Nicholas Armstrong
@yaboijaspy.bsky.social
Writer at Larian, liker of words, lover of dogs. Previously at PlayStation and Cold Iron. Working on too many projects at once.
Always happy to talk writing and game dev.
Always happy to talk writing and game dev.
If America interests you, if the working class interests you, if people in all of their states of cognitive and emotional dissonance interest you - read Working by Studs Terkel. Read how things have changed, and how they stay the same.
April 7, 2025 at 9:04 PM
If America interests you, if the working class interests you, if people in all of their states of cognitive and emotional dissonance interest you - read Working by Studs Terkel. Read how things have changed, and how they stay the same.
In the wildly dystopian world of Deus Ex, set in 2052, wealthy elites and corporations pay just 5% of federal taxes.
In the wildly dystopian reality of 2025 USA, corporations pay about 8%.
In the wildly dystopian reality of 2025 USA, corporations pay about 8%.
March 11, 2025 at 6:38 PM
In the wildly dystopian world of Deus Ex, set in 2052, wealthy elites and corporations pay just 5% of federal taxes.
In the wildly dystopian reality of 2025 USA, corporations pay about 8%.
In the wildly dystopian reality of 2025 USA, corporations pay about 8%.
So much of the game industry today runs like a well-oiled machine:
An unfeeling production line that will mangle any human who gets too close.
An unfeeling production line that will mangle any human who gets too close.
February 25, 2025 at 8:36 PM
So much of the game industry today runs like a well-oiled machine:
An unfeeling production line that will mangle any human who gets too close.
An unfeeling production line that will mangle any human who gets too close.
If you want to connect with me on any platform, or in person, and I find out you have anything to do with AI, we will not connect. I will not like you.
This is non-negotiable.
This is non-negotiable.
January 25, 2025 at 9:51 PM
If you want to connect with me on any platform, or in person, and I find out you have anything to do with AI, we will not connect. I will not like you.
This is non-negotiable.
This is non-negotiable.
Might help some people, but if SOMETHING is happening in the world that makes you want to die inside a little, its okay and healthy to disengage.
Sink your head in a game or book. The world will be there when you get back.
Sink your head in a game or book. The world will be there when you get back.
January 21, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Might help some people, but if SOMETHING is happening in the world that makes you want to die inside a little, its okay and healthy to disengage.
Sink your head in a game or book. The world will be there when you get back.
Sink your head in a game or book. The world will be there when you get back.
I have loved everything Airship Syndicate has ever done. Sense of adventure, atmosphere, art, narrative.
Digging Wayfinder a lot, especially after the turnaround their team was able to do with all that publisher fiasco stuff. Mad respect for that entire studio.
Digging Wayfinder a lot, especially after the turnaround their team was able to do with all that publisher fiasco stuff. Mad respect for that entire studio.
January 16, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I have loved everything Airship Syndicate has ever done. Sense of adventure, atmosphere, art, narrative.
Digging Wayfinder a lot, especially after the turnaround their team was able to do with all that publisher fiasco stuff. Mad respect for that entire studio.
Digging Wayfinder a lot, especially after the turnaround their team was able to do with all that publisher fiasco stuff. Mad respect for that entire studio.
If you think AI is going to magically make game dev faster, or the writing better, boy do I have a newsflash.
It's still approved by the same people.
All that AI tech is going to be used to create political bots to try and control a narrative.
Welcome to dystopia.
It's still approved by the same people.
All that AI tech is going to be used to create political bots to try and control a narrative.
Welcome to dystopia.
January 16, 2025 at 9:54 AM
If you think AI is going to magically make game dev faster, or the writing better, boy do I have a newsflash.
It's still approved by the same people.
All that AI tech is going to be used to create political bots to try and control a narrative.
Welcome to dystopia.
It's still approved by the same people.
All that AI tech is going to be used to create political bots to try and control a narrative.
Welcome to dystopia.
This reminds me of being in elementary school and pretending I had beaten games whenever my friend's mentioned them.
I was ten.
www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pa...
I was ten.
www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pa...
Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk's high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics
Could've been stream jitters, I suppose.
www.pcgamer.com
January 10, 2025 at 10:04 PM
This reminds me of being in elementary school and pretending I had beaten games whenever my friend's mentioned them.
I was ten.
www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pa...
I was ten.
www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pa...
Ya know, I've taken a lot of risks in my career--leaving jobs, moving for new ones--but I've never once looked back and wished I hadn't, no matter the outcome.
If anything, I only wish I'd ever taken those risks sooner.
If anything, I only wish I'd ever taken those risks sooner.
January 10, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Ya know, I've taken a lot of risks in my career--leaving jobs, moving for new ones--but I've never once looked back and wished I hadn't, no matter the outcome.
If anything, I only wish I'd ever taken those risks sooner.
If anything, I only wish I'd ever taken those risks sooner.
You would think after all this time I could go to bed at a reasonable time on a workday. And yet here we are again.
I just can't quit you, lack of sleep.
I just can't quit you, lack of sleep.
January 7, 2025 at 12:31 AM
You would think after all this time I could go to bed at a reasonable time on a workday. And yet here we are again.
I just can't quit you, lack of sleep.
I just can't quit you, lack of sleep.
youtu.be/cNbnef_eXBM
David Bowie on creativity, "Never play to the gallery."
You create because it wakes something up inside of you and makes you want to be alive. If you are working anywhere that kills that--that even quells it--look for something else.
David Bowie on creativity, "Never play to the gallery."
You create because it wakes something up inside of you and makes you want to be alive. If you are working anywhere that kills that--that even quells it--look for something else.
David Bowie on why you should never play to the gallery
YouTube video by Stuart Semple
youtu.be
January 5, 2025 at 8:08 PM
youtu.be/cNbnef_eXBM
David Bowie on creativity, "Never play to the gallery."
You create because it wakes something up inside of you and makes you want to be alive. If you are working anywhere that kills that--that even quells it--look for something else.
David Bowie on creativity, "Never play to the gallery."
You create because it wakes something up inside of you and makes you want to be alive. If you are working anywhere that kills that--that even quells it--look for something else.
#GameDevPaidMe
California has transparency laws for posting jobs, so look up any CA based company and you can see what they pay. These are two of the best to look at (because they have so many positions).
www.riotgames.com/en/work-with...
careers.blizzard.com/global/en
Filter by CA locations
California has transparency laws for posting jobs, so look up any CA based company and you can see what they pay. These are two of the best to look at (because they have so many positions).
www.riotgames.com/en/work-with...
careers.blizzard.com/global/en
Filter by CA locations
Careers
www.riotgames.com
January 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
#GameDevPaidMe
California has transparency laws for posting jobs, so look up any CA based company and you can see what they pay. These are two of the best to look at (because they have so many positions).
www.riotgames.com/en/work-with...
careers.blizzard.com/global/en
Filter by CA locations
California has transparency laws for posting jobs, so look up any CA based company and you can see what they pay. These are two of the best to look at (because they have so many positions).
www.riotgames.com/en/work-with...
careers.blizzard.com/global/en
Filter by CA locations
Just because I routinely keep so many tabs open in my browser for so long that the crushing strain on my RAM causes my entire computer to freeze like I'm trying to run multiple editors and games at once doesn't mean I have a problem.
Technology just needs to catch up to me.
Technology just needs to catch up to me.
January 1, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Just because I routinely keep so many tabs open in my browser for so long that the crushing strain on my RAM causes my entire computer to freeze like I'm trying to run multiple editors and games at once doesn't mean I have a problem.
Technology just needs to catch up to me.
Technology just needs to catch up to me.
On the one hand, being educated is a hugely important aspect of society and life. You'll learn things you never knew, connect with people in ways you couldn't have imagined, grow exponentially as a person.
On the other, holy shit though, have you seen how happy ignorant people are?
On the other, holy shit though, have you seen how happy ignorant people are?
December 30, 2024 at 11:13 PM
On the one hand, being educated is a hugely important aspect of society and life. You'll learn things you never knew, connect with people in ways you couldn't have imagined, grow exponentially as a person.
On the other, holy shit though, have you seen how happy ignorant people are?
On the other, holy shit though, have you seen how happy ignorant people are?
Sometimes you log into social media and it's just piles of people saying things like "Fuck yellow paint. All my homies hate yellow paint."
And then you have to play detective to find out what grave misdeed yellow paint did and why people are so mad.
I didn't know I was choosing sides today.
And then you have to play detective to find out what grave misdeed yellow paint did and why people are so mad.
I didn't know I was choosing sides today.
December 30, 2024 at 7:33 PM
Sometimes you log into social media and it's just piles of people saying things like "Fuck yellow paint. All my homies hate yellow paint."
And then you have to play detective to find out what grave misdeed yellow paint did and why people are so mad.
I didn't know I was choosing sides today.
And then you have to play detective to find out what grave misdeed yellow paint did and why people are so mad.
I didn't know I was choosing sides today.
I want more novel tropes in games.
Give me a loser in a normal job sucked into a fantastic wild world. They make great friends, find love, then you get to go back to that job at the end and dunk on those losers because you're now a pirate king.
Give me a loser in a normal job sucked into a fantastic wild world. They make great friends, find love, then you get to go back to that job at the end and dunk on those losers because you're now a pirate king.
December 29, 2024 at 4:12 PM
I want more novel tropes in games.
Give me a loser in a normal job sucked into a fantastic wild world. They make great friends, find love, then you get to go back to that job at the end and dunk on those losers because you're now a pirate king.
Give me a loser in a normal job sucked into a fantastic wild world. They make great friends, find love, then you get to go back to that job at the end and dunk on those losers because you're now a pirate king.
Scrubs had such stellar writing. I've got to nerd out for a bit.
Writing a good zinger is hard, especially when it's on a deadline, in a particular voice, and in a situation or scene you might not have even written.
Most of the time it isn't even your character.
Writing a good zinger is hard, especially when it's on a deadline, in a particular voice, and in a situation or scene you might not have even written.
Most of the time it isn't even your character.
December 28, 2024 at 11:41 PM
Scrubs had such stellar writing. I've got to nerd out for a bit.
Writing a good zinger is hard, especially when it's on a deadline, in a particular voice, and in a situation or scene you might not have even written.
Most of the time it isn't even your character.
Writing a good zinger is hard, especially when it's on a deadline, in a particular voice, and in a situation or scene you might not have even written.
Most of the time it isn't even your character.
Number one mistake I see in junior writers is being self-conscious about their writing.
You want to write about firebreathing, flying elves? Commit. Don't make smart-ass comments about how silly it is. People want to be immersed, and they'll buy it if you commit to sell it.
You want to write about firebreathing, flying elves? Commit. Don't make smart-ass comments about how silly it is. People want to be immersed, and they'll buy it if you commit to sell it.
December 24, 2024 at 2:44 PM
Number one mistake I see in junior writers is being self-conscious about their writing.
You want to write about firebreathing, flying elves? Commit. Don't make smart-ass comments about how silly it is. People want to be immersed, and they'll buy it if you commit to sell it.
You want to write about firebreathing, flying elves? Commit. Don't make smart-ass comments about how silly it is. People want to be immersed, and they'll buy it if you commit to sell it.
Never measure progress in time or against others. You are measuring against yourself.
If I have dedicated myself to writing, or my career, and I see I'm better than I was 3 months ago, that counts.
You can't force the result you want, but you can improve.
If I have dedicated myself to writing, or my career, and I see I'm better than I was 3 months ago, that counts.
You can't force the result you want, but you can improve.
December 23, 2024 at 5:54 PM
Never measure progress in time or against others. You are measuring against yourself.
If I have dedicated myself to writing, or my career, and I see I'm better than I was 3 months ago, that counts.
You can't force the result you want, but you can improve.
If I have dedicated myself to writing, or my career, and I see I'm better than I was 3 months ago, that counts.
You can't force the result you want, but you can improve.
If anyone uses One drive for writing - don't. There is an apparently known bug that arises if you use multiple PCs to login.
The bug completely deletes your work and replaces it with whatever was on that PC the last time you logged in, including backups.
Goodbye 3 months of work.
The bug completely deletes your work and replaces it with whatever was on that PC the last time you logged in, including backups.
Goodbye 3 months of work.
December 22, 2024 at 12:59 PM
If anyone uses One drive for writing - don't. There is an apparently known bug that arises if you use multiple PCs to login.
The bug completely deletes your work and replaces it with whatever was on that PC the last time you logged in, including backups.
Goodbye 3 months of work.
The bug completely deletes your work and replaces it with whatever was on that PC the last time you logged in, including backups.
Goodbye 3 months of work.
Friendly reminder to anyone in college:
If you want to work in gaming, for the love of god do an internship. It is the easiest way in. Larian just hired its first junior writer from a successful internship, it does work.
It's a cheat to cut all the hard corners.
If you want to work in gaming, for the love of god do an internship. It is the easiest way in. Larian just hired its first junior writer from a successful internship, it does work.
It's a cheat to cut all the hard corners.
December 18, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Friendly reminder to anyone in college:
If you want to work in gaming, for the love of god do an internship. It is the easiest way in. Larian just hired its first junior writer from a successful internship, it does work.
It's a cheat to cut all the hard corners.
If you want to work in gaming, for the love of god do an internship. It is the easiest way in. Larian just hired its first junior writer from a successful internship, it does work.
It's a cheat to cut all the hard corners.
There's a lot of contentious stuff in gaming right now; there's a lot of debates; there's a lot of bad news.
But damn, I miss a good trailer that makes you tingle. Thanks Gearbox. Brings me back to when the first Borderlands 2 trailer dropped and I fell in love.
youtu.be/26vY2GMfYTw
But damn, I miss a good trailer that makes you tingle. Thanks Gearbox. Brings me back to when the first Borderlands 2 trailer dropped and I fell in love.
youtu.be/26vY2GMfYTw
Borderlands 4 - Official First Look
YouTube video by Borderlands
youtu.be
December 17, 2024 at 6:45 PM
There's a lot of contentious stuff in gaming right now; there's a lot of debates; there's a lot of bad news.
But damn, I miss a good trailer that makes you tingle. Thanks Gearbox. Brings me back to when the first Borderlands 2 trailer dropped and I fell in love.
youtu.be/26vY2GMfYTw
But damn, I miss a good trailer that makes you tingle. Thanks Gearbox. Brings me back to when the first Borderlands 2 trailer dropped and I fell in love.
youtu.be/26vY2GMfYTw
If you want to be a writer, be one.
I spent most my life thinking it was too hard to be a writer. Then I spent 10 years realizing the only thing I wanted to do was the thing I decided I couldn't.
Once I decided to do the impossible, it became attainable.
Seriously, life is too short. Just do it.
I spent most my life thinking it was too hard to be a writer. Then I spent 10 years realizing the only thing I wanted to do was the thing I decided I couldn't.
Once I decided to do the impossible, it became attainable.
Seriously, life is too short. Just do it.
December 17, 2024 at 12:23 AM
If you want to be a writer, be one.
I spent most my life thinking it was too hard to be a writer. Then I spent 10 years realizing the only thing I wanted to do was the thing I decided I couldn't.
Once I decided to do the impossible, it became attainable.
Seriously, life is too short. Just do it.
I spent most my life thinking it was too hard to be a writer. Then I spent 10 years realizing the only thing I wanted to do was the thing I decided I couldn't.
Once I decided to do the impossible, it became attainable.
Seriously, life is too short. Just do it.
If you want to be a writer, get used to being an editor.
Most of your job will be spent editing, tweeking, and rewriting. And when I say most, I mean 90%.
Crack a book, learn the skills, and get used to the sound of your own voice!
Most of your job will be spent editing, tweeking, and rewriting. And when I say most, I mean 90%.
Crack a book, learn the skills, and get used to the sound of your own voice!
December 16, 2024 at 8:35 AM
If you want to be a writer, get used to being an editor.
Most of your job will be spent editing, tweeking, and rewriting. And when I say most, I mean 90%.
Crack a book, learn the skills, and get used to the sound of your own voice!
Most of your job will be spent editing, tweeking, and rewriting. And when I say most, I mean 90%.
Crack a book, learn the skills, and get used to the sound of your own voice!
Sunday Book Recommend #1
Evelina by Fanny Burney (1778)
Epistolary, satirical, really far more fun than it has any right to be. It's like a Jane Austen story that can't take itself seriously. Anyone who wants to write nobility should see how Burney handles them.
www.gutenberg.org/files/6053/6...
Evelina by Fanny Burney (1778)
Epistolary, satirical, really far more fun than it has any right to be. It's like a Jane Austen story that can't take itself seriously. Anyone who wants to write nobility should see how Burney handles them.
www.gutenberg.org/files/6053/6...
Evelina, by Fanny Burney
www.gutenberg.org
December 15, 2024 at 5:18 PM
Sunday Book Recommend #1
Evelina by Fanny Burney (1778)
Epistolary, satirical, really far more fun than it has any right to be. It's like a Jane Austen story that can't take itself seriously. Anyone who wants to write nobility should see how Burney handles them.
www.gutenberg.org/files/6053/6...
Evelina by Fanny Burney (1778)
Epistolary, satirical, really far more fun than it has any right to be. It's like a Jane Austen story that can't take itself seriously. Anyone who wants to write nobility should see how Burney handles them.
www.gutenberg.org/files/6053/6...