iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Three More Years @threemoreyears.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Our Mini Mini Golf Golf took about a year for people to find. Our second year saw much more engagement than our first. But then again, we aren't a hidden gem, more like a buried one 😅

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

These are particularly pleasing pigeons.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Fandom plus nostalgia also makes fans of even the most progressive series become incredibly conservative about it. (Doctor Who or Christianity, for instance)

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Option of sleek, dark and with some kind of finial on the front. It's motorised, but it needn't be sporty.

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Micah @rincewind.run · 07/10/2026

rip to one of the coolest software engineers who ever lived

Margaret Hamilton standing next to a printout of code she and her team wrote for the Apollo program, which is as tall as she is

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

It could also mean non-spiritual. The House of Lords is divided into Lords Spiritual (who are all bishops) and Lords Temporal.

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Micah @rincewind.run · 08/10/2026

the reason “AI will create so much abundance we will have a utopian society” rhetoric falls so flat is that the people building it will never, ever share their bounty unless it is taken from them and we all know it

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Bits @bitshammer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I'm a big believer in playful learning. Let's give up giving up!

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Those aliens might not have the word 'hello' if they never invented the telephone.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Intriguingly odd. Someone should make it!

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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Miliband: "To the millions in this country.. who have been moved & outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people, we hear you. You were right" So scrap the proscription of Palestine Action. End all arms exports to Israel. Impose sanctions on the Israeli govt & economy.

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rynther @rynther.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Just a quick reminder to go pay your once a year 3$ to Wikipedia, who curate the largest and most accurate encyclopedia on the planet, ever. This is our library of Alexandria, it's really important, and it's really cheap.

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the babahuck @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

rip annie dillard

One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

My immediate thought is 'but what if I like this filler, and it reveals character and enriches the experience and has a delightful interaction or two in it', but in that case it's probably not just filler.

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Three More Years @threemoreyears.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This has been a most wonderful conversation about many things - puppetry, admin and also, videogames! Thanks so much to @benjamilian.bsky.social , winner of this year's @amazefest.bsky.social best game award for this conversation!

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

An interview with Friedrich Kirschner, a puppeteer/visual artist/game-maker who intrigued me with his talk of possible futures, milk-based media, how to read theory, why to read law and the final ends of both capitalism and the river Danube. All that and Mini Mini Golf Golf!

gfsc.community

Alternatives to Apocalypse: Friedrich Kirschner interview

An interview with visual artist, game maker and storyteller Friedrich Kirschner about possible futures, radical admin, video games, how to read theory, why to read laws, and the final end of both capi...

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Glad to see the Melbourne Queer Games Festival is back this year. The showcase list is out, and I look forward to delving into many of these games. (Trans Theft Horso is on the list, but I've played that already, having begotten it some while ago): mqgf.com.au/2026/showcase/

mqgf.com.au

Queer Games Showcase

Amazing LGBTIQ games from 2025-2026.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I got a nice email asking if I wanted to pay $999 to have Trans Theft Horso included in an esports tournament. It's fun to see wild misinterpretations of genre and vibe.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Given the negative involved, if someone says "I'm non-binary", can I respond "Neither am I"?

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Oh, that's excellent. Also, spoonerisable into sylvan vicar.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

There is something astonishingly serious about a lot of 20th Century Star Trek. Morality plays in which the ethical lesson is reiterated at the end. In this regard, it's a lot like Scrubs.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Happy sixtieth Star Trek! Here's a fan-episode I made in the TNG style around a decade ago with @seanmorl.com and @avaavavah.bsky.social - the intention was to be authentically earnest. youtu.be/6c5x1AfwXyc

youtu.be

Star Trek: TNG | Adventure with Birthday Bread Man

YouTube video by Ben Swithen

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Adam Clewes-Boyne @chaosandcode.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Your games hook is "why would someone want to play this?", not (by default) its USP It's the thing that in a 6-second trailer makes people go "oooh I want to know more". If you can't articulate that, then you're going to struggle to find what makes the game interesting to the average person

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Three More Years @threemoreyears.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I had the opportunity to give a talk about post-capitalist world building at #gamescom - thanks @amazefest.bsky.social ! Here are my slides and talk notes in case you are interested: neobaltica.beehiiv.com/p/kind-stori... #worldbuilding #postcapitalism #gamedev

neobaltica.beehiiv.com

Kind stories from the ruins of capitalism

I was fortunate to give a talk on post-capitalist worldbuilding during this year's Gamescom.

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Geeks for Social Change @gfsc.community · 04/09/2026

The home is the smallest unit of society. If you want to change the world, maybe take the bin out. After all, if we can't be mutually supportive in our own household, how can we dream of a workable society? gfsc.community/society-begi...

gfsc.community

Society Begins at Home: Do the Dishes, Change the World

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Maybe deliberate so we don't assume it to be part of the text.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The left one has the vibe of an active object which can fall, cos of its slightly higher saturation and bigger bevel. The right one looks like furniture.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

If the UK had adopted the Euro, would we be calling €5 'five quid', or would the word 'quid' have been relegated to history and period dramas?

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Very glad to run into @diveamydive.bsky.social at the airport after GamesCom. It is easy to grow wild and delirious waiting for a plane, and a lot better to have delirium in good company.

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Geeks for Social Change @gfsc.community · 29/08/2026

The games industry is a big one, and it's easy to feel like an intruder. How'd I get in? In truder window! In actuality, I got in by making the games I wished existed and meeting a community of other people in the same situation. Here's a story of impostor syndrome, and of Trans Theft Horso.

gfsc.community

Between Solitaire and Monopoly: Finding Community in the Games Industry

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🎃🍁Evie Lyn Devers🍁🎃 @sinebadger.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I’m so glad I’m not an AAA game protagonist because NPC barks would ruin my day. I’d be in the shower 2 months later thinking about the time a guy on the street was like “hey move it asshole”

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Amanita Design 🔧 @amanita-design.net · 28/08/2026

Phonopolis City Tour 📣 Hosted by your favorite renegade garbage man, Felix.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I love the amount of scrambled egg at this hotel's breakfasts. What a great form of egg!

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A MAZE. @amazefest.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Only 2 days left until A MAZE. Digital PlayGround #3 at @gamescom at hall 10.2 E30. Check the website: gamescom.a-maze.net for the selection of #arthousegames and #playfulmedia including the open screens and our daily programme. #AMaze2026 #gamescom2026 #mbbfunded

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I'm going to be at GamesCom in Cologne showing off Trans Theft Horso in Hall 10.2 and giving a talk on queer joy. Will I see any of you there?

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Bosoms for all! (Opt out available)

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

This looks fantastic! You had me at Theropods, and also at the art style, and also at it working on Mac. I'm quite havable.

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Theropods - OUT NOW @losttoken.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Theropods just hit Very Positive on Steam! 🦖 Thank you to everyone who's played so far — if you haven't yet, now's a great time to jump in with the 20% launch discount!

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Might start referring to the airport as 'the port' to make my voyages sound more romantic. I must away to the port at Mamucium where a berth awaits me. It will carry me o'er the waves to Colonia Agrippina. No, I don't know which era I'm aiming for, but I feel like it'll annoy everyone.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Last night as I was drifting off to sleep I set myself a challenge of thinking of five fictional rivers, and I found this surprisingly challenging. I got Styx, Song and Tam and then fell asleep feeling I was missing lots of obvious ones.

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

One must plan in both directions. I still carry my key from before I changed my door lock in case I ever get sent back in time.

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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Mamdani is succeeding in part by projecting joy Ossoff is succeeding in part by projecting steely ferocity We’re in a moment when attitude is nearly as powerful as ideology, because we all need courage. And these are two ways of summoning it

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Last year 357,000 people went to GamesCom which is so many that I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen Köln's hotel-booking situation for the week!

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Ben Swithen, a person @benjamilian.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I'm off to Köln next week for GamesCom, which I expect to be overwhelming in its bigness. Will any of you be there, mysterious Internet strangers, and what do you recommend at the event?

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