@wildbat
Software engineer/indie game dev. I started @synapticsugar.games and do programming, design, music. Former gameplay and AI programmer on Red Dead Redemption 2, Front Mission Evolved, GI Joe: the Rise of Cobra; backend engineer on Sony PlayStation Now; etc
You can also find Agents of Groove at the same price on itch as part of the Synaptic Sugar Spring Sale, alongside our LCD White Heavy font that is currently available for (66) mere pennies!
itch.io/s/180358/syn...
my @play.date game Cherry Hill is on sale for the Catalog Anniversary Sale along with tons of other wonderful games π«Ά thanks to everyone playing #playdate games, no matter what you're playing!!!
. έβ βΉ . έΛ . έ play.date/games/ . έβ βΉ . έΛ . έ
The Agents of Groove key art from the Catalog page, with five character silhouettes in front of a large disco ball and the stylized words "Agents of Groove" in the front. A tag in the upper left corner shows the normal price of $12 is discounted to $8, or 33% off. At the bottom are the words "Agents of Groove by Synaptic Sugar".
Pick up Agents of Groove for $8 during the #playdate Catalog Anniversary Sale! Dance, sneak, face off against your enemies and save the world alongside the undercover dancers of G.R.O.O.V.E. in this "charming and surprisingly diverse" rhythm game! πͺ©πΊ
π play.date/games/agents...
kill the imposter syndrome in you head because not only is there someone out there doing it worse than you, they're also using chat gpt to do it
Anyways.
ON SALE
There are over 200 games ON SALE in the ongoing Catalog Anniversary Sale. We'll be featuring different titles on the front page every day; you can also see them ALL here:
π·οΈ play.date/games/tags/o...
TOMORROW!
10 AM PT
π½π°οΈπ«
happy womens history month to all of the wonderful women and femmes in games. you are so loved and appreciated even when this industry continues to disrespect usπππ
I just want to make games, man
Story-driven rhythm game Agents of Groove will be 33% off during the #playdate Catalog Anniversary Sale as well! Great time to grab it if you've been on the fence (or if you haven't)! πͺ© πΊ
Attention people who think Stella is funny and cool (thatβs you, reading this) β With Stellaβs blessing I am organizing a fundraiser event (probably a livestream) to try and raise as much money as we can to replace the $24k that was stolen from her! Please DM me if youβd like to be involved!
AI-created art isn't eligible for copyright protection, after the Supreme Court chose not to review a lower court ruling.
In 2022 the Copyright Office said images without βhuman authorship,β don't qualify for copyright protection β this was affirmed in 2023 by a district court.
what a crazy night for sam altman to be like "yeah we got that dept of war deal, and there's no moral concerns here"
Congratulations to all the nominees for the 2025 Playdate Community Awards in the thread! π
The talk to your friends app and the witness the horrors app being the same app is not great for the mental health is it
Our 3rd Catalog Anniversary Sale is right around the corner ππ
200+ games will be on sale starting at 10 AM PST on March 5th β‘
Play the first level in Agents of Groove and unlock new custom emojis for #playdate voice messaging app helloyellow! Get both on Catalog or itch πͺ© πΊ
play.date/games/agents...
play.date/games/helloy...
synapticsugar.itch.io/agents-of-gr...
jonsimantov.itch.io/helloyellow
#gamedev #indiedev
so much this π―
if people want shorter games with worse graphics made with less work many exist but not enough people buy them for developers to be paid more (or even recoup costs)
similar to "there should be more variety in games" there's so much! gotta look for it! won't have CoD marketing budget
Don't underestimate how much this helps with mental health. It can give people the handhold they need to climb and peek out of a hole just enough to be able to deal with other issues, and start a chain of positive effects that will eventually make even the art you like better
Hey.
Tell people when they do good job.
When you like the stuff they make.
When you like the characters theyβve created.
The stories theyβve told.
Nobody hears it as often as you think bc everyone thinks everyone hears it all the time.
Trust. They donβt.
Tell. Them.
are there a lot of other industries where after a very successful project all the people post "it almost killed me and was driven past the brink of sanity that dark abyss beyond which light cannot reach and now im looking for work also check my linkedin"?
"the combat in classic jrpgs is bad all you do 99% of combats is mash attack"
yeah. its fucking chill bro. i dont want to have to pay attention and pull off epic clutch gamer wombo combos. i want to push button, defeat dude, get little xp treat, and occasionally enjoy some dialogue or cutscenes
Itβs actually terribly inefficient to have every employee spending 20% of their energy eying future employment prospects bc they donβt know if their job is more than 9 months of stable paychecks.
If youβre worried about the future of games, remember that your $ holds enormous sway. Support companies who actually care about the art and craft of making games, who put people first and value their employees & audiences. Support indies especially. The future doesnβt belong to greedy corporations
I'm still releasing updates for πͺ©πΊπ€π΄ββ οΈ but also prototyping γ°οΈππ‘βοΈ
It's really mind-boggling
Updating: it feels like this in 2026, too.
To paraphrase a friend: stay on the path, make good things. Indie has always flourished in the face of AAA distraction. Times are bad, but let others deskill, pivot to nonsense or chase impossible outcomes. People really like playing videogames. Suits forget that every 6 months or so.
So long, Phil Spencer. You will not be missed
aftermath.site/microsoft-xbox...
I don't want to "jump on a quick call", ever.
