Some gifts wrap themselves.

Driving Home for Christmas was the unofficial anthem for a very specific group of my uni friends and it has brought back ridiculous memories every year for the past 30 years. Drive safe, Mr Rea.

Merry Christmas everyone!* *Full-time employees only. Contractors and freelance team-members must provide their own merriment. Management cannot be held responsible for any lack of joy, gaiety or festive spirit. Glad tidings expire 26 December.

I haven't posted on the Hellsite for years, but this was the final kick up the arse I needed to delete my account. Do yourself a favour if you haven't already.

*WRITERS WANTED* We’re looking for freelance writers who know and love The Laundry Files. If that sounds like your kind of hazard pay, we want to hear from you! https://cubicle7games.com/en_EU/blog/call-for-writers-the-laundry-roleplaying-game

OPPORTUNITY Narrative Designer- Jam City - US, CA Not affiliated. Shares welcome! jobs.lever.co/jamcity/aad4...

On International Migrants Day, let’s celebrate the generations of migrants who’ve helped make London what it is today - the greatest city in the world.

Aw shit. He directed some of the most warm-hearted, brilliant (and brilliantly stupid) movies ever made. Inconceivable. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...

Narrative role on work with indies! www.workwithindies.com/careers/unco...

🚨 The UK Video Games Industry Census closes 19 Dec. Run by Ukie & Dr Mark Taylor, it’s the most comprehensive survey of the UK games workforce, exploring: 🔹 Industry mood & outlook 🔹 Layoffs, visas & training 🔹 Careers of women in games Open to all UK games workers. Take part: zurl.co/yfMwu

I showed Spela this stat for today and she just looked at me and couldn’t stop laughing.

Hats off to FairSquare for registering the complaint. I expect FIFA will take it so seriously that Gianni Infantino himself will head up the investigation.

When the Wind Blows. Which also ruined The Snowman for me.

Hi guys, I’m fundraising, join me? Christmas won’t be magical for every child. A book gift could add sparkle to Christmas for a child who needs it most, giving them something to cherish for years to come. Will you help? Find out more here: www.booktrust.org.uk/xmas @booktrust.org.uk #MagicOfBooks

Accurate.

A massive problem today is the uneven distribution of shame. Some of us are running dedicated on-site shame servers 24/7 while others have no access to shame at all, even though they desperately need it. What we need to do is put shame in the cloud

After Netflix execs dismantled their AAA games studio in 2024, because they believe those types of games are too risky, I am big time worried about WB Montreal, NetherRealm, Avalanche and Rocksteady.

Today marks 20 years since I first worked in the games industry. I count the starting date as the evening I met Adrian & Naomi at Waterstone’s Piccadilly to become a freelancer for Mind Candy on Perplex City. I’m still writing nonsense and getting paid for it. That’s reason enough to celebrate.🎉

For all that he was a legend of the theatre, perhaps Stoppard’s finest work was on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I’m not kidding. www.creativescreenwriting.com/indiana-jone...

Farewell to a modern great Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Grim news from Splash Damage. As this article notes, the London dev scene has taken a kicking over the past year or so. www.gamesindustry.biz/splash-damag...

Looks like Hangar 13 is hiring a Lead Narrative Designer based in Brighton (hybrid): hangar13games.com/jobs-gaming/... #gamedevjobs #gamejobs #gameswriting

i’m not crying you’re crying xkcd: Fifteen Years

A great day at #AdventureX today, catching up with old friends and making a few new ones. More tomorrow!

Gmail users!! They've turned on AI scraping by default now...Here's how to turn it off. Pass it on!! www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...

Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work. Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/

When Peter Sallis died, people thought Wallace & Gromit would never be the same again - or might die with him. Then Ben Whitehead stepped in and has been seamlessly superb. Human talent beats AI every time.

LOL at the realistic armour.

she’s a 10 but Excel thinks she’s October

The Square Enix UK offices are literally on my street. Hugs and commiserations to everyone impacted by the restructuring. Also, good luck to anyone working on a game where the QA dept is AI. 🤬https://gamerant.com/square-enix-layoffs-november-2025/

Back on the market after, uh, quite a while, so I made a little portfolio site. Feeling like an actual grown up. Please have a look!

NEW: Rockstar now says it fired 30 employees in the UK for leaking information (not for engaging in union activity), but UK union IWGB told Game Developer that staff in the country have a statutory right to engage in private conversation with union organisers that supersedes any employment contract.

The worst people you know are upset and I think that’s wonderful

Andrew is a sort of non-prince now, a… well, I’m sure there’s some sort of portmanteau word that would describe him well.

Go George!

I was lucky enough to go to the launch today. Apart from the astonishing programme of shows (which means even *Gary Oldman* doesn't get his name in the fucking headline below), my overall sensation was of *hope*: there is an outlet for new writers, and a theatre willing to stage their wildest ideas.

Plait-a-puss.

So it seems like forty different people from forty different countries each suddenly clicked on a different page of my website. The bots are swarming. Is this AI trawling, or some kind of search engine spider?

One of the most TRUE signs I have ever seen at a march. Write this down and act upon it, friends. #NoKings #Manhattan

Hey narrative folks my team is looking for a narrative designer to come work with me in Iceland! If you have solid storytelling fundamentals, some technical experience, and live ops or adjacent experience, we are looking for someone like you! careers.ccpgames.com/en/postings/...

The brilliant @arvonfoundation.bsky.social is launching an 18-month residency programme for emerging UK-based writers. Applications open on Monday but get a head start and read the details here: www.arvon.org/jerwood-arvo...

Spotted near Russell Square today.

Actually, it’s pronounced ‘Moonk’.

Stephen is a great writer and part of the excellent Clockwork Revolution narrative team that’s starting to taper down as we finish the bulk of the writing. Snap him up for your project!

Two Point Studios is looking for a Senior Designer/Writer. No affiltiaton. Just sharing the link... jobs.jobvite.com/sega-europe-...

Creative Assembly is looking for a Principal Narrative Designer. No affiliation. Just sharing the link... jobs.jobvite.com/creative-ass...

OPPORTUNITY Lead Writer - CDProjekt - US Not affiliated. Shares welcome jobs.smartrecruiters.com/CDPROJEKTRED...

A riddle for @theguardian.com books page. p.s. My new book 'Physics for Cats' is out this week in bookshops and online. Details at www.tomgauld.com

Heidi is one of my closest friends. She's been an ally, a confidant and a co-conspirator for well over a decade. Life has been so fucking unfair to her and I'm hoping that we as an industry can rally to help ease her suffering ❤️ www.gofundme.com/f/ease-the-t...