iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 13/08/2026

Currently developing a little engine so you can hack together your own screwthatlike game to create mini LARPs about energy scarcity and other possible climate futures. #LARP #gamedesign #rpg

a command line interface for xThat, a playful tool for generating mini games. The interface prints the title xThat followed by a description:

"xThat is a playful mini game generator for anyone looking to create their own mini game.

To make a game we will:
1. provide you with a title for your game
2. prompt you for a subtitle
3. prompt you for 4 bullet points for game play."

The user is then asked "Are you ready to continue:"

The interface then shows the randomly generated game title "MAKE THAT". It the asks the user to "Enter a subtitle"

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 17/07/2026

These manky tea towels are all too clean at #emfcamp please come use, donate, swap and soil. Don’t forget to take a zine! Or download one here: oliverbates.itch.io/manky More info: Manky.website

A gazebo in a field at a festival with many tea towels hanging up.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 15/07/2026

Lost before it got to tell its story.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 15/07/2026

Another great donation to The Museum of Manky Tea Towels! “this timeless dishrag was restored from on top of the wardrobe in the zebra enclosure at Knowsley Safari Park. During a full moon it shapeshifts into a roll of sellotape. Donated: Apr 1992” #storiesofmankyteatowels

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 09/07/2026

Me and @ben.kirman.org are zine making this week ready for the Museum of Manky Tea Towels (manky.website) and tea towel making workshop at @emfcamp.bsky.social next week! Get in touch to donate your tea towels!

A sketch of a 4 burner oven with two tea towels hanging from the oven door handle. One tea towel reads “manky tea towels rule” with a purple background. The second tea towel is a rough looking sketch that could be a map of a sea side town or other tourist attraction, with grass, sand and water - and maybe a windmill.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 06/07/2026

The zine covers in their glory

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 06/07/2026

In June I had the immense pleasure of bringing Zines to the ICT4S 2026 conference to encourage alternative voices, ideas and forms of expression about ICT and sustainability. You can find all the zine contributions on my itch.io page here: lnkd.in/ePySFi4Q #zines #digitalsustainability

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 25/04/2026

Award winning poster alert from NetDrive spring event at Oxford Uni!!! Had fun coming up with a speculative noticeboard from a future where scientific computing is championing digital sufficiency (consuming “just enough”) to reduce the carbon footprint of digital research and scientific computing.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 08/04/2026

Getting ready to sprinkle chaos across notice boards near you.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 01/04/2026

“Do not eat” written on the lid of some particularly wet feeling slime that came with a kids magazine. The image of a cake draws me in. I lick my lips. “NOOOOO” screams the child as she swipes it from my mouth. Why is there a picture of a cake on it if I’m not supposed to try a bit?

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 17/02/2026

📓 ICT4S Zine Jam @ ICT4S 2026 (Bern, Switzerland) We’re excited to host the ICT4S Zine Jam and invite you to explore different ways of doing research on ICT and sustainability. conf.researchr.org/track/ict4s-... We’d love to have you there. The ICT4S Zine Collective More info in thread ⬇️⬇️⬇️

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 03/08/2025

Let the purge of the mid 00s commence.

Cropped Screenshot of email inbox. From livejournal. Title: Your LiveJournal account will be purged soon.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 26/07/2025

Flip That is taking form. It’s the never asked for sequel to Screw That @ben.kirman.org threatened the world with. Prepare yourself for another little experimental game.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 25/07/2025

Tickled this morning by “The player wearing the thickest socks go first” whilst exploring different sizes of cards thanks @samillingworth.com and @pfwgames.bsky.social

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 11/04/2025

"SCREW THAT: A resource scarcity game" is now in the world. Find it here: oliverbates.itch.io/screw-that It's a little indie game. It's also an untested prototype, experiment and provocation.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 09/04/2025

upsampling 48x48 pixel art is funky

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 09/04/2025

New game dropping soon? Possibly. @ben.kirman.org got the idea juice flowing for a little game about resource management at home.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 24/01/2025

Sidewalks are where people walk.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 22/01/2025

I might need a rebrand on this one. too sexy for a work book for energy analysts?

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 19/01/2025

Searching for the perfect profile picture I remembered that @tonypickering.bsky.social captured my pre trim emo profile.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 18/01/2025

Fml. Through support? www.reddit.com/r/howto/s/UC...

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 14/01/2025

I’m fighting the pop corn idea laden brain this week. Trying on zines, filling them with prompts and activity sheets to help me find my creative flow.

The cover of a zine I am making titled “make your fucking ideas: a sweary guide to moving your shit forward”. Trying to use creativity to help structure and prompt my further creativity. It’s an adhd battle for the ages, mixed with struggling to bravely share creativity whilst working on projects that aren’t always creative.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 11/01/2025

I loved zine making to process emotions, trauma, and the mania. @oldkels.bsky.social thank you for this page in particular

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 10/01/2025

Curious Being #1 playing with the idea of something ground dwelling that might sense and feel things that tall bipeds might not.

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oliver @oliverbates.co.uk · 09/01/2025

I power the machines. They do not power me.

A photo of a gym bike screen. “THERE'S POWER IN YOUR WORKOUT
By exercising at a high speed and level you can significantly reduce the amount of electricity required to power
this equipment. When your workout is over, find out just how much energy you saved on the Workout Results page.”

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