Party Animals - June FAQ
Indie DB
JUNE 26, 2023
Catch up on latest updates and FAQ ahead of the Party starting later 2023.
FAQ 
You have talked at length at standard optimizations (LoD, not rendering things, deleting cars on a distant highway to avoid memory overflow, etc). What are the weirdest optimization strategies you have seen?
Ask a Game Dev
APRIL 3, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Since they were just auto-looping background characters and not often looked at, most players didn't notice a difference but it saved a lot on the animation calculation overall.
Animation 
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Trending Sources
Sometimes I need to reboot my games because of “memory loss”. What is it? Why does it make my games run faster after rebooting?
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APRIL 25, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ That's why your games run faster after rebooting, the games have access to more memory after the reboot. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Hello! I have a question about cutscenes. How does a decision get made about whether a cutscene can be skipped or not? I know some games have certain skipable cutscenes and others unskippable, and that in HD remakes of old games developers will sometimes add the ability to skip them. Do these decisions tend to be story-motivated or is there commonly a background mechanical reason to force a cutscene to play fully through?
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APRIL 19, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Hello! You may have answered this before but where is the best place to search for game industry jobs online?
Ask a Game Dev
MARCH 13, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ There's a few other places you might try like CreativeHeads.net [ Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Ask a Game Dev’s Frequently Asked Questions
Ask a Game Dev
JANUARY 19, 2024
Keep reading Busy day so you all get the FAQ today askagamedev : Hey Dev! I’ve got a question for you! Sure thing. It’s what I’m here for. What kind of question is it?
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Are the reasons why dlcs don’t require or advertise other dlcs for their content to work or show up because of potential compromised sales, as well as being fare to all customers who buy them?
Ask a Game Dev
MARCH 22, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ It isn't worth it to shoot our own sales in the foot like that. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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How possible is it for someone with non-game programming/software engineering experience to get into the games industry?
Ask a Game Dev
JANUARY 17, 2024
As always the Game Career FAQ is always a helpful read. Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ For a more detailed breakdown of many common development roles in the industry, [ read this post ].
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PlayStation reveals initiative to fund and support indie devs in India
GamesIndustry.biz
MAY 9, 2023
Developers can find a full FAQ and also apply through here. Developers in India can also make use of PlayStation Studios' internal resources and expertise. The project covers developers producing games for PS5, PSVR 2 and PC. It will also consider mobile games on a 'case-by-case basis'. Read more
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Are Remedy and Epic right to make Alan Wake 2 digital-only? | Opinion
GamesIndustry.biz
MAY 26, 2023
In an FAQ on the developer’s website, the company explained its decision, and began by stating: ‘You can buy a Sony PlayStation 5 without a disc drive and Microsoft’s Xbox Series S is a digital only console.
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Do you have any insight as to why annual sports titles have not gone the Live Service model yet given the fact each year it is mostly minor tweaks and roster changes anyway?
Ask a Game Dev
APRIL 11, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ There must be a gain to outweigh that cost in order for the publishers to do it. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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How do the people working in marketing know how effective their marketing is?
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APRIL 17, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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A follow up on the special unicorn post. Are there jobs that used to be special unicorns that just aren’t anymore?
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JANUARY 9, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Now they're a lot more common and have lost the unicorn status. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Is it hard for programmers who work for mobile or indie companies to get a job in an AAA studio due to the difference in project scope? Does this lead to their experience being considered inferior to that of AAA developers?
Ask a Game Dev
MARCH 12, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Whether they earned their experience on big AAA games or smaller indie or mobile titles doesn't matter, as long as they can solve the problems we need them to solve.
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What does a game dev want on the holidays?
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DECEMBER 26, 2023
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Ask a Game Dev’s Frequently Asked Questions
Ask a Game Dev
AUGUST 18, 2023
Keep reading Today’s a really busy day for me so you get the FAQ again askagamedev : Hey Dev! I’ve got a question for you! Sure thing. It’s what I’m here for. What kind of question is it?
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Why is October so stacked? Why are you (yes, specifically YOU) doing this to my wallet? Everything great is coming out this month! I can’t afford all this! D:
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OCTOBER 11, 2023
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ October is always stacked because there's a huge sales spike in November and December thanks to the holiday season. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Does cut content exist for video games? Not material devs save for later use in dlcs or expansions, but content that was created and for some reason didn’t make it to the final product. Idk like, a boss battle was way too long so a portion of gameplay was cut off or some footage devs felt like removing from certain cutscenes.
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APRIL 4, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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What do you believe are the easiest and the toughest real world sport to translate into video games? My guess is Golf being the easiest since there are so few active objects at any given time.
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APRIL 24, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Weight lifting games would be similarly low-effort for feasibility. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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I just found out that the vast majority of my department is getting laid off in the next couple months and I’m not sure what my next steps are from here… With the field being extremely competitive to begin with, and it also being the worst time of year for job postings/hiring, do you have any advice for someone who’s been laid off in this industry? (I only have just under a year of official experience here) I’ve updated my resume, networked with others, working on my portfolio…anything else that you’d recommend? Thank you ??
Ask a Game Dev
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ I truly hope things improve for you soon. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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So hey, about ten years ago there was basically a phase in video game development where manual saves were disabled in place of (often far apart) automatic saves. It (mostly) passed in its own time, but… what was up with that?
Ask a Game Dev
FEBRUARY 26, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Since then, we've reallowed manual saves with attached conditions so that players have a harder time saving in a broken state, but the reasons for the progression should be fairly clear.
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I really disagree with your suggestion that people should make an effort to change the copyright laws. Because to me, it just sounds like you are asking people to do an impossible task while also ignoring the fact that large companies like Disney have been lobbying Congress to tilt the copyright laws to their advantage. In addition, your posts comes across as if we should just be contempt with the current state of the laws in spite of all the flaws. Heck even you yourself even stated in an old post that the current laws are flawed and far from perfect. So tell us, what should we actually do given the current circumstances?
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FEBRUARY 2, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ I would be happy to participate. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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How can I tell if I’m transitioning from a junior to a mid-level gameplay programmer?
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MARCH 7, 2024
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How do games get picked for giveaways on Epic, GoG, etc.?
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JANUARY 5, 2024
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How is the process of learning In-house game engines once you get into an AAA studio? Do they immediately put you in production to learn as you go, or does it take some weeks before allocating you to a project?
Ask a Game Dev
APRIL 2, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ We use this exact process to bring a new hire onto our team because it's the same goal - we have someone who (we hope) is dedicated to working on the game and helping us carry it to completion.
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Does it take much work/money to edit cutscenes once finished? Like, you develop a cutscene but then you decide to change details like background, music, clothes, facial expressions of the characters or even add to the scene a character who originally wasn’t supposed to be there. How often does this happen?
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APRIL 12, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ We can't get refunds on development time or effort spent and we only have so much to spend on the total game. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Who (if anyone) picks up an auto error report when a game crashes? And does sending it (with screenshot or video) actually help?
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MARCH 25, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Any automated error reporting was built long ago and is likely still being collected, but there's probably no one on the team left to read the reports and interpret them.
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Hello there. I have a question that still stuck in my mind lately. I have been playing games with an option to turn on “music player” or “custom radio station”. Games like GTA and Forza Horizon 3 (I think?) had this feature. My question is, how difficult is it to implement such feature? Because I rarely see this feature used these days. With the rise of music streaming platforms like Spotify or SoundCloud, wont it be easy to implement such feature?
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FEBRUARY 6, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Jukebox support tends to be a fairly low priority feature since it's not a huge selling point, but there are some who care enough about adding it to a game that it shows up now and again.
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You’ve spoken of IP concerns as the major practical barrier to generative AI use in the final product of a game. Steam seems to be about to become more open to games using these tools. What does this say about the industry’s risk assessments?
Ask a Game Dev
JANUARY 12, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ I don't think the vast majority of these games will be any good , but they will certainly be plentiful since there's a much lower bar to make them.
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If the holidays are the highest revenue time for games, what is the lowest? Does the lack of revenue have measurable impact for game devs (say the lowest revenue time is the time when game cancellations are the most common?)
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OCTOBER 17, 2023
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Follow-up to the hiring question, why don’t companies reconsider already rejected candidates when they lower standards? That seems like they would be spending extra money and time when they could check to see if any candidate meets the now lower standard then starting the hunt anew, and could settle for a lower rated candidate than one they previously rejected.
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DECEMBER 5, 2023
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ If we call someone back more than a couple of weeks later, many of them are already off the market. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Never really played Final Fantasy until recently. Ran into my first ever Tonberry. Do me a favor? Change your avatar. Please and thank you. :)
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NOVEMBER 24, 2022
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ. Don’t make me go over there. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Who has input on what a game is named? Who has the final say?
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AUGUST 23, 2023
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ They may consult market research, the marketing department, or even farm it out to focus groups, but usually they just pick something they like.
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Regarding your latest answer about optimizing games. Can you elaborate more on how the optimization gets to happen? Like ofcourse they do want to make their npcs look as good as they planned to so how do they optimize without reducing quality in general?
Ask a Game Dev
MARCH 21, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ If you have the time and interest, I suggest looking at the #game optimization tag on this blog, since I've written at length about various means of optimization in past posts.
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I’ve noticed that both the MMO’s I’ve played with dyeable cosmetic systems (GW2, FFXIV) also have heavily monetized storage, and fairly limited storage space for dyed armor. 800 slots for FFXIV (fills up fast), and only bank/inventory for GW2. Are these two things at all related? Does armor customization impose a costly storage burden? I thought it’d be cheap and easy to store dyed armor as simple string of values. “Player X has Y armor with dyes A, B, and C.” However, I’m no programmer.
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FEBRUARY 8, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Both, however, are common sources of income for the game and dev team. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Different anon but I wanna follow up on the last question for your personal opinion. What’s a genre or series that fell out of AAA grace that you think wasn’t nearly tapped out of design potential but withered due to low sales? In a perfect world, what’s a specific style of game that you think could absolutely have gone much further with overwhelming innovation through modern tools and principals? Anything you especially lament seeing fall to the wayside in your career?
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NOVEMBER 27, 2023
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In fighting games counting (comparing) frames on moves/animations is important, even for players. For other types of games, do developers or animators count or tweak to the frame? And when counting small amounts of time like that, how do most studios do it? Frames? Milliseconds?
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2023
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Our debug logging keeps tabs on everything in terms of milliseconds so we can see how temporally far apart events in the log fire. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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What do you do when you are at work but for whatever reason you have to wait to keep working (development breaking bug that is being fixed by other people, code compiling, waiting on person working on X thing you need so you can start work on Y, etc)
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APRIL 16, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ It was difficult to start, but has definitely helped with my focus and my attention since I've started doing it. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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On the topic of generative AI, what jobs are game companies looking to replace with it first? I imagine that concept art is going to be one the easiest things to replace and I harass some games are using AI to fill out voice over work ( AI is a major sticking point between game companies and the voice actor union right now), but what other jobs are at risk of being replaced?
Ask a Game Dev
MARCH 15, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Without having the skills needed to determine if something is good or not, the Gen AI results aren't (yet) good enough to use to build something.
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Why is it that custom clothes are often just a bit… off? Like they fit just a little big on the character, or don’t quite fold or (procedurally) animate well, or they look too simply textured compared to their own game. Where’s this uncanniness come from?
Ask a Game Dev
FEBRUARY 20, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Player-selected clothes tend to exacerbate these differences because they weren't assembled by professional artists who use a bunch of design tricks to make things look better together.
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Especially with so many projects that were never announced probably getting canceled right now due to layoffs and studios dissolving, how risky would it be for devs to keep personal copies of their work/builds? I always thought NDAs were generally time limited, and at least that way the work wouldn’t be entirely lost for ever. Is that even something devs generally want?
Ask a Game Dev
APRIL 18, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ In my opinion, the real value in old project assets is in the educational content it can provide. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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Addendum to cut content: people find remnants of cut content in game files often enough. So/but is there any even rough estimate you could give of cut content that’s dug up versus cut stuff that could never be found?
Ask a Game Dev
APRIL 10, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ That's basically it - the amount of cut content that players/data miners can possibly discover depends primarily on the kind of game, the kind of content, and the circumstances of the game's development.
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Form an insider perspective, what forms of monetization, if any, tend to be harmful for the games health, in terms of player numbers and/or amount of money spent by the players on the game?
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AUGUST 22, 2023
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Game development is becoming more expensive (at least or especially for AAA games), but at the same time there’s more games than ever, and it’s ‘easier’ for me to wait for sales than ever. Or heck, there’s a decent chance a game will be available on a subscription service eventually. So, that’s to say, I find it even less likely than a decade ago that I’ll buy a new game at full price. Should I worry about this? Sure I’m one person, but the market is nothing but many “one person"s, right?
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NOVEMBER 20, 2023
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Hopefully there will continue to be some crossover in there and you'll be able to find some games you can enjoy. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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