Mags Donaldson
@MagsthePirate
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Lead Technical Writer in games. Opinions sadly mine. Autistic Chaos Dwarf. Cats, memes, games industry chat. Kindness isn't weakness. They/She.
In the sea or on the couch.
Joined July 2012
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Pinned Tweet
It's a lovely day in the games industry, and I am a horrible goose.
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@SamanthaBeart
Your work as Karlach is incredible. I love her and constantly keep her inventory full of teddy bears :D
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So many people desperate want to work in Game Dev and I totally want them all to find a place. But also I want to warn them. This industry is brutal. You'll meet some of the most wonderful, talented people. Hell, I have met most of my closest friends and my husband! 1/2
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Working in the games industry is so funny.
You rub shoulders with people who work on games that have CHANGED YOUR LIFE or that you UTTERLY ADORE.
But you're also that person to other people? "Omg! You worked on <x>?!!"
It's very odd. And cool.
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The state of the games industry is depressing, but it just makes me want to fight HARDER for it to be better.
Sometimes there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and sometimes you've gotta stomp up there and put the bastard on yourself.
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Since crunch discourse is doing the rounds again (but of course):
- Crunch is almost always a failure of management.
- Crunch doesn't produce good results. Bugs and errors go UP.
- A week or two of overtime can be forgiven (if paid!). Shit happens. Months of crunch is abuse.
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You can give EVERYTHING and get treated as "employee number 678". Your contributions can be under credited, underappreciated, underpaid. You'll watch people making 200 times your salary laying off key people for "cost cutting".
I love this industry.
I hate this industry.
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@mightbeautistic
A good one I have used before: which animals are considered food/which aren't varies massively across the world.
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Today is my 16 year Game Dev anniversary.
God I feel old.
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Fuck this nonsense.
Releasing games is damn hard. It's never a positive thing when someone's launch/game/announcement/whatever doesn't go to plan. We should genuinely want our colleagues to SUCCEED.
Solidarity and love to everyone across the industry, always.
I did not anticipate my own peers, friends, or colleagues openly mocking and being gleeful of a difficult launch.
Delighting in the failure of others, no matter how you feel towards a company, seems mean spirited.
I feel sad, confused, and disappointed.
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I love when Americans do the whole "I HAVE 20% SCOTTISH DNA".
98.7% of our DNA is in common with carrots. You're more carrot that Scot, ya melt.
(Note: blood has nothing to do with Scottishness. That's just racist shite.)
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I don't understand why there are so many people resistant to the idea that we can make the games industry a *better place*.
Maybe I'll only make a difference to a tiny corner of it, but it's worth trying, right?
If I make one person's life a little better... I win.
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Reminder: we work in *video games*. VIDEO GAMES! We're not curing cancer, we're not saving lives, we make *games*.
We all need to stop treating it like it's life or death. IT'S SILLY. It's made up nonsense with pew pew noises.
VIDEO GAMES ARE MEANT TO BE FUN.
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@LukePlunkett
@uisgebeatha
I dunno, I find "not being homeless" (although I have been homeless while working in this industry!) and "being able to eat" and "being able to stay warm" as pretty good motivators...
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Honestly, I've had a lot of bad experiences over the years, but working in games is the place I'm meant to be. I have some great friends, worked on some wonderful projects, and it's always nice to know that what you do brings *joy* to the world.
I know EXACTLY how lucky I am.
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@delaneykingrox
I remember reading a Delia Smith recipe where she was like "if you have leftover venison".
Ma'am I have half a packet of Doritos, a dubious onion, and a packet of seasoning that's 3 years out of date.
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Finding it really interesting to see games companies supporting disabled charities, talking about the importance of accessibility, then not allowing remote work within their country (international can be harder, I get that).
It's absolutely wild to me.
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People have asked me before what my dream writing job would be. Honestly? Being a kind of lore keeper. Not necessarily creating lore, but writing up all the history/making sure there are no inconsistencies/basically Wikipedia but for a fictional world.
That would be cool :D
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Nothing says "we don't train our managers" like games companies with multiple international studios forcing their staff back to the office.
You're already working remotely with other teams.
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I must admit, my autism diagnosis allows me to be kinder to myself.
Realising that I'm super burnt out and DO need to rest - medical need. Not laziness!
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It's super late, so I'm gonna share my super top secret games industry insider knowledge.
There are some really funny, smart, awesome people in this industry who are total sweethearts.
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Your daily reminder that "AI" as discussed is not 'intelligent'. It's just yet another fancy algorithm using collected data and programmed by humans.
AI is the new NFT is the new crypto.
Artificial intelligence can free up staff and provide better and faster care for patients.
Only Labour will bring our health service into the digital age and make it fit for the future.
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Thanks to a lovely person (whom I'm not sure I can name), I got a code to play BG3 on my Steam Deck.
Please prepare for me to be NOT NORMAL about this game. (Am I normal about anything? No. But this is still a warning.)
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I'm Mags.
I've gone by the name 'Mags' since I was about 14. All my teachers called me it. My friends called me it. I wrote it on essays and it's on my bank card and it's my *name*.
On my birth certificate, it says I'm Margaret.
None of my parents okay'd this.
Social transition generally includes things like:
-going by a different name
-changing hairstyle
-wearing different clothes
Imagine being told you couldn't use a nickname or cut/grow your hair unless your parents consented?
That is how demonised trans people are now.
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One of the best thing about working in the games industry? When your friends' games get announced/trailers, and everyone gets excited <3
Always fun to see what your pals have been up to and see them getting (well deserved) love.
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Things I do/have done that ex-boyfriends have been insecure about:
- being nonbinary
- being able to repair the car/washing machine
- being better than them at video games
- having close male friends
There's a reason I was content to be a crazy cat person pre-
@LaconicPi
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@GailSimone
Hiya, I'm Mags, I've worked on games like GTAV, RDR2, etc. etc. in a variety of capacities.
Not a woman, but female presenting enby :)
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Your reminder that the clocks go back this weekend because time is meaningless.
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@allisondraste
Half the fandom is obsessed with both Solas and Anders (who killed COUNTLESS innocents and mages!) 'doing nothing wrong', whereas Morrigan is bad cause she's cold and Sera is *hated* for being annoying...
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Today was a deadlifting PERSONAL BEST kinda day.
And now I'm going to have to type with my nose. My arms are wet noodles.
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In case it's not clear:
I'm *pro* cryptid.
I'm *anti* crypto.
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That's me finished Cyberpunk!
It was fun. The city is incredible. Keanu is perfect as ALWAYS.
The inability to romance Jackie/Vik/Goro will haunt me to my dying day. GIMME THE HOT OLD MEN, GAME DEVELOPERS.
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Thinking of the literally thousands of folks in the games industry looking for a job right now, and how companies are still demanding return to office.
Which means they can't hire a lot of these incredibly talented folks - because not everyone can just drop everything and move.
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Thank fuck for Game Pass, or I'd be bankrupt. So many AWESOME games announced there. Feeling pretty hype.
Pals working on these games - you should be proud.
(Also "All gamers are welcome here at Xbox" 🥹🥹🥹 GAMES ARE FOR EVERYONE.)
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Hopefully this means they're going for private jets next.
Orcas can weigh 8 tons and jump 15 feet out of the water.
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"But we've always had crunch!" So? That's not a good thing.
"But <toxic man> is a genius!" Don't give a crap. Put him in the bin. Not worth it.
"It's business! You have to be hard to succeed." I disagree. Forever.
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Being an autistic person with big boobs is great. No one ever makes eye contact with me.
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Honestly, for Pride Month all of the queers should just get a month off. A month of hibernation.
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I know of at least a couple of companies doing this. Mandatory RTO because... reasons.
Games developers say mandatory return-to-office policy has 'cost us some amazing people'
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THERE ARE LITERALLY STUDIES INTO THIS:
I'd rather see the games I love take longer than know that people are burning out. And people *do* burn out.
I've done my time of crunch. I want to make an industry where crunch is a bad memory.
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I am on the quiet coach on this train.
The woman sharing my table has used her phone and the woman at the table opposite is eating crisps so loudly I CAN HEAR HER AND I'M WEARING HEADPHONES.
Starting to feel stabby.
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This is my year of small joys. Little things I'm doing because they make me happy: Getting a cake on Friday. Getting my nails done. Massages. Sending random gifts to pals.
Bring joy into your life, friends. It's the most revolutionary thing you can do!
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@delaneykingrox
Spite. I refuse to go quietly. I was put on this earth against my will and I'm going to make it everyone's problem.
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@innesmck
Innes, if you try really hard and work at it, I truly believe that you too could eventually be a mediocre white guy. Believe in your dreams <3 <3
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People keep claiming I'm intimidating. I'm REALLY not. I'm short and noisy and a bit of a disaster.
Trust me, there's nothing intimidating about me. I'm just an idiot.
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I have today off, it's sunny, I'm getting my nails done (!!!), and Boston were eliminated from the Stanley Cup finals.
Today is a GOOD day.
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A conversation that I heard:
Female game dev: Ugh, I'm so glad <Person> changed jobs.
Male game dev: Really? I always thought he was a nice guy.
FGD: He was creeping on tonnes of women.
MGD: Oh, yeah, I'd kinda heard about that.
Huge thanks to
@pompeygina
for penning this piece on today.
Women shouldn't be the only ones calling out the toxicity against them in the games industry - men need to do our part, too
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Your reminder that Video Game Production peeps are made of magic and smarts and are worth triple their weight in gold.
<3 Producers <3
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