ellis dex @ AdvX!

okkkk hello new bluesky people!! i'm ellis [they/any] - indie dev + writer + bearer of multiple hats. i'm currently working as QA at glowmade, and i make lots of queer indie narrative games about having friends + feelings + maybe agency 👀 you can find me at ellisdex.itch.io or ellisdex.carrd.co 🌟

Brazilians recommending not to amplify right-wing talking points by dunking and quoting, as a winning strategy Next day, my tl is full of people dunking on rfk jr I literally would not have seen the bigotry if it wasn't for y'all repeating it. That's exactly what the Brazilians were on about!

🎉 Ensemble 2027 Applications NOW OPEN🎉 We are looking for a new cohort of UK game creatives from Black, Asian, and underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. 📆 Applications close: Monday 9 November 2026 👉Apply or Nominate: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Game narrative people - if you couldn't make it to the @writersguildgb.bsky.social panel on editing videogames, it's now available online! It was a delight to host @coreybrotherson.bsky.social , @hollynielsen.bsky.social and @cashdecuir.bsky.social 📚 Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZet...

i am also quoted in this! was such an honour to speak about a moment in a bioware game that drove me to games, and it’s so special to share with so many other devs. bioware forever ♥️

I've mentioned before I've updated my contracts to make sure everything in the production of my books is done by humans and not "AI"; if you're wondering what such a thing looks like, here's a clause covering that from a recent contract.

We’re gonna leave the games industry better than we found it 😤 Introducing DNA CODEX: The GameDev Library 🧬 📚 ongoing, always growing, digital archive for all 💸 COMMUNITY-FUNDED and freely accessible 🫡 curated + maintained by DnA Creative (us!) dnacreative.notion.site/codex

THE CURTAINS HAVE PARTED. THE SHOW BEGINS. The Pantaloon Playbill is NOW LIVE to all - a stage for bold and bizarre games accessed via subscription, and space to discover vibrant, eccentric work from real life human game developers. playbill.pantaloon.io

One more for the afternoon crowd. Two of the last lines of dialogue I wrote on the last BioWare game I shipped.

We come back to the idea of Execs who really don't understand art or why people make art, in any way, finding ways to absolutely annihilate those that do, in a death of a thousand cuts and then one big 400-person cut. It's heartbreaking. The western games industry kills a NIntendo every year.

I meant what I said. Saved. My. Life. kotaku.com/dragon-age-i...

Games are made by people and game studios are made of people but game studios are also made of institutional knowledge, continuity, practices, standards, technology, resources, and IP. And those things do mean something, and it is a loss when they're discarded.

NOT NOW

my condolences to everyone affected by the bioware layoffs. there are few studios i hear other developers talk about the way they talk about bioware. you have positively affected millions of people and have substantially improved how many queer people feel they belong in this space.

#BioWare's games made me want to join the industry -- their worlds, characters, stories, and wonders. When I worked there, I met people of extraordinary talent, vision, and humour who taught me so much about writing and game storytelling. I will always be proud to have been part of that studio.

i wrote a little guide on physical fitness for trans people. i made it free because of how important this stuff is. if you like it, you can become a merritt+ member for only $5 a month, which is a huge help to me www.patreon.com/merrittk/pos...

Fantastic news from Aotearoa New Zealand - trans healthcare professionals have won their court case against the government, overturning the country's ban on puberty blockers. Huge respect and congratulations to everyone involved in this fight.

sovereign tower whips btw - so sad someone has made my dream game (dragon age inquisition war table x story of big consequences x dating sim) before me but at least i am having a great time playing it!!! store.steampowered.com/app/4113940/...

This is an excellent, calm and precise discussion of what it means to draw lines for AI use in a creative community, and the problem of AI users feeling entitled to both have their cake and eat it.

"dont worry, we didn't use LLMs for real art, like writing, or graphics, or sound, we only used it for dumb gross useless basic shit like programming" always the funnest thing to read as a programmer, as someone whose whole career is based on code, whose handwritten library changed the industry etc

Note that people should absolutely buy a copy of False Kingdom, which inspired my friend @kierongillen.bsky.social to write: "when I actually skimmed in the car I realised the awful truth: these fucking Ennie Judges Know Their Shit."

tis the season!!! DINoWriMo is that wonderful time of the year where interactive storypeople from across the games industries work on their own goals beside each other. if this sounds like something you want to join or want to support, check this thread to volunteer rewards or apply to join!

released the text engine used for two new domino classics SKIN2 and HOTWIFE CHRONICLE dominoclub.itch.io/dreamsick-te...

Penguin Colony is now available store.steampowered.com/app/3695930/...

considering booking one of those weird capsule hotels for advx... seems like a kinda fun experience to have had

G'day mate Tomorrow, Sat 17th. 4pm onwards. Head to twitch.tv/safeinourworld to watch a badass livestream in which myself, @dougcockle.bsky.social, @ashleighhaddad.bsky.social @winternatters.bsky.social and a lot of other VERY COOL people will be playing DnD and fundraising for Safe In Our World ✨✨

This is awesome. Devs are rarely able to show this kind of work publicly. This kind of resource is really important for teaching and mentoring.

lists you can only find in the depths of your notes app

sometimes you have to taste the vanilla essence just to remember

seeing an uptick in ppl being like “i wanna make a blog but fuck” and so i feel like it’s a good time to plug my cool website building tool for ppl who don’t care to learn a whole lot about building a website even has a blog template. just get right to it iznaut.itch.io/bimbo

#bitsyjam 100 starts on thursday! :)

I just wrote a paranormal story in the form of a fictional forum thread! A young woman discovers a video captured from inside a recurring dream. Read here: suricrasia.online/unfiction/sp...

1000xRESIST is about time. 1000xRESIST is about rebellion. 1000xRESIST is about mothers and daughters and matricide. 1000xRESIST is about forgetting... 1000xRESIST is about remembering. 1000xRESIST is 40% off on Steam as part of LudoNarraCon.

📢ANNOUNCEMENT TIME📢 Excited to share @sarahhana.bsky.social and I are launching JOYOUS NODE - an advisory helping indie devs market and self-publish their own games. We care deeply about the dev community, and want more studios to have the confidence to succeed on their own terms. joyousnode.com

i love to be a guest star in our posts

Oops... The #LudoNarraCon Megabundle is all bangers! ⛰️A Highland Song 🍕Betrayal at Club Low 🍫Consume Me ⚽Despelote 🐍Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo 🥦Kraken Academy!! 🫆No Case Should Remain Unsolved 💗Until Then 📸Umurangi Generation 💥Wander Stars Hurry, ends October 15! ⏰ bit.ly/SRSMegabundle

i decorated my 2027 hobonichi weeks :> very pleased with the colour scheme, which works with the freebie pen colours + the jade weeks + purple moomin pencil board i have inside!! matchy matchy