Jeff Tanton

"time is a flat circle" no dude youre thinking of a clock

Finally read Animal Farm. Terrifying book. Every time an animal talked I screamed.

it is done
almost a year later Paper Chrono Trigger is done
proper photo session this weekend
made from bristol paper, cardstock, sketchbook paper, toilet paper, & matboard
(Also bit of clear resin, colored gel, LED strip, & microLEDs)

Feel the wind in your fins! Balloons of Paradise is a hot air balloon open world adventure (most importantly: there's a penguin wearing hats)

bsky.app/profile/lith...

‘It’s a loving mockery, because it’s also who I am’: the making of gaming’s most pathetic character The team behind Baby Steps discuss why they made a whiny, unprepared manbaby the protagonist – and how players have grown to love Nate as he struggles up a mountain

Now that I have published this interview with @foddy.net and @gcuzzillo.bsky.social about Baby Steps, maybe I can finally move on with my life and stop thinking about it?? who knows

www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...

Demo launch went very well: Over 5000 downloads, over 1000 wishlists, and a glowing write up in PC Gamer! Also #1 demo on Steam!

bsky.app/profile/grey...

Resisting the Hivemind: Pluribus, Generative AI, and Empire - Reactor While its creator tell us that Pluribus is not about advent of generative AI, it's difficult not to spot the many places where the fledgling tech and extraterrestrial hivemind overlap.

I found the ep in PLURIBUS where Carol--white, American--meets 5 non-white, non-American survivors of the hivemind off-putting, but in a way that made me curious to see where Gilligan was going. Now that I have, I wrote about how empire, privilege, genAI, & resistance converge in the show's subtext:

A Fool’s Errand — our latest game for @play.date — is out now!

Get it now: play.date/games/a-fool...

Learn more: www.iorama.studio/afoolserrand

Kafka’s metamorphosis but with Pokémon

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself transformed into an enormous Bug-type.

a penguin in a fez

a penguin in a construction hat

a penguin in a steampunk hat

huge progress made today

Paul Verhoeven undefeated in creating a movie that flies right over the heads of the people it’s making fun of

A 1986 Japanese guide on how to program using the Family BASIC software for the Famicom features many cute illustrations of Mario and Pauline (known as "Lady" in Japan at the time).

Hey, we played DEATHMATCH ISLAND and then wrote about it!

You can and should read our fine, fair words. #ttrpg

Yeah it’s a real choice, isn’t it? Once I got a handle on what items were likely insignificant then it all felt a lot more relaxed.

But then why do it at all? Only part of the game I had serious questions over. Loved pretty much everything else.

Dangerous, ludicrous, untenable ideas

If you're a young person you have no idea how long we've all been listening to Small Government and Liberty stuff from the right. Nobody at all believed any of it lol

Being a leftie elder millennial is being proven (often tragically) correct on almost every single point over a 25 yr period and STILL having to enter any political conversation like you’re the one bringing the radical, fanatical ideas.

My new 'studio' is called Emanation Games.

Why? An emanation, in esoteric theology, is an overflowing of pure divine power; an outpouring of creation.

But also, because it also sounds like it could be about cum.

That's the duality I want to represent. Intellectual and puerile.

Temporary logo:

A timeline visually representing the advice from my post, emphasising how dramatically and reliably having more time, with a testable build, converts to your game being better and your studio being safer.

I've been running an indie games studio for 15 years now, and it felt like a good time to boil down what I've learned into 4 pieces of advice:

www.pentadact.com/2026-01-08-1...

I hope it's of use, not least because goddamn I forgot how long blog posts take to write.

My Special Immunity from War Crime Prosecution has people asking a lot of questions about war crimes

E-mail Addresses That Would Be Really Annoying to Give Out Over the Phone by Michael Ward MikeUnderscore2004@yahoo.com MikeAtYahooDotCom@hotmail.com Mike_WardAllOneWord@yahoo.com AAAAAThatsSixAs@yahoo.com One1TheFirstJustTheNumberTheSecondSpelledOut@hotmail.com

pound for pound this might be the funniest thing ever written

Sharp-eyed readers may note the overlaps between “gender ideology is a leftist plot to deprave the youth and molest our womenfolk”; “human rights are a Soviet/Islamist plot to sap our martial will to dominate and destroy our enemies”, and “the volk are threatened by the taint of the lesser races”.

Went straight from Seance of Blake Manor to Donkey Kong Bananza. I contain multitudes.

Very strong narrative. Refreshing hearing an Irish team telling an Irish-set story.

Also a huge writing and narrative-design undertaking. So much that’ll never be seen but all essential to maintain the sense the player is in control of the investigation. Not the game.

A scene at a lunch in Manor house. One of the maids drops a tray. The player is invited to steal a key in the resulting kerfuffle.

A suspect viewed from the front, small box outs on key features reveal the tells a master detective might make about the subject.

Really loved The Seance of Blake Manor from Scary Door. Somehow manages to hold itself together despite multiple big, interlocking mechanical swings.

Published by @rawfury.bsky.social who seem to have had an incredible year with the mystery/puzzle genre.

The last few days did not move the main story forward AT ALL. It's just a guy eating little treats and doing nothing. And so many plot holes. He says, "no more little treats," and then he's eating another little treat in literally the next scene.

12:01 ÷73 + r/AskAnthropology •• What is the oldest lullaby or nursery rhyme that... 11 upvotes • 1 comment As far as the earliest we know of, it's another Babylonian tablet, about 4000 years old and most often known as Little Baby in the Dark House. We don't have the music for it, but again, the BBC article has a good go at describing some commonalities of the music that tends to accompany lullabies, so that might inspire you. The rough translation for that Babylonian lullaby, by the way, is: Little Baby in the dark house You have seen the sun rise Why are you crying? Why are you screaming? You have disturbed the house god. 'Who has disturbed me?' says the house god. 'It is the baby who has disturbed you! 'Who scared me?' says the house god. 'The baby has disturbed you, the baby has scared you, making noises like a drunkard who cannot sit still on his stool. He has disturbed your sleep! 'Call the baby now, says the house god. • 4 Reply A & Vote & Join the conversation

check out this absolutely terrifying ancient babylonian lullaby

another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls