Tech

• Velcro Cable Ties

I prefer these over traditional cable ties as they can be removed more easily. This means if you prefer to figure out cable grouping as you go rather than planning it out beforehand, these might be a good pick.

• Sony MDR-7506

These are some relatively cheap ($100 without a sale) headphones that are made well and, if my friend's experience is any indication, will last.

• USB DVD Player

Want to be able to access your music, movies, and shows until the end of time? One of these will connect to your computer to not only let you watch off the disk, but also rip the stuff you bought to store digitally in a media server for example.

Web Dev

• Astro

It's my static site generator. It has a little tutorial on how to make a blog (complete with RSS feed) and lets you write pages in markdown instead of just html. This means that I can plan upgrading the look of my blog posts in something like obsidian for the sake of a trial run.

• Netlify

I use this to update my site every time I make a push in Git.

• VSCode/Codium

VSCode is lightweight and has great C language support. VSCodium is a fork that gives most of the same features but is Microsoft free so no AI but also a lot of the C language support is gone, hence why I use both.

Gaming

• Nintendo Switch

The 1st one so no Pokopia but it'll play Rhythm Heaven Groove so I'm not too worried.

• Panic Playdate

I want to make a little shrine to this thing as I've had such good experiences with it. Basically it's a small yellow handheld (literally as it's a little bigger than my palm) with a 1 bit screen and a small crank along with a dpad and an A and B button. It's kinda expensive but as someone who waited on purchasing one for a while, the community and the things I've seen from them as well as how they show up for and support each other made my mind up. That and the idea of doing some console development on something that doesn't require an approval process haha.

• Galaxy New! 3DSXL

I've had this since I was a kid and love it to pieces.

• PS4

This was actually my first no-Nintendo console that I got during college.

• WiiU

Also from my childhood. Nice to know my family was one of the 5 that actually bought a WiiU.

Assorted Cool Apps and Programs

• Jellyfin

This is what I use for my media server. It is completely free but gave me a little bit of trouble the first time I tried to set it up. Once you get it going it's pretty easy though.

• Symphonium

A cheap music player app that I use for playing music from my server on my phone. Seems pretty customizable although I haven't fully explored that part yet.

• Obsidian

A notetaking app that's highly customizable and able to be used for ideating, brainstorming writing, game dev, normal notes, commonplacing... It's a great free tool that works on all major operating systems plus Apple and Android phones.

• CSPenguin

Some code that makes setting up Clip Studio Paint on Linux super easy. This is not a way to pirate Clip, just a way to use the software you already use on your preferred OS. Works with lots of distros too!

• Asunder

I think this is only for Linux but it's great for ripping CDs.

• Tailscale

A VPN that I use for connecting to my media server while out of the house.

• WriterDuet

A free writing program that works really well for scripts. The offline version of WriterDuet.

Art

Game Dev

• Unity

They can make some interesting business decisions but it's the engine I have the most experience with as it's the main one I used in college.

• Unreal Engine 5

Also makes interesting business decisions but I do like the engine. Once I got my head out of my ass, blueprints actually made my life easier. Do not fear them.

• Naninovel

I love this software so much I did a talk on it. It's an asset for Unity that assists in the making of story-based games, particularly visual novels. The price is a bit steep (even though it's worth every penny) so look out for it on sale.

• Godot

It's free, it's lightweight, it's getting better all the time, it's also anti-AI. What's not to love.

• Playdate Simulator

This is what you can use to playtest Playdate games without the console. It works well.

• Reaper

The DAW I use. It's real scary looking but I'm slowly getting used to it. I also appreciate that it's afforable.

• Itch.io

My favorite game platform and the only one I've used as a developer. The fact that anyone can post their comic/game/asset there for free is crazy. It's less of a free now thanks to the payment processor crackdown but it's still the place to find indie gems.

• WriterSolo

The non-collaboration based version of WriterDuet. It's one of the few good free options for writing scripts in. Opposed to just using Fountain in Obsidian, it auto formats.

Visual Art

• Xencelabs Pen Display 16 Lite

This is really expensive but I tried a Xencelabs tablet at GDC a few years ago when the brand was just starting out and fell in love. Works great on Windows but may cause trouble with Wayland if you're on Linux and have another monitor.

• Tourbox Elite

An ergonomic alternative to shortcut remote that you don't have to constantly look down at. Every button can be distinguished by feel and position and you can toggle an overlay that says what each button does.

• Clip Studio Paint

The only subscription I genuinely want to keep forever. I love this software. Hate animating in it though.

• Aseprite

In my opinion, the best pixel art making program out there. I love it for tilesets but most often use it for character based illustrations and animations.

• Blender

Looks intimidating as hell at first but it is genuinely crazy how much it can do and how well it does it while staying free.

• PureRef

A software that allows you to have a little window where you can keep all of your art references. You can also draw and make notes on the images.

Stationery and Misc Stuff

• Hobonichi Cousin

Less of a rec if they stick with the decision to force US buyers to get a cover with their planners again. But the paper is really nice while still being very thin (tip: if you're used to thicker paper and worried because you can read what you wrote on the other side, 9 times out of 10, you're seeing ghosting not bleedthrough.)

• Pentel EnerGel

Really vibrant well formulated ink.

• Mildliners

No bleedthrough even on very thin paper and comes in a large selection of colors.

• Transparent Sticky Notes

I HATE writing in books so when I want to annotate I use these. When they're flat, you can't even tell they're there. Mine don't play nice with every type of pen though so stay'

vigilant.
• Kobo Libra Colour

Great ereader that's not a kindle. I still have my decade old kindle but I can't recommend those after Amazon's recent actions. These are also easy to sideload books onto. They also come with an Instapaper app on it so you can access stuff you saved using that.

• Physical TImers

Used To Use/Not Often Used But Recommended

• LightVN

Still learning this one, but it has a long development history and a really responsive dev who answers questions. It also is very easy to create non-VNs in it with making a walkable area super easy. I plan to use this one for a particular game but until then it'll remain in this category.

• RPGMaker

Technically doing some prototyping in this so it could go on the other list, but it isn't a go to anymore. It can be limiting but those limitations make it easy to just use to prototype. This entry is for the entire series although I've only used VX Ace, MV, and MZ really as a lot of the core is the same. These go on sale constantly and if even 10% of the current forum posts get archived there's a veritable wealth of knowledge out there.

• Musescore

What used to be my go to music making software. When I was younger, typical DAWs were really scary and confusing but I still wanted to make music and could read sheet music.

• XPPen Artist 16

My first screen tablet and the only other one I've used besides my Xencelabs. It stayed working perfectly for 5+ years and I got it on sale. (XPPen has them frequently) If I hadn't absolutely clicked with the Xencelabs tablet, I'd still be using that one. Also that one worked on every Linux distro I've used perfectly.

• Ellipsus

A free (or paid) writing program with sharing features. Great docs alternative, but does not have support for writing scripts currently. That said it's still possible to write them in there, especially if they're not the standard screenplay or comic script.