Martin Kift

Technical Director.

Coding games professionally since 1996.

Coding games unprofessionally for even longer!

Ex Microsoft, Sony, EA, Ubisoft and others.

Opinions are my own.

Public Key

npub1kmkmxgwq6tj5ltmujaktqecg2e5dcdclz6hv3hpn4df6d60r52uq6re2al

NIP-05 Address

MouseByTheSea@mastodon-gamedev-place.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstdmdny8qd9e204a7fwm9svuy9v6xuxu03dtkgmse6k5axa8369wqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds553qpa

Publishing to

nostr.wine

nos.lol

relay.damus.io

Author Public Key

npub1kmkmxgwq6tj5ltmujaktqecg2e5dcdclz6hv3hpn4df6d60r52uq6re2al

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-06-13 20:02:16 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…valu You have to prioritize at times. The game will get there in time, just make sure to not overwork yourself.

2026-06-13 16:23:09 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…valu sounds good, the approach obviously lends itself to custom codebases.
Speaking of which, how are you getting on with your game?

2026-06-13 12:43:56 UTC

I need code hotloading for this toy project I'm working on, since not having it isn't an option.
If the project becomes serious I'll buy a Live++ license since its excellent, I almost bought one in the past for another toy project that nearly (but not quite) became serious.
For now, I'll try moving gameplay code into a DLL (and share memory) and reload that...what is the worst that can happen :/

2026-06-04 19:09:59 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…3q9y Can I skip 1 and go straight to profit?

2026-05-10 09:58:09 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…0kf8 good to know thanks for sharing.

2026-05-09 15:38:30 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…0kf8 What are your long term plans for avoyd out of interest? Were you not making a game using it?

2026-05-04 09:54:50 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…5x8e Good luck, but hopefully you don't need the extra luck - adding the bug during LTS seems very off.

2026-05-03 18:55:20 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…valu Indeed, DRM is pointless in most games, esp the indie space. Still, releasing code is nice and generous. Since its GPL I won't look myself, but hopefully people can learn from it.

2026-05-03 18:52:59 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…hm63 I have never heard of Cybercon 3 before, released 1991 by the look of it, so I was still in the amiga world at that point. It looks very interesting, I'll check it out.

2026-05-03 18:44:14 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…hm63 What games were those out of interest?
My memory is poor these days, the only game I can recall playing on the amiga that uses mouse as analogue input, outside of point and clicks, was Virus (Zarch) and Powerdrome.
Having loved DM, EofB, etc, on the amiga, I recall my friend getting a PC and eventually Ultima Underworld with its full 3d and mouse control - blew me away.

2026-05-03 18:40:00 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…valu Nice, if I have time tomorrow I'll give it a try. Surprised you are releasing source code, is there any reason for that? Big props for hitting so many platforms, and using custom tech - even if it ends up not being my style of game, I'll buy it when it hits steam.

2026-04-21 18:39:42 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…3q9y Thanks for the info, I'll take a look. I briefly ran Gentoo back in the mid 2000's and enjoyed it, but the hardware I had at the time wasn't up to the task.

2026-04-20 18:10:21 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…3q9y Thanks for the info, I did assume you were being sarcastic, and we know what assumptions can make one look like...
It does sound interesting, I also bounced off Fedora last year... I'm back in Windows atm, but not enjoying it - not that I really expected too. Still musing about moving back to something nix'y.
I've previously thought about dabbling with BSD - I prefer its approach where everything comes packaged together, rather than kernel + userland packages.

2026-04-19 19:15:04 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…3q9y Makes complete sense - I rank operating systems by the average time taken per update, longer updates equates to more time to consume coffee and biscuits, which can only be a good thing.

2026-04-19 19:08:12 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…3q9y Gentoo is an interesting choice, why did you pick that distro?
I did try it once back int the 2000's (ish) but at the time I built from source on a laptop, and... it didn't go well :)

2026-04-14 18:40:56 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…valu @nprofile…5qzs Thats the rub I suppose, if there was a large trustworthy platform where you could both discover and buy web-based games that might be worth targetting.
I suppose you could have a web based demo with a link to the steam page, to try and minimize the friction, if that is allowed?
Myself I only buy and install games from Steam, I don't want to deal with multiple stores.

2026-04-13 18:48:10 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…valu @nprofile…5qzs No excuses needed if you find it interesting, but yes, unfortunately Steam is where its at game- and demo-wise.

2026-04-12 17:51:34 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…valu @nprofile…5qzs I have not researched this myself, but I'd be surprised if releasing a demo without some other form of traction would be enough?
Demos do seem to be getting more popular, is this separate to other trends, or is it somehow related to steamfest's and similar initiatives like triple-i?
I'm sure there are examples of demos dropped into steam without fanfare doing well, the only one I can think of is Balaro - and that was due to being played by popular streamers.
Needs research

2025-08-28 18:02:49 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…t3wn maybe @nprofile…s5vn

2025-06-09 18:50:01 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…d23x to me, 8-bitty

2025-06-08 20:13:34 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…d23x @nprofile…dx4q @nprofile…pac7 thanks, looks very nice.

2025-06-08 19:47:24 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…d23x @nprofile…dx4q @nprofile…pac7 me wants to know colour scheme.

2025-05-17 18:45:37 UTC

I was thinking about “our machinery” earlier today for reasons I cannot recall, and its disappearance makes me sad.

2025-01-06 21:32:38 UTC

Another year has passed where there still seems to be no viable option for tech communities to chat other than Discord. And I cry a little as I see all that valuable information locked away from internet search (and behind a discord account).

2024-12-24 15:47:32 UTC

Two acclaimed indie games this year, balatro and arco, were written in Love2d. And UFO50 was written in GameMaker.
Just a reminder that you do not need an expensive monolithic game engine to make a successful game.

2024-12-23 21:12:22 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…3kf4 100%, plus if one has hearing difficulties, especially around various parts of the frequency range or tinnitus, it makes it hard to listen for any length of time due to the concentration required to separate music from voice. So I consider it a basic accessibility issue. Unfortunately I’ve had to stop following some content creators because of this.

2024-12-23 20:27:13 UTC

Request for YouTube video makers. Please don’t put music behind talkie sections since it makes it hard for some people to hear the spoken words easily. Or if you really want background music, perhaps release a music-less version for people who would prefer that?

2024-12-20 21:54:55 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…t3wn I like the slow pace to be honest, my favourites follow the order of the tracks on the album. I just checked and they released a couple more singles, including bizarrely a chopped down telegraph road from 24 minutes to 5 minutes, which I don’t think I’ve ever heard. It didn’t chart in the UK.

2024-12-20 12:22:54 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…t3wn from memory they released private investigations as a single, and it reached number 2 in the UK. I don’t think you’d get many bands brave enough to release such a song a single.

2024-12-20 10:32:12 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…t3wn big fan and that is easily their best album imho.

2024-12-17 19:37:51 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…k0gr apologies my client must have hidden the link. Makes sense.

2024-12-17 18:01:58 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…k0gr what downscaler are you using?