The Indie Gaming Cookie

     I have a backlog of games that could span the length of the world. Each game takes, on the average, at least two dozen hours to 'complete', taking into account the swaths of short experiences and the dedicated, long plays. I want to play so many games, so many. They're exhausting.       This isn't because I see games as chores. If anything, I've never  wanted  to play so many as I have now. 2026 brings me to my most acquisitive, it would seem; my most imperial. I am Nick Joaquin's conquistador  by the night 1 . Games are fulfilling. More than that, they're moving. They make me, fill me and feel me and make me feel. I enjoy them, and more than that, I dedicate myself to them, like a woodpecker would to its tree trunk, digging into its core with every peck, peck, and peck. Except the wood, in my case, is the space of games, and if it were a tree, it'd be as wide as wide is the world, and...

       I would like to introduce this article by giving an update about my life, which I will expound more in a future blog post — feel free to skip the first three paragraphs if this is not to your interest. The long and short of it is that my life has been incredibly eventful over the past few months. I have been accepted into an executive role for my university's gamedev-focused org which, along with compounding academic responsibilities, has made for a hectic September (do you remember? our twenty-first night– anyway).      Most fun of all is that I have gotten to participate in THREE game jams, two of which I took part with a team of developers. Prior I had never even made a game with full teams, let alone two of them! Again, I will talk about this in the aforementioned, all-encompassing life update blog. But if you're curious, you can play the three games I made or helped make here: (1)  THE WORLD WILL EXPLODE IN 60 SECONDS! ; (2) ...

Here in the Philippines, video game discourse has once again crossed paths with that of juvenile gun violence. This is due to recent school shootings that have been happening nationwide, from the Tacloban school shooting in June to — just recently — the shooting in Ateneo de Zamboanga in August. Police investigations and the media have made it clear that many of the suspects play video games prominently featuring gun violence. The inevitable question engendered by this media highlight is one I attempt to give my answers to in this blog. Namely, did video games cause the shootings that have been terrifying the nation? Answering this question will require an understanding of the many factors that may lead to juvenile gun violence. To get this out of the way, yes: violent media has been shown to cause increased aggressive behavior in adolescents, as studies have shown [1][2]. Certainly, violent gaming contributes to this aggression in behavior. We must note that similar results has also b...

Hello! These are my (semi-)live reactions to the 2026 South East Asian Games Showcase (SEAGS) which premiered just yesterday, June 6, 2026, 11:00 P.M. GMT+8. I say "semi" live because I couldn't actually watch the premiere live; I was asleep. Still, as a Filipino, I've been pretty excited to catch one of these, so check these games out with me! Note that these are hastily written first impressions, so these thoughts are fairly less organized than what you may usually find in my blogs. Also, I might not be able to write about  every  game in this hour-long showcase. I'll probably only include announcements that interest me, personally. That's all the more reason for you to watch the showcase yourself!     Watch the SEA Games Showcase here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68FDpVkWoTo     Full Release: "TCG Card Shop Simulator" (by OPNeon Games)       I've tried TCG Card Shop Simulator  before. I did not know it was in Early Access, or that...

The Philippines is a country that's almost impossible to love. It is perhaps the embodiment of wasted potential; worms ate the country inside-out, and now it's exiting the global sphincter as a massive piece of shit.   This can be seen in the country's gaming ""industry"". Despite brimming with talent, the nation as of yet still sees 'gaming' as equivalent to 'gambling sites' and 'offshore' or 'outsourced work'. As the country's potential economic growth gets continuously squandered by political powers, the potential of the country as an artistic forefront is squandered by the overwhelming cultural powers brought by the globalized world. The path that a creative must walk in this nation hangs in the balance. It is our imperative to pull ourselves forward by the bootstraps. Therefore, as a Filipino game developer myself, it is my prime mission to seek out, participate with, and contribute to the local gaming scene, one ...