Dam been writing a book about this and she just TikToked it in 90 seconds.

Trying to distinguish between genuine review inquiries and scam mails was, by far, one of the most exhausting parts of releasing a game on Steam for me, and apparently things have gotten much worse since then. Let's keep each other informed.

Save the date! 🗓️ Oct 2, 12-2pm EST 💳 🎮 🍆 💻 👾 🫦 Panel on payment processors, deplatforming, and sexual censorship in games w/ @jeanketterling.bsky.social @acvalens.net @kenzitronic.bsky.social Ashley Guajardo Caroline Bem & myself - info and registration here: irdl.info.yorku.ca/event/smc-pa...

i have a lot of issues trusting folks and being vulnerable with them. i realized recently-- it's because i frankly do not ask them to go on enough quests for me. i need them to go find a gas canister and some food to prove i can trust them. or go kill my rivals' leader in that base over there

Something that gives me a lot of strength and hope for the feature are daily interactions with people. I just had a lovely chat with an old man who allowed me to sit down for a bit and enjoy the sun in front of his restaurant; a dog briefly stopped to look at me, its holder and I exchanged smiles.

Everyone on #LinkedIn: Make sure to turn this off unless you want to supply both your personal data and everything you post on the platform for AI training.

This is an excellent piece by @acvalens.net, highlighting all the ways adult game makers like myself are getting squeezed by nearly impossible requirements imposed by platforms desperately hoping to appease increasingly fickle payment processors

Vorsicht: Ihr unterschreibt hier für die Forderung nach einem Ende der Anonymität im Internet.

"The circumstances of Sony's alleged firing of Harrison go beyond a potentially inappropriate joke, with developers and studios suddenly navigating a coordinated right-wing campaign pressuring employers to fire or discipline anyone joking about Kirk's death or criticizing his work."

"Das Internet ist in den letzten Jahren zentraler Teil einer Radikalisierungspipeline geworden, mit unterschiedlichen Phänomenen, Subkulturen und Referenzrahmen." Sehr lesenswerter Text:

GAConf is in two weeks! Have you got your ticket yet? Two day dev conference on game accessibility, in-person event in Redmond, and free to attend online! Full lineup and registration at www.gaconf.com #gamedev #indiedev #accessibility

"It's part of an international trend to control the sort of content people can access, and create." www.thegamer.com/subscribe-st...

Heute ab 15:30 auf dem Schadowplatz in #Duesseldorf: Demo gegen die AfD und deren Wahlkampf. Ich werde vor Ort sein, wer noch? :heart_pride:

Queer developers speak out as adult games remain in limbo following payment processor showdown at Steam and itch.io www.eurogamer.net/queer-develo...

Had a terrible day, but now it's time to unwind. Let's go! #SuperPuzzleFighterIITurbo

What an expertly called shot

Dieselbrain really stresses an important point here, and this is why you likely haven’t seen itch announce a high risk payment processor to work with yet

I wish we would be more lenient toward others, especially people we know. In recent months, most of the conflicts I've experienced – both in personal and professional interactions – resulted from people immediately applying the worst possible interpretation in conversations.

Game developer networking 2025 = trauma bonding

I had the opportunity to talk about #PaymentProcessors, (adult) game bans, and restricting game developers' freedom of expression in an interview with GamesMarkt. #AdultGames #CollectiveShout #Censorship

For six years, I've had the privilege to publish countless reviews, features, and investigative pieces across numerous publications. I love what I do, and I think it's time to start a new venture. Welcome to the first post of my new newsletter, Access Granted. accessgranted.ghost.io/welcome-to/

It took a while due to customs shenanigans, but my copy of the "Bloomsbury Handbook of Sex and Sexuality in Game Studies" has finally arrived! I wrote a chapter about using digital games for sex education and can't wait to read the other authors' texts, all of which sound incredibly interesting.

Everyone, hire Ana! She is a great writer, has vast knowledge about the (adult) games industry, and offers you an opportunity to be one of the few outlets covering this important market. I've been following and admiring her work for years.

Important news: Gloria and I were planning to dedicate this month's episode of "Random Encounters" to the ongoing issue of (adult) games being banned from or denied access to distribution platforms, due to pressure by payment processors and Australian activist group Collective Shout.

U.K. residents, could this be your chance to stop paypro censorship in the country? Please sign this petition petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

I leveled up my embroidery game and finally got a hoop to avoid further rippling. Should have used one from the beginning, of course, but this is my second ever project, so mistakes were expected.

the goal of pursuing art is noble and people should make the decisions they want to make. but please have reasonable and achievable goals and quit it with the twee rise and grind success stories - the market is lottery ticket you're statistically very likely to not win regardless of how good you are

Great accessibility-focused interview. All remake/remaster developers: you need to read this. Two of your key goals are 1. Attracting a wider audience and 2. Making another sale to OG players, who are now older with different capabilities. To have success at either, you must consider accessibility.

Valve is no longer accepting Early Access games with sexually explicit content. The renewed pressure on adult games is part of a chain of demands that payment processors put through to storefronts like @itch.io, but resistance has risen. @dammitbird.bsky.social www.gamesmarket.global/en/business/...

As a personal note, I'm excited #Atomfall received the award for the best international game. It has a wide range of great accessibility features and options, which were developed with an in-house specialist as well as several consultants. But it doesn't just impress with its accessibility.

In other news: As mentioned previously, Collective Shout tried to have our petition "Save games from censorship" removed, making false claims about "defamatory" statements. I was forced to spend some time during my vacation to provide evidence for each and every statement, but...

Hello there! I'm back from my three-week summer vacation and currently finding my way back into my work routine. Since I also took some time off social media, I'll share a couple of notable events that took place during my absence.

My three-week summer vacation begins tomorrow and I'll use this opportunity to take a little break from social media. See you in September!

Incredible: A player managed to beat #EldenRing using only voice input. What I admire the most is her patience: Spending 40 minutes to pick up a single item, reconfiguring inputs over and over again, and slowly becoming a better fighter, taking down one boss after another.

I would be grateful for your help! I agreed to write an overview of political studies in digital games for the @akgwds.bsky.social. Apart from usual suspects (Bevc and Sicart), I find extremely little. Which (of your) texts do you think I should definitely consider? #GameStudies #PoliticalStudie

Here's a friendly reminder that it's NOT okay to send death or rape threats to people, no matter how much you dislike them or their actions. And if you cannot feel empathy for the recipients of your vile messages (which would be quite disturbing), AT LEAST consider the damage you do to your cause.

Many people turn to games when they’re stressed. But stress can affect focus, memory, and motor skills, making accessibility even more important. 🧠 Accessible design supports players with different needs and helps reduce stress by making gameplay smoother, clearer, and therefore more enjoyable.

Great work by PC Gamer showing MasterCard shares much responsibility for what happened to Steam www.pcgamer.com/games/master...

Wusstest Du, dass das Innenministerium ein Sonderregister für trans, inter und nicht-binäre Menschen plant? Wir sagen: Nie wieder! Jetzt unterzeichnen ✍️ und teilen! weact.campact.de/petitions/ke...

Die erste Ausgabe von @debuff.de ist da.

Since people are talking about #NoMercy again and only now seem to realise that it's a TERRIBLE game (quality-wise): @ghmanderfeld.bsky.social and me reviewed it back in April, analysed the discourse, and had a closer look at Critical Shout. (The podcast episode is only available in German, sadly.)

MORGEN geht's los, ihr Lieben. Wir sind aufgeregt! Drei Texte für alle, ein Bonus-Text für alle zahlenden Mitglieder (30 Euro pro Jahr, Schnäppchen). Seid ihr dabei? Dann jetzt noch fix auf debuff.de ein Abo klicken!

Hyperfocusing on details is a strategy to avoid dealing with the core of the issue and criticism: Which is that no company, organisation, or individual should be allowed to decide what's acceptable and what isn't in art and media. www.thegamer.com/collective-s...

Ich freue mich sehr, dass das Problem unangemessener Einflussnahme durch Zahlungsdienstleister auf Vertrieb und Inhalte von digitalen Spielen jetzt auch in den General-Interest-Medien aufgegriffen wird. Gestern ist etwa ein Artikel in der Zeit erschienen, in dem auch unsere Petition erwähnt wird:

There's a reason people don't want you to experience negative emotions through fiction and the reason is fascism, because then you'll realize how unfair your own condition is and you'll start questionning the World and ipso facto the system. It's always about control, never about protecting

In "Random Encounters" geht es diesmal heiß her: Wir daten uns quer durch einen Haushalt, vom tête-à-tête mit einem Bett bis hin zu elaborierten Rollenspielen mit unserem D20-Würfel. insertmoin.de/random-encou... (Patreon-exklusiver Inhalt)

In other news: I'm also happy to share that our Open Educational Resources on game #accessibility already cover a wide range of topics, and we're still adding more content. The resources will be published early next year, free of cost. #OER #Education #GameDevelopment #InclusiveGameLab

The German Games Industry Association has finally issued a statement, taking a stance for artistic freedom: "[It] is fundamental to games as a cultural medium. Any restrictions imposed by payment service providers or gaming platforms must not exceed the legal limits."

"We [...] have to consider [...] whose [voices] are being silenced. Does free speech apply [...] to survivors of rape?" This is a good opportunity to reiterate that numerous games made by survivors of sexual violence have been deplatformed SPECIFICALLY because of Collective Shout's actions.