Slide with an orange diamond traffic sign that says "cruel optimism ahead"

My favourite slide from #chi2026 was @vongnome.bsky.social 's "cruel optimism ahead" traffic sign

🎮 Do you know any *good* theories for making games? 🎮

Share your thoughts in our survey
res58.itu.dk/limesurvey/I...

Whether you are a game dev, scholar, educator, or blog about games. @dooleymurphy.bsky.social and I would love to hear from you!

🌟 Thanks for participating and reposting! 🌟

does anyone have any game design articles/videos/talks about non-addictive game design principles?

lots of "the perfect feedback loop!" and "how to make your game extra addictive!" videos out there, so was just wondering if someone's done the opposite in terms of design philosophies.

When two years of academic work vanished with a single click After turning off ChatGPT’s ‘data consent’ option, Marcel Bucher lost the work behind grant applications, teaching materials and publication drafts. Here’s what happened next.

Turns out that outsourcing your thinking and storing it on a random server owned by psychopaths is, uhh, not a good idea??

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"B-But if we don't use AI, how will we storyboard cutscenes--" MOTHERFUCKER MY WIFE LET ME USE HER CROCHET PLUSHIES, WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Proud supervisor moment -- Congrats @vongnome.bsky.social on getting your paper conditionally accepted to #chi2026!

Stay tuned for the preprint on How Character Creator Interfaces Afford Non-Binary Gender Expression

Game Poems #1 An online literary magazine publishing short-form videogames directly in a playable format. Issue #1 features interactive works by international artists and game designers.

I'm excited to share that Game Poems Issue 1 is now live at www.gamepoems.com/issue01

A new online literary magazine dedicated to exploring the artistic and poetic potential of short-form videogames by publishing new games directly in a playable format.

Thanks for playing and sharing!

one thing that's really funny is that when luther went to post his thesis, nailing things to the church door wasn't some weird proclamation, it was like a normal way to post public notice, just the common bulliten board, so he literally just went like

Power and Efficacy of Indulgences 🧵 1/98

ALT: GAMES applications close in one week (midnight 11 Jan) if you want to apply do it now or you’ll forget and be so mad at yourself

Yōtei screenshot of a ronin with arms crossed and the prompt text R2 FIGHT TO THE DEATH

ready to talk online

Not exactly a glossary, but something in the style of the software studies lexicon for RPGs could be an interesting resource 🤔

Somebody should write up a #ttrpg contested glossary. Just a list of common terms of our hobby, what they could mean, how do they actually have no agreed meaning and why they shouldn't be spelled like that.

Suggested entries: TTRPG, narrative, GMless, adventure, rules-lite, Actual Play...

Wildly different things, tasks, techniques, subspecialties being lumped into "AI" and then being conflated with each other, doesn't help. Different types of models vs the techniques to train them vs the tasks they are supposed to accomplish, all under "AI".

This is exactly what I do upon finishing a podcast

We are recruiting game makers affected by the 'NSFW' policy changes on Steam and itch.io for a survey. This survey is part of a broader project on the factors that shape the production, distribution, and consumption of porn games. More info about the project and survey at www.pppproject.com

The cover page for my EJCS essay on digital freakshows

NEW PUB ANNOUCEMENT!

out today in @ejcs-journal.bsky.social, I wrote about lolcows, livestreaming, and how platform affordances and anti-fan practices catalyze digital freakery.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

DiGRA 2026 Conference | Maynooth University, Ireland Join the DiGRA 2026 conference at Maynooth University, 14–18 June 2026. Theme “Intersectional Pleasures.” A global hybrid event for game research, culture, design, and industry.

DiGRA 2026 submission deadline is now December 8th (Anywhere on Earth - 23:59 UTC +12)! www.digraconference2026.com #DiGRA26

Inside an ICE Defense Training on Fortnite A group of immigrant rights organizers are helping people use Fortnite to practice what to do if they encounter ICE agents in the wild.

For @404media.co this morning: a group of immigrant rights organizers are helping people use Fortnite to practice what to do if they encounter ICE agents in the wild. And I got to see it.
www.404media.co/ice-defense-...