re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...

Gonna cosplay as Professor Tangrowth for my talks

An exciting #archaeogaming paper from @yorkarchaeology.bsky.social by @florencesn.bsky.social. #Archaeology

📑 New publication! 📑 I was asked to write a 'viewpoint' article in a special issue on 'Ludomythologies'. I happily obliged with just a few thousand words on how we should think of myths less like stories and more like models, and how that makes them remarkably similar to games.

This is today!

“Don’t post publicly about Geoff or you’ll be blacklisted from the industry.” Listen I truly understand why anyone would say that, but being an old man who lived through gamergate and was told by my superior to STFU about it online and refused to: I’m still here and making games.

This paper is a long time coming and I was so happy to present it today. In it, I argue that designing games and designing procedural generators are one and the same, and that we should share knowledge, tools and solutions - and work towards a new shared vocabulary! Open access, available soon.

If there are any former Game Award Future Class members interested in participating in any capacity my DMs are open!

You thought the word metroidbrainia was painful, wait till you read my academic article about why these games essentially encourage you to roleplay as an archaeologist

🚚🚚🚚New article alert! Part of a special issue on games + container technologies, it’s about truckers who play Truck Simulator in their trucks, but also simulation, battlestations, and the logistics of work and play. It's open access, so please take a look 🚚🚚🚚 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

HUGE congrats to @secretsaucesoph.bsky.social, @grgwllrd.bsky.social & @littlecornersgame.bsky.social on the launch of Little Corners 💖 Grab it on Steam here: store.steampowered.com/app/3651310/... You can also grab the Little SUMMERHOUSE Corner bundle here: store.steampowered.com/bundle/62185...

Trout Priest is coming VERY soon! Here's some screenshots. #TroutPriest #IndieGame #Spooky

This hole it was made for me

Was lucky enough to have early access to Carved in Stone, it's absolutely gorgeous. Even better, its transparent about archaeology as an interpretive practise and the choices that went into the creation of the setting guide

I'm always suprised that Tom Francis' definition of "information games" that he first put forward in 2019 doesn't often come up in these discussions

Here's a CFP for this year's Digital Worlds Workshop. It's a great conference for trying out new ideas and a pretty friendly group. Digitalworldsworkshop.com/virtual-workshop #philsky #philtech #philosophy #philosophyoftechnology

me and whomst

I liked my outfit today

This is today!

I would agree, and also say that proc gen *is* a form of AI, it's just that genAI has now become interchangeable with the term and nuance has been lost despite the fact that creative computing and algorithmic art has existed for decades

🌐 THE WEB WE’VE BUILT is a cinematic journey through our shared digital history & preserved pages in the Wayback Machine. archive.org/details/the-... Learn more ⤵️ blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l... #Wayback1T

Amelia Acker: "Each chapter introduces data archiving processes that relate to the evolution of data sovereignty...: from magnetic tape + timesharing computer models from the 1950s,... to file structures + virtual containers in cloud-based information services over the past 40 yrs" — open access!

"babies are born worshipping unknown gods" is one of the most incredible dwarf fortress bugs i have heard of. its poetry.

I have a lot of thoughts about my experience in the Game Awards Future Class. I'm not sure whether to write about it or not but I will say I'm proud of my fellow members and it is gratifying to see the reporting on it

Starting off Day 2 of EXAG with Mike Cook's @mtrc.bsky.social amazingly titled keynote 'Being Weird at the End of the World'. Really looking forward to this talk!

Wow I need to cite this in my thesis

"Why this is hell, nor am I out of it" "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave"

“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...

I had the pleasure of (virtually) hosting @florencesn.bsky.social at Unicamp a few years ago, before their research soared to so many new heights. This talk is not to be missed. And I'm very happy it's going to be recorded so I can watch if later as well!

When Elden Ring had been announced but not yet released, its subreddit started collectively pretending the game was already out. I spent far too many hours reading strategies to defeat the (completely made-up) Glaive Master Hodir. For research. This is the result: doi.org/10.1093/aest...

This talk is online and anyone can sign up to it!

Yes I am giving three different talks based on my PhD research in the next couple weeks

Oh hey, that's me! Very much looking forward to giving this talk at ITU next week!

Dug up an artefact

Welcome to my Year 1 Semester 1 MFA fucking around. It's short 'cus I had too much coursework to do, but hey, the bar for video game in academia is in hell and this is at least above dirt. Enjoy the feeling of being trapped on a road trip. It's nice, but you're still trapped.

A plea for help. 🙏 One of the lead playtesters of Blue Prince, Iggy, has polycystic kidney disease and has only a few months to find a living kidney donor. His story, contact and donor information can all be found on iggyland.org Please help us in sharing his story and getting the word out.💙

Doing some clearing out ahead of the festive season and found this throwback to when I replayed the original Legend of Zelda as Nintendo intended.

Can’t thank Esther enough for inviting me to contribute to this collection! It was a real treat to contribute to an academic book from the perspective as both a historian and a game developer. I think this book is going to be an essential one for anyone interested in historical game studies

No Stone Left Unturned: Archaeogaming, Archives, Audiences By blending archives, interactive gameplay, and social media, Louise Bedford explores how archaeology can connect with younger audiences, spark curiosity, and make the past feel alive. Watch the talk here 👉 youtu.be/pkso3uaEU5Q?...

I went as a Future Class member and honestly the view is better watching from your laptop at home

Next Friday 14th at 1pm GMT I'll be giving the Digital Lunch talk in the University of York Digital Archaeology and Heritage Lab, King's Manor, G/60 or online on "(Not) Dying of Anticipation: Video Game Archaeologies of Contemporary Play"

An eternal (and monthly) championing of the underground game scene, it's Indiepocalypse #70! -10 curated games for $15! -Zine! -Newly commissioned game by @dorukb.bsky.social -Cover by @fairywarriorcat.bsky.social pizzapranks.itch.io/indiepocalypse-70

Sharing the final version of my Ceffyl Dwr for #FolkloreFriday. Absolutely loved making this needle felt creation and getting really into the wire frame modelling

If you were a member of The Game Awards Future Class and can speak to your experience, I want to chat with you for The Guardian! DM me, or email alyssamerc[at]gmail[dot]com. Signal boost please!

In light of the Future Class news, may I suggest you watch and share the documentary "Blood on our Controllers -The Complicity of the Game Industry in the Palestinian Genocide" that fellow alumni @pyrofoux.bsky.social worked on: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g748...

Oh I love this idea

Still thinking about the “official” 2023 Future Class meetup after we had to pay for our own travel to LA/hotel/tickets to the Game Awards, only to stand on a sidewalk outside a Starbucks where they wouldn’t even cover the cost of our shitty coffees 🫠 www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the...

I didn't realise they had removed online records of past honourees. That is dissapointing, but not suprising

So excited to see this piece about a larp that's very close to my heart (and a lovely mention of my Eurogamer article)