iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

It's worth it to make the thing you want to make. I often need a reminder, and this is a great one

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

The quality of a design can only be judged by its design goals. #design #process #art #ttrpg-design #game-design

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Want to play with breadth and focus in your storygames? Read my article about just that on the Storygames Chicago newsletter Then sign up for newsletter. We've got five fantastic authors who write thoughtful and unique articles worth reading every month or so

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Do you ever license existing work if someone wants to use something of yours in a book?

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Karina S. @chirunax.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Taking commissions for June, please RT! 🧡 If you are interested please contact me via e-mail: chirunax@gmail.com Full info: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

A giant man with white pearlescent scales on his shoulders and tail covers a small woman in a red dress with his hand
The man has a huge bleeding bite on his shoulder

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Chase @chkurk.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

We wrapped up our first season of our Apocalypse world game, gmed by @jessebmiller.bsky.social today. While grabbing dinner after, we were musing about the fact that our game largely didn’t engage with combat or (physical) harm.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

We also all knew that Dream Askew/Dream Apart is a big fucking deal, but until Austin told me what it was doing to and for its players it felt like magic. Now it feels like something I can more easily be inspired by.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

We all knew that Austin Walker was articulate, but damn, he and Sam Dunnewold uncorked it on S8 E8 of Dice Exploder talking about Dream Askew/Dream Apart. @austinwalker.bsky.social @diceexploder.com @lackingceremony.bsky.social @benjaminrosenbaum.com

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scene_FEAR 🔜 PAX Unplugged! @scenefour.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I’m honored to say this designer, Erica Bridges, is part of the Chicago playtest cohort I organize, and she literally can’t stop making some of the smartest games I’ve ever read and played. Don’t miss Nostos.

kickstarter.com

Nostos

a tabletop roleplaying game about sailing home and saying goodbye.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

The oilfire (this is obviously the correct styling) moves are maybe more for the MC than for players. It's a sneaky way to get y'all to establish story hooks for yourselves.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

I made a bunch of custom moves for my Apocalypse World game and they're working really well so I wrote them up to share here. bsky.app/profile/jess... #pbta #gamedesign #ttrpg

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When Splitlip releases control of the Harpies you all find a home that has... Roll +enemies defeated 12+ choose 3 10-11 choose 2 7-9 choose 1 - Physical security - Prosperity - (anything from the hardhold list)

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When you (Splitlip) come into contact with the Oil Fire roll +weird. 10+ answer 2 7-9 answer 1 Otherwise answer 1 but it's not as it seems - What do you need from the Towers? - What does the Towers need from you? - What other PC do you need the most? Why?

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When Wither sacrifices himself to save the hardhold and his life becomes untenable, If he dies or changes playbook the Oil Fire prepares for the worst.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When you (Wither) come into contact with the Oil Fire roll +weird. 10+ answer 2 7-9 answer 1 Otherwise answer 1 but it's not as it seems. - What does the Hardhold need from you? - What does you sister need from you? - What do you need from your sister?

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

... (continued) Miss: prepare for the worst. You get an impression (as opening your brain weak hit) Spend hold any time to know the underlying truth of a situation. You may *answer* any read a situation or read a person question.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When Kiev travels to the depths below the Ontario Flat he will learn a universal truth. Roll +sum of following +1 for each yes: Do you love Hearth? Wither? Your current life? -1 for each yes: Do you hate the maelstrom? Oil Fire? Your circumstances? 12+ hold 3 10-12 hold 2 7-9 hold 1 ...

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When you (Kiev) come into the contact with the Oil Fire roll +weird. 10+ Answer two, 7-9 Answer one, Miss answer one but it's not as it seems. - How are the Harpies enticed by you? - How is the Towers Gang enticed by you? - How is the Hearth Cult enticed by you?

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When Hearth leaves the others to face the world on their own, choose a new threat type for the maelstrom. Roll +weird. Ascend into the maelstrom... - 12+ with your mind in tact. - 10+ with instincts in tact. - 7-9 fighting to maintain selfhood Otherwise become consumed by the maelstrom

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

When you (Hearth) come into contact with the Oil Fire, roll +weird. 10+ answer 2. 7-9 answer 1. Otherwise answer one but it's not as it seems. - What does your brother need from you? - What does your cult need from you? - Who desperately needs your guidance?

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

There are two categories. First is when you come into contact with the Oil Fire, which is a sort of supernatural blight. The other is a sort of offer for a climax. They each have results tailored to each character. All to follow...

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

I should probably write about them. They're working pretty well

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The Onion @theonion.com · 12/02/2026

Pam Bondi Thought That Went Pretty Well

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

I guess it's time to watch CASABLANCA

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Y'all I'm not happy about it but software is about to get weird. It's been slowly getting less reliable over the last 25 years, but AI is going to cause developers and software companies to build stuff they kinda wanted but not quite what they meant and they're gonna just go with it.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

I get it, I'm disappointed, but how can I be mad at two fantastic books?

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

The announcement sure, but not the intention

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Tough to be Robin Hobb, but it's not hubris. That thinking stifles big ideas. I'd rather two books than an artist with reasonable goals I've personally killed many things before starting because I thought "who am I to take on this masterwork" and now none of y'all get to see my attempts

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Reminds me of the composition in one of my sister's paintings. www.nadjaeulee.com

Photo of an abstract painting of a street and half a church in earth tones hanging on a wall

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

If you haven't listened to this series I highly recommend it. And not just because I'm on episode two 😇 So go listen then join the game jam! I plan on trying out some of the other prompts. Should be fun! #ttrpg #gamejam #gamestorm #gamedesign #storygameschicago

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Elizabeth Bear @matociquala.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Context: this speech is from SIR THOMAS MORE, a history written, as near as scholars can tell, in the early 1600s by 6 or 7 people including Dekker, Heywood, Chettle, Shakespeare, and Munday. It was never performed, because Jacobean England was a police state and it was banned by the censor.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

My good friend @collinjryan.bsky.social and Ihave been talking about exploration for years. We're not done with that, but we did write an article for Storygames Chicago. Definitions -> discontent -> hope. Go read it and come back to talk about it! storygameschicago.beehiiv.com/p/searching-...

storygameschicago.beehiiv.com

Searching for Exploration

Our discontent with exploration in tabletop games and our flailing around for something we like

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

The Farseer Trilogy is among the best literature I've ever read

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Always work on what moves you to work. Let them all be your magnum opus if that moves you. One after another.

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Gene Ha creator of 2026 IL Reads pick MAE The Definitive Edition @geneha.com · 26/01/2026

More from historian Thomas Zimmer's thread. In short, MAGA atrocities will shrink their support. But even when the WSJ & FOX plead with him to moderate, Trump will use more outrages & violence bc that's all he knows. Our simple rule remains: DO NOT COMPLY IN ADVANCE.

From the thread:

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
As a default, we should assume the government will keep escalating – not as part of a grand masterplan, but because they have no other strategy and nowhere else to go. As resistance is hardening, MAGA has no coherent idea of how to get from where we are now to consolidated autocracy.
9:07 AM · Jan 26, 2026

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
· 51m
In that situation, frustrated ineptitude, extremist ideology, and MAGA psychology are all conspiring to make escalation almost inevitable. MAGA is ideologically and psycho-politically incapable of moderating.

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
· 49m
To the extent they have a plan, it is coming from the Stephen Miller wing of the MAGA coalition: Incite violent confrontations in blue urban centers, then use that state-induced violence as a pretext to declare an emergency, invoke the Insurrection Act, start deploying regular troops.

From the thread:

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
· 48m
To the extent they have a plan, it is coming from the Stephen Miller wing of the MAGA coalition: Incite violent confrontations in blue urban centers, then use that state-induced violence as a pretext to declare an emergency, invoke the Insurrection Act, start deploying regular troops.

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
· 46m
But the question we must ask is: What is the path from there to a consolidated autocracy? What are the logistics and the mechanisms that would get the Trumpists from deploying troops in a mid-sized city to the regime eliminating all political, legal, and societal resistance?

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
· 45m
As a matter of practical reality, the idea that the minute Trump invokes the Insurrection Act all resistance is futile, Trump has won, Game Over is nonsense. That’s just regime propaganda. Let us not perpetuate it. Make them earn every inch of creeping authoritarianism.

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
· 42m
The Trumpist strategy, to the extent there is one, is centered around an assertion of absolute power. They want to convince people that resistance futile. A crucial part of the struggle against encroaching authoritarianism is to reject such notions. Don’t acquiesce. Make them earn it.

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social
· 39m
Alas, while they may not have an effective strategy to consolidate authoritarian rule, they will certainly cause tremendous harm. I do not say this lightly: From here on out, the struggle against Trumpist authoritarianism is only getting bloodier…

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

A big difference between humor and art is that art gets better when it's explained

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lumpley @lumpley.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Fixing your heart is, for us born into our arsenal of privilege in the world's most empire, both a lifelong undertaking requiring discipline, patience, perspective, and good teachers, and a necessary first step toward reclaiming your self. It's our essential duty and our most precious opportunity.

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Jesse B. Miller @jessebmiller.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Super relevant to the modern world. Machines that dominate our lives and dwarf our stature yet cannot persist without us. And cannot fear or love.

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