WILL BUTLER
@carrythezero.bsky.social
PhD researcher at Bath Spa | videogame preservation | lifting my skinny fists like antennas to heaven
Pinned
WILL BUTLER
@carrythezero.bsky.social
· Feb 4
Games preservation took steps forward in 2024 - but still has a long way to go
www.eurogamer.net/games-preser...
www.eurogamer.net/games-preser...
Words from me! A huge thanks to @karthupial.bsky.social for the edits as well as @isaacpatmurphy.lostincult.co.uk, @philsalv.bsky.social and Prof. Newman for their time and invaluable insight.
Hey this is on Monday and I think you should sign up and watch online. I'm going to talk about RuneScape for a while.
Very excited to share that on November 10 @discoxford.bsky.social are hosting a hybrid roundtable on Videogame preservation practices with @carrythezero.bsky.social, Alex Habgood, digital archivist at Rebellion studios, and @emarlow.bsky.social:
digitalscholarship.web.ox.ac.uk/event/video-...
digitalscholarship.web.ox.ac.uk/event/video-...
Video Game Preservation: Practices and Approaches
digitalscholarship.web.ox.ac.uk
November 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Hey this is on Monday and I think you should sign up and watch online. I'm going to talk about RuneScape for a while.
sometimes you hit your deadlines and sometimes they hit you
November 7, 2025 at 10:33 AM
sometimes you hit your deadlines and sometimes they hit you
All that documentation, all that history. A "wealth", you say?!
Based on MY research, these companies should probably give it over to some sort of cultural institution if they're not going to use it.
IP holders? more like IP hoarders!!!
Based on MY research, these companies should probably give it over to some sort of cultural institution if they're not going to use it.
IP holders? more like IP hoarders!!!
"IP holders are sitting on a wealth of content" - Data and analytics firm Ampere Analysis has identified 18 games that it says are "ripe" for a successful remake or remaster, based on its research.
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ip-hold...
www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ip-hold...
‘IP holders are sitting on a wealth of content’: Analytics firm lists 18 games ripe for remake or remaster success | VGC
Ampere has identified titles likely to succeed based on its data and research…
www.videogameschronicle.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:24 PM
All that documentation, all that history. A "wealth", you say?!
Based on MY research, these companies should probably give it over to some sort of cultural institution if they're not going to use it.
IP holders? more like IP hoarders!!!
Based on MY research, these companies should probably give it over to some sort of cultural institution if they're not going to use it.
IP holders? more like IP hoarders!!!
I've spoken about it a lot but I'll say it again: Florence's work on preserving Wurm Online using a 'walk-along' method is sooooo good. If you're near Manchester, you gotta go to this!
Come along to my talk "Preservation by Record: Video Game Archaeology as Play Preservation" at Manchester Game Centre next week!
Next week, the Manchester Game Centre has the pleasure to welcome @florencesn.bsky.social, who’ll be talking about their work on archaeology and play preservation. The talk is in person only, but anybody is welcome to attend. Details here: manchestergamecentre.org/events/2025/...
November 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I've spoken about it a lot but I'll say it again: Florence's work on preserving Wurm Online using a 'walk-along' method is sooooo good. If you're near Manchester, you gotta go to this!
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
![image of andrew cuomo at his nyc mayoral election watch party with disco elysium ui text overlay that reads:
Suggestion [Challenging: Failure] - You thought you did everything right. You had the money, the power, and the fame. Where did it all go wrong? Why couldn't those sniveling little city dwellers see that you were meant to lead them? You're now a twice certified loser from a family of winners. Your father's name is on a bridge. Your name is next to a Wikipedia entry that says "sexual harassment allegations."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eqh433fdh2bqhvt455e3tg67/bafkreibvgcmgeluhegcun73wdfsve7nzg3djqxf5cnpxz6t54i7jsf5uby@jpeg)
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
hell yeah
SouljaBoy reveals new gaming handheld... that's just a clone of the Retroid Pocket Flip 2/Pocket 4 retrododo.com/souljaboy-re...
"This is not any kind of official licensing deal. He does not have permission to rebrand our products and sell them as his own." - Retroid
"This is not any kind of official licensing deal. He does not have permission to rebrand our products and sell them as his own." - Retroid
November 3, 2025 at 4:42 PM
hell yeah
I wish I could source it but I read something once that called Fortnite plastic. Not in the sense that it's a toybox or a toy itself but rather it's the raw material that's used to produce an object.
Fortnite isn't culture anymore than the hard plastic of an action figure is.
Fortnite isn't culture anymore than the hard plastic of an action figure is.
November 3, 2025 at 2:54 PM
I wish I could source it but I read something once that called Fortnite plastic. Not in the sense that it's a toybox or a toy itself but rather it's the raw material that's used to produce an object.
Fortnite isn't culture anymore than the hard plastic of an action figure is.
Fortnite isn't culture anymore than the hard plastic of an action figure is.
clipping are just the most inventive hip-hop group working today. I saw them live in 2014 at a now-dead festival in a crowd of about 100 people. I'd never seen a rapper flanked by two towers of synth modules before. It was game changing. youtu.be/h0-k7vW9Xek
clipping.: Tiny Desk Concert
YouTube video by NPR Music
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 11:45 AM
clipping are just the most inventive hip-hop group working today. I saw them live in 2014 at a now-dead festival in a crowd of about 100 people. I'd never seen a rapper flanked by two towers of synth modules before. It was game changing. youtu.be/h0-k7vW9Xek
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
I'm working hard on the ultimate answer to physical games - all content on cart/disc, tested by preservation groups, no FOMO with widely-available retail versions, careful curation, and very artistic collectible prestige EDITIONS every month.
Please support our mission! ❤️
www.lostincult.co.uk
Please support our mission! ❤️
www.lostincult.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 2:44 PM
I'm working hard on the ultimate answer to physical games - all content on cart/disc, tested by preservation groups, no FOMO with widely-available retail versions, careful curation, and very artistic collectible prestige EDITIONS every month.
Please support our mission! ❤️
www.lostincult.co.uk
Please support our mission! ❤️
www.lostincult.co.uk
What surprises me most about the myriad leaks from Game Freak is that there isn't a shred of evidence to suggest that anyone in that company has even pitched a game where we date the pokemon. I simply don't believe it.
October 31, 2025 at 2:27 PM
What surprises me most about the myriad leaks from Game Freak is that there isn't a shred of evidence to suggest that anyone in that company has even pitched a game where we date the pokemon. I simply don't believe it.
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
How it feels to read some takes on here.
Fallout 3 (PS3 / Bethesda Game Studios / 2008) - I Like V.A.T.S.
October 29, 2025 at 11:24 AM
How it feels to read some takes on here.
If you're legitimately upset at a little snark directed at you from the snarky space game... maybe you shouldn't have spent 100 quid on the snark game.
You just couldn't help yourself, could you?
The Outer Worlds 2 Mocks You For Buying The $100 Version
Consider it an opportunity to rethink your finances
kotaku.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM
If you're legitimately upset at a little snark directed at you from the snarky space game... maybe you shouldn't have spent 100 quid on the snark game.
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
Tired: we need more coverage of what kids are doing on Roblox
Wired: we need to check in on the millennial theater nerds with roller coaster tycoon
Wired: we need to check in on the millennial theater nerds with roller coaster tycoon
This Rollercoaster Tycoon video is an actual work of emotionally-gripping mad genius
Defying Gravity | Synchronized Roller Coasters (Wicked)
YouTube video by Tube Cody
youtu.be
October 27, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Tired: we need more coverage of what kids are doing on Roblox
Wired: we need to check in on the millennial theater nerds with roller coaster tycoon
Wired: we need to check in on the millennial theater nerds with roller coaster tycoon
Souper Saiyan.
October 21, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Souper Saiyan.
Honoured to be asked to speak! It's going to be a great event so please register and come through
Very excited to share that on November 10 @discoxford.bsky.social are hosting a hybrid roundtable on Videogame preservation practices with @carrythezero.bsky.social, Alex Habgood, digital archivist at Rebellion studios, and @emarlow.bsky.social:
digitalscholarship.web.ox.ac.uk/event/video-...
digitalscholarship.web.ox.ac.uk/event/video-...
Video Game Preservation: Practices and Approaches
digitalscholarship.web.ox.ac.uk
October 16, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Honoured to be asked to speak! It's going to be a great event so please register and come through
Can't wait to see the first Any% Sekiro speedrun on the Gboard. I love this thing.
October 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Can't wait to see the first Any% Sekiro speedrun on the Gboard. I love this thing.
The harm the streamers did by taking music - something so essential to many people's lives - devaluing it completely and then trapping it behind a wall of detritus for those who still want to access it... it's frankly cultural vandalism.
October 15, 2025 at 11:04 AM
The harm the streamers did by taking music - something so essential to many people's lives - devaluing it completely and then trapping it behind a wall of detritus for those who still want to access it... it's frankly cultural vandalism.
Good list! ALSO, it's amazing to me how little Pluto is spoken about nowadays as an all-timer anime. Netflix absolutely fumbled it.
October 6, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Good list! ALSO, it's amazing to me how little Pluto is spoken about nowadays as an all-timer anime. Netflix absolutely fumbled it.
There is no instrument on earth Matt Berry couldn't sell me on. youtu.be/hbO1z13WP8o
"How to Orchid" by Telepathic Instruments
YouTube video by Telepathic Instruments
youtu.be
October 2, 2025 at 12:31 PM
There is no instrument on earth Matt Berry couldn't sell me on. youtu.be/hbO1z13WP8o
Hades II got its hooks in me last night. Supergiant simply do not miss.
My hot take is this: Darren Korb is the best guitar player working in games. The riffs are sweet, sure, but there's no other composer I'm aware of that treats their guitar like a string suite as well.
My hot take is this: Darren Korb is the best guitar player working in games. The riffs are sweet, sure, but there's no other composer I'm aware of that treats their guitar like a string suite as well.
October 2, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Hades II got its hooks in me last night. Supergiant simply do not miss.
My hot take is this: Darren Korb is the best guitar player working in games. The riffs are sweet, sure, but there's no other composer I'm aware of that treats their guitar like a string suite as well.
My hot take is this: Darren Korb is the best guitar player working in games. The riffs are sweet, sure, but there's no other composer I'm aware of that treats their guitar like a string suite as well.
If you weren't already boycotting, Microsoft have made the decision even easier for you.
BREAKING: Microsoft is announcing big changes to Xbox Game Pass today. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is getting more features, but it's going up to $29.99 a month. PC games + cloud are also coming to new Game Pass Essential + Premium plans. Full details 👇 www.theverge.com/news/789424/...
Microsoft revamps Xbox Game Pass plans and hikes Ultimate to $29.99 a month
All Xbox Game Pass tiers are getting big changes
www.theverge.com
October 1, 2025 at 2:43 PM
If you weren't already boycotting, Microsoft have made the decision even easier for you.
Watching the trailer for the original Skate and at 0:27, the player ollies onto the outside of a hip and hits the bank. It's not a lot of air, it's not even a trick. But that simple, realistic board expression feels completely absent in everything surrounding Skate 4
youtu.be/-53C6963x1M
youtu.be/-53C6963x1M
skate. Game Trailer
YouTube video by Electronic Arts
youtu.be
September 23, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Watching the trailer for the original Skate and at 0:27, the player ollies onto the outside of a hip and hits the bank. It's not a lot of air, it's not even a trick. But that simple, realistic board expression feels completely absent in everything surrounding Skate 4
youtu.be/-53C6963x1M
youtu.be/-53C6963x1M
Pining for the days where we all called him Baby Yoda. Before he was a mascot, he was just a funny little guy that knew Werner Herzog.
Have you ever seen a Baby Yoda swimming? You will!
The Mandalorian and Grogu's first trailer confirms Baby Yoda still adorable
Have you ever seen a Baby Yoda swimming? You will!
www.polygon.com
September 22, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Pining for the days where we all called him Baby Yoda. Before he was a mascot, he was just a funny little guy that knew Werner Herzog.
Hit Silksong credits last night and here's my experience:
When I'm getting bodied by bosses, it's over-tuned, cruel, punishing. Was this even playtested?! I'm muttering angrily. My wife is worried about me.
When I'm winning, it's incredible, an intense tribute to perseverance, what a masterpiece.
When I'm getting bodied by bosses, it's over-tuned, cruel, punishing. Was this even playtested?! I'm muttering angrily. My wife is worried about me.
When I'm winning, it's incredible, an intense tribute to perseverance, what a masterpiece.
September 22, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Hit Silksong credits last night and here's my experience:
When I'm getting bodied by bosses, it's over-tuned, cruel, punishing. Was this even playtested?! I'm muttering angrily. My wife is worried about me.
When I'm winning, it's incredible, an intense tribute to perseverance, what a masterpiece.
When I'm getting bodied by bosses, it's over-tuned, cruel, punishing. Was this even playtested?! I'm muttering angrily. My wife is worried about me.
When I'm winning, it's incredible, an intense tribute to perseverance, what a masterpiece.