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Robert Zubek

@rzubek.bsky.social

1.3K followers 390 following 370 posts

Making games for longer than seems advisable. AI lead at Take-Two; earlier at SomaSim, Zynga, EA etc. Doctor of AI, under the hippocratic oath bound to help all game AIs. Author: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262043915/ Hello from Chicago!

mitpress.mit.edu

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · 10h

Whoa didn't know you have a new book out!

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · 18h

E.g. in City of Gangsters we explicitly wanted to be able to produce stories of illicit business deals but also betreyal and revenge, and this drove systems design.

Each game will have its own stories of course! But starting with stories is a powerful technique.

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · 18h

As game devs were used to thinking of player experience and flow, and then back solving for systems and mechanics.

Similarly with social sims, but starting with stories (experienced first hand), and then back solving for systems that can generate those.

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · 18h

Yes, exactly this:

Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 1d

I have a theory that when designing a social simulation / generator, it can be useful to keep in mind a story you’d like your system to be able to organically generate. not every system should generate the same story but I have a short list of high-salience interesting stories I reach for. (1/2)

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Reposted by Robert Zubek

Matthew Guzdial @matthewguz.bsky.social · 5d

We'll be announcing the AIIDE'25 keynotes in the next couple of weeks and our first one to announce is this really exciting look at applying research work in industry from @luked.bsky.social and Nadine Perez!

AIIDE @aiide.bsky.social · 5d

AIIDE 2025 is fast approaching and it’s time to start announcing this year’s keynote speakers! First up are Dr. Luke Dicken and Nadine Perez from Take-Two Interactive. In this session the Take-Two AI team will discuss how to put theory into practice.

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Sep 1

Interesting that they released it to the public, and not just to partners

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Reposted by Robert Zubek

AIIDE @aiide.bsky.social · Jul 21

To celebrate over 20 years of AAIDE we want to highlight our Best Paper winners so far!

Every week we will add one to this thread until we've caught up 👾

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Aug 20

That is amazing news. Congratulations to the whole team!

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Aug 9

"Oh what's this on Steam, a Wholesome Games Celebration of games that 'inspire hope, joy, and introspection'? Don't mind if I do!" he said to himself, and booted up Crusader Kings III.

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Aug 3

I have a running theory that the killer app for LLMs is going to be as translators from ambiguous human language to all sorts of formal systems.

E.g. getting an LLM to produce good Prolog code sounds maybe viable?

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Aug 3

Ok this was kind of a wild game, and an unexpected collaboration between Firaxis and EA.

Basically you built golf courses for little computer people, and they walked around, played, and judged your designs.

It was great. :)

Retro Tech Dreams @retrotechdreams.bsky.social · Aug 2

Sid Meier's SimGolf (2002)

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Aug 1

#GenCon2025: Oh wow, Elements of Game Design is in absolutely stunning company at the MIT Press booth - right between @chaimg.bsky.social 's Building SimCity and @rich-lem.bsky.social 's Playful Production Process, both amazing.

And such a great selection of RPG / D&D books on the upper shelf!

Noah Springer @noahspringer.com · Jul 31

Alright, @mitpress.bsky.social is all set up for the first day of #GenCon2025! Stop by and get a copy of our Ennie nominated book, Playing at the World by @increment.bsky.social and come back on Saturday at 2 and get it signed!

The MIT Press booth at GenCon 2025. The picture shows stacks of amazing books for sale!

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Aug 1

Glad you enjoyed it! :)

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Jul 29

You and me both!

Except for me that was the last paper in grad school :)

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Reposted by Robert Zubek

Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · Jul 29

the actual experts: “it can do at best 20% of the things you’re asking for and of the actual interesting stuff it CAN do which doesn’t take over existing human work, none of your development processes are set up to incorporate that”

Bryant Francis @bryantfrancis.me · Jul 29

This is an insane thing to write about game development. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/a...

Most experts acknowledge that a takeover by artificial intelligence is coming for the video game industry within the next five years, and executives have already started preparing to restructure their companies in anticipation.
After all, it was one of the first sectors to deploy A.I. programming in the 1980s, with the four ghosts who chase Pac-Man each responding differently to the player's real-time movements.

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Jul 27

Thanks for the reco - it looks really interesting!

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Jun 26

Oh yeah that is unexpected!

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Jun 24

Yeah, it's a convenient way to get something *kinda like* a fuzzy semantics similarity, but it's definitely not actual semantics, and there's a bunch of non-semantic info mixed in there too (e.g. word morphology).

And now I'm curious if any interesting use cases stand out?

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Jun 23

I'm physically in pain reading this article

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Jun 23

...and it's such a fantastic, innovative indie visual novel. Ware's quote is right on. Recommended!

And on Saturday I was back at Quimby's buying Book Two because I *had to* learn how this world turns out. :)

(And if you're in Chicago, both Quimby's and Women and Children First have it in stock!)

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · Jun 23

I was at Quimby's randomly on Friday, and decided to buy My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Book One, mainly because of the quote on the cover ("absolutely astonishing") from Chris Ware whose work I've followed for decades... 1/2

www.fantagraphics.com/products/my-...

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters

In this debut, which takes the form of a fictional graphic diary, a 10-year-old girl tries to solve a murder. 2025 Whiting Award WINNER in Fiction Kirkus Reviews Best 100 Books of the Century (So Far)...

www.fantagraphics.com

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Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · May 29

No better way to celebrate

Robert Zubek @rzubek.bsky.social · May 26

Top notch biting satire, no notes :)

Reposted by Robert Zubek

Jesper Juul @jesperjuul.bsky.social · May 20

What are the European alternatives to Google Docs and Microsoft 365 for students, writers, and project workers?

I couldn't find any good answers, so I have reviewed the four top packages and provided my recommendations. I hope you find it useful!

www.jesperjuul.net/ludologist/2...

Editing a word document in a browser without using Google or Microsoft

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Reposted by Robert Zubek

Kailey @kvpm2.bsky.social · May 24

WE ALREADY HIT OUR FIRST STRETCH GOAL!! This is madness!!

Indie City Games @indiecitygames.org · May 24

Our kickstarter for C.I.G.S. (Chicago Indie Game Showcase) is LIVE and we already blew past our both our goal and first stretch goal in... three hours. Help us build the future of Chicago indie dev and get tix to see a ton of amazing devs.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/ind...

#indiedev #indiegame

Chicago Indie Game Showcase

Chicago Indie Game Showcase (C.I.G.S) is a one-day convention featuring independent games from Chicago and the greater Midwest.

www.kickstarter.com

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