Voidra

EA is closing Bioware. EA. Is closing. Bioware. BIOWARE. BIOFUCKINGWARE.

I played Baldur's Gate as a child. Neverwinter NIghts. Knights of the Old Republic. Jade Empire. Dragon Age. Fucking everyone who knows me knows Mass Effect is perhaps my favourite game. A friend just gifted me a N7 Pin and I geeked out. Fucking Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Oh my god this feels like a fucking death in the family. I feel grief. Holy shit I don't even know how to process this...

EA is closing Bioware. EA. Is closing. Bioware. BIOWARE. BIOFUCKINGWARE.

I can't. I can't. I just... What the fuck. What the FUCK. I can't even begin to process... like... Bioware was one of the original 'if a massive company buys you, you're good' eras. And ever since EA purchased it, it has been fucking driven into the ground.

I have a strange thought. We are seeing a lot of remakes and adaptations happening in recent years. Now... I might be in weird conspiracy territory. Buuuut those are also things generative tools would be capable of doing.

But the same way that reproductive and civil rights are eroded, the way we have been inured to punitive mindsets rather than preventative ones, the way our forms of communication are highly regulated and the means of production are controlled, so, too, can our expectations of entertainment.

This is also combined with the fact that books such as Handmaid's Take, Fahrenheit 941, 1984, and many classic literature that speaks to contemporary times, as well as female-aimed media such as romantacy are being censored, has me really, really fucking concerned...

Is it possible that this is just an unrelated demonstration of a trend shifting? Absolutely. Does it warrant deeper and more critical observation given the recent trends of the very same attempts to inure people to behaviours that lead to deeply problematic systemic changes? Also absolutely.

Generative tools, fundamentally, cannot create anything new. They can only combine previously existing elements into something that appears *unique*, but this does not equate to new. Could they handle adaptations? Fantastically. Could they reimagine something? No, they can't imagine.

Joanie's Post Post Feminist Phase

I am not saying that this is some kind of huge agenda. But large budget productions need funding, and need approval. It a proven tool that public opinion can be swayed when we are inured to certain kinds of content before the sensational change happens.

Voidra reposted

@bettybitter.bsky.social

Seen on instagram but its cooking with Bluesky energy

*panics* why are there new followers what happened @jadedsynic.itch.io What did you do.

I have made the decision to not really attend MIGW, and instead take the week to rest and recover. But if anyone wants a quick coffee and a chat, let me know! I am just... not really up for events at this stage.

I will be at PAX on Friday and Sunday, as well. I do want to see all the indie games and say hi to folks! And on Sunday I will have my daughter with me. I want to show her the cosplays.

youtube.comParis Paloma - get her the fucking flowers [Official Visualizer]YouTube video by Paris Paloma

I really need Paris Paloma to stop writing songs that make me feel *incredibly* seen... Because it's fucking Paris Paloma. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRDh...

Fuck the first few lyrics still get me because I know what the song is about. I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard it for the first time and I just... caved. Oh my god.

reddit.comFrom the crafts community on RedditExplore this post and more from the crafts community

21 Sept

And again, we have reached a time in which no comment is now seen as the commentary that it is, and I am here for it.

Julia Carrie Wong@joolia.bsky.social

r/crafts has banned all Harry Potter-related crafts due to JK Rowling’s anti-trans bigotry, after a 53-41 vote

I am actually (accidentally) studying the incredible cultural relevance of smut and romance in resisting the rise of fascism and misogynistic practices, and the role that informed consent, content warnings, and trigger warnings plays in that is huge.

This post is unavailable.

Whilst 'fomo' is definitively a tool of capitalism, the romance genre has pushed back against this by providing distinct warnings about what a text contains, as well as even 'eventual happily ever after' endings. This position of informed empathy is revolutionary in so many ways.

NO ONE PANIC. NO ONE PANIC *WHEEZE*

Pink was my favourite singer as a child. I loved her music. I listened to it constantly. It got me through a lot. It means a lot to me. I've thrown out every bit and will never consume her work again. It's not fucking hard at all. Meanwhile I am going to stream Macklemore on every device I have.

David Milner@davemilbo.bsky.social

genuinely cannot think of an easier task than boycotting Pink and Ed Sheeran

On that note, and I am going to flat fucking say it. If you are a cis person who cannot give up a certain mediocre magic boy series, I judge you. No ifs, ands, or buts. Your ability to read a book series is not worth the pain it has caused. Fuck you.

10 Sept

Ms Rachel has always been an incredible voice for black and brown children in America, and has always shown support for Palestinian children and children taken by ICE. She is proof that silence has never been neutrality. There is no neutrality. There is resistance or there is complicity.

Yours in negritude, Ryan K. Smith@mewefree.bsky.social

Lethal Shooter has Ms. Rachel on fire.

10 Sept

Contemporary consumers and engaged youth are no longer accepting people who try and fence-sit or toe the line. No statement is a statement, as far as they are concerned. Sides must be chosen, and refusing to choose is a choice.

9 Sept

Melbourne-based game dev vets. A group of burgeoning developers have taken it upon themselves to start a small emergent game dev conference on Oct 3rd. Date: 03/10/26 Time: 10 AM - 5 PM Location: South Melbourne Community Centre Tickets: events.humanitix.com/emergent-2026

9 Sept

I have been asked to give a talk on a panel, but I would love to see more industry there to show how welcoming and kind this industry is. Please come and help these wonderful developers start their careers off. Look forward to seeing you there!

23 Aug

Dear world If you use generative AI in your advertisements, I will not use your service kthnxbai~

I wish I could convey to you how heartbreaking these last few days have been. I escaped a domestic situation before I was hurt, and before I was truly endangered, but because of that I must go down in priority of protection. All the services are overwhelmed. Meanwhile, a woman dies every 4 days.

It is important to remember that some abusers aren't even aware it is abuse. Some present a public persona versus a private one. But all of them think they are in the right. Entitlement is deadly, and we need to dismantle it. I couldn't get a lot of help because there are others who needed it more.

I am safe now. I am recovering. I have an interim intervention order but it isn't the end of the fight. I am now a single mum, and the future for me is literally the one I never wanted to be in. But I am here. She is here. And we will never give up. Quitting is never an option in this household.

The idea of women being victims of domestic violence is so accepted and normalised that we don't prioritise eradicating it. We think 'Oh we can't do anything', ignoring the fact that everyone who does harm of kill their partners are surrounded by people who know them and see them.

14 Aug

I need to say this to make it real. I am currently escaping from an unsafe domestic situation, and the way that fucks your life up, and how little the police can do until you are physically harmed is utterly mind-boggling. I am safe, for now, but I am so scared and I hate how vulnerable I am now.

sae.edu.auPAX Australia Competition - SAE University College

6 Aug

SAE Australia is hosting a competition for any current or ex students and staff to showcase their game at PAX 26. Tickets, flights, accom paid for. If your team has 1 alumni or student on it, it qualifies to enter. Closes 5:00pm AEST, 16 August 2026. Winners announced 31 August 2026.

5 Aug

I have discovered whimsigoth aesthetic and I am so, so scared. Mostly because I am about to make it my whole personality....

Voidra reposted

Kymothy ⋅ Zigarot

@zigarot.live

Replying to @voidrantsback.bsky.social

THIS. I'm just a streamery dude, but I've pivoted this year to try to organise more collaboration because we already have such nice friendships in this space that I reckon the rest of the world would be jealous. BTW if any devs in QLD have a game with a demo, can I can come to you to do some videos?

I need the Aussie and NZ game dev industry to realise how utterly phenomenal their collaborative and supportive nature is. How utterly singular, and precious it is, and how much it must be protected and preserved. Zero exaggeration, it is absolutely astounding how supportive the scene is.

As a result, everyone just comes together and helps. It's so tight knit, protective, and open to discussion and understanding. Paying it back, paying it forward, bringing people with them. This is so, so so important and I wish more people could actually understand that.

It is to the extent that people I talk to outside of the industry are genuinely surprised by how much I say game devs would love to talk, or help, or provide guidance. Surprised when they encounter it. They are literally stunned. It's singular, and remarkable, and must be preserved.

My pattern recognition is 'why humans do?' with a focus on digital, and a hyperfixation on game design. But I watch the game dev industry in AU and NZ and it's just so... fucking supportive. The pay it forward mentality. The desire to see one another succeed. The feedback and collaboration.

There might be pockets of hostility or toxicity, sure. But it is far, far outweighed by this inherent ideology that each individual is not competing with another team or studio or individual for a job, or funding, or a placement. At most, they are competing with a version of themselves.

Listen, what if I went into politics (I won't) and basically promised everything Mamdani promised (I can't), and campaigned off of that (I won't). But what if. WHAT IF.

Voidra reposted

Eurogamer

@eurogamer.bsky.social

Indie game bundle saving buyers over $1,000 in support of laid off developers has raised over $100,000 in three days. https://bit.ly/4w0uow7

More games need to just be unrepentantly 'ok', and we need to be ok with games that are just 'ok'. Also games need to stop being treated as money sources for the super rich for fuck's sake.