Isaiah Everin
@signalsandlight.bsky.social
Senior Combat Designer @ Notable Game Studio 🎮
Video essays on game design and media
Opinions are my own
He/Him 👾 | Gay 🏳️🌈
YouTube: http://youtube.com/@signalsandlight
Socials: https://linktr.ee/SignalsAndLight
Portfolio: https://www.isaiaheverin.com
Video essays on game design and media
Opinions are my own
He/Him 👾 | Gay 🏳️🌈
YouTube: http://youtube.com/@signalsandlight
Socials: https://linktr.ee/SignalsAndLight
Portfolio: https://www.isaiaheverin.com
Pinned
Defining What IS an Enemy Attack
YouTube video by Signals and Light
youtu.be
New pinned post...I made six YouTube videos and then got a promotion, so I got too busy to keep working on other ones, but then the game industry went and does what it does, so I don't even know what I'm doing next with my career for a bit. Maybe I'll make more YouTube videos once I stop being sad!
Friday was my last day at Crystal Dynamics, and I have a new job in January. Dealing with a mountain of inconveniences in moving across the country, telling myself throughout, "It is awesome actually that any of these things can be a problem, your life is good, everything should be fine." (1/2)
November 23, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Friday was my last day at Crystal Dynamics, and I have a new job in January. Dealing with a mountain of inconveniences in moving across the country, telling myself throughout, "It is awesome actually that any of these things can be a problem, your life is good, everything should be fine." (1/2)
Not pictured: FFXVI, which regardless of what the percentage was, had some of the worst writing of a main woman character in Final Fantasy history.
The proportion of female to male dialogue in Final Fantasy. #advx25
November 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Not pictured: FFXVI, which regardless of what the percentage was, had some of the worst writing of a main woman character in Final Fantasy history.
Epic gay boy moments in Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. Crazy how pivoting to a more mundane world lets them explore more grounded relationship dynamics in the same fun tone (while also having sick fantasy stuff on the side).
November 23, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Epic gay boy moments in Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. Crazy how pivoting to a more mundane world lets them explore more grounded relationship dynamics in the same fun tone (while also having sick fantasy stuff on the side).
I don't "take The Game Awards seriously," but casually caring doesn't bother me either. The only things that annoy me in TGA this year are: lots of things in related categories aren't indie games, and The Alters was snubbed super hard for Best Narrative and Best Performance.
November 19, 2025 at 3:31 AM
I don't "take The Game Awards seriously," but casually caring doesn't bother me either. The only things that annoy me in TGA this year are: lots of things in related categories aren't indie games, and The Alters was snubbed super hard for Best Narrative and Best Performance.
A grounding read by @aftermath.site about how much it sucks to look for work in games. The thing I can echo that's driven me more crazy than anything else is the number of studios I've done tests for that don't guarantee an interview after the test to discuss it (let alone ghosting after). (1/4)
Trying To Get A Job In Video Games Right Now Is Like Crawling Through Hell - Aftermath
The application process has become a dehumanising, demoralising grind
aftermath.site
November 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM
A grounding read by @aftermath.site about how much it sucks to look for work in games. The thing I can echo that's driven me more crazy than anything else is the number of studios I've done tests for that don't guarantee an interview after the test to discuss it (let alone ghosting after). (1/4)
The ramp up of tension and stakes as The Chair Company goes on is absolutely marvelous, the absurdity just gets funnier and funnier. The whole thing feels like borderline Lynch but with the plausible deniability that all of these events are completely mundane and could happen to anyone.
November 18, 2025 at 1:04 AM
The ramp up of tension and stakes as The Chair Company goes on is absolutely marvelous, the absurdity just gets funnier and funnier. The whole thing feels like borderline Lynch but with the plausible deniability that all of these events are completely mundane and could happen to anyone.
November 17, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Stopped working in film as a young adult because "just be really good at your job" wasn't at all how you find work. The game industry has mostly gone well living like this (except for the two cancelled games, where any part of the team excelling had no relevance to the final outcome).
November 15, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Stopped working in film as a young adult because "just be really good at your job" wasn't at all how you find work. The game industry has mostly gone well living like this (except for the two cancelled games, where any part of the team excelling had no relevance to the final outcome).
This new season of "Adventure Time: Fiona and Cake" is so incredible. The intro to Ep 4 is unbelievable, brutal and sad.
November 15, 2025 at 1:47 AM
This new season of "Adventure Time: Fiona and Cake" is so incredible. The intro to Ep 4 is unbelievable, brutal and sad.
This was one of the best interviews I've seen in my life. Grabbed me with Brennan, but watching more of Josh's interviews and he's just so, so, so good at talking to people over food and having deep authentic conversations.
Brennan Lee Mulligan Eats His Last Meal
YouTube video by Mythical Kitchen
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 6:21 AM
This was one of the best interviews I've seen in my life. Grabbed me with Brennan, but watching more of Josh's interviews and he's just so, so, so good at talking to people over food and having deep authentic conversations.
Reposted by Isaiah Everin
every crisis we have in the us is totally fabricated by the politicians except the dire epistomological corruption of 40% of the voting base, which is real
November 10, 2025 at 4:31 AM
every crisis we have in the us is totally fabricated by the politicians except the dire epistomological corruption of 40% of the voting base, which is real
Post you from a different era.
(Horrifying that it's been 14 years since I was in college.)
(Horrifying that it's been 14 years since I was in college.)
November 7, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Post you from a different era.
(Horrifying that it's been 14 years since I was in college.)
(Horrifying that it's been 14 years since I was in college.)
Reposted by Isaiah Everin
Important demonstration of how not only worthless but fundamentally hostile this garbage software is.
ChatGPT made me delusional
YouTube video by Eddy Burback
www.youtube.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Important demonstration of how not only worthless but fundamentally hostile this garbage software is.
Same story every time. Rich white guy who's only redeeming quality is bossing people around without any coherent vision of how a game is made, let alone how a quality game is made, doesn't listen to anyone he hired who knows better, sabotages the entire thing nonstop, and blames everyone else.
MindsEye: How ex-Grand Theft Auto boss’s grand vision became a £200m flop
Lesley Benzies was one of the architects behind one of the most successful video games in history.
www.bbc.com
October 19, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Same story every time. Rich white guy who's only redeeming quality is bossing people around without any coherent vision of how a game is made, let alone how a quality game is made, doesn't listen to anyone he hired who knows better, sabotages the entire thing nonstop, and blames everyone else.
Portland, what a beautiful city.
October 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Portland, what a beautiful city.
Alien Earth is thematically about morbid curiosity. The characters feel it about xenos and playing god, the writers feel it about what bullshit they can get away with, and the audience feels it about where any of this is fucking going. What a batshit premise for an S2 if it's somehow not cancelled.
October 1, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Alien Earth is thematically about morbid curiosity. The characters feel it about xenos and playing god, the writers feel it about what bullshit they can get away with, and the audience feels it about where any of this is fucking going. What a batshit premise for an S2 if it's somehow not cancelled.
This is for no one, but, as a name, "Perfidia Beverly Hills" from One Battle After the Other was constantly giving me "Vestavia Casket Showroom" from @starsofspace.bsky.social.
September 30, 2025 at 12:23 AM
This is for no one, but, as a name, "Perfidia Beverly Hills" from One Battle After the Other was constantly giving me "Vestavia Casket Showroom" from @starsofspace.bsky.social.
Animated Homestuck pilot. That was fucking awful, not even a rough approximation of Homestuck writing. How was Hussie involved at all? I didn't have high expectations, but that was about the worst it could realistically be while still existing. Embarrassingly missing the mark.
September 28, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Animated Homestuck pilot. That was fucking awful, not even a rough approximation of Homestuck writing. How was Hussie involved at all? I didn't have high expectations, but that was about the worst it could realistically be while still existing. Embarrassingly missing the mark.
Oh my GODDDDD, this is so GORGEOUS. There are so many outstanding shots and environments, it's such a joy to watch, I really hope @glitchprod.com keeps making more of this!
September 20, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Oh my GODDDDD, this is so GORGEOUS. There are so many outstanding shots and environments, it's such a joy to watch, I really hope @glitchprod.com keeps making more of this!
No spoilers Silksong review on @backloggd.com with more words about difficulty in games than about the game itself, because Idk that's where my brain is since no one will shut up about it.
backloggd.com/u/everin/rev...
backloggd.com/u/everin/rev...
September 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
No spoilers Silksong review on @backloggd.com with more words about difficulty in games than about the game itself, because Idk that's where my brain is since no one will shut up about it.
backloggd.com/u/everin/rev...
backloggd.com/u/everin/rev...
Just finished reading "Player of Games," wanted to see how people reflected on the various qualities of what The Culture novels are presenting in a utopia, and this @bloodknife.bsky.social essay on the subject was very good.
The Culture War: Iain M. Banks's Billionaire Fans - Blood Knife
The Culture novels are far-future communist space opera from an explicitly socialist author. So how do we explain their wealthy, hyper-capitalist fans?
bloodknife.com
September 17, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Just finished reading "Player of Games," wanted to see how people reflected on the various qualities of what The Culture novels are presenting in a utopia, and this @bloodknife.bsky.social essay on the subject was very good.
Now in Act 3 of Silksong, and despite how hard it is and how mean it is and how much I'm not *that* good at this game but just good enough (and it gives enough tools to let you modulate the difficulty if you pay attention, similar to Elden Ring), this game is so fucking peak.
September 13, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Now in Act 3 of Silksong, and despite how hard it is and how mean it is and how much I'm not *that* good at this game but just good enough (and it gives enough tools to let you modulate the difficulty if you pay attention, similar to Elden Ring), this game is so fucking peak.
Less than 48 hours of Silksong release before I'm already ranting about lack of accessibility/difficulty options in the discord chats. Not because I want them for myself yet, just because I feel bad for people for whom HK was already their limit of difficulty and this game expects a lot more.
September 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Less than 48 hours of Silksong release before I'm already ranting about lack of accessibility/difficulty options in the discord chats. Not because I want them for myself yet, just because I feel bad for people for whom HK was already their limit of difficulty and this game expects a lot more.