Mary Kenney Profile Banner
Mary Kenney Profile
Mary Kenney

@marykanpie

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Game writer, bestselling author. No longer responding to DMs here (find me through my website or on 🩵☁️)

Chicago, IL
Joined October 2010
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Pinned Tweet
@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
My book's out now! And people like it! You can buy it, too! Read all about women who have been making games - as writers, engineers, composers, + more - since the 1960s 💜🎮
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
From now on, every time someone asks me when little girls started playing video games, I'm going to remind them that Barbie Fashion Designer outsold Doom.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
So.... here's what I've been working on ❤️🕷️🕸️
@getFANDOM
Fandom
4 years
'Spider-Man: Miles Morales' is coming to #PS5 this holiday 🕸
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
a friend just asked me if I think tucker carlson is really a white nationalist or just pretended to make money, and the answer is I don’t give a shit. If you pretend to be a white nationalist, you’re a white nationalist
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
is this npc romanceable
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
6 months
When I was laid off from Telltale, it didn’t matter that I’d worked late nights and weekends. It didn’t matter that I’d taken no PTO except 3 days (not even a week) when I got married. It didn’t matter that I’d delayed my honeymoon. I lost my job + healthcare in 1 week.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
5 months
Seriously, bc this has been on my nerves: It’s not a leak; it’s a hack. There’s a big difference between “a thing we plan to release got released early” and “someone stole our private, personal info and we’re all now in danger.” Adjust how you talk if you care about the truth.
@insomniacgames
Insomniac Games
5 months
An update regarding Insomniac and Marvel's #WolverinePS5 .
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
I’ve written for two bestselling PS5 games in my pajamas you goober
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
@GadSaad oh no people who need a product are having that product advertised to them, the horror
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
***updates Twitter bio just like, real quick
@getFANDOM
Fandom
3 years
'Wolverine' video game announced by Insomniac 🔥 @getfandomgaming #PlayStationShowcase
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
some of y’all need to understand that “I’m afraid of being criticized for the choices I made” is not the same as “I’m afraid of being bullied for my identity”
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
how it started / how it's going
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
✨sap attack real quick✨ When Telltale closed, it felt like my life was over. In one day I lost my job, project, and friends. What got me through it? Spider-Man PS4: its hope and joy. 2 mos later, Insomniac offered me this job. My heart is full of love, gratitude, & awe.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
SHE IS THE COOLEST CHARACTER I have never seen a woman warrior on TV get to be this smug, messy, and effective.
@DeadwoodDross
RedJuiceTooth || COMMS CLOSED
4 years
God okay I’ll shut up about Witcher soon but when is the last time you’ve seen a lady in a show look like This COME ON, DO TELL, NOTE THE LACK OF BOOBILY ARMOR
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
I am begging my fellow gamedevs: make your menu text bigger
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 months
I don’t know how to explain this to the suit but here goes: people don’t just want *content.* There’s more content available than there’s ever been. People want *quality.* To feel like someone crafted an experience for them, not just a slurry of words
@catacalypto
Cat Manning
4 months
this can be done right now by people like me without generative AI.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
God grant me the confidence to write myself into a show, and then make every other character in that show think I’m insanely hot
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Gamedev dudes, the thing NOT to do this week is turn to the women in your company to reassure you that no, actually, you’re one of the good ones. Self-reflect on what you’ve done to help marginalized voices in your org. If the answer is nothing? Well, it’s a good day to start.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
*of bisexuals
@UniversalPics
Universal Pictures
2 years
these two raised a generation.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 months
my replies lately 🙃
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
DRAGON AGE?! DRAGON AGE! *bangs hands on table* DRAGON AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 months
Some of you don’t seem to understand how narrative consulting on games works, but don’t worry: I do! Yes this is about Sweet Baby, because I’ve worked with that team, and they’re one of the finest in the biz. 🧵1/12
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
5 years
@briarhoes I can’t
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
@DrLoupis That cis people should stop demonizing them?
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
Muting this because a lot of you are missing the point + I'm sleepy. Barbie Fashion Designer sold a lot of copies (yes, more than Doom, you can Google it, there's about a zillion articles). It was marketed to little girls. Ergo, lots of little girls played video games.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
I can't believe we're allowed to talk about the cat now. 🕷️♥️🐱
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
If you enjoy debunking silly myths about video games (who plays them, who makes them), my book is for you!
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
6 months
Personally I think if you laid off gamedevs this year you should be disqualified from winning any awards 🤷‍♀️ Ya screwed up, try again next year
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
Checking My Email Is Fun: a play in 4 acts
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
Getting a bunch of advice requests from TV folks trying to make the switch to games now. First, welcome! Second, my biggest pro tip: do not talk down to the people interviewing you or shit on their medium 😌
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 months
“Just go indie” y’all if companies are laying off thousands and enacting hiring freezes, they’re not funding indie projects We’re all stuck in the same cycle of corporate greed, just at different levels
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
@qorquiq OH the kicker- one of *my* comics was on display 😅
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
5 years
If you’re sick of hearing about sexual assault, imagine how f*cking exhausting it is living with it.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
Here’s a fun (lol no) anecdote: a few years ago, i and all the writers were laid off from a game that was a few months from ship. But the scripts were done! So it was fine! No. They recorded the scripts & put it all in the game, but it was… so… rough.
@Hello_Tailor
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw
1 year
re: HBO continuing to film House of the Dragon through the WGA strike because "the scripts are finished":
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
6 months
I swore that at my next job I’d take PTO, leave, and trips. I’d find a place that didn’t have “unlimited PTO” and quiet punishment (demotions, switching projects while you were gone) if you took it. And I have! Prioritize your life. You won’t get another chance to enjoy it.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
Find one (1) difference between these two pictures :)
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
┏┓ ┃┃╱╲ in this ┃╱╱╲╲ house ╱╱╭╮╲╲ we ▔▏┗┛▕▔ love ╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲ abby ╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲ ▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔
@bestofvidgames
best of video games
3 years
abby — the last of us: part 2
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
5 years
A lot of ugly, horrible news coming out in the games industry. Please be kind to the women (& people) around you who might struggle to get through today.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 months
🫂 We’re encouraged to make our jobs our personalities, and when they’re ripped away, it feels like something has died. When Telltale closed, I lost my daily routine, the friends I spent time with every day, the creative output that filled my mind. I was lost.
@OhMyMithrandir
Kate Sánchez
4 months
Job loss is trauma. My mental health is still wrecked because I had to move backwards in my career because I needed to pay bills. I still cry thinking about how I have failed my family even though being laid off wasn't my fault. I still internalize it.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
6 months
I fucking hate this. Hey TGA, as a member of your Future Class: this does not honor or celebrate our work, and you should be ashamed of devaluing artists this way.
@thegameawards
The Game Awards
6 months
Xbox has announced a partnership with InWorld AI to bring generative AI to games - including AI game dialogue & narrative tools at scale.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
I don’t care what’s in his heart when what comes out of his mouth is hateful untrue bile making the US worse
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Just thinking about the chase sequence in Uncharted 4. Again. ♥️♥️
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
Cannot tell y’all how much of my networking advice boils down to “don’t be an asshole.”
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
@qorquiq I went into a comic book shop a couple days ago while wearing my Insomniac shirt. A guy asked if I knew they’d made “a comic book game” and didn’t seem to buy that I’d played it. When I said I worked there, he asked if I was looking at comics to “catch up.” I didn’t buy anything.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Of all the cool stuff I got to write in #MilesMoralesPS5 , this is probably my favorite.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
“You could remove this scene and the story would play out the same” is not the slam-dunk story criticism some of y’all think it is. We don’t enjoy stories because they’re a series of connected bullet points. We’re hooked by characters, surprises, emotions, changes
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
*tears* I... I work at the right place.
@insomniacgames
Insomniac Games
4 years
Purple looking kinda sus TBH. #MilesMoralesPS5
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
5 years
Unpopular writing take: don’t give your characters more story than they can handle Not every character needs Tragic Backstory, Trauma, Deppppppth. Sometimes adding those things weakens their narrative utility
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
6 months
You can work hard, become an expert in your field, AND have a balanced life. I promise ❤️
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
OOOKay. I’ve gotten just one too many DMs along the lines of, “why do you always talk about your gender in regard to your work? Focus on the work!!!” So I’m gonna answer.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Being a woman in games means bringing a different perspective to the rooms where decisions are made. Which pitches get greenlit; which characters are headliners; whose stories deserve to be told: when women help shape these choices, we make better games and better art.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
A skill we don’t talk about enough that you need to be a successful game writer: getting yourself hyped about other people’s ideas.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Since the discourse today is re: storytelling in games, I want to add: Every person on your team has the power to be a storyteller (though not necessarily a writer). Part of the writer's job is to give others on the team the info & power to use their specialty to help the story.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
all gamedevs are musicals people, obscure film people, or anime people. i don’t make the rules i just speak the truth
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
We have achieved... vibes
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
A game series inspired me to join the Navy, which was one of the worst mistakes of my life. Even if games weren’t political (they are), heroic depictions of war are inspiring - in the worst possible way.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
When I first got into games, I DID NOT KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING I wasn't special. I didn't know what a game engine was. But someone (several someones) decided it was worth their time to teach me. That's what needs to happen, over and over, if we want a more diverse industry.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
I did the meme! Did I do the meme? I did the meme. #MilesMoralesPS5
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Quick friendly neighborhood reminder- If you ask me questions about #WolverinePS5 , I can’t tell you. If you try to send me pitches, I gotta block you. Pls let’s all just be cool & enjoy his incredible forearms♥️🔥
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Give yourself permission to write things you have no intention of pitching, publishing, or selling❤️
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
Spot the difference
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
JUST MARRY PEOPLE YOU LIKE I DONT UNDERSTAAAAAAND
@nytimes
The New York Times
2 years
"Marriage requires amnesia, a mute button, a filter on the lens, a damper, some blinders, some bumpers, some ear plugs, a nap," writes Heather Havrilesky for @NYTStyles .
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Mary Kenney
4 years
Based on my inbox, today's a good day to dispel 7 common myths about game writing*. Good for: people who want to make games; people who think they might want to; the morbidly curious. Let's goooo✍️ *this thread will contain fun gifs
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
can I pet the big dog
@Forbes
Forbes
2 years
PlayStation has announced that God of War Ragnarok will indeed hit its promised 2022 release window, and will be out in the very traditional “big game” slot of early November.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
wait’ll y’all hear how video games are made
@screentime
ScreenTime
2 years
Tom Holland says the #SpiderManNoWayHome script was rewritten on almost a daily basis while filming “You could ask the director, ‘What happens in act three?’ And his response would be ‘I’m still trying to figure it out’” (via @GQMagazine )
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Mary Kenney
5 years
Y’all, being a gamedev is breaking my brain. On Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, the seat spun us so we were moving backwards, and I thought, “Oh, that’s how they hide the load screen.” 😑😑😑
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
I always get things a couple days after my coworkers (since I ditched California), but it was worth the wait. #WolverinePS5 devshirt EEEEE!
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Some more apartment photos because I’m just really proud of it?? It’s the first place that’s felt like *home* in a very long time
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
5 years
Heist movies are so, *so* good to watch if you want to be a game writer. They: -Make planning interesting -Have clear objectives -Convey a lot of character in otherwise practical dialogue -Give you a smart protagonist -Bonus: constant forward progression.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
ME: I can feel myself coming to a crossroads. No turning back. I’ve been here before and I know the outcomes, but I don’t know which path I should take. I’m lost. THERAPIST: THERAPIST: . . . Are you talking about Mass Effe— ME: I’m talking about Mass Effect.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
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@SonySantaMonica
Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök
2 years
☀️🐺 🌕🐺 #GodofWarRagnarok
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
god, it's always rough to see absolute starry-eyed gushing from devs + journalists alike - "how does X studio keep being so amazing?!?!" - when X studio was reported for crunch + obscene working conditions mere months ago
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
We couldn’t revise in the booth. We couldn’t meet with actors and talk through arcs and motivation. We couldn’t do a final editing pass to cut out redundant or extraneous scenes or dialogue. And the final product suffered for it. Writers do a lot more than spit out scripts.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
I didn’t work on these perfect lads (much) but boy howdy am I not gonna shut up this year about what a fantastic job my coworkers/friends did
@insomniacgames
Insomniac Games
1 year
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 swings to PS5 in fall 2023. Read more highlights on the PS Blog here:
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Mary Kenney
1 year
The WGA has rather famously treated games writers like garbage for years, yet every games writer I’ve talked to fully supports the strike. So do I! Everyone deserves fair pay and treatment! But if you’re thinking career switch, save yourself: don’t be a jerk about it
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Mary Kenney
5 years
Gamedevs! Something I've noticed: we work hard to make things, then don't give ourselves time to celebrate what we made. Tell me about a shipped thing you're proud of! ✨ I'll start: Violet + Clementine's romance scene💜🍊 Took many drafts to get there, but it was worth it.
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Mary Kenney
3 years
I had this sitting in my drafts and hooboy, the timing: Beware the man who loves "strong female characters" but hates interacting with actual women.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
Some of you really mistake “I didn’t relate to this character” as “the character was badly written,” and boy it gets old Characters should be compelling + consistent (or deliberately inconsistent), not self-insert for every viewer
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Mary Kenney
3 years
Today in "video game things that are hard to make but nobody knows they're hard to make"
@talecrafter
Stephan Hövelbrinks
3 years
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Mary Kenney
4 years
Now that we're all talking about crunch (again), I'll level with you all: this is why I don't like game jams very much. Encouraging pressure cookers doesn't sit right with me, and I never recommend them to students. Uh, unpopular opinion, I guess?
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Windows, I never, ever, in my life, want to save to OneDrive.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
This is why the WGA strike is so important - the writers deserve to be compensated for this work and assured they’ll have a future not eaten alive by tech bro thievery. Products considered “done” won’t be as long as there are no writers around to help get them out the door.
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Mary Kenney
5 months
Thank you everyone who sent kind messages. Now I’m gonna log off, bake a pie, pick my kid up early, and spend the rest of the day listening to his delighted babbles.
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Mary Kenney
4 years
Hey, white people? Do not brush off your hands & say "well I did my part for #BlackLivesMatter ." We're NOT DONE. Open your wallet. Demand justice for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, David McAtee, Ahmaud Arbery, James Scurlock, Tony McDade & so many others.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
5 years
god YES. We're all flawed + fragile creatures, let characters make flawed + irrational choices
@Bad_Wrong_Fun
Bad Wrong Fun wrong.bsky.social cohost.org/arachne
5 years
I fucking hate how the concept that characters don't always act 100% rationally 24/7 is considered the primary and most egregious form of bad writing in fiction by turbo nerds.
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Mary Kenney
3 months
I still have a job, but many people who contributed to the biggest hits of the last few years do not. They’re incredible, talented, and passionate. Scoop em up❤️🔥
@jasonschreier
Jason Schreier
3 months
Among other divisions, the layoffs will hit Insomniac (Spider-Man), Naughty Dog (The Last of Us), and Guerrilla (Horizon), three of PlayStation's most successful subsidiaries
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Mary Kenney
4 years
Woke up to the *best announcement pretty much ever* waiting in my inbox. Thank you @ericsmithrocks for months of support & cheerleading, & for the many many friends - such as @clarafv - who hopped on the phone to give advice. It's book time, friends!!📚
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Mary Kenney
3 years
character creator vs. first cutscene
@Follygon
Follygon
3 years
truer words have never been spoken
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Mary Kenney
2 years
Recent gamedev news has left me heartsick. It doesn’t help to see follow-ups: “you TRUSTED someone? JOKE’S ON YOU, PEOPLE ARE BAD!” Yes, people are messy and imperfect, but we *should* be able to trust. We *should* be able to have have mentors. It’s okay to mourn when we can’t.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
2 years
i want this person to playtest anything i work on forever, please and thank you
@OnlyZans
OnlyZans 🇯🇲
2 years
He described every feeling I was having at the exact same points
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
4 years
❤️🕷️🕸️!!!!
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
Hi, I'm Mary. I'm not at GDC because I'm the most pregnant person alive. I've been writing video games for 7 years. I'm a Forbes 30u30, TGA Future Class & BAFTA Breakthrough. My work's been nominated or won awards from DICE, BAFTA, SXSW, & The Game Awards #WhatAGameDevLooksLike
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
I had a baby today :)
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Mary Kenney
4 years
Being a game writer is weird because for years no one knows what your job is and THEN!! IT’S HERE!! YOUR GAME!! And everyone knows what your job is and they wanna talk about THE GAME AND ONLY THE GAME and then it’s back to living under a rock for years. On loop, forever.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
Here’s the thing: readers can tell when something is soulless, even if they can’t say why
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
y’know what’s cheaper than this? Paying your damn writers
@Collider
Collider
1 year
The entertainment industry loses $10 billion in one day following the WGA strike.
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
1 year
If you say you’ve never seen good writing in a game, all that tells me is your game literacy sucks. I’ve never seen a show that challenged military complicity like Spec Ops The Line Or showed the temptation of cruelty like Papers Please Or helped me process grief like Edith Finch
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
11 months
“Remote work is killing our society” says CEO who emails demands from their vacation home 200 miles away
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@marykanpie
Mary Kenney
3 years
Hooboy, it is hard to watch someone who belittled, threatened, and gaslit you become a “paragon of self-care” within your industry.
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