Dear Media. Vatican II wasn’t just about praying or not in Latin. *Vatican II decided to be less antisemitic. By a lot. * And now Pope Leo (like Francis) is reading the Bible HARD, all that “love immigrants” & “care for others” “🖕 Empire” stuff?! This story is not complicated.

More idle speculation on GTA6: I feel in my eaters that it'll contain adventures in prison and in Cuba. Stupid GTA6 speculation: with such a high the budget and a production length of a decade, it could plausibly have Sean Connery and Roger Moore playing all the police.

This is all, of course, me making the mistake of accepting the premise of the utility function. My actual take is just that it matters a lot more to build a world where people care morally about helping people right now instead of what their spreadsheets say.

There's a survey out for Sheffield's City of Culture bid. I hope people mention our rich 40+ year heritage in the global games industry, thriving gamedev community, esports scene, @playsheffield.bsky.social, @nvmuk.bsky.social, +dozens of games studios haveyoursay.sheffield.gov.uk/cityofcultur...

Supposedly, GTA VI had a production budget of 2 billion dollars. Hundreds of Beavers had a budget of $150,000, and was perfect. If I've done my sums right, GTA VI could contain upwards of 13,333,300 beavers!

My uninformed predictions for GTA6: - It will seem anti-woke on the surface to appeal to its core audience, but ICE will be the villain & it will be no more racist than usual - It will have a non-binary character who looks a lot like me, and this will be taken as an insult to the trans community.

The noble King Argaroth is streaming my game Trans Theft Horso right now, raising donations for Trans Lifeline.

Video games and Puppet Shows are the same thing! A talk I gave last month at @amazefest.bsky.social has now appeared online.

Spargelzeit is over and there are six months to Christmas, i.e. the perfect time to bust out Christmas to bust out Christmas tunes for a summer outing. What's the non-temperature-related mood?

- Linked thread of heat management strategies - Memorise the chart or save it to your phone - Drinks with electrolytes like isotonic sports beverages are tremendously helpful for minimising risk especially if your diet is poor (further info: www.uabmedicine.org/news/underst...)

This week I learned I've been summoned to Köln and will be there for GamesCom in late August! With Trans Theft Horso, natch!

I dreamed I met Patricia Routledge and she lent me a copy of a new and unpublished book in the Twilight saga.

I've been spelling quel dommage wrong for years! Alas.

Today, adventuring to Leeds to give a talk to teens studying game design. They're about to get a BTEC I never had, which might mean they're the digital equivalent of book-smart, which (confusingly) means I'm streetwise.

"Delegates at UNISON's local government conference passed a landmark motion titled 'defending trans, non-binary and gender diverse rights in local government workplaces', with passionate speeches drawing repeated applause from the conference floor and not a single vote cast against the motion.

With Doctor Who gone for the time being (no pun intended) we, collectively, need to make a thing as long and astonishing as Doctor Who. Any ideas what story we can elongate and obsess over between now and the end of the century?

Alas!

2025 photo to exhibit the incredible quantity of lubrication I once picked up for my housemate. (Props added for variety's sake)

A trailer for episode 043 of Dialogue Tree, starring @benjamilian.bsky.social on their @amazefest.bsky.social award winning game, Trans Theft Horso, an RPG adventure about identity, understanding and pancakes. youtu.be/Az_d-N19eok LISTEN ⬇️

The arc of the moral universe only bends towards justice if we bend it. There's no karmic comeuppance for fascists. There's just us. Community and hard work and a willingness to to take risks and fail.

I was interviewed about making Trans Theft Horso, plus about games, @amazefest.bsky.social and many other things. Andrew is a very gracious interviewer and a pleasure to talk to, and the whole process was a delight. Tune in if you will!

The award winning game you haven't heard of. Episode 043 of Dialogue Tree is about @amazefest.bsky.social. It's also about the winner of their grand prize, @benjamilian.bsky.social's Trans Theft Horso. Head out west with us as we talk gender gladness, accordions and battenberg. LISTEN ⬇️

An astonishing garment I made during the plague years. I should make more garments.

These are *my* Pride flags #morlvision #vexillology @seanmorl.com @terrywogan.bsky.social

I now have PDFs of almost all my parents' Christmas newsletters since 1985. Here's very early me from that year.

I contributed a song to @seanmorl.com's astonishing song contest which is broadcasting today from 7-10 or beyond! (It's my fourth Morlvision as a contributir, and @avaavavah.bsky.social's first!)

Why did you transition? Right answers only. I'd been tense and het up for many years and finally allowed myself to *relax and be myself*. (Also, someone once warned me about dabbling with hormones. I hadn't known dabbling with hormones was even an option! Reader, I dabbled).

The one that's permanently stuck in my head is "all fart and no poo" and I hate it

May 2026 may be the high-point of my life: - Went to Berlin after decades of never going anywhere - Prospered magnificently - Had a letter I wrote published in Doctor Who Magazine I've peaked.

this happened because i was ill and my great idea to pass the time was to challenge @natalan.bsky.social to see who could more accurately estimate the cost of a pig and within 2 minutes she's teary eyed and reading out the names of every commercially available piglet

I'm full of rattling coughs, nocturnal sweats, headaches and so forth and it's just occurred to me this is probably a kind of freshers' flu, brought on by going overseas and socialising *lots* after several decades at home. I've brought a small part of the continent back home with me in my lungs.

The new EHRC guidance is a joke. It defines the protected category of sex by biology and then relies on enforcement based on appearance. The GRC has effectively been nullified. It's involuntary disclosure carries criminal penalties but then requires Anyone having a GRC to constantly out themselves.

Congrats to @benjamilian.bsky.social for winning the Most Amazing Award at @amazefest.bsky.social. The game is brimming with personality. The artists voice is so present in the work, as evidenced by this delightful acceptance speech that had the whole crowd smiling

I spoke to a game developer yesterday who has made a great game and they said this was the best thing they’ve played this year.

Did you know may 21st is special? THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S MY GOT DAMN BIRTHDAY You know what would be a cool and sexy gift? If every single one of you mentioned my work (books, essays) to like 3 other people :) Here I'll give you some links. Let's start with the books:

Gobsmacked selfies with a trophy for Trans Theft Horso last Friday at A MAZE. Not a flattering likeness, but I took these mainly so I could message my parents. Fun fact: I made that silver outfit myself, and it's waited two years in my wardrobe for a fancy occasion to wear it!

Fun fact: the phrase 'star wars' has never been spoken in Star Wars, meaning we still don't have in-universe confirmation whether 'star' and 'war' should rhyme.

Today I was interviewed for a podcast called Dialogue Tree, and spoke about Jill of the Jungle, sewing, the joy of the ugly, and why Trans Theft Horso is a western in the first place. This'll emerge in the coming weeks. Also today: singing about an intriguing place called Phantom's Peak.

A feisty trans friend of mine, Rosemary, has set up a transition gofundme and asked if I'd share the link around. She is fearsome when riled, so I obey: www.gofundme.com/f/Rosie-Tran...

Phonopolis is one of the most aesthetically wonderful games I ever did see, and it finally emerged on Steam today. I was fortunate to see its creators discuss it at A MAZE last week and have been super-excited to play it ever since. And you might be too!

PLAY THIS!! TTH is so much fun, packed with silly ideas and neat details. Also: One of the best game trailers songs in the history of game trailer songs!

This is excellent! Huge congratulations to @benjamilian.bsky.social !

Und glückwunsch an TRANS THEFT HORSO, dass den overall amazing amaze preis gewonnen hat. Die jury sagte: A game about a precious ressource: humor. ❤️ m.youtube.com/watch?v=22mG...

also idk if they want me to share, but if you poke about for it @benjamilian.bsky.social gave one of the best acceptance speeches in the history of acceptance speeches

The winner of the Most Amazing Award is: Ben Swithen with “Trans Theft Horso” 🦩🏆🌴 This game reminds us that, as right wing policies are on the rise, it is a radically political act to create queer joy. Long live gender gladness!🌈 #playfulmedia #mbbfunded #amaze2026

Are you in Berlin this week ?? At the indie game festival @amazefest.bsky.social ??? Come join the workshop by Ines Hilz and me about Spectacles and Lens Studio! Bring your laptop it will be fun :) Program: amazeberlin2026.sched.com/event/2LO5E/... #AMaze2026 #indiedev #augmentedreality

The store page for Because We're Here Acts III + IV is now live on Steam! Releasing Q3 2026. Wishlists appreciated. ^^ store.steampowered.com/app/1075020/ And Acts I and II (as well as a slew of other wonderful VNs) are discounted as part of the #OtomeGamesCelebration! Check out the event page~

Hot diggity! This is the perfect thing for Trans Theft Horso, which is an especially nonbinary adventure.

I've been really looking forward to the next (and concluding!) part of this visual novel. Delighted and excited to hear it's coming soon. (Its creator Eike is the first person I turn to for advice on any game-makery matters).