Shawn Alexander Allen
@ShawnDoubleA
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Making games @NuChallenger Org: @BViGaming Design/Art/Words: Treachery in @Beatdown_City Gamechanger, 🏆winning, int'l speaker, etc. #blackgamedev ✊🏽 they/them
NYC Native, now in ATL
Joined June 2010
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Last Seen Profiles
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Hey y'all, Treachery in
@Beatdown_City
Ultra Remix is OUT NOW!
1st time on
#Xbox
(thanks Xbox!)
DLC for
#NintendoSwitch
& Steam
Check out this 🔥
@AIR_CREDITS
remix!
Purchase Link in bio, and below!
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This is absurd. To check if I'm a robot, they're using AI generated images and none of them look remotely like basketballs.
Yet *I'm* the one who's wrong.
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I was the main designer at 2 companies. And each had a boss man who would just roll up and say I love everything here, but how about we do *something else* and oftentimes it was a terrible idea that derailed my designs/roadmap.
Those are the people who ruin games.
On most AAA, devs have barely the decision of the kind of game they want to do.
Execs and investors lead the project into the genre that is the most profitable, sometimes despite any common sense (market too crowded for exemple)
A fail does not mean the devteam is incompetent.
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Game development
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Today I saw a man in a *M*A*G*A* hat and I did what I've been wanting to do for such a long time. I stopped, calmly reached out and plucked the hat from his head and threw it in the trash.
Felt real good.
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Begging indie game creators to do some basic research
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Hope they get a Black game director, Black script writers, concept artists & camera artists, like Ryan Coogler has. The talent is out there & we shouldn't hold games to a lower standard than movies (especially since folks love to say games are bigger than movies) Prove it.
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You come into my house in the month of Black history and you complain about character customization - to be paler...
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@jsmooth995
Staying in the area in early November so I'll peep it. Been to Tanoreen in Bay ridge cuz my wife knows the legit Palestinian food and it's delicious
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There is a monstrous level of work needed to ship a game. Yet 2020 may go down as the year with the most games released by Black led teams, ever. Which is HUGE.
Here are those games, and where to support them. (& if I missed some, please let me know!)
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Hi, Rockstar 😊
That blanket NDA you signed years ago to get severance? It's void now, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
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Here is Nuchallenger LLC's statement on the games industry and its collectively empty showing of "solidarity" and "support" for Black life.
#BlackLivesMatter
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I've worked on finished game videos that had to be completely redone because of song licensing issues, and a need for new footage, which delayed a 1 minute video by a month.
Y'all can tack on a short video addressing things if you actually wanted to address what's going on.
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Happy Kwanzaa, as a
#blackgamedev
I've tried my best to highlight great games made by Black creators over the last few years and this thread is about 2021. 🧵
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Can we stop with the toothless "support"?
Hire more Black people, fund/publish more
#blackgamedev
If you don't value the Black lives struggling in your own industry, what is this doing?
Show your support for the
#BlackLivesMatter
movement with this new PS4 theme, out now for free at PS Store.
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One of these characters was created by a well funded team of people who took a lot of care to create a big, strong Black brotha, and the other one is Barret
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I remember when I was at Rockstar working on the trailers that, ya know, sold lots of games. I was listening to a T2 earnings call, and heard Strauss get a monthly pay raise that was equal to my yearly salary and I was just like...
Take-Two laying off 5% of staff, approximately 580 people, as it launches its third cost reduction program in 14 months
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Square just doesn't care about what black hair actually looks like, huh
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Not so hidden is my commentary on the destruction of the iconic CBGBs where my dad played back in the 70s (now turned into an overpriced store selling $2000 leather jackets). More hidden is that there's a picture of my dad's band in the window next door.
Today’s Easter: game devs, please respond with the best Easter eggs you ever hid in a game! 🥚✨
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Breaking: Obama the first president to use the N-word not to refer to property or people he despises.
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Pushed game live on Steam and Itch, which feels surreal.
We've got more to do to tell the full tale, and a patch in the works for the Switch version (which drops at 3AM ET?).
Thanks for coming along on this journey.
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Tuca and Bertie was rarely shown to me despite my large amounts of Bojack watching (I think T & B is better in many ways) - also Netflix shows me Adam Sandler comedies that I have to keep clicking thumbs down on because he's an abhorrent prick.
when a Netflix show gets canceled, "you didn't promote the show" is something we (yes I work @ Netflix) hear a lot. But what does that mean to you?
commercials/billboards? too few social posts? you're not shown the title when you log on to netflix? something else? combo of all?
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When people come to New York and say, oh but Manhattan has always been expensive... Please know that poor people were removed by every force imaginable, including tanks. I grew up on this block.
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It's not a coincidence that you fight corrupt, anti-protest, pepper spray happy cops, among other despicable people in my game Treachery in
@Beatdown_City
It was made as a response to this decade.
#blackgamedev
For this
#fightsomeone
Friday we're introducing Gloria Rodriguez, one of the infamous Moneybags Security officers roaming East Fulton!
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For Black History Month, here's a thread celebrating
#blackgamedev
in 2020. I will be adding to this thread this month. The very least you should do is follow
@Blackgamedevs
who follow a lot of great devs and RT their work.
There is a monstrous level of work needed to ship a game. Yet 2020 may go down as the year with the most games released by Black led teams, ever. Which is HUGE.
Here are those games, and where to support them. (& if I missed some, please let me know!)
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When I'm doubting myself I think about this tweet and remember at least I've never been *this* wrong about something
Ah! So here’s something people aren’t explaining: NFTs don’t have to be jpgs.
Imagine taking your favorite skin from Valorant, and using it Fortnite. And not paying extra, because you own it. Then using it in CoD, Minecraft, even Twitter, IG.
So many possibilities, no?
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Robin Williams used to come into my EBGames so I got to ask him if he was doing the genie in Kingdom hearts, he signed my sketchbook "Rock on!" and I got to see his eyes light up when I told him you could eat cop's hearts in The Darkness.
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I NEEDED this to get funded, you don't even know. A co-op game company of Black and brown folks making one of the coolest looking video games succeeding makes me so happy.
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Still wondering why there is this obsession with making Kratos the whitest man to ever white man, and yet continue to employ a black man to voice him. Kratos could easily be the black man he clearly is, but people are too cowardly, too meek, too self absorbed to do fix it.
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Black History Month is coming up - so here's a reminder: Please focus on what Black game creators do, our games/writing/art/etc. & not just on our struggles - we KNOW the games industry sucks to get into and stay in, but it's especially hard to get our games covered.
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How about hire more Black people, and actually pay them well
Black Lives Matter. To honor the legacy of George Floyd, today, 6/4/20, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET, we will be shutting down access to our online games, Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online.
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Big news!
A few of you know already but I won’t be at PAX West for a very important thing!
My wife and I are having a baby, sometime around that weekend!
We are both very excited!
But, what does this mean for Treachery in
@Beatdown_City
?
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Just read the LAPD will be at the Game Awards "for eveyones safety"
And I'm like do you just expect minorities to feel safe with them there?
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I've seen a lot of incorrect ways to show solidarity with Black Lives. This is a correct way to do so. It's not only when we're dead & hashtagged. We want to live, & to be able to do excellent things with y'all, but because of many systemic reasons we need a bit more help.
We at CAPY want to do more to directly support Black game devs. With that in mind, we’re launching a new mentorship program. Applications are open from now until July 6th. All experience levels are welcome. Black applicants will be given priority:
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Here’s some games made by Black folks that came out in 2023 you can support now, some games to look forward to, and people to follow!
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Go Imani, it's your birthday, it's your birthday, it's your birthday!
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A person posted "keep your politics out of my games" with a Metal Gear Solid icon. I assume he died of an ironic aneurysm.
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Hillary Clinton's social media team is out of their goddamned minds
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Hey Treachery in Beatdown City is 12.99 on
#NintendoSwitch
thru 6.16.2020!
If you
A: Want to play a dope game that is VERY relevant right now
B: Own a Switch
C: Have access to the Americas store front
D: Wanted to save some scrilla
This sale’s for you
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Trying to predict what is a safe bet is why we're here. The industry talks a lot about "risk" & we've seen fast follows / sequels are just as risky as new concepts from unknown teams. Right now we've got a poker roguelike & an MP sequel to a relative unknown ripping up the charts
Future video games are going to be ‘safe’ and ‘predictable’ warn publishers
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I was pretty close to the whole GG stuff before. At a reading of Zoe's book one guy decided to make a scene. I, as a 6'5" bearded person, stood up & walked in this person's direction; he quickly retreated to the elevator.
All bark and no bite.
They were all exactly what you might expect. 90% dudes. Shy, nervous, socially awkward. I introduced myself to all them. "Hey I'm Serrels from Kotaku". They just sort of stood there in silence in a little circle.
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Happy
#InternationalWomensDay
to my mom. She died in Feb (Hence my personal stuff) She was a badass woman, a poet & community garden activist.
She lived in poverty my whole life, bc of depression. She always supported me as an artist.
I wouldn't be making games w/o her.
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For all the people of color who work on games, promote games, make songs about games, we want your cool talks, and will compensate you for your work. July 1st is the last day to submit.
Get paid to speak at
#GDoCExpo
2020 and connect with brilliant games creators from around the world! All ideas are welcome and we love speakers of all experience levels. Submit an idea you're excited to speak about before tomorrow's deadline:
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After working on Treachery in
@beatdown_city
through life changing incidents, companies pulling dev funds, a break to find who I am, years of despair, we finished it because we think it's a good game!
It'd be an honor if you nominated it for any of these
#steamawards2020
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While in a Lyft, a Google Assistant commercial plays with a woman asking where the nearest gas station is. This hijacks the lyft GPS, rerouting us to a gas station. The voice driven dystopian future is here.
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Treachery in Beatdown City
Coming March 31st to
#NintendoSwitch
& PC!
Head to the
#eShop
to add it to your wishlist, and/or wishlist on Steam:
Check out the full trailer:
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My ex's daughter, who I've had some hand in caring for since she was 2 (she's 17!) sent me this today.
The feels, man.
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This is the 2nd games industry event where a white dude said I looked like Reggie Watts and ya know,
#e32019
pro tip, don't tell black people they look like other black people as a "compliment" and then get upset when we tell you to fuck off
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Also when I left Game Devs of Color Expo, they offered to pay me to sign a Non Disparagement Agreement which says all you really need to know
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Happy Father's Day!
After helping raise one child from 2-19 (🤯) there is something very precious about 0+ and forming bonds that will hopefully last a lifetime.
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The big 40. Been a wild decade where I've wondered if I'd see the next year more times than I'd like, but I'm still here & back doing independent work full-time.
Lucky to have an amazing partner & a brilliant near 3y/o. Also lucky to finally meet my family on my dad's side. ✌🏼
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Which Bioshock Infinite level designer did this
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Creatives of color working on or adjacent to games, please submit your dope games and your unique talk ideas. We're gonna have a cool promotion with Valve for games, and your talks will be compensated (& shared free with the world!)
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Never did I think a Forest Gump clip would be so perfect
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Games industry writers/execs should watch this too.
But BlacKkKlansman is also a white savior movie where a white cop saves a Black cop (& minimizes the Black cop's traitorous role as an agent destabilizing the Civil Rights movement). It also flat out lies about Kwame Ture.
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I think it's important to revisit games for good and bad reasons. I think a lot of "9+" AAA games would be mid 7s on revisiting, and some 7s would become 9s, just like movies.
So, I understand this thought, but there's something really interesting to dig into here.
Because of the cultural cycle of games, we don't usually return to video games and re-evaluate them the way that film does--even in this modern age where updates can fix critical issues.
1/
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I "worked" for IGN many years ago as a board moderator. They paid us in Insider subscriptions ($19.99 a year value). One day I was overruled by Tal (& argued with by most of the white moderator pool) over something only a Black person should have any right to argue with.
Solidarity with my IGN coworkers who endured emotional terror from Tal Blevins and Steve Butts. In my time from 2012 to 2016, I felt taken advantage of, exploited and manipulated, and afraid for my job at nearly every turn. And I was one of the "lucky" ones working for them.
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I was just given this pic of my dad (lower left) in Katz's.
My mom told me about it, but after she passed I thought it was lost to time.
A friend of my dad's found me online & we've been in touch.
It's weird piecing together the life of someone you never met.
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@kat_blaque
The actual villain was capitalism, lol. And yeah it's misogynistic to blame the wife for her husband's own internal meltdown because of capitalism.
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Are there any game devs of color out there who are also super immersed in hip-hop (either by making beats and/or raps, or just highly influenced by hip-hop in your game dev craft)?
HMU if this is you, DMs are open.
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My mother in-law died yesterday, so I'm at home consoling my wife. In the meantime, here's a video from Thanksgiving where I discuss Capitalism with my baby.
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It's official, Square doesn't know what they're doing anymore, so they need to give me Final Fantasy & we can make Def Jam Final Fantasy Fight for Ivalice.
A fighting RPG where you can summon a Timbaland boot wearing Cactaur to throw meteors at an evil record producer.
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They missed an opportunity by not getting Vince Staples to be Sonic is all I'm saying
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This tweet is evergreen
A person posted "keep your politics out of my games" with a Metal Gear Solid icon. I assume he died of an ironic aneurysm.
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100% happening. 🙃
A little late to
#screenshotsaturday
but we had to share.
This is coming soon (with a bunch more) in a free update.
#WIP
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The beautiful & engaging Fae Tactics by
@endlessfluff
released at the end of July
You can get it here
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Hey everyone, officially announcing that the Game Devs of Color Expo will be returning in 2019!
The 4th annual
#GDoCExpo
is returning to
@SchomburgCenter
in NYC this SUMMER 2019! 🎮📢 Stay tuned for further announcements.
PLUS:
We’re a
@Official_GDC
2019 Scholarship Partner. Apply to get a free
#GDC
Conference + Summits pass (regularly $2000+) -
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The biggest independent frustration is pitching a game for years, being told it's "too risky" or there's "no market" and then seeing the idea pulled off in a less creative, formulaic way by a AAA or VC funded team.
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Can't believe they listened to Danny
Unity: John Riccitiello will retire as President, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately
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@jasonschreier
What, beyond this tweet, will you do about it, given your platform? Are you going to investigate how this happens and write about it?
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@ckunzelman
I expect the beet farmer to respectfully listen as I explain how they are growing beets inefficiently and will stop buying their beets if they block me on beetbook
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I think about how there were so few, genuine articles about this game when it came out. And it's a beautiful, heart wrenching game. It's also free. And here's a link to iOS
Want to play an indie game by a Palestinian game developer?
You can download
@liylawar
by
@RasheedAbueideh
on Google Play now
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In 2012 I left Rockstar Games to start
@NuChallenger
. One of the reasons was there were so few Black folks at a company that trafficks in Black culture.
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So yeah, it's my birthday today - and for the next few days Treachery in Beatdown City is on sale to celebrate.
The only gift I'd want is for you to let someone else know about the game.
Here's the trailer, and enjoy the meme 😅
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Still don't know how to process this. Hope people enjoyed the talk.
Huge lines for
@ShawnDoubleA
’s
@NuChallenger
GDC talk on meaningful combat! I finally got into GDC and I always enjoy live-tweeting a Shawn talk but might not make it in, LOL
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@xuhulk
They could have also arrested everyone on that bus. It wouldn't have been legal, but no one would have known about it for a year minimum.
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As much as I like that the Black Panther album is mostly a new Kendrick joint, I'd love to have an album that sounds like what music in Wakanda would sound like. Would rap be the dominant source of music in a culture not colonized by the west?
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John Boyega is the only reason I saw the new Star Warcd
When Samual L Jackson first met John Boyega he yelled from across the room “Yo, Black Jedi! You my son!”
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Woah, after 6 years of searching, I found the solo record my dad put out on Ebay... I can't wait to hear it!
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@GrlpantsGR
And I believe you'd be a great fit for this job because-
DING!
I regret to inform the team you were interviewing for has been laid off.
DING!
I have also been laid off.
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