5 months using code agents:
- The early frustration is gone.
- I now intuitively know where Claude will do well, and what is better to do myself.
- Some days I don't use it at all. Others, I run 3 concurrent sessions.
- Full automation is the now the frontier. Still discovering the ceiling.

Old friend at Breda University of Applied Sciences.

I had the honor of doing an impromptu guest lecture for some of their game dev students.

Friends in Amsterdam.

Workation here this week!

Old friends at Hazelight office!

Result of 2 months using code agents:
- Marginally more code produced
- More advanced solutions feel within scope
- Overall progress 50% slower, because I choose to go for those solutions. Will likely pay off?
- I miss coding “in the zone”
But I think I'm getting better...

Yeah. I chose a screen of that because it was my favorite. So beautiful.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, 60h

Fatigue prevented 100%-ing, but still happy to have experienced this incredible game. It proved me wrong on boss fights – In Silksong I love them. Reminding me of the best action animes - it feels like you enter a state of dance-like flow. Magnificent use of mastery.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, 13h

Wanted this one posted ahead of TGA. Really wonderful game – looks/sounds amazing and a fantastic take on the classic turn-based JRPG combat (normally not a fan). Very very good. My only complaint was some awkward dialog.

Keeper, 2h

I’ve never played as a Lighthouse (!) before. Wandering through spectacular visuals with some light puzzles have never been this weird. Huge congrats to on the release to my great friends @p1xelcoder.bsky.social , @devinks.bsky.social, and everyone else at Double Fine!

V Rising, 80h to defeating Dracula

I played this fantastically designed co-op combat/survival/base-builder with my kids in a self-hosted game. Borrows the great bosses-gate-progress from Valheim (also borrowed?), but with cleaner progression. Great combat and fun exploration.

Thanks!! Too bad we didn't run into each other later, to get that chance to finish our conversation! Next time!

Develop in Brighton was a blast! Enjoy this meta-selfie from the talk that I, Pete, and Kate did. Pete also got to accept the award for Best Audio in Indiana Jones and The Great Circle at the Star Awards! Lovely meeting all old and new friends and I hope to be back soon again!

Beautiful morning run in Brighton, on the first day of the Develop Conference . If you're here, come see our talk in less than 2 hours!

Grow a Garden, 1h

Tried the holder of the “11 million concurrent players” record. It felt very similar to other Roblox tycoon games with exponential resource growth, pets, events, and microtransactions. I don’t get it.

The Alters, 27h to corporate ending

This game makes 11 Bit Studios a legendary developer for me. Building on what made This War of Mine great with a strange and fascinating story to discover. Survival base-buildings with deep psychological undertones have never been this fun!

Drop Duchy, 11h to third faction

Tetris gameplay paired with a strategic deck-builder and rouge-like structure. I always enjoy a bit of Tetris, but it's not a perfect fit with the rest of the gameplay – would have preferred turn-based. But it is still novel and quite enjoyable.

South of Midnight, 9h to credits

I was about to move on from this game when the story went very surprisingly dark. This was the edge it needed for me to continue. Beautiful game, cool characters, and fascinating folklore. Less fan of the combat somewhat shoehorned into the game.

I somehow missed this the first time around. The classic LucasArts adventures were a huge part of what inspired me to become a game developer, so seeing a game I’ve poured so much of myself into reimagined in that style genuinely brought tears of joy.

Wartales, 19h to second area
Great turn-based medieval tactics game. I tried Battle Brothers some time back but didn’t get into it. Wartales’ presentation made a difference. Initially thought it was a procedural world, but it’s not with its fun small story quests. Bought the DLC.

Maybe. Played a couple of rounds but progress have been slow. Will probably try a bit more.

Blue Prince, 28h to credits

Blue Prince is amazing. A Narrative Puzzle on par with Outer Wilds, one of my favorite games ever. It takes a bit to get going but each layer you reveal makes it more and more fascinating. My 12yo was note-keeper. He needed the practice. :D

Backpack Hero, 11h

Roguelike puzzle-strategy dungeon crawler + light city builder that borrows from great games like Moonlighter and Slay the Spire. Great loop and huge upgrade tree in-between. I lost clear sense of progress 5h in, but still fantastic game for a long flight.

Excited for the Switch 2 reveal today!

Friends at @wrongorgan.bsky.social of Mouthwashing fame!

Very nice! Finished on maybe 5th attempt. Score of 240. Didn't realize there was a shop until 4th attempt :D

Dragon Sweeper, 3h to perfect score
A fantasy reimagination of Minesweeper made by one of my favorite indie-devs Daniel Benmergui. It adds enemies and XP. To improve your chances, you need to figure how each enemy works. Playable in the browser: danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper

Friends at Hazelight's Split Fiction's gala premiere Yesterday. Great fun! Very much looking forward to playing the game!

Baldur’s Gate 3, 6h

I'm a bit embarrassed I failed to get hooked on last year’s GOTY winner. It just felt a bit cumbersome. I love turn-based combat, but it’s was too much to manage here. Maybe I should have played on PC. Then again, Baldur’s Gate 1&2 never clicked for me either.

Does it really?