Liz Ryerson
@ellaguro.bsky.social
she/her. musician, writer, podcaster, weird vidgame person http://www.patreon.com/ellaguro
Pinned
Liz Ryerson
@ellaguro.bsky.social
· Jul 25
reminder that you can still buy a copy of my book here: www.mostancient.com/shop/great-art and i'll soon have some more copies on hand to sell in person as well
increasingly convinced that much of the media establishment is made up from people who are furious at the idea that any piece of art released independently, not by a major public figure, and didn't sell above a certain number of copies would garner any kind of larger critical or cultural discourse
December 15, 2025 at 9:11 PM
increasingly convinced that much of the media establishment is made up from people who are furious at the idea that any piece of art released independently, not by a major public figure, and didn't sell above a certain number of copies would garner any kind of larger critical or cultural discourse
i'm feeling this a lot with AI, but also just cultural discourse in general right now: it feels mighty "interesting" to see a lot of people who are generally not very interested in or engaged with arts and culture seemingly so certain about the inevitability of where arts and culture are all going.
December 15, 2025 at 8:46 PM
i'm feeling this a lot with AI, but also just cultural discourse in general right now: it feels mighty "interesting" to see a lot of people who are generally not very interested in or engaged with arts and culture seemingly so certain about the inevitability of where arts and culture are all going.
people act like these video platforms are neutral or like a more direct way of reaching the masses and everything you say or do on them isn't shaped by these algorithms that are working towards powerful interests in like thousands of tiny ways. this idea is really false and harmful to me
December 15, 2025 at 8:31 PM
people act like these video platforms are neutral or like a more direct way of reaching the masses and everything you say or do on them isn't shaped by these algorithms that are working towards powerful interests in like thousands of tiny ways. this idea is really false and harmful to me
finishing up the Diddy documentary don't think i've ever gotten as mad at a documentary as i have from hearing the jurors from the Diddy trial talk. at this point honestly just dissolve America, our country is too far gone with its celeb worship and hatred of victims.
December 15, 2025 at 8:14 PM
finishing up the Diddy documentary don't think i've ever gotten as mad at a documentary as i have from hearing the jurors from the Diddy trial talk. at this point honestly just dissolve America, our country is too far gone with its celeb worship and hatred of victims.
not very surprised by the current state of the game industry because i know about the music industry, whose entire history is people being mercilessly exploited by record companies and management. with games it's not much different: this time it's just publishing companies and platform holders
December 15, 2025 at 4:54 PM
not very surprised by the current state of the game industry because i know about the music industry, whose entire history is people being mercilessly exploited by record companies and management. with games it's not much different: this time it's just publishing companies and platform holders
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
The games industry brings in 300 billion dollars a year. The guy who made DOOM gets his projects canceled, the guy who made Katamari Damacy is broke, everyone in your feed is begging for a job and there are 50 new games coming out on Steam every day all going towards buying Gabe Newell's next yacht
Keita Takahashi (Katamari, Wattam, Noby Noby Boy) has moved back to Japan, and says he may be forced to quit the games industry due to To a T underperforming.
He also says he'd love to work on Katamari again, and for someone to invest in his studio.
(Read more at GamesRadar)
He also says he'd love to work on Katamari again, and for someone to invest in his studio.
(Read more at GamesRadar)
December 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
The games industry brings in 300 billion dollars a year. The guy who made DOOM gets his projects canceled, the guy who made Katamari Damacy is broke, everyone in your feed is begging for a job and there are 50 new games coming out on Steam every day all going towards buying Gabe Newell's next yacht
i'm almost finished with this documentary and, like - i'm generally someone who has a strong stomach for documentaries about horrible people but this one has left me feeling pretty ill and really upset. kind of astounding the amount of evil this guy is directly implicated in
New up on the blog: the Diddy documentary, that VMA performance, and what it means when everything is tacky.
stuckness.ghost.io/the-fissure/
stuckness.ghost.io/the-fissure/
The fissure
I watched Netflix's Diddy documentary and it's as well put together and terrifying as the reviews indicate. Meticulously, ruthlessly, methodically made to indict its subject. It's shocking that the pr...
stuckness.ghost.io
December 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
i'm almost finished with this documentary and, like - i'm generally someone who has a strong stomach for documentaries about horrible people but this one has left me feeling pretty ill and really upset. kind of astounding the amount of evil this guy is directly implicated in
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
Just a reminder that at least 600 Americans were fired for failing to show sufficient respect after Charlie Kirk's murder.
December 15, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Just a reminder that at least 600 Americans were fired for failing to show sufficient respect after Charlie Kirk's murder.
to my followers i'd like to finally address the elephant in the room that i know we're all thinking about: Doom (1993) and Myst (1993) are both cool games
December 14, 2025 at 5:42 PM
to my followers i'd like to finally address the elephant in the room that i know we're all thinking about: Doom (1993) and Myst (1993) are both cool games
it's official, i have now achieved musical relevance because i now have an 8-bit cover of one of my tracks www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jNk...
Ella Guro - planet 768 (2a03 + MMC5 NES Remix)
YouTube video by JC Productions
www.youtube.com
December 14, 2025 at 12:12 AM
it's official, i have now achieved musical relevance because i now have an 8-bit cover of one of my tracks www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jNk...
RIP Joe Byrd, pretty weird for me to think about every single psych rock person from the 60's is going to be dead at some point in the not too distant future www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYAk...
The American Metaphysical Circus
YouTube video by The United States of America - Topic
www.youtube.com
December 13, 2025 at 10:24 PM
RIP Joe Byrd, pretty weird for me to think about every single psych rock person from the 60's is going to be dead at some point in the not too distant future www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYAk...
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
the person who coined the expression « content creator » to describe art and entertainment deserves to be in a specific circle of hell
December 13, 2025 at 8:53 PM
the person who coined the expression « content creator » to describe art and entertainment deserves to be in a specific circle of hell
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
💥Hungary’s probably most scenic anti-Orbán protest is underway under the banner “Let’s defend our children,” after new details emerged about sexual and physical abuse in the child care system — plus ignorance or cover-ups by authorities. Orbán rival Péter Magyar leads the march of tens of thousands.
December 13, 2025 at 3:43 PM
💥Hungary’s probably most scenic anti-Orbán protest is underway under the banner “Let’s defend our children,” after new details emerged about sexual and physical abuse in the child care system — plus ignorance or cover-ups by authorities. Orbán rival Péter Magyar leads the march of tens of thousands.
tbh when Cruelty Squad blew up in 2021 (and a bit when Pizza Tower did in 2023) i thought the shift was coming towards a big wave of punkier aesthetics/approaches getting mainstream notice in games. but that hasn't really happened... these types of games are still mostly restricted to niches.
there's been some rough looking games that blew up in recent years and I thought that might be the start of people "getting it" but so many times I'll show a similarly rough looking game to those crowds and they dismiss it for looking exactly as rough as those games they were just praising
December 13, 2025 at 4:35 AM
tbh when Cruelty Squad blew up in 2021 (and a bit when Pizza Tower did in 2023) i thought the shift was coming towards a big wave of punkier aesthetics/approaches getting mainstream notice in games. but that hasn't really happened... these types of games are still mostly restricted to niches.
related: but tbh my experience in indie games has been watching over and over as a lot of stuff i've thought of as Pretty Good is elevated to massive cultural object while most of what actually makes the space interesting barely hangs on at all, or is considered a niche cult game at best.
Took some time to unpack a few thoughts on Expedition 33.
Watching what I thought was a "pretty good" game get transformed into A Cultural Object has been disheartening.
So I have some thoughts on glitz, glamour, and respectability...
transgamerthoughts.com/post/8027631...
Watching what I thought was a "pretty good" game get transformed into A Cultural Object has been disheartening.
So I have some thoughts on glitz, glamour, and respectability...
transgamerthoughts.com/post/8027631...
The Attempt To Escape From Pain Creates More Pain
Lord forgive me, I'm blogging. I can't help it! Many years ago, I got some advice from a writer who I deeply respect, James Howell, and he told me that criticism needs to proceed confidently. Don't...
transgamerthoughts.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:54 AM
related: but tbh my experience in indie games has been watching over and over as a lot of stuff i've thought of as Pretty Good is elevated to massive cultural object while most of what actually makes the space interesting barely hangs on at all, or is considered a niche cult game at best.
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
“I’m begging you to consider how small our imaginations have gotten, that we will turn away from the capaciousness of our hearts and minds when it comes to video games in the name of a good time”
Not sure any other piece this year so perfectly captures what’s gone wrong here.
Not sure any other piece this year so perfectly captures what’s gone wrong here.
December 12, 2025 at 9:42 PM
“I’m begging you to consider how small our imaginations have gotten, that we will turn away from the capaciousness of our hearts and minds when it comes to video games in the name of a good time”
Not sure any other piece this year so perfectly captures what’s gone wrong here.
Not sure any other piece this year so perfectly captures what’s gone wrong here.
"This is not a show made for humans. It thinks very little of the people who make games, and even less of the people that play them. And every little thing done to give them credence... has worked to cement (their place). We don’t actually want something better. We want what Keighley is selling."
December 12, 2025 at 9:51 PM
"This is not a show made for humans. It thinks very little of the people who make games, and even less of the people that play them. And every little thing done to give them credence... has worked to cement (their place). We don’t actually want something better. We want what Keighley is selling."
since other people are doing it, here's a 50 indie game recommendation thread (entirely separate from the 50 indie games i have enjoyed thread i made a few days ago, which is here - bsky.app/profile/ella...). feel free to mute the thread if it's annoying
New rule this year: If you post "Play more indie games" during the game awards, you are required to make a thread recommending 50 of them.
December 12, 2025 at 8:11 PM
since other people are doing it, here's a 50 indie game recommendation thread (entirely separate from the 50 indie games i have enjoyed thread i made a few days ago, which is here - bsky.app/profile/ella...). feel free to mute the thread if it's annoying
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
while KOSA passed the subcommittee, there is still the full committee meeting it needs to go through before being voted on by the Senate/House
support is more split on it than you'd think, we just need to pull away enough votes to block it. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
www.badinternetbills.com
support is more split on it than you'd think, we just need to pull away enough votes to block it. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
www.badinternetbills.com
December 11, 2025 at 8:46 PM
while KOSA passed the subcommittee, there is still the full committee meeting it needs to go through before being voted on by the Senate/House
support is more split on it than you'd think, we just need to pull away enough votes to block it. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
www.badinternetbills.com
support is more split on it than you'd think, we just need to pull away enough votes to block it. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
www.badinternetbills.com
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
shoutout to the crowd that insisted it was a political loser to stand up for abrego garcia’s rights
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an ordinary man, has defeated the great might of the US Government
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free. every bit of cruelty, boasting, slander, and persecution was for absolutely fucking nothing.
December 12, 2025 at 12:38 PM
shoutout to the crowd that insisted it was a political loser to stand up for abrego garcia’s rights
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
In my head, I’ve moved from questioning whether we will win to wondering how far we can go.
December 12, 2025 at 3:13 PM
In my head, I’ve moved from questioning whether we will win to wondering how far we can go.
Reposted by Liz Ryerson
In the last few weeks, I’ve become increasingly convinced that Trump and his regime are totally cooked.
They can only stay in power by stealing elections—but they can only do that if enough people are willing to help them.
They’re in a downward spiral and can’t pull themselves out of it.
They can only stay in power by stealing elections—but they can only do that if enough people are willing to help them.
They’re in a downward spiral and can’t pull themselves out of it.
December 12, 2025 at 3:10 PM
In the last few weeks, I’ve become increasingly convinced that Trump and his regime are totally cooked.
They can only stay in power by stealing elections—but they can only do that if enough people are willing to help them.
They’re in a downward spiral and can’t pull themselves out of it.
They can only stay in power by stealing elections—but they can only do that if enough people are willing to help them.
They’re in a downward spiral and can’t pull themselves out of it.
listening to this album from 2023, it good jamesholden.bandcamp.com/album/imagin...
Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities, by James Holden
12 track album
jamesholden.bandcamp.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:27 PM
listening to this album from 2023, it good jamesholden.bandcamp.com/album/imagin...
"never be cool" - liz ryerson, 2025
December 12, 2025 at 5:06 PM
"never be cool" - liz ryerson, 2025