WILL BUTLER
@carrythezero.bsky.social
PhD researcher at Bath Spa | videogame preservation | lifting my skinny fists like antennas to heaven | site here: https://killjoy.bearblog.dev/
Pinned
WILL BUTLER
@carrythezero.bsky.social
· Dec 19
I HATE SKATEBOARDING.
Skateboarding is an enterprise of ambition. The hobby begins the first time you see a person play footsie with gravity, launchi...
killjoy.bearblog.dev
Sometimes you play a game that moves you so much you dust off your blog and get to work. Skate Story by @bysameng.com is one such game.
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
One last push for my blog about why guns, cops, and the torrid history of 'Bounty Hunters' are the reason the Metroid series doesn't have a clear direction anymore.
New (messy) blog from me on something that got lodged while I was playing Metroid Prime 4. Is Samus a cop?
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
SEIZURES NOT MADE BY VIRTUE OF DUE PROCESS
This is not a blog about modern policing (mostly). You see, my annual rewatch of coincided with my playthrough of the disappointing but agreeable ....
killjoy.bearblog.dev
January 21, 2026 at 5:21 PM
One last push for my blog about why guns, cops, and the torrid history of 'Bounty Hunters' are the reason the Metroid series doesn't have a clear direction anymore.
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
New (messy) blog from me on something that got lodged while I was playing Metroid Prime 4. Is Samus a cop?
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
SEIZURES NOT MADE BY VIRTUE OF DUE PROCESS
This is not a blog about modern policing (mostly). You see, my annual rewatch of coincided with my playthrough of the disappointing but agreeable ....
killjoy.bearblog.dev
January 20, 2026 at 3:06 PM
New (messy) blog from me on something that got lodged while I was playing Metroid Prime 4. Is Samus a cop?
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
New (messy) blog from me on something that got lodged while I was playing Metroid Prime 4. Is Samus a cop?
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
SEIZURES NOT MADE BY VIRTUE OF DUE PROCESS
This is not a blog about modern policing (mostly). You see, my annual rewatch of coincided with my playthrough of the disappointing but agreeable ....
killjoy.bearblog.dev
January 20, 2026 at 3:06 PM
New (messy) blog from me on something that got lodged while I was playing Metroid Prime 4. Is Samus a cop?
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
Or rather, is her cop-ness the reason Nintendo keep the Metroid series at a safe distance?
killjoy.bearblog.dev/metroid-samu...
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
protestors have painted what appears to be a tunnel on the side of the mountain, causing ICE agents to run into the mountain at full speed.
disgusting.
disgusting.
January 16, 2026 at 1:34 AM
protestors have painted what appears to be a tunnel on the side of the mountain, causing ICE agents to run into the mountain at full speed.
disgusting.
disgusting.
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
Had to actually do some writing today.
January 17, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Had to actually do some writing today.
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
I've been commissioned to write a piece about games based on real places that changed peoples' perception of that place or had some kind of local impact - are you a dev who made a game like this? Or are you a player who has a story about a game that inspired you to visit somewhere? Let me know!
January 13, 2026 at 1:24 PM
I've been commissioned to write a piece about games based on real places that changed peoples' perception of that place or had some kind of local impact - are you a dev who made a game like this? Or are you a player who has a story about a game that inspired you to visit somewhere? Let me know!
Hell yeah
All of the music in SKATE STORY can be streamed on all platforms, including Twitch and YouTube, without copyright strikes.
Go on, eat the Moon.
Go on, eat the Moon.
January 12, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Hell yeah
"Despite only videogames being allowed, 6 people wrote in Magic: The Gathering, so we interpreted that as MTG Online."
Magic players are all about rules until they aren't.
Magic players are all about rules until they aren't.
ah, this came out! a great list of the most inspirational videogames, as nominated by 167 game designers (including me) polarisgamedesign.com/the-polaris-...
The Polaris List
Polaris is a non-profit committed to improving and refining the art and craft of game design. In order to get a snapshot of current game design thinking and reference points, we wondered — what do wor...
polarisgamedesign.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:05 PM
"Despite only videogames being allowed, 6 people wrote in Magic: The Gathering, so we interpreted that as MTG Online."
Magic players are all about rules until they aren't.
Magic players are all about rules until they aren't.
A final bump for my best of 2025! Really enjoying having a place to quickly put work out to share with my friends 😊
2025 was a terrible state of affairs and apparently it was just a lay-up for 2026... but the culture of games had a lot to offer. Wrote about Despelote, Silksong, Kojima, Slop, Stoicism, and Magic the Gathering in my year round-up. Enjoy!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
KILLJOY PRESENTS: THE BEST OF 2025
Last August I had a conversation in the sweaty halls of Gamescom with a couple of journalists about the state of the games industry. We were bemoaning th...
killjoy.bearblog.dev
January 6, 2026 at 3:13 PM
A final bump for my best of 2025! Really enjoying having a place to quickly put work out to share with my friends 😊
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
2025 was a terrible state of affairs and apparently it was just a lay-up for 2026... but the culture of games had a lot to offer. Wrote about Despelote, Silksong, Kojima, Slop, Stoicism, and Magic the Gathering in my year round-up. Enjoy!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
KILLJOY PRESENTS: THE BEST OF 2025
Last August I had a conversation in the sweaty halls of Gamescom with a couple of journalists about the state of the games industry. We were bemoaning th...
killjoy.bearblog.dev
January 4, 2026 at 12:19 PM
2025 was a terrible state of affairs and apparently it was just a lay-up for 2026... but the culture of games had a lot to offer. Wrote about Despelote, Silksong, Kojima, Slop, Stoicism, and Magic the Gathering in my year round-up. Enjoy!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
2025 was a terrible state of affairs and apparently it was just a lay-up for 2026... but the culture of games had a lot to offer. Wrote about Despelote, Silksong, Kojima, Slop, Stoicism, and Magic the Gathering in my year round-up. Enjoy!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
KILLJOY PRESENTS: THE BEST OF 2025
Last August I had a conversation in the sweaty halls of Gamescom with a couple of journalists about the state of the games industry. We were bemoaning th...
killjoy.bearblog.dev
January 4, 2026 at 12:19 PM
2025 was a terrible state of affairs and apparently it was just a lay-up for 2026... but the culture of games had a lot to offer. Wrote about Despelote, Silksong, Kojima, Slop, Stoicism, and Magic the Gathering in my year round-up. Enjoy!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
killjoy.bearblog.dev/killjoy-pres...
Good luck in 2026
January 2, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Good luck in 2026
There is no motivational, pseudo-science, LinkedIn-ass podcast that can fire me up the same ways as this combination of words and image.
January 1, 2026 at 4:58 PM
There is no motivational, pseudo-science, LinkedIn-ass podcast that can fire me up the same ways as this combination of words and image.
Ancient Alien: Samus, chosen one, we discovered a path to world peace... the power to turn into a ball to unlock doors.
Samus: ...
Alien: you can do a boost dash too.
Samus: ...
Alien: you can do a boost dash too.
December 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Ancient Alien: Samus, chosen one, we discovered a path to world peace... the power to turn into a ball to unlock doors.
Samus: ...
Alien: you can do a boost dash too.
Samus: ...
Alien: you can do a boost dash too.
2025 was the year of the coin flip in games. I want 2026 to be the year of conkers. Just embracing the tradition of smashing objects against each other.
December 30, 2025 at 2:36 PM
2025 was the year of the coin flip in games. I want 2026 to be the year of conkers. Just embracing the tradition of smashing objects against each other.
Sunday bump for this piece on Skate Story. Come for the crit, stay for me dunking on a prophet!
Sometimes you play a game that moves you so much you dust off your blog and get to work. Skate Story by @bysameng.com is one such game.
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I HATE SKATEBOARDING.
Skateboarding is an enterprise of ambition. The hobby begins the first time you see a person play footsie with gravity, launchi...
killjoy.bearblog.dev
December 21, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Sunday bump for this piece on Skate Story. Come for the crit, stay for me dunking on a prophet!
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
Sometimes you play a game that moves you so much you dust off your blog and get to work. Skate Story by @bysameng.com is one such game.
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I HATE SKATEBOARDING.
Skateboarding is an enterprise of ambition. The hobby begins the first time you see a person play footsie with gravity, launchi...
killjoy.bearblog.dev
December 19, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Sometimes you play a game that moves you so much you dust off your blog and get to work. Skate Story by @bysameng.com is one such game.
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
Sometimes you play a game that moves you so much you dust off your blog and get to work. Skate Story by @bysameng.com is one such game.
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I HATE SKATEBOARDING.
Skateboarding is an enterprise of ambition. The hobby begins the first time you see a person play footsie with gravity, launchi...
killjoy.bearblog.dev
December 19, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Sometimes you play a game that moves you so much you dust off your blog and get to work. Skate Story by @bysameng.com is one such game.
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
I wrote about public spaces, permission and pain and how all of these things feed skating culture. Thanks for reading!
killjoy.bearblog.dev/i-hate-skate...
My SCORCHING Game Awards take is that this represents everything nauseating about corporate games. Exploiting beloved icons of visual art as marketing mascots is weak.
You've got access to Herzog, a titan of cinema, and all you want him to do is stand around? You gotta dream bigger.
You've got access to Herzog, a titan of cinema, and all you want him to do is stand around? You gotta dream bigger.
We've asked you before, but after #TheGameAwards it bears repeating:
What is #Warframe? wrfr.me/48OBFWu
What is #Warframe? wrfr.me/48OBFWu
Warframe | Wake Up, Tenno (featuring Werner Herzog)
Warframe is many things to many players (whom we call Tenno).Clad in armor of untold power, they cycle between war and grace in a solar system paralyzed by c...
wrfr.me
December 12, 2025 at 12:06 PM
My SCORCHING Game Awards take is that this represents everything nauseating about corporate games. Exploiting beloved icons of visual art as marketing mascots is weak.
You've got access to Herzog, a titan of cinema, and all you want him to do is stand around? You gotta dream bigger.
You've got access to Herzog, a titan of cinema, and all you want him to do is stand around? You gotta dream bigger.
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
Hello, i’m trying to raise as much funding as I can to help my little sister get endometriosis surgery because it’s crippling her life, and will continue to do so. If you have any small amount you can spare, I cannot begin to tell you how thankful we’ll be ♥️♥️♥️
gofund.me/c1ba6beba
gofund.me/c1ba6beba
Donate to Please help get Sarah endo surgery, organized by Charlotte Reynoldson
Hello,
I'm setting up a fundraiser for my little sister, Sarah. I'll try t… Charlotte Reynoldson needs your support for Please help get Sarah endo surgery
gofund.me
December 11, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Hello, i’m trying to raise as much funding as I can to help my little sister get endometriosis surgery because it’s crippling her life, and will continue to do so. If you have any small amount you can spare, I cannot begin to tell you how thankful we’ll be ♥️♥️♥️
gofund.me/c1ba6beba
gofund.me/c1ba6beba
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
I wrote a new article: it’s on the Fallout franchise, & it’s just been published in Games&Culture
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
December 8, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I wrote a new article: it’s on the Fallout franchise, & it’s just been published in Games&Culture
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
Reposted by WILL BUTLER
lmao. We gotta decentralize game distribution STAT. My dream is to see gamemakers alongside illustrators and ceramicists at craft fairs and street markets selling their games.
Humble's now banned it too, post-launch:
www.ign.com/articles/hor...
www.ign.com/articles/hor...
Horses, the Upsetting Horror Game Previously Banned on Steam, Gets Last Minute Ban From Epic Games Store Too - IGN
Last week, we reported that disturbing horror game Horses had been banned from Steam. Now, at the last possible minute before the game was set to release widely across other PC store fronts, Epic Game...
www.ign.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:18 PM
lmao. We gotta decentralize game distribution STAT. My dream is to see gamemakers alongside illustrators and ceramicists at craft fairs and street markets selling their games.
lmao. We gotta decentralize game distribution STAT. My dream is to see gamemakers alongside illustrators and ceramicists at craft fairs and street markets selling their games.
Humble's now banned it too, post-launch:
www.ign.com/articles/hor...
www.ign.com/articles/hor...
Horses, the Upsetting Horror Game Previously Banned on Steam, Gets Last Minute Ban From Epic Games Store Too - IGN
Last week, we reported that disturbing horror game Horses had been banned from Steam. Now, at the last possible minute before the game was set to release widely across other PC store fronts, Epic Game...
www.ign.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:18 PM
lmao. We gotta decentralize game distribution STAT. My dream is to see gamemakers alongside illustrators and ceramicists at craft fairs and street markets selling their games.