Dr. Bridget Blodgett

World of Wacraft Player Experience Research Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

On behalf of a graduate student:

We're looking for experienced Mythic+ players (age 18+ )for an anonymous survey about gameplay, ranking experiences, and M+ environment. Your insight will help us better understand how players engage with competitive dungeon content. www.surveymonkey.com/r/WowThesis

A very large red and white-haired lady from the trailer mentioned in the post, running and dodging a spear

Okay I'm actually awake now and not on my phone so let's talk for a moment about why this nameless She Big character from the Horizon Hunter's Gathering trailer is actually, like... Important

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

As of January 1st 2026, John and I are **no longer** the owners of Complexly (the educational media company we started 15 years ago that makes Crash Course, Eons, SciShow, Study Hall, and a bunch of other shows.)

We have been the sole owners for all that time...

i've worked in journalism for almost two decades now but i've never gotten to OWN the website where i work. and now i do and it's so exciting!! check out our pre-launch teaser video if you haven't yet, and consider taking advantage of our pre-launch 15% sale via mothership.blog. full launch jan. 26!

The New School was founded by Columbia University professors who wanted a university run by the faculty with minimal administration. For over 100 years it has been a unique institution with progressive values and incredible students and faculty from Ai Weiwei to Hannah Arendt. We are devastated.

my name is cow
and wen its nite
and when a star
is shiyning brite

and three wise men
give me the nod
i walk up close
I lik the God

id Software workers unionize in response to mass Xbox layoffs Doom developers at id Software have successfully voted to unionize in a bid for better working conditions, benefits, and agency of the studio's use of AI.

Update: id Software producer Andrew Willis tells Game Developer that the union has "protected a pretty beloved IP from the volatility that the games industry has been through in the last few years."

He added that this volatility may have been avoided if the industry were more "developer-led."

The Most Powerful Politics Influencers Barely Post About Politics New research shows that social media creators have enormous influence over their audiences' politics—especially those who don't normally share political content.

Researchers find that influencers influence. New experimental evidence for old theories around opinion leaders, parasocial relationships, and persuasion, with implications for political messaging in our digitally connected era.

www.wired.com/story/the-mo...

We are still recruiting game makers who had games posted to Steam or itch.io in July 2025 for a survey on the impacts of NSFW policy changes. More info on the project website. You can also always email me (via the website or through the email on the USask website) for info or with questions.

Please note that this guidance has now changed. This new guidance supersedes the blanket approval we shared last week. The U.S. Government will not be commemorating World AIDS Day this year. To comply with this new directive, please note the following: •USG funds should not be used for any World AIDS Day-related events or commemorative activities. • Please refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches, or other public-facing messaging. • CDC and other USG personnel may attend external, locally organized World AIDS Day events, but may not speak at these events or promote their attendance via social media or media channels. We recognize this updated guidance differs from the blanket clearance and may require adjustments to planned activities. Thank you for vour flexibility and attention to these changes

Today is World AIDS Day.

AIDS has killed 44 million people globally.

Over the years, we've learned that silence and stigma are huge contributors.

Yet, the State Department sent an email to employees stating “The US Government will not be commemorating World AIDS Day this year.”

Silence = Death

I bet taking a nap would be a good solution.

Digital Fellow (Post-Doc) Center for Digital Communication, Commerce, and Culture at University of Baltimore. marylandconnect.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UBaltC...

FT Lecturer in Visual Comm and Design - College of Arts and Sciences at University of Baltimore. marylandconnect.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UBaltC...

Cover of The AI Con by Emily M. Bender & Alex Hanna. Cover line reads: ‘How To Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want’

New on the Eye blog, review of The AI Con by @johnlw
‘The ouroboros of hype’,
www.eyemagazine.com/blog/post/th...

A new Blizzard union, workers and lawmakers alike question the EA buyout and horror game design continues to evolve - Patch Notes #27 EA's big buyout continues to send shockwaves through the industry, more game workers are unionizing, and a new game journalism site is born.

A new Blizzard union, workers and lawmakers alike question the EA buyout and horror game design continues to evolve - Patch Notes #27

Dear #AdultGame devs:

For the upcoming episode of our podcast "Random Encounters", we're looking for developers who'd like to share their perspectives on depictions of sexualised violence in interactive fiction.

We'd need your answers, either in writing or as voice recordings, until October 31.

Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble developers unionize to combat 'instability and unfair conditions' 'The pressures we face are making it harder to create the high-quality work we care about.'

Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble developers unionize to combat 'instability and unfair conditions'

We turned our pain into a research paper… documenting how our collaborative research team (which included researchers at a public university) navigated a slew of public records requests (by some of the same folks who have since turned their attention towards attacking academia more broadly).

Screenshot of a course learning module featuring two links to episodes of the sawbones podcast. One from 2024 and one from 2025 on the topics of Antimony and Tylenol respectively, both for the same week of the class.

Apparently there's something about week 6 of the research methods course that just makes me think about the Sawbones podcast.

Apropos of this thread, @lackingceremony.bsky.social is writing a book about game design and you should look for it in about a year!

Also Avery Alder advocated in this talk that designerd writing loose materials WRITE IN A LAYOUT PROGRAM and I feel profanely seen, this is utter filth (that I do)

A lot of people are (understandably) focused on the Saudi Arabia and Kushner part of this, but the far bigger immediate impact will come from the new private EA being on the hook for $20 billion in debt. That could mean mass layoffs, more aggressive monetization, and other big cost-cutting measures

Digital labor turn: the impact of assetization in digital games Labor practices in digital games have been conceptualized as playbor, highlighting their exploited yet voluntary nature. As digital play increasingly converges with assetization, it is becoming mor...

This looks like an interesting new paper on #assetization in #videogames || www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Would you prefer the cicadas scream you the song of their people?

F.D.A. Poised to Restrict Access to Covid Vaccines Agency leaders said there was evidence to justify approval only for older people and those with medical conditions. Many others may not be able to get the shots.

Under its new leadership — who spread misinformation throughout the pandemic — the FDA announced it will limit all Covid vaccines to adults over 65 and those with certain medical conditions.

Covid continues to spread and cause harm. This an anti-science move that will kill more Americans.

#cwcon Jason Tham takes a balanced view of AI use in teaching writing but ultimately asks whose time has been saved by AI efficiency (if any has been saved at all) - and notes AI’s erasure of labor. Writing takes time (and should), and reducing time reduces quality.

#cwcon Tham: timescapes of writing with AI: compression of drafting time; expansion of evaluation time; elimination of incubation time; fragmentation of writing time

Really looking forward to this talk next week!

disastrous

This work by @ashstokoe.bsky.social and I highlights the importance of administrative records - and ways they are scrutinised and policed - on trans people’s participation in public life. It’s a topic that feels increasingly relevant in the UK 🎓🌈

Hello friends, I’ll be back in the UK next week and am very excited to be presenting a public lecture in Oxford on Thursday 15th May about doing creative queer legal work. Come along if you’re around/interested!

RSVP here: url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/AEOUCpRYOh...

🌈🎓