Mark Sabalauskas
@marksab.bsky.social
Indie tabletop RPG designer, zine publisher
I wrote Return to the Stars, a science fiction RPG, which helps players create their own stories in an optimistic space opera setting. #hopepunk
I wrote Return to the Stars, a science fiction RPG, which helps players create their own stories in an optimistic space opera setting. #hopepunk
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
I project (or just hope?) that the cultural distaste for minimalist games with maximalist art is going to help bring back maximalist games that look like phone books. GURPS is back baby! All aboard THE CRUNCH TRAIN
One of these days, the universe of RPGs is going to collapse in on itself in a pinpoint singularity, collapsed to destruction under the critical mass of "Borg" games
September 22, 2026 at 3:12 PM
I project (or just hope?) that the cultural distaste for minimalist games with maximalist art is going to help bring back maximalist games that look like phone books. GURPS is back baby! All aboard THE CRUNCH TRAIN
It isn't just that Honda favors an ensemble cast; it’s that he resists the “hero's journey saving a cat” schtick.
Read the full article: Atragon and the Ghost of Empire
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/04/29/atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire/?utm_campaign=atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire&utm_medium=soc
Read the full article: Atragon and the Ghost of Empire
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/04/29/atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire/?utm_campaign=atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire&utm_medium=soc
festive.ninja
September 21, 2026 at 3:52 AM
It isn't just that Honda favors an ensemble cast; it’s that he resists the “hero's journey saving a cat” schtick.
Read the full article: Atragon and the Ghost of Empire
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/04/29/atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire/?utm_campaign=atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire&utm_medium=soc
Read the full article: Atragon and the Ghost of Empire
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/04/29/atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire/?utm_campaign=atragon-and-the-ghost-of-empire&utm_medium=soc
Spielberg and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond fill the frame with head-on flares, hard silhouettes, backlit windows, and curtains of dust, smoke, and fog — all of it hinting at something vast just past the edge of what we can make out
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/06/20/how-close-encount
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/06/20/how-close-encount
festive.ninja
September 21, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Spielberg and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond fill the frame with head-on flares, hard silhouettes, backlit windows, and curtains of dust, smoke, and fog — all of it hinting at something vast just past the edge of what we can make out
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/06/20/how-close-encount
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/06/20/how-close-encount
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
If you've enjoyed the extensive D&D product histories we published with Designers and Dragons Origins, you might also like this history of Traveller that @shannonappelcline.bsky.social wrote. Deal of the Day today. 👇 🔥
This is Free Trader Beowulf
40% off today only.
#ad www.drivethrufiction.com/en/product/4...
The history of the #Traveller TTRPG
40% off today only.
#ad www.drivethrufiction.com/en/product/4...
The history of the #Traveller TTRPG
September 20, 2026 at 1:03 AM
If you've enjoyed the extensive D&D product histories we published with Designers and Dragons Origins, you might also like this history of Traveller that @shannonappelcline.bsky.social wrote. Deal of the Day today. 👇 🔥
Great art is often born from an artist’s pure hostility toward their own era.Case in point: Alex Cox’s 1984 debut, Repo Man.
Read the full article: Repo Man (1984): The Anatomy of a Cult Classic
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man
Read the full article: Repo Man (1984): The Anatomy of a Cult Classic
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man
September 19, 2026 at 3:42 AM
Great art is often born from an artist’s pure hostility toward their own era.Case in point: Alex Cox’s 1984 debut, Repo Man.
Read the full article: Repo Man (1984): The Anatomy of a Cult Classic
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man
Read the full article: Repo Man (1984): The Anatomy of a Cult Classic
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man
"While it tells a brilliant story about trauma and survivor’s guilt, it also quietly sweeps the brutal reality of Japan’s own wartime atrocities under the rug." https://festive.ninja/2026/07/15/the-godzilla-film-that-confronted-japans-darkest-history/?utm_campaign=the-godzilla-film-that-confronted-j
September 18, 2026 at 3:10 AM
"While it tells a brilliant story about trauma and survivor’s guilt, it also quietly sweeps the brutal reality of Japan’s own wartime atrocities under the rug." https://festive.ninja/2026/07/15/the-godzilla-film-that-confronted-japans-darkest-history/?utm_campaign=the-godzilla-film-that-confronted-j
"The battered warship Odysseus and his crew use to weather the churning Aegean is a sea-faring vessel crashing through actual waves" https://festive.ninja/2026/08/12/practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-christopher-nolans-the-odyssey/?utm_campaign=practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-c
September 18, 2026 at 1:57 AM
"The battered warship Odysseus and his crew use to weather the churning Aegean is a sea-faring vessel crashing through actual waves" https://festive.ninja/2026/08/12/practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-christopher-nolans-the-odyssey/?utm_campaign=practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-c
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
My heart sinks when people use dementia as a device to make fun of someone.
Stop.
For many of us, we are watching similar things happen in our own lives and it's not pleasant. Our hearts break everyday.
Stop.
For many of us, we are watching similar things happen in our own lives and it's not pleasant. Our hearts break everyday.
September 15, 2026 at 3:01 AM
My heart sinks when people use dementia as a device to make fun of someone.
Stop.
For many of us, we are watching similar things happen in our own lives and it's not pleasant. Our hearts break everyday.
Stop.
For many of us, we are watching similar things happen in our own lives and it's not pleasant. Our hearts break everyday.
Which film actually captures the energy of a music scene without turning into a formulaic rise-and-fall biopic? For me, it's 24 Hour Party People. Vlog here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Yh...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Yh...
How 24 Hour Party People Captured The Geniuses, Hustlers, and Fools of Factory Records
YouTube video by Mark Loves Films
www.youtube.com
September 9, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Which film actually captures the energy of a music scene without turning into a formulaic rise-and-fall biopic? For me, it's 24 Hour Party People. Vlog here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Yh...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Yh...
Jennifer Yu is excellent as Daisy, providing a pragmatic, clear-headed foil to the Kao family’s dysfunction.
Read the full article: Farce Meets Trauma: A Review of Double Happiness (2026)
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/03/13/farce-meets-trauma-a-review-of-double-happiness-2026/?utm_campaign=farce
Read the full article: Farce Meets Trauma: A Review of Double Happiness (2026)
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/03/13/farce-meets-trauma-a-review-of-double-happiness-2026/?utm_campaign=farce
September 9, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Jennifer Yu is excellent as Daisy, providing a pragmatic, clear-headed foil to the Kao family’s dysfunction.
Read the full article: Farce Meets Trauma: A Review of Double Happiness (2026)
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/03/13/farce-meets-trauma-a-review-of-double-happiness-2026/?utm_campaign=farce
Read the full article: Farce Meets Trauma: A Review of Double Happiness (2026)
▸ https://festive.ninja/2026/03/13/farce-meets-trauma-a-review-of-double-happiness-2026/?utm_campaign=farce
"It demands a specific cultural literacy; to truly “get” many of the jokes, one must recognize the classical references being mocked and the particular, rhythmic cadence of the Hong Kong vernacular." https://lttr.ai/AsZ2C
September 7, 2026 at 12:12 AM
"It demands a specific cultural literacy; to truly “get” many of the jokes, one must recognize the classical references being mocked and the particular, rhythmic cadence of the Hong Kong vernacular." https://lttr.ai/AsZ2C
Released months before Ronald Reagan’s landslide re-election, this sci-fi slice of low-life is a punk rock howl against the hollow consumerism and nuclear paranoia of the 1980s.
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man-1984-th
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man-1984-th
September 3, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Released months before Ronald Reagan’s landslide re-election, this sci-fi slice of low-life is a punk rock howl against the hollow consumerism and nuclear paranoia of the 1980s.
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man-1984-th
Read more 👉 https://festive.ninja/2026/07/01/repo-man-1984-the-anatomy-of-a-cult-classic/?utm_campaign=repo-man-1984-th
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
A4a: First, I’m going to share an article I wrote about creating a 150-page(!) style sheet for Blue Planet: Recontact, a 600-page TTRPG. www.linkedin.com/pulse/gettin... #StetChat 1/2
September 2, 2026 at 8:22 PM
A4a: First, I’m going to share an article I wrote about creating a 150-page(!) style sheet for Blue Planet: Recontact, a 600-page TTRPG. www.linkedin.com/pulse/gettin... #StetChat 1/2
No villain. No epic battle of the bands. No epiphanies. Linda Linda Linda refuses every trope of the high school music film—and that’s exactly why it works.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8Q...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8Q...
Ozu Meets Linklater: The Observational Hangout Realism of 'Linda Linda Linda'
YouTube video by Mark Loves Films
www.youtube.com
September 2, 2026 at 7:27 PM
No villain. No epic battle of the bands. No epiphanies. Linda Linda Linda refuses every trope of the high school music film—and that’s exactly why it works.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8Q...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP8Q...
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
...it's always spooky season if you're twisted enough.
discover the things that lurk in the shadows:
evilhat.com/product-cate...
discover the things that lurk in the shadows:
evilhat.com/product-cate...
September 2, 2026 at 4:16 PM
...it's always spooky season if you're twisted enough.
discover the things that lurk in the shadows:
evilhat.com/product-cate...
discover the things that lurk in the shadows:
evilhat.com/product-cate...
"Unlike typical kaiju protagonists who passively stumble into the plot, work for a faceless government agency, or rely on magical psychic abilities, Yuri actively and dangerously forces herself into the narrative." https://festive.ninja/2026/07/15/the-godzilla-film-that-confronted-japans-darkest-his
September 2, 2026 at 3:20 AM
"Unlike typical kaiju protagonists who passively stumble into the plot, work for a faceless government agency, or rely on magical psychic abilities, Yuri actively and dangerously forces herself into the narrative." https://festive.ninja/2026/07/15/the-godzilla-film-that-confronted-japans-darkest-his
"Traditional IMAX film cameras are immensely heavy, and roar like chainsaws, making them completely impractical for quiet interiors." https://festive.ninja/2026/08/12/practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-christopher-nolans-the-odyssey/?utm_campaign=practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-
September 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
"Traditional IMAX film cameras are immensely heavy, and roar like chainsaws, making them completely impractical for quiet interiors." https://festive.ninja/2026/08/12/practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-christopher-nolans-the-odyssey/?utm_campaign=practical-spectacle-modern-morals-reviewing-
ATTENTION CITIZENS: The Corp has deemed this message mandatory viewing. 🤖
Thrilled to announce that my short film, An Honest Message From Your Favorite Dystopian Corporation, is an Official Selection at the 2026 Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival! More details on screening times soon. End transmission. 📼
Thrilled to announce that my short film, An Honest Message From Your Favorite Dystopian Corporation, is an Official Selection at the 2026 Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival! More details on screening times soon. End transmission. 📼
August 31, 2026 at 3:08 PM
ATTENTION CITIZENS: The Corp has deemed this message mandatory viewing. 🤖
Thrilled to announce that my short film, An Honest Message From Your Favorite Dystopian Corporation, is an Official Selection at the 2026 Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival! More details on screening times soon. End transmission. 📼
Thrilled to announce that my short film, An Honest Message From Your Favorite Dystopian Corporation, is an Official Selection at the 2026 Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival! More details on screening times soon. End transmission. 📼
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
I'll be hosting this in less than two hours!
Join #StetSprint later today!
Pop in, say hi to your #edibuddies, and get work done during this focused, 1-hour coworking session at 3–4 p.m. ET / 12–1 p.m. PT.
Pop in, say hi to your #edibuddies, and get work done during this focused, 1-hour coworking session at 3–4 p.m. ET / 12–1 p.m. PT.
August 28, 2026 at 5:16 PM
I'll be hosting this in less than two hours!
Hollywood forgot how to make movies like The Mummy or The Rocketeer. Amazon’s Masters of the Universe isn't perfect, but it revives that Saturday-matinee escapism.
My full review:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Qm...
My full review:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Qm...
Masters of the Universe Review: The Return of the Saturday Matinee
YouTube video by Mark Loves Films
www.youtube.com
August 26, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Hollywood forgot how to make movies like The Mummy or The Rocketeer. Amazon’s Masters of the Universe isn't perfect, but it revives that Saturday-matinee escapism.
My full review:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Qm...
My full review:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Qm...
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
I'm excited to share that The Best Science Fiction of the Year: 2025 anthology will be published by Wyrm Publishing in November. Full details on my blog:
neil-clarke.com/next-install...
neil-clarke.com/next-install...
Next installment in the Best Science Fiction of the Year series – Neil Clarke
neil-clarke.com
August 25, 2026 at 11:41 PM
I'm excited to share that The Best Science Fiction of the Year: 2025 anthology will be published by Wyrm Publishing in November. Full details on my blog:
neil-clarke.com/next-install...
neil-clarke.com/next-install...
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
My short scifi story “Coda” from last year that was solicited by Future Tense Fiction Magazine has been selected for The Best Science Fiction of the Year 2025.
Super honored it was picked, I’m unsure of my ability to write super short and tend to write novellas so this was a really great surprise.
Super honored it was picked, I’m unsure of my ability to write super short and tend to write novellas so this was a really great surprise.
I'm excited to share that The Best Science Fiction of the Year: 2025 anthology will be published by Wyrm Publishing in November. Full details on my blog:
neil-clarke.com/next-install...
neil-clarke.com/next-install...
Next installment in the Best Science Fiction of the Year series – Neil Clarke
neil-clarke.com
August 25, 2026 at 11:48 PM
My short scifi story “Coda” from last year that was solicited by Future Tense Fiction Magazine has been selected for The Best Science Fiction of the Year 2025.
Super honored it was picked, I’m unsure of my ability to write super short and tend to write novellas so this was a really great surprise.
Super honored it was picked, I’m unsure of my ability to write super short and tend to write novellas so this was a really great surprise.
Preston Sturges created the title O Brother, Where Art Thou? for a fictional, self-important drama.
60 years later, the Coen Brothers stole it and proved great filmmaking doesn't need to take itself so seriously.
youtu.be/y7JWn6BByUw
60 years later, the Coen Brothers stole it and proved great filmmaking doesn't need to take itself so seriously.
youtu.be/y7JWn6BByUw
O Brother, Where Art Thou?: A Screwball Odyssey with Real Bite
YouTube video by Mark Loves Films
youtu.be
August 19, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Preston Sturges created the title O Brother, Where Art Thou? for a fictional, self-important drama.
60 years later, the Coen Brothers stole it and proved great filmmaking doesn't need to take itself so seriously.
youtu.be/y7JWn6BByUw
60 years later, the Coen Brothers stole it and proved great filmmaking doesn't need to take itself so seriously.
youtu.be/y7JWn6BByUw
Reposted by Mark Sabalauskas
In response to some conversations about high-volume crowdfundings, I spent some time pulling data from Kickstarter and Backerkit. If you set aside new editions, derivatives, and licensed games, the most successful original RPG crowdfunder by dollars is...Pumpkin Spice - A Magical Cozy RPG.
August 14, 2026 at 3:46 PM
In response to some conversations about high-volume crowdfundings, I spent some time pulling data from Kickstarter and Backerkit. If you set aside new editions, derivatives, and licensed games, the most successful original RPG crowdfunder by dollars is...Pumpkin Spice - A Magical Cozy RPG.
Memento, Inception, Oppenheimer, and now... The Odyssey? Nolan's career-long anxiety about the inadequacy of human memory bleeds into his newest film in some incredibly strange ways. Here is why his adaptation feels so uniquely "Nolan":
youtu.be/vkHCpxtInHo
youtu.be/vkHCpxtInHo
Practical Spectacle, Modern Morals: Reviewing Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
YouTube video by Mark Loves Films
youtu.be
August 12, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Memento, Inception, Oppenheimer, and now... The Odyssey? Nolan's career-long anxiety about the inadequacy of human memory bleeds into his newest film in some incredibly strange ways. Here is why his adaptation feels so uniquely "Nolan":
youtu.be/vkHCpxtInHo
youtu.be/vkHCpxtInHo