Mexico’s middle class now officially outnumbers those in #poverty for the first time 🇲🇽 Bogotá reports drops in major #crimes including homicides and theft 🇨🇴 North Carolina cancels medical #debt for 2.5 million people 🏥 and much more – in our new issue 👇

The machine also contains over a hundred pieces of writing sourced from both famous books and contributors here on Bluesky. We won't tag everyone (!) but if you sent us a 100 words last summer -- you're in the game, the credits, and you'll have a code to look yourself up. (See alt text!)

TR-49: OUT NOW Narrative deduction / audio drama "Outstanding" - PC Gamer "Politically fierce" - Polygon "One of the best" - Thinky Games "I wanted to know everything" - RPS "Impressive - very impressive indeed" - Eurogamer $6.99 / ~6 hours Steam: tinyurl.com/2jvt9ewk iOS: tinyurl.com/4ucwx4s7

Narrative Designers! Game Designers! World Builders! Excellent craft breakdown, as always, from Jon Ingold.

apply.workable.com/jagex-limite... Job posting! If you're a tech designer keen to get involved with helping us kick a 25 year old pile of spahetti code into shape at a studio that's primarily remote with an explicit 'we're not doing gen ai, this artisanal handmade nonsense' ethos, here's a gig

I did finish up my first sculpture of 2026. Some times I can only help things by bringing joy to folks. So have a squish of beasts!

If you like Pratchett, please read his biography 'A Life In Footnotes'. It's a lovely exploration of his philosophy and view on life. And yes, his anger was a huge part of it. Love him for it

The world's biggest coal-consuming countries see a #fall in #coal #power generation 🪨 The #Austrian capital notes a huge drop in #light #pollution thanks to a switch to #LED bulbs 💡 How a New York county's bet on #street #psychiatry is paying off 🧠 and much more - in our new issue 👇

Reminder that crunch is a deliberate management decision. It's entirely optional. They (meaning those in charge) do it to rank-and-file devs *deliberately*. See 'cheaper' in the post below.

Crunch is bad. Crunch ruins lives. Crunch kills. Don't ask for it. Don't do it. It's bad. I can't believe I still have to say this after all these years.

Homicides in #London have fallen dramatically 👮 #NewYorkCity introduces a #free care programme for 2-year-olds 👶 and a #cafe in #Oregon is a cherished cornerstone of the #deaf community 🧏‍♀️ squirrel-news.net/news/londons...

🧵[1/5] This week marks one year since wildfires devastated Los Angeles. As the city slowly rebuilds, we’re looking back at RTBC’s stories about communities coming together to find solutions.

Frothing at the mouth for this

This is a longer read but and excellent note to close 2025. Inspired my 2026 resolution to stop staring at the distored funhouse mirror of social media outrage and 24/7 news feeds.

Happy #Runescape: Shadows of Amascut Day (US Observed)! Please enjoy this tale of cultures in the throes of upheaval, many shades of grief, a very spooky desert that's a bit Fantasy Ancient Egypt and a bit haunted house, and dog things *you should not pet!*

Entering the 'Fuckit! Dropping everything except the essentials! None of it was paying off anyway!' stage of reckoning with burnout

I have a thing in this! A short yap about player involvement in making stories.

my team has never used ChatGPT for any of our writing. these are 100% artisanal handmade mistakes, thank you

larians recruitment process features prominently in this:

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

I think the fundamental gap here is that non-creative people think that creative people make things for the end product, when in fact it’s the act of creation and not the end point that makes it worthwhile.

Interested in game-writing? In early 2026 we'll be publishing a kaleidoscope: short articles by 100+ game writers - experts, freelancers, and juniors - about the craft. ~1/3 of them are in: multiple bangers, from some very famous names and games. Sign up to be notified when it's ready here:

The award for "Most Workers Laid Off" goes to... EMBRACER GROUP For laying off roughly 7800 workers between July 2023 and July 2025

hello! could use about 5 more playtesters for our new thing, which is basically at final. iOS or Deck; please DM if interested and let me know which!

Horses isn't very good

29k ish words of.... something! Genuinely over the moon that I've managed this, it's a huge win for me on this project, been blocked for ages. Now to figure out how to finish the damn thing

Walter de Staplecat, Simpkin IV, Teabag, Balthasar and Benny D Cat take the stage as we meet the college cats of Oxford. And, of course, Magdalen’s Ozymandias. Read on for our photo special. (Includes a cat map.) oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...

i take frenzy damage every time i see someone go "well i just use it for the boring stuff". what are you TALKING about? if it's boring or unimportant, why are you putting it in? NPC dialogue is fertile ground for worldbuilding, creating verisimilitude, conveying important information, and hijinks!!

So there goes all my Project Astrid work, I love working in games, spending a year of my life on creative work that goes straight in the private equity shredder!! A minor vent compared to the actual devs who are at risk of losing their jobs right now, I know, but still. Bleugh

#Ethiopia wants to plant more than seven billion new trees 🌳 a #Belgian town introduces citizen #lottery to rebuild trust in government 🏰 commuters in #Warszaw can take a break from their screens thanks to a #library inside the metro 📚 and more – in our new issue 👇

Following the dismantling of the Kwoneesum Dam in Washington state a year ago, the area has been transformed and its wildlife is returning. reasonstobecheerful.world/kwoneesum-da...

I’ve never used Ch*tGPT. I’ve never wanted to or had a single moment when I thought it would be helpful. I realise my work is very specific, but whenever I see people talk about using it or ‘needing’ it ngl in my head I’m just thinking ‘skill issue’.

A ‘forest city’ in #England would repurpose out-of-use farmland as affordable, green housing 🌳 a successful #free #bus rides programme gets the green light to go on 🚌 a man inspired by a poetry book in #prison goes on to found a nonprofit building prison #libraries 📚 and more - in our new issue 👇

No AdventureX for me this weekend but I'll probably write a short essay on Burnout because. Well. Yeah

Wake up idiots new Inkle dropping in Jan

Piecing together information about Olivia whats-her-name and why everyone is talking about her today like I'm playing obra dinn all over again

A very wise person once told me 'Don't stress, nobody had a single original thought in their twenties' Well guess what I'm turning 30 next year and somehow my writing brain is kicking back into gear

it's on miro. it's literally on figma. you have to log into okta. it's in jira. it's on zoom. it's on pureref. it's on flow. it's on perforce. it's on slack. you can find it on slack. you can go to slack and find it. log onto slack right now. you can slack it. slack has it for you. it's on slack.

okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form: forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...

Finally getting through the left hand of darkness and I think it's going to be one of those books that Changes Me fundamentally as a writer

“Don’t gather some of the most brilliant activists in the industry, treat us like crap, and then expect us to do nothing about it.” After the Game Awards cancelled its Future Class programme, @alyssamerc.bsky.social talked to its former honorees www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...

A brief defence of dialogue choices (286 words):

mostly on RuneScape