James Cavin

James Cavin

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Why make a game? (Or anything?)
Why make a game? (Or anything?)

Navigating the teleological terrors which assail creativity in the current age.

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Apr 29, 2026
Accidental inspiration soup: tone-building in Defender's Quest
Accidental inspiration soup: tone-building in Defender's Quest

We tend to think of world-building as the foundation of any fantastical project, BUT WE ARE WRONG.

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Mar 21, 2026
Screenshot Saturday
Screenshot Saturday

In which a screenshot is enscreenshottened.

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Feb 28, 2026
So, you want to write a funny game? Part one: Situations Are Serious, People Are Funny
So, you want to write a funny game? Part one: Situations Are Serious, People Are Funny

Real stakes require a real world, regardless of how much humor characters use to cope with it.

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Feb 17, 2026
Vim Part 6: A Single Thought
Vim Part 6: A Single Thought

In which Grit the Quill does not die alone.

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Jan 25, 2026
Lunacy: What happens if you write the same writing prompt every day for 200 days?
Lunacy: What happens if you write the same writing prompt every day for 200 days?

The results were pretty weird.

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Jan 14, 2026
Shooting at human-shaped targets: What we do trains us... whether we want it or not.
Shooting at human-shaped targets: What we do trains us... whether we want it or not.

On the last day of the last month of the last year, I thought I'd play some word games, and maybe ramble about some offensively hot-button topics.

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Dec 31, 2025
Marty McFly is a full human being
Marty McFly is a full human being

...What happens when you make a young adult actually a young adult?

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Nov 15, 2025
Vim Part 5: I have found the place
Vim Part 5: I have found the place

In which I lose my manuscript, and have to rewrite it all from scratch.

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Nov 03, 2025
Cleaning Simulators make me metaphysically uncomfortable
Cleaning Simulators make me metaphysically uncomfortable

-OR- Is all fun good fun? Distraction, entertainment, and the slow murder of our capacity for satisfaction.

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Oct 27, 2025
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James Cavin

Reject mundanity. Embrace madness.


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