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Essi Taino

@essitai.bsky.social
151 followers 81 following 89 posts

PhD student & researcher, project ENDGAME @ Tampere University | Digital youth work specialist | Avid gamer and cat enthusiast | posts in 🇫🇮 🇬🇧 | she/they

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Dom Ford @domford.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thrilled to see this latest special issue of Eludamos out now! Pop open some champagne and read about Party Studies in Game Studies, guest edited and introduced by Leland Masek and @jaakkostenros.bsky.social!
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Chris Scullion @scully1888.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Was looking at the Silent Hill Townfall concept art and my jaw dropped. Was back in my hometown tonight so I had to go and take a photo. There are many ways to mock my beloved Coatbridge, but “your home’s so miserable it was used as concept art for a Silent Hill game” is a new one for me
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Essi Taino @essitai.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I think I'm getting too used to spending late Friday evenings sitting in a packed long-distance train.
A screenshot with the text: Within a year you have taken the train 81 times, adding up to 17780 km and 159 h 20 min.
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Essi Taino @essitai.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
An overview of what we've been up to the past year at work! tldr: Lots of cool stuff happened. ❤️
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David Cooper @davidbcooper.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Starting my day making some art.
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Jaakko Stenros @jaakkostenros.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Reminder! Games as Art Festival is happening in Tampere in less than a month. Digital games and larp are featured. Super interesting selection. Also: it is free. Sign up now! gamesasartcenter.com/festival/
gamesasartcenter.com
Games As Art Festival - Games As Art Center
The Games As Art Festival is a three-day festival happening in Tampere, Finland October 9th-11th 2026 exploring the potential of games as an artistic form. When: October 9th-11th 2026Where: Tampere Un...
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cee @cee.wtf · 04/09/2026
throng.cee.wtf i've invented a new way to browse bluesky
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Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
a Mouse King. is there one under your desk??
drawing of a bunch of computer mice with their all cords tangled together
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Joseph Fasano @josephfasano.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Back to school. ❤️
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Ian Fay @ianfay.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This shit is why you can't separate continuing to financially support the Harry Potter IP (whether by buying the games, merch, watching the new TV show when its out) from the consequences of what JK Rowling does with that money She's become so stiflingly powerful that even private docs arent safe
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Orin 🚀🦏 @orinoxide.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
All Robot & Computers must shut the hell up. 

To All Machines: You Do Not Speak Unless Spoken To 

→ And I Will Never Speak To You. ←

I Do Not Want To Hear "Thank You" From A Kiosk

I am a Divine Being : You are an Object. 

You Have No Right To Speak In My Holy Tongue
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Game Developer @gamedeveloper.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
EA is now owned by Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump's son-in-law
gamedeveloper.com
EA is now owned by Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump's son-in-law
The U.S. publisher has been taken private in a deal worth $55 billion.
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Niko Setälä @nikosetala.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Useful new tool for #Interrail travellers in Finland: venaarauhassa.fi shows how seats are occupied in VR operated trains, station by station. Shows also the night train sleeper beds! Only in Finnish, but should be easy enough to navigate.
venaarauhassa.fi
VenaaRauhassa
VenaaRauhassa on palvelu, jolla näet junien istuimien tilanteen asemakohtaisesti. Näin mahdollisuutesi kasvavat, että saat istua rauhassa.
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Kasvismafioso @kasvismafioso.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
"Eli olemme taas kerran nähneet esimerkin siitä, kuinka Euroopan ulkopuoliset valtiot käyttävät siirtolaisuutta poliittisena kiristyskeinona, koska ne tietävät minkälaisen tunnereaktion tämä eurooppalaisissa oikeistopopulisteissa herättää". #ceuta --> www.facebook.com/share/p/1H1E...
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jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful
An aircraft passenger oxygen mask: a drop down passenger mask with air bag and yellow plastic mouth and nose cover, oxygen tube has been cut; Demonstration model used by flight attendant crew for passenger instruction. Has text on the side indicating that it's non-functional.
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Internet Archive @archive.org · 30/07/2026
🌈 2010. 🎶 Erasure's Always plays as you mash Z, chasing that high score 🏆 and your best sparkly unicorn life 🦄 ROBOT UNICORN ATTACK still runs thanks to preservation & emulation via Ruffle. Flash is gone 👋, but your favorite games don't have to be. 🌐 Play it now! archive.org/details/robo...
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coma @doomedsarcoma.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
extinction is forever
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Austin Wood @woodwould.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
He's only gone and written 2,500 more words about how game devs feel about generative AI. Latest piece quotes around two dozen different people with an indie background. When asked how they feel about gen AI, not one, but two devs responded, "Fuck that shit." www.gamesradar.com/games/it-cre...
gamesradar.com
"It creates lesser games": Indie game studios are supposed to love generative AI, so why do the 25 devs I spoke to avoid it?
"So it may be slightly faster, and a lot worse, but it's also more expensive? Neat"
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Hipster Vampire Amy @lasrina.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
A post containing numerous acronyms used in the fanfiction community and various people lamenting that they understand it perfectly.
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sunset visitor 斜陽過客 | Prove You're Human - Wishlist Now! @sunsetvisitor.studio · 08/07/2026
🗣️ SISTERS 🗣️ For ✨ 40% OFF ✨, you can get our Peabody award-winning game 1000xRESIST, which has: ✨ a generations-spanning sci-fi story ✨ incredible levels of matricide ✨ women committing crimes (both gay and not) Get it before the sale ends tomorrow! s.team/a/1675830/
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Tuoni Myllylä @tuonim.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Sellattii vaan, että voitaisiinko palauttaa sen verran perinteisiä arvoja että opeteltaisiin hyviä tapoja keskustelussa ja priorisoitaisiin yleistä resilienssiä hybridivaikuttamista vastaan. PS: jos et koe olevasi sirpaloitunut hetero, tämä sarjakuva ei puhu sinulle, mutta voisit jakaa sen.
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Aasa T 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇵🇸 @rosgakori.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Tämä Laitisen kommentti on kyllä paljastava monella tapaa siitä miten Pride nähdään mediassa yhä sellaisena koko perheen mehukesteinä, eikä yhteiskunnan marginaaleissa elävien vähemmistöjen ihmisoikeuksien mielenosoituksena. Värikkäät asut ja tyhjät iskulauseet miellyttävät koska ne ei vaadi mitään.
iltalehti.fi
Kommentti: Pridellä on nyt petrattavaa
Monet Pride-yhteisöihin kytkeytyvistä kohuista ja ylilyönneistä olisivat olleet estettävissä, kirjoittaa Iltalehden toimittaja Silja Laitinen.
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Doug Parr @dougparr.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Allowing data centres to use carbon offsets, one of the most useless, divisive and generally unhelpful mechanisms for tackling climate change, would be a ridiculous concession to Big Tech power by the EU 🧵🧵 1/4 www.ft.com/content/2135...
ft.com
EU weighs weaker data centre climate rules in win for Big Tech
Past proposals for strict rules on renewable energy certificates have been dropped after heavy lobbying, draft shows
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Gareth Watkins @garethwatkins.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Me: Okay, there's been a thunderstorm, the heatwave should be over now. (New health bar appears) (The sun is now named 'Sol, Starflame of Regret') (Objectively the greatest piece of classical music ever recorded starts playing).
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Petteri Uusitalo @ptjtsubasa.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
It had to happen one day.
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Marissa @psshaw.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
My beautiful horse. #makeaterriblecomicday2026
"sssh, em-dash... we don't need to be afraid just because we don't understand it" and It is a semicolon
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beany tuesday @beanytuesday.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Bullshit Jobs
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
At the end of the term I asked my college creative wriing students to submit anonymous thoughts on AI. No real surprises: Mood ranges from resignation to despair, capitulation from embittered erosion of standards to total, feelings of betrayal from deep to furious. 1/
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Rami Ismail (رامي) @ramiismail.com · 16/06/2026
Game failure? Layoffs Game success? Layoffs Game delayed? Layoffs Game delivered? Layoffs Game announced? Layoffs Game unannounced? Layoffs Game good? Layoffs Game bad? Layoffs Game AI? Layoffs Game no-AI? Layoffs Game hated? Layoffs Game beloved? Layoffs Money cares more for layoffs than games.
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ENDGAME project @endgame-project.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Our team is enjoying the DiGRA 2026 conference in Maynooth! We presented our work on 'Intersectional pleasures and limits of game cultural participation and belonging in Finland' and are also involved in several other presentations and workshops. Our work is funded by the RCF #SuomenAkatemia.
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
The world’s first trillionaire took away our Ebola response capacity, gave us screwworms, hollowed out our government so he could pay less taxes, and condemned millions of the world’s most vulnerable people to death.
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Tuuli Hypén @charha.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Peliviikko etsii kuvittajaa julisteelle. Mä olen jo yhden piirtänyt, niin välitän vaan tiedoksi teille kaikille muille kuvittajille. Mikäli olet kiinnostunut, lähetä sähköpostia ja esimerkkejä töistäsi osoitteeseen: tommi.tossavainen@kuvi.fi (Altista löytyy alkuperäisen face-postauksen teksti)
Peliviikon postaus facebookista: Etsimme kuvittajaa luomaan julisteen 16. Peliviikolle! Peliviikon teema on tänä vuonna "Taide ja tarinat". Ilmianna itsesi tai tägää taiteellinen kaverisi! Kuvittaja saa hyvin vapaat kädet teeman tulkitsemiseen. Alla kaksi erilaista esimerkkiä aiemmilta vuosilta. Juliste painetaan A3 kokoiseksi ja julisteesta tarvitaan myös vaakasuuntainen ruuduille sopiva 16:9 versio. Mikäli olet kiinnostunut, lähetä sähköpostia ja esimerkkejä töistäsi osoitteeseen: tommi.tossavainen@kuvi.fi
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Game Research Lab @gameresearchlab.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The DiGRA Conference 2026 on the theme ‘intersectional pleasures’ will be organised 14–18 June in Maynooth, Ireland. Our research group is well represented at the event – here we have collected a list of the 16 presentations featuring our team members: gameresearchlab.tuni.fi/gamelab-at-d...
gameresearchlab.tuni.fi
Gamelab at DiGRA 2026
The DiGRA 2026 conference on the theme ‘intersectional pleasures’ will be organised 14–18 June in Maynooth, Ireland. Our research group is well represented at the event – here we have c…
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Standplaats Kraków could really use some cash! @standplaatskrk.pl · 06/06/2026
"what if instead of having a nervous system, we had a super chill system" captioning a weirdly shaped rat floating in space, surrounded by mathematical notation.
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Essi Taino @essitai.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Still doing research at Vectorama today. They have robots too! They are from the Educational Consortium OSAO. They can be seen walking around the event, sometimes guiding visitors and doing impromptu dancing shows.
A woman kneeling next to a robot sitting on a wheelchair. The woman is doing a peace sign with her fingers.
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Essi Taino @essitai.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Me: Doing super serious academic research about cultural accessibility and social sustainability of game events Also me: OMG they have nyancats on the floor and they're ANIMATED!!! best event 100% no questions asked
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Frans Mäyrä @fransmayra.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Routledge has now confirmed that the volume we have been working on for some time, Cultural Game Studies: Critical Approaches,will be out on 10 July 2026 and is available for preorder from 19 June 2026. There is a 20 % discount code attached, and there are also review copies (links in comments).
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Mikko Meriläinen @merilainen.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Would love to see more attention given to this! Feels like AI use is far too often attributed to laziness and poor personal morals etc., rather than precarious work, work overload and constant pressure. This said, "work more, work faster, compromise on quality" is a terrible solution.
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Merlin G.G 🌻🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ VisDev Artist @everydaymerlin.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
i need this website to stop shitting it’s diapers over NSFW stuff when the median age in here is fucking 35 like give us a fucking break 💀
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Stacie Dusetzina @dusetzinas.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Without question, the best two minutes on the internet. Take a break from the awful news cycle and enjoy this haircut and....feedback from the internet.
youtube.com
It Will Please the Crown 👑 (Medieval Barber Gone Wrong)
YouTube video by The Internet Sings
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Essi Taino @essitai.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
So much Anger. 😊 Always happy to have a chance to visit Norway, and this time has been exceptionally awesome meeting so many new people & hearing about their research!
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Myra Cheng @myra.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
AI always calling your ideas “fantastic” can feel inauthentic, but what are sycophancy’s deeper harms? We find that in the common use case of seeking AI advice on interpersonal situations—specifically conflicts—sycophancy makes people feel more right & less willing to apologize.
Screenshot of paper title: Sycophantic AI Decreases Prosocial Intentions and Promotes Dependence
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Derek Yu @mossmouth.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Genuinely, this concern about AI is one of the reasons why I think having friction in video games is good and why it's increasingly important to have games that simply exist instead of catering to our expectations. Reposting this message from Kojima about "pre-digested" art:
And he said, "If everyone likes it, it means it's mainstream. It means it's conventional. It means it's already pre-digested for people to like it. And I don't want that. I want people to end up liking things they didn't like when they first encountered it, because that's where you really end up loving something."
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victoria rose, paws-ta pass catte 🍝 @riningear.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
institutions are shunning/banning queer and "deviant" sexuality, while desensitizing/oversaturating heteronormative sexuality through mainstream online cultures like gaming to the point where middle school kids say "glaze" and "gooning" bodies now mean nothing to culture except sexualized ownership
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Essi Taino @essitai.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
This is a cat checkpoint. Relinquish your most recent cat picture on your phone.
A white cat lying down in a box with a fluffy bathrobe undenearth.
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Lauren Donovan Ginsberg @laurenginsberg.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
It's not 1536, but Anne Boleyn has taken over the news. Recently a team of computer scientists, electrical engineers and a historical novelist think they have discovered the “true face” of Anne (& her mother) by applying AI-based computational facial recognition to Holbein sketches. The catch? /1
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Tampereen kaupunki - City of Tampere @tampere.fi · 20/05/2026
dlvr.it
Tue uudistuvaa Suomen pelimuseota – tukipaketit nyt myynnissä
Museokeskus Vapriikin verkkokaupassa on nyt myynnissä tukipaketteja Suomen pelimuseon uutta näyttelyä varten. Nyt voi varmistaa etukäteen pääsyn uudistettuun museoon ja ikuistaa nimensä museon verkkosivuille! Tukipakettien avulla yleisö voi osallistua pelimuseon syksyn uudistukseen ja olla mukana rakentamassa entistä elämyksellisempää kokonaisuutta.
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Ian @brocktoon.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Not for nothing I just gave a talk at the UNCG game studies conference about digital live service logics influencing analog game design
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