iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 14/07/2026

I'm in Brighton for @developconference.com, the @ga11ygathering.bsky.social, and the @gaconf.bsky.social social tomorrow and Thursday! Come say hi to talk all things #Accessibility, @seaofthieves.com, live game services engineering, or any cool sea birds you saw!!

Topher in shades in a leather jacket looking sick as all hell - their long hair really sells it. Develop, GAConf, and Game A11y Gathering logos are on the image.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 14/04/2026

Sea Of Thieves #accessibility win - our new Bilge Rats Weekender Challenge parchment hooks into our flexible Text-To-Speech and Custom-Text-Overlay system on launch day, April 16th! ✨ What part of gameplay would you like us to bring it to next?

An in-game screenshot from Sea Of Thieves. A player is holding up a piece of parchment titled "Bilge Rats Challenges". In the corner of the screen, a customized green box with yellow text reads "Bilge Rats Challenges. Challenge 1 of 5. Disrupt a Bilge Rats Firework Display on Dagger Tooth Output by vomiting." There are more pieces of text, with scrolling options to reveal them.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 06/02/2026

today is the only day you can repost Apu's expired ham

Screenshot of The Simpsons. Apu holds a piece of ham that says "Exp Feb 6th, 1989"

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 26/01/2026

Opening Terraria and checking the update number *just in case* 1.4.5 dropped a day early

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 31/12/2025

And a happy new year, ya filthy animals

Topher taking a selfie. They're crouched down in front of a mirror, with jeans and a leather jacket, throwing a V sign. They've got sunglasses and long hair. Behind them is a colourful brightly lit room

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 21/12/2025

So anyway I saw three brand new birds today including this rare hooded merganser. Successful 2025 imo

A hooded merganser on the water. It is a duck with a dark body, a small orange bill, and a fabulous orange "hood" coming out of the back of its head.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 24/11/2025

You can't convince me this isn't a Looney Tunes trap

Photo from inside a forest with a clear pathway. To the side of the path is a bright yellow sign pointing away into the woods saying "Path diversion"

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 10/11/2025

⚖️ Laws, Research, Cabinet, Parliament and more These are the major sweeping choices that will have a huge impact on your country. You almost definitely want to make these choices yourself. But, you might find it overwhelming, or simply don't want to due to other game goals. Automate away!

Automation options for research, laws, government reforms, cabinet, parliament.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 10/11/2025

🏢 Buildings Like with trading, you can tell the game "If I have a surplus of gold, build what you think makes sense for me." This means that small countries and deliberate decisions can be controlled by you, but large empires don't need micromanaging.

Buildings automation, with a "Gold to save" slider, here set to 1000.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 10/11/2025

🪖 Army / navy generals Choosing the best individual to head your army units can provide subtle bonuses, such as better blockading, or cheaper maintenance. Min-maxers will want to choose these carefully, most of us can automate away a "good enough" choice.

Automation options for "Replace generals" and "Replace admirals"

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 10/11/2025

💹 Trade Trading is incredibly complex, and the best rewards come to those who plan ahead. You can choose "Automate 80% of my trading for me to get the best immediate deal, I'll manually choose the other 20% to follow my strategy" (say you want paper for your printing presses to increase literacy)

A selection of trades. The player is manually importing wheat from Paris to supply a distillery, where the automation is exporting fine clothes to London to make a direct profit.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 10/11/2025

🪙 Balance. Most of the time, the "best" (least-worst) strategy is to pay all your estates (clergy, burghers, peasants) the smallest amount possible to keep them from being actively unhappy. This number changes every month. Hitting the cog ensures it's always at just that right level.

The balance menu. There are over a dozen sliders with detailed information for various taxes and spendings, and most of them have selectable "automation cogs".

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 10/11/2025

Europa Universalis 5 has a brilliant feature that I've not yet seen them talk about as cognitive #accessibility, though it definitely is. ⚙️ Automation. EU5 is desperately deep and complex, but lets you granularly automate most aspects of the game. This lets you bring in complexity on *your* terms 🧵

A screenshot of Europa Universalis 5's market map mode. On the left is a breakdown of trading options and stats, on the right is the automation menu displaying a lot of choices.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 20/10/2025

Ensuring access to all services and experiences for all people is so important - everyone has the right to enjoy their lives! And to answer everyone's burning questions; yes, I *did* get waffles, beers, and chips while exploring Belgium 🧇 Bruges is stunning, I can't recommend it enough!

Photo of a beautiful government building in Bruges with Belgian flags, and a waffle visible in the front of the photo.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 20/10/2025

Last week, @xanderashwell.bsky.social and I had the great privilege of sharing @seaofthieves.com's accessibility journey with all the fine folks at the European Accessibility Summit in Brussels, run by @microsoft.com and @myedf.bsky.social! We learned so much from real experts there - 1/3

Topher presenting. They're wearing a black jumper, have long shoulder length hair and glasses, and a sign saying "European Accessibility Summit" next to them.

View of the room at the European Accessibility Summit. It is a modern conference room with roughly 100 people sitting in it.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 14/10/2025

Happy World Standards Day! Which, hilariously, is not actually observed on the same day by all standards organizations

Though World Standards Day is officially 14 October, the date of observance varies by standards organization. The American National Standards Institute celebrated the day on 12 October in 2023 and 14 November in 2024.[6] The World Trade Organization and the Standards Council of Canada observe it 14 October, as intended, though the Standards Council of Canada celebrated on 12 October in 2012.[7]

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 13/10/2025

Here is a handsome Egyptian goose

An Egyptian goose. It has brown feathers and a dark park around its eye. It is standing on the edge of a pond, with autumn leaves fallen around it.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 01/10/2025

One thing I've changed recently - instead of using "visual", "audio" etc, I now prefer Microsoft's Touch / See / Hear / Speak. It makes it clear that you're talking about the user. e.g. does "audio accessibility" refer to those who have sight or hearing needs?

Microsoft Inclusive Design toolkit, showing a Touch/See/Hear/Speak vs Permanent/Temporary/Situational matrix

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 08/09/2025

I've not birdposted in a while, but I have a super cool update. After searching for this gorgeous Ruff for 3 hours yesterday and finally finding her, I can officially declare: I have now seen ✨ 150 species of bird ✨ worldwide in 2025!!! 🐦

A ruff standing in water with her bill down looking for food. She is a wader with a white tummy, mottled brown feathers on her back, and a soft head.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 18/07/2025

Welp, that's it. The Outer Wilds is one of the best games I've ever played, and I'll never get to play it again. 10/10, would highly recommend. Reminds me of titles like Subnautica, Myst, or Spore - go play it, and for goodness sake do *not* look up the plot or gameplay before-hand!

A screenshot from The Outer Wilds. An alient in a spacesuit is playing a banjo next to a campfire. It's a cozy nighttime scene.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 11/07/2025

Absolutely brilliant day. No notes

Topher wearing a rainbow Sea Of Thieves shirt, with a parrot sitting on their shoulder

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 11/07/2025

En route to #SoTFest25 to talk all things accessibility! Let's have a kickass day (and for goodness sake stay hydrated! ☀️)

Topher with long wild hair, sunglasses, and a rainbow sea of thieves shirt

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 05/07/2025

Look like crows to me! Easiest tell is by the sound they make - jackdaws sound a bit more like a squeeze toy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=jigf...

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 27/06/2025

Got kicked out of Wetherspoons for saving a sick pigeon yesterday, happy Friday x

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 25/06/2025

Thrilled that Sea Of Thieves picked up the MCV Develop Accessibility Innovation Of The Year award! We put a lot of love, effort, and compassion into making games as inclusive as we can - and we've got more on the way! 🫡 Love to anyone and everyone advancing #accessibility - you're kicking ass 🎉

A selfie of Topher, who now has surprisingly long hair, holding two MCV Develop awards - one for Ongoing Innovation of the Year, and one for Accessibility Innovation of the Year.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 22/06/2025

Here is a good luck lapwing just for you!

A gorgeous lapwing bird from behind, standing in the brush. It looks juvenile, so is a bit scruffy and colours are starting to come through.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 16/06/2025

I have a new gardening understudy

A gorgeous young tabby cat standing on a brick wall, looking towards Topher's outstretched hand

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 15/06/2025

A rare Wood Duck! An escapee, we don't get naturalized wood ducks in the UK to my knowledge!

A duck with striking greens and blues on its head, swimming in a canal

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 15/06/2025

Did you jump upwards into a block underneath it??

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 11/06/2025

Willow Warbler! You hear them a lot in spring / summer, but they're quite small and elusive, high up in the treetops, so they're hard to see! www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...

A willow warbler - a small, yellowy passerine bird.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 10/06/2025

It's my birthday, so here's a gosling bum

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 04/06/2025

My friend got me a scope for my birthday and I managed to get this fantastic shot of a little ringed plover with it! 🐦

A little ringed plover standing at the waters edge.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 28/05/2025

Here is a good little greenfinch

Greenfinch sitting on a branch offset against the sky

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 17/05/2025

Just found a Doomguy version of Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog in The Dark Ages?! And people say video games aren't art (Sorry it's very dark and low contrast - that's just how it is in game!)

A painting in-game. It is very similar to Wanderer above the sea of fog, except the wanderer is replaced with Doomguy wearing a heavy cape

Wanderer above the sea of fog. You can see the back of a man above hilltop viewing a vista over a vast landscape filled with fog. The image gives you a sense of awe

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 16/05/2025

Planter built, varnished, and filled in! Bring the bees 🐝

A photo of a raised wooden planter. It has some lavendar plants and little pink flowers in it.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 04/05/2025

Just played the first hour or so of Clair Obscur and oh my god? This is phenomenal Unbelievably beautiful, gorgeous art-style, moving music - absolute cinematic wonder. First hour is heart-rending and reduced me to a whimpering bawling wreck I am *obsessed* and cannot wait to dive in more

Screenshot of a cutscene in game. Maelle, a girl with red hair and a striped top is set against a crumbling city background, as her hair softly blows in the wind.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 24/04/2025

#63 Kea January, Mt Aspiring, NZ 📷✅ Alpine parrots, absolute assholes, I love them. They'll come and steal your snacks, and if they see their reflection in your car they'll rip off all the rubber sealing and break the locks and whatnot. Birds after my own heart 💖

A majestic dark green parrot. It is standing on bright yellow moss on a rock, and set against a large tree.

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 21/04/2025

Gorgeous walk in woods with the bluebells out on display today! The rain had kicked up the smells, the aroma was beautiful 🪻

A photo of a woodland scene. It is from flower-head height, looking into a huge group of bluebells

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It's Topher Winward! ✌️ @topher.io · 13/04/2025

You can tell I'm at @gaconf.bsky.social because I'm already taking smoulder selfies in the bathroom. Can tell I'm well loved because @cariwatterton.bsky.social has been introducing me as "...*sigh* you already know this one"

Topher taking a selfie in a mirror - a man wearing a white top and red bomber jacket, with glorious shoulder length hair and a cheeky little love heart necklace

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