Michael R

Can we call him "Droopy Donnie"?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump is settling in for one of the on-camera naps he's so fond of

Finishing #TheVikingSagas DLC for #AgeOfEmpiresIIDefinitiveEdition, and I'll always be astounded just the sheer incredible work that World's Edge has put into this nearly 30 year old game. The attention to detail, the refinement, the DLC cadence, it's all just great!

My wish, going into the 50th anniversary of Star Wars next year, is that Microsoft and Disney team up and do some sort of remake/remaster of Galactic Battlegrounds to be played within AoE2Def. Similar to what they did with AoE1 and the Chronicles expansions.

Microsoft continues it's slow dismantling of Xbox with these "reset" restructures. I'd love to hope that Xbox comes out of this better, but my optimism is really waning of late. A few thoughts on the latest developments:

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social

Xbox - "Continuing Our Reset" - 'First, we are eliminating 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the XGS management and central functions layer.' More: news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/0...

Overall, Xbox...just, what are you doing...you had the world at your fingertips not 15 years ago in the twilight years of the 360, only to ruin it in the following years. Maybe it truly is time to just exist the console game and become a third party studio. You already seem to want to do that...

...by publishing your big titles on other platforms without expecting reciprocity. Seeing how far you've fallen just puts a bad taste in this long-time Xbox fan's mouth, and makes me think that my days as an Xbox gamer are coming to a close.

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social

...so we still have more to come. It's horrible to see what Microsoft has done to Xbox in recent years, all in the name of "progress" (read: AI). I wouldn't be surprised if we get more layoff announcements in the coming weeks, prior to the Oct 6 Town Hall.

- RIP to Ninja Theory and Arkane, apparently. Two studios that had great pedigrees and so much squandered potential. Why they couldn't just let them go independent like Double Fine and Compulsion, I have no idea, but knowing they are likely done just sucks.

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social

- Absolutely no thoughts on King taking over Microsoft Casual Games. I'm surprised Microsoft Casual Games is still a thing.

- The layoffs. It's terrible that we are still dealing with this, and it's STILL not over. If my math and recollection is right, we are at about 1800 of the proposed 3200 layoffs that Asha mentioned in July. Matt is saying we are still only 3/4 of the way through...

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social

- BGS taking on Obsidian makes perfect sense, given the style of games we are talking about. They practically go hand in hand, and if Bethesda was still solo, I could EASILY see them buying Obsidian in an alternate timeline.

- I think many of us could have foreseen Turn 10 and Playground merging. It was definitely a best-case-scenario for them. Definitely feels like Forza Motorsport might be put on ice for a while, simply because Horizon seems to be more popular and new gamer friendly.

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social

- Having Activision in charge of the more action/action-adventure/RTS games makes a little sense to me, I suppose. If one of your studios is going to head it, Activision does have the experience with the breadth of genres over the years. Putting World's Age (Age of Empires) and Rare under there...

...makes a little sense, I suppose. The bizarre part is going to be Halo going to Activision. Of course, they have the FPS experience, it's just weird that Halo isn't going to be its own thing now, like Gears and Forza/Forza Horizon/Fable are.

16 Sept

Dang, what a great game. Even the annoying screaming baby Mario still takes me back.

Classic Video Game Box Art@classicboxart.bsky.social

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)

I was in 7th Grade on 9/11. I didn't even know anything really happened until I got to my first class, band, and the trumpeter next to me told me about a plane hitting the WTC. I was a kid from Missouri, I didn't know what that meant, so I thought he was starting a joke....

It really hit home when I got home from school and I was watching the news coverage and recapping what I missed. Then I got a call from my step-dad who told me to take my sister and all the gas cans we had to the local gas station, Texaco, to fill them all because gas was going to get insane...

THAT more than anything, sticks out to me about that day. Going to the gas station on my bike, with my ten year old sister, both of us trying to balance two ten-gallon gas cans, and seeing the long lines. It was the first real world event that stood out in my mind, and it's been downhill since...

When he told me it was real, I didn't know what to think. I mean, I was 13, my biggest concern at the time was making sure I didn't piss off my stepdad (easy to do) and getting girls to like me. I don't think it really set in until Social Studies when we spent the whole time watching news coverage..

8 Sept

Overall, though, this was kind of a weaker Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct. Like, if it were marketed as an Ocarina of Time Direct and had the other stuff added, it would have raised it a bit more for me.

8 Sept

But having it as a 40th anniversary direct and not even adding Twilight Princess to NSO, at minimum, was very annoying to me, idk why. Of COURSE I'd have loved the HD remasters of Wind Waker and TP, and maybe they are still happening, but at least getting the entire franchise on NSO for 40...

8 Sept

Damn, that Ocarina of Time Remake footage did something to me. I came late to the game, playing it after Twilight Princess, so it wasn't my favorite...but goddamn, if this remake isn't going to give it a run for my favorite 3D Zelda...

5 Sept

Finished the campaign for Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. That was a hell of a fun time. It did a great job of tying in this story to that in Requiem, while still making it fresh. I'm more of an action-adventure fan than I am stealth, so this really worked well for me...

5 Sept

Asobo has earned a fan in me and whatever they do with the next Plague Tale game, I'm likely there day one.

20 Aug

Never change, @knoebel.bsky.social

Knoebel@knoebel.bsky.social

The US army (some war crimes/lost against Vietnam) offers some people 4 days off to play 'GTA VI' if they die for Isr... I mean reenlist for a minimum of two years and up to six years. www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-t...

20 Aug

Has the US ever thought about making coffee at home and foregoing avocado on their toast? They'll have that debt paid off in no time.

Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur.bsky.social

The U.S. national debt just hit $40 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.

17 Aug

The Last of Us filmed season 1 partially in Kansas City. I don’t think the main city locations here, but the travel scenes on the highway definitely were. It was funny seeing them driving near where our amusement park is, away from KC, and in the story they were driving towards it

Brandon Bird@brandonbird.bsky.social

Recognizing a filming location in real life = cool Recognizing a location from your own life in a film = weird

11 Aug

Cool, counterpoint: fuck alllllll the way off, YOU work for free, long hours, willing to do anything.

This post is unavailable.

10 Aug

#2, because I can always use the encouragement and pep talks from Steve, plus Pooh will have honey to satisfy my sweet tooth.

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4 Aug

Hi, yeah, as someone that's been divorced, this argument is complete and utter horseshit. Was I mad at my ex during the proceedings? Sure, she lied for the majority of our marriage. Did I raise a hand to her? Absolutely not, because I'm not a fucking monster that views women as lesser-than

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

NN: The abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller -- Moreno says he should resign, but President Trump disagrees. Do you think Miller should step down? REP. JIMMY PATRONIS: No. I agree with the president. This is a family fight. Unfortunately, divorces are messy. There are two sides to every story.

defector.comWhat's The Worst Movie You've Ever Watched In A Theater? | DefectorHere’s how we got on this. Billy was in soccer chat speculating on how soccer might have turned out differently if Lionel Messi had “accidentally” drowned baby Lamine Yamal in that bathtub. He then…

17 July

Toss up between Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Blades of Glory, or The Spirit. I still love MMPR The Movie, but it's definitely not great. I was on a date for the both Blades of Glory and The Spirit, so it's not like I could walk out on them

Defector@defector.com

What's the worst movie you've ever watched in a theater? defector.com/whats-the-wo...

Michael R reposted

Mike Bithell

@mikebithell.bsky.social

6 July

Good high level starting point for those starting job search process today: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.comJD’s Game Jobs Search ResourcesJD’s Game Jobs Search Resources Last update pass completed: March, 2026 The purpose of this document is to collect useful links for video game job searchers. If you have any feedback, additions or c...

Michael R reposted

Mat Piscatella

@matpiscatella.bsky.social

6 July

"you do not, under any circumstances, "gotta hand it to them""

It really feels as if Sony and Microsoft's gaming division are in a race to see who can be the absolute worst towards their consumers. One can't let the other have the spotlight, even for negative press MS has (rightly) been getting in recent weeks, before punching themselves in the face for press.

These gaming and media suits want to embrace AI and data center usage so badly, how about carving out some of these data centers for digital media preservation? That would consume FAR less energy than AI does (theoretically, anyway) and would all more guarantees of digital ownership...

That would give me less pause about a fully all-digital future than we have now. I have embraced digital to a point, mainly for the convenience, but with Sony taking away hundreds of digital movies from peoples' accounts, then going all-digital for PS5 after 2028 and PS6...

It's really difficult to not feel like this is the end of something, and the next phase is not looking good at all. Consumers need more protections in place that digital goods have the same value as physical and will be accessible forever. Otherwise, piracy will rise RAPIDLY, far more than now.

Maseylia - Wishlist on Steam

12 June

I'm in this and I don't like it. While I'm playing Age of Empires II Definitive Edition

Santa Ragione@santaragione.com

Michael R reposted

@solbrothers.bsky.social

11 June

🎉ONE WEEK BEFORE STEAM LAUNCH To celebrate this milestone, we're giving away 2 Maseylia keys 🎁🔑 To enter: ✨ Wishlist Maseylia: Echoes of the Past on Steam 🔄 Repost this post & Follow Us - simple as that. Winners will be announced on June 16th! Thank you all♥ #indiegame #gamedev #giveaway

11 June

It’s honestly weird how this can apply to sports and just modern American life in general

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20 May

Man, if I had a nickel for every time my outdoor sink with exposed pipes against a wall out in the middle of the parking lot stopped working and I had to take off the pipe on my pipe wrench, I'd be broke because that doesn't make any sense. Fucking stop using AI...

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco.com

I'm not a plumber. But I'm pretty sure that's not how sinks work.

20 May

Wow, Forza Horizon 6, huh?

12 May

Donkey Kong Country is way up there for best music

NESbot@nesbot.bsky.social

Outside of Mario and Zelda, which Nintendo franchise has the best music? www.resetera.com/threads/15...

11 May

...the fuck does "under-babied" even mean??

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Dr Oz: "One in three Americans are under-babied"

24 Apr

Whoever at MODOT thought it would be an incredibly brilliant idea to close not one, but two major highways in the KC metro area, on a Friday, during Rush Hour, I hope you unexpectedly step on LEGOs at random throughout the rest of your life.

16 Apr

Any recommendations for a quiet controller I can use on my Xbox and PC? The buttons on the Xbox Series controller tend to have a very loud click and it drives my wife nuts when I have a game I have to repeatedly hit a button. #BlueskyGaming

11 Apr

Finished Batman: Resurrection by @farawaypress.com. Hell of a great follow-up to Batman ‘89. Loved seeing so much more of this world and these characters, as well as a Burton-esque take on a couple villains we haven’t seen in the films before, while also teasing the sequel and Returns

11 Apr

Now we just wait until my copy of Batman: Revolution becomes available from my local library!