The Wordsmith's Forge

My poem "An Old Diversion" is up on computerworld. beavertech has been commissioning poems to be posted in The Freaks Club family of communities.

This cozy game replaces doom-scrolling with ocean exploring. Every creature you spot trains underwater robots in real time

A new cozy game, created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, invites people to trade doom-scrolling for mini-games driven by ocean exploration.

Using underwater footage, FathomVerse trains players to spot and classify marine animals through a variety of minigames.

“The images you see in FathomVerse are real photos collected by ocean researchers,” the creators note on the game’s website.


This seems like an effective way to learn a lot about marine biology.

It reminds me very much of educational / science games in Terramagne.  Can you imagine Aida Finn with this?  Especially on a day when the weather wasn't conducive to diving in person.

Today's theme is Indie.


i_love_games -- A Gaming Community
An Active Gaming Community created July 5th, 2013.
[Somewhat active with last post in December 2024.]

indie_games -- Indie Games
Indie games discussion, recs, and squee.
[Somewhat active with last post in June.]

indie_lifestyle -- Indie coolness and all that.
[Dormant with last post in November 2020, but posting is open to all members so this should be revivable.]

tfc_musicianships  -- The Freaks Club: Musicianships
This Community is for everyone who is involved in music in any way.
[Active with one post in August.]

onesongaday -- One Song A Day
You love music? Come share, listen, enjoy.
[Active with multiple posts in August.]

thefreaksclub -- TFC // The Anti-Thesis Social Network
Everything related to darker alternative subcutlures. Discussion on books, the occult, music, & more.
[Active with one post in August.]

This poem was written for the Sunshine Revival Challenge 6: Game Night. It also fills the "Dodge" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo Fest. It belongs to the series Love Is For Children.

( Read more... )

Take Us North is down to the last day or so of its campaign. If you want to participate, now is the time.

$50,976 pledged of $30,000 goal
509 backers
26 hours to go

A friend tipped me to this campaign: Take Us North is a video game about migrants trying to cross the border into the United States of America. If you're interested and jump fast, you may be able to catch the Early Bird reward in the first 24 hours at $25, after that it jumps to $35 minimum. I backed it because I want to project to exist -- tell ALL the stories, and poke a bigot in the eye!

Take Us North description
A narrative adventure/survival game that follows the journeys of migrants and asylum seekers on their way to cross the US-Mexico border

$6,056 pledged of $30,000 goal
95 backers
29 days to go

🎮 [Early Bird] Take Us North!
$25
Backers 52
Estimated delivery Dec 2026
🚨FIRST 24 HOURS DISCOUNT!🚨 Receive a digital copy of Take Us North (PC/Steam) and digital wallpapers!
3 items included
Digital Copy of the Game Quantity: 1
High-Resolution Digital Wallpapers Quantity: 1
Invitation to Virtual Community Launch Party Quantity: 1

( Read more... )

Today's theme is Games.

( Read more... )

They thought their son lived an isolated life. But when he died, friends showed up in droves.

Mats Steen's parents were shocked to learn their severely disabled son had lived a rich, independent life they knew nothing about.

Mats Steen was only 25 years old when he passed away, his body succumbing to the genetic disease that had slowly taken his mobility since childhood. He'd lived in a wheelchair since his early teens, and by his 20s, his physical abilities had deteriorated to the point of only being able to move his fingers. He could push buttons and use a mouse, and he spent nearly all of his waking hours playing video games in his parents' basement.
[---8<---]
As his online life was revealed, the family learned that Mats began his days with a routine 30-minute sprint through the forest. He frequented cafes and pubs, chatting with strangers and flirting with women. He sat by campfires having heart-to-heart conversations. He made friends and enemies. He fought heroic battles. He supported people in times of need. He gave advice that people took. He experienced his first kiss.

And he did it all as "Ibelin," his handsome, muscular avatar in the online game World of Warcraft.


The next time someone claims that online friendships aren't real and don't make a difference, belt them with this.

And just in case I haven't said it recently, I treasure my readers and value the time I spend with you-all.  You're a boundless source of inspiration and you often tip me to cool things I might not have found otherwise.

This video has a great analysis of urban design in video games. 

I don't play video games, but I'm intrigued by the infrastructure.  Also, as a worldbuilder, I'm familiar with the need to make it seem  like the rest of the world is out there while showing only a small sliver. 

However, I'm reminded of generative science fiction games, where you move through potential space, and when you want to explore a planet, then the engine creates that one  for you -- rather than creating the whole galaxy when you don't need the parts you aren't in.  With cities, you could design the key parts in full, the adjacent parts in a bit less detail, and just provide generation rules to fill in other bits if and only if players activate them.  Most probably won't.