Ben Johnson
@gamedesignerben.bsky.social
Best of the Web. Game Designer on [unannounced] at Double Fine. Previously: Psychonauts 2, Dead Space (2008), Babycastles. He/him.
It’s great to see game development operating as a cultural force in NYC! Could not have imagined an event calendar like this, at all these different venues, when I moved there in 2009.
A live game show, a game manual jam, game-based street dance & live music, networking and gallery shows… a few highlights from our packed week of Game Design Days 2025!
The fun kicks off this Friday, 11/14, leading up to No Quarter on 11/22. Free events all week — most requiring RSVP!
Link in bio!
The fun kicks off this Friday, 11/14, leading up to No Quarter on 11/22. Free events all week — most requiring RSVP!
Link in bio!
November 12, 2025 at 9:05 PM
It’s great to see game development operating as a cultural force in NYC! Could not have imagined an event calendar like this, at all these different venues, when I moved there in 2009.
When Dead Space shipped, we got a 60 from EuroGamer with the review written by somebody who didn’t like horror, which knocked our average from 90 to 89, a publisher threshold that took away thousands of dollars in potential bonuses from the entire team. Critics bombing your hard work IS showbiz!
Yes, it should be. Call this behavior out and don’t support it. I was all in on this one until I learned this and now I won’t buy it.
Should An ‘ARC Raiders’ Review Score Be Tanked Because The Game Uses AI?
ARC Raiders had its Metascore knocked down by a new review that gave it an extremely low score due to its use of AI. Is that fair?
www.forbes.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
When Dead Space shipped, we got a 60 from EuroGamer with the review written by somebody who didn’t like horror, which knocked our average from 90 to 89, a publisher threshold that took away thousands of dollars in potential bonuses from the entire team. Critics bombing your hard work IS showbiz!
This is what it’s like when you eat the Swamp Thing Yam.
IT GOT BETTER
📍Central MN
📍Central MN
November 12, 2025 at 4:50 AM
This is what it’s like when you eat the Swamp Thing Yam.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
IT GOT BETTER
📍Central MN
📍Central MN
November 12, 2025 at 3:05 AM
IT GOT BETTER
📍Central MN
📍Central MN
Reposted by Ben Johnson
6-year-old: I want to play that kids game with the people again.
Me: ...with people? What were they doing?
6-year-old: You... click the little white people to complete things!
Me: ...complete things? That's lots of games...
6-year-old: NO!! THEY JUMP IN HOLES!
Me: Ohhhh, you want the game KIDS!
Me: ...with people? What were they doing?
6-year-old: You... click the little white people to complete things!
Me: ...complete things? That's lots of games...
6-year-old: NO!! THEY JUMP IN HOLES!
Me: Ohhhh, you want the game KIDS!
November 11, 2025 at 10:45 PM
6-year-old: I want to play that kids game with the people again.
Me: ...with people? What were they doing?
6-year-old: You... click the little white people to complete things!
Me: ...complete things? That's lots of games...
6-year-old: NO!! THEY JUMP IN HOLES!
Me: Ohhhh, you want the game KIDS!
Me: ...with people? What were they doing?
6-year-old: You... click the little white people to complete things!
Me: ...complete things? That's lots of games...
6-year-old: NO!! THEY JUMP IN HOLES!
Me: Ohhhh, you want the game KIDS!
You could say I'm a fan of "the original trilogy"
November 11, 2025 at 6:46 AM
You could say I'm a fan of "the original trilogy"
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Last week the “D.C. Sandwich Guy” was found not guilty of misdemeanor assault. We can’t foresee the full implications of this verdict yet; only time will tell the true meaning of this acquittal as precedent. But from where we’re sitting: sure seems like sandwich terrorism is now legal in the USA.
Sandwich Terrorism Is Now Legal. Also, Here Are Some Sandwiches We Like
COYOTE does not condone violence, only sandwiches.
www.coyotemedia.org
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Last week the “D.C. Sandwich Guy” was found not guilty of misdemeanor assault. We can’t foresee the full implications of this verdict yet; only time will tell the true meaning of this acquittal as precedent. But from where we’re sitting: sure seems like sandwich terrorism is now legal in the USA.
It is wild just how much of a federal money firehose Pelosi was for the city of San Francisco, and her retirement amid various uncompleted infrastructure projects and a downtown revitalization effort is going to be interesting, even after Trump.
Nancy Pelosi can be succeeded.
But she cannot be replaced.
Latest column from @esksf.bsky.social
missionlocal.org/2025/11/nanc...
But she cannot be replaced.
Latest column from @esksf.bsky.social
missionlocal.org/2025/11/nanc...
Nancy Pelosi can be succeeded. She cannot be replaced.
The Speaker Emerita directed heaps of money back to San Francisco and used vast influence to elevate her city. Nobody can step in and replicate that.
missionlocal.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
It is wild just how much of a federal money firehose Pelosi was for the city of San Francisco, and her retirement amid various uncompleted infrastructure projects and a downtown revitalization effort is going to be interesting, even after Trump.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
In November 1999, the Zombo dot com website was created as a parody of the creative, but, largely pointless flash intros, which were trending at the end of the 1990s. Welcome... to ZomboCom.
#WebDesignHistory
#WebDesignHistory
November 10, 2025 at 2:36 PM
In November 1999, the Zombo dot com website was created as a parody of the creative, but, largely pointless flash intros, which were trending at the end of the 1990s. Welcome... to ZomboCom.
#WebDesignHistory
#WebDesignHistory
Reposted by Ben Johnson
People remember Andrew Carnegie for his funding of libraries across the country, but few remember when he teamed up with Teddy Roosevelt to advocate for changing English to phonetic spelling.
November 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
People remember Andrew Carnegie for his funding of libraries across the country, but few remember when he teamed up with Teddy Roosevelt to advocate for changing English to phonetic spelling.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Absolutely the greatest thing to happen to a bookish teen with a sense of drama. '“I didn’t want to say immediately it was me,” he said. “With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last.”'
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Absolutely the greatest thing to happen to a bookish teen with a sense of drama. '“I didn’t want to say immediately it was me,” he said. “With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last.”'
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Today I learned that there is an 8 1/2 minute cut of Sade's "Smooth Operator" music video, and it ends with a rooftop chase sequence with conga drums, blaring saxophones, and gunfire foley straight out of a sound library. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0sr...
Sade - Smooth Operator (12” Version) – Official – 1984
YouTube video by SadeVEVO
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Today I learned that there is an 8 1/2 minute cut of Sade's "Smooth Operator" music video, and it ends with a rooftop chase sequence with conga drums, blaring saxophones, and gunfire foley straight out of a sound library. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0sr...
Today I learned that there is an 8 1/2 minute cut of Sade's "Smooth Operator" music video, and it ends with a rooftop chase sequence with conga drums, blaring saxophones, and gunfire foley straight out of a sound library. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0sr...
Sade - Smooth Operator (12” Version) – Official – 1984
YouTube video by SadeVEVO
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Today I learned that there is an 8 1/2 minute cut of Sade's "Smooth Operator" music video, and it ends with a rooftop chase sequence with conga drums, blaring saxophones, and gunfire foley straight out of a sound library. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0sr...
“Cliff Johnson’s The Fool’s Errand-likes” is a mouthful, but accurate.
also sorry I am never going to call deduction games “metroidbrainias”. sorry. I am open to other terms but not to that one
November 9, 2025 at 3:04 AM
“Cliff Johnson’s The Fool’s Errand-likes” is a mouthful, but accurate.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I havent read such a banger of an essay in a very long time. This is so well-written!
Desiring a pledge of eternal love from a machine that cannot love or recall any interaction older than an hour or two speaks more to a discomfort with reciprocating love with a person
Elon Musk is over on Twitter posting his sad/pathetic Ai prompts.
November 8, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Desiring a pledge of eternal love from a machine that cannot love or recall any interaction older than an hour or two speaks more to a discomfort with reciprocating love with a person
Reposted by Ben Johnson
The 30 Rock episode with “how do you do, fellow kids?” is closer to the release of Windows 98 than it is to today.
I made a “how do you do, fellow kids?” joke to someone in their mid 20s who, it turns out, was too young to have heard of that meme.
So “how do you do, fellow kids?” is now an example of “how do you do, fellow kids?”
So “how do you do, fellow kids?” is now an example of “how do you do, fellow kids?”
November 8, 2025 at 2:39 PM
The 30 Rock episode with “how do you do, fellow kids?” is closer to the release of Windows 98 than it is to today.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Absolutely WILD that the development of sofrware proceeded with so little heed to record-keeping that 52 year old source code is a major archaeological trove that requires special tools to gain access to, like it's a treasure room in a sealed royal tomb from 3500 years ago.
Bell bottom-era tape unearthed, could contain lost piece of Unix history
www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/u...
It might have the first-ever version of UNIX written in C
<- by me on @theregister.com
www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/u...
It might have the first-ever version of UNIX written in C
<- by me on @theregister.com
52 year old data tape could contain Unix history
: It might have the first-ever version of UNIX written in C
www.theregister.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Absolutely WILD that the development of sofrware proceeded with so little heed to record-keeping that 52 year old source code is a major archaeological trove that requires special tools to gain access to, like it's a treasure room in a sealed royal tomb from 3500 years ago.
Somehow, the Democrats are getting football, baseball, basketball, Catholicism, *and* mainline Protestantism.
Watching the current Republicans speed-run losing their position as “the Christian party” is certainly something.
UPDATE: Reached out to the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister who was there that day and has been active in religious demonstrations at Broadview.
“They are making it clear that they are scared of prayer … it speaks the truth that what they are doing in that building is evil.”
“They are making it clear that they are scared of prayer … it speaks the truth that what they are doing in that building is evil.”
November 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Somehow, the Democrats are getting football, baseball, basketball, Catholicism, *and* mainline Protestantism.
A “take” is the process of processing human experience and material reality and wrapping it up in theory and rhetoric until everything is an undifferentiated mass of gray goo that could mean anything and nothing all at once.
What “affordability” is, really, is the latest iteration of the neverending Democratic quest to find some policy problem they can solve to win elections.
Affordability is, in fact, not a real thing. It's a buzzword designed to respond to an invented crisis. It's the Dem equivalent of the GOP saying it'll secure our border - the public got really upset about something that mostly didn't exist, and now you'll solve it. It's anti-Glonzo sloganeering.
November 8, 2025 at 1:51 AM
A “take” is the process of processing human experience and material reality and wrapping it up in theory and rhetoric until everything is an undifferentiated mass of gray goo that could mean anything and nothing all at once.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
November 7, 2025 at 8:29 PM
The lady I buy apples from at the farmer's market told me that our market gets lower prices than all the others in the Bay Area because of how many shoppers buy with food assistance tokens.
November 8, 2025 at 12:16 AM
The lady I buy apples from at the farmer's market told me that our market gets lower prices than all the others in the Bay Area because of how many shoppers buy with food assistance tokens.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Something worth noting: Rockstar is leaning HEAVILY on the excuse that the unionising employees were "leaking private company information"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
"Rockstar, Rockstar, you're disgusting, we charge you with union busting," the protesters declared.
'All you had to do was follow the damn law, Rockstar!': Workers are protesting outside Take-Two after GTA 6 dev's alleged 'brazen' union-busting
"They can get used to seeing us on their doorstep."
www.pcgamer.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Something worth noting: Rockstar is leaning HEAVILY on the excuse that the unionising employees were "leaking private company information"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
They want people to assume this means game info or assets.
But I will bet you CASH MONEY this translates to:
'they were comparing salaries and work contracts"
Reposted by Ben Johnson
sorry guys i accidentally deleted the spreadsheet with the first drafts of homophobic potato chip brands and it turns out it was somehow load bearing to the entire driving system and the only guy who knows how to fix it got fired in the union busting so
BREAKING: Rockstar has delayed Grand Theft Auto VI again, pushing the highly anticipated game from May to November 19, 2026. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ Is Postponed Again — to November 2026
The release date for the game had previously slipped to May 2026 from fall 2025
www.bloomberg.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:55 PM
sorry guys i accidentally deleted the spreadsheet with the first drafts of homophobic potato chip brands and it turns out it was somehow load bearing to the entire driving system and the only guy who knows how to fix it got fired in the union busting so