Michael Walter Van Der Velden

10h

Working on a slightly annoying way to force yourself to learn a language. Android app coming soon...

#japanese #polyglot #languages #android #appdev

mikevdv.devGrimoire - Open Source Rule Book StorageFollowing on from my last post about preparing for a table top rpg session, I figured I'd write about a recently released open source tool. One that I have been running on my homelab for a couple of m...

15 Sept

Blog post about #Grimoire is up. You should absolutely check it out if you're a GM of any #TTRPG. mikevdv.dev/blog/grimoire/

11 Sept

If i ever have a kid you best believe they're going to Legoland. I have never been to Legoland, my family promised me we would go every year when I was a child but something would always come up. This is not negotiable.

11 Sept

This is not a comment on my family, I love them dearly. Bringing up the Legoland thing is a sore spot for them.

5 Sept

Tempted to have a cyberpunk game that only has the filthiest acoustic music to juxtapose the vibe.

5 Sept

To the people packing orders at coop, I'm begging you to understand that if an order has no meat in it, then a frozen pepperoni pizza is not a suitable replacement for a Margaretha... Like for fuck sake, please just grab a different brand of Margherita...

29 Aug

If I'm at a "Dutch" pancake house and you offer me maple syrup, I'm walking out...

27 Aug

Having used a steam machine for a few days now, I can honestly say that it solves the decision anxiety problem that I prefer from consoles, is whisper quiet and supports most everything I want to play.

27 Aug

Xbox and switch 1 have both been unplugged. We're partway through some games on the PS5 but we'll see if it survives long past completion of those...

25 Aug

Lighting engine makes me what to scream. May leave it for now and come back to it.

21 Aug

So I may have built a friend computer terminal that uses those id badges for this paranoia game. Roleplaying y'all...

20 Aug

#Lanterns episode 1 was pretty good can't wait to see how it develops.

19 Aug

Guess who just got to the top of the list for a #steammachine?...

18 Aug

Ok so maybe this is on me for not having watched the films as I understood that the new ghost in the shell was based on the manga not the films... But like, it's really really hard to follow...

18 Aug

This being said, I continue to watch it as the episodes come out...

18 Aug

Is Mamdani the only politician on here? Really surprised to see him just scrolling through. Definitely lends some additional credibility to bluesky as a replacement for the site formally known as Twitter.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov

I'm listening, I'm learning. Safety first, NYC.

17 Aug

I'm gonna sit down and watch #reacher S4 episodes 1-3 tonight.

grimoirecodex.orgGrimoire: Self-hosted TTRPG libraryGrimoire, a self-hosted tome for your tabletop library: books, maps, tokens, and campaigns, bound in one place.

17 Aug

If anyone else cares about #TTRPG pdf storage on a #selfhosted app, you should totally check out grimoire. Its super cool project that I'm really enjoying + I've personally just had the work to add RPGGeek metadata to it merged by the creator. #opensource grimoirecodex.org

16 Aug

Planning a game of #paranoiattrpg for my friends. Made some quick and dirty ID Badges that I'm pretty happy with. #ttrpg #tabletop #rpg #gaming #craft

mikevdv.devParanoia Clearance PassesOne of the nice things about having moved to Ghost as a CMS is that I now have access to categories - something I should have added to the site a long long time ago. It means that I can happily write blog posts about any topic I want, rather than sticking exclusively to my bread and butter (software development). Like many other's I like to play tabletop RPGs with friends, and our group recently decided that we wanted to try out Paranoia. As we're generally a group that likes to make use of props, I decided I'd jump on Canva to mock up some Clearance/Mandatory Bonus Duty Badges. Once I had something I liked, I figured I should upload them for anyone else who might be in need of this oddly specific TTRPG props. Alpha Complex BadgesAlpha Complex Badges.zip690 KBdownload-circle If you're going to print them out, I'd recommend printing them on a single sheet of A4 card stock (although I only had basic printer paper). When printed 6 to a page like that they are the perfect size to look like workplace IDs. I also laminated mine with a cheapo amazon basics laminator for that extra "high quality" finish. Laminating the passes If you do end up using these in your own game, I'd love to hear about it! let me know in the comment section below.

17 Aug

If anyone wants these, they're available here: bsky.app/profile/blog...

mikevdv.dev@blog.mikevdv.dev.ap.brid.gy

Our group recently decided that we wanted to try out Paranoia. As we're generally a group that likes to make use of props, I decided to mock up some Clearance/Mandatory Bonus Duty Badges. I figured I should upload them for anyone else who might be in need of this oddly specific TTRPG props

16 Aug

Planning a game of #paranoiattrpg for my friends. Made some quick and dirty ID Badges that I'm pretty happy with. #ttrpg #tabletop #rpg #gaming #craft

16 Aug

Had to remake these because I realised I mistyped clearance as clearance 🤣👀

15 Aug

Ok but the #bts #oreos taste fantastic 😍

14 Aug

Applied for an rpggeek api key. Apparently these get manually reviewed and only got introduced in 2025 (let's be honest, because of AI data scraping) I just want to auto categorise my own pdf library 🤣

12 Aug

If you have time to track if I've RSVPd to a Google calander invite, I have to wonder if I am getting a lot more invites than you because I simply wouldn't have the time to do that 🤣

3 Aug

Despite being a shorter word, the typo "Tumbs" feels wider than the correctly spelled "Thumbs". I will not be accepting questions at this time...

29 July

わたしはきょうにじからろくじまでねました I'm tired 😴

29 July

Yes I'm practicing my Japanese on main 😂

27 July

Seeing this happen again so sharing my favourite explainer of the XY Problem...

blog.googleIntroducing selfie for sign-in: a new, easy way to access your Google AccountSelfie video gives you more options if you’re ever locked out or don’t have access to your usual phone or computer.

Absolutely fucking not... blog.google/innovation-a...

Absolutely spot on

Just preordered my signed copy of the Game UI Bible by @eddcoates.bsky.social published by @lostincult.co.uk. Can't wait to read it.

Apologies for anyone who spotted my blog being down yesterday. Seems an SSD replacement in the server rack caused a docker state issue...

23 July

I'll take bullshit for 200.

12 July

The heat is killing us all. That being said, I'm endeavouring to complete at least a single small ticket on mirrorstone every evening. Gotta keep moving.

11 July

In an rpg, is 3 character slots enough for you? #gamedev #orpg #rpg #indiegame

8 July

Today made me remember why I take my birthday off work normally. I could be playing steam games right now 😂

8 July

Last night I continued working on steam login for Mirrorstone. Figured I should also handle VAC Bans...

4 July

Look at this incredible birthday gift from my good friend @chichiberz.bsky.social. A few days early but it looks incredible!

4 July

When I need to test a message but I don't care about the test data 😂

uk.finance.yahoo.comMicron Announces $250 Million Investment in Trump Accounts Reaching 1 Million Children, Families and the Future WorkforceCompany launches employee matching and community seed funding, reinforcing Micron’s broader U.S. investment and workforce development strategyWASHINGTON, June 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honor of ...

30 June

It's no coincidence that this was announced shortly after the lawsuit targeting micron for price fixing... uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/micron-...

24 June

Exciting #steamcontroller #steam #gamedev

Michael Walter Van Der Velden reposted

DrSmey

@drsmey.bsky.social

3 June

#aseprite #pixelart Simple Guide: Dithering (2025)

19 June

Hot take. If you don't get standing tickets to the concert, sit the fuck down. The second one stands, everyone else has to if they want to see. I didn't buy standing for a fucking reason... #hottake #music #concerts

Michael Walter Van Der Velden reposted

Joe Wintergreen

@joewintergreen.com

18 June

i really love how inscrutable the fucking Enter the Matrix launcher is...what is any of this shit. "allow gamma". "force object lod". force it to what. on? off? min? max? what is meant by w-buffer. what the fuck is Classical FPS

16 June

#TheAmazingDigitalCircus has apparently beat #TheMandalorian at the box office. Fucking wild but so deserved.