Evan Torner
@guyintheblackhat.bsky.social
Associate Professor of German, Niehoff Professor of Film & Media Studies at U of Cincinnati; Scholar of East German cinema, science fiction, and role-playing games. He/Him. Bi. Wears a hat.
Pinned
I'd like to think of "dark academia" as "I, a brooding professor who wears all black, have [these clothes] on while I send many emails and update Canvas assignment due dates"
Camille Paglia once argued in a major publication that Star Wars Epsiode III: Revenge of the Sith was the greatest film of all time so, y'know, be kind to yourself today.
November 21, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Camille Paglia once argued in a major publication that Star Wars Epsiode III: Revenge of the Sith was the greatest film of all time so, y'know, be kind to yourself today.
Reposted by Evan Torner
"Those in power recognized that oppression is best maintained by keeping the masses illiterate, and those oppressed recognized that literacy is liberation"
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:44 AM
"Those in power recognized that oppression is best maintained by keeping the masses illiterate, and those oppressed recognized that literacy is liberation"
1. Play game
2. Get stuck on part
3. Look up the strategic "solution" in a Let's Play
4. Realize that you're failing b/c your characters' builds are wildly off.
5. Have an existential crisis about the fact that, because of earlier *wrong* build decisions, you weren't "really" playing the game.
2. Get stuck on part
3. Look up the strategic "solution" in a Let's Play
4. Realize that you're failing b/c your characters' builds are wildly off.
5. Have an existential crisis about the fact that, because of earlier *wrong* build decisions, you weren't "really" playing the game.
November 21, 2025 at 8:21 AM
1. Play game
2. Get stuck on part
3. Look up the strategic "solution" in a Let's Play
4. Realize that you're failing b/c your characters' builds are wildly off.
5. Have an existential crisis about the fact that, because of earlier *wrong* build decisions, you weren't "really" playing the game.
2. Get stuck on part
3. Look up the strategic "solution" in a Let's Play
4. Realize that you're failing b/c your characters' builds are wildly off.
5. Have an existential crisis about the fact that, because of earlier *wrong* build decisions, you weren't "really" playing the game.
"[Facing] your suicidal, bullied-as-hell teenage daughter makes for a much more powerful scene than facing a boatload of orcs. Stories
do not require monsters, at least not the kinds of monsters that we generally came across in most
tabletop games in the days of old."
--Tobias Wrigstad (2008)
do not require monsters, at least not the kinds of monsters that we generally came across in most
tabletop games in the days of old."
--Tobias Wrigstad (2008)
I love the genre mashup. Give me all the Golden Girls/Cthulhus and WWII/Draculas you've got.
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
But I'm also looking for non-mashups. Sometimes it feels like the industry has an allergy. Westerns without magic. Drama without aliens. Detectives without Cthulhu.
www.explorersdesign.com/one-genre-ga...
Dare to Play it Straight
The rarest tabletop genre is the simplest one. A call for more anti-mashups.
www.explorersdesign.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:05 AM
"[Facing] your suicidal, bullied-as-hell teenage daughter makes for a much more powerful scene than facing a boatload of orcs. Stories
do not require monsters, at least not the kinds of monsters that we generally came across in most
tabletop games in the days of old."
--Tobias Wrigstad (2008)
do not require monsters, at least not the kinds of monsters that we generally came across in most
tabletop games in the days of old."
--Tobias Wrigstad (2008)
FW Murnau, director of SUNRISE, was a fellow queer creator and, although it took place due to Hollywood-political reasons, we have suspected the withdrawal of the award had some 1930s societal discrimination reasons behind it too.
There were two awards for Best Picture at the first Academy Awards.
WINGS won Outstanding Production. SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS won Best Unique and Artistic Picture.
The Academy retroactively downgraded SUNRISE and declared WINGS the sole winner, which is fucked up if you think about it.
WINGS won Outstanding Production. SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS won Best Unique and Artistic Picture.
The Academy retroactively downgraded SUNRISE and declared WINGS the sole winner, which is fucked up if you think about it.
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share
November 21, 2025 at 7:57 AM
FW Murnau, director of SUNRISE, was a fellow queer creator and, although it took place due to Hollywood-political reasons, we have suspected the withdrawal of the award had some 1930s societal discrimination reasons behind it too.
Reposted by Evan Torner
Their goal is not complicated: This is a deliberate strategy to defund and privatize public education in America.
This is moving us in exactly the wrong direction.
I call on the Department of Education to immediately reverse course and do its job: strengthen our public schools, not dismantle them.
This is moving us in exactly the wrong direction.
I call on the Department of Education to immediately reverse course and do its job: strengthen our public schools, not dismantle them.
Exclusive: The Education Department plans to move multiple parts of the agency to other federal departments, an unprecedented effort to dismantle an agency created by Congress to ensure all Americans have equal access to educational opportunity.
Trump administration to announce dismantling of much of Education Dept.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March seeking to close the department, but only Congress has the power to do that.
wapo.st
November 20, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Their goal is not complicated: This is a deliberate strategy to defund and privatize public education in America.
This is moving us in exactly the wrong direction.
I call on the Department of Education to immediately reverse course and do its job: strengthen our public schools, not dismantle them.
This is moving us in exactly the wrong direction.
I call on the Department of Education to immediately reverse course and do its job: strengthen our public schools, not dismantle them.
The early 1990s music scene: Y'all ready for this?
The band member whose sole responsibility appears to be to enthusiastically hit the MIDI Whistle Sample button: OH YEAH
The band member whose sole responsibility appears to be to enthusiastically hit the MIDI Whistle Sample button: OH YEAH
November 20, 2025 at 3:06 PM
The early 1990s music scene: Y'all ready for this?
The band member whose sole responsibility appears to be to enthusiastically hit the MIDI Whistle Sample button: OH YEAH
The band member whose sole responsibility appears to be to enthusiastically hit the MIDI Whistle Sample button: OH YEAH
When there are multiple signals that people send you saying "Our goal is to *dominate* you and *drive you out of public space*," believe them!
You can’t engage in good faith with people operating in bad faith. They don’t care about facts or logic, just anger and clicks
November 20, 2025 at 12:27 PM
When there are multiple signals that people send you saying "Our goal is to *dominate* you and *drive you out of public space*," believe them!
Reposted by Evan Torner
Discussing the afterlives of African films at the University of Cambridge a few days ago...
November 20, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Discussing the afterlives of African films at the University of Cambridge a few days ago...
Reposted by Evan Torner
This is one of the clearest examples of a disordered counterpublic capturing an institution I've seen. It's nice to have your work proven on a regular basis, but also very bad.
demos.co.uk/research/ver...
demos.co.uk/research/ver...
November 20, 2025 at 7:03 AM
This is one of the clearest examples of a disordered counterpublic capturing an institution I've seen. It's nice to have your work proven on a regular basis, but also very bad.
demos.co.uk/research/ver...
demos.co.uk/research/ver...
Them, extra-cool voice: "But there are already enough [X genre] games out there."
Me, extra-dork voice: "But we haven't yet seen YOUR [X genre] game! That's gonna be something quite special."
Me, extra-dork voice: "But we haven't yet seen YOUR [X genre] game! That's gonna be something quite special."
November 20, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Them, extra-cool voice: "But there are already enough [X genre] games out there."
Me, extra-dork voice: "But we haven't yet seen YOUR [X genre] game! That's gonna be something quite special."
Me, extra-dork voice: "But we haven't yet seen YOUR [X genre] game! That's gonna be something quite special."
Reposted by Evan Torner
Correct definition of “immersive sim” has arrived
Okay, in fairness, this is only my own work and not the result of a conference. But in unfairness: I thought it would be funniest to just plant this flag as soon as possible.
azhdarchid.com/the-sao-paul...
azhdarchid.com/the-sao-paul...
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Correct definition of “immersive sim” has arrived
Reposted by Evan Torner
The @adventurex.bsky.social Steam event is on! There's a collection of fantastic narrative games that are part of it, including @gutefabrik.bsky.social 's Saltsea Chronicles, which I had the privilege to work on, at a 50% discount.
store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
AdventureX 2025 Event
AdventureX - The Narrative Games Convention
store.steampowered.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:05 PM
The @adventurex.bsky.social Steam event is on! There's a collection of fantastic narrative games that are part of it, including @gutefabrik.bsky.social 's Saltsea Chronicles, which I had the privilege to work on, at a 50% discount.
store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
store.steampowered.com/sale/adventu...
Reposted by Evan Torner
When we walked in, having managed to have no preparatory conversation in two days, I said “do you trust me?”
So here’s @itsquinns.bsky.social in a trust fall, recorded (with thanks to @brianflaherty.bsky.social for some quick cleanup on this audio)
So here’s @itsquinns.bsky.social in a trust fall, recorded (with thanks to @brianflaherty.bsky.social for some quick cleanup on this audio)
Communities, Criticism: a Conversation with Quinns | Dr. Em Friedman
Get more from Dr. Em Friedman on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:28 PM
When we walked in, having managed to have no preparatory conversation in two days, I said “do you trust me?”
So here’s @itsquinns.bsky.social in a trust fall, recorded (with thanks to @brianflaherty.bsky.social for some quick cleanup on this audio)
So here’s @itsquinns.bsky.social in a trust fall, recorded (with thanks to @brianflaherty.bsky.social for some quick cleanup on this audio)
Reposted by Evan Torner
Delighted to hear that Victorian Jewish writer Amy Levy's papers will now be more accessible.
You can read more here: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
I've also written about her writing on dance in my @stanfordpress.bsky.social book and @jofvictculture.bsky.social: jvc.oup.com/tag/ballroom/
You can read more here: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
I've also written about her writing on dance in my @stanfordpress.bsky.social book and @jofvictculture.bsky.social: jvc.oup.com/tag/ballroom/
November 19, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Delighted to hear that Victorian Jewish writer Amy Levy's papers will now be more accessible.
You can read more here: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
I've also written about her writing on dance in my @stanfordpress.bsky.social book and @jofvictculture.bsky.social: jvc.oup.com/tag/ballroom/
You can read more here: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
I've also written about her writing on dance in my @stanfordpress.bsky.social book and @jofvictculture.bsky.social: jvc.oup.com/tag/ballroom/
Jessica Hammer's chapter on Online Freeform from the RPG Handbook (here I've included the 2018 version, which was circulated open-access online 7 years ago) serves as a useful overview of this particular RPG form, distinct from others by its use of platforms.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sgp7c...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sgp7c...
November 19, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Jessica Hammer's chapter on Online Freeform from the RPG Handbook (here I've included the 2018 version, which was circulated open-access online 7 years ago) serves as a useful overview of this particular RPG form, distinct from others by its use of platforms.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sgp7c...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sgp7c...
Reposted by Evan Torner
The US wasn't the only country to pin an entire moral panic on tabletop RPGs. We spoke with players in Brazil and Spain about their own bookbound boogeymen.
The Other Satanic Panics
How RPGs become scapegoats for murders across the world.
www.rascal.news
November 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
The US wasn't the only country to pin an entire moral panic on tabletop RPGs. We spoke with players in Brazil and Spain about their own bookbound boogeymen.
Reposted by Evan Torner
New post at CoE blog: Evgenia Amey and Fabienne Silberstein-Bamford outline their research on fanfiction based on The Elder Scrolls game series. They observe how fan writers narrativize gameplay and incorporate game content and in-universe texts into their stories. coe-gamecult.org/2025/11/17/e...
Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies – Evgenia Amey & Fabienne Silberstein-Bamford: Exploring fanfiction set in the world of The Elder Scrolls
In this blog post, Evgenia Amey and Fabienne Silberstein-Bamford outline their research on fanfiction based on The Elder Scrolls game series. They observe how fan writers narrativize gameplay and i…
coe-gamecult.org
November 19, 2025 at 9:11 AM
New post at CoE blog: Evgenia Amey and Fabienne Silberstein-Bamford outline their research on fanfiction based on The Elder Scrolls game series. They observe how fan writers narrativize gameplay and incorporate game content and in-universe texts into their stories. coe-gamecult.org/2025/11/17/e...
It's 1999: "Unreal" is a solo FPS that's just released a multi-player version, in response to Quake 3. It all runs on GeForce 256 graphics cards by a company called "Nvidia."
It's 2025: Nvidia is a multi-trillion-dollar AI hardware company, & most 3D Anything is made in "Unreal" these days.
It's 2025: Nvidia is a multi-trillion-dollar AI hardware company, & most 3D Anything is made in "Unreal" these days.
November 19, 2025 at 12:55 AM
It's 1999: "Unreal" is a solo FPS that's just released a multi-player version, in response to Quake 3. It all runs on GeForce 256 graphics cards by a company called "Nvidia."
It's 2025: Nvidia is a multi-trillion-dollar AI hardware company, & most 3D Anything is made in "Unreal" these days.
It's 2025: Nvidia is a multi-trillion-dollar AI hardware company, & most 3D Anything is made in "Unreal" these days.
Malte Wandel's excellent photo book on the Mozambicans who came to work in East Germany in the 1980s, only to be abandoned by all governments when the Berlin Wall fell. A #WiGBuchTipp
November 18, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Malte Wandel's excellent photo book on the Mozambicans who came to work in East Germany in the 1980s, only to be abandoned by all governments when the Berlin Wall fell. A #WiGBuchTipp
Reposted by Evan Torner
An amazing list of awesome games. Games on Demand has 31 tables this year in rooms 107 & 106. Our games do start every hour, beginning at 10 AM and sitting the last game two hours before the end of show (so either 10 PM or 4 PM on Sunday). We are running 2, 3, 4, & 5 hour games this year.
We'll be in #Booth3701 at #PaxUnplugged2025 this weekend in Philadelphia.
Here's a list of the 238 games from 119 member-publishers we'll have:
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-Un...
Here's a list of the 238 games from 119 member-publishers we'll have:
www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/PAX-Un...
November 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM
An amazing list of awesome games. Games on Demand has 31 tables this year in rooms 107 & 106. Our games do start every hour, beginning at 10 AM and sitting the last game two hours before the end of show (so either 10 PM or 4 PM on Sunday). We are running 2, 3, 4, & 5 hour games this year.
Reposted by Evan Torner
Thank goodness the internet isn't overly brittle and reliant on a handful of services.
November 18, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Thank goodness the internet isn't overly brittle and reliant on a handful of services.
Reposted by Evan Torner
College students experience unique and disproportionate obstacles in almost every step of the election administration process.
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/inside-...
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/inside-...
Inside the GOP’s Assault on Youth Voting Rights
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:02 PM
College students experience unique and disproportionate obstacles in almost every step of the election administration process.
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/inside-...
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/inside-...
Reposted by Evan Torner
Thank you to everyone schooling me on the specific services that Cloudflare provides. Effective point is: critical juncture failure means no websites.
lmao nearly every major tabletop platform or website hosts on Cloudflare, which is currently shitting the metaphorical bed.
Kickstarter, Backerkit, and Gamefound. But also itch, Roll20, DTRPG. Effectively the whole online RPG market is offline.
Kickstarter, Backerkit, and Gamefound. But also itch, Roll20, DTRPG. Effectively the whole online RPG market is offline.
November 18, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Thank you to everyone schooling me on the specific services that Cloudflare provides. Effective point is: critical juncture failure means no websites.