Florence Smith Nicholls
@florencesn.bsky.social
Video game archaeologist + game dev//
PhD on archaeogaming as play preservation + procgen//
Prev: Story Tech @gutefabrik.bsky.social, Planning Archaeologist at Museum of London Archaeology
they/them
💾 florencesmithnicholls.com
PhD on archaeogaming as play preservation + procgen//
Prev: Story Tech @gutefabrik.bsky.social, Planning Archaeologist at Museum of London Archaeology
they/them
💾 florencesmithnicholls.com
Pinned
~Thread of my past publications~
"Virtual Dark Tourism in The Town of Light"
2018, Routledge
In this book chapter I argue that video games marketing a setting associated with historical suffering can be considered dark tourism experiences.
www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...
"Virtual Dark Tourism in The Town of Light"
2018, Routledge
In this book chapter I argue that video games marketing a setting associated with historical suffering can be considered dark tourism experiences.
www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...
Apologia for Game Wikis | Mixed Initiatives
mixedinitiatives.net
November 14, 2025 at 10:08 PM
re: tutorials and early game friction, here's a blog post I wrote in 2021 on why I like the social practice of game wiki'ing, and the "ludic mystery" that motivates it mixedinitiatives.net/blog/apologi...
Gonna cosplay as Professor Tangrowth for my talks
November 14, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Gonna cosplay as Professor Tangrowth for my talks
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
An exciting #archaeogaming paper from @yorkarchaeology.bsky.social by @florencesn.bsky.social. #Archaeology
November 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
An exciting #archaeogaming paper from @yorkarchaeology.bsky.social by @florencesn.bsky.social. #Archaeology
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
📑 New publication! 📑
I was asked to write a 'viewpoint' article in a special issue on 'Ludomythologies'. I happily obliged with just a few thousand words on how we should think of myths less like stories and more like models, and how that makes them remarkably similar to games.
I was asked to write a 'viewpoint' article in a special issue on 'Ludomythologies'. I happily obliged with just a few thousand words on how we should think of myths less like stories and more like models, and how that makes them remarkably similar to games.
November 14, 2025 at 12:23 PM
📑 New publication! 📑
I was asked to write a 'viewpoint' article in a special issue on 'Ludomythologies'. I happily obliged with just a few thousand words on how we should think of myths less like stories and more like models, and how that makes them remarkably similar to games.
I was asked to write a 'viewpoint' article in a special issue on 'Ludomythologies'. I happily obliged with just a few thousand words on how we should think of myths less like stories and more like models, and how that makes them remarkably similar to games.
This is today!
14 November: Digital Lunch with @florencesn.bsky.social
Title: (Not) Dying of Anticipation: Video Game Archaeologies of Contemporary Play 🏺
1pm GMT, sign up to get the zoom link:
forms.gle/xQGo4rJwk5iG...
Title: (Not) Dying of Anticipation: Video Game Archaeologies of Contemporary Play 🏺
1pm GMT, sign up to get the zoom link:
forms.gle/xQGo4rJwk5iG...
November 14, 2025 at 11:06 AM
This is today!
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
“Don’t post publicly about Geoff or you’ll be blacklisted from the industry.” Listen I truly understand why anyone would say that, but being an old man who lived through gamergate and was told by my superior to STFU about it online and refused to: I’m still here and making games.
November 13, 2025 at 11:25 PM
“Don’t post publicly about Geoff or you’ll be blacklisted from the industry.” Listen I truly understand why anyone would say that, but being an old man who lived through gamergate and was told by my superior to STFU about it online and refused to: I’m still here and making games.
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
This paper is a long time coming and I was so happy to present it today. In it, I argue that designing games and designing procedural generators are one and the same, and that we should share knowledge, tools and solutions - and work towards a new shared vocabulary!
Open access, available soon.
Open access, available soon.
The first paper session of the day is on Mechanics and Design, and we're starting off with a Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social talk arguing that Game Design is Generative Design.
Thinking through the argument here was really compelling, and makes me want to read the paper right this instant!
Thinking through the argument here was really compelling, and makes me want to read the paper right this instant!
November 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
This paper is a long time coming and I was so happy to present it today. In it, I argue that designing games and designing procedural generators are one and the same, and that we should share knowledge, tools and solutions - and work towards a new shared vocabulary!
Open access, available soon.
Open access, available soon.
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
If there are any former Game Award Future Class members interested in participating in any capacity my DMs are open!
The Hard Drive Game Awards will return December 12th from 7-10PM EST on twitch.tv/harddrivemag!
Fabulous guests, prestigious awards, virtue signaling! The Hard Drive Game Awards will have it all!
Most importantly, we are fundraising for The Palestine Children's Relief Fund! tilt.fyi/qKf4ZQh2b0
Fabulous guests, prestigious awards, virtue signaling! The Hard Drive Game Awards will have it all!
Most importantly, we are fundraising for The Palestine Children's Relief Fund! tilt.fyi/qKf4ZQh2b0
HardDriveMag - Twitch
Hard Drive is the only trustworthy news source for video games and pop culture.
twitch.tv
November 13, 2025 at 3:44 PM
If there are any former Game Award Future Class members interested in participating in any capacity my DMs are open!
You thought the word metroidbrainia was painful, wait till you read my academic article about why these games essentially encourage you to roleplay as an archaeologist
November 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM
You thought the word metroidbrainia was painful, wait till you read my academic article about why these games essentially encourage you to roleplay as an archaeologist
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
🚚🚚🚚New article alert! Part of a special issue on games + container technologies, it’s about truckers who play Truck Simulator in their trucks, but also simulation, battlestations, and the logistics of work and play. It's open access, so please take a look 🚚🚚🚚 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Truck simulator, trucker-simulators, and the containment of neoliberal capitalism
This paper discusses truckers who play games (including Truck Simulator) while on the road. Inspired by the concept of “container technologies” and more recent work which distinguishes between cont...
www.tandfonline.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
🚚🚚🚚New article alert! Part of a special issue on games + container technologies, it’s about truckers who play Truck Simulator in their trucks, but also simulation, battlestations, and the logistics of work and play. It's open access, so please take a look 🚚🚚🚚 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
HUGE congrats to @secretsaucesoph.bsky.social, @grgwllrd.bsky.social & @littlecornersgame.bsky.social on the launch of Little Corners 💖
Grab it on Steam here: store.steampowered.com/app/3651310/...
You can also grab the Little SUMMERHOUSE Corner bundle here: store.steampowered.com/bundle/62185...
Grab it on Steam here: store.steampowered.com/app/3651310/...
You can also grab the Little SUMMERHOUSE Corner bundle here: store.steampowered.com/bundle/62185...
November 13, 2025 at 11:49 AM
HUGE congrats to @secretsaucesoph.bsky.social, @grgwllrd.bsky.social & @littlecornersgame.bsky.social on the launch of Little Corners 💖
Grab it on Steam here: store.steampowered.com/app/3651310/...
You can also grab the Little SUMMERHOUSE Corner bundle here: store.steampowered.com/bundle/62185...
Grab it on Steam here: store.steampowered.com/app/3651310/...
You can also grab the Little SUMMERHOUSE Corner bundle here: store.steampowered.com/bundle/62185...
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
November 5, 2025 at 10:29 AM
This hole it was made for me
I Write Games Not Tragedies Launches November 14
I Write Games Not Tragedies Launches November 14
Studio Wife, Cornmandog and Yotsuba Interactive have announced "emo visual novel x rhythm game" I Write Games Not Tragedies launches on November 14 for PC via Steam. A free demo for I Write Games Not Tragedies is available now on Steam. Lastly, here's an overview of the game, via Steam: “Sometimes I wish all of my pain was fake…
finalweapon.net
November 13, 2025 at 11:49 AM
This hole it was made for me
Was lucky enough to have early access to Carved in Stone, it's absolutely gorgeous. Even better, its transparent about archaeology as an interpretive practise and the choices that went into the creation of the setting guide
The Picts were always more than their blue-painted, bloodthirsty depictions. Carved in Stone, a new setting guide from @stoutstoat.co.uk and archaeologist Heather Christie, invites players to explore their incomplete but beautiful history.
Carved in Stone is both a history book and an eye-catching RPG
Publisher Brian Tyrrell and archeologist Heather Christie paint a pretty Pict-ure.
www.rascal.news
November 13, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Was lucky enough to have early access to Carved in Stone, it's absolutely gorgeous. Even better, its transparent about archaeology as an interpretive practise and the choices that went into the creation of the setting guide
I'm always suprised that Tom Francis' definition of "information games" that he first put forward in 2019 doesn't often come up in these discussions
appreciate this article breaking down a taxonomy of knowledge games (also, unfortunately, known as metroidbrainias)
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
Against 'Metroidbrania': a Landscape of Knowledge Games
What are knowledge games? How do we relate them to each other? What sub-genres exist – and which ones might be implied?
azhdarchid.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:41 AM
I'm always suprised that Tom Francis' definition of "information games" that he first put forward in 2019 doesn't often come up in these discussions
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
Here's a CFP for this year's Digital Worlds Workshop. It's a great conference for trying out new ideas and a pretty friendly group.
Digitalworldsworkshop.com/virtual-workshop
#philsky #philtech #philosophy #philosophyoftechnology
Digitalworldsworkshop.com/virtual-workshop
#philsky #philtech #philosophy #philosophyoftechnology
Virtual Workshop
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at [email protected]. You can also sign up here for updates:
Digitalworldsworkshop.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Here's a CFP for this year's Digital Worlds Workshop. It's a great conference for trying out new ideas and a pretty friendly group.
Digitalworldsworkshop.com/virtual-workshop
#philsky #philtech #philosophy #philosophyoftechnology
Digitalworldsworkshop.com/virtual-workshop
#philsky #philtech #philosophy #philosophyoftechnology
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
I liked my outfit today
November 12, 2025 at 10:57 PM
I liked my outfit today
This is today!
Come along to my talk "Preservation by Record: Video Game Archaeology as Play Preservation" at Manchester Game Centre next week!
Next week, the Manchester Game Centre has the pleasure to welcome @florencesn.bsky.social, who’ll be talking about their work on archaeology and play preservation. The talk is in person only, but anybody is welcome to attend. Details here: manchestergamecentre.org/events/2025/...
November 12, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This is today!
I would agree, and also say that proc gen *is* a form of AI, it's just that genAI has now become interchangeable with the term and nuance has been lost despite the fact that creative computing and algorithmic art has existed for decades
A big reason proc gen feels so different to AI in spite of superficial similarities is exactly this!!
Proc Gen systems reflect the interests and creative preferences of the tool makers, whereas AI is catch-all sludge that reflects no specific point of view. It’s not remotely the same!
Proc Gen systems reflect the interests and creative preferences of the tool makers, whereas AI is catch-all sludge that reflects no specific point of view. It’s not remotely the same!
In case anyone ever asks, I *have* written a material generator and a music generator for Eldritch 2, but that's not AI. That's me taking all the things I personally know about those things, and writing my own tools to make the process a little faster and easier for myself. It's still 100% me, baby.
November 12, 2025 at 9:02 AM
I would agree, and also say that proc gen *is* a form of AI, it's just that genAI has now become interchangeable with the term and nuance has been lost despite the fact that creative computing and algorithmic art has existed for decades
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
🌐 THE WEB WE’VE BUILT is a cinematic journey through our shared digital history & preserved pages in the Wayback Machine.
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
The Web We've Built: Documentary : Internet Archive : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The Web We've Built is a 90-second cinematic reflection on the web as humanity’s greatest shared creation—built together, preserved together, and...
archive.org
November 11, 2025 at 8:01 PM
🌐 THE WEB WE’VE BUILT is a cinematic journey through our shared digital history & preserved pages in the Wayback Machine.
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
archive.org/details/the-...
Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/11/l...
#Wayback1T
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
Amelia Acker: "Each chapter introduces data archiving processes that relate to the evolution of data sovereignty...: from magnetic tape + timesharing computer models from the 1950s,... to file structures + virtual containers in cloud-based information services over the past 40 yrs" — open access!
Archiving Machines
Archiving Machines advances our understanding of memory, information, and data by charting the struggle between the computing technologies that archive data ...
mitpress.mit.edu
November 11, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Amelia Acker: "Each chapter introduces data archiving processes that relate to the evolution of data sovereignty...: from magnetic tape + timesharing computer models from the 1950s,... to file structures + virtual containers in cloud-based information services over the past 40 yrs" — open access!
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
"babies are born worshipping unknown gods" is one of the most incredible dwarf fortress bugs i have heard of. its poetry.
November 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
"babies are born worshipping unknown gods" is one of the most incredible dwarf fortress bugs i have heard of. its poetry.
I have a lot of thoughts about my experience in the Game Awards Future Class. I'm not sure whether to write about it or not but I will say I'm proud of my fellow members and it is gratifying to see the reporting on it
November 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I have a lot of thoughts about my experience in the Game Awards Future Class. I'm not sure whether to write about it or not but I will say I'm proud of my fellow members and it is gratifying to see the reporting on it
Reposted by Florence Smith Nicholls
