James B. Jones
@jamesbjones.com
Award-winning video game wordslinger | not-so-award-winning author | Oxford comma enthusiast | baseball nut | son of Detroit | DMs [regrettably] Open
Every single tech and car influencer who has been duped by Elon Musk's "flying car" should have their channels forcibly deleted.
October 16, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Every single tech and car influencer who has been duped by Elon Musk's "flying car" should have their channels forcibly deleted.
Reposted by James B. Jones
Xogot might be reason enough to justify an iPad Pro.
Holy damn this thing rules.
Holy damn this thing rules.
October 16, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Xogot might be reason enough to justify an iPad Pro.
Holy damn this thing rules.
Holy damn this thing rules.
Milwaukee, you beautiful bastards.
October 16, 2026 at 3:10 AM
Milwaukee, you beautiful bastards.
Reposted by James B. Jones
The Internet exhausts me.
Navigating Social Media is Like Living in an Apartment Made Out of Flesh-Eating Bacteria, S22E49:
www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/meta...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/meta...
Meta’s new commercial terms will allow the scraping of news sites, legal experts say
Starting October 30, business accounts will consent to Meta scraping their websites if they continue using Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp.
www.niemanlab.org
October 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM
The Internet exhausts me.
All things con it is very funny that Starlink is looking for a Comms person and I pity the poor soul who lands that gig.
October 15, 2026 at 5:59 PM
All things con it is very funny that Starlink is looking for a Comms person and I pity the poor soul who lands that gig.
Reposted by James B. Jones
Kinda burying the lede here
![Encounter wrote that the use of AI in the community has sped things up to the point where it has become overwhelming to track human-led projects, and people using AI have taken existing, human-led AI projects and have created “hostile forks” of them, where open-source code written by humans is taken and “finished” by AI: “These kinds of hostile forks put little to no effort into meaningfully contributing to existing projects, tearing apart our community fabric.” Encounter added, “anyone with an AI subscription can manage to create a port or static recompilation that functions at a basic level […] While community members put in the effort to decompile a game, opportunists have frequently raced to release a half-baked, barely-functional port from it.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:uypytbqy5palhmhbvvezgrww/bafkreife2edakbopwh7j77uxygurkeflnlnruu2xrvktyfixuyh2ndxg34)
October 15, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Kinda burying the lede here
I have not worked with Nessa, but I have played a few of the projects her fingerprints are on. If I had the money to throw at her to do narrative on a project, A.) hooray for me, I won the lottery, and B.) I'd do it instantly and feel confident in what I'm paying for.
Hire her. She knows her stuff.
Hire her. She knows her stuff.
I’m Nessa! I’m a video game writer/narrative designer with 6+ years of freelance experience on 10+ shipped titles, including Borderlands 4 and Star Wars: Galactic Racer ✨
I’m looking for new projects, so if you’re looking for narrative on your project, check out my website: www.nessacannon.com
I’m looking for new projects, so if you’re looking for narrative on your project, check out my website: www.nessacannon.com
October 15, 2026 at 4:50 PM
I have not worked with Nessa, but I have played a few of the projects her fingerprints are on. If I had the money to throw at her to do narrative on a project, A.) hooray for me, I won the lottery, and B.) I'd do it instantly and feel confident in what I'm paying for.
Hire her. She knows her stuff.
Hire her. She knows her stuff.
Reposted by James B. Jones
After consulting with various AI agents, Epic Games announced it plans to improve on its homegrown storefront by getting rid of it.
paletteswap.site/dif...
paletteswap.site/dif...
October 14, 2026 at 8:09 PM
After consulting with various AI agents, Epic Games announced it plans to improve on its homegrown storefront by getting rid of it.
paletteswap.site/dif...
paletteswap.site/dif...
Maybe it’s because I am particularly sensitive to the matter because of my own circumstances, but I have yet to see any game studio, anywhere, justify a “return to offive” mandate.
Honestly, these RTO orders just feel like a way for a company to try and do a soft layoff without paying severances.
Honestly, these RTO orders just feel like a way for a company to try and do a soft layoff without paying severances.
"This is your crisis, this is your failure:" Inside the global battle to preserve remote working at Ubisoft
The Assassin's Creed publisher wants all employees to work in-office five days per week, but unions in Milan and Montreal have mobilised in defiance
The Assassin's Creed publisher wants all employees to work in-office five days per week, but unions in Milan and Montreal have mobilised in defiance
"This is your crisis, this is your failure:" Inside the global battle to preserve remote working at Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft wants all employees to work in-office five days per week, but unions in Milan and Montreal have mobilised in defiance.
www.verticalslice.news
October 15, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Maybe it’s because I am particularly sensitive to the matter because of my own circumstances, but I have yet to see any game studio, anywhere, justify a “return to offive” mandate.
Honestly, these RTO orders just feel like a way for a company to try and do a soft layoff without paying severances.
Honestly, these RTO orders just feel like a way for a company to try and do a soft layoff without paying severances.
Reposted by James B. Jones
South Asian racism has gotten so much worse than anyone wants to speak about on the internet as a whole, but especially on Twitter.
This studio put out a really beautiful game about our culture, and you can help support them by following on here so they don't have to have to use twitter anymore!
This studio put out a really beautiful game about our culture, and you can help support them by following on here so they don't have to have to use twitter anymore!
We're Visai Games! 👋
We made Venba, an award winning narrative cooking game.
As outsiders to the industry, we found our following in twitter but logging into it now means coming face to face with a lot of South Asian racism.
If you like Venba, Follow us here so we don't have to login to twitter!
We made Venba, an award winning narrative cooking game.
As outsiders to the industry, we found our following in twitter but logging into it now means coming face to face with a lot of South Asian racism.
If you like Venba, Follow us here so we don't have to login to twitter!
October 14, 2026 at 9:46 PM
South Asian racism has gotten so much worse than anyone wants to speak about on the internet as a whole, but especially on Twitter.
This studio put out a really beautiful game about our culture, and you can help support them by following on here so they don't have to have to use twitter anymore!
This studio put out a really beautiful game about our culture, and you can help support them by following on here so they don't have to have to use twitter anymore!
Reposted by James B. Jones
There is no fucking way I'm comfortable putting payment information into a vibe-coded storefront.
October 14, 2026 at 4:56 PM
There is no fucking way I'm comfortable putting payment information into a vibe-coded storefront.
The more that I think about that Epic Launcher blog (and I cannot stop thinking about it), the more I wonder if it is actually, without hyperbole, the worst piece of corporate communication I've ever seen.
If it had been written by a human, I'd say that said human absolutely hates their employer.
If it had been written by a human, I'd say that said human absolutely hates their employer.
October 14, 2026 at 7:28 PM
The more that I think about that Epic Launcher blog (and I cannot stop thinking about it), the more I wonder if it is actually, without hyperbole, the worst piece of corporate communication I've ever seen.
If it had been written by a human, I'd say that said human absolutely hates their employer.
If it had been written by a human, I'd say that said human absolutely hates their employer.
How in the hell are you going to boast about your vibe coded launcher booting faster than Steam when the webpage you need to access to download said launcher barely fuckin' loads?
Also, Steam only takes 10.07 seconds to boot up if you're counting the time it takes to boot from BIOS. Spare me.
Also, Steam only takes 10.07 seconds to boot up if you're counting the time it takes to boot from BIOS. Spare me.
October 14, 2026 at 5:18 PM
How in the hell are you going to boast about your vibe coded launcher booting faster than Steam when the webpage you need to access to download said launcher barely fuckin' loads?
Also, Steam only takes 10.07 seconds to boot up if you're counting the time it takes to boot from BIOS. Spare me.
Also, Steam only takes 10.07 seconds to boot up if you're counting the time it takes to boot from BIOS. Spare me.
Folks realize that Xbox Labs is just AI R&D, right?
It's important to me that people understand this.
It's important to me that people understand this.
Xbox announces Xbox Labs to explore 'emerging technologies' www.gematsu.com/2026/10/xbox...
Xbox announces Xbox Labs to explore ’emerging technologies’
Xbox has announced Xbox Labs, a new initiative focused on exploring ’emerging technologies’ and their potential applications in video games.
www.gematsu.com
October 14, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Folks realize that Xbox Labs is just AI R&D, right?
It's important to me that people understand this.
It's important to me that people understand this.
Reposted by James B. Jones
And now it's live!
Poly Fighter is officially available in Early Access on Steam.
store.steampowered.com/app/3977340/...
Shares are very appreciated!
And if you jump in today and enjoy it, leaving a Steam review would help us tremendously!
Thank you so much! ♥♥♥
Poly Fighter is officially available in Early Access on Steam.
store.steampowered.com/app/3977340/...
Shares are very appreciated!
And if you jump in today and enjoy it, leaving a Steam review would help us tremendously!
Thank you so much! ♥♥♥
October 13, 2026 at 5:23 PM
And now it's live!
Poly Fighter is officially available in Early Access on Steam.
store.steampowered.com/app/3977340/...
Shares are very appreciated!
And if you jump in today and enjoy it, leaving a Steam review would help us tremendously!
Thank you so much! ♥♥♥
Poly Fighter is officially available in Early Access on Steam.
store.steampowered.com/app/3977340/...
Shares are very appreciated!
And if you jump in today and enjoy it, leaving a Steam review would help us tremendously!
Thank you so much! ♥♥♥
I love this so damn much.
The Cartoon Network leak revealed that the team actually wrote fake interviews for the Powerpuff Girls in-house so that the writers could understand them better and honestly this is incredibly useful for learning how to characterize your characters holy shit
October 13, 2026 at 9:30 PM
I love this so damn much.
I'd bet real money (saying that part because I'm not about to go digging for data on a work day) that people say that their taxes are too high because they don't really see their tax dollars at work (roads are shit, schools are underfunded, etc.).
Combine that with a bad economy... yeah.
Combine that with a bad economy... yeah.
Same survey found that Democrats like socialism, but think taxes are too high.
agglomerations.eig.org/p/american-w...
agglomerations.eig.org/p/american-w...
October 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I'd bet real money (saying that part because I'm not about to go digging for data on a work day) that people say that their taxes are too high because they don't really see their tax dollars at work (roads are shit, schools are underfunded, etc.).
Combine that with a bad economy... yeah.
Combine that with a bad economy... yeah.
Reposted by James B. Jones
Answering a question on genAI with "I don't use genAI. I'm good at my job" is quite the buzz.
October 13, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Answering a question on genAI with "I don't use genAI. I'm good at my job" is quite the buzz.
I open Slack? AI.
I open Confluence? AI.
I open Word? AI.
I wanna smack somebody.
I open Confluence? AI.
I open Word? AI.
I wanna smack somebody.
October 13, 2026 at 3:16 PM
I open Slack? AI.
I open Confluence? AI.
I open Word? AI.
I wanna smack somebody.
I open Confluence? AI.
I open Word? AI.
I wanna smack somebody.
Time to dial that Curb Your Enthusiasm theme ("Frolic" by Luciano Michelini) up to eleven for this one.
GOP ad buyer mixes up Portlands, spends money meant to help Maine Sen. Susan Collins in Oregon
An outside group mistakenly spent nearly $25,000 to boost Collins in Portland, Oregon, rather than Portland, Maine. The buyer admitted to the error and refunded the PAC.
www.nbcnews.com
October 12, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Time to dial that Curb Your Enthusiasm theme ("Frolic" by Luciano Michelini) up to eleven for this one.
This is fuckin' dope.
I also want Vertical Slice to evolve beyond the confines of a traditional paper. That's why I'm launching The Repository, a growing (free) collection of pitch decks and design docs donated by generous contributors including @kitfoxgames.com, @outersloth.com, and @outerloopgames.bsky.social.
Welcome to The Repository: A burgeoning (totally free) treasure trove of dev documents
Sharing is caring.
www.verticalslice.news
October 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM
This is fuckin' dope.
Unity, my dudes... y'all had JUST started to turn the corner from the runtime fiasco... 🤦
NEW: Unity is automatically opting Asset Store creators into supporting its generative AI platform, Unity Spark, via a process called 'itemisation.'
One dev told me the process should be "opt-in instead of opt-out" and said they are firmly against genAI.
www.verticalslice.news/unity-opting...
One dev told me the process should be "opt-in instead of opt-out" and said they are firmly against genAI.
www.verticalslice.news/unity-opting...
Unity opting Asset Store creators into new generative AI platform by default
"I'm firmly against AI and I won't use Unity Spark ever, so I am not okay with them using my assets for this."
www.verticalslice.news
October 12, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Unity, my dudes... y'all had JUST started to turn the corner from the runtime fiasco... 🤦