Aron Garst
@garstproduction.bsky.social
Writer/Producer covering games, esports, and technology.
Pinned
Aron Garst
@garstproduction.bsky.social
· Aug 23
20 Years Ago, Advance Wars: Dual Strike Saw The Future
Versus mode turned Advance Wars into my own tactical playground.
www.gamespot.com
Advance Wars: Dual Strike was a grid-based chess match where every piece could explode, but the single-player campaign felt like squaring off against a row of toddlers still figuring out how pawns worked. I wanted something sharper.
www.gamespot.com/articles/20-...
www.gamespot.com/articles/20-...
Reposted by Aron Garst
Reviewed Baby Steps for The Verge - a game I believe I'm really equipped to write about because hiking in real life is HELL for me www.theverge.com/games/783549...
Baby Steps hits on the hell and hilarity of hiking
As funny as it is frustrating.
www.theverge.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Reviewed Baby Steps for The Verge - a game I believe I'm really equipped to write about because hiking in real life is HELL for me www.theverge.com/games/783549...
Reposted by Aron Garst
i got to preview skate for @gamespot.com and came out with quite a few questions and concerns about this new direction for the series
www.gamespot.com/articles/ska...
www.gamespot.com/articles/ska...
Skate Is Placing A Long-Term Bet On Its Community
The new foundation for the series is embracing the modern live-service model while attempting to strike a balance between old and new.
www.gamespot.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:37 PM
i got to preview skate for @gamespot.com and came out with quite a few questions and concerns about this new direction for the series
www.gamespot.com/articles/ska...
www.gamespot.com/articles/ska...
Advance Wars: Dual Strike was a grid-based chess match where every piece could explode, but the single-player campaign felt like squaring off against a row of toddlers still figuring out how pawns worked. I wanted something sharper.
www.gamespot.com/articles/20-...
www.gamespot.com/articles/20-...
20 Years Ago, Advance Wars: Dual Strike Saw The Future
Versus mode turned Advance Wars into my own tactical playground.
www.gamespot.com
August 23, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Advance Wars: Dual Strike was a grid-based chess match where every piece could explode, but the single-player campaign felt like squaring off against a row of toddlers still figuring out how pawns worked. I wanted something sharper.
www.gamespot.com/articles/20-...
www.gamespot.com/articles/20-...
Reposted by Aron Garst
For the evening crowd: I’m launching a new oral histories site called designroom.bsky.social. Won’t be much there for another month or so, but follow now to get in early!
Design Room (@designroom.bsky.social)
A new website dedicated to video game oral histories coming soon from mattleone.bsky.social. Logo by asawallander.se.
designroom.bsky.social
August 8, 2025 at 2:27 AM
For the evening crowd: I’m launching a new oral histories site called designroom.bsky.social. Won’t be much there for another month or so, but follow now to get in early!
Reposted by Aron Garst
If IGN has layoffs, nobody in games press is safe. If Microsoft has layoffs, nobody in platforms is safe. If Ubisoft and Bungie and NetEase have layoffs, nobody in game development is safe. If the Romeros get their funding pulled, no studio is safe.
It's rough out there, right now.
It's rough out there, right now.
August 5, 2025 at 3:34 AM
If IGN has layoffs, nobody in games press is safe. If Microsoft has layoffs, nobody in platforms is safe. If Ubisoft and Bungie and NetEase have layoffs, nobody in game development is safe. If the Romeros get their funding pulled, no studio is safe.
It's rough out there, right now.
It's rough out there, right now.
It's clear that there is an appetite for the online experience that Fall Guys provides. This is especially true when there is an army of creators supplying new levels on a regular basis. That's not the case anymore, but creators hope that changes.
www.gamespot.com/articles/fal...
www.gamespot.com/articles/fal...
Fall Guys Is The Perfect Game For Player-Made Levels, But Epic Is Letting It Languish
The game show battle royale could have been the perfect canvas for level creators.
www.gamespot.com
August 5, 2025 at 7:34 AM
It's clear that there is an appetite for the online experience that Fall Guys provides. This is especially true when there is an army of creators supplying new levels on a regular basis. That's not the case anymore, but creators hope that changes.
www.gamespot.com/articles/fal...
www.gamespot.com/articles/fal...
Reposted by Aron Garst
Sub drive! Discounts! Themed week! A new writer!
It's big moves over at Rascal, and we would love your support to keep the whole project chugging. Independently owned tabletop journalism funded directly by our readers.
It's big moves over at Rascal, and we would love your support to keep the whole project chugging. Independently owned tabletop journalism funded directly by our readers.
History Week! Rascal's bi-annual subscription drive accompanies a themed week of articles diving into tabletop's past, both professional and personal.
Subscribe now and get 25% of your first six months (details inside) as we gear up to bring a news writer onto the Rascal team!
Subscribe now and get 25% of your first six months (details inside) as we gear up to bring a news writer onto the Rascal team!
Rascal Subscriber Drive: History Week
News blasts about the past.
www.rascal.news
August 4, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Sub drive! Discounts! Themed week! A new writer!
It's big moves over at Rascal, and we would love your support to keep the whole project chugging. Independently owned tabletop journalism funded directly by our readers.
It's big moves over at Rascal, and we would love your support to keep the whole project chugging. Independently owned tabletop journalism funded directly by our readers.
Reposted by Aron Garst
Data points to slowing layoffs, but doesn't capture true harm to game industry
"There's nothing about a culture of fear of being laid off that’s going to be good for people making games and the games they're making. Stability, and ethical wages, are the future of the industry."
"There's nothing about a culture of fear of being laid off that’s going to be good for people making games and the games they're making. Stability, and ethical wages, are the future of the industry."
Data points to slowing layoffs, but doesn't capture true harm to game industry
Where does the game industry and its workforce go from here?
www.gamedeveloper.com
July 25, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Data points to slowing layoffs, but doesn't capture true harm to game industry
"There's nothing about a culture of fear of being laid off that’s going to be good for people making games and the games they're making. Stability, and ethical wages, are the future of the industry."
"There's nothing about a culture of fear of being laid off that’s going to be good for people making games and the games they're making. Stability, and ethical wages, are the future of the industry."
It was nearly 10 years ago that Peyton Blake began scribbling pictures in a small classroom. His drawings were usually of his teachers, typically older men with beards, but they all had one strange quirk: every teacher he sketched had an unusually elongated neck.
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
July 25, 2025 at 12:49 AM
It was nearly 10 years ago that Peyton Blake began scribbling pictures in a small classroom. His drawings were usually of his teachers, typically older men with beards, but they all had one strange quirk: every teacher he sketched had an unusually elongated neck.
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
Early Access game to keep an eye on: Every Day We Fight
Intuitive mix of XCOM tactics, roguelike narrative structure, and exploration. Rough around the edges, but with space to improve.
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
Intuitive mix of XCOM tactics, roguelike narrative structure, and exploration. Rough around the edges, but with space to improve.
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
Every Day We Fight guide: Tips for surviving the Rifters
Maximize your strategic prowess with our Every Day We Fight guide, and learn how to use Overwatch, appropriate weapon types, team tactics, and more to destroy the Rifters.
store.epicgames.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Early Access game to keep an eye on: Every Day We Fight
Intuitive mix of XCOM tactics, roguelike narrative structure, and exploration. Rough around the edges, but with space to improve.
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
Intuitive mix of XCOM tactics, roguelike narrative structure, and exploration. Rough around the edges, but with space to improve.
store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/e...
Drenched in thick, burgundy-colored blood after tearing through dozens of enemy Mongol camps, I rode slowly through the Tsushima countryside searching for my next target. Only one thing would defer my thirst for revenge: a brief dip in a hot spring.
www.gamespot.com/articles/gho...
www.gamespot.com/articles/gho...
Ghost Of Tsushima's Hot-Spring Meditations Are Still Calming Five Years Later
Jin Sakai's adventure was elevated by moments in the tub.
www.gamespot.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Drenched in thick, burgundy-colored blood after tearing through dozens of enemy Mongol camps, I rode slowly through the Tsushima countryside searching for my next target. Only one thing would defer my thirst for revenge: a brief dip in a hot spring.
www.gamespot.com/articles/gho...
www.gamespot.com/articles/gho...
Reposted by Aron Garst
spine is taking pitches again, ranging from short ($30 for 150-300 words) to longer form pieces ($60 for 500-700 words). *please* read the guidelines carefully, which now reflect the current monthly budget. i want to hear from bipoc and queer folks first and foremost.
intothespine.com/write-for-us/
intothespine.com/write-for-us/
Write for Spine - Into The Spine
Do you want to write for Into The Spine? Here's everything you need to know, including rates and what we're looking for at the moment.
intothespine.com
July 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
spine is taking pitches again, ranging from short ($30 for 150-300 words) to longer form pieces ($60 for 500-700 words). *please* read the guidelines carefully, which now reflect the current monthly budget. i want to hear from bipoc and queer folks first and foremost.
intothespine.com/write-for-us/
intothespine.com/write-for-us/
Reposted by Aron Garst
Job Alert
Editorial Director, RockPaperShotgun: jobs.jobvite.com/ign/job/oN7r...
Guides Writer, RockPaperShotgun:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Digital Marketing Manager, IGN Store: www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...
Director of Subscriptions:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Editorial Director, RockPaperShotgun: jobs.jobvite.com/ign/job/oN7r...
Guides Writer, RockPaperShotgun:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Digital Marketing Manager, IGN Store: www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...
Director of Subscriptions:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
July 10, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Job Alert
Editorial Director, RockPaperShotgun: jobs.jobvite.com/ign/job/oN7r...
Guides Writer, RockPaperShotgun:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Digital Marketing Manager, IGN Store: www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...
Director of Subscriptions:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Editorial Director, RockPaperShotgun: jobs.jobvite.com/ign/job/oN7r...
Guides Writer, RockPaperShotgun:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Digital Marketing Manager, IGN Store: www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...
Director of Subscriptions:
jobs.jobvite.com/ziffdavis/jo...
Reposted by Aron Garst
We are hiring a senior TV / audio reviewer! Come review headphones, speakers, TVs, things of that nature.
Senior Reviewer, TVs & Audio, The Verge
Remote (US Only)
job-boards.greenhouse.io
July 10, 2025 at 6:37 PM
We are hiring a senior TV / audio reviewer! Come review headphones, speakers, TVs, things of that nature.
Reposted by Aron Garst
If you have a job in the videogame industry, you might be asking yourself: "How do I keep up with my amazing friends and colleagues, who are successfully getting laid off all around me? How can *I* get laid off just like them?"
20 foolproof ways to get laid off in the videogame industry
Tired of making games? Just use one of these simple tricks!
www.pcgamer.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
If you have a job in the videogame industry, you might be asking yourself: "How do I keep up with my amazing friends and colleagues, who are successfully getting laid off all around me? How can *I* get laid off just like them?"
Reposted by Aron Garst
How co-op climbing hit Peak achieved 2 million sales for less than $200,000
How co-op climbing hit Peak achieved 2 million sales for less than $200,000
The secret behind Aggro Crab and Landfall's latest hit? Korean barbecue and the power of friendship.
www.gamedeveloper.com
June 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM
How co-op climbing hit Peak achieved 2 million sales for less than $200,000
Reposted by Aron Garst
Don't believe us? Believe those who have gotten into the Battle Suits and lived to tell their tales!
June 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Don't believe us? Believe those who have gotten into the Battle Suits and lived to tell their tales!
Reposted by Aron Garst
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Announcement Trailer (story-driven sci-fi Action RPG from Owlcat Games - PS5/Xbox/PC) www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIQi...
store.steampowered.com/app/3727390/...
store.steampowered.com/app/3727390/...
June 7, 2025 at 8:11 PM
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Announcement Trailer (story-driven sci-fi Action RPG from Owlcat Games - PS5/Xbox/PC) www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIQi...
store.steampowered.com/app/3727390/...
store.steampowered.com/app/3727390/...
Reposted by Aron Garst
I covered the anti-ICE protests in downtown Los Angeles today. Here are some photos.
June 7, 2025 at 5:55 AM
I covered the anti-ICE protests in downtown Los Angeles today. Here are some photos.
Reposted by Aron Garst
"Everything that’s good about Split Fiction is good because it’s a videogame. And that’s not because it helps to tell the story they want to tell."
The contrast between Split Fiction's writing and gameplay has @jaymcastello.bsky.social thinking about what makes a game good:
The contrast between Split Fiction's writing and gameplay has @jaymcastello.bsky.social thinking about what makes a game good:
Space Without Story - Unwinnable
Messing around in a space with a good buddy is hardwired into the human brain and it doesn’t matter whether or not that space is digital.
buff.ly
June 7, 2025 at 12:00 AM
"Everything that’s good about Split Fiction is good because it’s a videogame. And that’s not because it helps to tell the story they want to tell."
The contrast between Split Fiction's writing and gameplay has @jaymcastello.bsky.social thinking about what makes a game good:
The contrast between Split Fiction's writing and gameplay has @jaymcastello.bsky.social thinking about what makes a game good: