John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
@spacegoblingames.com
Indie text game developer, creator of Seedship and Beyond the Chiron Gate. Now working on a pulp sci-fi adventure narrated by the villain!
Website: https://www.spacegoblingames.com/
Blog: https://write.as/johnayliff/
Header and avatar by Tom Morley
Website: https://www.spacegoblingames.com/
Blog: https://write.as/johnayliff/
Header and avatar by Tom Morley
Pinned
Space Goblin Diaries
John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games) is a creator of text-based games and interactive fiction
write.as
Coming soon* from Space Goblin Games:
(* when it's done)
"Foolish Earth Creatures: You Cannot Defeat ME!"
An interactive pulp sci-fi adventure narrated by the villain!
Follow the developer diaries here: write.as/johnayliff/
(* when it's done)
"Foolish Earth Creatures: You Cannot Defeat ME!"
An interactive pulp sci-fi adventure narrated by the villain!
Follow the developer diaries here: write.as/johnayliff/
And Tiny Tim, who did not die, but retained disturbing memories of the vanished timeline in which he had,
December 24, 2025 at 11:29 AM
And Tiny Tim, who did not die, but retained disturbing memories of the vanished timeline in which he had,
Ghost of Christmas Breaking In To Scrooge's Safe While The Other Ghosts Distract Him
December 24, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Ghost of Christmas Breaking In To Scrooge's Safe While The Other Ghosts Distract Him
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
I have always said it, I will continue to say it, we are limiting the productive potential of millions of freaks by demanding they earn a wage to survive instead of enabling them to do whatever thing their brain is broken for
December 22, 2025 at 12:45 AM
I have always said it, I will continue to say it, we are limiting the productive potential of millions of freaks by demanding they earn a wage to survive instead of enabling them to do whatever thing their brain is broken for
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
PLEASE COPY OR SHARE THIS! University of Carnegie Mellon are doing a research to see how generative Al has (or has not) impacted your work and/or sentiments in the industry. Folks in creative fields only, please consider filling this out: cmu.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
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cmu.ca1.qualtrics.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:15 AM
PLEASE COPY OR SHARE THIS! University of Carnegie Mellon are doing a research to see how generative Al has (or has not) impacted your work and/or sentiments in the industry. Folks in creative fields only, please consider filling this out: cmu.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Happy Winter Sale! Beyond the Chiron Gate is 50% off on itch, Steam, and ios
spacegoblingames.itch.io/beyond-the-c...
spacegoblingames.itch.io/beyond-the-c...
Beyond the Chiron Gate by Space Goblin Games
Text-based space exploration game
spacegoblingames.itch.io
December 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Happy Winter Sale! Beyond the Chiron Gate is 50% off on itch, Steam, and ios
spacegoblingames.itch.io/beyond-the-c...
spacegoblingames.itch.io/beyond-the-c...
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
RIP Gil Gerard, star of the 1970s Buck Rogers TV show.
I've been slowly working my way through the show lately and it's still very enjoyable today, thanks in part to Gerard's performance.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/g...
I've been slowly working my way through the show lately and it's still very enjoyable today, thanks in part to Gerard's performance.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/g...
Gil Gerard, Star of ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,’ Dies at 82
He battled a weight problem for decades and talked about it on the reality series 'Action Hero Makeover.'
www.hollywoodreporter.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:30 AM
RIP Gil Gerard, star of the 1970s Buck Rogers TV show.
I've been slowly working my way through the show lately and it's still very enjoyable today, thanks in part to Gerard's performance.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/g...
I've been slowly working my way through the show lately and it's still very enjoyable today, thanks in part to Gerard's performance.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/g...
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
I've famously told this story on podcasts a number of times, but I met Gil Gerard as a kid at a celebrity tennis tournament and he tried to pick up my mom right in front of me. Was I mad? No. Buck Rogers tried to fuck my mom, which is the most Buck Rogers thing he could do. Lived up to the legend.
December 17, 2025 at 4:12 AM
I've famously told this story on podcasts a number of times, but I met Gil Gerard as a kid at a celebrity tennis tournament and he tried to pick up my mom right in front of me. Was I mad? No. Buck Rogers tried to fuck my mom, which is the most Buck Rogers thing he could do. Lived up to the legend.
Guess what, I am evolving into someone who no longer uses Firefox
December 17, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Guess what, I am evolving into someone who no longer uses Firefox
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
It's important to remember that most cop shows are "copaganda" and give a very inaccurate picture of what police are like. For example, almost no real police departments have a neurodivergent civilian consultant who helps them solve puzzle murderers.
December 14, 2025 at 1:08 AM
It's important to remember that most cop shows are "copaganda" and give a very inaccurate picture of what police are like. For example, almost no real police departments have a neurodivergent civilian consultant who helps them solve puzzle murderers.
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
Happy 100th birthday Dick Van Dyke, I've spent most of my life confusing you with Rip Van Winkle and thinking you were a fictional character.
December 13, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Happy 100th birthday Dick Van Dyke, I've spent most of my life confusing you with Rip Van Winkle and thinking you were a fictional character.
Superman Returns is a so-so movie but it was a great communal viewing experience. Whole cinema of strangers clapped along to the title music.
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 13, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Superman Returns is a so-so movie but it was a great communal viewing experience. Whole cinema of strangers clapped along to the title music.
Filling in placeholder text today and sometimes I come across a bit that I'm not sure can possibly be improved.
December 12, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Filling in placeholder text today and sometimes I come across a bit that I'm not sure can possibly be improved.
Nerd middle age is realizing over and over that the remake of X is older now than X was when the remake came out.
The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) is now older than Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings (1978) was when Fellowship of the Ring was released.
December 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Nerd middle age is realizing over and over that the remake of X is older now than X was when the remake came out.
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
Launching on Kickstarter in Feb 2026 - the return of DAN DARE in a new over-sized format Graphic Novel from B7 Comics by @alexdecampi.bsky.social and me!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/798...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/798...
Coming soon: Dan Dare (Graphic Novel)
An all-new reimagining of the classic British adventure strip Dan Dare written by Alex de Campi with art by Marc Laming.
www.kickstarter.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Launching on Kickstarter in Feb 2026 - the return of DAN DARE in a new over-sized format Graphic Novel from B7 Comics by @alexdecampi.bsky.social and me!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/798...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/798...
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
'Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey.'
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
Photograph by Daniel Ibanez
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
December 9, 2025 at 8:45 PM
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
My university SF+F society (which was mostly a weekly movie watching club) had "No Krull" written into its constitution because otherwise the council would have played it constantly.
Let's talk about Krull: it's an often-baffling movie that makes a lot of very weird choices...but somehow that doesn't stop it from being incredibly entertaining. Does it win you over, or leave you flat?
Krull Deserves a Bigger Cult Following — Who's With Me? - Reactor
Is this a good movie? Debatable. Is it an *awesome* movie? Hell yeah it is.
reactormag.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:05 PM
My university SF+F society (which was mostly a weekly movie watching club) had "No Krull" written into its constitution because otherwise the council would have played it constantly.
Space hero research notes: the 1979 Buck Rogers TV series has aged fairly well, but Twiki the robot is still annoying and also I now have the song stuck in my head.
December 7, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Space hero research notes: the 1979 Buck Rogers TV series has aged fairly well, but Twiki the robot is still annoying and also I now have the song stuck in my head.
With Canada in negotiations to join Eurovision they have a unique opportunity to join and then immediately boycott it over Israel
December 5, 2025 at 6:35 AM
With Canada in negotiations to join Eurovision they have a unique opportunity to join and then immediately boycott it over Israel
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
Reposted by John Ayliff (Space Goblin Games)
Space hero research notes:
In a 1946 Flash Gordon storyline, Flash spurns the Storm-Queen, Valkir, and she sentences him to the "Dozen Deaths." But what are these deaths?
In a 1946 Flash Gordon storyline, Flash spurns the Storm-Queen, Valkir, and she sentences him to the "Dozen Deaths." But what are these deaths?
December 2, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Space hero research notes:
In a 1946 Flash Gordon storyline, Flash spurns the Storm-Queen, Valkir, and she sentences him to the "Dozen Deaths." But what are these deaths?
In a 1946 Flash Gordon storyline, Flash spurns the Storm-Queen, Valkir, and she sentences him to the "Dozen Deaths." But what are these deaths?