11 and looks to be really useful!

I understand the business logic of 'this game took an age to make, let's recoup costs by selling 2 clans as day-1 DLC'...

But big companies never seem to learn - consumers don't care once you're big. We're not buying games to balance books. We're buying games based on perceived value/fun vs price.

Not Enough Scoundrels by ChrisAir For Mothership RPG, a guide to running space truckers, smugglers, and the spaceships they live and die by.

Ok, since I had to turn this blasted computer on, might as well shout it out:

Digital release of Not Enough Scoundrels has hit itch!

Art by @lurnoise.bsky.social, @carlydraws.bsky.social & Tim Zygor. Dev by @unenthuser.bsky.social. Editing by @phophos.bsky.social. Couldn't've made it w/o y'all, ❤️

Huge thanks to @ben-dodson.bsky.social for being the first person outside of our development team to do a full test run of our game prototype. Really valuable to watch it be played by someone for the first time to check all of our assumptions vs what players actually do. You’re a legend!

A posterized image of a suited woman pointing a camera directly at the viewer. Around her, figures pass by each way - paying her no attention.

It is with great regret I must inform you that I have started developing a video-game again.

I’m looking forward to watching the video playback of the first test run through the prototype. That perfect mix of “oh god, will they break it” and “ahhh, how did we not see that in our 50 playthroughs!?”

A small part of a screenshot from a game prototype showing a piece of paper that says 'Incident Report: 001XZ' as the title. The other details have been redacted.

Super satisfying that the prototype that @jefftanton.bsky.social, @amypearson.bsky.social and I have been working on for the last few months has been shared outside of our little group for the first time. A bit of swearing at Unity along the way, but it's been a lot of fun so far!

Oh God, while I never owned one this makes me feel so OLD!

A screenshot of part of a Humble Bundle page highlighting the 'Shadow of Mordor' game where the text descriptions reads like an AI prompt to generate a video game. The text starts "An action RPG set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, bridging the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings."

Is it me, or do the long text descriptions under the items in the Humble Bundles now sound like the AI Prompt you would write to produce that game if it were generated by an LLM?

Huh, for the last couple of years I have been thinking “ahh, Hollow Knight: Silksong has taken so long, I don’t think I have any hype left for it any more”. Then they announced the release date of 4th September and I’m like “GIMME!”. So, yeah, I guess I’m back on the hype train! And on Game Pass.

All suitable for Dark Sun… I do love Dark Sun, mostly just because it was so different - with Sorcerer Kings, lack of gods and defiling magic. The world needed heroes so damn bad. I’d love a new version, but cannot believe they would deviate from standard 5E enough nowadays to make it good.

I find it very weird that Blockbuster died out over a decade ago, yet a few years ago I rediscovered the brand and started renting movies from them again… now online! I find myself using them quite regularly now, a weird blast from the past (ish) every time!

Credits rolled on Blue Prince. Very fun and intriguing game. I know I have basically only just completed the tutorial, and I loved most of the experience - but I don’t think I have the time or stamina to keep digging, as much as I want to know more!

YouTube video by Broken Spaceship Developing A Roguelite Stationbuilding Survival Game - In Space

My extremely talented friend James has been busy working away on something truly fascinating. Check out the first trailer!

Space! Building! Swams! Resources! YES!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I56l...

🍣Announcement!! My cozy sushi truck game Sushi on Wheels now has a Steam page!
Hop in, serve sushi, and explore a seaside town in Japan!
Wishlist here: cutt.ly/CrHVnQik

#cozygame #indiegame #cozygames