Michael Pavone
@retrodev.com
Author of BlastEm, a high-performance accuracy focused emulator for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive: https://www.retrodev.com/blastem/
he/him
Build more housing!
Berkeley, CA
he/him
Build more housing!
Berkeley, CA
Pinned
BlastEm 1.0.0 Release Announcement
www.retrodev.com
I promised a new BlastEm release on September 11th... and it's still September 11th here in PST... by 16 minutes anyway. Presenting BlastEm 1.0.0 - supporting most of Sega's 16 and 8-bit hardware. It includes some new features and debugging improvements too www.retrodev.com/blastem/anno...
Reposted by Michael Pavone
I promised a new BlastEm release on September 11th... and it's still September 11th here in PST... by 16 minutes anyway. Presenting BlastEm 1.0.0 - supporting most of Sega's 16 and 8-bit hardware. It includes some new features and debugging improvements too www.retrodev.com/blastem/anno...
BlastEm 1.0.0 Release Announcement
www.retrodev.com
September 12, 2026 at 6:45 AM
I promised a new BlastEm release on September 11th... and it's still September 11th here in PST... by 16 minutes anyway. Presenting BlastEm 1.0.0 - supporting most of Sega's 16 and 8-bit hardware. It includes some new features and debugging improvements too www.retrodev.com/blastem/anno...
I promised a new BlastEm release on September 11th... and it's still September 11th here in PST... by 16 minutes anyway. Presenting BlastEm 1.0.0 - supporting most of Sega's 16 and 8-bit hardware. It includes some new features and debugging improvements too www.retrodev.com/blastem/anno...
BlastEm 1.0.0 Release Announcement
www.retrodev.com
September 12, 2026 at 6:45 AM
I promised a new BlastEm release on September 11th... and it's still September 11th here in PST... by 16 minutes anyway. Presenting BlastEm 1.0.0 - supporting most of Sega's 16 and 8-bit hardware. It includes some new features and debugging improvements too www.retrodev.com/blastem/anno...
Made some good progress on adding CHD support to BlastEm over the holiday weekend. Not integrated into the emulator yet, but I was able to decompress some CHDs (though only ones that use zlib and/or FLAC). Should be able to get it finished up in time for the 1.0 release on Friday
September 8, 2026 at 5:49 AM
Made some good progress on adding CHD support to BlastEm over the holiday weekend. Not integrated into the emulator yet, but I was able to decompress some CHDs (though only ones that use zlib and/or FLAC). Should be able to get it finished up in time for the 1.0 release on Friday
This is now a week away! I haven't done a lot to prepare since this last skeet, but I have taken both the 10th and the 11th off which should allow some time for last-minute fixes and improvements
In exactly 1 month, I'm going to release BlastEm 1.0! This will be the first "stable" release since 2019 and will mark exactly 13 years since the release of BlastEm 0.1.0. Compared to 0.6.2, this release adds support for Sega CD, 32X, Sega Pico, Yamaha Copera, Game Gear, SC-3000 and Colecovision
September 4, 2026 at 6:12 PM
This is now a week away! I haven't done a lot to prepare since this last skeet, but I have taken both the 10th and the 11th off which should allow some time for last-minute fixes and improvements
Man, I am so glad I built a new PC and splurged on 96GB of RAM back in April 2025. I was worried about tariffs and not shortages, but the timing worked out anyway.
August 31, 2026 at 4:01 AM
Man, I am so glad I built a new PC and splurged on 96GB of RAM back in April 2025. I was worried about tariffs and not shortages, but the timing worked out anyway.
Feels like every time I see a neat retro Sega project these days, once I look under the hood it's obvious it's AI generated. Latest example is a port of emuTOS to Mega CD. Not disclosed, but a quick look at PLAN.md in the repo makes it fairly obvious
August 24, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Feels like every time I see a neat retro Sega project these days, once I look under the hood it's obvious it's AI generated. Latest example is a port of emuTOS to Mega CD. Not disclosed, but a quick look at PLAN.md in the repo makes it fairly obvious
Reposted by Michael Pavone
If you want to support someone trying to make their childhood dream to publish a sega mega drive game and be successful at it then now is your chance ❤️ wishlist: store.steampowered.com/app/4909120/...
Chords on Steam
Chords is an authentic retro 16-bit cyberpunk visual novel. Dive into a twisting, deceptive story packed with pixel art, chiptune energy, and classic adventure vibes where nothing is quite what it see...
store.steampowered.com
August 23, 2026 at 10:56 PM
If you want to support someone trying to make their childhood dream to publish a sega mega drive game and be successful at it then now is your chance ❤️ wishlist: store.steampowered.com/app/4909120/...
I spent over 6 years of my life working on a game very loosely based on Waterworld. Over 7 years later, I'm finally watching the movie for the first time.
August 21, 2026 at 2:54 AM
I spent over 6 years of my life working on a game very loosely based on Waterworld. Over 7 years later, I'm finally watching the movie for the first time.
Reposted by Michael Pavone
It really is crazy that we need winq do-or-die election to keep Bay Area transit alive, all while the state's unelected DOT staffers pour billions into a sinking roadway.
What a misleading headline! The bill to "fix" CA-37 is $11 billion, as stated later in the article. $100M is just to widen a portion of a road that is already sinking under the waves.
Note you don't need to vote on CA-37. That's because the state will just spend the money. Imagine that for transit!
Note you don't need to vote on CA-37. That's because the state will just spend the money. Imagine that for transit!
Bay Area’s Highway 37 could be underwater by 2050. California could spend $100 million on a fix
California officials will weigh whether to invest $100 million in one of the Bay Area’s most ambitious transportation projects: the effort to raise a 21-mile highway before it sinks into the sea.
www.sfchronicle.com
August 19, 2026 at 5:49 AM
It really is crazy that we need winq do-or-die election to keep Bay Area transit alive, all while the state's unelected DOT staffers pour billions into a sinking roadway.
I've just been cursed with the knowledge that I live within a short walk of the "AI safety" sex cult headquarters...
Wait Lighthaven is the old Rose Garden Inn? My mom visited me years ago and stayed there. She LOVED that place. If she were still alive to hear all this I’m sure she’d have a good laugh and roll her eyes to the back of her head.
August 18, 2026 at 2:05 AM
I've just been cursed with the knowledge that I live within a short walk of the "AI safety" sex cult headquarters...
Reposted by Michael Pavone
Alright y'all, this is it! The final stretch for the game industry hardship fund. We've got $13k to raise in 14 hours to meet the final goal, I think we can do it. itch.io/b/3802/game-...
In response to the unprecedented number of game developers laid off this year, we have created a bundle on itch to benefit a Game Industry Hardship Fund, managed by @videogameworkers.bsky.social. More than 100 games for 10+ bucks! Please share widely and donate generously!
itch.io/b/3802/game-...
itch.io/b/3802/game-...
August 13, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Alright y'all, this is it! The final stretch for the game industry hardship fund. We've got $13k to raise in 14 hours to meet the final goal, I think we can do it. itch.io/b/3802/game-...
Shadow of the Colossus. It's a game with interesting ideas and was technically ambitious, but I did not enjoy it at all. Boss fights are usually the part of a game I like the least and it's basically just boss fights with long uneventful horse rides in between.
No hate, no dogpiling, just curious.
For me, it's Skyrim. Don't know why, considering it should be exactly my kind of game, but it just didn't click for me.
For me, it's Skyrim. Don't know why, considering it should be exactly my kind of game, but it just didn't click for me.
August 13, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Shadow of the Colossus. It's a game with interesting ideas and was technically ambitious, but I did not enjoy it at all. Boss fights are usually the part of a game I like the least and it's basically just boss fights with long uneventful horse rides in between.
In exactly 1 month, I'm going to release BlastEm 1.0! This will be the first "stable" release since 2019 and will mark exactly 13 years since the release of BlastEm 0.1.0. Compared to 0.6.2, this release adds support for Sega CD, 32X, Sega Pico, Yamaha Copera, Game Gear, SC-3000 and Colecovision
August 11, 2026 at 4:12 PM
In exactly 1 month, I'm going to release BlastEm 1.0! This will be the first "stable" release since 2019 and will mark exactly 13 years since the release of BlastEm 0.1.0. Compared to 0.6.2, this release adds support for Sega CD, 32X, Sega Pico, Yamaha Copera, Game Gear, SC-3000 and Colecovision
I don't really get the thesis behind the "SaaS-pocalypse". Like I get that certain types of software development might be uniquely under threat due to the ability to have an LLM quickly churn out code that does roughly what you want, but why SaaS specifically?
August 3, 2026 at 10:51 PM
I don't really get the thesis behind the "SaaS-pocalypse". Like I get that certain types of software development might be uniquely under threat due to the ability to have an LLM quickly churn out code that does roughly what you want, but why SaaS specifically?
Reposted by Michael Pavone
Tomorrow (Sat 8/1) at 4:30pm PDT during the Vintage Computer Festival West, I will be moderating a discussion and Q&A with Ron Wayne, the oft-forgotten third cofounder of Apple Computer. vcfed.org/events/vinta...
VCF West — Speakers – Vintage Computer Federation
vcfed.org
July 31, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Tomorrow (Sat 8/1) at 4:30pm PDT during the Vintage Computer Festival West, I will be moderating a discussion and Q&A with Ron Wayne, the oft-forgotten third cofounder of Apple Computer. vcfed.org/events/vinta...
Reposted by Michael Pavone
In response to the unprecedented number of game developers laid off this year, we have created a bundle on itch to benefit a Game Industry Hardship Fund, managed by @videogameworkers.bsky.social. More than 100 games for 10+ bucks! Please share widely and donate generously!
itch.io/b/3802/game-...
itch.io/b/3802/game-...
July 30, 2026 at 5:03 PM
In response to the unprecedented number of game developers laid off this year, we have created a bundle on itch to benefit a Game Industry Hardship Fund, managed by @videogameworkers.bsky.social. More than 100 games for 10+ bucks! Please share widely and donate generously!
itch.io/b/3802/game-...
itch.io/b/3802/game-...
I think if I had to name a villain for the woes of the game industry (beyond the obvious RAM shortage one), I would probably pick performance marketing. This is what drives the economics of the typical F2P game that represent an increasingly large share of industry revenue
July 23, 2026 at 4:20 PM
I think if I had to name a villain for the woes of the game industry (beyond the obvious RAM shortage one), I would probably pick performance marketing. This is what drives the economics of the typical F2P game that represent an increasingly large share of industry revenue
One of the downsides to hosting your own Bluesky PDS, is that when the server it's hosted on is unreachable you can't post to let people know that your server is down.
Anyway, my hosting provider suffered a DDOS over the weekend that took down the BlastEm website and my bsky PDS.
Anyway, my hosting provider suffered a DDOS over the weekend that took down the BlastEm website and my bsky PDS.
July 20, 2026 at 4:36 PM
One of the downsides to hosting your own Bluesky PDS, is that when the server it's hosted on is unreachable you can't post to let people know that your server is down.
Anyway, my hosting provider suffered a DDOS over the weekend that took down the BlastEm website and my bsky PDS.
Anyway, my hosting provider suffered a DDOS over the weekend that took down the BlastEm website and my bsky PDS.
Reposted by Michael Pavone
Small update on the Megadrive *rally game* ? I added sprites and did some optimization so CPU is still at 70% usage with a stable 60 fps. I'm a bit disappointed by the sprite width limit per-line. I wanted a lot more dense vegetation but it's not possible with sprites. I'll try other methods.
July 17, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Small update on the Megadrive *rally game* ? I added sprites and did some optimization so CPU is still at 70% usage with a stable 60 fps. I'm a bit disappointed by the sprite width limit per-line. I wanted a lot more dense vegetation but it's not possible with sprites. I'll try other methods.
Interesting that residential solar actually does so well here. I was under the impression it was kind of marginal and maybe in comparison to utility-scale it is, but $3.86 of benefit for each dollar isn't bad. Also surprised weatherization is the only one that's worse than break-even return.
EVs are the marquee climate subsidy. They also have one of the lowest returns per dollar spent.
New MVPF analysis: wind production tax credits deliver $5.87 in social benefit per $1 spent. Residential solar: $3.86. EV subsidies: $1.45.
New MVPF analysis: wind production tax credits deliver $5.87 in social benefit per $1 spent. Residential solar: $3.86. EV subsidies: $1.45.
July 9, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Interesting that residential solar actually does so well here. I was under the impression it was kind of marginal and maybe in comparison to utility-scale it is, but $3.86 of benefit for each dollar isn't bad. Also surprised weatherization is the only one that's worse than break-even return.
This feels relevant again in light of today's sad Xbox news. I don't know if 1 billion DAU across all Xbox properties is actually realistic, but people comparing it to Steam and WoW's DAU sound like they're ignoring the mobile game elephant in the room.
One thing that bothers me a bit about state of the game industry discourse is it often treats the mobile market like it doesn't exist despite it making up over half of industry revenue. You don't have to like it (I sure don't), but hard to have a good picture of what's happening if you ignore it.
July 6, 2026 at 8:20 PM
This feels relevant again in light of today's sad Xbox news. I don't know if 1 billion DAU across all Xbox properties is actually realistic, but people comparing it to Steam and WoW's DAU sound like they're ignoring the mobile game elephant in the room.
I would totally watch this anime
NOW PRESENTING
ON THE OCCASION OF
IT’S 250th ANNIVERSARY:
THE HISTORY OF AMERICA
(as told in Japan in 1851):
ON THE OCCASION OF
IT’S 250th ANNIVERSARY:
THE HISTORY OF AMERICA
(as told in Japan in 1851):
July 4, 2026 at 8:13 PM
I would totally watch this anime
One thing that bothers me a bit about state of the game industry discourse is it often treats the mobile market like it doesn't exist despite it making up over half of industry revenue. You don't have to like it (I sure don't), but hard to have a good picture of what's happening if you ignore it.
July 2, 2026 at 5:09 PM
One thing that bothers me a bit about state of the game industry discourse is it often treats the mobile market like it doesn't exist despite it making up over half of industry revenue. You don't have to like it (I sure don't), but hard to have a good picture of what's happening if you ignore it.
Reposted by Michael Pavone
Standup by Sooz Kempner
July 2, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Standup by Sooz Kempner
Reposted by Michael Pavone
5-4 for what it explicitly says in the constitution is incredible. They were this close to undoing the civil war entirely. bsky.app/profile/mjsd...
The Supreme Court strikes down Trump's attack on birthright citizenship. By a 5–4 vote, it holds that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to children born of unauthorized and temporary immigrants. Roberts and Barrett join the three liberals. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
June 30, 2026 at 2:40 PM
5-4 for what it explicitly says in the constitution is incredible. They were this close to undoing the civil war entirely. bsky.app/profile/mjsd...