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Ben Taels

@bentaels.bsky.social

1.2K followers 2.1K following 2.2K posts

Kiwi, Dad, Human Factors Psychology PhD, & Games User Experience Research. Formerly Epic Games, Player Research, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Te Manatū Waka, & Hamilton Zoo.

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · Jan 3

Some talks that I have given:

Reward in games (without the dopamine neurotrash): youtu.be/xkg9ocYDLr8?...

Human Error and game design: youtu.be/JyuR2fKvQ20?...

What road safety can teach us about reducing toxicity in games: youtu.be/WMYoCuZ3Fa8?...

Throwing Out the Dopamine Shots: Reward Psychology Without the Neurotrash

YouTube video by GDC 2025

youtu.be

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 4h

Oh and this one has a girl on it

A pink water pistol with unicorns on it. The packaging picture shows a young fair skinned girl in purple firing it.

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 4h

One thing that stood out is all their many nerf-like guns have brown haired white kids on them

Except for this primitive styled gun

An orange dart launching play gun with fake leather wrap on the handle and a bone like skull design on it. It looks vaguely shotgun like

The boy shown shooting this gun on the packaging has dark skin

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 4h

Spent some time today in the toy section of a large Warehouse today with my kids

Seeing so much of it the Zuru stuff is really opportunistic rip off trash

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 9h

Finally got the time and opportunity to watch Sinners last night.

Very late to the party on this one, but it was a fantastic film that lived up to its reputation!

Reposted by Ben Taels

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 17h

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 9h

I have a job alert setup for Director level jobs in NZ, given that I am looking for work

The amount of "Director of AI" or "AI Director" roles posted every day is very noticeable

Reposted by Ben Taels

Chloé Stawski (Spooky Edition 🎃🦇) @chlowski.bsky.social · 11h

the huntress

fanart of Artemis from Hades 2, wearing a modern outfit - dark jeans, bra with some sort of laces around the belly -, moon and arrows tattoos on the arms and chest, dark green hair, and a tiny owl standing on her head
she's adjusting her outfit, head slightly tilted down, eyes closed, smiling
she also wears an arrow earring and a moon necklace

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 11h

Otherwise folks may just play with keyboard and mouse as the lowest friction thing to do at their work stations

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 11h

If you can while running UX Tests offer a range of input options so people can play with what they prefer (e.g. mouse & keyboard, Xbox, and PlayStation controller)

If you want to run controller focused internal playtests consider disabling the mouse & keyboard controls completely in the build

Reposted by Ben Taels

MeatMechSuit @meatmechsuit.bsky.social · 22h

To ask a pakeha majority to remove representation of an indigenous minority is ongoing white supremacist colonisation. #nzpol

TheLoyalOrder @theloyalorder.bsky.social · 22h

Preliminary results of the 2025 Māori wards referendums

#nzpol

Map showing preliminary margin of support by council for the 2025 Māori ward referendums

CC BY 4.0 TheLoyalOrder

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Reposted by Ben Taels

olive🌺 @wick.works · 1d

All PC mechs are officially in-game for Lancer Tactics, fantastic: www.kickstarter.com/projects/wic...

Update 44: NHP portraits, in-person playtesting, finished HA mechs · Lancer Tactics

(looking back at my calendar) Wow, I went to a lot of conventions in a month!I’ve done showcase/workshop circuits for my games before, but not since COVID hit. Since the last update here, I attended S...

www.kickstarter.com

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Reposted by Ben Taels

Jeff Thomson @jeffct.bsky.social · 1d

www.nzherald.co.nz/business/eco... Exact line they used when selling off State power assets the last time they were in Office. I wouldn’t trust this crew with piggy bank savings.

Nicola Willis says Chorus sales money could go towards funding hospitals and schools

Willis said Chorus move does not amount to asset sales, insists economy is improving.

www.nzherald.co.nz

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 1d

How is your font size, colour, and contrast?

Are things clearly labelled and described?

This also applies to folks working in data analytics. Dashboards are often not made with accessibility in mind.

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 1d

UX Researchers should be looking out for accessibility issues when running UX tests, but also should be considering if our outputs (reports, etc) are accessible!

Are the colours you are using colour blind friendly? Don't rely only on colour for information!

Is your report screen reader friendly?

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Reposted by Ben Taels

the Juice Media @thejuicemedia.com · 1d

The Government of New Zealand has made a new tourism ad and it's surprsingly honest and informative!

Honest Government Ad | Visit New Zealand!

YouTube video by thejuicemedia

www.youtube.com

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

It has its ups and downs

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

Also, and this is important, I actually fucking like doing research and learning things!

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

I know we are supposed to be dunking on this bad AI take with stories of how we did things last minute, but when I was in school I did things like plan ahead & get work done early so I wouldn't have to stress & would have more time for other things

Nerd I know. But also, GenAI could fucking never.

Dane 🔜 NYCC AA L-34 @monkeyminion.com · 3d

I wrote a 15 page report on heraldic symbolism in medieval armor and weapon design for my art history class the night before it was due (8am class). Made up 90% of it (only found one book for reference) and got an A. GenAI could fucking never.

wrote 20 pages on Faulkner's The Bear four hours before final papers were due on trucker pills and coffee and cigarettes and got an A, fuck you.
You people couldn't hang with real slackers.
finn
wokeupchic • 4d
It's fuck Al till your homework due in 25 minutes

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Reposted by Ben Taels

NZ Game Developers Association @nzgda.bsky.social · 2d

Oh yes they are! Just in time for the weekend - presentations from NZGDC 2025 are now available on the NZGDA YouTube channel. If you were looking for a reason to stay in your pj's for a day - here it is! Enjoy!

NZGDC 2025

Panels and presentations from the 2025 New Zealand Game Developers Conference (25 - 27 September 2025, Wellington, NZ)

www.youtube.com

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

At NZGDC25 I was lucky enough to be on a panel about the value of data and research in games with Emma Procter & Laura White (hosted by Jiet Chong)

We talked about how Data Analytics, Market Research, & UX Research can be used to deliver actionable insights

www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0AU...

Panel: From Wild Guesses to Winning Games | Emma Procter | NZGDC 2025

YouTube video by NZGDA

www.youtube.com

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

From Wild Guesses to Winning Games: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0AU...

Biometrics: Beyond the Hype: gdcvault.com/play/1020847...

UX Testing in VR: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW--...

Panel: From Wild Guesses to Winning Games | Emma Procter | NZGDC 2025

YouTube video by NZGDA

www.youtube.com

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

PAX Australia starts today! (@paxaus.bsky.social)

If you are there don't forget to check out these sweet as @nz-code.nz supported kiwi games! (and even if you aren't there check them out online anyway)

www.nz-code.nz/post/18-nz-m...

18 of NZ's Best New Indie Games Coming to PAX AUS

For the fourth year running, CODE brings together some of Aotearoa New Zealand's latest indie games to showcase at PAX Australia 2025.

www.nz-code.nz

Reposted by Ben Taels

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 2d

Nation upset at the inevitable result of its own actions

Step one: push people out of work and onto the streets. Step two: get mad at people being out of work or on the streets...

thespinoff.co.nz

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Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

The image above is from QuestionPro, but a range of survey software has Max Diff as an option with Sawtooth Software generally considered to be the most powerful Max Diff survey software

One example of Max Diff in gaming is the Fortnite Cosmetic survey; fortnite.fandom.com/wiki/Cosmeti...

Cosmetic Surveys

Every few months, Epic Games will send a survey to the players, featuring concept art for possible future cosmetic items. They can take weeks, months, or even years to be added. On each page you will ...

fortnite.fandom.com

Ben Taels @bentaels.bsky.social · 2d

A friend sent me this today & if you run surveys where you want to know players preferences for a range of options I encourage you to look into Max Diff methodology!

It really is a super powered method compared to rating scales or ranking & can be used with a relatively large number of items!

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