James O’Hara
@jamespoiv.bsky.social
Writer & Narrative Designer based in Los Angeles, CA | Nightland Studios
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Screenwriting and film background, currently undertaking my first solo dev game project under Nightland Studios
www.jamespohara.com
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Screenwriting and film background, currently undertaking my first solo dev game project under Nightland Studios
www.jamespohara.com
Started playing Marathon over the weekend. What a fully realized, immersive, and rich sensory experience! #marathon #cyberpunk
May 13, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Started playing Marathon over the weekend. What a fully realized, immersive, and rich sensory experience! #marathon #cyberpunk
Reposted by James O’Hara
sculpting timelapse
February 26, 2026 at 3:45 PM
sculpting timelapse
I also tried playing Escape the Backrooms but I was solo and only made it about 15 minutes it was so tense
February 17, 2026 at 5:50 PM
I also tried playing Escape the Backrooms but I was solo and only made it about 15 minutes it was so tense
Played some gems this weekend, starting with "Iron Lung" (great premise), down a rabbit hole into "The Exit 8," an amazing example of lean game design (one hallway with many variables), then "Pools" which was so good I bought it after playing the demo.
February 17, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Played some gems this weekend, starting with "Iron Lung" (great premise), down a rabbit hole into "The Exit 8," an amazing example of lean game design (one hallway with many variables), then "Pools" which was so good I bought it after playing the demo.
Reposted by James O’Hara
Things I don’t particularly enjoy: wrapping gifts
February 14, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Things I don’t particularly enjoy: wrapping gifts
Knight of the seven kingdoms: excellent so far
February 7, 2026 at 3:53 AM
Knight of the seven kingdoms: excellent so far
Four episodes into Nicolas Winding Refn’s Too Old to Die Young.
Why have I been sleeping on this? This is great directorial tv.
That said, I’m surprised he got the money to do this story and edit it like he did. Loving it…
#toooldtodieyoung
Why have I been sleeping on this? This is great directorial tv.
That said, I’m surprised he got the money to do this story and edit it like he did. Loving it…
#toooldtodieyoung
January 30, 2026 at 4:34 AM
Four episodes into Nicolas Winding Refn’s Too Old to Die Young.
Why have I been sleeping on this? This is great directorial tv.
That said, I’m surprised he got the money to do this story and edit it like he did. Loving it…
#toooldtodieyoung
Why have I been sleeping on this? This is great directorial tv.
That said, I’m surprised he got the money to do this story and edit it like he did. Loving it…
#toooldtodieyoung
Boy, what a year. I don't think I've ever worked as hard for a sustained period as I did in 2025. I could weep
December 29, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Boy, what a year. I don't think I've ever worked as hard for a sustained period as I did in 2025. I could weep
Reposted by James O’Hara
Voidlight: A rules-bright sci-fi horror dungeon crawl where your only safety is a beam of light that shrinks every ten minutes.
farirpgs.itch.io/voidlight
farirpgs.itch.io/voidlight
November 25, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Voidlight: A rules-bright sci-fi horror dungeon crawl where your only safety is a beam of light that shrinks every ten minutes.
farirpgs.itch.io/voidlight
farirpgs.itch.io/voidlight
Glad to dive back into unreal after these last writing focused months. Going to start back in with some small ambient scenes.
#unrealengine #narrativedesign
#unrealengine #narrativedesign
November 18, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Glad to dive back into unreal after these last writing focused months. Going to start back in with some small ambient scenes.
#unrealengine #narrativedesign
#unrealengine #narrativedesign
Another a forgiving notion: making time for idleness is also essential for creative work.
#writingnotes
#writingnotes
November 17, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Another a forgiving notion: making time for idleness is also essential for creative work.
#writingnotes
#writingnotes
Friendly reminder, from someone who struggles with guilt as it relates to productivity: social engagement (networking, even gently) can also count as work and is part of the creative job.
#writing #notes #narrativedesign
#writing #notes #narrativedesign
November 17, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Friendly reminder, from someone who struggles with guilt as it relates to productivity: social engagement (networking, even gently) can also count as work and is part of the creative job.
#writing #notes #narrativedesign
#writing #notes #narrativedesign
Okay -- I'd even take a tenth 😆 (2/2)
November 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Okay -- I'd even take a tenth 😆 (2/2)
Also played through Still Wakes Deep over the weekend (it's been raining in LA).
Incredible visually, very cinematic. The level/atmosphere design is tip-top.
Now, if I could manage to apply, let's say, a fifth of that artistry in my own application in Unreal...
#stillwakesdeep #unreal #narrative
Incredible visually, very cinematic. The level/atmosphere design is tip-top.
Now, if I could manage to apply, let's say, a fifth of that artistry in my own application in Unreal...
#stillwakesdeep #unreal #narrative
November 17, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Also played through Still Wakes Deep over the weekend (it's been raining in LA).
Incredible visually, very cinematic. The level/atmosphere design is tip-top.
Now, if I could manage to apply, let's say, a fifth of that artistry in my own application in Unreal...
#stillwakesdeep #unreal #narrative
Incredible visually, very cinematic. The level/atmosphere design is tip-top.
Now, if I could manage to apply, let's say, a fifth of that artistry in my own application in Unreal...
#stillwakesdeep #unreal #narrative
Playing What Remains of Edith Finch and admiring how (so far) each bedroom serves as a vivid character portrait without any onscreen characters.
If you need an example of character design done through environmental storytelling, this has it.
#characterdesign #environmentalstorytelling
If you need an example of character design done through environmental storytelling, this has it.
#characterdesign #environmentalstorytelling
November 17, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Playing What Remains of Edith Finch and admiring how (so far) each bedroom serves as a vivid character portrait without any onscreen characters.
If you need an example of character design done through environmental storytelling, this has it.
#characterdesign #environmentalstorytelling
If you need an example of character design done through environmental storytelling, this has it.
#characterdesign #environmentalstorytelling
Reposted by James O’Hara
And BY THE WAY... @adamdolin.bsky.social and I are giving a lecture about EXACTLY THIS PROBLEM at GDC 2026: schedule.gdconf.com/session/writ...
WRITE BETWEEN THE LINES: Writing Games for a Media-Illiterate World | Agenda | GDC Festival of Gaming
TheGDC Festival of Gaming program blends expert insight with interactive formats designed to spark ideas, sharpen skills, and connect communities.
schedule.gdconf.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:46 PM
And BY THE WAY... @adamdolin.bsky.social and I are giving a lecture about EXACTLY THIS PROBLEM at GDC 2026: schedule.gdconf.com/session/writ...
November 10, 2025 at 8:06 PM
"...Doris Tsao, a neuroscience professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told me. “The advances in machine learning have taught us more about the essence of intelligence than anything that neuroscience has discovered in the past hundred years.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Case That A.I. Is Thinking
ChatGPT does not have an inner life. Yet it seems to know what it’s talking about.
www.newyorker.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:24 PM
"...Doris Tsao, a neuroscience professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told me. “The advances in machine learning have taught us more about the essence of intelligence than anything that neuroscience has discovered in the past hundred years.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
October 16, 2025 at 10:33 PM
This is interesting. On why sentences stick: "They found that meaning, not any other trait, is the most important feature when it comes to memorability."
news.mit.edu/2025/mit-cog...
#writing #narrativedesign #mitstudy
news.mit.edu/2025/mit-cog...
#writing #narrativedesign #mitstudy
MIT cognitive scientists reveal why some sentences stand out from others
MIT neuroscientists find sentences that stick in your mind longer are those that have distinctive meanings, making them stand out from sentences you’ve previously seen.
news.mit.edu
October 6, 2025 at 4:20 PM
This is interesting. On why sentences stick: "They found that meaning, not any other trait, is the most important feature when it comes to memorability."
news.mit.edu/2025/mit-cog...
#writing #narrativedesign #mitstudy
news.mit.edu/2025/mit-cog...
#writing #narrativedesign #mitstudy
From Cormac McCarthy on The Road:
“The Road is about … a United States decimated by an extinction event. What happened is unknown:
“I don’t have an opinion,” he said when asked about it.”
#theroad #cormacmccarthy
“The Road is about … a United States decimated by an extinction event. What happened is unknown:
“I don’t have an opinion,” he said when asked about it.”
#theroad #cormacmccarthy
September 26, 2025 at 7:41 PM
From Cormac McCarthy on The Road:
“The Road is about … a United States decimated by an extinction event. What happened is unknown:
“I don’t have an opinion,” he said when asked about it.”
#theroad #cormacmccarthy
“The Road is about … a United States decimated by an extinction event. What happened is unknown:
“I don’t have an opinion,” he said when asked about it.”
#theroad #cormacmccarthy
Just learned about the life of spiders:
“A spider's lifespan ranges from a few months to over 20 years, with most common spiders living about one to two years, while larger species can live much longer, with some recorded specimens living for decades.”
#spiders 🕷️!
“A spider's lifespan ranges from a few months to over 20 years, with most common spiders living about one to two years, while larger species can live much longer, with some recorded specimens living for decades.”
#spiders 🕷️!
September 23, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Just learned about the life of spiders:
“A spider's lifespan ranges from a few months to over 20 years, with most common spiders living about one to two years, while larger species can live much longer, with some recorded specimens living for decades.”
#spiders 🕷️!
“A spider's lifespan ranges from a few months to over 20 years, with most common spiders living about one to two years, while larger species can live much longer, with some recorded specimens living for decades.”
#spiders 🕷️!
I wish I could see the art that will be made hundreds of years from now, retrospectively, about America— the fall or rise or what have you, about America. An ancient, foreign nation state, both distant and ever present, in the future landscape of things.
September 20, 2025 at 5:31 PM
I wish I could see the art that will be made hundreds of years from now, retrospectively, about America— the fall or rise or what have you, about America. An ancient, foreign nation state, both distant and ever present, in the future landscape of things.
Finished the first draft of a half hour drama yesterday.
I always feel sapped after a first draft is done, but this marks three pilots written so far this year. 🙌
#screenwriting #writing
I always feel sapped after a first draft is done, but this marks three pilots written so far this year. 🙌
#screenwriting #writing
September 19, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Finished the first draft of a half hour drama yesterday.
I always feel sapped after a first draft is done, but this marks three pilots written so far this year. 🙌
#screenwriting #writing
I always feel sapped after a first draft is done, but this marks three pilots written so far this year. 🙌
#screenwriting #writing