Ben Taels
@bentaels.bsky.social
Kiwi, Dad, Human Factors Psychology PhD, & Games User Experience Research.
Formerly Epic Games, Player Research, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Te Manatū Waka, & Hamilton Zoo.
Formerly Epic Games, Player Research, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Te Manatū Waka, & Hamilton Zoo.
Pinned
Ben Taels
@bentaels.bsky.social
· Jan 3
Throwing Out the Dopamine Shots: Reward Psychology Without the Neurotrash
YouTube video by GDC 2025
youtu.be
Some talks that I have given:
Reward in games (without the dopamine neurotrash): youtu.be/xkg9ocYDLr8?...
Human Error and game design: youtu.be/JyuR2fKvQ20?...
What road safety can teach us about reducing toxicity in games: youtu.be/WMYoCuZ3Fa8?...
Reward in games (without the dopamine neurotrash): youtu.be/xkg9ocYDLr8?...
Human Error and game design: youtu.be/JyuR2fKvQ20?...
What road safety can teach us about reducing toxicity in games: youtu.be/WMYoCuZ3Fa8?...
Reposted by Ben Taels
RIP Rebecca Heineman (1963-2025), video game industry legend, Interplay cofounder, creator of Bard’s Tale 3 (1988) & Dragon Wars (1989), programmer on dozens of games and ports (Wolfenstein 3D, Another World), and first champion of a national US video game tournament - on SPACE INVADERS in 1980.
November 18, 2025 at 7:59 AM
RIP Rebecca Heineman (1963-2025), video game industry legend, Interplay cofounder, creator of Bard’s Tale 3 (1988) & Dragon Wars (1989), programmer on dozens of games and ports (Wolfenstein 3D, Another World), and first champion of a national US video game tournament - on SPACE INVADERS in 1980.
Reposted by Ben Taels
This is from Grokipedia's woeful AI-generated article on New Zealand. Yes, it really is citing Hobson's Pledge as a factual source.
November 18, 2025 at 4:17 AM
This is from Grokipedia's woeful AI-generated article on New Zealand. Yes, it really is citing Hobson's Pledge as a factual source.
Reposted by Ben Taels
“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas & city center in 2021.”
Helsinki just went a full year without a single traffic death
The capital city is Finnish’ed with car-related fatalities.
www.politico.eu
November 17, 2025 at 6:31 AM
“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas & city center in 2021.”
Reposted by Ben Taels
Shit if Labour had or ever did do this sort of shit, we would never ever hear the end of it.
This sort of thing should have a Minister either fall on his sword or, if Luxon actually had a set of balls, be fired.
Claire Curran & David Clark went for less than this debauched corruption.
This sort of thing should have a Minister either fall on his sword or, if Luxon actually had a set of balls, be fired.
Claire Curran & David Clark went for less than this debauched corruption.
NEW: Chris Bishop used housing money to fund a bridge in his electorate his own Govt had killed off.
Officials were against the move and Labour say he shouldn’t have been anywhere near the decision.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Officials were against the move and Labour say he shouldn’t have been anywhere near the decision.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Chris Bishop diverts Kāinga Ora money to fund a bridge in his electorate
Officials warned against the use of housing funds for bridge building but Bishop says it was a “pragmatic choice”.
www.thepost.co.nz
November 18, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Shit if Labour had or ever did do this sort of shit, we would never ever hear the end of it.
This sort of thing should have a Minister either fall on his sword or, if Luxon actually had a set of balls, be fired.
Claire Curran & David Clark went for less than this debauched corruption.
This sort of thing should have a Minister either fall on his sword or, if Luxon actually had a set of balls, be fired.
Claire Curran & David Clark went for less than this debauched corruption.
Reposted by Ben Taels
Oh yeah btw the reason why Vine is being relaunched with great fanfare and no Al is because it's jointly operated with an Al company and they probably don;t want to pollute their scrap pile with stuff they've already shat out.
November 17, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Oh yeah btw the reason why Vine is being relaunched with great fanfare and no Al is because it's jointly operated with an Al company and they probably don;t want to pollute their scrap pile with stuff they've already shat out.
Good
Uber drivers' Supreme Court decision could collapse gig economy, business groups say
Uber drivers' Supreme Court decision could collapse gig economy, business groups say
Business groups are critical of the Supreme Court decision that the drivers should be considered employees.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Good
Reposted by Ben Taels
The Employers 👀 and Manufacturers 👀 Group [of which Uber clearly does not fit the criteria to belong] comes out in support of Uber 🤔 curious
November 17, 2025 at 6:14 PM
The Employers 👀 and Manufacturers 👀 Group [of which Uber clearly does not fit the criteria to belong] comes out in support of Uber 🤔 curious
How to do a UX competitive analysis:
- Select the game/games
- Setup a notes sheet with Timestamps, Game section/component, Positive or Issue or Comment, Issue severity (Critical, Med, Low)
- Setup screen recording and record and take screenshots of everything (take so many screenshots!)
- Select the game/games
- Setup a notes sheet with Timestamps, Game section/component, Positive or Issue or Comment, Issue severity (Critical, Med, Low)
- Setup screen recording and record and take screenshots of everything (take so many screenshots!)
November 17, 2025 at 6:21 PM
How to do a UX competitive analysis:
- Select the game/games
- Setup a notes sheet with Timestamps, Game section/component, Positive or Issue or Comment, Issue severity (Critical, Med, Low)
- Setup screen recording and record and take screenshots of everything (take so many screenshots!)
- Select the game/games
- Setup a notes sheet with Timestamps, Game section/component, Positive or Issue or Comment, Issue severity (Critical, Med, Low)
- Setup screen recording and record and take screenshots of everything (take so many screenshots!)
My first attempt at a Calzone in about 20 years looking nice!
Hopefully they taste good!
Hopefully they taste good!
November 17, 2025 at 5:35 AM
My first attempt at a Calzone in about 20 years looking nice!
Hopefully they taste good!
Hopefully they taste good!
Reposted by Ben Taels
Our heartfelt congratulations to all of our Uber members and the four drivers - Nureddin, Julian, Bill and Mea’ole.
It is not easy to stand up and speak out about a multibillion dollar multinational corporation that controls almost every aspect of your livelihood. You have done it. And won!
#uber
It is not easy to stand up and speak out about a multibillion dollar multinational corporation that controls almost every aspect of your livelihood. You have done it. And won!
#uber
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Our heartfelt congratulations to all of our Uber members and the four drivers - Nureddin, Julian, Bill and Mea’ole.
It is not easy to stand up and speak out about a multibillion dollar multinational corporation that controls almost every aspect of your livelihood. You have done it. And won!
#uber
It is not easy to stand up and speak out about a multibillion dollar multinational corporation that controls almost every aspect of your livelihood. You have done it. And won!
#uber
FROM THE UNKNOWABLE GREEN OF THE GARDEN COMES THE FLOWER EYED DOG!
November 17, 2025 at 5:28 AM
FROM THE UNKNOWABLE GREEN OF THE GARDEN COMES THE FLOWER EYED DOG!
"the incredibly dumb “skill-based matchmaking” argument that gets pushed by streamers who don’t like that being good at the game means they have to play against other good players when what they really want to do is create videos where appear dominant by crushing players who are worse than them" 🧑🍳😙🤌
I think my short version review of the Call of Duty campaign this year is that it's bad, but I still like a few things about it. Want to know more? Great. Available now for all, for free, here's my review of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. www.patreon.com/posts/call-o...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review | Jeff Gerstmann
Get more from Jeff Gerstmann on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:06 PM
"the incredibly dumb “skill-based matchmaking” argument that gets pushed by streamers who don’t like that being good at the game means they have to play against other good players when what they really want to do is create videos where appear dominant by crushing players who are worse than them" 🧑🍳😙🤌
Games User Experience Research should be a collaborative partnership
As such often the first step for a researcher is to understand what the intended experience of the game designer(s) is, what their questions are, timelines, and what kind of data would be actionable
As such often the first step for a researcher is to understand what the intended experience of the game designer(s) is, what their questions are, timelines, and what kind of data would be actionable
November 16, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Games User Experience Research should be a collaborative partnership
As such often the first step for a researcher is to understand what the intended experience of the game designer(s) is, what their questions are, timelines, and what kind of data would be actionable
As such often the first step for a researcher is to understand what the intended experience of the game designer(s) is, what their questions are, timelines, and what kind of data would be actionable
When I worked in the NZ Government I was in a meeting with a top NZ cop. The topic was the bill of rights, how it would apply to new legislation, and how it would be enforced by cops
The cop interrupted the meeting and said 'Why are we still talking about this? We are the police, you can trust us!"
The cop interrupted the meeting and said 'Why are we still talking about this? We are the police, you can trust us!"
a few thoughts on the police over on today's webworm: www.webworm.co/horrorofpoli...
November 15, 2025 at 6:45 PM
When I worked in the NZ Government I was in a meeting with a top NZ cop. The topic was the bill of rights, how it would apply to new legislation, and how it would be enforced by cops
The cop interrupted the meeting and said 'Why are we still talking about this? We are the police, you can trust us!"
The cop interrupted the meeting and said 'Why are we still talking about this? We are the police, you can trust us!"
When players skip a tutorial they may end up playing your game in a way that is not intended. *Sometimes* this can be a good thing.
Is playing chess with a pool cue actually more engaging than playing chess normally? Experimenting and playtesting/UX testing can answer!
Is playing chess with a pool cue actually more engaging than playing chess normally? Experimenting and playtesting/UX testing can answer!
November 15, 2025 at 6:01 PM
When players skip a tutorial they may end up playing your game in a way that is not intended. *Sometimes* this can be a good thing.
Is playing chess with a pool cue actually more engaging than playing chess normally? Experimenting and playtesting/UX testing can answer!
Is playing chess with a pool cue actually more engaging than playing chess normally? Experimenting and playtesting/UX testing can answer!
Jumping waves at the beach today with the kids completely wrecked my ancient arthritic ankles and was also totally worth it
November 15, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Jumping waves at the beach today with the kids completely wrecked my ancient arthritic ankles and was also totally worth it
It's weird to me to see UX Researcher jobs that ask for a portfolio
UX Research, unlike design, is usually not public
Basically all the work I have ever done as a UX Researcher is NDAed & even if it wasn't I don't have access to it because it belongs to the company & isn't somewhere I can access
UX Research, unlike design, is usually not public
Basically all the work I have ever done as a UX Researcher is NDAed & even if it wasn't I don't have access to it because it belongs to the company & isn't somewhere I can access
November 15, 2025 at 3:03 AM
It's weird to me to see UX Researcher jobs that ask for a portfolio
UX Research, unlike design, is usually not public
Basically all the work I have ever done as a UX Researcher is NDAed & even if it wasn't I don't have access to it because it belongs to the company & isn't somewhere I can access
UX Research, unlike design, is usually not public
Basically all the work I have ever done as a UX Researcher is NDAed & even if it wasn't I don't have access to it because it belongs to the company & isn't somewhere I can access
Reposted by Ben Taels
In 1982, synthesizer innovator Wendy Carlos (born on this day in 1939) got the opportunity to play in a giant sandbox, creating a combination orchestral/synth score for Disney’s big-budget adventure ‘Tron.’ Complications ensued. crookedmarquee.com/pixel-perfec...
Pixel Perfect: How Wendy Carlos Gave an Extra Dimension to Tron
How synthesizer innovator Wendy Carlos created a combination orchestral/synth score for Disney’s big-budget adventure ‘Tron.’
crookedmarquee.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:15 AM
In 1982, synthesizer innovator Wendy Carlos (born on this day in 1939) got the opportunity to play in a giant sandbox, creating a combination orchestral/synth score for Disney’s big-budget adventure ‘Tron.’ Complications ensued. crookedmarquee.com/pixel-perfec...
Reposted by Ben Taels
#NZpol
"Permanently scarring event" is the correct pitch. It's nothing less than that, this govt has utterly wrecked the place - and let's be honest, the scarring Ruthless Richardson undertook was *never* properly corrected, and this by the Luxon-led Govt builds on that hideously venal trajectory.
"Permanently scarring event" is the correct pitch. It's nothing less than that, this govt has utterly wrecked the place - and let's be honest, the scarring Ruthless Richardson undertook was *never* properly corrected, and this by the Luxon-led Govt builds on that hideously venal trajectory.
The Govt's rationing speclialist (aka MSD) is overheating trying to constrain benefit spending, but the number of people on a working-age benefit continues to sail way above forecasts. We are watching a permanently scarring event here. Grim.
November 14, 2025 at 10:23 AM
#NZpol
"Permanently scarring event" is the correct pitch. It's nothing less than that, this govt has utterly wrecked the place - and let's be honest, the scarring Ruthless Richardson undertook was *never* properly corrected, and this by the Luxon-led Govt builds on that hideously venal trajectory.
"Permanently scarring event" is the correct pitch. It's nothing less than that, this govt has utterly wrecked the place - and let's be honest, the scarring Ruthless Richardson undertook was *never* properly corrected, and this by the Luxon-led Govt builds on that hideously venal trajectory.
Reposted by Ben Taels
This game is excellent and it's currently free all week over on Epic.
A faster-paced 4X with snappy real-time battles, a weird fantasy setting (no orcs or elves, just strange many-limbed gods and faceless people from the shadow-realm).
Oh, and Hitoshi Sakimoto did the soundtrack. He of FF Tactics.
A faster-paced 4X with snappy real-time battles, a weird fantasy setting (no orcs or elves, just strange many-limbed gods and faceless people from the shadow-realm).
Oh, and Hitoshi Sakimoto did the soundtrack. He of FF Tactics.
November 14, 2025 at 11:48 PM
This game is excellent and it's currently free all week over on Epic.
A faster-paced 4X with snappy real-time battles, a weird fantasy setting (no orcs or elves, just strange many-limbed gods and faceless people from the shadow-realm).
Oh, and Hitoshi Sakimoto did the soundtrack. He of FF Tactics.
A faster-paced 4X with snappy real-time battles, a weird fantasy setting (no orcs or elves, just strange many-limbed gods and faceless people from the shadow-realm).
Oh, and Hitoshi Sakimoto did the soundtrack. He of FF Tactics.
In Human Factors Psychology this is sometimes known as the "trust in automation" effect
If you automate something then people learn to trust that automation and don't learn skills themselves (and why should they? It's automated!)
This can reduce skill growth and engagement
If you automate something then people learn to trust that automation and don't learn skills themselves (and why should they? It's automated!)
This can reduce skill growth and engagement
Rather than informing the player of a consideration they need to have to successfully play the game, you are *offloading* a consideration. That's one less thing the player needs to think about while playing the game.
November 14, 2025 at 10:33 PM
In Human Factors Psychology this is sometimes known as the "trust in automation" effect
If you automate something then people learn to trust that automation and don't learn skills themselves (and why should they? It's automated!)
This can reduce skill growth and engagement
If you automate something then people learn to trust that automation and don't learn skills themselves (and why should they? It's automated!)
This can reduce skill growth and engagement
This is why it is interesting to work in Games UX Research!
Games can be challenging & make the player feel bad if that is the design intent (that the action is a skilled one with deep/meaningful growth)
UX Research should support this design intent while also checking for unintended outcomes
Games can be challenging & make the player feel bad if that is the design intent (that the action is a skilled one with deep/meaningful growth)
UX Research should support this design intent while also checking for unintended outcomes
friday soapbox: as a designer, if you want something to be a skillful action for players, and you want growth in this skill to be very deep/meaningful, then you need to also let players be bad at it. sometimes horrendously bad. players hate this pain, and designers often want to mitigate it away.
November 14, 2025 at 10:17 PM
This is why it is interesting to work in Games UX Research!
Games can be challenging & make the player feel bad if that is the design intent (that the action is a skilled one with deep/meaningful growth)
UX Research should support this design intent while also checking for unintended outcomes
Games can be challenging & make the player feel bad if that is the design intent (that the action is a skilled one with deep/meaningful growth)
UX Research should support this design intent while also checking for unintended outcomes
Reposted by Ben Taels
![Cartoon by Stephen Collins for The Guardian. Script as follows:
[scene is Winston Churchill in a bbc studio, giving his 'finest hour' speech]
1
CHURCHILL:
The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.
2
CHURCHILL:
Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war.
3
CHURCHILL:
If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free
and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sun-
BBC PRESENTER:
Thank you prime minister
4
BBC PRESENTER:
Mr hitler, your response?
5
HITLER [in the studio]:
Vell zis is hysterical woke nonsense as usual from mr Churchill
6
HITLER:
What we are proposing -
CHURCHILL:
Hang on
7
HITLER:
Let me finish - what we are proposing eez a simple power-sharing arrangement -
8
CHURCHILL:
What's he doing here
BBC PRESENTER:
It's important we hear both sides of the debate
9
CHURCHILL:
This isn't a debate
You don't debate fascists
10
HITLER:
Oh here we go with ze Godwins law!
11
HITLER:
Why must you people always compare ze things you don't like to 'fascists, Nazis, Hitler'...
CHURCHILL:
Because you are a fascist Nazi Hit-
12
HITLER [standing up, saluting]:
RAUSS!
BBC PRESENTER:
*Please* Mr Churchill let him speak
[ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreibw4ldc3fhslbvxgy2oqrof2oys5kpgh7zu6a5f3usmx3lf4547qm@jpeg)
If I go on LinkedIn and search for remote jobs in my area it is at least 80% "we will pay you to help train our AI to replace you and your expertise."
Bleak.
Bleak.
November 14, 2025 at 10:06 PM
If I go on LinkedIn and search for remote jobs in my area it is at least 80% "we will pay you to help train our AI to replace you and your expertise."
Bleak.
Bleak.
Reposted by Ben Taels
perusing for a new phone case and just came across this incredible catbus/otto the bus driver combo case
November 9, 2025 at 5:22 PM
perusing for a new phone case and just came across this incredible catbus/otto the bus driver combo case