Noah Wardrip-Fruin
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n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin
@n-w-f.bsky.social
4K followers 400 following 96 posts

UC Santa Cruz professor; makes/studies games, elit, AI, etc; co-editor MIT Press Software Studies series; parent; Quaker; Henson/Muppet fan; disabled; he/him

New book on Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the U Chicago Press Replay series .. more

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Noah Wardrip-Fruin is a professor in the Computational Media department of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is an advisor for the Expressive Intelligence Studio. He is an alumnus of the Literary Arts MFA program and Special Graduate Study PhD program at Brown University. In addition to his research in digital media, computer games, and software studies, he served for 10 years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Electronic Literature Organization. .. more

Computer science 46%
Sociology 15%
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n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 15d
ICYMI, my new book on Animal Crossing: New Horizons is 30% off (w/ free shipping)

It's a scholarly book, looking at ACNH through lenses like craft, compulsion, and community. It's also a personal book, about playing with my kids during the pandemic

More details: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/vi...

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 19h
I'm honored to be included in this exciting collection of new university press books!

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

jon.inkle.co
Jon Ingold @jon.inkle.co · 19h
okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form:

forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

aupresses.bsky.social
Association of University Presses @aupresses.bsky.social · 20h
#TeamUP and #ReadUP in the arts, performing arts & media studies with works by @uchicagopress.bsky.social, @n-w-f.bsky.social, @cmupress.bsky.social, @nupress.bsky.social & more in the #UPWeek Gallery https://bit.ly/3WTl7XD
#TeamUP in the Arts, Performing Arts, and Media Studies, University Press Week, featuring 3 book jackets: -Animal Crossing, New Horizons: Can a Game Take Care of Us? -Time Well Spent: An American Architect in Europe, 1893 -We Are Civic Media

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

englishscribe.bsky.social
Andy Walsh @englishscribe.bsky.social · 3d
OPPORTUNITY! Creative Assembly - UK - Principal Narrative Designer

Not affiliated. Shares welcome!

www.creative-assembly.com/careers/view...
Principal Narrative Designer | Creative Assembly
As a Principal Narrative Designer, you will be tasked with creating and implementing engaging dialogue and compelling characters. You will craft the game's narrative journey while collaborating with t...
www.creative-assembly.com

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin, Peter Jacobs

megueyb.bsky.social
MegueyB @megueyb.bsky.social · 4d
Here We GO! Come along, my dearies!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
www.kickstarter.com

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

jkmahal.bsky.social
Jen @jkmahal.bsky.social · 5d
Bribing people to donate to @ucscmonsters.bsky.social
. We’re raising money for the 2026 Festival of Monsters and the $ is matched. So, if you would like me to make you an emotional support ghost, donate $30+ and send proof/address to ucscmonsters at gmail and I’ll make you one! bit.ly/monstergive
A crocheted ghost with a UCSC Center for Monster Studies button on a table with marigolds and candles.

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

ucscmonsters.bsky.social
Center for Monster Studies @ UC Santa Cruz @ucscmonsters.bsky.social · 5d
Bring the 2026 Festival of Monsters to life! It's Giving Day at UC Santa Cruz and monster matches magically turn $1 into $2. bit.ly/monstergive Your support means the monsters live to lecture another day, #give2ucsc @dsas #monsters

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 6d
That makes sense. And maybe that's a way of articulating what's changed — people are publishing non-ethnographic books on single games?

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

lupdistribution.bsky.social
Liverpool Distribution Services at Liverpool University Press @lupdistribution.bsky.social · 10d
👻 Happy Halloween!
What better time to discover the inaugural volume in Lever Press's film|minutes book series?:
'Bride of Frankenstein' by @shanedenson.bsky.social dissects the 1935 classic through sound, technology, and time itself minute-by-minute.🎃 🍿
bit.ly/3JzEdPr
@leverpress.bsky.social

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 11d
Yeah. When I saw that it was going to use the camera, I thought maybe it would be some janky expression recognition that would try to choose a reaction to match. Or put that expression on a Mii. Having it just be your face doesn’t feel very Nintendo to me

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

everest.bsky.social
Everest Pipkin @everest.bsky.social · 11d
Come work with me!



We've opened the search for a full time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Game Arts at Pratt Institute.



A good match would be an artist, game developer, or educator with an active creative practice in indie games, game studies and theory, playful coding, or art games.
Assistant Professor Digital Arts, Game Arts 2026 (71102)
The Department of Digital Arts at Pratt Institute invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position in Game Arts at the rank of Assistant Professor, beginning in Fall 2026. The successful ca...
www.schooljobs.com

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 11d
I think Nintendo is betting that we look back on the community around ACNH will fondness. That in a time of division, we'll (unexpectedly) want more of the community feeling we got when we were in Covid isolation. And that will sell Switch 2s, cameras, and Nintendo online subscriptions

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 11d
And with the 3.0 update (plus a subscription), players will have three “slumber” islands where they can play and decorate with their friends, instead of just having the one island normally available on each Switch console

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 11d
It's the social aspect that Nintendo is leaning into for these updates. ACNH’s new Switch 2 edition will (w/ a subscription) increase the number of players who can be on an island from 8 to 12. It will (w/ a compatible camera) place live video images of players above the heads of their characters

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 11d
Today Nintendo announced a Switch 2 and 3.0 update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Why would they make a major new update for a game more than five years old? Why would they bet on nostalgia for something from the Covid-19 pandemic?

www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/...
Animal Crossing: New Horizons sails ashore with a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and free content update Jan. 15 - News - Nintendo Official Site
Ahoy! New things are en route to your island getaway, whether you’re planning to arrive on these shores for the first time, or already a seasoned Island Resident. The Animal Crossing: New Horizons – N...
www.nintendo.com

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

felipepepe.bsky.social
Felipe Pepe @felipepepe.bsky.social · 11d
So, today I'm announcing a new book project... and doing a call for papers: crpgbook.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/t...

It's an anthology of video game history outside the usual US perspective - an accessible & exciting panorama of different realities - and I'll pay 300 USD per article.

Please share :)
The Video Game History Expansion Pack – Pitch your story
Today I’m putting my money where my mouth is and launching a new project — a book focused on game history outside of the usual North American perspectives.
crpgbook.wordpress.com

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 11d
In happier news: for Critical Inquiry, I reviewed @hagenblix.bsky.social and Ingeborg Glimmer’s WHY WE FEAR AI, which has just lately been catching some deserved hotness. 🔥 Read my take here: criticalinquiry.uchicago.edu/matthew_kirs...
Critical Inquiry
A journal of Art, Culture and Politics, Published by the University of Chicago
criticalinquiry.uchicago.edu

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

lauraehall.bsky.social
Laura E. Hall @lauraehall.bsky.social · 11d
*Three* sandbox islands per player?!! We’re so back
a close up of a cartoon character 's face with the words get on animal crossing below it
Alt: The villager from animal Crossing glitches out into a slightly spooky, but definitely excited blur. The text reads “get on animal crossing”.
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

eurogamer.bsky.social
Eurogamer @eurogamer.bsky.social · 11d
Nintendo has announced it's reviving Animal Crossing: New Horizons early next year with a new Switch 2 Edition, a major content update for all players - including a new on-island Resort Hotel - and a special Lego collaboration. https://bit.ly/4qOGJ5o

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

drkowert.bsky.social
Dr. Rachel Kowert @drkowert.bsky.social · 11d
🚨CALL FOR PAPERS 🚨

The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Chrono Trigger

playstorypress.org/2025/10/30/c...
Call for Papers! The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Chrono Trigger – Play Story Press
playstorypress.org

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

kittencupstudio.bsky.social
Kitten Cup Studio @kittencupstudio.bsky.social · 12d
We’re playing the Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival tomorrow! 🎃
And we've got a SPECIAL GUEST...

Join us LIVE this Thursday on Twitch as we play with the game’s CREATOR, @adamgryu.bsky.social at 8:30pm EST for a fun Halloween hangout full of ghosts, pumpkins & secrets!

✨Follow on Twitch buff.ly/JFTqgrY

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

molleindustria.org
Molleindustria - Wishlist FUTURE? NO THANKS! @molleindustria.org · 13d
There is something truly remarkable about Generative AI.

Several years in this revolution, half of the US GDP dumped to make these tools free, and i can't think of a single generated artifact, text, image, sound, video that had a significant cultural impact.

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

autumnsburg.bsky.social
Adam Summerville @autumnsburg.bsky.social · 13d
I have to know some people for whom this role would be fitting -- come work with me (and other great people) as a Lead Narrative Designer on Project Sirius
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/CDPROJEKTRED...
Lead Narrative Designer
Company Description: To create revolutionary, story-driven RPGs which go straight to the hearts of gamers — this is our mission. Want to dive deeper into our company’s culture? Explore our social medi...
jobs.smartrecruiters.com

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 13d
Yes! That's one of my favorites. I was so glad to see Boss Fight bring it back into print

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 13d
That's great! It really feels like a sea change at the scholarly presses

I should perhaps also have included @increment.bsky.social's Game Wizards (on D&D) from MIT

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 13d
Same with @gamegrrrl.bsky.social's 2014 book Communities of Play. The first paragraph of the marketing material gives no hint that it's about the diaspora of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst

mitpress.mit.edu/978026251673...
Communities of Play
Play communities existed long before massively multiplayer online games; they have ranged from bridge clubs to sports leagues, from tabletop role-playing gam...
mitpress.mit.edu

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 13d
I think this is a change in how games are seen. They're rich enough to dedicate a book to a single one

The seeming-exceptions prove the rule. In 2006 MIT published @tltaylor.bsky.social's Play Between Worlds — but didn't present it as a book on Everquest.

mitpress.mit.edu/978026251262...
Play Between Worlds
In Play Between Worlds, T. L. Taylor examines multiplayer gaming life as it is lived on the borders, in the gaps—as players slip in and out of complex soci...
mitpress.mit.edu

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 13d
There's the new Replay series from @uchicagopress.bsky.social (featuring @anasalter.bsky.social & yours truly)

@ckunzelman.bsky.social's new book on Assassin's Creed is from @uminnpress.bsky.social

@chaimg.bsky.social's 2024 book on SimCity is from @mitpress.bsky.social

Any others?

n-w-f.bsky.social
Noah Wardrip-Fruin @n-w-f.bsky.social · 13d
It's a good time to write a book about a single game/series!

There's the great work being published by @bossfightbooks.com

And now three of the best scholarly presses have joined in ...

Reposted by Noah Wardrip‐Fruin

lostincult.co.uk
Lost In Cult @lostincult.co.uk · 13d
Heartbeats, Dreams and Laser Eyes: 15 Years of @Simogo.com 💗

Look sharp!🤵We've partnered with Simogo on a book that reveals the heartbeats of the Malmö based studio fuelled by curiosity – and nuclear-strength coffee! ☕

Pre-Order by Jan 2nd: lostincult.co.uk/simogo