👋🏻
Last time was an unexpected pivot. In the days since, I am glad I made the move. Funny enough I have touched the app since. It has been a particularly busy season in my family's life and I have been focused elsewhere.
I thought today I could share why I am making myself a "replacement for OBS" and a snapshot of where the app is at in its development.
A few weeks ago I was working on my piece about How I Record My Gameplay from 24 Consoles. I got to the "Software" section and originally wrote this:
"...what do I use to record it?
OBS unfortunately.
OBS is great, powerful free software. It's remarkable. But, man, I loathe using it. Such an awful interface and experience...
...Maybe one day there will be a robust Mac-focused application for capturing gameplay."
Typing out that last sentence bummed me way out. It felt like waving a white flag of surrender. I was admitting in writing that there was nothing better than the default and the default was bad. And by bad I don't mean incapable or non-functioning, but rather it's ugly and unnecessarily complex. Software should be complex and allow for complex workflows without being convoluted and messy. Every time I'd come back to OBS after a period, I'd end up going to YouTube and typing "best OBS settings Mac recording 20XX" and following the recommended settings blindly. That should not be the default.
Around the same time, I was working on and released DDDS, which is a capture app for modded 3DS consoles. It's my replacement for cc3dsfs, of which I had similar complaints to OBS. After raising the white flag, the idea grabbed hold that perhaps I could do the same thing to OBS in my workflow.
I wrote that draft on August 7 and three days later I had a something working.
Three weeks later and we are in a much better place.
There's a lot I have put in the app that I am eager to share. Right now though I wanted to share where the process is at generally and the other reason why I am making this.
I thought I could ship this around right now actually, but I have decided to take it much slower and live with the app. One of my personal tests/goals is to record an entire game with it. That feels like a real life kind of test. So I am in bug squashing mode and am writing documentation. Now that discipline is in my wheel house. It's fun writing documentation for an application I care about on a personal level.
The other reason why I am taking my time is that I plan on selling this app. And I want it to be the kind of app I would pay for—and I am a picky app purchaser. If there has been one lesson I have learned throughout 2026 it is that I need to provide more for my family. With that, creators don't just sit around making one thing in hopes that the one thing becomes a hit. They make, explore, and publish all sorts of things. I have to branch out, take risks, and help my family more—especially as we continue to try and grow. I believe this app (which really needs a name) can be one avenue for that.
I know it sounds preposterous. I have these internal conflicts all the time about how I am using AI to create the app and then charging for that. I'm no stranger to using AI as an intentional tool. What I lack in straight up coding knowledge, I think I make up for in design direction, functionality that actually helps, etc. I am directing. I know this app has the features and tools I would have loved over the last thirteen years.
So that's where the app started and where it is currently at. Next time should be less philosophical and more practical. Promise.
Until next time...
Memory Card Newsletter
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at [email protected].
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency, a place where he cultivates and curates curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made. You can sign up below. (Look down)
It's all powered by Max Frequency.
Wanna see The Thing™? Check it out on YouTube. Read it on The Blog.