Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
@seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
130 followers 310 following 59 posts
she/her • Writer, Game Designer, Professional Amateur • Co-moderator of the Dice Exploder Discord server • trans queer woman of color • that friend who probably has a game recommendation for you
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Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
explorersdesign.bsky.social
Part 3 is here. The deep dive into the Ennies. If you're someone who doesn't know much about the Ennie Awards, you should read parts 1 and 2. But if you like a bit of inside baseball and are interested in award shows in general—this is the article for you.

www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-3/
How are the Ennies designed?
An insider's look into the 2025 Ennie Awards. Part three. How does the structure of the Ennies determine its outcomes? And what does it mean for others?
www.explorersdesign.com
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
explorersdesign.bsky.social
Alright, the first in-depth article of my awards debrief is live. "How do the Ennies work?" A top-down look at my judging experience from A to Z.

Please share, leave comments, and ask questions. And don't forget to read part 1 if you haven't already.

www.explorersdesign.com/ennies-2/
How do the Ennies work?
An insider's look into the 2025 Ennie Awards. Part two. What is the award process like behind closed doors, and how do the judges select nominees?
www.explorersdesign.com
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
unormal.bsky.social
one thing thats crazy is that all art movements are just systems of hundreds of individual little unique goblins, none of whom did the exact movement; particles of the movement wave
unormal.bsky.social
it sucks that its useful to know the name of every art movement
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
What. What is the play on words supposed to be. Is it “hypnotized”? But that’s not how that word ends. What.
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
jdragsky.bsky.social
hi i'm getting a kickass set of new genitals installed in 2 weeks from now !! isn't that fucking cool ?

i could use a little bit of help with medical bills + housing expenses during recovery and so i've set up a little gofundme!
gofund.me/394dc2e93
Donate to Support Jay Dragon's sicknasty bottom surgery, organized by Jay Dragon
Hi I'm Jay Dragon, a queer disabled game designer best known for her work on … Jay Dragon needs your support for Support Jay Dragon's sicknasty bottom surgery
gofund.me
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
meinberg.bsky.social
The modern equivalent of a heartbreaker is some game that no one has ever heard about that has amazing design principles that are innovative or elegant or just really well done, but that are languishing on itch because no one has ever thought to read it.
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
I can acknowledge that maybe my terminology or specific example (Masks) are not communicating this clearly, but I do genuinely experience those two as being different approaches to character, and I'd love to know a way to frame that which would make more sense to you.
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
Is there an example from another game that you feel conveys the difference in experience I have between being told my character has a job and a wife and being told my character feels angry at the world and always wants to rebel against it?
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
excellent taste tbh, but mangoes and oranges are lovely too! this is making me want to eat more fruit
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
can we get a top three list of favorite fresh fruit types
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
jessfrom.online
triangle agency is a fun game to play with your friends :)
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
I've been thinking on how to apply the expressionist manifesto as a lens for looking at games, and I decided to demonstrate that approach by analyzing how Triangle Agency aims at expressionist goals and, in doing so, earns a place in my heart.

www.tumblr.com/seraphim-ser...
Post by @seraphim-seraphina
💬 0  🔁 1  ❤️ 1 · Expressionism in Practice: A Case Study of Triangle Agency · Introduction Recently Jay Dragon released an essay outlining her vision for an artistic movement oriented at a specifi…
www.tumblr.com
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
Credit to @stcymsn.bsky.social for putting words to this principle in their dissertation! It's a principle I had seen elsewhere in more words, and had been trying to follow myself, but the clear framing here helped so much in my efforts to communicate how I was approaching conversations.
2.1 Lenses, Not Boxes
I wondered whether this section was necessary, but games discourse seems to repeatedly find itself adrift in questions of whether (blank) counts as a (blank). We have seen the question repeatedly: Do games count as art? [41] Do games without goals count as games? [79] Is The Sims a game? [190] Are hypertexts interactive fiction? [157] Are Twine pieces literature? [151]. In fairness to the researchers cited here, all of whom I respect immensely, many of these sources pose or imply the question rhetorically. Still, the necessity of such a framing frustrates me.
“Is a ?” is, in my opinion, a fruitless question. The question can never be answered to anyone’s satisfaction, and it often serves as either a provocation to espouse politics or as a cover to institute gatekeeping. Its agenda is usually opaque to onlookers and bewildering to those trying to advance the field from across disciplines.
We should be thinking in lenses, not boxes.
It is always more interesting to ask “If we think of through the lens of (blank), what do we learn?” We know it is more interesting to ask “What do we learn by considering Tom Stoppard through the lens of poststructuralism?” than to ask “Is Stoppard’s work poststructuralist?” And while some works may be more or less fruitful when examined through different lenses, sometimes the most unlikely pairings of lenses and objects are the most rewarding. Certainly any of the questions above would be much better served by reframing them in this way.
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
"Is this play risky? is this game OSR?" close off thought. The framing presupposes limited binary answers.

"What's risky about this play? What do we learn about this game from the history of the OSR?" opens up exploration, invites specific examples, creates dialogue.

Lenses, not boxes. 2/2
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
This touches on a principle I embrace- lenses, not boxes. Putting things in boxes means defining hard boundaries, losing nuance, and resigning ourselves to only benefiting from one framing. Using lenses instead of boxes means we can use more of them, and see what we learn from new perspectives. 1/2
jdragsky.bsky.social
i think a lot of conversations about whether or not a game "is safe" would be more productively shaped by:

- how risky is this game
- are players aware of and consenting to this risk
- what are tools players can use to mitigate risk
Reposted by Seraphina Garcia Ramirez
jdragsky.bsky.social
this is esp. useful cuz sometimes people will say "this game/approach isnt safe" when what they often mean is "its more risky"
this lets us now ask... if its more risky, what do we do to scaffold that risk? what do we do to help support people who want it?
jdragsky.bsky.social
i think a lot of conversations about whether or not a game "is safe" would be more productively shaped by:

- how risky is this game
- are players aware of and consenting to this risk
- what are tools players can use to mitigate risk
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
I’ve been trying to put into practice using the terms “text” and “engagement” to more clearly articulate the differences here. Both are worthy of analysis, and each have their own nuance and priorities!
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
It's really important for designers to remember that game design is not entirely altruistic and kindhearted. Rhetorical devices like this are demonstrated by games in service of product, but utilized wherever convenient for those in power to refine their message.
seraphimseraphina.bsky.social
This wasn’t even the most memorable part of the night! Credit for that goes to when the other three workers tried to force me to bargain with them via violence, and I threatened to fire the last person to not leave my office- peeling off one and just barely enabling me to survive. Fantastic game!
jdragsky.bsky.social
heres a play report from @seraphimseraphina.bsky.social who is currently the reigning champion
Ii just warned the manager that a bunch of these corpses were found to be “defective” by inspections, and so I do have to dock the worker pay
I took this suggestion (play CBAT), at it seems that combined with docking pay has resulted in a loss of motivation
I am going to threaten to fire someone
So, turns out I overworked my retail employee, and they bought three guns and tried to kill me solo. Thankfully I just barely survived