James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12hWhile, 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. 100
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23hI 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... 001
Reposted by JamesJames @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026LAUNCH 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 054
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026My 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. 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026Then 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. 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026Then 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...? 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026LAUNCH 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 063
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026LAUNCH 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 054
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026For 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.gamesWelcome to NON-ZERO-SUM GAMESHome page for a World-Help site: How to create more Non-Zero-Sum Games for a brighter future. 112
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026About 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 084
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026Some “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 :) 095
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026NEUTROPIA 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. 000
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026The NEUTROPIA design kept evolving... 000
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026Next 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. 000
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026NEUTROPIA began with a cute #dragon as the player—much to the disappointment of my daughter, that changed. 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026I 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. 000
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026About 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. 000
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026These 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 083
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026NEUTROPIA is coming along nicely… release next week I reckon #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #nonzerosumgames #gametheory #cute #happiness #positivity 073
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026Got the full interview: youtube.com/watch?v=l7_FAYllmvM&si=… 021
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026It'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. 112
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/08/2026The latest in our alignment series is about the strangest equilibrium in history... it's literally MAD. nonzerosum.games/bayesiangameswithn… #XRisk #BayesTheorem #NuclearWar #WWIII #Apocalypse 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026The 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.socialOriginal post on mastodon.social 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026This 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.socialOriginal post on mastodon.social 061
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/08/2026If anyone prefers Medium, I also post there (a bit late sometimes...) medium.com/@jamesstephenbrown/an-am… 021
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026The 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.socialOriginal post on mastodon.social 021
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026When 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 #Molochnonzerosum.gamesHUMANS ARE ALIGNMENT GENERATORS~ the solution to the alignment problem is within us ~ 130
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026While 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.socialOriginal post on mastodon.social 010
Reposted by JamesJames @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026Are 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 #Alignmentnonzerosum.gamesAN AMICABLE APE—revisiting alignmentRevisiting the alignment problem: are humans, uniquely among animals, actually built to create alignment rather than just conflict? 022
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026Are 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 #Alignmentnonzerosum.gamesAN AMICABLE APE—revisiting alignmentRevisiting the alignment problem: are humans, uniquely among animals, actually built to create alignment rather than just conflict? 022
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/07/2026I'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.htmlnonzerosum.gamesVINCENT KNIGHT~ our first podcast guest ~ 072
Reposted by JamesVince Knight (He/Him) @vinceknight.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/20261st 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. #gametheoryvknight.orgGame Theory - Game TheoryTheory, software, and research — game theory for the real world. 062
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 051
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026This 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.htmlnonzerosum.gamesAN AMICABLE APE—revisiting alignmentRevisiting the alignment problem: are humans, uniquely among animals, actually built to create alignment rather than just conflict? 040
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/07/2026I 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 061
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/06/2026The Ultimatum Game tests how much we're willing to punish unfairness at a cost to ourselves... nonzerosum.games/ultimatumgame.html #GameTheory #Fairness #Economics #Psychologynonzerosum.gamesTHE ULTIMATUM GAMETake-it-or-leave-it bargaining scenario in game theory, exploring fairness, rejection, and subgame perfection. 021
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/06/2026We 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. 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2026Are 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 122
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2026The 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… 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/06/2026Being an anti-cellphone parent is like being a recessive gene—we require contact with other anti-cellphone parents for it to stick. 000
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.htmlnonzerosum.gamesSOCIAL DILEMMASpublic goods, free riders and exploiters 022
Reposted by JamesJames @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/05/2026A game (about voting and John Rawls) nonzerosum.games/theveil.html 142
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/06/2026This 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 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/06/2026There'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… 010
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/06/2026Revamped the Arcade now—a new layout showcasing #games and #simulations nonzerosum.games/arcade.htmlnonzerosum.gamesTHE ARCADEExplore a variety of playful experiments, non-zero-sum games, and simulations. 022
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/06/2026A 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 061
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/06/2026@morpheu how? How did you do the animated profile pic??? 020
James @nonzerosumjames.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/05/2026open.spotify.com/episode/3f6FncKCRD… 020
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 090