Eben
@ebenmyers.bsky.social
Game designer, erstwhile blacksmith (he/him)
Trans rights are human rights, and Black lives matter.
Trans rights are human rights, and Black lives matter.
Excellent selections (all four). Looking at my bookshelf, I’d be hard pressed to pick something better!
If I was held at gunpoint and forced to recommend just one book for prospective game designers, I would recommend these two books before death took me
December 10, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Excellent selections (all four). Looking at my bookshelf, I’d be hard pressed to pick something better!
Reposted by Eben
I played Horses this weekend and I wrote down some messy thoughts not only on the game but especially on the specter of formalism that emerged to haunt us all for a moment.
transgamerthoughts.com/post/8023277...
transgamerthoughts.com/post/8023277...
I Hope You Get To Live Your Entire Life As A Human
I thought this was going to be a review of my time with Santa Ragione's Horses, the controversial art game recently banned from Steam and the Epic Store. To some extent, this will be that but after...
transgamerthoughts.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:06 AM
I played Horses this weekend and I wrote down some messy thoughts not only on the game but especially on the specter of formalism that emerged to haunt us all for a moment.
transgamerthoughts.com/post/8023277...
transgamerthoughts.com/post/8023277...
Reposted by Eben
Post your favorite "Lord of the Rings" character. Wrong answers only.
November 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Post your favorite "Lord of the Rings" character. Wrong answers only.
Reposted by Eben
This is why Kentucky Route Zero and 1000xResist are the goats
There should be more games inspired by avant-garde stage design.
November 26, 2025 at 7:24 PM
This is why Kentucky Route Zero and 1000xResist are the goats
On the other end of things, there was the time I was starting a playtest of WASD+mouse (first person) game and the tester asked me how to use a mouse. There was a lot of soul searching (on my part) after that one…
stuff you always want to hear as the playtest starts, "I really hope my latest changes are not in this build."
November 25, 2025 at 10:23 PM
On the other end of things, there was the time I was starting a playtest of WASD+mouse (first person) game and the tester asked me how to use a mouse. There was a lot of soul searching (on my part) after that one…
That image of the Horned King is lodged deep in my subconscious!
I have said before and will say again that it is such a loss that we no longer get covers of this caliber for fantasy books.
This art is by Jean-Léon Huens. These covers are for the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. They lit my imagination on fire as a kid.
This art is by Jean-Léon Huens. These covers are for the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. They lit my imagination on fire as a kid.
November 25, 2025 at 5:22 PM
That image of the Horned King is lodged deep in my subconscious!
Reposted by Eben
Return to Moria's Expansion - Durin's Folk is live now! All new story, NPCs, outdoor areas, trading.. go get it now on Steam, Xbox, PS5 and Epic! www.returntomoria.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Return to Moria's Expansion - Durin's Folk is live now! All new story, NPCs, outdoor areas, trading.. go get it now on Steam, Xbox, PS5 and Epic! www.returntomoria.com
This whole series is fantastic, but it’s hard to top the octopus samurai helmet!
Part 9 of 200 in historically interesting things to inspire your ttrpg
Samurai helmet (kabuko) shaped like an octopus. 1700s
Samurai helmet (kabuko) shaped like an octopus. 1700s
November 15, 2025 at 3:36 AM
This whole series is fantastic, but it’s hard to top the octopus samurai helmet!
Reposted by Eben
"babies are born worshipping unknown gods" is one of the most incredible dwarf fortress bugs i have heard of. its poetry.
November 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
"babies are born worshipping unknown gods" is one of the most incredible dwarf fortress bugs i have heard of. its poetry.
The art vs the artist’s hand
November 11, 2025 at 8:34 PM
The art vs the artist’s hand
Reposted by Eben
Carnegie and Mellon's forebears would have grown up in a world where fairies were real...
The Ohio Valley's Scots-Irish population was steeped in the occult - Pittsburgh City Paper | News, Dining, Music, Best Of, Arts, Film
The predecessors to Pittsburgh’s industrial forbearers were “born in a rural Ireland steeped in fairy lore.”
www.pghcitypaper.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Carnegie and Mellon's forebears would have grown up in a world where fairies were real...
Reposted by Eben
"Studios build teams; teams build games"
That's it, that's the skeet. I'm gonna be yelling this for years.
That's it, that's the skeet. I'm gonna be yelling this for years.
I think smaller teams make better games. I think happy people make better games.
I think every studio should be thinking of the team as their #1 product and strength, and the games are the OUTPUT of that team.
People should be trained, given opportunities, given reasons to WANT to be there
I think every studio should be thinking of the team as their #1 product and strength, and the games are the OUTPUT of that team.
People should be trained, given opportunities, given reasons to WANT to be there
October 21, 2025 at 8:32 PM
"Studios build teams; teams build games"
That's it, that's the skeet. I'm gonna be yelling this for years.
That's it, that's the skeet. I'm gonna be yelling this for years.
Here’s a blade I almost finished this Summer. I’ve been having fun figuring out how to finish it in my home shop (which is not equipped for blade smithing).
September 24, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Here’s a blade I almost finished this Summer. I’ve been having fun figuring out how to finish it in my home shop (which is not equipped for blade smithing).
Reposted by Eben
January 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Eben
This entire thread is amazing, but when I got to this one I thought it was a good place to repost the pointer to the thread, because this song is one of the most triumphant ones I know. And the story about saving a life is true -- Bob Cusick. It's in the Wikipedia article for thems as are curious.
56. Stan Rogers (R.I.P.) - The Mary Ellen Carter
The legend cannot possibly be missing from this list, and there's only one real choice for a tune - the song that saved a life. Beautiful beyond words, and filled with Stan's eternal cheer and zest for life.
The legend cannot possibly be missing from this list, and there's only one real choice for a tune - the song that saved a life. Beautiful beyond words, and filled with Stan's eternal cheer and zest for life.
The Mary Ellen Carter
YouTube video by Stan Rogers - Topic
www.youtube.com
September 11, 2025 at 6:19 PM
This entire thread is amazing, but when I got to this one I thought it was a good place to repost the pointer to the thread, because this song is one of the most triumphant ones I know. And the story about saving a life is true -- Bob Cusick. It's in the Wikipedia article for thems as are curious.
Reposted by Eben
I always love those lists of "35 under 35," but as I get older, I find that I would love to know about innovations/art from people over 65. "65 over 65" please. Elders have incredible ideas that are the result of having seen the full lifecycle of previous ideas and learned from it.
September 8, 2025 at 11:09 PM
I always love those lists of "35 under 35," but as I get older, I find that I would love to know about innovations/art from people over 65. "65 over 65" please. Elders have incredible ideas that are the result of having seen the full lifecycle of previous ideas and learned from it.
Reposted by Eben
Inside you there are two wolves. One is active, the other one is on hot standby and becomes active if the first one fails or is taken down for maintenance. Add more wolves as necessary for increased redundancy load balancing. A quorum badger can be added for environments with multiple active wolves.
May 4, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Inside you there are two wolves. One is active, the other one is on hot standby and becomes active if the first one fails or is taken down for maintenance. Add more wolves as necessary for increased redundancy load balancing. A quorum badger can be added for environments with multiple active wolves.
Reposted by Eben
Maybe it’s time for a reread…
According to my notes, it's been eighteen years since I'd read Top Ten, which is probably why I only noticed on this weekend's reread that this book may be more prescient of the present political reality than V For Vendetta.
August 26, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Maybe it’s time for a reread…
Reposted by Eben
“The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them."
-Brian Eno
-Brian Eno
August 16, 2025 at 5:13 AM
“The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them."
-Brian Eno
-Brian Eno
Reposted by Eben
"He looked up at the empty clouds, and just as he died, he wondered, not for the first time but for the very last, why it should be that we are made for a bright world, but live in a dark one."
The Bright Sword (2024) by @levgrossman.com
#booksky 💙📚
A MUST read.
The Bright Sword (2024) by @levgrossman.com
#booksky 💙📚
A MUST read.
August 3, 2025 at 6:35 PM
"He looked up at the empty clouds, and just as he died, he wondered, not for the first time but for the very last, why it should be that we are made for a bright world, but live in a dark one."
The Bright Sword (2024) by @levgrossman.com
#booksky 💙📚
A MUST read.
The Bright Sword (2024) by @levgrossman.com
#booksky 💙📚
A MUST read.
Reposted by Eben
The person who invented the video game joystick has disappeared, they down right up and left.
July 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The person who invented the video game joystick has disappeared, they down right up and left.
So many… but a favorite is “I sure hope He likes enchiladas, ‘cause that’s what He’s getting.” From the end of a Jack Handey Deep Thought.
What's the most random/obscure thing you quote?
In "The Stand' by Stephen King (complete/uncut ed iirc), a character called The Kid would sometimes say "how do you like that happy crappy?" and I often say that to myself/out loud for various reasons lol.
In "The Stand' by Stephen King (complete/uncut ed iirc), a character called The Kid would sometimes say "how do you like that happy crappy?" and I often say that to myself/out loud for various reasons lol.
July 12, 2025 at 2:51 AM
So many… but a favorite is “I sure hope He likes enchiladas, ‘cause that’s what He’s getting.” From the end of a Jack Handey Deep Thought.
Reposted by Eben
When a game fades, do you wish to hold on? Do you wish these moments still existed? With those fellow players. With the person you once were. With the exact breeze on your skin. The perfect alignment of play and motion. Crystalized. Eternal.
I'm so sorry. The dance is over. The ritual complete.
I'm so sorry. The dance is over. The ritual complete.
July 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
When a game fades, do you wish to hold on? Do you wish these moments still existed? With those fellow players. With the person you once were. With the exact breeze on your skin. The perfect alignment of play and motion. Crystalized. Eternal.
I'm so sorry. The dance is over. The ritual complete.
I'm so sorry. The dance is over. The ritual complete.
Reposted by Eben
What is game code? And art? These are merely the painted sticks and feather bones of a magical beast. Not the active ritual, swirling into glorious motion.
July 5, 2025 at 7:07 PM
What is game code? And art? These are merely the painted sticks and feather bones of a magical beast. Not the active ritual, swirling into glorious motion.