iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 6h

That's gorgeous. I've been finding way too many glacial/nuclear/acidic etc. planets lately so the pretty ones are a wonderful change.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 6h

When Dutoit is on, he's so on. When he's off...

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 9h

It does that game a real disservice to describe it as 'grey and brown'. It's stunning.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 9h

Just thinking on how Gears of War - the first game in particular - has stellar art design. There is an odd, heavy beauty in the destruction and rubble.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 10h

There is a undefined% chance that you will be happy with size false.

Your Fit Assistant recommended size is in stock: False. There is a undefined chance you will be happy with size false.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 12h

I went into some detail in @jon.inkle.co's Games Kaleidoscope podcast (ep. 20), but straying from topic (chatty, minor options in urgent situations) sucks away energy. There's a good chance you can delay or offload it to another NPC; there's an even better chance you don't need it at all.

inklestudios.com

The Game Narrative Kaleidoscope

The Game Narrative Kaleidoscope book and podcast from inkle.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 12h

It's a hard rule to stick to - and not always possible (Gortash is BG3's prime rule-breaking example) - but it pays big dividends, because it makes dialogue something players seek out rather than something they endure.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 12h

If you want to branch into a little related lore on re-click, go for it. But if you want urgency in the dialogue, peppering it with minor questions tells the player "this can be skipped".

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 12h

This is a very good observation and the one-topic rule is one of many you can apply to distinguish substance from clutter. That is, the player's first conversation with a major character should be about one thing and one thing only.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 12h

I love to see that smile. It's okay to not be okay, but trust when I say that you help make me, truly, okay.

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Reposted by Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻

Unfrozen Caveman Librarian @latefiennes.bsky.social · 18h

Original Tweet: “I like Hole better than Nirvana”

Quote Tweet: “me leaving the monastery”

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 18h

Poltergeist fucked me up. I'm still afraid of lightning because of it. I'm 54.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 19h

You do not in fact have to hand it to Jacob Rees-Mogg.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

That the compelling parts of this game are *so* compelling is a wonder, and they carry enough weight to *almost* overshadow the growing tedium in between.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I think I've reached my limit for navigating Control Resonant.

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Reposted by Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻

Ho! Ho! Holiday Viewing! @sleepykittypaw.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The Wrap did a write-up about SCOOB! HOLIDAY HAUNT director Michael Kurinsky's reaction to the firing of Mike De Luca and Pamela Abdy after Paramount-Skydanve acquired Warner Bros-Discovery. www.thewrap.com/creative-con...

thewrap.com

'Scoob! Holiday Haunt' Director Spikes Pamela Abdy and Mike De Luca After Warner Bros. Shelved Film: 'Hurts, Doesn't It?'

"Scoob! Holiday Haunt" director Michael Kurinsky roasted the fired Warner Bros. film chiefs Pamela Abdy and Mike De Luca after they shelved his film.

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Reposted by Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻

A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Hey, I’m just asking questions. Ignorant questions, bigoted questions, questions that have been repeatedly answered for many years. Sorry, but I’m not listening to answers right now; I’m far too busy asking questions. It’s called being intellectually curious.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My 'Xbox is not for sale' shirt has a lot of people asking questions already answered by my shirt.

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Reposted by Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻

Sam Barlow 🔥 @mrsambarlow.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I've avoided reading anything about it but I am so excited for PENGUIN COLONY. I went hoarse recommending Umurangi Generation back in 2020 and failed (but valiantly tried) to get that game to win all the awards over its AAA competitors store.steampowered.com/app/3695930/...

store.steampowered.com

Penguin Colony on Steam

Cosmic horror, through the eyes of a penguin. Rival human factions have come to your home in the Antarctic, seeking an ancient and inconceivable being. Observe their descent into insanity in this fait...

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

It's 2087. There are two types of games: Lasts of Us and Dwarf Fortresses. These are your choices.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Has there ever been a less expressive performance on a high-profile show.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Wait wait wait. You mean to tell me Louisa Jacobson - easily the worst performer in this cast - is Meryl Streep's daughter?!

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I know I'm not supposed to take The Gilded Age seriously but Nathan Lane as Foghorn Leghorn might be too bonkers even for me.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

It's so silly already. Nathan Lane just showed up to do his Foghorn Leghorn impression and I'm rolling.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Three episodes into The Gilded Age and it's simultaneously more frothy and more compelling than Downton Abbey ever was. I can't wait to see how Fellowes mucks it up.

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Reposted by Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻

Walter Chaw @mangiotto.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

DIGGER is very much the sensation of a very dim person talking to you as though you were the very dim person. It is, in other words, a classic Iñárritu joint.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

And pour one out for Conchata Ferrell, one of the great character actors, always perfect.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Not even close, a terrific comedy that deserved way, way better. Also, Elliott Gould.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

If you are oversensitive to misspellings and unedited dialogue, you might want to wait a bit though. Lovely but a little underbaked for now.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Looks like they're not quite done with the UI though.

Songs of Glimmerwick screenshot: a menu with a UI button simply labelled "UI button".

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I regret to inform you that Songs of Glimmerwick is gorgeous.

Songs of Glimmerwick screenshot: a musical academy's courtyard, lush and colourful.

Songs of Glimmerwick screenshot: the interior of a dorm common room, The scene is cosy; students relax at a table, and a fire blazes in the fireplace.

Songs of Glimmerwick screenshot: the player character approaches a hut fashioned from a colossal tree trunk. Sun rays shine through the forest canopy above.

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Reposted by Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻

caffeine anxiety ego death @mxdshipwreck.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

When they say AVENGERS DOOMSDAY is the "darkest movie ever made" they mean in terms of lighting. you're not gonna see a fucking thing

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

tfw a game would be 1000 percent better without combat.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Oh man. My bad - I never imagined I'd have to verify this one.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Tonight's music: Joonas Kokkonen's haunting neo-romantic masterpiece, his 4th symphony, in memory of the composer's death this day in 1996. I hope you'll take the time to listen.

youtube.com

Symphony No. 4: I. Moderato

YouTube video by Lahti Symphony Orchestra - Topic

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Reposted by Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻

Larian Studios @larianstudios.com · 02/10/2026

Orin you glad it's 30% off

Orin The Red licks her dagger while blood drips down below onto text that reads "30% Off" Baldur's Gate 3.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

You know, Riders Republic could'a been something.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Yup. Even outside Metacritic, though, it's an ongoing thing.

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

(A strongly believe that if you want review scores, a 5-star system would spawn a broader range than 1-10, but that ship has long sailed.)

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Kevin VanOrd 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 @fiddlecub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Too much has already written about why it is, so I won't belabor it. I have a handful of thoughtful critics I admire and will follow to the end - and occasionally find others I add to the stable. It's been that way for years, and it serves me well.

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