Steve Dennis

Steve Dennis

@subcide.com

By day, Staff Product Designer, writes occasionally about design, design systems, leadership, and tech @ clipcontent.substack.com. By day also (but the weekends) indie game dev of SpinShot for Playdate.

353 followers593 following358 posts

Pinned

My first game, SpinShot is finally releasing exclusively for #playdate on Jan 20th, 2026. It's a block-breaker score-chaser with a spin. Play through 48 story levels across 4 biomes. Master 3 unique abilities and a suite of upgrades, and see how far you can get in the endless Arcade mode.

Steve Dennis reposted

Last year, miHoYo copied my puzzle game Ouros in Zenless Zone Zero. Because they are a recognized, billion-dollar studio and my game isn't well known, some people are now assuming that their version is the original, and mine is the clone. I hope this video clears that up.

Convinced Figma doesn't understand how enterprise costs work at all. Can't split invoices by cost centre, can't assign seat numbers to cost centres, can't attribute extra AI credits to a cost centre, don't seem to be able to stop 1 person from using the org's entire extra monthly credits.

I should follow up on this that this is no longer entirely true. Credit where it's due, you can now limit credits by cost centre, even if you can't get separate invoices.

If anyone (Nvidia?) needs an honest voice to tell you your AI-generated slop-machine is a terrible idea before embarrassing yourself in a public announcement, I'm available. While my rates are indeed astronomical, you can clearly afford it, so calm down.

The annual #playdate anniversary sale is now on and the SpinShot wishlists have definitely been doing their (much needed) job. Thanks to all who've played it to date, and if not, it's only $4 for a bit. play.date/games/spinsh... (also check out Xorbius, Diora, and Wheelsprung. Fantastic games.)

The next Figma Config conference is going to be *really* interesting. I feel like we'll be able to feel the impending disruption and erosion of their position, due to the erosion of the traditional design process within orgs. I want to see how they try to stay relevant.

SpinShot is nearly at 100 sales for #playdate in its first two weeks. Can we push it over the top this weekend? #indiegames #retrogaming

We (you) did it! Thank you all :) Highest day of SpinShot sales this week. The milestones, no matter how tiny, are super important for motivation. #indiedev

SpinShot is nearly at 100 sales for #playdate in its first two weeks. Can we push it over the top this weekend? #indiegames #retrogaming

That fun feeling when your phone dies randomly in a completely unrecoverable way a few months before the phone you're actually excited about releases. 🥲

With a name like 'Noble Futures', you know their heart is in the right place. Right? Kindness and innovation probably values on their corporate slide deck. 😬

Playdate@play.date

⑤ You're a pilot and it's your job to recover mysterious energy artifacts known as COINs (Cyclic Omni-Inertial Nodes) for the terraforming corporation known as Noble Futures. 🚀 play.date/games/spins...

SpinShot is out on #playdate Catalog and itch.io! It's an arcade block-breaker score-chaser with a spin, and a completely unnecessary sci-fi story mode full of puns and anti-corporate sentiment. Pick it up, tell your friends with Playdates, or wishlist for later! play.date/games/spinsh...

SpinShot is releasing on #Playdate Catalog and Itch in 4 days! (Tuesday the 20th Jan). The reviewer community for PD is *tiny*, but if you do review playdate games, feel free to DM me for a review code. Excited and nervous and proud and relieved all at the same time!

Look, I'm no good at sales pitches, but smashing ice is a core part of the gameplay loop of Spinshot. Because fuck ice, amirite?

Maybe when the AI bubble inevitably bursts, we'll be able to get SUPER cheap RAM second hand from data centre closures, the same way everyone was able to get second hand Herman Miller chairs after the .com bubble and financial crisis.

3rd day stuck in Amsterdam after what was supposed to be a 1h KLM stopover to London on Saturday. Currently scheduled for a flight on Wednesday afternoon. Do not recommend.

In awe of the technical achievement here, knowing the limitations of the PD hardware. Can't wait to give this a shot!

Zachary Snyder@the3dprintist.bsky.social

My game, Diora, releases TOMORROW on the Playdate Catalog! Find out more at dioragame.com. #playdate

My first game, SpinShot is finally releasing exclusively for #playdate on Jan 20th, 2026. It's a block-breaker score-chaser with a spin. Play through 48 story levels across 4 biomes. Master 3 unique abilities and a suite of upgrades, and see how far you can get in the endless Arcade mode.

It's been a wild journey learning how to make a game from scratch. Whether that's been learning Lua, creating Blender animations, making 1-bit pixel art, sound effects, and writing, I've learned an absolute ton and am super proud of this silly little sci-fi arcade game. Can't wait to share it!

Steve Dennis reposted

🔄 labsylle, a cool word puzzle game about the "building blocks" of the english language, is launching 02.24.2026 for #playdate and personal computers!! available on playdate catalog at launch day — stay tuned! save the itch page: raewtf.itch.io/labsylle

Little yellow #Playdate console friends, if you have some time over the next week to help me out and play test SpinShot (an arcade block breaker score chaser with a spin) pop your details into the play testing form and I'll be in touch. forms.gle/sng14hFABTkA...

Steve Dennis reposted

Hi Internet! I'm Drew and THIS IS MY FACE. If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society. It would mean a lot to me and to those I know affected by the disease! Donate at blinkingguy.com

It's been such a great year for fans of the particular flavour of heavy music I happen to be into. We've gotten new albums from Sleep Token, Deftones, Thornhill, Spiritbox, Bloodywood, Igorrr, Architects - and new songs from Karnivool, Don Bronco, Dayseeker, President, and more. We feasting. 🤘

Development on SpinShot for the #playdate continues and is going great. I've been putting time into achievements and tutorials recently. Also busy polishing the story, UI, and added an endless Arcade mode.

A nice reminder that this Friday's Euromillions jackpot is a whopping 174 million pounds, or put another way 0.05% of Elon Musk's net worth.