Jason Skiles
@jasonskiles.bsky.social
Dad, hobbit, software engineer. Used to make video games. Kind of quiet and private. Following me won't be all that rewarding.
Team Orca.
Team Orca.
It's a striking sight from a plane on final to LAX. Just a big filthy brown cloud, lying low and stretching to the horizon.
November 19, 2025 at 8:42 PM
It's a striking sight from a plane on final to LAX. Just a big filthy brown cloud, lying low and stretching to the horizon.
I was horrified at my first visit to LA in 2000 when I saw the angry cloud of smog squatting atop the city. It was a terrible shock. "I'm going to be living in THAT?"
It was plenty bad then, and I guess the 70s were far worse. I can't even imagine.
It was plenty bad then, and I guess the 70s were far worse. I can't even imagine.
November 19, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I was horrified at my first visit to LA in 2000 when I saw the angry cloud of smog squatting atop the city. It was a terrible shock. "I'm going to be living in THAT?"
It was plenty bad then, and I guess the 70s were far worse. I can't even imagine.
It was plenty bad then, and I guess the 70s were far worse. I can't even imagine.
I always cite to the Hillsborough Disaster to make that point. Everything that happened there was the result of human action. Large crowd of people, most with a limited perspective, each pursuing reasonable goals in reasonable ways. The whole produced results that no individual wanted.
November 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I always cite to the Hillsborough Disaster to make that point. Everything that happened there was the result of human action. Large crowd of people, most with a limited perspective, each pursuing reasonable goals in reasonable ways. The whole produced results that no individual wanted.
Better pay. Better working conditions. Far less stress. More stability. Wish I'd bailed on games way earlier than I did. As bad as it looked while I was in it, it looks way worse in the rearview.
October 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Better pay. Better working conditions. Far less stress. More stability. Wish I'd bailed on games way earlier than I did. As bad as it looked while I was in it, it looks way worse in the rearview.
Sure. That'd be great. But the fundamental problem is that there simply isn't enough money to do that because game sales doesn't rake in enough money.
I did games for 20 years, and the wolf was ALWAYS at the door. Then I went to big tech. Life is just way better when your company has money.
I did games for 20 years, and the wolf was ALWAYS at the door. Then I went to big tech. Life is just way better when your company has money.
October 23, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Sure. That'd be great. But the fundamental problem is that there simply isn't enough money to do that because game sales doesn't rake in enough money.
I did games for 20 years, and the wolf was ALWAYS at the door. Then I went to big tech. Life is just way better when your company has money.
I did games for 20 years, and the wolf was ALWAYS at the door. Then I went to big tech. Life is just way better when your company has money.
IIUC, Paradox is both a publisher and a developer, and self-publishes (or self-develops) most of their signature franchises.
From this great distance, however, that looks like a complicated arrangement and I'm not certain I'm understanding it clearly.
From this great distance, however, that looks like a complicated arrangement and I'm not certain I'm understanding it clearly.
September 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
IIUC, Paradox is both a publisher and a developer, and self-publishes (or self-develops) most of their signature franchises.
From this great distance, however, that looks like a complicated arrangement and I'm not certain I'm understanding it clearly.
From this great distance, however, that looks like a complicated arrangement and I'm not certain I'm understanding it clearly.
And even this gets complicated. It's not unusual for a publisher to move a franchise from one studio to another. Fans often become aware of this kind of move, and often resent it.
September 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
And even this gets complicated. It's not unusual for a publisher to move a franchise from one studio to another. Fans often become aware of this kind of move, and often resent it.
If the game you were looking for got shipped before it was ready, that was probably the publisher. If the team that made the game you love got broken up and scattered to various other projects, publisher. If the game you were looking forward to got cancelled because the publisher took on 20B of debt
September 29, 2025 at 2:18 PM
If the game you were looking for got shipped before it was ready, that was probably the publisher. If the team that made the game you love got broken up and scattered to various other projects, publisher. If the game you were looking forward to got cancelled because the publisher took on 20B of debt
Publishers are often very intimately involved in the development of the games that they eventually publish. It's seldom an arm's length transaction, especially with the expensive games. Publishers are often funding most or all of the development and exercise as much control as they want.
September 29, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Publishers are often very intimately involved in the development of the games that they eventually publish. It's seldom an arm's length transaction, especially with the expensive games. Publishers are often funding most or all of the development and exercise as much control as they want.
Many times I've been surprised at the interests that catch me. But I've never had much luck willfully choosing them.
August 2, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Many times I've been surprised at the interests that catch me. But I've never had much luck willfully choosing them.
Back in the early 90s when I was working on the game that became WWF WrestleMania I really tried to appreciate wrestling. The whole team did. We thought it was important. Some succeeded, or seemed to, more than others. I tried hard but never really got there.
August 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Back in the early 90s when I was working on the game that became WWF WrestleMania I really tried to appreciate wrestling. The whole team did. We thought it was important. Some succeeded, or seemed to, more than others. I tried hard but never really got there.
Normie lib here.
He's a soulless, calculating, third-way asshole and always has been.
I don't trust him and I don't trust his instincts. But he's taking it to DT, and that counts for a lot. Contrast him with, say, Adam Schiff, a serial disappointment who never delivers.
He's a soulless, calculating, third-way asshole and always has been.
I don't trust him and I don't trust his instincts. But he's taking it to DT, and that counts for a lot. Contrast him with, say, Adam Schiff, a serial disappointment who never delivers.
June 13, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Normie lib here.
He's a soulless, calculating, third-way asshole and always has been.
I don't trust him and I don't trust his instincts. But he's taking it to DT, and that counts for a lot. Contrast him with, say, Adam Schiff, a serial disappointment who never delivers.
He's a soulless, calculating, third-way asshole and always has been.
I don't trust him and I don't trust his instincts. But he's taking it to DT, and that counts for a lot. Contrast him with, say, Adam Schiff, a serial disappointment who never delivers.
Huge disappointment that @schiff.senate.gov voted for this. How hard is it to be no wronger than Rand Paul?
May 20, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Huge disappointment that @schiff.senate.gov voted for this. How hard is it to be no wronger than Rand Paul?
And then you go and vote for the bill on the floor?
May 20, 2025 at 3:37 AM
And then you go and vote for the bill on the floor?
Fair play to her. She saw that prosecution through, from the first warrant to the closing argument. She deserves to take a bow.
May 20, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Fair play to her. She saw that prosecution through, from the first warrant to the closing argument. She deserves to take a bow.
Child endangerment.
Charges. Jail.
Charges. Jail.
May 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Child endangerment.
Charges. Jail.
Charges. Jail.
It's gotta be a cousin of the effect whereby Oscar voters don't respect comedy.
May 14, 2025 at 6:43 PM
It's gotta be a cousin of the effect whereby Oscar voters don't respect comedy.
My first concert. The Dare to be Stupid tour. Tiny little venue in Merrillville, Indiana. Great show.
May 14, 2025 at 6:40 PM
My first concert. The Dare to be Stupid tour. Tiny little venue in Merrillville, Indiana. Great show.
God damn. If that man talked half as much, he'd seem twice as smart.
May 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
God damn. If that man talked half as much, he'd seem twice as smart.
He is, and always has been, a soulless, calculating, third-way asshole. I'm looking forward to voting against him in the 2028 primary. Gonna do my bit to help him lose his home state.
May 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM
He is, and always has been, a soulless, calculating, third-way asshole. I'm looking forward to voting against him in the 2028 primary. Gonna do my bit to help him lose his home state.
Fair, and well said.
On the subject of Trump's corruption, well done on blocking Trump's stablecoin grift. I was disappointed when you voted to advance it out of the committee, but you got on the right side in time.
On the subject of Trump's corruption, well done on blocking Trump's stablecoin grift. I was disappointed when you voted to advance it out of the committee, but you got on the right side in time.
May 11, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Fair, and well said.
On the subject of Trump's corruption, well done on blocking Trump's stablecoin grift. I was disappointed when you voted to advance it out of the committee, but you got on the right side in time.
On the subject of Trump's corruption, well done on blocking Trump's stablecoin grift. I was disappointed when you voted to advance it out of the committee, but you got on the right side in time.
The people I know who will drink the stuff don't exactly claim to "like" it. It's complicated. They sort of enjoy how awful it is, but that's not quite the same thing as liking it? If that makes any sense?
May 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
The people I know who will drink the stuff don't exactly claim to "like" it. It's complicated. They sort of enjoy how awful it is, but that's not quite the same thing as liking it? If that makes any sense?