Ho-lee-crap! EA (yeah, that EA) just released 25 of some of their most iconic classics, working with modders to make them run well on modern systems and with some quality of life improvements. Including upscaling all the FMV Wing Commander games! I'm stunned. This is amazing!

EA has released 25 classic ‘restored’ games on PC, including Ultima and Road Rash | VGC

Wing Commander and Ultima games are among the EA classics getting re-released on PC.

videogameschronicle.com

I got this email from Microsoft this morning. Yes, it's legit. It says I violated terms on something related to the Microsoft Store (I assume an app review I left at some point?) but doesn't tell me what. ...But I can appeal it. Guys, what am I appealing? You won't tell me what I did or where!

I went to the Geekom Canada web site to download a driver for something. This was the first carousel image. It's funny on multiple levels. 🤣

First four things the new house needs to do: 1. End the Iran war. 2. Put Russia back under full sanction. 3. End the trade wars. 4. Force full compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and indict anyone who has destroyed any evidence. Anything less is a failure right out of the gate.

I mean, Arkane Lyon getting to continue is a good thing but Ubisoft's on the edge. Where are they begging, borrowing or stealing the money for this?

VGC@videogameschronicle.com · 3d ago

Ubisoft has reportedly put in a bid to acquire Dishonored and Deathloop studio Arkane Lyon from Xbox. www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ubisoft...

Adding storage to a backup appliance at a client's today. This is almost $4,000 worth of hard drives. Not SSDs, hard drives. 18 months ago, it might have been $1,300 worth. I hate this timeline.

Hey America, on behalf of the rest of the world your media generally teaches you to ignore: Please don't fuck it up again today.

You can like Bryan Adams' music or hate it (I can understand the case for both) but if you're Canadian, I think we can all agree this SLAPS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQFY... In this case, I can forgive all the clear GenAI use because he's not selling the song and in this case, it's greater good.

Bryan Adams - Lake Ontario

YouTube video by Bryan Adams

youtube.com

Finally, some good news! Congrats @johnromero.bsky.social. Really excited to see what you lot make next.

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social · 7d ago

'John Romero confirms his axed Xbox game has a new publisher and he’s rehired some staff' new game will be redesigned to scale with smaller team (15-16 staff compared to 110-staff originally planned) www.videogameschronicle.com/news/john-ro...

And here's the new blog post. It's longer than I planned but it's about what generative #AI is doing to creativity and I had more to say about it than I thought. But it ends on a ray of hope. geekbravado.com/generative-a...

Generative AI is ruining gaming but I think there's hope

This last Steam Next Fest pointedly showed the ruinous potential generative AI is having on gaming. I hate it but I also think there's hope.

geekbravado.com

Nine Worlds / PC / Palladium Interactive / 1997

There's nothing I can say about Patrick Stewart that others won't say better. Incredible talent and by all accounts, a really good guy who embraced his fans. TNG was there for a lot of hard parts of my childhood and he was at the forefront of it. There will never be another like him. Screw 2026.

And here's the new blog post. It's longer than I planned but it's about what generative #AI is doing to creativity and I had more to say about it than I thought. But it ends on a ray of hope. geekbravado.com/generative-a...

Generative AI is ruining gaming but I think there's hope

This last Steam Next Fest pointedly showed the ruinous potential generative AI is having on gaming. I hate it but I also think there's hope.

geekbravado.com

Have another spicy blog post that will be going up tomorrow. I didn't want to write another post on AI again so soon but between the latest Next Fest and some depressing things I've heard out of some older creators, I couldn't skip this one.

Very interesting perspective from a respected software engineer on the PHP madness from last week and how it was quite possibly not nearly as bad as it was spun: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEiG... Almost like AI companies and the media have too close a relationship. 🤔

Breaking Points & Yahoo Finance Lying About "Black October", AI Hacks & "Experts"

YouTube video by Internet of Bugs

youtube.com

I really wish YouTube would let you disable subscription feed posts for collaboration videos from channels you choose. Having my feed inundated with channels I otherwise like having collaborations show up for every crappy podcast they guest on is driving me nuts.

Since this AI slop remake of a fan project is free on Steam, I look forward to adding it to my account, playing it just long enough to leave a review and calling it out for what it is. Just sayin', it's free so if you're an OMF fan, you could too. If you wanted.

static.klipy.com

erin plasma@plasmasword.blacksky.app · 2w ago

oh hey its that shit from a butt i brought up a couple days ago so anyway this is built entirely off the back of the fan project openOMF which me & buds have run tournaments on for quite some time & had a lot of work put into it, go get that instead openomf.org

Spent another chunk of time browsing #SteamNextFest now that personalized recommendations have been turned on. There's still too much AI slop but it has been suggesting me a lot more stuff I'm both interested in and that at least doesn't state AI was used. Better than Monday, to a point.

*taps mic* This on? Yeah? Cool. *cough* Ahem... PRIVATE EQUITY RUINS EVERYTHING!

Respec@respec.net · 2w ago

EA is shutting down BioWare. and the next Mass Effect has been canceled as a part of 400 job cuts: https://www.respec.net/news/266-ea-shutting-down-bioware-next-mass-effect-has-been-canceled

Saddens me to say that this has been my experience so far as well. I normally download dozens of demos during Next Fest but even after an hour browsing, I've only found about 15 that interested me at all and several of those I've skipped because of heavy AI use. Probably going to write about this.

Time Extension@timeextension.com · 2w ago

Thin End of the Wedge: Steam Next Fest Under Fire as Demo Festival Drowns in a Flood of 'AI Slop'

The more I scroll #SteamNextFest for new demos and the more games I see with generative AI disclosures or which are just straight up AI slop games, the more I'm glad I never gave up my retro gaming hobby and interest. I'm not convinced this future is inevitable but if it is, I won't be part of it.

Why is it always bloody LRG?! geekbravado.com/limited-run-...

Limited Run Games sucks. Here’s my reason why.

Limited Run Games is a terrible company that far too many developers and publishers continue to work with. I detail my experiences with them.

geekbravado.com

Time Extension@timeextension.com · 2w ago

SiN: Reloaded Is Getting a Physical Edition on PS5 from Limited Run Games

New Geek Bravado review! I give an extensive discussion about Ace Combat 8, the latest in a series I've loved for a long time and which for some reason, took this long for me to finally understand the reasons behind when it hooks me so much. geekbravado.com/review-ace-c...

Review: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve - I finally get the hook

I've played every Ace Combat game and could never figure out why I was so into them. Ace Combat 8 finally made me realize it.

geekbravado.com

Got smacked by a Steam moderator for calling a toxic poster "an idiot" in a thread in the Ace Combat 8 forum titled "Is this game woke?", which is full of exactly the kind of smooth brained garbage you'd expect. All of that is still there but calling an idiot an idiot, that's a step too far! 🙄

The incredible Retro eXo project has just launched a new site for people to share their stories about how retro gaming has impacted them. And the whole thing's presented like a Windows 98 desktop! I absolutely love this! So many stories to add! stories.retro-exo.com

I've got a substantial collection with more than a few rares in it. If I sold it all for PriceCharting's inflated estimates, it'd be less than 1/3 of my salary. And I make at best a middle-class living today. Collect because you love it, not for the money. The latter will never end well.

Time Extension@timeextension.com · 3w ago

Remember: Retro games are your retirement fund

Remember when Asha Sharma publicly posted "no soulless AI slop" after taking over Xbox? I membah'.

VGC@videogameschronicle.com · 3w ago

Microsoft has formed ‘Xbox Labs’ in response to the recent explosion of AI-powered mods and ports. “These experiments challenge long-held assumptions about our industry: the tether between software and hardware, the boundary between creation and play". vgc.news/news/asha-sh...

This...this is...so beautiful... spelunkr.tv

static.klipy.com

shezcrafti@shezcrafti.com · 3w ago

GUYS! Someone made a 100% free fake TV network out of Archive.org content with a TV Guide channel-like viewing experience. Ya’ll need to bookmark this right now: Spelunkr.TV Credit: /u/thetalkinghawk on Reddit

A legend from the old school of FPS design. Damn shame to hear. :(

Joe Siegler@joesiegler.blog · 3w ago

Richard B. Gray - LEVELORD 11/15/1957 - 10/12/2026 Just heard the news that an old friend of mine has passed on. Richard Gray - aka Levelord has departed the planet. I know he's dealt with cancer on and off for awhile now, a word that I cannot stand. Word comes from his wife Olga.

Hopefully you won't need the deluxe edition to get a complete game. PC or not, I won't be buying it until that changes.

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social · 3w ago

"GamesBeat has confirmed that Rockstar plans to release the PC version of GTA VI in the first quarter of 2027, according to four industry sources familiar with the studio’s plans, all of whom requested anonymity to avoid damaging business relationships." gamesbeat.com/grand-theft-...