Kazuma Hashimoto
@kazuma.bsky.social
critic / consultant / ??? @ ??? x2 ・ award nominated ・ ハーフ ・ queer, he/him, FTM 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ ・ bylines: IGN, Polygon, GamesRadar+, MMORPG, Them, Inverse, Rolling Stone ・ CONTACT: [email protected] ・ posts don't reflect employer, etc. etc.
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Kazuma Hashimoto
@kazuma.bsky.social
· Oct 21
hello! my name is kazuma hashimoto and i'm a critic and features writer. my work can be found on polygon, ign, and siliconera, usually entailing some kind of deep dive into japanese media. i also work as a narrative design consultant and a narrative designer on cool stuff i can't talk about yet.
oh yeah, my intro post. so a lot has changed in the past year. i still work as a critic and features writer. i'm now a part-time editor too. still do narrative design and consultation, but do market analysis to help identify trends and create marketing strategies. 👍 i'm also always open for work
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form:
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
November 10, 2025 at 5:18 PM
okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form:
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
predator is a slasher movie and arnold schwarzenegger is the final girl
November 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
predator is a slasher movie and arnold schwarzenegger is the final girl
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
November 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
sort of incredible to read a review that doesn't just made a vague nod at AI being bad, but actively reckons with the ways in which falling obsessively to AI usage actively obliterates the artistic intent and integrity of the work you've made.
November 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
sort of incredible to read a review that doesn't just made a vague nod at AI being bad, but actively reckons with the ways in which falling obsessively to AI usage actively obliterates the artistic intent and integrity of the work you've made.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
So every freelancer you know is going to lose their insurance or be bankrupted by premiums because Schumer is an invertebrate
November 10, 2025 at 3:27 AM
So every freelancer you know is going to lose their insurance or be bankrupted by premiums because Schumer is an invertebrate
90% of the opportunities i've gotten boil down to being at the right place and the right time. one instance was literally because someone had to bow out of an event, and i got sent as a replacement. it's luck, imo. but more importantly, the connections you make.
Sometimes, creators are reluctant to share career advice because they know how much of it can't be replicated. Authors can teach you how to write, artists can teach you how to draw, but no one can teach you how to force a publisher to sign you.
November 9, 2025 at 8:11 PM
90% of the opportunities i've gotten boil down to being at the right place and the right time. one instance was literally because someone had to bow out of an event, and i got sent as a replacement. it's luck, imo. but more importantly, the connections you make.
actually contemplated starting a new game in bg3 but no. i think seven playthroughs is enough for me.
November 9, 2025 at 7:36 AM
actually contemplated starting a new game in bg3 but no. i think seven playthroughs is enough for me.
they really have to stop printing "a Netflix feature film" on book covers.
November 9, 2025 at 2:11 AM
they really have to stop printing "a Netflix feature film" on book covers.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Rediscovered this electric article from 2020 by the great @duncanfyfe.net about the death of Sierra, a studio that was so so important to my childhood.
How Sierra Was Captured, Then Killed, by a Massive Accounting Fraud
Sierra was one of the biggest game publishers of the 90s. Then they got an offer that was way too good to be true, but too good to decline.
www.vice.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Rediscovered this electric article from 2020 by the great @duncanfyfe.net about the death of Sierra, a studio that was so so important to my childhood.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
This is interesting drama to follow lol
TLDR, the people who made the AI coke commercial are denying it and generating fake concept art, actual concept artists are ripping it all apart as fake because the guy has no idea how any of this works
TLDR, the people who made the AI coke commercial are denying it and generating fake concept art, actual concept artists are ripping it all apart as fake because the guy has no idea how any of this works
The disconnected Apple Pencil? The expression sheet with all the same expression? The art with the footsteps in the snow in front of the characters running? The file with one (1) background layer? Erasing the “hand drawn” background by hand on said one (1) layer file? Where do I starttttttt
November 8, 2025 at 8:57 PM
This is interesting drama to follow lol
TLDR, the people who made the AI coke commercial are denying it and generating fake concept art, actual concept artists are ripping it all apart as fake because the guy has no idea how any of this works
TLDR, the people who made the AI coke commercial are denying it and generating fake concept art, actual concept artists are ripping it all apart as fake because the guy has no idea how any of this works
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
hare hare hawk
August 21, 2025 at 8:16 PM
hare hare hawk
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Good literary translation requires understanding (language, culture, genre--on both sides of the translation) and an ability to write well. "AI" can't do that. There are no shortcuts. Treat your work and foreign language readers with the respect they deserve. You won't fool anyone with this.
Amazon has launched a new AI-driven translation service, Kindle Translate, for Kindle Direct Publishing authors 👇 #BookSky
Amazon launches AI translation service for indie authors
ebx.sh
November 7, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Good literary translation requires understanding (language, culture, genre--on both sides of the translation) and an ability to write well. "AI" can't do that. There are no shortcuts. Treat your work and foreign language readers with the respect they deserve. You won't fool anyone with this.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Thinking about these blogposts again with Shelved By Genre announcing they're covering tolkien
the idea that someone in the 70s-80s would write up a screen by screen adventure game recreation of the ENTIRETY of the books' middle-earth (map from said blogpost seen here) endlessly fascinates me
the idea that someone in the 70s-80s would write up a screen by screen adventure game recreation of the ENTIRETY of the books' middle-earth (map from said blogpost seen here) endlessly fascinates me
November 7, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Thinking about these blogposts again with Shelved By Genre announcing they're covering tolkien
the idea that someone in the 70s-80s would write up a screen by screen adventure game recreation of the ENTIRETY of the books' middle-earth (map from said blogpost seen here) endlessly fascinates me
the idea that someone in the 70s-80s would write up a screen by screen adventure game recreation of the ENTIRETY of the books' middle-earth (map from said blogpost seen here) endlessly fascinates me
i don't have much to say other than that this article is really, really good and i suggest everyone give it a read in terms of how to view, what to keep in mind when engaging w/ interactive historical fiction, and our participation in a glorified past that exists w/in unique contexts.
Before the weekend, I wanted to bump my article for Kotaku on historical fiction in videogames and how the past is presented in Ghost of Yotei, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and more. kotaku.com/ghost-yotei-...
Ghost Of Yotei And Other Historical Games Are Rewriting Old Myths
Ghost of Yotei, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Mafia: The Old Country each, to different degrees, complicate our vision of the past
kotaku.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:42 PM
i don't have much to say other than that this article is really, really good and i suggest everyone give it a read in terms of how to view, what to keep in mind when engaging w/ interactive historical fiction, and our participation in a glorified past that exists w/in unique contexts.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
the road of cringe leads to the palace of wisdom
November 7, 2025 at 7:25 PM
the road of cringe leads to the palace of wisdom
you could buy five front row seats to a nine inch nails concert with that money for comparison lol
November 7, 2025 at 6:24 PM
you could buy five front row seats to a nine inch nails concert with that money for comparison lol
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Game Awards: We're inviting less press and opening up seats to the public so that we (probably) can have a more engaged, excited audience for the camera and make more money
What the Game Awards thinks the public can afford:
What the Game Awards thinks the public can afford:
I asked about Game Awards press tickets in October. Got an email yesterday encouraging me to buy my own, as there were no spares.
November 7, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Game Awards: We're inviting less press and opening up seats to the public so that we (probably) can have a more engaged, excited audience for the camera and make more money
What the Game Awards thinks the public can afford:
What the Game Awards thinks the public can afford:
i get it
ok guess i'll just play fran bow for the first time or whatever
November 7, 2025 at 6:12 PM
i get it
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
I think we need to stop calling it empathy and go back to calling it decency. It isn't a favour you're doing someone else, it's you proving that you aren't a fucking ghoul
November 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I think we need to stop calling it empathy and go back to calling it decency. It isn't a favour you're doing someone else, it's you proving that you aren't a fucking ghoul
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
Falcate [FAL-kayt]
(adj.)
- Curved or crescent shaped; hooked.
From Latin “falcatus” from “falx / “falc-” (sickle)
Used in a sentence:
“The scythe’s falcate edge she left behind with scratch and tear that mightie wights had beene astonied much to spy—his robe was rent and cleene.”
(adj.)
- Curved or crescent shaped; hooked.
From Latin “falcatus” from “falx / “falc-” (sickle)
Used in a sentence:
“The scythe’s falcate edge she left behind with scratch and tear that mightie wights had beene astonied much to spy—his robe was rent and cleene.”
November 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Falcate [FAL-kayt]
(adj.)
- Curved or crescent shaped; hooked.
From Latin “falcatus” from “falx / “falc-” (sickle)
Used in a sentence:
“The scythe’s falcate edge she left behind with scratch and tear that mightie wights had beene astonied much to spy—his robe was rent and cleene.”
(adj.)
- Curved or crescent shaped; hooked.
From Latin “falcatus” from “falx / “falc-” (sickle)
Used in a sentence:
“The scythe’s falcate edge she left behind with scratch and tear that mightie wights had beene astonied much to spy—his robe was rent and cleene.”
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
"It's not a tomb. It's a town. And it will always be."
Czech larp group, Rolling, are based out of a former Nazi concentration camp hospital. Their performances embrace the complications and pain of that history.
Czech larp group, Rolling, are based out of a former Nazi concentration camp hospital. Their performances embrace the complications and pain of that history.
A Czech larp group wrestles with Nazi history by roleplaying in its bones
Exploring Disco Elysium and the power of art in a former concentration camp.
www.rascal.news
November 6, 2025 at 3:09 PM
"It's not a tomb. It's a town. And it will always be."
Czech larp group, Rolling, are based out of a former Nazi concentration camp hospital. Their performances embrace the complications and pain of that history.
Czech larp group, Rolling, are based out of a former Nazi concentration camp hospital. Their performances embrace the complications and pain of that history.
this has been one of my hardest sells when i've been pulled on to a project for a mock review, consulting, and loc editor. because consumes don't care and continue to spend $$$ on titles w/ really messy loc, it's hard to convince the devs to invest in better loc overall. but i always fight for it.
i am so, so tired of the concept of a "perfectely serviceable" localization. we, as a society, should stop settling for "well, it's understandable so it's good enough" when the bar could be so, so much higher.
it's hard, HARD work and i would never discredit that, because i know how tough it is
it's hard, HARD work and i would never discredit that, because i know how tough it is
November 7, 2025 at 12:43 AM
this has been one of my hardest sells when i've been pulled on to a project for a mock review, consulting, and loc editor. because consumes don't care and continue to spend $$$ on titles w/ really messy loc, it's hard to convince the devs to invest in better loc overall. but i always fight for it.
Reposted by Kazuma Hashimoto
