Clara Fernandez-Vara
@clarafv.bsky.social
NYU Game Center faculty & Narrative design & game writing at Fiction Control. Media scholar, cinephile, puzzle head, mystery wrangler.
https://clarafv.com
https://clarafv.com
"There is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it’s here. It’s here and it’s not visiting anymore. It wants to stay. The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness, it is never more alive than when we sleep." www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaKr...
Andor | Maarva Andor’s Monologue | Disney+
YouTube video by Star Wars
www.youtube.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:47 PM
"There is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it’s here. It’s here and it’s not visiting anymore. It wants to stay. The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness, it is never more alive than when we sleep." www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaKr...
As a mother and a professor, it’s exhausting and painful to teach and support young people for the future, when the horizon looks dystopian. Our only option is to keep working, resisting and believing that we can rebuild and create a better world.
January 8, 2026 at 4:37 PM
As a mother and a professor, it’s exhausting and painful to teach and support young people for the future, when the horizon looks dystopian. Our only option is to keep working, resisting and believing that we can rebuild and create a better world.
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
Worked on this slowly throughout the last month. Lots of incredibly unique games to explore from @amazefest.bsky.social. My favourite part of this was adding the flamingo confetti explosion.
January 8, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Worked on this slowly throughout the last month. Lots of incredibly unique games to explore from @amazefest.bsky.social. My favourite part of this was adding the flamingo confetti explosion.
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
friends! acquaintances! help!
i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty!
hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...
i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty!
hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...
Job opening: game designer @ Hidden Folks
We're looking for a game designer in the Netherlands to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
hiddenfolks.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:58 PM
friends! acquaintances! help!
i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty!
hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...
i'm looking to hire a game designer (living in the Netherlands) to help build games in The Hidden Folks Universe, starting with a sequel to the indie hit game Hidden Folks.
know someone who's a good fit? pls forward this, ty!
hiddenfolks.com/job-opening/...
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
"GenAI is the futu--
January 6, 2026 at 3:31 AM
"GenAI is the futu--
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
Knives out: the upper middle class are squabbling vicious children who do not deserve their inheritance
Glass onion: the new elite are the stupidest murderous cunts alive and deserve your scorn
Wake up dead man: those preaching anger as salvation are leading you to death, hope and kindness matter
Glass onion: the new elite are the stupidest murderous cunts alive and deserve your scorn
Wake up dead man: those preaching anger as salvation are leading you to death, hope and kindness matter
December 28, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Knives out: the upper middle class are squabbling vicious children who do not deserve their inheritance
Glass onion: the new elite are the stupidest murderous cunts alive and deserve your scorn
Wake up dead man: those preaching anger as salvation are leading you to death, hope and kindness matter
Glass onion: the new elite are the stupidest murderous cunts alive and deserve your scorn
Wake up dead man: those preaching anger as salvation are leading you to death, hope and kindness matter
Úna-Minh is brilliant and a delight to work with. Hire her!
December 29, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Úna-Minh is brilliant and a delight to work with. Hire her!
Visual metaphor for the way GenAI is being used?
another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls
December 27, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Visual metaphor for the way GenAI is being used?
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
NORAD Santa tracker is Woke
December 25, 2025 at 2:28 AM
NORAD Santa tracker is Woke
From the people who called the protagonist "Guybrush" because it was the name of the sprite file in Deluxe Paint (guy.brush) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guybrus...
December 23, 2025 at 3:33 PM
From the people who called the protagonist "Guybrush" because it was the name of the sprite file in Deluxe Paint (guy.brush) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guybrus...
I'm convinced that the current obsession of the US government with annexing Greenland comes from people who have learned about global politics playing Risk (the board game). Just look at the map. (Image from Wikimedia commons) commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ri...
December 23, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I'm convinced that the current obsession of the US government with annexing Greenland comes from people who have learned about global politics playing Risk (the board game). Just look at the map. (Image from Wikimedia commons) commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ri...
Yesterday I did some last minute Christmas shopping, and I was reminded how shop aisles in the US are also classified in reductionistic, gendered sections. If you want to buy something that doesn't fit gender stereotypes or find a gift for an LGBTQ friend, there's nothing or you have to pay extra.
December 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Yesterday I did some last minute Christmas shopping, and I was reminded how shop aisles in the US are also classified in reductionistic, gendered sections. If you want to buy something that doesn't fit gender stereotypes or find a gift for an LGBTQ friend, there's nothing or you have to pay extra.
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
The thing about the claim that AI can speed up game production cycles is that game production cycles are not generally bottlenecked by the ability to make assets, and especially not low-quality replaceable assets
December 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
The thing about the claim that AI can speed up game production cycles is that game production cycles are not generally bottlenecked by the ability to make assets, and especially not low-quality replaceable assets
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
ROSEWATER is an adventure game set in an alternate Wild West, currently 20% off on Steam!
store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/...
Featuring:
- Hand-drawn and animated graphics
- Choices that actually affect the story
- An IndieCade-nominated voice performance
But don't just take my word for it:
store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/...
Featuring:
- Hand-drawn and animated graphics
- Choices that actually affect the story
- An IndieCade-nominated voice performance
But don't just take my word for it:
December 22, 2025 at 3:40 PM
ROSEWATER is an adventure game set in an alternate Wild West, currently 20% off on Steam!
store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/...
Featuring:
- Hand-drawn and animated graphics
- Choices that actually affect the story
- An IndieCade-nominated voice performance
But don't just take my word for it:
store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/...
Featuring:
- Hand-drawn and animated graphics
- Choices that actually affect the story
- An IndieCade-nominated voice performance
But don't just take my word for it:
One of the selling points of Professor Layton is precisely that its design and and art are almost artisanal. Here come people who don't understand this basic fact and will kill off the series.
December 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM
One of the selling points of Professor Layton is precisely that its design and and art are almost artisanal. Here come people who don't understand this basic fact and will kill off the series.
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
☃️☃️ Good news everyone! ☃️☃️
The Electronic Literature Collection call for submissions has been extended to **January 31st.**
That means you can enjoy the holidays *and* still have time to submit your work.
Questions? Email us at elcvol5 [at] gmail [dot] com
The Electronic Literature Collection call for submissions has been extended to **January 31st.**
That means you can enjoy the holidays *and* still have time to submit your work.
Questions? Email us at elcvol5 [at] gmail [dot] com
Call for Submissions
The Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) seeks submissions for Volume 5 of the Electronic Literature Collection.
eliterature.github.io
December 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
☃️☃️ Good news everyone! ☃️☃️
The Electronic Literature Collection call for submissions has been extended to **January 31st.**
That means you can enjoy the holidays *and* still have time to submit your work.
Questions? Email us at elcvol5 [at] gmail [dot] com
The Electronic Literature Collection call for submissions has been extended to **January 31st.**
That means you can enjoy the holidays *and* still have time to submit your work.
Questions? Email us at elcvol5 [at] gmail [dot] com
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
I’ve been in game dev for 26 years and I can’t remember any other time where a specific tech was being insistently and persistently pushed on devs as a group in the public sphere.
Why would it? Cui bono? Why would any given dev have an interest in other devs using tech they don’t have a stake in?
Why would it? Cui bono? Why would any given dev have an interest in other devs using tech they don’t have a stake in?
My conspiracy theory about genAI in games blowing up more and more by big companies is that they’ve all got a ton of investors insisting they use genAI tools otherwise they(investors) won’t be able to bankroll em anymore
December 22, 2025 at 2:42 PM
I’ve been in game dev for 26 years and I can’t remember any other time where a specific tech was being insistently and persistently pushed on devs as a group in the public sphere.
Why would it? Cui bono? Why would any given dev have an interest in other devs using tech they don’t have a stake in?
Why would it? Cui bono? Why would any given dev have an interest in other devs using tech they don’t have a stake in?
This is a symptom of how broken academia is. The goal is to keep publishing papers nobody reads, at a pace that can interfere with rigorous work. Scientific papers equate volume of publication with quality, and now all academics fields are trapped in a rat race of poor contributions to their field.
I’m sorry, but it is disgraceful to be an academic who uses this technology to conduct research. It should be prohibited in all of our scholarly institutions, including universities and journals.
December 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
This is a symptom of how broken academia is. The goal is to keep publishing papers nobody reads, at a pace that can interfere with rigorous work. Scientific papers equate volume of publication with quality, and now all academics fields are trapped in a rat race of poor contributions to their field.
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
Hey look, Beatdown City Survivors on a list of best demos on Steam!
You can check it out here!
beatdown.city/bdcsrstm
You can check it out here!
beatdown.city/bdcsrstm
December 20, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Hey look, Beatdown City Survivors on a list of best demos on Steam!
You can check it out here!
beatdown.city/bdcsrstm
You can check it out here!
beatdown.city/bdcsrstm
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
Lately I've been feeling so deeply exhausted about how every single creative person is wasting so much time thinking about and arguing about how this useless dogshit doesn't work and can never work; so I gotta say, seeing players overwhelmingly understand that too makes me SO happy and encouraged
everyone dislikes genai in games, but kids and story-focused players the most.
sounds like we'll be ok. just have to stay the course here and the "inevitable" new technology nobody likes will die. again.
quanticfoundry.com/2025/12/18/g...
sounds like we'll be ok. just have to stay the course here and the "inevitable" new technology nobody likes will die. again.
quanticfoundry.com/2025/12/18/g...
Gamers Are Overwhelmingly Negative About Gen AI in Video Games, but Attitudes Vary by Gender, Age, and Gaming Motivations.
Learn about how gender, age, and gaming motivations shape the perception of Gen AI in video games.
quanticfoundry.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Lately I've been feeling so deeply exhausted about how every single creative person is wasting so much time thinking about and arguing about how this useless dogshit doesn't work and can never work; so I gotta say, seeing players overwhelmingly understand that too makes me SO happy and encouraged
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
This is why THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE holds up 50 years later. It's NYC: everyone hates the cowardly mayor, city services are underfunded, the subway is a trash fire and people who ride it are literally being held hostage and victimized. And you see it all onscreen
everything we see about the 1970s focuses on the flash and glitter of the decade. there isn't much media that centers on the stagflation of the decade and the collapse of the nation's industrial base. (one reason that SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER is still worth watching is it is *about* the latter)
December 20, 2025 at 3:47 PM
This is why THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE holds up 50 years later. It's NYC: everyone hates the cowardly mayor, city services are underfunded, the subway is a trash fire and people who ride it are literally being held hostage and victimized. And you see it all onscreen
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
"they don't know how to express the idea" here's rian johnson's storyboard for knives out
pick up a pencil and a napkin
pick up a pencil and a napkin
December 18, 2025 at 4:58 PM
"they don't know how to express the idea" here's rian johnson's storyboard for knives out
pick up a pencil and a napkin
pick up a pencil and a napkin
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
The ACM Digital Library, where a LOT of computing-related research is published (I'd say at least 75% of my own publications), is now not only providing (without consent of the authors and without opt-in by readers) AI-generated summaries of papers, but they appear as the *default* over abstracts.
December 16, 2025 at 11:31 PM
The ACM Digital Library, where a LOT of computing-related research is published (I'd say at least 75% of my own publications), is now not only providing (without consent of the authors and without opt-in by readers) AI-generated summaries of papers, but they appear as the *default* over abstracts.
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
For The New Yorker’s Cartoons & Puzzles issue, I wrote about Stephen Sondheim’s lifelong obsession with games and puzzles, and a delightful new book about it called "Matching Minds with Sondheim." This was the most fun I had writing anything all year. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Stephen Sondheim, Puzzle Maestro
For the late Broadway composer, crafting crosswords and treasure hunts was as thrilling as writing musicals.
www.newyorker.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
For The New Yorker’s Cartoons & Puzzles issue, I wrote about Stephen Sondheim’s lifelong obsession with games and puzzles, and a delightful new book about it called "Matching Minds with Sondheim." This was the most fun I had writing anything all year. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Clara Fernandez-Vara
NYC residents, please help us to demand that the City Council increase and stabilize public library funding. It takes 30 seconds to send a letter: actionnetwork.org/letters/city... - we also need people to follow up with a phone call to your member.
City Council, we demand half a percent of the overall city budget for libraries!
In response to the NYC FY2026 Budget, adopted this June, the Brooklyn Public Library, the New York Public Library, and the Queens Public Library released a joint statement thanking City Leaders for in...
actionnetwork.org
December 15, 2025 at 3:23 AM
NYC residents, please help us to demand that the City Council increase and stabilize public library funding. It takes 30 seconds to send a letter: actionnetwork.org/letters/city... - we also need people to follow up with a phone call to your member.