Ghazi
- www.theverge.com The entire staff of beloved game publisher Annapurna Interactive has reportedly resigned
They wanted to spin out the game division.
- www.animefeminist.com Coming of age as a queer teen in Okazaki Kyoko's River's Edge - Anime Feminist
River’s Edge features a range of queer representations within its central cast, from frank depictions of closeted life and homophobia to more ambiguous depictions of attraction, making it a layered piece of LGBTQIA+ media and a powerful time capsule of the state of queer representation and queer lif...
- www.ign.com Microsoft Lays Off Another 650 Staff From Its Video Game Workforce, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Sends Memo to Staff - IGN
Microsoft is laying off a further 650 staff from its Xbox gaming business, according to a memo sent by chief Phil Spencer to staff today, September 12, and obtained by IGN.
- www.polygon.com How this 14-year-old developer got caught up in video game addiction lawsuit
James Napier, the 14-year-old developer of VR game Capuchin, is being sued in a video game addiction lawsuit.
- • 100%www.eurogamer.net Games industry layoffs not the result of corporate greed and those affected should "drive an Uber", says ex-Sony president
Ex-Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Chris Deering does not believe recent layoffs across the games industry…
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19624343
> Ex-Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president Chris Deering does not believe recent layoffs across the games industry have been a result of corporate greed. Instead, workers who have lost their jobs should "drive an Uber" or "go to the beach for a year" until employment settles. > > Deering was a guest on games writer Simon Parkin's podcast My Perfect Console, where the pair discussed games industry layoffs. > > "I don't think it's fair to say that the resulting layoffs have been greed," said Deering. "I always tried to minimise the speed with which we added staff because I always knew there would be a cycle and I didn't want to end up having the same problems that Sony did in Electronics."
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> Here, at the connection between technology and queerness–in the liminality between desire and technology–there is room for new imaginings. It is no surprise then that technology, which had always been promised as the horizon of the future, had placed into it the dreams of those who hoped for a new future beyond the limitations we had today. As the queer and trans community found new connections and language to express our imaginations on this new digital frontier, we expanded beyond the boundaries of others' expectations for our bodies. Our lives began to push and break the limits of what others said we could become. Is it surprising, then, that the internet has become a space for our collective queer imagination of a future horizon?
- spectrejournal.com Tolkien’s Deplorable Cultus – Spectre Journal
Robert T. Tally Jr. reads Tolkien's corpus with the tools of Marxist literary criticism, delivering a devastating blow to the fantasy writer's rightist fans.
> Robert T. Tally Jr. reads Tolkien's corpus with the tools of Marxist literary criticism, delivering a devastating blow to the fantasy writer's rightist fans.
- www.polygon.com Grief simulator Closer the Distance will get under even the most dead-inside player’s skin
Osmotic Studios’ Closer the Distance is a melancholy Sims-like where you play as several community members grieving one of their own.
> Osmotic Studios’ Closer the Distance is a melancholy Sims-like where you play as several community members grieving one of their own.
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Another lighthearted documentary from your friends at People Make Games! This time Quinns explores the disconcertingly-familiar world of government-funded, military wargaming and its relationship with the commercial games industry.
- www.theverge.com NaNoWriMo is in disarray after organizers defend AI writing tools
It said opposing the tech ignores “classist and ableist” issues.
> It said opposing the tech ignores “classist and ableist” issues.
- • 100%remapradio.com The Meditative Power of Irritation
The Game of Sisyphus is about moving a boulder up a hill, but for its developers—and by extension, its players—it's about so much more.
> The Game of Sisyphus is about moving a boulder up a hill, but for its developers—and by extension, its players—it's about so much more.
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> We’re gonna look at a TikTok account that uses Math to explain (Hate) women. While it’s tempting to dismiss this account as just another routine TikTok Mysoganist - because he’s so committed to charts, math and something that looks like science… he almost figures out why young men are struggling with women.
- stainedglasswoman.substack.com Can I Offer You An Egg In This Trying Time?
On the memetic rhetoric of transgender coming-out comics
> On July 17th, 2020, at 10:10 PM–Eastern Standard Time, mind you–a transgender friend of mine sent me a link to a webcomic, saying that it felt very relatable to her. So, since I wanted to be a good friend and try to understand her situation a little bit better, I read it… and immediately plunged into an eleven-day-long panic attack. This comic said things to me openly that I’d never said to anyone, ever. I was rung like a struck bell. And, at the end of those eleven days, when I said to my therapist, “Melissa, I don’t think I’m cis,” her response was a simple, gentle, “I don’t think you are either.”
- arstechnica.com LLMs have a strong bias against use of African American English
Feedback gets rid of overt biases but leaves subtle racism intact.
> Feedback gets rid of overt biases but leaves subtle racism intact.
- variety.com Amandla Stenberg Says ‘The Acolyte’ Being Canceled Was ‘Not a Huge Shock’ After ‘Rampage of Vitriol’ From Toxic ‘Star Wars’ Fans
Amandla Stenberg reacts to 'The Acolyte' ending on Disney+, saying it was "not a huge shock" after she faced bigotry from alt-right 'Star Wars' fans.
cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/16432111
- www.bloomberg.com Top Director at Bungie Was Fired After Misconduct Investigation
Veteran developer who worked on hit video game franchises Halo and Destiny was directing the next major title, Marathon.
Archived link for those who encounter a paywall: https://archive.is/M5lkm
- edition.cnn.com Stolen photos of European influencers used to push Trump propaganda on X | CNN
A phony campaign on X backing Trump ahead of the US election is using stolen or manipulated photos of real women in Europe to push its agenda.
> A phony campaign on X backing Trump ahead of the US election is using stolen or manipulated photos of real women in Europe to push its agenda.
- www.hollywoodreporter.com Jenna Ortega Reveals She Deleted Twitter After Receiving Explicit AI Images of Herself as a Teen: “It’s Disgusting”
The actress said it was "terrifying" to have to see "dirty edited content of me as a child."
> The actress said it was "terrifying" to have to see "dirty edited content of me as a child."
- www.wired.com Israel Is Buying Google Ads to Discredit the UN’s Top Gaza Aid Agency
The UNRWA calls Israel’s strategy of promoting alleged misinformation “destructive.”
Archived version without paywall: https://archive.is/Nbmbk
- • 100%the-decoder.com Microsoft's Copilot falsely accuses court reporter of crimes he covered
Language models generate text based on statistical probabilities. This led to serious false accusations against a veteran court reporter by Microsoft's Copilot.
> Language models generate text based on statistical probabilities. This led to serious false accusations against a veteran court reporter by Microsoft's Copilot.
- www.ign.com A Prominent Accessibility Advocate Worked With Studios and Inspired Change. But She Never Actually Existed. - IGN
In the years since the alleged death of beloved accessibility advocate Susan Banks, mounting evidence and accounts from those close to her work suggest that she was not the person she claimed to be. In fact, some are convinced that Banks may never have existed at all.
> In the years since the alleged death of beloved accessibility advocate Susan Banks, mounting evidence and accounts from those close to her work suggest that she was not the person she claimed to be. In fact, some are convinced that Banks may never have existed at all.
- www.theverge.com No one’s ready for this
The photograph is now meaningless as evidence. We are not prepared.
> The photograph is now meaningless as evidence. We are not prepared.
- • 100%kotaku.com Racist Destiny 2 Player Fucks Around, Finds Out
Jesse James Comer harassed and doxxed a Bungie community manager, now he owes the studio nearly $500K in damages and fees
> Jesse James Comer harassed and doxxed a Bungie community manager, now he owes the studio nearly $500K in damages and fees
- • 100%www.pastemagazine.com Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Embodies the Ballooning, Unsustainable Trajectory of AAA Games
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has a lot going for it, but its bloated scope embodies ongoing problems with modern AAA game development.
> Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has a lot going for it, but its bloated scope embodies ongoing problems with modern AAA game development.
- • 100%www.polygon.com Black powder, pink bows: How shooters got cuter
Cutesy, pink, and girly styles are on the rise in first-person shooters. Polygon spoke to the Valorant developers about how it makes cosmetics.
> Cutesy, pink, and girly styles are on the rise in first-person shooters. Polygon spoke to the Valorant developers about how it makes cosmetics.
- • 100%
PinkNews refuses to cover trans issues on the basis it jeopardises ad revenue and is "contentious".
lucyfromnaarm.com BREAKING: PinkNews refuses to cover trans issues on the basis it jeopardises ad revenue and is "contentious".While Transgender lives in the UK and US are at risk, PinkNews abandons its transgender readers.
> While Transgender lives in the UK and US are at risk, PinkNews abandons its transgender readers.
- • 100%www.eurogamer.net Black Myth: Wukong studio requests influencers not include "feminist propaganda" or Covid-19 references in coverage
This week's launch of Black Myth: Wukong has brought further controversy to the game with the leak of a document sent t…
There were rumors surrounding the document and many believed it to be fake. It has been confirmed to be genuine by now.
- www.animefeminist.com Redemption and Retribution: Female antagonists in Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood - Anime Feminist
Fordola and Yotsuyu's treatment and ultimate fate in the story are starkly different, and in this way they clearly expose underlying gendered biases in how their writers think about Evil Women(TM) and who “deserves” redemption in narratives about trauma and war.
> Fordola and Yotsuyu's treatment and ultimate fate in the story are starkly different, and in this way they clearly expose underlying gendered biases in how their writers think about Evil Women(TM) and who “deserves” redemption in narratives about trauma and war.
- www.bbc.com Actors demand action over 'disgusting' video game sex scenes
They say the scenes, which they often don't know about in advance, leave them "shaken" and "upset."
cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/15577741
- • 100%www.theguardian.com The good hacker: can Taiwanese activist turned politician Audrey Tang detoxify the internet?
As the ‘civic hacker’ who became Taiwan’s first transgender cabinet minister, she is used to breaking boundaries. What can the rest of the world learn from her vision of a happy and inclusive web?
For those who don't want to give the Graundian a click: Archived article
- • 100%arstechnica.com Popular AI “nudify” sites sued amid shocking rise in victims globally
“Nudify” sites may be fined for making it easy to “see anyone naked,” suit says.
> “Nudify” sites may be fined for making it easy to “see anyone naked,” suit says.
- • 100%deadline.com ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Guest Host Jeff Goldblum Helps Working Actors Qualify For Health Insurance — And They All Look Like Him
Jeff Goldblum guest hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday, introducing a segment that allowed working actors to qualify for health insurance
> Jeff Goldblum guest hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday, introducing a segment that allowed working actors to qualify for health insurance
- • 100%www.polygon.com The international chess world is having a shocking month
Two serious allegations emerged in August in the chess world: One poisoning allegation, and one sexual harassment report.
> Two serious allegations emerged in August in the chess world: One poisoning allegation, and one sexual harassment report.
- www.theguardian.com Liz Truss leaves stage over ‘I crashed the economy’ lettuce banner
Former PM says ‘that’s not funny’ when remote-controlled banner is unfurled behind her at event in Suffolk
This is some beautifully-executed satire.
Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss (whose reign lasted a mere 45 days) appeared at an event to promote her new book Ten Years to Save the West. As she was blathering on, activist group Led by Donkeys lowered a remote-controlled banner reading "I crashed the economy," with a picture of the famous head of lettuce that outlasted her time in office.
Truss, like most conservative politicians, had no sense of humor about the event, and marched off the stage.
- variety.com J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk Named in Cyberbullying Lawsuit Filed by Algerian Boxer Imane Khelif After Olympic Win (EXCLUSIVE)
JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in a cyberbullying complaint filed by Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif, according to her lawyer.
- • 100%www.pastemagazine.com Nine Sols, Two Utopias
Nine Sols, a Taiwanese game that's part Metroid and part Dark Souls, decries the false utopia engineered by the People's Republic of China.
- • 100%www.polygon.com We can thank Hideki Naganuma for putting Malcolm X in a Sonic game
Don’t sleep on the Sonic Rush soundtrack
- • 100%www.polygon.com Hi-Fi Rush studio, shut down by Microsoft, saved by PUBG’s publisher
Hi-Fi Rush will live on!
- • 100%www.thewrap.com Animation Anger: Hollywood Artists Face Multifaceted Crisis as Contract Talks Near
The animators producing successes like “Inside Out 2” are facing mass layoffs and overseas outsourcing as Hollywood slashes production costs