Alex Van Aken

@itsvanaken

Award-winning senior video editor @GameInformer.com Musician • 3D Artist • reality tv sicko Game documentaries: Patreon.com/ViewportVideo Photos + travel: Instagram.com/itsVanAken Inquiries: alex@gameinformer.com 📍Minneapolis 🧊🚫

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Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· 24d

This book is a must-read for anyone covering games professionally. I have been reading it from the perspective of a hobbyist game dev but it has also allowed me to better connect with devs in press interviews Get a top-down view of the game development pipeline from start to finish

“A playful production process” by Richard Lemarchand

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· 26d

@grubb.wtf is my new sleep paralysis demon

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· 27d

they’re gonna drop the best Luxe Box we’ve seen

The Washington post google result: “Authorities investigate Taco Bell and lettuce as cyclosporiasis […]”

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· 28d

a man holding bread loaf in front of "Pastries" store

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· 29d

I guess this is my aesthetic

A series of music pedals, an ableton push 3 standalone, a steam deck, and rollercoaster tycoon classic

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jul 13

Wilson fell asleep with his toys 😭😭

Wilson sleeping in his cat bed surrounded by dozens of toys

Black and white Siberian cat laying in a plush bed with various toys

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jul 9

Headed to Gamescom + Gamescom Dev in August. Please email me (see bio) with any press opps, general pitches, or invites to get coffee or Kölsch 🥨

gamescom press ticket snippet for Alex Van Aken / Game Informer

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jul 8

got a new phone

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jul 6

Looking for recommendations on new games from small teams that have flown under the radar this year? Ideally less than 1,000 Steam reviews Examples: Don't Let It Starve, Dunecrawl, Titanium Court

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jul 6

eddie brock (played by Topher Grace) praying to God in a church pew to kill Spider-Man

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jul 2

Well that’s a pretty great Collector Booster pack

Holo foils of the Marvel Magic the Gathering set including The Kingpin of Crime, Tony Stark, and two copies of Wolverine, Best There Is (one foil, one non foil)

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 30

I really like how my hand-painted leaves turned out. the nice thing is my game camera is going to be zoomed out so I can make several variations / LODs for small vegetation and larger tree leaves

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 28

back to painting textures

A hand painted Palm Tree texture for a game asset

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 19

we’ve been making clay MTG tokens at home and the latest is a poison counter

A clay sculpt of a purple vial that is corked but dripping green ooze. Two bones form an X on the bottle

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 17

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 16

had a great game in Meccha Chameleon tonight

screenshot from Meccha Chameleon where I curled up in a horse statue's mane and painted myself to look like the marbled texture

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 15

Thank you thank you thank you @chrisbratt.bsky.social, Anni, and @itsquinns.bsky.social for this incredible experience. ❤️

A wide angle photo of my camera rig filming Jerry, an 84-year-old man wearing a sweater and knitting a garment. The walls of his house are decorated in colorful fans

A photo of one of the custom cards powering Jerry’s Map. It is covered in color and doodles with a few instructions: “28,” “new seed sheet,” “scan,” “map paint”

A rooster on a farm awkwardly posed next to two wood hatchets stuck in a stump

A photo from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Jerry, Quinns, Chris, and Meg are walking along the sandy dune as the sun sets

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 4

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· Jun 3

Finished @gameinformer.com's animated Summer Game Fest stinger just in time! Today is packing day. 😴

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 30

WE’RE SEEING PHOEBE FUCKING BRIDGERS

Kayla and i’s Phoebe Bridgers ticket wristbands #339 and #340

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 30

woke up and drove 90 minutes to Eau Claire for a chance to see Phoebe Bridgers tonight! I *think* we made it under the ticket cap. There’s probably 600+ in line

Phoebe Bridgers FAQ sheet from Eau Claire, WI show

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 28

Love Island US AND Love Island UK are airing simultaneously this summer. Both start next week and I’m trying to fit them into my Summer Game Fest schedule

Ariana Maddox standing in front of a few singles playing in the ocean. A heart-shaped sun is behind her

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 20

that’s wild

Motorslice screenshot wherein the camera / player is praising the protagonist for finding weird holes. “Are you done spelunking?” And “You are a good girl for finding this!” Are the two dialogue options. The protagonist is bent over, rear to camera, inspecting the holes

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 20

was digging the diegetic / personified camera orb in Motorslice and then realized the orb is the protagonist’s horndog companion

Motorslice screenshot showing the protagonist and her robot companion / camera “slacking off” in an arid abandoned city

Motorslice screenshot of the protagonist looking out at a massive, empty city

Motorslice screenshot of the protagonist stretching while idle in front of the camera robot

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 20

Back to it

Picture of my flight seat with Motorslice running on Steam Deck and a cup of ginger ale

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 16

that’s a craaaaaazy plate

A Lexus with a license plate saying “Diddy1”

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 15

Jersey Devil and Croc were the unsung heroes of rental stores

screenshot of PSX 3d platformer Jersey Devil, featuring a purple Jersey Devil mascot with red eyes and red shoes standing upon a grassy cliff

a screenshot of Croc, wherein the titular Croc mascot is about to jump over lava

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 14

The Huddle (INSIDE, 2016) a blob shaped sack of organs and limbs, shambling in front of a glass enclosure

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 14

I’m early so I just wanted to say thanks Hank for being my first ever freelance client back in like 2016 via Twitter. You paid me like $100 which was way too much lmao excited for the new show

A thumbnail of the fault in our stars bench being reviewed by Hank green (4.5/5 stars)

Alex Van Aken@itsvanaken· May 14

I definitely wouldn’t say it was tacked on, but people treat it as such: Spies vs. Mercs in Splinter Cell one of the best multiplayer modes ever made And there is a similar, VERY GOOD early access title called INTRUDER that id love to play with more people: store.steampowered.com/app/518150/I...