Mathew Kumar
@mathewkumar.com
Writer of exp. magazine (https://expzine.com). Game developer for hire. He/They. Every Game I've Finished 14>24 is OUT NOW: amazon.com/dp/B0DJPFPVFT Patreon: patreon.com/expzine
Unlocked! The black sheep of Atari's arcade Star Wars games, Return of the Jedi attempts cinematic cuts during play in a way that no one else had and few others have ever tried even since:
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (Atari, 1984)
Death Star by a thousand cuts.
expzine.com
New exp. for subscribers! A lighter, more positive tone than last week. On the adorable, free Find Your Words from Capy, where the only problem really was that I wanted more: expzine.com/2026/08/04/f... On Patreon: www.patreon.com/expzine/post...
My piece on Vampire Survivors (expzine.com/2026/07/21/v...) got discussed on the @gamediscoverco.bsky.social show! I'm a thought leader now
Too many 'compulsion loops' in PC games?
YouTube video by GameDiscoverCo
youtu.be
I recall we had a period of time where the response of Starmer and Cooper to concerns about these groups was ‘I like flags’
Oxford Clarion@oxfordclarion.bsky.social · yesterdayLeaders of flag-raising group Raise the Colours Oxfordshire placed trackers on highway workers’ cars to find out their home addresses, the High Court has heard. RTC then attempted to intimidate the highway staff into no longer removing flags by repeating their addresses to them.
I had no idea that records have the video game problem, where what's pressed to the disc is missing content and fixes that are in the final digital version. Except you can't get a day one patch for vinyl! www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...
A pressing issue: why are vinyl albums becoming so different from their digital versions?
They’re expensive, elaborate – and may not contain all the music. After Olivia Rodrigo, Charli xcx and more sent out incomplete or unfinished vinyl versions, fans are feeling shortchanged
theguardian.com
getting tired of people on the left still launching substack newsletters after all the reporting on that company in recent years
Here a compilation of stupid things library consultants have said to me in solidarity with library pals at Lambeth Libraries where genius consultants has decided that a qualified head of library service post isn't really essential.
New exp. for subscribers! A lighter, more positive tone than last week. On the adorable, free Find Your Words from Capy, where the only problem really was that I wanted more: expzine.com/2026/08/04/f... On Patreon: www.patreon.com/expzine/post...
Christopher Nolan: I think it would be more interesting if the Trojan War was *really* about trade routes
I am sad to say, now having seen The Odyssey, that it does in fact not feature Acroneüs, Ocyalus, Elatreus, Nauteus, Thoön, Anchialus, Eretmeus, Anabesineus and Ponteus, Prymneus, Proreus, Amphialus, the son of Polynaus, son of Tecton, or Naubolus’s son, Euryalus
Mathew Kumar@mathewkumar.com · 3w agoHaven’t got my ticket for the Odyssey yet; I’m concerned they’ll cut the Phaeacian games and I won’t see Acroneüs, Ocyalus, Elatreus, Nauteus, Thoön, Anchialus, Eretmeus, Anabesineus and Ponteus, Prymneus, Proreus, Amphialus, the son of Polynaus, son of Tecton, and Naubolus’s son, Euryalus
New exp. Dispatch! All the month's articles and links, in one handy location! expzine.com/2026/08/02/t... Subscribe and get the newsletter in your inbox every month for free: expzine.kit.com
After Richard Paul Jones proved too capitalist for Jeff Minter, his Interceptor Micros became an early British games success story. In 1987, its success continued thanks to Colin Swinbourne's smart way with building on Spectrum classics. New post on Joe Blade: www.superchartisland.com/joe-blade
Joe Blade – “Prime the explosives”
The increasing success of Code Masters in 1987 prompted rounds of coverage of the Darling brothers as young business whizz-kids. They were far from the first such story. The next new game at #1 aft…
superchartisland.com
Crops grown underneath solar panels produce more, require less water and are more resistant to extreme weather, even during a hot, dry summer. We need agrivoltaics to be rolled out asap, for both the electricity and the better growing conditions. microgridmedia.com/solar-panels...
Solar Panels Are Helping Crops Grow Better, Global Studies Show - Microgrid Media
For farmers worried about losing land to solar energy, new research brings surprising news: many crops actually produce more food when grown beneath solar
microgridmedia.com
Freeview switch-off is a terrible idea for many reasons, not least that the signal is much, much more reliable than broadband and isn't subject to DNS attacks.
Adam Sherwin@adamsherwin.bsky.social · 2d agoCult channel Talking Pictures TV has revived the ‘golden age’ of cinema. Will Freeview digital switch-off kill it? inews.co.uk/news/how-onl... @theipaper.com @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social
The illegal tariff costs were passed on to you. The refunds won’t be though. Manufacturing isn’t making a comeback in the US. Other countries didn’t bear the brunt of the costs.
Lee West@whodat35.bsky.social · 4d agoSo how did consumers benefit? Apple got a $2.2 billion tariff refund this quarter It's a one-time windfall, but what a windfall. mashable.com/tech/apple-q...
This week: Fifty picks past and present--twenty-five new reads, twenty-five from the archives: critical-distance.com/2026/08/02/a...
August 2nd
Welcome back readers. Before we hop in, I just want to offer a quick reminder that the Friendslop Jam we’re hosting is underway, and you’ve got two weeks and change to get your writing …
critical-distance.com
New exp. Dispatch! All the month's articles and links, in one handy location! expzine.com/2026/08/02/t... Subscribe and get the newsletter in your inbox every month for free: expzine.kit.com
I just subscribed to this block list, and I really appreciate the public service provided here
Tess is Surviving the Horrors@mothmother.com · 4d agoI started getting followed by some "film festivals" and "writing festivals" and thought "oh, these are cool!" Then I looked a little closer. They're all part of a network that preys on writers, charging us for reviews, and feeding our stuff into slop generators. So I made a list.👋🏻🖕🏻😠
This is a good piece on Vampire Survivors that pretty much mirrors where I've ended up feeling about this kind of game. Bonus points for the linked piece that absolutely fucking detests Blue Prince, too, which is *also* where I ended up. These games are for someone, but it's not me.
Mathew Kumar@mathewkumar.com · last wk.Unlocked! Belatedly, I look at Vampire Survivors, and lament that everything is gambling now, even when the only thing you're wasting is your time:
Direct action is a powerful activist tool because of all the information it provides- you essentially learn to do politics while outside of power.
wishda@wishda.bsky.social · 5d agoThe DSA in Wilmingotn, N.C. has created a "crisis" by putting benches at city bus stops, after literal decades of the city promising and failing to do so.
dopamine. we need dopamine. ths life is normal. give dopamine. again dopamine. cant focus need dopamine. we all need another dopamine go again
Mathew Kumar@mathewkumar.com · last wk.Unlocked! Belatedly, I look at Vampire Survivors, and lament that everything is gambling now, even when the only thing you're wasting is your time:
I've sunk more time in Vampire Survivors than I'd like, and this article really captures the ick that it and Blue Prince eventually left me with.
Mathew Kumar@mathewkumar.com · last wk.Unlocked! Belatedly, I look at Vampire Survivors, and lament that everything is gambling now, even when the only thing you're wasting is your time:
One thing video games have over film is collecting shards. Regardless of how big Christopher Nolan goes with his camera, his movies will never allow us to collect shards.
Harrison Ford, the actor behind loveable scoundrels Han Solo and Indiana Jones, started his career as an on-set carpenter. That makes him a roguelike deckbuilder.