Instagram's aggressive inclusion of genAI is mind-bendingly self-destructive. They're daring to ask: "what if this personal visual micro-blogging platform was, instead, full of absolutely unreal imaginary shite?"
So many questions
Jason with Gareth Damien Martin.
Jason with the developers of Wax Heads.
Jason with James Bruce from Saltstone Studios
Jason with John Rogers from Gaming in the Wild
Tremendous day at @londongamesfest.bsky.social’s New Game Plus today. Played great games and met so many cool people - many I don’t get a picture with!
Looking forward to next year’s event already!
A top down shot of hundreds of people playing video games at small stands in a convention hall.
New Game Plus and @londongamesfest.bsky.social are done! Played some exciting new games, and put some faces to names. It was a good time - podcast next week. ✨
Getting Beasty on main
A good panel about the impact of festivals on indie games at #NewGamePlus. And Gareth Damian Martin shared that their next game will be announced this year.
See you there! :)
Danke schoen
Absolutely. It's a form of competitive insecurity isn't it. An unimaginative idea that pushing other people down makes oneself look taller, and that expressing self importance makes one seem important. You can kinda forgive it in young 'uns, like a bad haircut. But it's a mark on character, too.
As in most dichotomies, the answer here seems to be "it's a bit of both."
It's so true in every field. I learned this early working in the London club scene—some influential figures would reach down and pull promising folks up onto the platform they'd built; others would stamp on their fingers, reserving the limelight for themselves alone.
#LGF26 has a Steam event with the festival's official selection, so the demos are there, as well as on the show floor:
Yeah, the gamefeel is... old potatoes. There's some mystifying stuff here, like pixel perfect jumps from ledges with unclear edges, where you just have to die a bunch while vibing it out. And the ever-present input delay re: animation style. The gameplay is a chore. But I'm still goin' :) somehow
I've found myself mesmerised by how it looks, with all that neon and rain and steam and texture; interested in where the story is going; wincing my way through the crate-pushing, switch-flicking, rote-brawling. I want to see how it ends, which is a good sign, and not a given.
The #REPLACED reviews are all correct, in a way. People who highly value story, vibe, and aesthetic are right to give it 9/10. People who highly value moment-to-moment gameplay are right to give it 5/10. The reviews are mostly just an indication of where the reviewer falls on that scale.
Had a fun first day at #LGF26. There was a programme of self-publishing talks, about everything from IP law, to PR & social, to Steam discoverability. Got talking to a few ppl randomly — one turned out to be the director of a game I've covered, another to run a platform I use. Interesting crowd.
In case you missed it, this lovely conversation with @gaminginthewild.com is now out for all willing ears.
It is gratifying to hear from small developers that being in a video can drop 200+ wishlists on their game. You never really know how YouTube views translates when you're making stuff, except from the odd comment.
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
PocketCasts: pca.st/episode/5194...
Browser: redcircle.com/shows/33888f...
This week's pod is an in-depth talk with the maestro @ratvaderr.bsky.social, the composer & audio designer of #Ultros.
He travelled to Peru's rain forests to capture sounds from deep nature, and plays some raw recordings here. youtu.be/ox0WBCo3zAg
Made for @lostincult.co.uk's #Ultros Design Works.
Two
Originally recorded for the @lostincult.co.uk deluxe book on Ultros, featuring a CD with music and a conversation with @gaminginthewild.com
One of my most in-depth talks about the creative process, including field recordings from Peru.
fanlink.tv/behindthesou...
Alabaster Dawn, Titanium Court, Chronoscipt, Dosa Divas, Beastro, Fame or Folly, Neverway, Otterly Lost, Zwaard... 2026 is shaping up nicely.
I ended up reading and looking at the clouds listening to μ-Ziq, so not too far off.
And one run of Raccoin.
I'm getting on a plane on a bit, having exhausted my normal rotation of podcasts — games, news & analysis, astronomy, culture etc. Got any reccos? I tend to like relaxed/natural rather than uh *peppy* delivery, and nice voices.
John from @gaminginthewild.com returns to showcase his most notable indie game releases for April 2026…you better have those wish lists open, it’s going to be a great month for new games.
somanygames.co.uk/articles/ind...
Four interesting indie games are coming out just on the 16th, this month.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2VS...
Mouthwashing had a sense of a dreadful unravelling, too far from help, like the first Alien movie.
We've only got <25 Deluxe copies of Ultros: Design Works remaining!
Take a look at how all of @korpagget.bsky.social's conflicting inspirations came together to make the beautiful game 🍄⤵️ | @kepler-interactive.bsky.social
www.lostincult.co.uk/ultros
Hands up who has their Redfall cosplay ready
This month you can:
✨ Try to fill the holes in your memory by raiding an abandoned lab in a totalitarian regime
✨ Escort an amnesiac kid across an abandoned world to a strange mountain for reasons unclear
✨ Play an RPG where the goal is to join a circus
✨ Be a gecko
🍿 youtu.be/q2VS2uDo4ao
