Jason Hawreliak
@profjay.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Game Studies. Brock University, dept. of Digital Humanities.
A reminder that this is in line with the Conservative party's election platform earlier this year
www.ctvnews.ca/federal-elec...
www.ctvnews.ca/federal-elec...
November 14, 2025 at 3:53 PM
A reminder that this is in line with the Conservative party's election platform earlier this year
www.ctvnews.ca/federal-elec...
www.ctvnews.ca/federal-elec...
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
I have actually heard both versions: feeling guilty for supporting the US at this particular moment, and legitimate worry you wind up in a windowless cell
I legitimately think this article misses the mark, because Canadians are not avoiding travel out of some principled boycott of the USA over tariffs.
Canadians who are avoiding the USA are seeing images of masked government thugs kidnapping people and teargassing children.
Canadians who are avoiding the USA are seeing images of masked government thugs kidnapping people and teargassing children.
November 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I have actually heard both versions: feeling guilty for supporting the US at this particular moment, and legitimate worry you wind up in a windowless cell
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
November 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
The webpage for our upcoming book has the cover on it now which is enough of a milestone for me to write another post about the book we have coming out soon. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
November 11, 2025 at 5:05 AM
The webpage for our upcoming book has the cover on it now which is enough of a milestone for me to write another post about the book we have coming out soon. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
It’s officially out!
Excellent new titles releasing today:
-Mysterious Tales of Old Minneapolis, fiction by Larry Millett
-Everything Is Permitted: On Assassin's Creed by @ckunzelman.bsky.social
-By Their Work: Indigenous Women's Digital Media in North America, edited by Joanna Hearne and @karrmencrey.bsky.social
-Mysterious Tales of Old Minneapolis, fiction by Larry Millett
-Everything Is Permitted: On Assassin's Creed by @ckunzelman.bsky.social
-By Their Work: Indigenous Women's Digital Media in North America, edited by Joanna Hearne and @karrmencrey.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM
It’s officially out!
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
this generation of game industry guys like Tim here have always fascinated me, because they may or may not have actually been artists at one point but they don't seem to have ever had much interest or curiosity towards art. their real primary function has been to be a sort of libertarian ideologue.
sincerely cannot imagine being this stupid or anti-art
November 11, 2025 at 5:24 PM
this generation of game industry guys like Tim here have always fascinated me, because they may or may not have actually been artists at one point but they don't seem to have ever had much interest or curiosity towards art. their real primary function has been to be a sort of libertarian ideologue.
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
As Ta-Nehisi Coates said last month:
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
Breaking News: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration that would restore hundreds of millions in funding to the university. It's expected to pay a $30 million fine to the government and to invest $30 million in agriculture and farming programs.
Cornell Reaches Deal with Trump Administration to Restore Research Funds
The Ivy League university had warned of layoffs after the Trump administration stripped it of funds this year. The cuts were among the deepest in higher education.
nyti.ms
November 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
As Ta-Nehisi Coates said last month:
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
The way all of these people convinced themselves that Mamdani is antisemitic is a subject far more worthy of media examination than any of the ‘groupthink on campuses!’ thinkpieces we’ve been subjected to
November 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
The way all of these people convinced themselves that Mamdani is antisemitic is a subject far more worthy of media examination than any of the ‘groupthink on campuses!’ thinkpieces we’ve been subjected to
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
man I dunno this is just off the top of my head, probably missed some things
November 5, 2025 at 4:39 PM
man I dunno this is just off the top of my head, probably missed some things
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
For the past decade, I've been slowly cooking a small and humble book.
Part (alternative) history, part analysis, and part social critique, this is a look at what games also are and have always been.
ZEN AND SLOW GAMES
Out 20/1/2026 by MIT Press
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255356...
Part (alternative) history, part analysis, and part social critique, this is a look at what games also are and have always been.
ZEN AND SLOW GAMES
Out 20/1/2026 by MIT Press
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255356...
November 3, 2025 at 4:31 PM
For the past decade, I've been slowly cooking a small and humble book.
Part (alternative) history, part analysis, and part social critique, this is a look at what games also are and have always been.
ZEN AND SLOW GAMES
Out 20/1/2026 by MIT Press
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255356...
Part (alternative) history, part analysis, and part social critique, this is a look at what games also are and have always been.
ZEN AND SLOW GAMES
Out 20/1/2026 by MIT Press
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255356...
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
NEW: After my last piece about what's slowing down game development, folks wrote in to ask "why didn't you talk about bad leadership?"
It uhhhh never came up. So I returned to the well and asked devs to explain why better leadership—not AI or any other tool—is vital to efficient game development.
It uhhhh never came up. So I returned to the well and asked devs to explain why better leadership—not AI or any other tool—is vital to efficient game development.
How poor leadership slows down game development
How poor leadership slows down game development
No tool—AI or otherwise—can speed up game development if leaders don't rise to the occasion.
www.gamedeveloper.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:34 PM
NEW: After my last piece about what's slowing down game development, folks wrote in to ask "why didn't you talk about bad leadership?"
It uhhhh never came up. So I returned to the well and asked devs to explain why better leadership—not AI or any other tool—is vital to efficient game development.
It uhhhh never came up. So I returned to the well and asked devs to explain why better leadership—not AI or any other tool—is vital to efficient game development.
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
I wrote a book and it has a cover now! (Pre-order up, available Feb 5, 2026)
www.bloomsbury.com/us/fractured...
www.bloomsbury.com/us/fractured...
November 4, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I wrote a book and it has a cover now! (Pre-order up, available Feb 5, 2026)
www.bloomsbury.com/us/fractured...
www.bloomsbury.com/us/fractured...
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
One of the biggest problems in the US right now, and an aggravator of every other problem, is that most news outlets are owned by right wing billionaires who approve of Trump's fascism.
People fucking hate this guy. They fucking hate ICE. They fucking hate how much power he has. He is at 63% overall disapproval to 37% approval. That's lower than their poll after January 6th. And this poll was done before he started intentionally starving people. I wish our media would reflect this.
November 3, 2025 at 7:54 PM
One of the biggest problems in the US right now, and an aggravator of every other problem, is that most news outlets are owned by right wing billionaires who approve of Trump's fascism.
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
even when far rightwingers are having an extremely positive experience on all fronts they’re still able to hallucinate a situation where they’re the victim
November 3, 2025 at 5:23 PM
even when far rightwingers are having an extremely positive experience on all fronts they’re still able to hallucinate a situation where they’re the victim
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
I was interviewed for this article in Wired about how the far right is using and abusing LOTR in their social posts to gain support for their bullshit:
Musk and the DHS have used “The Lord of the Rings” references to push anti-immigration messaging, seemingly positioning themselves as underdogs to justify oppression. www.wired.com/story/elon-m...
Elon Musk and the Trump Administration Really Don’t Get Tolkien
Musk and the DHS have used “The Lord of the Rings” references to push anti-immigration messaging, seemingly positioning themselves as underdogs to justify oppression.
www.wired.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
I was interviewed for this article in Wired about how the far right is using and abusing LOTR in their social posts to gain support for their bullshit:
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
There's literally no more painful way to lose in sports
November 2, 2025 at 4:41 AM
There's literally no more painful way to lose in sports
I don't like this
November 2, 2025 at 3:48 AM
I don't like this
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
Next time someone asks me why I, as an assistant professor with a PhD, would spend my time researching the connections between games culture and larger political culture, I am just going to show them these two images.
October 29, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Next time someone asks me why I, as an assistant professor with a PhD, would spend my time researching the connections between games culture and larger political culture, I am just going to show them these two images.
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
This appropriation of gaming imagery and culture to push authoritarianism is, as @alyssamerc.bsky.social points out here, the natural extension of what Gamergate began
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/o...
Why Trump’s White House is using video game memes to recruit for ICE
A recent spate of posts has garnered attention, but Trump and his allies have long been using gaming imagery to mobilise a toxic subculture of ‘rootless white males’
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:40 AM
This appropriation of gaming imagery and culture to push authoritarianism is, as @alyssamerc.bsky.social points out here, the natural extension of what Gamergate began
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/o...
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
Please buy my book. People who have read it seem to like it!
You can PREORDER my book about the Assassin's Creed franchise NOW! Please do that. I think it is both a fun and interesting dive into what Assassin's Creed is, how it develops its ideas, and what it says about the world we live in. TOC attached, preorder at the link! bookshop.org/p/books/ever...
October 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Please buy my book. People who have read it seem to like it!
Yeah I agree with takes that it's too simplistic to say that Gamergate led to resurgent fascism but a lot of those chuds do occupy senior positions in the US government now...
The ramifications of gamergate remain hard to believe
October 27, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Yeah I agree with takes that it's too simplistic to say that Gamergate led to resurgent fascism but a lot of those chuds do occupy senior positions in the US government now...
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
“The Game Needs to Change - Towards Sustainable Game Design” is now available for pre-order (official release 17th of November)!:
www.routledge.com/The-Game-Nee...
This book shows how games can play their part in addressing climate change and how we can sustainably make games for sustainability.
www.routledge.com/The-Game-Nee...
This book shows how games can play their part in addressing climate change and how we can sustainably make games for sustainability.
The Game Needs to Change: Towards Sustainable Game Design
This book shows how games can play their part in addressing climate change and how we can sustainably make games for sustainability. Based on both industry practice and research, the chapters within t...
www.routledge.com
October 27, 2025 at 4:03 PM
“The Game Needs to Change - Towards Sustainable Game Design” is now available for pre-order (official release 17th of November)!:
www.routledge.com/The-Game-Nee...
This book shows how games can play their part in addressing climate change and how we can sustainably make games for sustainability.
www.routledge.com/The-Game-Nee...
This book shows how games can play their part in addressing climate change and how we can sustainably make games for sustainability.
Reposted by Jason Hawreliak
A reminder of our open call for postdoctoral researchers focusing on cultural game studies, closing on Friday this week, 31 October at 23.59.00 EET / UTC+2 (Finland time): tuni.rekrytointi.com/paikat/index...
3 Postdoctoral Researchers (cultural game studies) / 3 tutkijatohtoria (kulttuurinen pelitutkimus)
tuni.rekrytointi.com
October 27, 2025 at 7:25 AM
A reminder of our open call for postdoctoral researchers focusing on cultural game studies, closing on Friday this week, 31 October at 23.59.00 EET / UTC+2 (Finland time): tuni.rekrytointi.com/paikat/index...