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Grayson Morley

@graysonmorley.com

1.5K followers 1.1K following 2K posts

Writer/Editor • Associate Director of Digital Communications at @bardcollege.bsky.social •‬ Winner, PEN/Dau • Work in Polygon, PC Gamer, Catapult, the Iowa Review, and elsewhere • linktr.ee/graysonmorley Newsletter: backlogmag.com

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · Aug 1

Games, more often than not, are fun but not meaningful. As I get older, I appreciate games that are dense with reward, gratifying at every turn. Donkey Kong Bananza is a joy machine that breaks through my defenses with a dense matrix of pleasures behind every thin, breakable wall.

Donkey Kong Bananza and reward density

How to beat the slog

www.backlogmag.com

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 20h

Tempted to say to my very offline wife “You know what has the juice? Juice.” I think it will go over poorly but enjoyably.

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 1d

Also: rejoice, fellow MFA-havers! Our preferred literary form may have market value yet!!

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 1d

Ironically, one could write a good short story about feeding bad short stories to the short story machine

Jon Ingold @jon.inkle.co · 1d

bleak. $150/hr to feed a shredder. on the plus side, i really do think stochastic modelling will never produce a good story, ever, no matter how many good stories you throw at it, so if you need the money you should take it. But also -- make sure you put the word aubergine in every story. Teach that

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 1d

Great piece by @nickcapozzoli.bsky.social

“Who could be better equipped for reactionaryism than our gamers? They have a front seat to the tech avant garde and are nevertheless acutely sensitive to anything that might remind them they aren't 14 anymore.”

Nick Capozzoli @nickcapozzoli.bsky.social · 2d

New blog post up. It's about a few things—chiefly, the impulse to jettison literary criticism as if it were ballast. www.arcadence.com/abundance-re...

Abundance Reigns!

The Reminder is a watchword: though it may ascribe a problem to us, the offenders are assuredly others.

www.arcadence.com

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 2d

Okay, I will take the lukewarm posts over that

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 2d

Every Threads post is either “the new iPhone is pretty good” or “this! [quoted content of a moderate liberal pundit on MSNBC]”

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 3d

Inbox Zero is nothing. Clearing out the notifications from your Type A spouse’s use of your shared calendar? Much more impressive.

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 3d

"I have come to believe the silence is the point. That the questions you dare to voice when no one is there to hear them are of a different quality. That learning to ask something of the void, knowing no answer will come, is a practice worth applying oneself to."

Joshua Rivera @jmrivera.bsky.social · 3d

excited to share this one. For the good people at @tesseractcinema.bsky.social , I wrote about The Exorcist, First Reformed, and forms of prayer

tesseractcinema.com/2025/10/08/e...

ENTER THE HYPERCUBE: FIRST REFORMED + THE EXORCIST - TESSERACT CINEMA

Joshua Rivera ties together the religious terror of The Exorcist and First Reformed.

tesseractcinema.com

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Reposted by Grayson Morley

Nicole Carpenter @nicolecarpenter.bsky.social · 6d

i wrote about consume me for @theverge.com ✨

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 6d

I have a friend who frequently texts me “LYLAS” and I laugh every time

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 9d

🕯
🕯 🕯
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discourse
🕯 on the nature 🕯
of beauty
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🕯

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 9d

This thought brought to you by: My Wife and I Found a Cozy Place to Write on a Family Vacation™

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 9d

People always want to say it's weird to marry another writer when blah blah blah jealousy blah blah, but no one wants to speak the real truth:

Marrying another writer means never having to explain why you need time to read or write, and how that is as essential as a good diet or exercise routine.

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Reposted by Grayson Morley

Joshua Rivera @jmrivera.bsky.social · 9d

is there an action game this year you feel has been overlooked? Interpret action game however you want

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 16d

The number of nicknames we have for the dog is unconscionable: Meemo, Fraybay, Bubba Bear, Frabes, Lady, Dude, and on.

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 16d

Finally got around to setting up the medal rack my wife got me. Makes all of it feel even realer! (Also the blue and pink of the Philly Distance Run is peak.)

A medal rack with three running medals on it.

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 16d

Several people have reached out to me after reading this with ideas on how to regain a hobbyist attachment to games, and honestly, that rules. I still think I need a little distance, but it's been heartening to see people read this and say "I hear you. Here's how I approached this feeling."

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 18d

I’m taking a break from gaming. Here’s my attempt at explaining why.

Is it time to quit games?

An honest exploration of attachment, time, and limits

www.backlogmag.com

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 17d

A sleepy Fraya says hello from across the bridge

A blonde pittie looking annoyed to be photographed.

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Reposted by Grayson Morley

Unwinnable @unwinnable.com · 17d

We reached the 100 new subscribers we needed to unlock a Final Fantasy and politics issue for you folks! We'll start production soon with the goal of publishing it in early 2026.

Thank you SO much for all of your help with this drive! We couldn't have done it without you.

The Final Fantasy VII title imposed over a screenshot of Midgar, except the meteor is an Unwinnable W

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 17d

That's very kind and much appreciated. 🙏🏻

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 17d

Thanks for reading. Been hitting a wall. Hope not to forever.

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 17d

Yeah regrettably, they feel less and less enjoyable to me because of this, to say nothing of their expense in terms of time. It’s a shame, but I hope one day to feel differently. We’ll see.

Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 17d

Thank you for sharing! 🙏🏻 (fan of your work)

Reposted by Grayson Morley

Mikhail Klimentov @leadergrev.bsky.social · 17d

Enjoyed this
www.backlogmag.com/is-it-time-t...

Is it time to quit games?

An honest exploration of attachment, time, and limits

www.backlogmag.com

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Grayson Morley @graysonmorley.com · 17d

True about different reading speeds! I guess I mean more that there’s no keeping up there, versus games, where it feels important to. At least from the perspective of a critic it does… Either way, my goal is, book or game, to enjoy whatever I am presently engaged with, since that’s the point!