Michael

Advanced Gameplay Programmer at @WBGamesMTL (prev. @GothamKnights). Stylin' & compilin'. he/him

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

Hello my friends, I'd love to find you in the other place. Let's see what the vibes are like.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@maximilian_

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@GamersNexus

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

Like music theory, game design analysis is descriptive, not prescriptive. It's useful to dissect why a game works, to help inform your decisions in the future.

[Tyler Glaiel @TylerGlaiel]

Like 95% of game design essays look at a completed game and try to explain the design choices from that perspective.

But games start as a blank project file and get built up iteratively from that. If you're trying to MAKE games, you need to view design as a process, not a result

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

"You nearly had me, Raziel. But this is not where, or how, it ends. Fate promises more twists before this drama unfolds completely."

New Soul Reaver statues from @DarkHorseDirect

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@zachulon Pathetic 😂

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

I have been a Death Stranding fan since day one but I can't stand the fact that the pause menu is tied to character animation. I get that the controls are awkward and clumsy on purpose but the pause menu is a step too far. Let me pause instantly at any time.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

This is how MBAs killed the games industry. Everything is analytics. Lagging indicators predicting the future. The realities of day-to-day development are lost. They see games as betting opportunities, not realising that more money in = staff bloat = lower productivity (quality).

[Jacob Navok @JNavok]

This is a long thread about Square Enix, the Microsoft layoffs, AI, and Metcalfe's law.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

I was on Soulja Boy's GameBattles team #SODMG

[Moon Dragon @frozenaesthetic]

Share a piece of lore about yourself

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@Mikwen Let's see if I can do it without quitting and bringing my team with me 😂 maybe next pandemic there'll be another indie explosion.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@Mikwen 🥲 time to take the power back, imo

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@Mikwen Sometimes it feels like you're playing in a band led by someone who hates music.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@MLefty09 Best boss in the whole series.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

I'm using this the next time a jobber tries to sabotage my design.

[Christina Tasty @ChristinaTasty]

Thank you, Pedro Pascal.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@droxcy Exactly, but too often, people would rather maintain the illusion of progress than admit they're not right for the job. Don't have the answers? Dress that turd up and hope for the best. It's unfair to the team.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

I'm tired of hearing about all the time and money wasted on 5-10 year projects that don't even ship. If your gameplay isn't undeniably good after 1 year, you need to stop before it costs people their jobs. Stop putting tens of millions of dollars into art before you have a game.

[Victor Lucas @Victor_Lucas]

How we feeling about Xbox today?

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

@NickZuclich I'm so sorry, Nick. Infuriating.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

It's not just Xbox, this is the same story across most of the recent shutdowns and high-profile failures. Publishers need to learn who to trust with their resources, and how to detect this particular pattern as soon as it starts.

[Michael @MikeBarryM]

This is a failure of leadership. When your creative leadership lacks the competence to direct great gameplay, they'll immediately start pouring resources into presentation (art, audio, animation, cinematics). Publishers should know this is a red flag and stamp it out immediately.