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Sandy Petersen 🪔

@SandyofCthulhu92k followers

Game Designer and Father of Lovecraftian gaming. CEO of Petersen Games. Also Doom, Age of Empires, etc. Subscribe for cool stuff 3x weekly! Sorry, no DMs.

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#DatePost↓ OutlierViewsLikesRepostsBookmarks
1Aug 20, '25One day I would like to see a logo redesign that made it look better instead of soulless and terrible. Can anyone give a counterexample?1937×29.2M309k9.9k18k
2Jul 18, '25No point running from the cheetah.1136×17.1M178k6.8k11k
3May 29, '25Every bad thing J. Jonah Jameson perpetrated was redeemed in this single scene. Post some similar moments from film or book. I’m not baiting - I just want to know of more such terr631×9.5M186k5.8k14k
4Mar 26, '25Pet peeve: when archers are ordered to "fire" in a period film. Before gunpowder, that term made no sense.623×9.4M213k4.9k6.4k
5Jul 20, '25View post on X398×6M5.6k490676
6Mar 18, '25In 1999, I was assigned to design the expansion pack to Age of Empires 2. I chose The Conquerors as the theme, and wishing to have 4 civs (as we had on Rise of Rome), I chose the S344×5.2M44k3.3k8k
7Jul 18, '25View post on X266×4M179k7.5k9.5k
8Aug 8, '25I’m sure everyone knows this but mammal predators typically have far larger brains than prey animals. Example: a cat’s brain is ~30cc. A rabbit’s is 10-12 cc.249×3.8M110k2.7k5.6k
9Sep 15, '25I worked in the computer game industry for 24 years. I have met Gabe personally. This is 100% a realistic fear. Gabe is barring the gate to Hell. There are others like him, but he 234×3.5M96k6.2k9.2k
10Feb 26, '25Okay looky here whippersnapper. I WROTE the original Doom backstory. First off, it’s not genocide to blow demons back to Hell. Second, well … I got nothing else. You hit the nail o231×3.5M79k4.2k5k
11Mar 30, '25Americans call it “soccer” because when it came to the USA, the common UK slang for the sport was “soccer” and we kept it. We called it “soccer” before the UK called it football. S229×3.4M47k1.5k2k
12Jun 17, '25The Founding Fathers spoke Greek & Latin and read Shakespeare and Plato.217×3.3M90k4.2k4.9k
13Jul 6, '25Hey idiot - the USA has MORE kilometers of rail tracks than all Europe combined. And not just a little more - we are MORE THAN DOUBLE your rail network. So pack it in please.202×3M36k9592.2k
14Jul 5, '25Ancient Greek plays were in fact hilarious.197×3M170k7.7k8.8k
15Jul 31, '25for anyone who's unaware, this is the most accurate description of what our media has become ever. Surf Dracula. Don't forget it.150×2.3M59k4.3k4.9k
16Sep 20, '25For those doubting, Thai commercials are the best in the world. Possibly the entire solar system.132×2M51k7.9k11k
17Nov 5, '25A fun fact is that the worst writing "system" in the world is Japanese, and it's not close. Even the Japanese know this. My best friend works as a translator from Japanese to Engli95.5×1.4M5.6k2061.1k
18Oct 6, '25Comic artists will never draw a cooler image than Watterson's T-Rex in an F-15 Strike Eagle.90.5×1.4M28k2.9k2.5k
19Jun 30, '25View post on X85.7×1.3M55k1.5k1.2k
20Apr 25, '25View post on X77.9×1.2M21k1.1k1.5k
21Jul 26, '25Yet another Russian joke. A new gulag resident enters his shared cell. The old-timer asks, "So how long are you in for?" The newcomer says "Twenty years." "Twenty years?! What did 55.2×832k17k6281.7k
22Nov 16, '25Christ didn’t break Roman law. He didn’t even break Jewish law. He was condemned illegally because of feelings & people being offended. Sound familiar?49.4×744k29k1.9k1.4k
23Aug 3, '25I was talking to a German pal, in Germany, and WW2 came up. He said, “Yes of course the Nazis were monsters.” Then he sat in thought for a bit and his eyes blazed, and he said. “Bu48×723k9.9k2361.1k
24Jul 10, '25View post on X46.1×694k39k8791k
25Oct 28, '25In 2008, Ensemble Studios started planning a gigantic MMO set in the Halo universe. We code-named it Titan. It was to take place tens of thousands of years ago, before the Halos we44.5×669k4.9k409892
26Mar 17, '25it's kind of depressing that the most popular Real Time Strategy game today (according to the ever-reliable Reddit) is Age of Empire 2, which we designed back in 1999. Yeah I know 42.4×638k5.1k197671
29Oct 16, '25"Kobolds are Lawful Evil. They are organized and cooperative, but thoroughly nasty to anything outside of their clan, and even to each other much of the time." Actual quote from ru37.9×571k7.1k272250
31Nov 6, '25This makes me really sad.34.6×521k5k144277
32Nov 5, '25Predators generally have larger brains than prey animals. It takes more intelligence to stalk (cats) or pack hunt (dogs) than to find greens to eat or run away. A cat's brain is ab33.1×498k34k1.2k1.9k
33Oct 23, '25Argentine has fabulous beef. They are just about the only nation that knows how to cook steaks outside of the USA. Plus I feel like we should be making trade deals with the current31.4×472k6.8k653256
34Oct 16, '25"Xenophobic and vicious creatures, beholders were quick to attack enemies, including anyone they deemed not 'like themselves'. Beholders are violent and greedy, hungering for both 29.8×448k21k9761.1k
35Mar 18, '25In 1997, Age of Empires was just coming out. My job was to design a new RTS game - Sorceress. But in the first few months, they kept pulling people off my team to work on Age of Em29.7×447k9.1k5311.4k
36Sep 24, '25As a teen, I was once in line at Burger King, and the grown-ass man in front tried to order the "grilled ham & cheese". The clerk said, "You mean the Yumbo?" The man said, "Yes, th29×437k13k346778
37Oct 22, '25Whenever the US Army has created a new higher rank, George Washington is promoted to it, and if he isn't the first, his promotion is postdated so that he has seniority. So when we 28.7×432k10k480869
38Nov 7, '25The modern world's approach to humor is best-described by C. S. Lewis (in the persona of the demon Screwtape) "Flippancy is ... very economical. Only a clever human can make a real25.2×379k3.2k324840
39Oct 22, '25One of the two most lethal traps I ever used was this. The problem is when the player fell into the pit, he couldn't see anything because of the whipped cream. The other players co25×376k12k6541.7k
40Oct 19, '25This is generally true for game companies, because our cash flow is utterly different from what stockholders want. They desire a steady predictable flow, and game companies do NOT 24.2×364k13k6751.1k
41Oct 28, '25According to Bungie, when they gave Ensemble Studios our massive info dump on their universe, the horror of the Flood is: As enough infected zombies accumulate and gather dead matt24.1×363k8k4421.5k
42Jul 26, '25For a change of pace, here's a joke from Communist Poland. Wlodek wants to deposit his money, saved carefully in a mattress, to the bank. He walks in. Wlodek: "I want to make sure 19.7×296k8.6k479807
43Feb 2, '25For me, the deathknell for the new Star Wars was their misuse of Finn. Here was a SUPER EXCITING character - a guy who used to be a Storm Trooper?! Now joined the good guys? What a19.6×295k3.6k234114
44Jul 28, '25When I was at MicroProse we found out that a pirate company had done a complete version of our game Red Storm Rising in Chinese. Completely translated, with a Chinese perfect-bound18.6×279k15k526702
45Mar 26, '25View post on X18×272k11k499679
46Jul 10, '25isn't that the kind of thing you get when you retire from your field?16.9×255k4.1k77154
47Mar 18, '25How to get your dream project - corporate politicking. After my successes with Rise of Rome and The Conquerors, I was a shoe-in to do the expansion for Age of Empires 3. But I had 15.5×233k5.9k3471.7k
48Aug 26, '25I read a story in which the author, pretending to be Texas, mentioned someone taking a "slice" of Frito pie, and thus exposed himself as a poseur. In another story, the author ment15×226k4.8k161677
50Mar 16, '21View post on X14.2×040k5.9k470
51Mar 19, '25For Age II and Age III we sourced the real language for pretty much every civ for the sounds for the villagers & warriors. Some we could not, and had to use substitutes - no one se12.2×184k4.6k231527
52Jul 29, '25Interestingly, mom’s toys are also named Buzz and Woody.12×181k3.1k19891
53Jul 11, '25View post on X11.3×169k7.2k397424
54Sep 4, '25I worked for Ensemble Studios for 12 years 1997-2009. We were bought by Microsoft in 2001, so I experienced Microsoft management for 8 years. I was there for the Xbox rollout. I sa10.7×161k4.6k509259
55May 29, '25Before the battle of Midway, the Japanese navy carefully wargamed it. In the first run-through, the low-ranking officers playing the "Americans" handily won. The referees made them10.5×158k3.5k186323
56Aug 13, '25Every bad thing J. Jonah Jameson perpetrated was redeemed in this single scene. Post some similar moments from film or book. I’m not baiting - I just want to know of more such terr10.2×153k3.2k119293
58Oct 18, '25Who the heck can read Tolkien and think it’s black-and-white?! Is Denethor all bad? Is Boromir?! Is Frodo all good? One of the central most important characters in the whole book i9.8×147k6.2k367299
59Oct 16, '25"Blue dragons are crafty, deceptive illusionists and tricksters. One of the more powerful dragons, they use their mastery over illusion to mislead travelers in the deserts to their9.4×141k7.8k297470
60Mar 19, '25We had an actual Nahuatl speaker do the voice over for the Aztec civ in Age II: The Conquerors. We wanted an actual Mayan speaker, only to find that there are about 20 different ex8.8×133k4.5k200404
61Nov 6, '25Every bad thing J. Jonah Jameson perpetrated was redeemed in this single scene. Please post like moments from film or book. I’m not baiting - I just want to know more such bits.8.6×129k3.2k113171
62Nov 12, '25The moment I and my family lost our healthcare, had to change providers, and find new, more expensive healthcare. Oh, and my son got fines $2700 because the approved health insuran8.4×126k4k289277
63Oct 10, '25View post on X8.1×121k8k938513
64Jul 26, '25Pro Tips after 45 years in the game industry. 1) if they say "we don't need a contract", you need a contract. 2) if they ask, "don't you trust us?", don't trust them. 3) never EVER7.8×118k3.6k241371
65Jul 14, '24Also7.7×116k3.2k401110
66Aug 9, '25The European DD/MM/YY is superior to the American MM/DD/YY, and if you weren't consumed by jingoism you'd recognize it.7.7×116k3.5k16367
67May 29, '25A human brain CAN run Doom, because in 1993, when I was spending 90 hours a week making the original Doom maps, I had nightmares all night long of me running through Doom levels. U7.7×116k8.6k512400
69Oct 16, '25Am I being gaslit or something? Because every single piece of recent art from WotC is moronic and seemingly designed to drive players away. Do they actually have GOOD art too, and 7.5×113k5.6k274295
70Nov 14, '25The USSR starved 10-20 million people to death. Communist China starved 30-50 million to death. North Korea starved “only” 2.5 to 4 million to death but they were a smaller nation.6.7×101k4.3k370212
71Oct 24, '25View post on X6.6×100k4.2k287245
72Sep 6, '25Magneto is 100% a villain. Having a reason for being evil is good writing, often ignored nowadays. But having a reason doesn’t justify that evil.6.1×92k6.8k436169
73Sep 24, '25One of my favorite things about Catholics is that if you bring up some awful Pope who called upon foul demons when gambling or held orgies in the Vatican, they just shrug, and go, 6.0×91k3.8k195377
74Nov 18, '25He: "What's your superpower?" Me: "Hindsight" He: "That's not going to help us." Me: "Yes I see that now"6.0×90k8.1k504275
76Oct 9, '25View post on X5.7×86k4.9k493473
77Oct 27, '2599% of the persons who did this are still alive. We’re just scattered all around thanks to the evil plans of Don Mattrick. Otherwise we’d probably be on Age of Empires 12 by now.5.5×83k3.1k156132
78Nov 13, '25Speaking as a man who crafted digital games for 23 years this idea needs to be stomped on hard right now and anyone offering it denounced out of the industry.5.5×83k3.9k490103
79Jun 5, '25View post on X5.5×83k6.3k351283
81Aug 5, '25Mermaids are supernatural monsters specifically trying to seduce & attract men. Of course they have attractive busts. It’s literally part of their backstory. It’s like giving B5.1×76k7k614224
82Jun 9, '25But also don’t forget this: Mexico DECLARED war on the USA. Santa Ana thought he was a military genius and that he’d easily win. His army was larger, he had interior lines, he knew4.8×72k2.8k139178
83Mar 25, '25Here’s another awesome t-shirt I own, from early 1994. Only 8 people got these. The front is just a shirt, but when people saw the back, their eyes popped.4.7×71k3.4k12495
84Apr 26, '25One person, one vote.4.6×70k5.1k15193
86Oct 4, '25During the Crusades, Imams literally stood on piles of skulls to call the faithful to prayer. It's a matter of record.4.5×67k3.7k178235
87Jan 21, '25I wish wish wish this was a thing.4.4×67k2.9k298185
88Oct 14, '25This is the single best description of modern media I've seen. Surf Dracula.4.4×66k2.9k230157
89Nov 18, '25Jeeze gang. I wonder which door the animators drew for us to open?4.3×64k8.9k10894
90Apr 26, '20Granddaughters playing a game their grandpa helped design 27 years ago.4.2×011k2.1k187
91Jul 16, '25No, it means I value my dog over the life of a person so morally corrupt that they would steal a dog. If I was told, “Shoot your dog or this random person.” I would shoot my dog. I4.1×62k3.3k7376
92May 20, '25I am absolutely not an anime guy. But my granddaughter and friend have tricked me into watching Frieren. I like the idea that it’s after the great quest. And I am thrilled that the3.9×59k3.5k205230
93Oct 8, '25Is this true for any of you guys?3.8×57k3.1k171133
94Nov 8, '25View post on X3.7×55k3.9k193251
95Oct 19, '25You must realize that this was a big DECREASE in the work week. Ford eased the worker’s burden folks.2.9×43k3.2k159100
96Aug 25, '25I DONT WANT THE TRANSLATORS TO WRITE NEW STORIES “BETTER BEFITTING A WESTERN AUDIENCE”. I watch foreign films and animation to get a foreign perspective from brilliant creators. No2.5×37k2.8k378143
97Nov 9, '25View post on X2.5×37k4.8k286248
98Aug 28, '25View post on X2.4×36k3.2k15253
100Oct 16, '25"Owlbears are fierce, savage predators, vicious, ravenous beasts that combine a bear's power with an owl's perception and a nasty disposition." Actual rules2.0×30k2.9k9983

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