Problem Machine
@problemmachine.bsky.social
Artist, game developer, writer, overthinker, etc. Current project is Bound City, a game about a strange dying place that might be a metaphor for something. (He/They)
www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
This article's been going around and it's very worth reading. I can't help but see parallels with the infection of AI boosting, where solving the immediate task of saying words is superseding the actual purpose of the task -- learning to read.
This article's been going around and it's very worth reading. I can't help but see parallels with the infection of AI boosting, where solving the immediate task of saying words is superseding the actual purpose of the task -- learning to read.
How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't kno...
www.apmreports.org
November 11, 2025 at 11:13 PM
www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
This article's been going around and it's very worth reading. I can't help but see parallels with the infection of AI boosting, where solving the immediate task of saying words is superseding the actual purpose of the task -- learning to read.
This article's been going around and it's very worth reading. I can't help but see parallels with the infection of AI boosting, where solving the immediate task of saying words is superseding the actual purpose of the task -- learning to read.
November 8, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Not specifically game design, but I think my primary principle for art in general: Find the tension, then emphasize it.
Some people like to resolve it too. That part is optional though.
Some people like to resolve it too. That part is optional though.
What's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
October 21, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Not specifically game design, but I think my primary principle for art in general: Find the tension, then emphasize it.
Some people like to resolve it too. That part is optional though.
Some people like to resolve it too. That part is optional though.
I have made a public demo for my game Bound City available! About an hour long, containing one zone and bits of others. Please check it out, wishlist, tell everyone you've ever met, fraudulently inflate my numbers, etc. Every little bit helps. store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
Bound City on Steam
An action-packed and bittersweet adventure in a city of endless night. Explore the dying city and try to find your way to the tower that seems to be at the heart of it all. Nothing is quite as it appe...
store.steampowered.com
October 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I have made a public demo for my game Bound City available! About an hour long, containing one zone and bits of others. Please check it out, wishlist, tell everyone you've ever met, fraudulently inflate my numbers, etc. Every little bit helps. store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
Also! Why am I not just posting the trailer directly? Here's the trailer!
July 20, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Also! Why am I not just posting the trailer directly? Here's the trailer!
Reposted by Problem Machine
I need to get in the habit of doing this... um, habitually. Here's my game's store page! It won't be out for a long while yet but wish lists and spreading the word will help that happen! Thank you! store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
Bound City on Steam
An action-packed and bittersweet adventure in a city of endless night. Explore the dying city and try to find your way to the tower that seems to be at the heart of it all. Nothing is quite as it appe...
store.steampowered.com
July 19, 2025 at 2:58 AM
I need to get in the habit of doing this... um, habitually. Here's my game's store page! It won't be out for a long while yet but wish lists and spreading the word will help that happen! Thank you! store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
I need to get in the habit of doing this... um, habitually. Here's my game's store page! It won't be out for a long while yet but wish lists and spreading the word will help that happen! Thank you! store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
Bound City on Steam
An action-packed and bittersweet adventure in a city of endless night. Explore the dying city and try to find your way to the tower that seems to be at the heart of it all. Nothing is quite as it appe...
store.steampowered.com
July 19, 2025 at 2:58 AM
I need to get in the habit of doing this... um, habitually. Here's my game's store page! It won't be out for a long while yet but wish lists and spreading the word will help that happen! Thank you! store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
#screenshotsaturday I don't know, does a trailer count as a screenshot?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D163...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D163...
Bound City Teaser Trailer
YouTube video by Problem Machine
www.youtube.com
July 12, 2025 at 8:19 PM
#screenshotsaturday I don't know, does a trailer count as a screenshot?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D163...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D163...
Reposted by Problem Machine
i played an alpha build a year or two ago, and this game is going to be great.
After a few years in the cooker (and a few left to go), I've finally taken the big step of getting a Steam store page set up for Bound City!
store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
Bound City on Steam
An action-packed and bittersweet adventure in a city of endless night. Explore the dying city and try to find your way to the tower that seems to be at the heart of it all. Nothing is quite as it appe...
store.steampowered.com
July 11, 2025 at 9:18 PM
i played an alpha build a year or two ago, and this game is going to be great.
After a few years in the cooker (and a few left to go), I've finally taken the big step of getting a Steam store page set up for Bound City!
store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
Bound City on Steam
An action-packed and bittersweet adventure in a city of endless night. Explore the dying city and try to find your way to the tower that seems to be at the heart of it all. Nothing is quite as it appe...
store.steampowered.com
July 11, 2025 at 7:59 PM
After a few years in the cooker (and a few left to go), I've finally taken the big step of getting a Steam store page set up for Bound City!
store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
store.steampowered.com/app/3871260/...
This year I: Worked on Bound City.
That is all. It's a lot of work! I had hoped to have chapter 2 done by April, and it's now looking likely...ish that I can finish it next month.
Currently:
5 boss fights (3 new this year)
28 enemy types (16 new)
30-40k words (Lots new, hard to count)
That is all. It's a lot of work! I had hoped to have chapter 2 done by April, and it's now looking likely...ish that I can finish it next month.
Currently:
5 boss fights (3 new this year)
28 enemy types (16 new)
30-40k words (Lots new, hard to count)
December 31, 2024 at 8:51 PM
This year I: Worked on Bound City.
That is all. It's a lot of work! I had hoped to have chapter 2 done by April, and it's now looking likely...ish that I can finish it next month.
Currently:
5 boss fights (3 new this year)
28 enemy types (16 new)
30-40k words (Lots new, hard to count)
That is all. It's a lot of work! I had hoped to have chapter 2 done by April, and it's now looking likely...ish that I can finish it next month.
Currently:
5 boss fights (3 new this year)
28 enemy types (16 new)
30-40k words (Lots new, hard to count)
After replaying Silent Hill 2 and watching most of a playthrough of the remake, I have to say that while it seems like a pretty good game, and maybe even a pretty good Silent Hill game, it doesn't seem like a very good adaptation of the things that were most interesting about Silent Hill 2
November 4, 2024 at 7:27 PM
After replaying Silent Hill 2 and watching most of a playthrough of the remake, I have to say that while it seems like a pretty good game, and maybe even a pretty good Silent Hill game, it doesn't seem like a very good adaptation of the things that were most interesting about Silent Hill 2
Reposted by Problem Machine
Instead of on Twitter - let's try this here & see if it works by now.
If you're developing a game, or released one: reply with the title, description, screenshots, and/or a link. Doesn't matter what stage of development you're in. Then repost this, and let's see what cool stuff we're all making.
If you're developing a game, or released one: reply with the title, description, screenshots, and/or a link. Doesn't matter what stage of development you're in. Then repost this, and let's see what cool stuff we're all making.
July 25, 2024 at 12:12 AM
Instead of on Twitter - let's try this here & see if it works by now.
If you're developing a game, or released one: reply with the title, description, screenshots, and/or a link. Doesn't matter what stage of development you're in. Then repost this, and let's see what cool stuff we're all making.
If you're developing a game, or released one: reply with the title, description, screenshots, and/or a link. Doesn't matter what stage of development you're in. Then repost this, and let's see what cool stuff we're all making.
After about an hour of attempts I'm prepared to state that the last boss of the Elden Ring DLC seems just extremely tedious. What a chore.
July 3, 2024 at 6:26 AM
After about an hour of attempts I'm prepared to state that the last boss of the Elden Ring DLC seems just extremely tedious. What a chore.
I've been working on enemies for my game. The design intention is that A) They all move differently and pose a completely different danger and B) They be fundamentally unsettling.
i.imgur.com/gTQG2K8.mp4
i.imgur.com/gTQG2K8.mp4
i.imgur.com
March 24, 2024 at 4:12 AM
I've been working on enemies for my game. The design intention is that A) They all move differently and pose a completely different danger and B) They be fundamentally unsettling.
i.imgur.com/gTQG2K8.mp4
i.imgur.com/gTQG2K8.mp4
Brain's been chugging, occasionally stalling. did someone install a crypto miner on this thing?
October 18, 2023 at 7:14 PM
Brain's been chugging, occasionally stalling. did someone install a crypto miner on this thing?
I did the thing a little bit ago. I mostly tried to stick to games I felt had significantly shaped my taste or conception of what games can or should do.
September 30, 2023 at 8:40 AM
I did the thing a little bit ago. I mostly tried to stick to games I felt had significantly shaped my taste or conception of what games can or should do.
AMV of all of Dermott's scenes in Venture Bros. set to Tom Waits' Goin' Out West
August 27, 2023 at 8:28 PM
AMV of all of Dermott's scenes in Venture Bros. set to Tom Waits' Goin' Out West