John Walker - Industry Analcyst
@botherer.bsky.social
Co-creator of Rock Paper Shotgun, currently helping out at Kotaku, and still looking for a new long-term gig. I write www.buried-treasure.org, unearthing excellent unknown indies. Please consider supporting! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/buriedtreasure
I realise I'm not first on the scene for this one, but the Guildrun demo is as good as everyone's saying! kotaku.com/guildrun-fre...
Guildrun's Free Demo Is Good Enough To Take On Slay The Spire
Guildrun is a stunning combination of genres and an incredibly satisfying time
kotaku.com
STOP FALLING FOR THIS! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... This is not "rogue AI", it's a program following its instructions. They are not releasing this information as a public service but because it's the best free advertising. They want you to think their predictive text engine is all-powerful.
OpenAI says its rogue AI tried to hack other companies
The out-of-control AI found four logins which allowed it to access multiple unnamed online services.
bbc.co.uk
This was a lot of fun to write, on the back of @iantothemax.bsky.social's excellent reporting: kotaku.com/the-duskbloo...
Desperate For Duskbloods News? AI Chatbots Will Just Make It Up
AI chatbots are spewing out Reddit shitposts as hard fact for the unreleased Switch 2 game
kotaku.com
I just remembered one of my favourite things I ever wrote for RPS: a gallery of men at E3 taking photos of "booth babes". Tragically RPS purged all our old images for some godforsaken reason, but thank goodness for the Internet Archive: web.archive.org/web/20210516...
I want this so ridiculously much. www.amazon.com/dp/B0G8773WZ... The only thing is you'd need a dining room table from one of those banquet halls in a medieval castle.
I wrote a piece celebrating my favourite ever logic puzzle game, Hexcells, just cos. kotaku.com/hexcells-log...
After 12 Years, Hexcells Is Still The Best Logic Puzzle Game Ever Made
The Hexcells trilogy has yet to be beaten
kotaku.com
My impression of a Reddit thread: u/mrbobbles Does anyone know the best way to photograph a rainbow with an SLR camera? u/lightbox5633 Why the hell are you even using an SLR camera?! It's fucking ridiculous to even be talking about these in 2026, and frankly evil. If you're not using a pinhol
Every time you hear someone talk about the need to cut benefits, ask them what they think they're spent on. Pensioners make up 48% of "benefits" 28% goes on Universal Credit 13% on disability 4% on child benefit These arseholes want to take it ALL from the 28% on UC who need it to live.
So I guess we can give up all hope on Burnham having meant anything he's said. Mahmood reamining as Home Secretary is /disgusting/. Her anti-immigration policies are far-right shit. And we've got a war fetishist as Chancellor. So, same centrist bullshit, same Reform-wooing policies, same hate.
There's no Prime Minister right now! We can do what we like! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
My impression of a Reddit thread: u/mrbobbles Does anyone know the best way to photograph a rainbow with an SLR camera? u/lightbox5633 Why the hell are you even using an SLR camera?! It's fucking ridiculous to even be talking about these in 2026, and frankly evil. If you're not using a pinhol
Kaz by Kalinarm is a stunning and deceptively tactical arcade game about hammering your cursor keys to reach new high scores. It has SO much variety, and I'm still discovering more. My review: buried-treasure.org/tag/kalinarm/ Please support this project! www.patreon.com/c/buriedtrea...
Someone inside Bethesda secretly DM me to tell me what has gone wrong with The Elder Scrolls VI: Hammerfell for the last 15 years. I fancy an excellent scoop.
Kaz by Kalinarm is a stunning and deceptively tactical arcade game about hammering your cursor keys to reach new high scores. It has SO much variety, and I'm still discovering more. My review: buried-treasure.org/tag/kalinarm/ Please support this project! www.patreon.com/c/buriedtrea...
So the news story here is, "Man Didn't Fall Over".
So much here. Gonna be a short thread. Rogan's evidence that the L.A. primary was "super sus" – as he very youthfully says several times – is that L.A. voted for a sales tax increase to fund hospitals and health insurance for low-income people. That's it! They voted for something he wouldn't have!
So this is utterly gross in every imaginable way. But at least I got the word "cumbot" on Kotaku. kotaku.com/realdoll-sex...
Sex Doll Company Creates AI Teachers For New York School District
Realbotix, the company behind RealDolls, wants to use the same tech to teach STEM to teenagers
kotaku.com
This story went from super-creepy to rather oddly sweet. kotaku.com/game-dev-exp...
Indie Dev Uses Pictures Of Sleeping Wife's Face For A Boss Fight
We're relieved to report they're a very happy couple
kotaku.com
Hoo boy, today's Wordle is going to make so many people mad. Wordle 1,852 5/6* ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟨🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
For Buried Treasure I've written my conflicted thoughts on Omen Exitio Hunger. It's a superb game, with incredible writing, art and sound, and it's hooked me. But it's also based on a true story that's so incomprehensibly upsetting, and I don't know what to do. buried-treasure.org/2026/07/conf...
Lmao sick, I just got laid off from GameSpot while on paid medical leave recovering from a gunshot wound.
Marie Claire actually left a prompt from an AI in one of their recent articles. While there’s still some great journalists and publications left, this is utterly shocking. No wonder I’m trying to pivot.
I have not thought of this in at least a decade, and - my god - it remains a thing of beauty.
AAndrew Farrell@braisedbywolves.bsky.social · 4w ago
This was easier to find than I thought! youtu.be/AIth7HpzU7E I think I'd have got it from your blog back in the day.
Toby's had nearly 90 responses so far! I think the course's record was like 20. Let's get him over 100!
John Walker - Industry Analcyst@botherer.bsky.social · last mo.Hey, do you own a dog or a snake? Or both? It would make SUCH a difference if you could fill in this quick survey for my 11yo. He's doing a GSCE-like in herpetology in his spare time, because he's the best, and this is for a research project: forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/Respon...
David Lammy has just sentenced a dead woman to life in prison. Is a fun way to summarise this story. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ruth Ellis, last woman to be executed in the UK, granted conditional pardon
Ruth Ellis was hanged at London's Holloway Prison in 1955 after being convicted of murdering her lover David Blakely.
bbc.co.uk
Surely, SURELY, there's some limit to the Green's vaingloriousness? Right now they're being out-principled by Restore! That is really not a good look.
