Me (aged 49): VAR is ruining the game! How are kids in the playground supposed to apply all this nonsense when they’re having a kick about? Also me (aged 9):

Oh dear… I opened a box and now I’m in nostalgia free-fall.

Nostalgic for the days of physical media (and the days when there were only three Alien films). Note the 2-for-1 privilege card for Alien War at the Trocadero, expiring 1995.

I just saw this instagram post from the incredibly talented and breathtakingly hilarious Kate Welch, who was laid off around a year ago, and I wanted to share it here. It’s an important message, and you deserve to read it: (thread)

PCMag is now hiring for TWO roles. The first is for a Writer to cover mobile, and the second is for a Senior Writer to cover mobile. This is the Writer job: www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs... This is the Senior Writer job: www.ziffdavis.com/careers/jobs...

£500 given out to a working class writer every month. Details in link. Please share :)

Here's a lovely thing for unpublished/unproduced writers in the UK: www.londonlibrary.co.uk/about-us/ll-...

A recent cartoon for @theguardian.com

Lowest murder rate in London since records began.

Last week, I ate a persimmon for the first time and it's now one of my favourite fruits. This morning, I read a chapter in a novel where the main characters experience exactly the same revelation. Am I just late to the whole persimmon trend? Were you all in on this?

I was once in the same flight from Australia as Kylie Minogue, but all I knew about it was from the very excited air stewards.

The real networking is the friends we made along the way

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.