Yichao
@michaelyichao.com
Professional nerd making games & theater. Cofounded Jam & Tea Studios. Previously: Riot Games, Wizards of the Coast, ArenaNet, Imagineering. Most often found in Seattle. http://bio.site/michaelyichao
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Yichao
@michaelyichao.com
· Sep 24
very amused that to some folks this meme is my greatest contribution to game design
DM: I am a major NPC with a detailed backstory that ties intricately into the main events of the campaign
Players: meh
DM: I am a hastily created kobold farmer whose whole purpose is to say “the bandits went that way” in the tavern
Players: WE LOVE YOU TRAVEL WITH US FOREVER FREDD
Players: meh
DM: I am a hastily created kobold farmer whose whole purpose is to say “the bandits went that way” in the tavern
Players: WE LOVE YOU TRAVEL WITH US FOREVER FREDD
November 30, 2025 at 5:41 PM
DM: I am a major NPC with a detailed backstory that ties intricately into the main events of the campaign
Players: meh
DM: I am a hastily created kobold farmer whose whole purpose is to say “the bandits went that way” in the tavern
Players: WE LOVE YOU TRAVEL WITH US FOREVER FREDD
Players: meh
DM: I am a hastily created kobold farmer whose whole purpose is to say “the bandits went that way” in the tavern
Players: WE LOVE YOU TRAVEL WITH US FOREVER FREDD
Reposted by Yichao
very amused that to some folks this meme is my greatest contribution to game design
September 24, 2025 at 7:05 PM
very amused that to some folks this meme is my greatest contribution to game design
My partner made pasta and sausage for dinner and it’s amazing how the simplest things tastes so much better when someone hands you it as the thing they made just for you 💙
November 30, 2025 at 3:17 AM
My partner made pasta and sausage for dinner and it’s amazing how the simplest things tastes so much better when someone hands you it as the thing they made just for you 💙
Reposted by Yichao
The standard game dev career progression track:
Intern ➡️ junior ➡️ mid ➡️ senior ➡️ principal ➡️ quit and move to a cabin in the remote wilderness and/or open an ice cream shop
Intern ➡️ junior ➡️ mid ➡️ senior ➡️ principal ➡️ quit and move to a cabin in the remote wilderness and/or open an ice cream shop
November 26, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The standard game dev career progression track:
Intern ➡️ junior ➡️ mid ➡️ senior ➡️ principal ➡️ quit and move to a cabin in the remote wilderness and/or open an ice cream shop
Intern ➡️ junior ➡️ mid ➡️ senior ➡️ principal ➡️ quit and move to a cabin in the remote wilderness and/or open an ice cream shop
Reposted by Yichao
idiot guy: i'm like the wolf i'm stalking my prey alone through the forest and being raw as fuck even if i'm in a group i'm the alpha
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
November 26, 2025 at 2:17 AM
idiot guy: i'm like the wolf i'm stalking my prey alone through the forest and being raw as fuck even if i'm in a group i'm the alpha
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
actual wolf: i love my friends so much!!! i love to romp and kiss my bros and work together as a family <3 awooo etc etc have you seen the puppies oh my god come see
Feelin’ cute, no deleting ✨
November 24, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Feelin’ cute, no deleting ✨
Reposted by Yichao
Do the thing you love for a living and and you’ll never (stop) work(ing) a day in your life 🥲✨
November 24, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Do the thing you love for a living and and you’ll never (stop) work(ing) a day in your life 🥲✨
There’s also a circle within the Magic community of Jace guys guys.
Guys who like the guys who likes Jace.
Who talk about how cool the Jace guys are.
Who love seeing Jace guys get excited about their guy. 💙
Guys who like the guys who likes Jace.
Who talk about how cool the Jace guys are.
Who love seeing Jace guys get excited about their guy. 💙
I love that there's a circle within the Magic community of Jace guys.
Want to talk about Jace? The Jace guys love that.
Theories about Jace? Gotta tell the Jace guys.
New Jace art? Jace guys. They gotta see it.
No other character gets that in Magic.
Want to talk about Jace? The Jace guys love that.
Theories about Jace? Gotta tell the Jace guys.
New Jace art? Jace guys. They gotta see it.
No other character gets that in Magic.
November 24, 2025 at 6:05 PM
There’s also a circle within the Magic community of Jace guys guys.
Guys who like the guys who likes Jace.
Who talk about how cool the Jace guys are.
Who love seeing Jace guys get excited about their guy. 💙
Guys who like the guys who likes Jace.
Who talk about how cool the Jace guys are.
Who love seeing Jace guys get excited about their guy. 💙
A friend told me I should move to Seattle bc they had a vibrant improv scene, I said sure if there’s a day job, she said her team was hiring a writer, I said neat where do you work, she said Wizards (!!), I said no way I love Magic, I’ll apply—and 3 months later I moved from LA and film into games✨
November 22, 2025 at 10:28 PM
A friend told me I should move to Seattle bc they had a vibrant improv scene, I said sure if there’s a day job, she said her team was hiring a writer, I said neat where do you work, she said Wizards (!!), I said no way I love Magic, I’ll apply—and 3 months later I moved from LA and film into games✨
Reposted by Yichao
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
I want my politicians to be brave confident enough in themselves to ask the stupid questions. To value clarity over a need to appear the smartest or to always have the right answer.
completely outside of politics, this is so charming
November 21, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I want my politicians to be brave confident enough in themselves to ask the stupid questions. To value clarity over a need to appear the smartest or to always have the right answer.
Genuine question: why is there mixed feelings of more content being made for the most popular format?
If one takes every released commander that's legal and printed in paper and sorts them by date of first printing, the midpoint in this set falls...
In the multicolored legends of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, which was only released in 2022.
I'm not sure how to feel about that, tbh.
In the multicolored legends of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, which was only released in 2022.
I'm not sure how to feel about that, tbh.
November 20, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Genuine question: why is there mixed feelings of more content being made for the most popular format?
I SHOULD just delete and block.
Or…
Or…
November 17, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I SHOULD just delete and block.
Or…
Or…
Reposted by Yichao
AOC: "It is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give 8 senators over $1 million a piece & we're robbing people of their food assistance & healthcare to pay for it. How can we vote to enrich ourselves by stealing from the American people?"
November 12, 2025 at 10:39 PM
AOC: "It is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give 8 senators over $1 million a piece & we're robbing people of their food assistance & healthcare to pay for it. How can we vote to enrich ourselves by stealing from the American people?"
Applying nondeterministic tech to deterministic tasks we've *already solved* is dumb as hell, and it's baffling that massive companies are burning down trust in a desperate attempt to prove a use case for the tech 🔥
November 12, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Applying nondeterministic tech to deterministic tasks we've *already solved* is dumb as hell, and it's baffling that massive companies are burning down trust in a desperate attempt to prove a use case for the tech 🔥
People really are out here just projecting whatever brainrot is in their head onto the few keywords they recognized in a post, huh
November 12, 2025 at 6:25 AM
People really are out here just projecting whatever brainrot is in their head onto the few keywords they recognized in a post, huh
To the people who say “well I’m just not talented”—the amazing artist you love isn’t amazing because they’re talented. They’re amazing bc they sucked at first but then they practiced and studied and stuck with it until they made the thing that made you say “well I could never bc I’m not talented.”
November 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM
To the people who say “well I’m just not talented”—the amazing artist you love isn’t amazing because they’re talented. They’re amazing bc they sucked at first but then they practiced and studied and stuck with it until they made the thing that made you say “well I could never bc I’m not talented.”
A child said to me “I feel like I have so much I could learn from your generation” after I said “thanks it’s an old tv show” when they complimented my Wishbone t-shirt and I have not been so casually slain this hard in a long time
November 11, 2025 at 9:28 AM
A child said to me “I feel like I have so much I could learn from your generation” after I said “thanks it’s an old tv show” when they complimented my Wishbone t-shirt and I have not been so casually slain this hard in a long time
It astounds me the number of folks (predominantly men) who assume they can do something they’ve never done before as good or better than professionals who have practiced and studied for years. From sports to game design, the confidence of the armchair expert is truly unmatched.
November 8, 2025 at 10:48 PM
It astounds me the number of folks (predominantly men) who assume they can do something they’ve never done before as good or better than professionals who have practiced and studied for years. From sports to game design, the confidence of the armchair expert is truly unmatched.
There is something soul affirming and heartwarming about hearing a 12 year old girl tell another 12 year old girl “you got this girl you’re gonna cook for real for real”
November 8, 2025 at 6:01 PM
There is something soul affirming and heartwarming about hearing a 12 year old girl tell another 12 year old girl “you got this girl you’re gonna cook for real for real”