Derek Rumpler (The original DerekGameDev)

My #NintendoSwitch2Experience in New York City - a thread. #NintendoSwitch2

I told myself I didn't need the foil cover of Terranigma but I caved.

No. There was no significant change at all in player count or engagement in our tracking.

I called the police because someone I had problems with turned their back on me and brandished a knife and *I* was the problem somehow.

I'm for gamers getting games they want, but devs also have to feel fulfilled by it. If they don't then their passion isn't going to show in the final game. If you're the type that argues that devs should just do their jobs and do what the customer wants, I don't like you.

Unfortunately, HR made our office manager take this down almost immediately. They said because it's in a common area, it had to be removed. We've used common areas for many things as a team, including fan works, but HR seems to believe that a Celebration of Service is inappropriate.

Oh god. They're going to try to Roblox-ify Xbox, aren't they. Lean into UGC and the free labor that comes with. Sheezus.

I'm thinking of gutting most of my physical game collection and moving primarily to PC and emulation devices, only keeping physicals I know I'll play or have some attachment to. The problem is finding reliable local buyers. I don't want to ship that much product via the mail.

I finished Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 taking the path to Venom 2. In a lot of respects it feels easier than the original (even on normal mode) but I feel like I had a harder time taking Wolf down in Venom 2 than the original. 😂

I'm pretty sure these are all the Nintendo Switch 2 physical games I own after a year. I feel like I had more OG Switch games in the same time period. Two of them are my fiancée's exclusively. Digital: Mario Kart World (console bundle), Pokémon Pokopia, Fast Fusion.

I'm finally going to try to pursue some User Experience Design experience to complement my Interactive Media Studies degree. I have always wanted to do this and use it to complement game design.

I spent about four hours with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book on Nintendo Switch 2. It is a very good game with a lot to do and my five-year-old daughter enjoys watching me play it. That said, it would probably be easier for people to swallow if it was in the $30-50 range, not $70.

I finished Mixtape earlier tonight. I enjoyed it. It's not my game of the year, but it does interesting things mixing narrative and interactivity that I'd like to see other games try, even ones more focused on gameplay. 9/10. I will clear the rest of the achievements soon.

My five-year-old daughter asked for a console game after mostly playing tablet games. Pico Park was her choice. I am going to have to play it with her and my second oldest. Proud parent moment. I have bought her other physical games but this is the first she resonated with.

I finished Pragmata tonight and I started playing post-game content. This could end up being my game of the year if I play nothing better this year.

I can't believe I finished four Dragon Quest games over the last few months. Sometime by year's end, I'm going to get all the achievements. I am thinking of doing the mobile versions of 4-6 soon, but I might need a break. #DragonQuest

I dreamed I was walking through Cleveland, Ohio with my fiancée (I've only done bus transfers there). A snotty upper-middle class man said, "You need this more than I do" (he thought we looked "poor.") He threw a book of British literature at us. J.R.R. Tolkien's name was on it so I kept it.

I was worried this was going to become rare, so I bought it physically just in case.

Do you think bro played with them when he was done with the video?

I caught my first non-story, full odds shiny in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's literally trash. #PokemonLegendsZA

I think someone actually unfollowed me for this just demonstrating my point. 😂

I turn on easy/invincibility mode when grinding in RPGs and turn it back off during story objectives (as long as it doesn't affect achievements). The way some people describe gaming discourse, I'm not a "real gamer" even though I do it to save time because I have less of it now.

I was walking through the pitch dark, turned on my flashlight, turned around, saw this written in the snow, and almost had a heart attack. 😂 Apparently, my fiancée wrote it earlier. It's a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reference.

I like how in Japanese, to describe someone as intelligent, you can say: 彼は頭が良いです。(Kare wa atama ga ii desu). "He has a good head." (or "He is smart.")

I finished both Dragon Quest III and I HD-2D remakes this year and I'm about to start II HD-2D. I wish they would release 4-6 next, even if it is upscaled from the mobile versions. But the fact they jumped to VII leads me to believe VIII is next.

I think 2024 was double my 2025 playtime on Nintendo consoles. I played Xbox more because I am trying to grind a bunch of Microsoft Rewards points before my Game Pass Ultimate sub ends at the end of May (I'll probably switch to Premium then). #NintendoSwitch #NintendoSwitch2

I know this won't happen, but if Nintendo put their retro games on Steam and allowed Workshop support, fans could release content patches for old ROMs and the best of the best could end up on the Nintendo Classics apps on Nintendo Switch Online. youtu.be/FgpXTNPxjlQ?...

It's January 3rd, so today is my second 21st birthday. I get two beers instead of one.

This is funny. 😂 #gamedev #indiedev youtu.be/dUkLYOPRYH4?...

I'm probably not buying an Xbox or PlayStation console after this generation, especially if they go all-digital, unless they are some sort of PC hybrid. This personally felt like the most useless generation to me. I used Xbox primarily for Game Pass and Microsoft mucked that up.

I swear if I die and anyone writes something like this about me... You better hope that they burned my head and shot it out of a confetti cannon; if not I'm reanimating and coming for you And another thing: I'm not mad. Don't write in my People Magazine obituary that I got mad about "followers"

I barely touched my PS5 this year so I didn't even get a 2025 Wrap-Up. LOL. #playstationwrapup

If Peter Parker or Miles Morales bite someone, does that person get spider powers, too? "Spider-Man-Man, Spider-Man-Man, does whatever a Spider-Man can."

Damn, I am a nerd. #YouTubeRecap @maklelan.bsky.social (a critical Bible scholar) was also my most watched channel this year. I learned a lot from him and I am considering a potential career path due to that channel alongside continuing game development on my own time.

I'll be honest, I gave up focusing on consoles and focus on PC and (to some extent) mobile game development now. That doesn't mean I can't release ports to console, I just suspect consoles will become increasingly niche as PC gaming becomes more affordable.

I played Wario World for the first time the past weekend and 100%ed it last night. It was my first time playing and I am ashamed I missed it, but enjoyed it despite some old-school jank. #NintendoSwitch2 #NintendoSwitchOnline #GameCube

Mission accomplished.

I forgot to mention my personal Games of the Year: 1) Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 2) Avowed 3) Donkey Kong Bananza (based on games I've played) My picks don't have to be yours. #TheGameAwards

I am mostly not offended by this list. With a few exceptions, I consider many of these to be among the greatest games of all-time.

I suck at visual art and I rely on a lot of "programmer art" when developing and have to replace it later with someone else's art. So I think next year I am going to get better at drawing and build on that foundation. Even if it is just to understand the process more.