“The researchers aim to show that the ‘inevitability’ of AI is just a marketing frame perpetrated by the industry and that pushback is a lot more possible than we often see.” Yes!

Fantastic article in which actual experts on AI and higher education cut through the nonsense surrounding the infinite garbage engines and expose a system captured by the techbro sales pitch. "A general ban is necessary, but nobody dares to say so."

Survey shows young players feel pressured to conform to gender and racial stereotypes

Our ##TIPC4 is done, friends and colleagues are returning home and we couldn't be more grateful for all the conversations, games, and fun we had! Here is to #TIPC5! And our little secret for timekeeping this year which you didn't see on stream, swords!

Enjoyed another visit to Leiden for TIPC4 (@valuefnd.bsky.social) with great feedback on the projects and some valuable conversations about digital preservation, representation, and acculturation. Leaving thoroughly inspired! Until next time... 👋🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Next up, Andrew Reid to talk about the preservation of Scotland's Heritage through games!

Arrived with @systemerrorkaye.bsky.social in wonderful Leiden for The Interactive Pasts Conference 4 (@valuefnd.bsky.social)! Looking forward to the talks, workshops, and project showcase! 🙌

May 2026 👀 My monograph "Characters and Characterization in Mythological Video Games" will be out next year in @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social's IMAGINES series! Many thanks to @ubisoft.com for the #ImmortalsFenyxRising art ⚡ More information (soon!) on www.bloomsbury.com/uk/character...

We've partnered with @claymatic.games, to enhance our 2025 educational strategy. Thanks to their generous donation, we’re deepening our support for learners across the region, bringing high-quality, curriculum-linked STEAM learning to life through the power of videogames. thenvm.org/blog/from-cl...

With @lyesoussaiden.com at the Alzheimer Scotland Annual Conference 2025 (@alzscot.bsky.social) Supported by @alzscotdrc.bsky.social, Lyes is soon to start a Masters, exploring tactile play-based interventions for people living with dementia. (read more here: sdrc.scot/alzheimer-sc...)

As part of our reboot of the @videogamecultures.bsky.social conference series, we have our first book coming out, of papers from the 2023 conference in Klagenfurt, Austria. It should appear in the wild on 6 November. Details here: www.sidestone.com/books/explor...

“Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’." Perish the thought... www.lbc.co.uk/article/brit...

If your placeholder assets aren't clearly placeholders, you'll forget to replace them Back in ~1999, the art director for some dollhouse game made a temporary diamond-shaped model for their character UI. By the time he realized they hadn't replaced it, it was too late and it shipped as-is. Oops!

🧵👏

The global games market is estimated to reach $188.8 billion in 2025, a 3.4% increase year-on-year according to Newzoo's latest report www.gamesindustry.biz/newzoo-globa...

April Stallings from Make-A-Wish International says the charity has seen a surge in interest around video games – but support from the games industry isn’t meeting demand. www.gamesindustry.biz/we-understan...

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! @mahliann.bsky.social, @marcuscarter.com, and myself have combined our collective brains and written a wide-reaching introduction to the complex and interdisciplinary field of Game Studies in this forthcoming book for Polity. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...

New academic year, new social platform ✨ Abertay has officially landed on Bluesky, just in time to welcome new and returning students to campus! Stay tuned to keep up with the latest from campus with news, updates, stories and more.

Rough-and-ready prototype about memories and memory benches for the Weans Game Jam 2025. 💐 ajreid93.itch.io/memory-benches

Looking forward to today's @youngacademysco.bsky.social AGM at ARC Glasgow - giving an update to our project on alternative career pathways!

Applications for SHAPE Involve and Engage 2026-27 will open on 1 September. This innovative public engagement programme requires UK researchers to work in partnership with a gallery, archive, library or museum (GLAM organisation). Find out more: buff.ly/efUOSoL

Everything costs too much and nobody has money seems like a bad combo.

This is not caused primarily by "screen time". It's been caused by the mass eradication of third places for young people in basically every city over the past three decades - and a society that's hostile to the concept of teens socialising in public spaces. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

The full programme and registration for TIPC4 (@valuefnd.bsky.social) is now live! interactivepasts.com/the-interact... (All presentations are streamed on Twitch: www.twitch.tv/streamingthe...)

Delighted to be invited to talk as part of the 10th season of CuriousMinds, hosted by the Perthshire Society of Natural Science. The talk will be held at the AK Bell Library on Friday 30th January 2026 (19:30 GMT). Full programme of talks here: www.psns.org.uk/curious-minds/

🏆 Massive congratulations to the England Women’s team on their epic Euros win! ⚽️👏 If the tournament has sparked your love of the beautiful game, don’t miss our upcoming Story Café Special: A Most Unsuitable Game. 📅 Thursday 28th August 🕐 1:00–2:30pm 📚 ⚽️ Poetry, storytelling & herstory — all in one

I've created a basic prototype based on memory benches and their embodied human stories. Benches are symbols of remembrance, but often they can be desecrated or fall into disrepair. I'm hoping to create a contemplative experience to highlight discussions of humanity, preservation, and dignity.

20,000 job losses and Labour (and most of media) is silent www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-univ...

If I do say so myself, a brilliant lineup of speakers to chat about video games, fantasy, history and conflict in Edinburgh this September! Online and in person (and free!!) 👇🎮 @historygamesnet.bsky.social @chriskempshall.bsky.social @drtimpeacock.bsky.social @royalhistsoc.org

Thanks to Declan of Into Games & @ukieofficial.bsky.social for speaking to me @developconference.com about issues faced by working class people in the UK video games industry & how they're trying to fix it. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... @willluton.bsky.social @manycatsstudios.bsky.social

The UK games industry has had a huge class problem since its inception. Private school kids with generational wealth were first through the door and overwhelmingly hired people from similar backgrounds. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Myself and colleagues are delighted to be hosting "Play For Good" as part of the Curious 2025 programme compiled by @royalsoced.bsky.social. We will showcase and discuss our works across games and play that address challenges in health, wellbeing, and social inclusion. Free tickets below 👇

-publication on this already pending- 👀 www.eurogamer.net/sloclap-reve...

#DIGRA25 has been inspiring, sweltering (☀️🥵!) and incredibly rewarding. Looking forward to following up with many for exciting research activities. Safe travels to all and hope to see you at the next one!

I changed the way I work a couple of months ago to follow this advice, it made a big difference and my productivity went up by miles. (I don't know who made this image, if you do, let me know so they can be credited)

Wonderful workshops complete and looking forward to the week-long programme at DiGRA 2025 @indigitalgames.bsky.social Excited to talk about games, historiography, We. The Revolution, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate!

It's been a difficult-to-swallow week but a family trip and watching my daughter's amazement at the animals from her books is a lovely panacea. 🙏

Absolutely fucking brilliant: students use AI to write their assignments, and then teachers use AI to grade them. David Graeber wrote an entire book on "bullshit jobs," but I don't think even he could foresee how rapidly we would all run off this cliff together.

Looking forward to talking about historical games (Assassin's Creed: Syndicate and We. The Revolution) but also to immerse myself in talks on applied/serious games, play, Higher Education, and football games! 🤓

Brilliant afternoon at @dcadundee.bsky.social Drop In and Play with a diverse mix of games emerging from Scotland's industry. Proud of our MProf students who showcased their games from last term's Applied Games and Research Practice module! Pictured: my daughter enjoying her first video game!

Abertay University students showcase ‘applied games’ addressing key societal challenges. abertay.ac.uk/OGZi

Don’t forget, we are hosting our annual PGR conference for those studying everything games! Check out the details below. A month left until the submission deadline 🧡

Is your PhD research on game design, game production, HCI, or design theory? I've got three 2-year postdoc positions in my ERC StG project to investigate what makes theory useful and usable in game design / interaction design. Reposts much appreciated. Thx! candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...

play more games people play *better* games play games outside your comfort zone play weird, little freak games

'As game designers we always think that more is better, but it's not the case.'

The ESA and industry partners announced the Accessible Games Initiative at GDC today. This industry-wide initiative provides a unified collection of accessibility tags, intended to help players more easily find out if a game is accessible to them. caniplaythat.com/2025/03/20/a...

DEADLINE EXTENSION! Want to submit your abstract for #TIPC4, but need some extra time? Fear not! The extended deadline for the CfP is March 31st. For more information check out -> interactivepasts.com/the-interact... #GameStudies #Archaeogaming

This is the best presentation summary of the overall industry trends that everyone big and small is subjected to right now in one way or the other. www.matthewball.co/all/stateofv...

The crisis in British higher education is acute + painful right now. If you are in it you already know this, but for those who are not I want to share what is going on. As strikes start at Newcastle Uni + others will doubtless follow, now is a time for solidarity + resistance

I am beyond proud to share the project report, "Game Design for Youth Work", in collaboration with YouthLink Scotland, DataKirk, Ochil Youths Community Improvement, and Abertay University. www.youthlink.scot/news/using-g...