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James

@nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
239 followers 0 following 91 posts

Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/non-z… Writing, talking and doodling positive ideas at nonzerosum.games—a […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ mastodon.social/@nonzerosumjames, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12h
While, on the face of it, the game was very minimal, and the core mechanic very simple, the project got so bloated with particular behaviours, combinations that broke levels, and just not enough time to iterate in my spare time, I shelved it... ... for about 5 years.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23h
I realised that the NEUTROPIA levels were ending with a "world domination" aesthetic, everyone a uniform green... it didn't feel very non-zero. So...I started to add LOADS of new types, with new colours, and abilities, and personalities—and then everything stopped...
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026
LAUNCH DAY! It's finally here, after over a decade of (admittedly on and off) development... NEUTROPIA is ready to launch. Play at: nonzerosum.games/neutropia #GameDev #ScreenShotSaturday #LaunchDay #Devs #GameTheory #EducationalGames #GamesForChange #NonZero #NonZeroSumGames
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026
My daughter's first school had this motto where they would "fill up each other's cup" and the kids would put on a chart who had filled their cup that day and why—and that's how I solved the "how much charge without numbers?" problem, the level indicates positivity and negativity.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026
Then a fellow game developer wrote this beautiful article about the game: nonzerosum.games/victoriasmithartic… and that only served to encourage me to elevate the game to the level of her words.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026
Then enough people had wondered out loud "Why the number faces? You know some people don't like numbers" and I started toying with som characters. But how would I indicate how much charge they have...?
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026
LAUNCH DAY! It's finally here, after over a decade of (admittedly on and off) development... NEUTROPIA is ready to launch. Play at: nonzerosum.games/neutropia/ #GameDev #ScreenShotSaturday #LaunchDay #Devs #GameTheory #EducationalGames #GamesForChange #NonZero #NonZeroSumGames
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026
LAUNCH DAY! It's finally here, after over a decade of (admittedly on and off) development... NEUTROPIA is ready to launch. Play at: nonzerosum.games/neutropia #GameDev #ScreenShotSaturday #LaunchDay #Devs #GameTheory #EducationalGames #GamesForChange #NonZero #NonZeroSumGames
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026
For the last 5 years I've corralling my various and disparate games, essays, cartoons, simulations and diagrams into my website at nonzerosum.games and have been able to really flesh out the ideas that were core to NEUTROPIA... but I always intended to return to it.
nonzerosum.games
Welcome to NON-ZERO-SUM GAMES
Home page for a World-Help site: How to create more Non-Zero-Sum Games for a brighter future.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026
About a year in it started looking like an actual game... bear in mind I learned to code on this project—and it was in Objective-C and then Swift at this stage! People kept saying "Why aren't you using Unity?" #GameDev #ScreenshotSaturday
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026
Some “inspo” for NEUTROPIA’s weeds, right there on my house #NatureFindsAWay #GameDev #ScreenshotSaturday (almost). The mads contribute by “fertilising” the map, when the greens plant there you get flowers :)
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026
NEUTROPIA gradually got more minimal, as I refined the concept, small puzzle worlds. The neuts became little number faces, with just a dash of personality, and the dragon... rabbit still holding on in there.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026
The NEUTROPIA design kept evolving...
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026
Next the "Neuts" of Neutropia needed to feel industrial and utilitarian. The game is all about emotional contagion—the core mechanic: positives build each other up, negatives drag each other down, and in the end the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026
NEUTROPIA began with a cute #dragon as the player—much to the disappointment of my daughter, that changed.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026
I realised at this point, if I was going to try and push it further, and get it published everywhere, I'd need to port NEUTROPIA to #Unity sooner rather than later. This is how it started... well that's different.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026
About 2016 I introduced disco mode, and mood walls and... somewhere the dragon got lost... I realised if the message of the game is that we can all make a difference by being a positive influence on those around us, then a magical dragon rescuing us all doesn't really make sense.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026
These posts are a contracted "Dev Log" showing the many iterations over the last 10 years for my upcoming game NEUTROPIA which teaches non-zero dynamics. The 1st version was based on light-switches... they made little clicky noises. #GameDev #Games #MobileGames #GamesForChange
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026
NEUTROPIA is coming along nicely… release next week I reckon #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #nonzerosumgames #gametheory #cute #happiness #positivity
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026
Got the full interview: youtube.com/watch?v=l7_FAYllmvM&si=…
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026
It's finally here! Our first video interview episode on the 'Non•Zero•Sum James' podcast—with @LivBoeree! View on youtube: youtu.be/l7_FAYllmvM or search Non-Zero-Sum James on your podcast app.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/08/2026
The latest in our alignment series is about the strangest equilibrium in history... it's literally MAD. nonzerosum.games/bayesiangameswithn… #XRisk #BayesTheorem #NuclearWar #WWIII #Apocalypse
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026
The latest news about Mythos models gaining first strike dominance in conflicts with other models and then forcing cooperation, is exactly what Andrew Glen talks about in his series "Why Cooperate?"... the super-defector […]
mastodon.social
Original post on mastodon.social
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026
This has got to be the craziest AI story yet. Agents are now *killing* each other in order to fulfil prompts that request limited resources, with the stronger models employing a "peace through first strike total dominance" strategy. It's bleak. #Dystopia […]
mastodon.social
Original post on mastodon.social
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/08/2026
If anyone prefers Medium, I also post there (a bit late sometimes...) medium.com/@jamesstephenbrown/an-am…
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026
The podcasts lags behind the posts, but this episode is essential for the current alignment series—it's a peculiar idea, but I think helps with sense-making in the current era... The Era of the Dividual: open.spotify.com/episode/4uhvMcH8me… Read & […]
mastodon.social
Original post on mastodon.social
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026
When do we realise that other people don't think like we do... and how do we deal with groups that don't? Check out part 3 in our second alignment series... nonzerosum.games/alignmentgenerator… #GoalAlignment #AGI #AI #OpenAI #Moloch
nonzerosum.games
HUMANS ARE ALIGNMENT GENERATORS
~ the solution to the alignment problem is within us ~
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026
While writing this alignment series I came across Liv Boeree's interview with Emmett Shear, which tied many of the ideas together—I decided to take notes... SKETCH-NOTES And these make up POST 2 in the series... nonzerosum.games/amicableapeappendi… #GoalAlignment #AGI #AI #OpenAI […]
mastodon.social
Original post on mastodon.social
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026
Are you worried AI will learn to be monsters from their ultra-flawed parents? [us] This series might help you "process" these feelings—and might change your perception of just what humanity is made of. nonzerosum.games/amicableape.html #Evolution #GameTheory #WinWin #Nature #Alignment
nonzerosum.games
AN AMICABLE APE—revisiting alignment
Revisiting the alignment problem: are humans, uniquely among animals, actually built to create alignment rather than just conflict?
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026
Are you worried AI will learn to be monsters from their ultra-flawed parents? [us] This series might help you "process" these feelings—and might change your perception of just what humanity is made of. nonzerosum.games/amicableape.html #Evolution #GameTheory #WinWin #Nature #Alignment
nonzerosum.games
AN AMICABLE APE—revisiting alignment
Revisiting the alignment problem: are humans, uniquely among animals, actually built to create alignment rather than just conflict?
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/07/2026
I'm honoured to be illustrating a book! Game Theorist and recent podcast guest Professor Vincent Knight asked me to provide illustrations (some new and some from the site for his Game Theory textbook. For more links and our podcast interview visit nonzerosum.games/vincentknight.html
nonzerosum.games
VINCENT KNIGHT
~ our first podcast guest ~
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Vince Knight (He/Him) @vinceknight.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/2026
1st draft of my game theory textbook is up: vknight.org/gtb With illustrations and gametheory @nonzerosumjames 3 goals: a course text, a resource for using software, and a route into key papers. Free online, PDF too. #gametheory
vknight.org
Game Theory - Game Theory
Theory, software, and research — game theory for the real world.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/07/2026
"Let's work together, to make everything worse" — Moloch. nonzerosum.games/map-moloch.html #Moloch #Incentives #SystemsThinking #GameTheory
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026
This new alignment series starts where the story of humanity does... in Africa! Take a trip with me that starts casually, but gets a little bumpy. #GoalAlignment #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Tanzania #Nature #NaturalisticFallacy #MetaCrisis #Futurism nonzerosum.games/amicableape.html
nonzerosum.games
AN AMICABLE APE—revisiting alignment
Revisiting the alignment problem: are humans, uniquely among animals, actually built to create alignment rather than just conflict?
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/07/2026
I turned Rock Paper Scissors into a non-zero-sum puzzle game. This may or may not be a sensible thing to do with one’s time. nonzerosum.games/lockwise.html #GameDev #PuzzleGame #GameTheory #NonZeroSum
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/06/2026
The Ultimatum Game tests how much we're willing to punish unfairness at a cost to ourselves... nonzerosum.games/ultimatumgame.html #GameTheory #Fairness #Economics #Psychology
nonzerosum.games
THE ULTIMATUM GAME
Take-it-or-leave-it bargaining scenario in game theory, exploring fairness, rejection, and subgame perfection.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/06/2026
We are bound to do the "best" thing we can at any moment relative to our motivational scope (long/short-term). "Best" is that which we perceive gives us the greatest freedom. But we are not free to choose otherwise—we un-freely choose what that will give us the greatest freedom.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2026
Are you hunting stags or hares? nonzerosum.games/staghunt.html The Stag Hunt is a better model for politics and human relationships in general, than the Prisoner’s Dilemma #GameTheory #Coordination #Trust #Politics #NonZeroSum
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2026
The Prisoner’s Dilemma may be doing cultural damage. Not because it’s wrong, but because it’s so easy to misread. You can come away thinking humans are selfish little calculators because the game has been rigged to remove all the normal human context. nonzerosum.games/dilemmasdilemma.ht…
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/06/2026
Being an anti-cellphone parent is like being a recessive gene—we require contact with other anti-cellphone parents for it to stick.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/06/2026
“The trouble emerges when too many people free ride.” Public goods, unions, vaccination, climate, and a classroom game where the kids understood the commons faster than most adults seem to. nonzerosum.games/socialdilemmas.html
nonzerosum.games
SOCIAL DILEMMAS
public goods, free riders and exploiters
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/05/2026
A game (about voting and John Rawls) nonzerosum.games/theveil.html
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/06/2026
This is one of those ideas that constantly recurs in my mind throughout my day, one of those perspective-affecting mental models that helps me navigate the world, and hopefully will do the same for you. nonzerosum.games/goodhartslaw.html #mentalmodels
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/06/2026
There's a very clear answer to which is more effective, #charity or #volunteering—but then it turns out to be more complicated than it first appears... in a good way. TL;DR everyone has the power to do good. nonzerosum.games/kindnessequation.h…
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/06/2026
Revamped the Arcade now—a new layout showcasing #games and #simulations nonzerosum.games/arcade.html
nonzerosum.games
THE ARCADE
Explore a variety of playful experiments, non-zero-sum games, and simulations.
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/06/2026
A sprawling list of half-baked ideas, some of which probably already exist in some form or another—if you see something you want to make, run with it, I won't get to them all: nonzerosum.games/gameideas.html #games #gamedev #ideas #ideation #sharing
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/06/2026
@morpheu how? How did you do the animated profile pic???
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/05/2026
open.spotify.com/episode/3f6FncKCRD…
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James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/05/2026
"The Human Acceptance Project" was a simple and fun submission from a subscriber; Destiny, as one of our first collaborations—submit your own! #collaborations #creativity #sharing
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