Ok, I broke my never Pre-order games rule, but I deserve a treat and it's not every day a new Silent Hill game comes along.

Just Quentin Letts in the Mail today saying Keir Starmer could be executed if he doesn't abandon human rights law

Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, says UN inquiry

Just to let people know, I am probably going to be applying for any and all game writing jobs that are coming up for the rest of the year. I have a hankering to get writing on a nice project with some cool people. I miss the creative banter of that process. So hit me up if you know of anything!

There. Is. No. Such. Thing. Cattle ranching is among the most destructive of all the world's industries. "Regenerative" cattle ranching is simply greenwash.

When you’re the paper of record and have definitely understood the franchise up until this point

Reminder @theguardian.com has a partnership with OpenAI; which explains this thinly sourced excuse of an article that relies on ONE Masters student and OpenAI's International Education Lead countered by measly words of "caution" from ONE university admin.

I enjoyed it when the student said it doesn't damage her critical thinking skills, and then 2 paragraphs later says she uses it to summarise difficult topics. Students don't know how much this is going to ruin the key skills they're paying a premium at University to develop.

Christ alive, this guy. What a four-square copper-bottomed rotter.

I've recently been cataloguing my video-game collection. Currently across my "current" systems (i.e. things I can actually play without buying new tech or digging out old consoles, I have something in the region of 1500 games.

Even just on the User end, YT is becoming unusable. Myriad unskippable ads, sound sync issues on devices, and getting more and more unsolicited reels and suggested content promoted over video content I actually subscribe to.

Wacky. I've been so busy this summer on (currently still NDA project) and then the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that I'm only now just slowing down. Hence my absence from these online spaces. It's good though I'm so productive. The house is immaculate. Might write something while I'm at it.

Theatre review: I See You Watching from Blind Faith Theatre at Gilded Balloon Patter House www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/i-se...

Theatre review: Perfect Dead Girls from Audaciously Tenacious CIC at Bedlam Theatre www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/perf...

Theatre review: SHUNGA ALERT from Gumbo and Book of Shadowz at Underbelly, Cowgate www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/shun...

Theatre review: Mussolini from Tom Corradini Teatro (Italy) at C ARTS | C venues | C alto www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/muss...

Theatre review: David and Katie Get Re-Married from Blair Russell Productions LTD. at Underbelly, Bristo Square www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/davi...

Really enjoyed this at @scotstorycentre.bsky.social Theatre review: When Billy Met Alasdair at Scottish Storytelling Centre www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/when...

Reviews! Theatre review: THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. from Hannah Caplan and Douglas Clarke-Wood for Woodforge at Summerhall www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/this...

Well folks, my #Edfringe begins today! I've been away out of town the first week, but now my reviews and coverage for British Theatre Guide will begin in earnest!

Ok. I've been away a while. But I'm back now. I met an alpaca. It was awesome.

Even linkedin gets it

I think Villeneuve will either drop out of the Bond project OR He’s going to deliver a Bond which will be an excellent film but “Bond Bros” are going to find it “too boring”

For those who #EdFringe, and love the Festival, I've completed my annual #FreeFringeShowlist for 2025. It's a spreadsheet of the Free Fringe shows, easy to download and use, so you can make the most of the Fringe without breaking the bank. Have fun!

I full on dirty full-throated laughed at this for a minute. I am not sorry.

Iran is the adult in the room

Finally finished Andor. Ooft. I loved it but you really feel the lack of the extra episodes in the latter two arcs. Even if they’d made 3 seasons and stretched out the last two years to 6 episodes each… there were so many avenues of cool stuff to explore. Like Perrin! He just… kind of vanished.

People outside the games industry don't grasp that this is absolutely unheard of. Workers don't get royalties, and we definitely don't get performance bonuses. When we make a hit game we sometimes just get laid off

Where do the write’s guilds stand on this?

I’ve only got two more episodes of Andor left. Every day I am more saddened that we never got the 5 seasons they originally planned to make. I guess… there will be games and books and comics. Maybe they’ll even let me write one of them.

For years we've known that Google changed people's thinking. They stopped knowing things and started knowing how to look them up. That this is happening with ChatGPT comes as no surprise (to anyone who grew up without Google).

It’s official. Studio Execs are now using Chat GPT to evaluate screenplays. Here’s proof from a friend’s pass letter: Not only is it vague and unhelpful, it references one specific — an antique camera. The problem? THERE’S NO ANTIQUE CAMERA IN THE FUCKING SCRIPT.

I just read Animal Farm. No I didn’t read it at school. It’s good but I kind of thought it would be longer with more plot and less allegory. Always weird when you read a classic text and it’s not quite what you thought it was.

This one is from my wife (worked in IT her whole life). An inconceivable amount of money is spent by corporations determined to automate their deeply flawed processes. *AI, she adds, is mostly this on steroids.

Writer friends! We once again have made ourselves a library we can fill with text snippets, and we would love to host your contributions in our next game. If that sounds enjoyable, please reply with a screenshot of your paragraph + paste the text into the ALT text. (T&Cs below)

Alleging Israel has committed ‘war crimes’ suggests a recognizable event: that there is a war happening, and there are some crimes in it. Gaza is different. For our latest cover story, Suzy Hansen examines how the war in Gaza has upended decades of humanitarian law: nymag.com/intelligence...

Narrative folks, especially game devs! Narrascope is next week and they have a great lineup of speakers ✨️ narrascope.org

I had to tap David Mitchell on the shoulder several times, eliciting an exasperated “what do you want?” response that quickly turned into very English embarrassment, because he standing blocking the way to my office.

Am I the only one who would totally be ok with this shower?

Hang on......... Are you telling me the reason why games aren't releasing as people expected isn't THE WOKE.... but actually corporate mismanagement????? 😱😱😱😱

As an example, here’s the “Affordable rents” in Walthamstow.

Been working on a short pitch piece for a competition. You know that moment when it all clicks and you think: "Why am I entering this into a competition? What if I win? What if I should just be writing this for... work?" I've missed that feeling, that fun, that joy of writing.

Greta Thunberg and the Madleen offered a heart in a heartless world. They reminded us that Israel is deliberately starving an entire people - and the West could stop that at any moment. New column 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

☠️ Emailed Unbound/Boundless one last time. If they once again fail to pay, I do intend to act accordingly. Oh, and please DO NOT BUY *any* edition of Virtual Cities. Haven't gotten a penny from the Countryman Press edition for years either.

For those who #EdFringe, and love the Festival, I've completed my annual #FreeFringeShowlist for 2025. It's a spreadsheet of the Free Fringe shows, easy to download and use, so you can make the most of the Fringe without breaking the bank. Have fun!

Reminder: Actors are still on strike for bare minimum guard rails on the use of AI in videogames and we have been for 11 months. We have struck longer and with less resources than our on-camera colleagues.

There must be a game thing on… everyone is posting opinions on some game trailers or reveals. I’m at the pub. It’s all good.