Regarding Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, my uncredited work is in the book. "Solution" is, by the author's own admission, a take on my game Train. She uses the same theme, gameplay patterns, releases the game at the same location (MIT) ... more
Today marks 40 years in the game industry for me. I got my first job when I was a kid at Sir-tech Software on the Wizardry series, and the game industry is still my home. Game devs are my family. Thanks for everything.
I hope this pic is shared far and wide. It is what everyone needs to see when they think lead coder. I can't tell you how much I love this photo & how inspirational it is to me as a game dev, mom and woman whose game also shipped *after* her baby did. <3
@FarrellyTreasa
Here's a pic of
@FarrellyTreasa
and baby Fódhla doing some late night last minute work to get A Fumble in the Dark ready for launch.
This is dedication to perfection!
#gamedev
It may seem like a small thing to be bothered about, but to me, it's not. Train is likely the best game I'll ever make. It matters to me. I spent a lot of time researching it, talking with the community it represents and making something I felt was worthy.
An idea my brain suggests: secretly train with an expert in FPS until I am great, invite John to a casual deathmatch and destroy him. I did once set him up vs. a world-class player in DOOM II, and then John won, and my plan was foiled. "Ha ha ha! He will destroy you!" "Oh shit."
Hustle, charm, and intimidate your way to the top in the ruthless criminal underworld of 1920s Prohibition-era Chicago in
#EmpireofSin
, a strategy game from Romero Games and Paradox Interactive, coming to
#NintendoSwitch
spring 2020.
Rest in peace, Laralyn McWilliams.
Laralyn loved games, and Myst was particularly significant to her. She got her JD (juris doctorate), and while she’d worked hard for that, she never forgot the joy that games brought her ... 1/
... and even uses the same language I use to describe it (it's a game about complicity). My work is not credited in her book, although her book includes extensive credits. She only acknowledged it was my work when the NY Times and Wired magazine prompted her to.
A random thing, but I'm proud of it.
@EmpireOfSinGame
is being developed by a company with a female game director and CEO (me) for a company with a female CEO (
@ebbalj
). It's been 38 years, and while I wasn't waiting for this moment, I'm happy this day has come.
#womenintech
We're excited to announce that we are working on a strategy game with
@Pdxinteractive
! Look for more info at E3 this year. If you want some advance peeks at the game's theme, sign up at
Further, they note that Train was "undistributed." How does that apply to other singular works of art like paintings, for instance? This is very disappointing response, particularly from a novelist who writes about women not receiving credit. Watch this space.
Update: The Washington Post spoke with Knopf, publisher of Tomorrow x3. They stand by Zevin and are apparently unwilling to credit me noting, ". . . the only games listed in the author’s acknowledgments are video games." Board games don't count?
We're hiring! Romero Games is looking for contract artists to help us take our game to the next level. We're looking for a VFX artist and an animator both with Unity and game dev experience. In-house preferred. Hit us up on artjob
@romerogames
.com with your portfolio and CV!
A nun and a pioneering programmer, Sister Mary Kenneth Keller was instrumental in the development of the BASIC programming language, having worked with Kemeny and Kurtz in its development. She was also the first woman to attain a PhD in computer science in the US.
#IWD2019
Game boxes were a standard size and designed to fit in retail stores that specialised in software and hardware. You didn’t want to go smaller because the real estate mattered to eyes scanning shelves. Thread
⬇️
genuine question why did pc game cases in the mid 2000s take up twice the amount of space. don’t tell me it’s bc we had 2-3 installation discs. DVDs with bonus feature discs still had smaller cases
Thank you RPS! From T, T & T - “I have credited the designers, but as readers of this book will know, it is difficult to say who is responsible for any game or game element unless you were there.”
You can credit me, Gabrielle. I was there. I was the only one who made it.
Today I learned that Kateryna Yushchenko created pointers in 1955 with the development of the Address programming language. This work was not well know outside the Soviet Union. And so... 1/
Happy International Women's Day to all my sisters in tech. I've been fortunate to work with many exceptional people in my career and continue to be inspired by the enthusiasm and passion of those just getting started.
During my talk for We Are Developers, Clarissa asked if I had other books I might recommend on women in code, and these are some of my favs. I’d like more biographies, though. Anyone have recommendations?
@sarahlongthorne
I think it's important to remember that we're all here, all of us, because of the critical contributions of women. Ada Lovelace invents code. Grace Hopper invents both the compiler and names the bug, Kathleen Booth invents assembly language and the assembler. 1/2
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Empire of Sin will be coming to PC, Mac, Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on December 1, 2020!
♠️ That's right, boss - we have a release date! ♠️
Pre-order now:
Hi. I hope you are doing okay, whoever you are and wherever you are. We will get through this. The brightest people on the planet are trying to solve this problem, and I believe in them. Stay safe.
"I got nearly 45 minutes of hands-on time with a demo and came away impressed with Empire Of Sin to the point it’s my personal game of the show." Thank you so much,
@gameinformer
!
About Train: if you're looking for information on it, here's a thread. It's a well-known game within the game industry and game academia. It's also been the subject of a TED talk (600K+ views), and covered by major media including WSJ, Wired and The Daily Beast. Links in thread:
The Artful Escape is an amazing game. It started like other games and then turned into an experience unlike any other and kept going! I think I said “What?” or “Omg” 100 times.
On behalf of the entire Empire of Sin team, thank you so much. We're genuinely thrilled with the previews we've seen so far, and we can't wait to get the game into your hands.
Welcome to the very first dev diary for Empire of Sin, where our game director Brenda Romero gives us the lowdown on how
#EmpireofSin
came to be! Read all about it here:
Update: The Washington Post spoke with Knopf, publisher of Tomorrow x3. They stand by Zevin and are apparently unwilling to credit me noting, ". . . the only games listed in the author’s acknowledgments are video games." Board games don't count?
A serious question for professional programmers: What is the purpose of programming? I am looking for one- or two-sentence answers for an essay. (It's surprising how challenging it is to find progressional programmers, even language creators, talking about this basic concept.)
So this is how it went down. While organising my bookshelves, I decided that I am *not* going to buy any new books in 2023 until I read the ones I already have. Then, I panic ordered three new books before 2023.
The most beautiful thing happened tonight. The texts/messages/calls went out around 7pm to tell everyone to stand at their doors at 8pm to applaud for the brave people who work in hospitals all over the country. All six of us stood there at 7:59 wondering what would happen. 1 / 4
Still surprised that it's gone.
#1reasontobe
was always about creating a welcome space for underrepresented developers.
@leighalexander
and I used to say that we wanted people to find someone like them there, whether it was their culture, their experience or how they identified.
OK, I've made the call: for the first time in my career I'm skipping GDC. I feel like sharing the two reasons. The second one is the important one & I'm furious about it.
The Game Developers Choice Awards at
#GDC23
has named John Romero, the award-winning game designer, level designer, and programmer, as recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award—for his work on iconic and genre-defining first-person shooters.
I find this restriction troubling: children are not allowed to speak about
@FortniteGame
at all while in a particular school. Telling kids they can't speak about a Fortnite, a game they play in their free time, seems both short-sighted and mid-1980s.
Happy 10th anniversary to
@romero
, the love of my life. You are an amazing husband, dad and partner.
@ThatTomHall
married us as Disneyland. Thanks to
@kobunheat
for the pics. ❤️
Happy 10th anniversary to John
@romero
and Brenda Romero
@br
! Also happy 10th anniversary to that time I accidentally crashed John and Brenda Romero's wedding at Disneyland!
@amyngyn
And if it's not in the acknowledgments, what else is one to assume except that it's hers? Regarding her last sentence, it is not difficult to say who was responsible for Train. It was me, only me. I was there.
Midnight: exhausted, I fall asleep, having only slept 4 hours the night before. I'll sleep well, I think.
2:30 am: awake, thinking about a gameplay feature that needs to be implemented. Couldn't get back to sleep. Couldn't implement. Still up.
I just finished Adios. Wow. I am struggling to find something to say without giving it away. Its strengths are easily the writing and voice direction. The story itself is unique and slow-paced.
We're excited to announce that we are working on a strategy game with
@Pdxinteractive
! Look for more info at E3 this year. If you want some advance peeks at the game's theme, sign up at
To support the people of Ukraine and the humanitarian efforts of the Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, I’m releasing a new DOOM II level for a donation of €5. 100% of the proceeds go toward these agencies. Thank you.
...on people, on games, on designs, and I think she’d like that a lot more than pages in a book that can be closed. Rest in peace, Laralyn. Thank you for all you’ve done, and thanks for being my friend.
@meganandwendy
Thank you for asking and for reaching out. You have certainly supported me in doing so. If you want to support the work of Train, donate anything, no matter how small, to the Anti-Defamation League.
@sarahlongthorne
Kateryna Yushchenko who creates pointers. An all-female coding team brought the Eniac to life. The foundations of computers and computer science welcomed women and we made amazing contributions. We never left.
This whole situation has made me even more grateful for the community I live in, for the local suppliers of produce, the locally owned stores, the people baking in their kitchens and delivering by bike, and the local chefs who are sharing their craft online.
#galway
#ireland
It's not uncommon for game devs to put on "launch weight" as they complete games. It's hard work, and exercise and healthy eating sometimes go to the wayside. I'm pleased to be joining several others on
#gamedevdiet
. This week, I am down 1.6 lbs / 1.4 to go / 24.4 in total.
Congratulations to Brenda and John Romero for being named Legend Award winners by
@NYVGCC
! Watch the conversation
@haroldgoldberg
and I had with the Romeros on and YouTube tomorrow evening at 8p ET.
At E3 a million years ago, Gary Gygax came up to see a demo of, I think, Wizardry 7. I recognised him, but I checked his name badge to be sure. I was so excited, I screamed in his face. Still mortified.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you during a game conference? 😬
I’m always embarrassed of people talking to me and not knowing who they are.
I spent a few hours playing Lost Words, and I am interested in its development. This clearly had to be a narrative-led game because it’s tied into the art, the mechanics, everything, in a way in haven’t seen in any other game. It’s beautifully written…
Game design, the fantasy: Crafting an amazing vision of moment-to-moment gameplay.
Game design, reality: Discussing a single stat in vague terms for an hour.
Chorus: Only an hour?
For me, it was a specific moment in 1981 when I saw the wizard at the cauldron on the opening screen of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. It's so simple now, but then, it looked and felt like magic.
This Valentine’s, we want to hear about moments that made you fall in love with gaming. 🩷
Maybe it’s a story that’s close to your heart, or a game that means a lot to you. Feel free to share by commenting or sending a DM on Instagram. (
@theromerogames
) We might share some! 🕹️
Brenda Romero is one of the video game industry's most experienced voices. Whether it's work on 'Empire of Sin' or 'Playboy: The Mansion', Romero's phenomenal career started after a cigarette in a New York bathroom
@br
is our latest Boss Level profile:
Further, they note that Train was "undistributed." How does that apply to other singular works of art like paintings, for instance? This is very disappointing response, particularly from a novelist who writes about women not receiving credit. Watch this space.