Eric Stein (he/him)
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steinea.bsky.social
Eric Stein (he/him)
@steinea.bsky.social
500 followers 560 following 130 posts
Producer at EA SPORTS
Games researcher
Former game development instructor
Tabletop game designer
Occasional poet
steinea.ca / steinea.fyi
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steinea.bsky.social
And of course I should emphasize, Zenodo is still the best, though a bit less "discoverability" friendly compared to other platforms. Their terms, though, are why I always post there first as the canonical source for my open access research.

about.zenodo.org/terms/
The Zenodo service (“Zenodo”) is offered by CERN as part of its mission to make available the results of its work. Use of Zenodo, both the uploading and downloading of data, denotes agreement with the following terms: 1. Zenodo is an open dissemination research data repository for the preservation and making available of research, educational and informational content. Access to Zenodo’s content is open to all, for non-military purposes only. 2. Content may be uploaded free of charge by those without ready access to an organised data centre. 3. The uploader is exclusively responsible for the content that they upload to Zenodo and shall indemnify and hold CERN free and harmless in connection with their use of the service. The uploader shall ensure that their content is suitable for open dissemination, and that it complies with these terms and applicable laws, including, but not limited to, privacy, data protection and intellectual property rights. In addition, where data that was originally sensitive personal data is being uploaded for open dissemination through Zenodo, the uploader shall ensure that such data is either anonymised to an appropriate degree or fully consent cleared. 4. Access to Zenodo, and all content, is provided on an “as-is” basis. Users of content (“Users”) shall respect applicable license conditions. Download and use of content from Zenodo does not transfer any intellectual property rights in the content to the User. ... Terms continue at https://about.zenodo.org/terms/, too long to include whole thing in alt text.
September 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
steinea.bsky.social
ResearchGate terms
If you are a Member, you can add Member Submissions to the Service. You retain all ownership rights in your Member Submissions. However, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable license to use your Member Submissions (including to host, reproduce, distribute, modify, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your Member Submissions for the sole purpose of making available and improving our Service. You also grant Users a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-transferable and non-sublicensable license to access your Member Submissions through the Service and use the Member Submissions solely in connection with using the Service.
September 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
steinea.bsky.social
Knowledge Commons terms
By posting User Content on the Network, you grant MSU a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use the User Content in accordance with these Terms on the Network, in all formats in which the Network is available, until you remove or delete it, which use includes but is not limited to reproducing, distributing, transmitting, publicly displaying and performing, and incorporating the User Content into a collective work. Whenever possible, we will credit you as the author of the User Content you provide, and, by posting User Content on the Network, you grant MSU the right to use your name (as provided in your user profile) for that attribution. If you delete your User Content, cached versions of or references to the User Content may not be made unavailable. Some User Content, such as files uploaded to KC Works, may not be removed or deleted. Please contact us for assistance.
September 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
steinea.bsky.social
PhilPapers terms
Regarding texts (for example, full articles) submitted to the PhilPapers Archive or PhilArchive: the PhilPapers Foundation acknowledges that it obtains no intellectual property rights to these texts. However, when submitting texts to our services, you give the PhilPapers Foundation a worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to host and display these texts. Users have the right to request that texts they submitted be removed from PhilPapers and PhilArchive.
September 19, 2025 at 3:56 PM
steinea.bsky.social
Here's the specifics from the program guidelines:

cmf-fmc.ca/document/vid...
Eligibility guidelines: 1. Mid-level and experienced video game companies, defined as having: a. published two (2) previous owned and controlled commercial titles made available for purchase or download through various retail platforms (not including prototype/demos, game jams, DLCs/expansion packs, or work for hire); AND b. $500,000 average annual business expenditures, confirmed by certified financial records; OR 2. New company startups with one or more owners who previously held ownership positions at mid-level or experienced video game companies that meet the above criteria. Ownership is defined as not merely having an equity stake, but also an executive leadership role in the company with creative, finance and business decision making authority.
August 27, 2025 at 3:52 PM
steinea.bsky.social
For reference, here's the squad. Nothing special, not even max level. Lots of holy, lots of stance breaking, job done.
Screenshot of an end of match result from Nightreign. On the left shows the overworld map with the path and actions taken by the team, and on the right lists the three members of the team with levels, equipment, and expedition statistics.
July 13, 2025 at 1:42 AM
steinea.bsky.social
My full paper on the onto-politics of the Frenzied Flame in Elden Ring, presented this week at @cgsaacej.bsky.social, is now available open-access on Zenodo. Take a look if French theory and/or FromSoftware are your thing.

zenodo.org/records/1565...
A giant, fiery, three-fingered hand encircles a most-naked player-character in a screenshot of a cutscene from Elden Ring.
June 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM
steinea.bsky.social
And the arboreal defenders of Lützerath:

"Activists had built tree houses in many trees in anticipation of the massive police operation. These served as habitations while making it more difficult to evict the area"

crimethinc.com/2023/01/19/t...
A small house built in the middle of a winter-bare tree, with a person in black suspended with climbing gear amongst its boughs.
January 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
steinea.bsky.social
Refereed a new group through a first session of the Iron Coral adventure for Into the Odd from @bastionland.bsky.social today. Two players with D&D experience, three who had never played a TTRPG before. Fantastic time. Excellent introduction to old school play, and such great material for me to run.
A mass of large red and orange and pink shells and coral and other sea life, with a stormy sea in the foreground, and some machinery hidden in the middle.
January 5, 2025 at 8:21 AM
steinea.bsky.social
Hey, we won a game award! Big shout to the many, many people who made FC 25 happen
Winner 2024 Best Sports/Racing EA SPORTS FC 25 EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA SPORTS The Game Awards Cover image with Jude Bellingham, wearing his white Real Madrid kit against a green pitch background, arms spread wide, celebrating for the crowd
December 13, 2024 at 3:18 AM
steinea.bsky.social
Very excited to be presenting our panel, "The Lived Politics of the Negative," at Generation Analog this afternoon. This panel brings together several tabletop game designers to challenge the pulverizing and exploitative genre label "hopepunk" through critical discussion of their own design work.
Panel title card Generation Analog Day 1, 5:00-6:00 pm Session 1D: Hopepunk Moderator: Aaron Trammell Panelists: Eric Stein, wendi yu, Gabriel Henrique Caetano Barbosa, Cezar Capacle, Vitor Mattos
July 24, 2024 at 7:42 PM
steinea.bsky.social
As promised, my @cgsaacej.bsky.social paper "Dreams of Extraction" is now available open access. Using the critical aesthetics of Rancière, Bourriaud, Parikka, and Graeber, this paper close reads Starfield's story to articulate its "techno-ecological imaginary."

zenodo.org/records/1259...
A video game astronaut, center screen, overlooks a rugged alien landscape.
June 30, 2024 at 5:37 PM
steinea.bsky.social
It was a pleasure to present on the Ecology, Environmentalism, and Climate Change panel today at the @cgsaacej.bsky.social annual conference. I'll have my paper, "Dreams of Extraction: The Techno-Ecological Imaginary of Bethesda Game Studios' Starfield," up on on Zenodo soon.
A screenshot from Starfield, depicting the planet Schrodinger II, with colourful highlights of the mineral resources found there.
June 15, 2024 at 9:09 PM