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.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Has anyone tried *reversing the polarity* of the Torment Nexus?
January 5, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Has anyone tried *reversing the polarity* of the Torment Nexus?
I would love to feel the same eye rolling dismissiveness about background references to catastrophic sea level rise in science fiction that I feel about new ice ages or practical eugenics in mid-century sf.
January 5, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I would love to feel the same eye rolling dismissiveness about background references to catastrophic sea level rise in science fiction that I feel about new ice ages or practical eugenics in mid-century sf.
I think despelote has it in a way that other games in this mode often don’t.
January 4, 2026 at 11:58 PM
I think despelote has it in a way that other games in this mode often don’t.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Trump’s Venezuelan oil grab will take decades. foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/02/t...
January 3, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Trump’s Venezuelan oil grab will take decades. foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/02/t...
Reposted by Ben Johnson
The amount of “this is clearly about oil” posting across all platforms as story after story comes out where the oil industry is saying that the oil isn’t worth extracting is making me feel a little insane
January 4, 2026 at 2:54 PM
The amount of “this is clearly about oil” posting across all platforms as story after story comes out where the oil industry is saying that the oil isn’t worth extracting is making me feel a little insane
Continued trend of steep drops in homicide rates in the Bay Area, and the lowest counts in 60 years www.sfchronicle.com/crime/articl...
January 3, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Continued trend of steep drops in homicide rates in the Bay Area, and the lowest counts in 60 years www.sfchronicle.com/crime/articl...
I could maintain my dignity during my meteoric rise in the world of 70’s adult filmmaking. I would practice self-acceptance and use my relative fame to advance my fellow filmmakers’ dreams of mainstream acceptance in Reagan’s America. It would be easy for me.
I could bond with a woman half my age while both of us are stuck in the purgatory of a high end Tokyo hotel, giving her fatherly advice about finding yourself and the work of sustaining a marriage. It would be easy for me. Before returning home, I might even tell her the secret to self-confidence.
I could shepherd a young performer out of obscurity and into the heights of stardom, accepting with grace and humility when her fame inevitably eclipses my own. It would be easy for me. We might even find true happiness together.
January 3, 2026 at 4:34 AM
I could maintain my dignity during my meteoric rise in the world of 70’s adult filmmaking. I would practice self-acceptance and use my relative fame to advance my fellow filmmakers’ dreams of mainstream acceptance in Reagan’s America. It would be easy for me.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Oops, I did it again,
I turned in the gyre
I loosed blood dimmed tides,
Oh baby baby
Oops, your things fall apart,
Mere anarchy starts;
I drowned
that innocence
I turned in the gyre
I loosed blood dimmed tides,
Oh baby baby
Oops, your things fall apart,
Mere anarchy starts;
I drowned
that innocence
January 2, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Oops, I did it again,
I turned in the gyre
I loosed blood dimmed tides,
Oh baby baby
Oops, your things fall apart,
Mere anarchy starts;
I drowned
that innocence
I turned in the gyre
I loosed blood dimmed tides,
Oh baby baby
Oops, your things fall apart,
Mere anarchy starts;
I drowned
that innocence
A real blow to independent music in the Bay. Bittersweet that this is happening on their own terms.
breaking (heart) news for SF music heads www.coyotemedia.org/san-francisc...
Beloved SF Club Bottom of the Hill to Close at the End of 2026
One of the city’s last independent music venues, Bottom of the Hill has survived waves of gentrification, COVID closures, and more throughout its 35 years. Now, owners say it’s last call — on their ow...
www.coyotemedia.org
January 3, 2026 at 1:58 AM
A real blow to independent music in the Bay. Bittersweet that this is happening on their own terms.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
screenshot in case the post gets taken down or deleted
January 2, 2026 at 6:18 PM
screenshot in case the post gets taken down or deleted
While visiting family in the Twin Cities I happened to pass unexpectedly by the church daycare I attended when I was 3, which is still operating, and on the side was a large wooden sign that read PROTECT TRANS KIDS, and I think it’s really true that the future is here, just unevenly distributed.
January 2, 2026 at 3:48 PM
While visiting family in the Twin Cities I happened to pass unexpectedly by the church daycare I attended when I was 3, which is still operating, and on the side was a large wooden sign that read PROTECT TRANS KIDS, and I think it’s really true that the future is here, just unevenly distributed.
I spent about half of last year thinking “should I get back into poetry?” and maybe that means I’m honor-bound to try in 2026.
January 1, 2026 at 5:25 PM
I spent about half of last year thinking “should I get back into poetry?” and maybe that means I’m honor-bound to try in 2026.
It sure is starting to look like the guys who alienated their families with rancid political opinions didn’t have anything better to do on Christmas than terrorize a bunch of minority community daycare centers full of children. www.startribune.com/day-care-fra...
We went to the day cares Nick Shirley did. Here’s what we found.
Some of the 10 day cares the YouTube content creator blasted for having “no children” invited reporters in to see for themselves.
www.startribune.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:42 PM
It sure is starting to look like the guys who alienated their families with rancid political opinions didn’t have anything better to do on Christmas than terrorize a bunch of minority community daycare centers full of children. www.startribune.com/day-care-fra...
Entering into 2026
January 1, 2026 at 4:28 AM
Entering into 2026
I’ve always loved “Head Over Heels” for how it starts out fairly grounded, but just gets more unhinged the longer it goes, reflecting how the lyrics stop making sense after the first verse. It just looks like this shoot would have been a lot of fun. youtu.be/CsHiG-43Fzg?...
December 31, 2025 at 11:02 PM
I’ve always loved “Head Over Heels” for how it starts out fairly grounded, but just gets more unhinged the longer it goes, reflecting how the lyrics stop making sense after the first verse. It just looks like this shoot would have been a lot of fun. youtu.be/CsHiG-43Fzg?...
The Ian McKellen/Patrick Stewart production was probably better, but I had a lot of fun!
December 31, 2025 at 2:52 AM
The Ian McKellen/Patrick Stewart production was probably better, but I had a lot of fun!
Reposted by Ben Johnson
because sometimes it's fun digging into our weird little cultural habits... I've been wondering why I kept running into dogs named Mochi in the Bay Area, so I asked about a dozen local pet owners why they chose that name! click thru for so many pet pix!! www.coyotemedia.org/why-we-cant-...
Why We Can't Stop Naming Our Pets After Japanese Rice Cakes
What's behind the Bay Area's collective interest in naming pets after Japanese food?
www.coyotemedia.org
December 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
because sometimes it's fun digging into our weird little cultural habits... I've been wondering why I kept running into dogs named Mochi in the Bay Area, so I asked about a dozen local pet owners why they chose that name! click thru for so many pet pix!! www.coyotemedia.org/why-we-cant-...
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Any discussion of how a few actors are protesting Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center has to consider how Republicans have tried to slash social spending for the arts — and denigrate the arts and humanities as legitimate fields — since at least Reagan, if not longer.
December 30, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Any discussion of how a few actors are protesting Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center has to consider how Republicans have tried to slash social spending for the arts — and denigrate the arts and humanities as legitimate fields — since at least Reagan, if not longer.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
went to the austin kinokuniya and the store manager sure is Going Through Some Shit.
also man bro should not be running a bookstore bro should become an artist
also man bro should not be running a bookstore bro should become an artist
December 29, 2025 at 11:50 PM
went to the austin kinokuniya and the store manager sure is Going Through Some Shit.
also man bro should not be running a bookstore bro should become an artist
also man bro should not be running a bookstore bro should become an artist
Reposted by Ben Johnson
Thirteen years ago that I discovered 1) the King of Siam offered Abraham Lincoln war elephants, and 2) he refused.
Consider, instead: what if he had not blogtarkin.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/d...
Consider, instead: what if he had not blogtarkin.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/d...
December 30, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Thirteen years ago that I discovered 1) the King of Siam offered Abraham Lincoln war elephants, and 2) he refused.
Consider, instead: what if he had not blogtarkin.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/d...
Consider, instead: what if he had not blogtarkin.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/d...
Reposted by Ben Johnson
My End of Year video is on the "Golden Age of Indie RPGs," from roughly 2010 to 2025. I start with Apocalypse World's release, work through the Google+ Era, and follow design lineages and historical events that have impacted the hobby up through 2025.
The Golden Age of Indie RPGs: 2010-2025
YouTube video by A.A. Voigt
youtu.be
December 29, 2025 at 5:07 PM
My End of Year video is on the "Golden Age of Indie RPGs," from roughly 2010 to 2025. I start with Apocalypse World's release, work through the Google+ Era, and follow design lineages and historical events that have impacted the hobby up through 2025.
Reposted by Ben Johnson
December 29, 2025 at 7:59 PM
They Might Beee Lite
ruin two bands by combining them:
the aerosmiths
the aerosmiths
ruin two bands by combining them:
Fugazi Osbourne
Fugazi Osbourne
December 29, 2025 at 11:13 PM
They Might Beee Lite
Reposted by Ben Johnson
CDPR sells GOG
Cyberpunk 2077 Company Spins Off Its Steam Competitor
GOG is now fully independent and separate from CD Projekt Red
kotaku.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
CDPR sells GOG