What We’re Creating in Gaming

Hey gamers! Welcome to Installer No. 126, your go-to source for the coolest and quirkiest finds in the gaming universe. If you’re new here, welcome aboard! I’m on the hunt for some stylish Calvin Klein skirts, and you can catch up on all our previous editions at the Installer homepage.

It’s that time of year again—Happy Ruthless Self-Promotion Week! This issue is packed with the latest and greatest creations we’ve been working on. Personally, I’ve been diving into the Tesla diner saga, exploring Dwarkesh Patel’s insights, and binge-watching Ted Lasso in preparation for season 4. I’ve also been entertained by a robot mishap involving Joanna Stern, getting lost in the world of beautiful Japanese stationery, contemplating whether those trendy shoes could help me crush a sub-two-hour marathon, and following a ton of awesome folks from Chris Plante’s list of gaming media. Plus, I’m on a quest for the ultimate Rice Krispies Treats recipe—it’s out there somewhere!

I’ve got a fresh gaming controller to share, some exciting weekend watch recommendations, a couple of intriguing AI projects, and plenty of thoughts on our tech usage. Let’s dive in!

The Drop
* The Steam Controller. Valve really gets what gamers want. This $99 controller is super comfy and customizable, allowing for all sorts of wild configurations. It seems like we’d all tweak the joysticks a bit, but Valve has really hit the mark here.
* The Devil Wears Prada 2. This sequel, along with Hokum, has all the makings of a perfect double feature. If you can’t make it to the theater this weekend, at least revisit the original Devil Wears Prada—it still holds up!
* Widow’s Bay. My TV-loving friends have been eagerly anticipating this new Apple TV show, and it sounds like it delivers. Balancing humor and horror is no easy feat, and I’m excited to add Matthew Rhys and the crew to my watchlist.
* Zed. This speedy code editor has been generating buzz, and it’s finally launched. With some cool AI features, its main goal is to work seamlessly and never slow you down. So far, it seems to be a hit.
* Talkie. This innovative tool is a large language model trained exclusively on pre-1931 text, offering a unique way to engage with history without any modern context. These “vintage models” are becoming quite the trend.
* “I’m done renting my digital life.” A compelling video where Iskren expresses frustration with subscription overload and dives into physical media and self-hosting. It’s a fascinating and challenging journey!
* John Oliver on AI chatbots. Yes, more John Oliver! He tackles the idea that AI chatbots aren’t your friends in a fun and insightful way, echoing what many of us have been saying.
* Saros. A challenging game where you aim to thwart a tech company from exploiting a planet’s resources—definitely resonates with current times. It’s a solid follow-up to Returnal that many will enjoy.
* Cursor Camp. A new project from John Oliver and Neal.fun? Count me in! It has a delightful Club Penguin vibe, and I found myself playing it longer than expected.
* Lovable’s mobile app. Many of you have been using Lovable for vibe-coding projects, and now there’s an app for both Android and iOS, allowing you to create mobile apps right from your phone.

Screen share
Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of my free time (and let’s be real, work time too) tinkering with Claude Code to create a productivity tool. Initially, I aimed to build a comprehensive to-do list system, but that plan fell apart after a few features. I also tried to merge Google Keep and Obsidian, but that didn’t pan out either. Then it hit me: what if I treated these tools as infrastructure, letting them handle the heavy lifting while I focused on crafting a UI I loved? That I could manage. And thankfully, $20 a month for Claude Code made it possible.

I named it Daily, because it’s just for me and doesn’t need a fancier title. Here’s what it looks like:
I use it on the web and recently got the iOS app up and running. The app connects to Google Calendar and Todoist, displaying everything I need to tackle today. Another tab syncs with Raindrop, showing my bookmarks in reverse chronological order, complete with quick delete and folder move options. Having all this in one visually appealing place is a game-changer.

The app also allows for input: I can create a task (syncing to Todoist), an event (to Google Calendar), or a note (which generates a text file that Obsidian picks up). After years of experimenting with apps like Drafts and Raycast, I finally have a universal capture system that works just as I envisioned.

I’m still using all the same apps and paying for most of them, but now I can see and interact with them all in one place. It’s helped me regain control over my daily planning. It took countless hours of debugging in Claude Code to bring this to life, but it’s functioning well for me.

Crowdsourced
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been asking you to share your recent projects—apps, games, music, crafts, you name it. This newsletter thrives on your contributions, so let’s turn this into a bit of an Installerverse showcase.

Thanks to everyone who reached out! There’s not enough space to highlight all the amazing ideas I’ve received, so we’ll definitely do this again. Here are some of my favorites so far. (I’ve done my best to vet these, but as always, proceed with caution when exploring the internet.)

“I’m a lawyer, and I needed to automate checking for an important order due on a Friday afternoon. From a simple Python script (thanks to Kagi AI), SCOTUSWatch was born. The iOS, Windows, and Android apps send push notifications for new opinions and orders, with optional AI summaries for iOS and Windows.” — Scott

“I host Business of Tech, a daily podcast focused on the business side of the tech industry—covering the companies and people that keep businesses running.” — Dave

“I recently launched my app Cross, a to-do app that syncs with Notion, making task creation much faster and easier.” — Luis

“I love grab-and-go food, especially Itsu’s fresh sushi. I created an app to track which outlets have half-price deals before closing, making my sushi cravings much easier to satisfy!” — Simon

“I developed Buena Vida Run Club, an all-in-one app combining Strava, MyFitnessPal, and Runna. This has been a 16-month project of research, design, and building.” — Cole

“I made a short film called Eating 38 Cheeseburgers, exploring our descent into AI madness and the isolation it can create.” — Andrew

“I built Rulebook, a macOS app that automatically organizes your files based on set rules, acting like a personal assistant for your folders.” — Lucas

“I created GamePal to catalog my growing game collection and track my play. As a designer, it’s been a dream to build my own app, and I’m not stopping anytime soon.” — Jeremy

“I’m vibe coding an app that transcribes and summarizes my lectures using open models for efficient language understanding, eliminating the need for a notebook.” — Franklin

“I built Newslog, which compiles newsletters, RSS feeds, and articles into a daily digest designed for calm reading on Kindle and deep-work archiving in Obsidian.” — Lucas

“Daymark is an iOS app that lets you send virtual postcards to your future self, helping users reflect on their progress and experiences.” — Antonio

“I retrofitted an Arduino Uno into an old touchtone phone, allowing users to ‘dial’ in for songs or audio logs—an exciting project for my grad school class.” — Andrew

“I created QuakeInfo to stay informed about earthquakes, and I’m now using Claude Code to enhance its features and usability.” — Adam

“It’s called ChangeLock, and it tracks how often you unlock your phone, encouraging voluntary donations for each unlock to promote awareness.” — Pascal

“I made a filter to hide generative AI features on websites, addressing the overwhelming presence of AI tools.” — Steven

“I launched Tuesday Night Movie Night, a newsletter offering one curated movie recommendation every Tuesday, completely algorithm-free.” — Blake

“I’m publishing my speculative fiction novel as a serial on a static website, with audio readings available through podcast networks.” — David

“I built WedSearch using Claude with no coding experience, and I’m now selling it to wedding suppliers to supplement my income!” — Arran

“Since you featured my app Play, it has grown significantly with new features like transcripts and AI summaries, making video organization even better.” — Marcos

“Did It is a daily wins journal that focuses on recording accomplishments rather than tasks, providing a quiet record of your day.” — Pascal

“I created a working Cyberpunk 2077 Radio, a challenging project that involved extracting game files and coding to make it functional.” — David

“My wife and I make OpenCase, a patented iPhone case designed for MagSafe accessories, and we’ve received great feedback from customers.” — John

“I built Dial, a tracking app for home espresso enthusiasts, helping users improve their shots based on taste.” — Christophe

“I’m an author, and my debut novel, The Phoenix Pencil Company, explores themes of data privacy through a historical fantasy lens.” — Allison

Signing off
I find that movie soundtracks fuel my creativity. There’s something about them that makes writing in a Google Doc feel epic. My personal favorites include:
* Pirates of the Caribbean
* Halt and Catch Fire
* The Dark Knight
* Billions

I recently watched Project Hail Mary and immediately added its score to my playlist. It’s a bit more upbeat than my usual picks, but it sets the perfect mood. I’ve also been exploring Daniel Pemberton’s other scores, like those for Steve Jobs and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, both of which are fantastic. If my writing suddenly becomes more thrilling and dramatic, you’ll know why.

Catch you next week!