Hervé Gengler
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hervegengler.bsky.social
Hervé Gengler
@hervegengler.bsky.social
2.4K followers 2.5K following 330 posts
Principal Game Designer.
I've been designing games professionally for ~20 years. Passionate about systems and RPGs.
Worked at Playground Games, Ubisoft & Ankama.

Views are my own. 🇧🇪 #GameDev #GameDesign

https://linktr.ee/herve.gengler
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hervegengler.bsky.social
Hervé Gengler @hervegengler.bsky.social · Aug 24
Hi everyone!

Let's do it again! Quick introduction: I've been designing video games for more than 16 years now, with a specialisation and passion for system design and RPGs.

I'm currently principal game designer on Fable at Playground Games - Xbox 🐔🥪

youtu.be/PEQRwpMYPaw
Fable - Xbox Games Showcase
What does it mean to be a Hero? Well, in the fairytale land of Albion, that is entirely up to you. With a dark threat looming, and in a world where your repu...
youtu.be
hervegengler.bsky.social
I've been lucky to work for the last 7.5 years on Fable at Playground Games. I learned a lot from the talented individuals I met there, but I decided it was time to leave for a new, exciting challenge. I'll share more info about this soon!
September 28, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Hervé Gengler
lukeplunkett.com
probably the realest thing ive ever seen posted on that website
Happy Friday everybody! I don't know why, but I feel like spilling the tea this morning, so here are some hard truths about the game industry. A lot of people who got into the industry early were terrible game developers. This shouldn't surprise people, but we used to look at numbers in the early 00's like half of all people rolling out of the game industry in the first three years as though all of those people were qualified. Hiring in this industry has almost always been untrained amateurs looking for people they like and who remind them of people they know. Most interviewers decide in the first five minutes whether they think you're worth hiring. Even the people who get training in how to interview almost never get coaching on how they do it, or real feedback on the success of their techniques. As a result, a lot of people walked in the door unqualified to do the job they were hired to do. Some of them survived for multiple cycles. Some of those were even promoted to leadership positions. There was a lot of nepotism involved - if you were friends with / had worked with the head of studio, department director, etc., then you were a known quantity and better than having to go out and find someone. Combine this with the prestige halo that comes from branding, and you have real problems. People tend to ascribe god-like powers to successful game studios - EA back in its heyday, Blizzard, BioWare. People who worked on hit games at big / known studios carried a ton of prestige - regardless of what they actually did. It's easy to say "I worked at Blizzard", and what that meant was not that you were part and parcel of the magic that made those games awesome, but simply that you were employed there; it takes hundreds, if not thousands, of people to make AAA games, and I promise you that inside every large, successful studio, there is a cadre of fuck-ups that no one has the heart, willpower, or political pull to get rid of. I've fired people with over a decade of expe…
September 20, 2025 at 12:36 AM
hervegengler.bsky.social
Proud to be the 2,705th backer 😎 on @BackerKit Crowdfunding for Cypher: Faster. Easier. And Even Better!! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...
Cypher: Faster. Easier. And Even Better!
The award-winning TTRPG perfect for forging the stories YOU want to play. Lightning-quick character generation. Super easy to GM. Unique and imaginative campaigns. And all the flexibility, story focus...
www.backerkit.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:11 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
We've just finished our first game jam using #Godot (the #GMTK2025)! 🥳

Even if we struggled a bit (as expected with new tools), I'm super impressed with all the features we packed into this game in 4 days.

Super proud of the team! 🥰

nebula-cluster.itch.io/gmtk-2025
Solaris Network by Nebula Cluster, MichaelBogaMusic, CursedCrows, KiruB, Maxime Piquot, CorteelJustin, Laszloow, Herve Gengler, ParanoidFox, Gyomu, Khevna Shah, ectosum
Available for Windows
nebula-cluster.itch.io
August 3, 2025 at 7:44 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
I've never written so much design documentation for a Game Jam 🤣

#GMTK2025 #gamedev
A screenshot of the navigation panel of our game wiki for the game jam showing dozens of different pages.
August 1, 2025 at 10:32 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
@khevna.bsky.social and I just backed Paleo Pines Players' Choice on @kickstarter.com 🐲https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paleopines/paleo-pines-players-choice?ref=thanks-tweet
Paleo Pines Players' Choice
Escape into a world of dino farming with our new gaming expansion!🦖🌿
www.kickstarter.com
July 31, 2025 at 10:08 AM
hervegengler.bsky.social
I'm excited for what our team is working on this year for the GMTK Game Jam 🤩
gamemakerstoolkit.com Game Maker's Toolkit @gamemakerstoolkit.com · Jul 30
The theme for GMTK Game Jam 2025 is... Loop!

Good luck!
GMTK logo and the word Loop, with the two Os as an infinity symbol
July 31, 2025 at 2:18 AM
hervegengler.bsky.social
We just backed UNDERISLES: Roleplaying with Sign Language on @kickstarter.com with @khevna.bsky.social

www.kickstarter.com/projects/tat...
UNDERISLES: Roleplaying with Sign Language
The award-winning RPG trilogy concludes. Learn British & American sign language as you play!
www.kickstarter.com
July 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
July 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
We just backed Sail Legacy on @kickstarter.com with @khevna.bsky.social (as we love Sail ^^) www.kickstarter.com/projects/boa...

#boardgames
Sail Legacy
Captain your ship, outfit your crew, and conquer the seas—in a co-op legacy trick-taker for two. Every choice defines your legacy.
www.kickstarter.com
July 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
Oh that's cool :)
eurogamer.bsky.social Eurogamer @eurogamer.bsky.social · Jul 3
Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox Series X/S in August, as first Sony-published game on the platform

www.eurogamer.net/helldivers-2...
July 3, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Hervé Gengler
jasonschreier.bsky.social
BREAKING: Mass layoffs at Xbox have started. Candy Crush maker King told employees that it is cutting 10% of staff, or 200 jobs. Bethesda's Europe offices were hit too. U.S. offices are expected to inform people this morning. More to come shortly www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Microsoft Begins Deep Job Cuts Across Xbox Division
European subsidiaries such as King were informed about the job cuts on Wednesday
www.bloomberg.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Hervé Gengler
erikrobson.net
Post by Bill Roper (THAT Bill Roper) over on LinkedIn.
Sorry, the full post didn't fit in the alt space here.
June 29, 2025 at 2:47 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
Does anyone have a good (better than Trello + Google Docs), free, alternative to Notions to support a team of 12 people for a game jam that will last 4 days?
June 27, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Hervé Gengler
bondsarahbond.bsky.social
Happy Birthday Obsidian! 🥳🎂💚 You are 🔥
obsidian.net Obsidian @obsidian.net · Jun 12
Avowed, Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2.

2025 is the Year of Obsidian. Thank you for exploring our worlds with us for 22 years — with many more to come. Happy Obsidian Day!
June 14, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Reposted by Hervé Gengler
phillewis.bsky.social
“Trump is using military forces to stop a protest — I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”

Doechii at the #BETAwards
June 10, 2025 at 1:01 AM
hervegengler.bsky.social
What were your favourite announcements?

I like everything from Obsidian so I'm ready for Outer Worlds 2 and Grounded 2.

No Ghosts at the Grand, Animo At Fate's Hand, and Keeper also made good impressions 🙂

#XboxGameShowcase
June 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Hervé Gengler
sanders.senate.gov
If Musk & his pals are so concerned about increasing the national debt in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, why don’t they cut the $664 billion in tax breaks for the 1%; the $420 billion in tax breaks for large profitable corporations; & the $150 billion in increased military spending?
June 4, 2025 at 2:12 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
I'm so glad it releases on all platform.
Good to see less non-sense exclusivity deals coming from Square Enix! ❤️
square-enix-games.com Square Enix @square-enix-games.com · Jun 4
Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles launches Tuesday, September 30th, 2025 for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam, and pre-orders will start later today

For more information regarding the game, check out our blog: sqex.link/FFTICa
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles | Announcement Trailer
YouTube video by Square Enix
youtu.be
June 5, 2025 at 1:06 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
Amazing ❤️
livvyclosehaul.bsky.social Livvy 🌌 @livvyclosehaul.bsky.social · Jun 4
Cross-posting from the official Final Fantasy account on Twitter: This developer message from Yasumi Matsuno hits hard.
Nearly 30 years ago, the collapse of Japan's bubble economy engulfed the nation's financial institutions in mountains of bad debt, triggering a wave of corporate bankruptcies, a sudden and extreme rise in unemployment rates, and stagnation of Japanese society as a whole. It was an era when many were robbed of hope, when dreams were measured by their price tag. Against this historical backdrop, I crafted a story. It was the story of Ramza, a young man who fought tirelessly against the entrenched social class system. It was the story of Delita, who sought to take advantage of this confusion and despair to advance his own social position. It was a story of a peculiar destiny, in which friendship and betrayal intertwine. And now, in 2025 - a time when inequality and division are still deeply rooted in our society - I offer this story once again. The will to resist is in your hands. Yasumi Matsuno - Original Script, Scenario Writer and Editor
June 4, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Hervé Gengler
polygon.com
Support Ukrainian hospitals with this bundle of more than 250 indie RPGs for $8
Support Ukrainian hospitals with this itch.io bundle of more than 250 indie TTRPGs for $8
The inclusion of the Metal Gear Solid-esque game Fist: Ultra Edition makes this collection a great deal
www.polygon.com
June 4, 2025 at 5:50 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
👋
idatxbox.bsky.social ID@Xbox @idatxbox.bsky.social · Jun 4
We've joined the party! Now, let's get you some indies!
June 4, 2025 at 6:28 PM
hervegengler.bsky.social
We finished the jigsaw puzzle we got from the Floral Dragon kickstarter by @kintheartist.bsky.social and @hitpointpress.bsky.social yesterday with @khevna.bsky.social 🐉

It was fun and the result is awesome 😍
A jigsaw puzzle showing a myriad of colorful Floral Dragons
June 4, 2025 at 9:54 AM
hervegengler.bsky.social
Very impressive tech😮
thewitcher.com The Witcher @thewitcher.com · Jun 3
Thanks for tuning in to The Witcher 4 — Unreal Engine 5 tech demo and joining us during the State of Unreal 2025! #UnrealFest

The full presentation will be uploaded and shared with everyone later today, but in the meantime, here's four screenshots straight from the demo to tide us all over. 😍
Screenshot from The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo shows a close-up of Ciri wearing her hood up, looking off in the distance. Her two swords can be seen on her back. The Witcher 4 logo is printed in the bottom left corner alongside text that reads, “Technical Presentation — Not Actual Gameplay.” Screenshot from The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo shows a lush forest, with a fallen tree in the foreground alongside patches of snow. The Witcher 4 logo is printed in the bottom left corner alongside text that reads, “Technical Presentation — Not Actual Gameplay.” Screenshot from The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo shows a hooded Ciri standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the forests and mountains of Kovir on a bright day. A grand medieval city can be spotted in the distance. The Witcher 4 logo is printed in the bottom left corner alongside text that reads, “Technical Presentation — Not Actual Gameplay.” Screenshot from The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo shows the busy medieval market of Valdrest with dozens upon dozens of NPCs crowding around a band performing on stage. The Witcher 4 logo is printed in the bottom left corner alongside text that reads, “Technical Presentation — Not Actual Gameplay.”
June 3, 2025 at 2:32 PM