Phoenix
@phoenixsimms.bsky.social
Atlantic Canadian game critic and demiwoman cryptid. (She/They)
Words at Unwinnable, Endless Mode (previously Paste Games), and more
Co-Editor of @tier-review.com
https://muckrack.com/phoenix-simms
[email protected]
Avi by realrollsweat
Words at Unwinnable, Endless Mode (previously Paste Games), and more
Co-Editor of @tier-review.com
https://muckrack.com/phoenix-simms
[email protected]
Avi by realrollsweat
Pinned
@phoenixsimms.bsky.social reflects on why there was an increasing emphasis in the 2010s on IF storytelling via interfaces like desktops and apps.
IF's Retrofuturist Roots
Amping up retro technological friction encourages the player to decipher an IF game's interface as if it is an alien device with its own "emotional language".
www.tier-review.com
Whenever I think about IF in the 2010s, I always notice that game designers were interested in retrofuturist takes on computer desktops. The first one I encountered, Digital: A Love Story, was even designed by someone who didn't grow up with the interfaces central to the game, namely the BBS.
Reposted by Phoenix
okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form:
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
November 10, 2025 at 5:18 PM
okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form:
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
Reposted by Phoenix
Sama'a and her husband often go without so that their girls can eat. I have watched them grow thinner and thinner, and I beg you to join me in giving them a little comfort.
gofund.me/db56c7ce3
gofund.me/db56c7ce3
November 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Sama'a and her husband often go without so that their girls can eat. I have watched them grow thinner and thinner, and I beg you to join me in giving them a little comfort.
gofund.me/db56c7ce3
gofund.me/db56c7ce3
Reposted by Phoenix
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creating videogame criticism
www.patreon.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:46 PM
We're entirely reader supported. You can keep us going (and get stuff for doing so) by signing up to our Patreon right here: www.patreon.com/bulletpoints
Reposted by Phoenix
There'll be a new pinned post this week, but for now: Ambrosia Sky: Act One is *out* now!
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3580160/...
EGS: store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/ambr...
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3580160/...
EGS: store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/ambr...
Save 15% on Ambrosia Sky on Steam
You left. Now they’re dead. Ambrosia Sky: Act One is an immersive sim about exploring an asteroid colony devastated by a mysterious contamination. Survive and harvest strains of aggressive alien fungi...
store.steampowered.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
There'll be a new pinned post this week, but for now: Ambrosia Sky: Act One is *out* now!
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3580160/...
EGS: store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/ambr...
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3580160/...
EGS: store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/ambr...
Reposted by Phoenix
Hello friends, I need you all. Please quote and share. Let my plea reach others. I am here in a state of indescribable despair and distress. Please do what you can for my family. / Potatoes grow
bit.ly/help-mohamed
bit.ly/help-mohamed
November 10, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Hello friends, I need you all. Please quote and share. Let my plea reach others. I am here in a state of indescribable despair and distress. Please do what you can for my family. / Potatoes grow
bit.ly/help-mohamed
bit.ly/help-mohamed
Reposted by Phoenix
When companies think they can fire people to stop unionization efforts and try to get away with it, they teach the workers one of two things:
1. Don't unionize, or else you'll be fired.
2. Unionize even harder and take bigger, more powerful actions together.
I know which takeaway I've learned.
1. Don't unionize, or else you'll be fired.
2. Unionize even harder and take bigger, more powerful actions together.
I know which takeaway I've learned.
November 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
When companies think they can fire people to stop unionization efforts and try to get away with it, they teach the workers one of two things:
1. Don't unionize, or else you'll be fired.
2. Unionize even harder and take bigger, more powerful actions together.
I know which takeaway I've learned.
1. Don't unionize, or else you'll be fired.
2. Unionize even harder and take bigger, more powerful actions together.
I know which takeaway I've learned.
Reposted by Phoenix
This is excellent, well worth reading.
Many of the points that we discuss in "Why We Fear AI" make an appearance here, from the drive to make people into machine-legible (the techno-bureaucratization of all life) to the ways in which efficiency gains are used against workers (and patients)
Many of the points that we discuss in "Why We Fear AI" make an appearance here, from the drive to make people into machine-legible (the techno-bureaucratization of all life) to the ways in which efficiency gains are used against workers (and patients)
I have a feature essay for The Guardian today on the mirage of AI medicine, why care cannot be automated, and how overwhelming uptake of AI by American health capitalism threatens to undermine the very possibility of democracy.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
What we lose when we surrender care to algorithms | Eric Reinhart
A dangerous faith in AI is sweeping American healthcare – with consequences for the basis of society itself
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:42 PM
This is excellent, well worth reading.
Many of the points that we discuss in "Why We Fear AI" make an appearance here, from the drive to make people into machine-legible (the techno-bureaucratization of all life) to the ways in which efficiency gains are used against workers (and patients)
Many of the points that we discuss in "Why We Fear AI" make an appearance here, from the drive to make people into machine-legible (the techno-bureaucratization of all life) to the ways in which efficiency gains are used against workers (and patients)
Reposted by Phoenix
H.E.L.L.O WORLD❗
I’m Nabil, 33, Software Engineer & Father from Gaza.
They stole my life, crushed my dignity, they killed me alive.
Once a successful CEO—now a father begging to keep his kids alive. 🙏 Please share the link on your account.
🔗 chuffed.org/project/nabil
🔗 paypal.me/nabilzaqout
I’m Nabil, 33, Software Engineer & Father from Gaza.
They stole my life, crushed my dignity, they killed me alive.
Once a successful CEO—now a father begging to keep his kids alive. 🙏 Please share the link on your account.
🔗 chuffed.org/project/nabil
🔗 paypal.me/nabilzaqout
November 5, 2025 at 8:04 AM
H.E.L.L.O WORLD❗
I’m Nabil, 33, Software Engineer & Father from Gaza.
They stole my life, crushed my dignity, they killed me alive.
Once a successful CEO—now a father begging to keep his kids alive. 🙏 Please share the link on your account.
🔗 chuffed.org/project/nabil
🔗 paypal.me/nabilzaqout
I’m Nabil, 33, Software Engineer & Father from Gaza.
They stole my life, crushed my dignity, they killed me alive.
Once a successful CEO—now a father begging to keep his kids alive. 🙏 Please share the link on your account.
🔗 chuffed.org/project/nabil
🔗 paypal.me/nabilzaqout
Reposted by Phoenix
We're socialized to constantly apologize for being too outwardly excited about things, but this world is so full of terror and misery that I'd rather see those bursts of light and passion shine through the cracks wherever you can find them.
November 7, 2025 at 2:36 PM
We're socialized to constantly apologize for being too outwardly excited about things, but this world is so full of terror and misery that I'd rather see those bursts of light and passion shine through the cracks wherever you can find them.
Reposted by Phoenix
Please send tips
I need to refill my HRT and get foods and groceries
I need to refill my HRT and get foods and groceries
November 8, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Please send tips
I need to refill my HRT and get foods and groceries
I need to refill my HRT and get foods and groceries
Reposted by Phoenix
also read steven. doing the work analyzing what is happening to games crit with a method that is not vibes, discourse, or clique based. this one seems relevant today: breakingarrows.substack.com/p/who-is-wri...
November 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
also read steven. doing the work analyzing what is happening to games crit with a method that is not vibes, discourse, or clique based. this one seems relevant today: breakingarrows.substack.com/p/who-is-wri...
Reposted by Phoenix
I encourage everyone to poke around the document I've been working on attempting to compile and sort a body of links on worthwhile game writing. I'll likely create a thread of some of the most interesting ones I have found, and feel free to share additions to be made!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
November 7, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I encourage everyone to poke around the document I've been working on attempting to compile and sort a body of links on worthwhile game writing. I'll likely create a thread of some of the most interesting ones I have found, and feel free to share additions to be made!
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Phoenix
Thought more about "Indie" as a term since yesterday. Specifically in reference to GOTY and anything other than categorisation
Indie at TGA often feels a little bit like animation at The Oscars. A delineation that suggests one as in a different class to the other. (You get exceptions, of course)
Indie at TGA often feels a little bit like animation at The Oscars. A delineation that suggests one as in a different class to the other. (You get exceptions, of course)
November 6, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Thought more about "Indie" as a term since yesterday. Specifically in reference to GOTY and anything other than categorisation
Indie at TGA often feels a little bit like animation at The Oscars. A delineation that suggests one as in a different class to the other. (You get exceptions, of course)
Indie at TGA often feels a little bit like animation at The Oscars. A delineation that suggests one as in a different class to the other. (You get exceptions, of course)
Reposted by Phoenix
AYO! The new #Tombpunk book, Shallow Graves, is currently live on KS & *I* wrote the titular adventure for it! 🌙🕷
Please do me a favor, and share this far & wide, in the hopes that its success will lead to more opportunities to write with/for other wonderful people's #TTRPG projects 🎲 #OSR
Please do me a favor, and share this far & wide, in the hopes that its success will lead to more opportunities to write with/for other wonderful people's #TTRPG projects 🎲 #OSR
Shallow Graves: Cult of the Moon Spider for Tombpunk RPG
All-new adventures, Stick Figures, and a reprint for the lo-fi, high-chaos roleplaying game TOMBPUNK!
www.kickstarter.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Phoenix
Hi, I'm Abdul Karim from Gaza. My family and I will raise my voice to you so that you can hear.
The war is over but its effects remain. The killing has stopped but the hunger and displacement have not.
My home has been destroyed and I need some rehabilitation.
gofund.me/479c3b51
The war is over but its effects remain. The killing has stopped but the hunger and displacement have not.
My home has been destroyed and I need some rehabilitation.
gofund.me/479c3b51
October 12, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Hi, I'm Abdul Karim from Gaza. My family and I will raise my voice to you so that you can hear.
The war is over but its effects remain. The killing has stopped but the hunger and displacement have not.
My home has been destroyed and I need some rehabilitation.
gofund.me/479c3b51
The war is over but its effects remain. The killing has stopped but the hunger and displacement have not.
My home has been destroyed and I need some rehabilitation.
gofund.me/479c3b51
Reposted by Phoenix
Please support Juno to get her necessary medications! ❤️ 💸
Okay. I’ve been out of most of my HRT for about a month because of insurance / doctor’s office issues
I can FINALLY pick all of my HRT up tomorrow though
Can I please have tips to get all my meds tomorrow ?
I can FINALLY pick all of my HRT up tomorrow though
Can I please have tips to get all my meds tomorrow ?
November 6, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Please support Juno to get her necessary medications! ❤️ 💸
Reposted by Phoenix
AI is inseparable from fascism
Tune into @TexasStandard now to hear about how Texas schools are using AI to screen library books for content banned under a new state law, SB 13.
Talked with them about my recent story: www.statesman.com/politics/art...
Talked with them about my recent story: www.statesman.com/politics/art...
Texas schools are using AI to screen library books under new state law
Supporters see ChatGPT as a way to help weed out inappropriate content, but critics say AI can include incorrect details and miss valuable context.
www.statesman.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:58 PM
AI is inseparable from fascism
Reposted by Phoenix
November 5, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Phoenix
I am on the verge of losing my father 😢. I have pleaded with you again and again, but no one is helping me 😔. My father has a heart condition ❤️🩹 and urgently needs his medication 💊, which costs $500 Please, help me save his life and keep him alive 🙏.
chuffed.org/project/azez
chuffed.org/project/azez
November 5, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I am on the verge of losing my father 😢. I have pleaded with you again and again, but no one is helping me 😔. My father has a heart condition ❤️🩹 and urgently needs his medication 💊, which costs $500 Please, help me save his life and keep him alive 🙏.
chuffed.org/project/azez
chuffed.org/project/azez
Reposted by Phoenix
Reposted by Phoenix
Such a mystery, what MASS DISABLING EVENT could have happened after 2019 to cause this?
The number of people aged between 16 and 34 who are out of work due to long-term sickness increased by 76% between 2019 and 2024
UK ‘sliding into avoidable crisis’, major review into workplace sickness warns
The number of people aged between 16 and 34 who are out of work due to long-term sickness increased by 76% between 2019 and 2024
www.independent.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Such a mystery, what MASS DISABLING EVENT could have happened after 2019 to cause this?
Reposted by Phoenix
Having a kid with significant disabilities in Gaza is so hard but on top of that Qamar also has toddler twin boys- the need for food and a warm place to stay is high for this family
I‘m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Qamar. Qamar has three children Elias, 5 and twins Abdul and Muhammad who are two and a half. Elias was born with cerebral palsy and has a variety of health issues, including lung problems for the smoke from the wood stove in their tent.
November 5, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Having a kid with significant disabilities in Gaza is so hard but on top of that Qamar also has toddler twin boys- the need for food and a warm place to stay is high for this family
Reposted by Phoenix
