Ugh. So many people I know got the axe today from my biggest client.

If you got hit in the layoffs, you know what I do and I'll be glad to support whatever you do in the interim while looking for work. Need a map (or a crappy B&W illo) for an interim project to keep you going? Drop me a line.

My first ever Steam game - Costa Verde Transport Department, a cozy traffic simulator - is OUT ON STEAM RIGHT NOW!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2403100/Costa_Verde_Transport_Department

Thanks to everyone for the enormous support. Many things went wrong during the development process, but at least I learnt a lot and managed to release a game :)

#indiedev #steam

🚨 It's here!🚨

🛠️ Switch Patch Notes Version 1.2.15🛠️

There are a LOT of updates in this patch but the biggest is that we have put a lot of work into further optimization to reduce (and hopefully fix) the crashes🙏 😅

Full notes👇

A new low, even for #Google. Giving Google permission to share information about you with third-party websites is being falsely advertised as an "ad privacy feature". This is privacy washing at its most extreme. But it gets even worse.

There is a dark pattern on the second screenshot. It isn't just informing you about the fake privacy features. Clicking on "Got it" actually turns on these features that allow Google to use your recent browsing history for ads on third-party websites:

"Kneschke’s survey found that the average revenue from the Contributors Fund was $0.0078 per image while the median was $0.0069 per image. Assuming those numbers are accurate, a photographer with around 2,000 images would make roughly $15 — not exactly an earth-shatting amount."

https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/30/how-much-can-artists-make-from-generative-ai-vendors-wont-say/

It's nice that #Unity3D walked back to terms that don't apply unless you use their latest engine, but that's the take-away: you need to not use their latest anymore. Finish your game. Find another engine. This is just an escape clause.

Anyone who sticks with them will get screwed the next time their c-suite wants to goose their stock price.

If you can find a way to keep making games on old Unity versions, that works too probably. But. You'll hit issues if you want to target consoles. There is no porting path for most (any?) Unity versions more than 2 years old at time of port.

EDIT: (but really even old versions, they already changed their minds once on that, so assuming they won't again is foolish- find a new engine after you finish out current projects)