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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia)

@thedevteam.itch.io

1K followers 520 following 3.1K posts

Hyper-focusing on RPG design, Scroll & Steel (out now!), PBTA, Pathfinder 2e, etc. he/they, free Palestine, blocks AI slop

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · Jul 31

Scroll & Steel, my tactical fantasy PBTA roleplaying game, is available now!

Not sure how those things go together? Download the game for free and read it yourself.

thedevteam.itch.io/scroll-steel

Scroll & Steel by The Dev Team

Tactical PBTA adventuring

thedevteam.itch.io

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 9m

Also figuring out how to do a playtest and get feedback in 2 hours is going to be a challenge.

It’s probably going to involve me designing a unique version of the game just for these playtests.

Which I think will be good but the pressure is on.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 9m

Got an email about scheduling Metatopia sessions and quietly freaking out over it.

It’s the first time my design is going to be analyzed by a group as invested in RPG design as I am.

And the desire for respect from my peers is clashing with the need to stress test the game to get good feedback.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 9h

The hint system is a bit of a travesty because, IIRC, it doesn’t point you to the artifacts until the end of the game, so you have no idea that that’s the whole point of your exploration.

And because you don’t know to collect them as you go, you have to do so much more backtracking at the end.

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 10h

One of the reasons that I have hope that the Republican Party will fall apart after Trump dies is that Vance clearly does not have the sauce.

And he doesn’t realize that whining to Trump about how the mean network treated him makes him look so small.

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 10h

Trump lashes out at ABC because George Stephanopoulos didn’t let JD Vance get away with lying and gaslighting about the alleged $50,000 Homan cash bribe in a Cava bag

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 10h

Wondering how credit card processors and banks will react to this.

(They won’t)

Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 11h

Oh good, ChatGPT is getting "erotica for verified adults" later this year

We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.

Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.

In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!). If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing).

In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our “treat adult users like adults” principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

Also I got two needle upgrades and I feel unstoppable.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

It’s incredible how much game there is to Silksong. I’m 40 hours in and there’s still so much to explore and do.

That’s incredibly rare for a Metroidvania. For comparison, I got to the end boss and 92% completion in Hollow Knight after like 25 hours.

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

And if it’s Sound & Fury, you might have a better understanding of the book this way.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

So, for Metatopia, should I make business cards? Is that a thing people do, or would that be weird?

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

There is no evidence that Pixar “going woke” ever had any measurable impact on the public reception to its films.

Disney executives spun up that narrative out of nothing.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

You could theoretically lump in Onward in that group, but that was released in theaters in the same month that lockdowns happened.

After that, all the Pixar movies went straight to Disney+. Then Lightyear came out and was a predictable bomb.

But then Elemental was a sleeper hit.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

It’s pretty wild that the only actually unsuccessful film Pixar has released at the box office before this year was Lightyear, and yet executives at Disney felt they had justification to come in and gut Pixar’s creative process.

(Screenshots from Wikipedia)

Text from Wikipedia:

In June 2025, multiple insiders, who worked at Pixar, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the film. They noted that characterizations of Elio as a "queer-coded character" were removed as the film moved through the production process, with a push by Pixar executives to make Elio "more masculine," removing examples of his love of fashion and environmentalism, including after Adrian Molina departed the film as director, replaced by Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi. Some expressed disappointment at the first-cut of the movie shared by Sharafian and Shi, with one employee stating that the changes "destroyed this beautiful work" while another described the final version of Elio as "much more generic" as compared to previous versions. [continues in next image]

[continued from previous image] Reports that some employees left after Molina departed were disputed by another Pixar source. One former artist told the publication that executives were "constantly sanding down" moments which alluded to Elio's queer sexuality, engaging in "obeying-in-advance behavior" and that changes to the film made it about "totally nothing," describing the film's production as "something of a cautionary tale" to them, wondering if the "rewrite was worth it." The same source claimed that America Ferrera, who left the film's cast after Molina's departure, was "upset that there was no longer Latinx representation in the leadership" of the film.[3]

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 1d

This thread should be required reading if you want to comment on American manufacturing.

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2d

This two-parter below is exactly why it's hard to make clothes in the United States.

Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵

Someone on Twitter replies to me: "meh. buy american or stfu."

Two hours later, in a separate thread, the write: "$30 for a single button-up is ridiculous unless it is decent quality silk."

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

I really low how the party in Silksong is so subtle. You don’t need it to do well, and executing it doesn’t guarantee a win. It’s the rare video game party that actually feels like a defensive tool and not just a set up to a bigger attack.

Also the multi-parry is so satisfying to pull off.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

This was the skeet that made me realize you were talking about actual languages and not “physical affection” or “gift giving.”

Cover of the book, “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

Absolum might swoop in and be my GOTY simply because it’s a game I can play with my wife and we both have fun playing it.

There aren’t a ton of games that meet that qualification.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

Honestly all the metaphysics around “souls” in Buffy/Angel are pretty dogshit.

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

Also helps that you can find the items before you get the quest, so folks who naturally find the cool areas aren’t forced to backtrack.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

I really love how Silksong uses quests/wishes to get players to find things they might have otherwise overlooked. It feels like each fetch quest is a purposeful, “Go check this shit out,” thing instead of just busywork.

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

Really wish I could’ve been in the Team Cherry office the day they designed this attack.

That must’ve been a fun day at the office.

A big ole bug chef attacking with her big ole bug ass

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

Because actors using the method actor excuse to be jerks is news. Actors using method acting as a technique to get into a character (that they can turn off) isn’t.

Look at how the media reported Ledger acting vs what he was actually like on set: www.actingcoachscotland.co.uk/blog/the-hea...

Set Conduct: Multiple cast members described Ledger as approachable, friendly, and even playful on set, a far cry from the grim, brooding figure of sensational media reports (Buchanan, 2008).

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 2d

You can do this in Pathfinder.

Sever Space
Level 20 Fighter feat
[2 actions]

Requirements: You are wielding a weapon that deals slashing damage or have an unarmed Strike that deals slashing damage.

You destroy the space between you and your targets, allowing you to strike with your melee weapons at great range. Make a melee Strike with the required weapon or unarmed attack. The attack gains an 80-foot reach for this Strike.

After the Strike, regardless of whether it succeeded, the world rushes to fill the space you destroyed, bringing you and the target adjacent to each other. You can choose to teleport to the closest space adjacent to the target or to attempt to teleport the target adjacent to you. If you choose the target, they can negate the teleportation if they succeed at a Fortitude save against your class DC.

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Reposted by TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia)

Duamn Figueroa Rassol 🇦🇷 [Commissions Open] @duamn.bsky.social · 11d

Emergency commissions!

I got laid off last weeek. If y'all wanna help out a (human) Latino artist from the Global South, commission me some art!

#Art #OC #CharacterPortrait #TTRPG #DnD #Commission #NotAI

Commission sheet showing an array of character portraits and an adventuring party line-up.
"Character Portraits
$75 full color digital bust portraits.
Fantasy, Space opera, Cyberpunk, you name it...
Full party lineup $50 per character
Lineart + flat color + base shading, no background"
Send your request to:
Bsky: @duamn.bsky.social
Instagram: @duamnNFR
Email: duamnNFR@gmail.com

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TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 3d

This is even more true for the flying enemies. I understand why folks get annoyed at them. You can’t brute force or speedrun them.

You have to slow down, goad them into an attack, and take advantage of the opening.

Which can be annoying, sure, but I prefer it to HK’s practically mindless enemies.

TheDevTeam (🔜 Metatopia) @thedevteam.itch.io · 3d

It’s overall way more involved. There have been far more enemy attacks that I think, “Well if they hit me with X, I’m screwed.”

So you have to make sure that they’re not able to hit you with X, like getting the fuck out of Dodge during their wind-up or pressuring them to make other attacks.

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