Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

Studio Folly — DOGPILE!!! @folly.studio · 8d

Announcing... DOGPILE!!! ✨🦴

Dogpile is a roguelike deckbuilder about merging DOGS. Play dogs, get money, customize your dogs with special traits, refine your deck, PLAY MORE DOGS!

Free demo is live on Steam, WISHLIST NOW!!!
store.steampowered.com/app/3839300/...

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Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

Leon Xiao @leonxiao.com · 8d

Great to collab with colleagues at Sydney. Global video game/loot box policy evaluation is an international collaborative effort. Would be great to work with German 🇩🇪, Spanish 🇪🇸, and Brazilian 🇧🇷 colleagues to check (forthcoming) national rules. Please do get in touch with us if interested! 👋🏻

Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · 9d

New article in @theconversation.com today reflecting on Australia’s 2024 loot box regulations and how, 1 year later, there remains widespread non-compliance - and generally really confusing age ratings for mobile games on the App Stores!

theconversation.com/loot-boxes-a...

Loot boxes are still rife in kids’ mobile games, despite ban on ‘gambling-like’ features

Games with ‘loot boxes’ should be classified for over-15s – but a new study shows many of the most popular mobile games completely ignore the rules.

theconversation.com

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · 9d

Co-authored with superstar team @marcuscarter.com @benegliston.bsky.social @tianyizhangshao.bsky.social @leonxiao.com - you can find the preprints here:

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · 9d

New article in @theconversation.com today reflecting on Australia’s 2024 loot box regulations and how, 1 year later, there remains widespread non-compliance - and generally really confusing age ratings for mobile games on the App Stores!

theconversation.com/loot-boxes-a...

Loot boxes are still rife in kids’ mobile games, despite ban on ‘gambling-like’ features

Games with ‘loot boxes’ should be classified for over-15s – but a new study shows many of the most popular mobile games completely ignore the rules.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

☁️ Little Pink Clouds ☁️ @lil-pink-clouds.bsky.social · 23d

Letters to Arralla is OUT NOW on Steam with a limited time 20% launch discount!! 🏝️💌

After 5 long years of development and lots of fruit & veggies eaten to power our developers, this cheeky game is finally ready to be delivered directly into your hands!! ☺️ Play now on Steam!

youtu.be/7GbGTEpsoIM

Letters to Arralla OUT NOW!

YouTube video by Little Pink Clouds

youtu.be

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Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

Frosty Games 🍦 @frostygamesfest.com · 23d

Frosty is back to celebrate the coolest upcoming and recently released games made in Australia & Aotearoa, this December 🍦🥳

We’ll be featuring exclusive reveals, announcements, and updates. Developers can submit their games now until Sep 30! ⤵️

forms.gle/tt8y9N1dPweS...

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Amy Remeikis @amyremeikis.bsky.social · 24d

Given this is making some waves - here is the piece and you can judge for yourself.

(I'm fine, there are no issues - right wing ecosystem just doing what right wing ecosystem does).

Take care of you - it's rough out there! Ax

amyremeikis.substack.com/p/charlie-ki...

Charlie Kirk died in the America he wanted

I mourn the loss of human life. I feel compassion, empathy and grief at an inexcusable killing. But I find nothing to lionise in his legacy.

amyremeikis.substack.com

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · 27d

✨I’m recruiting for a research project on game monetisation!✨
I’m keen to chat to game devs about how monetisation shapes the dev process. Interviews will be 60mins via Zoom. To learn more, head to bit.ly/40mOB3f

if you'd like to participate, shoot me a DM or email [email protected] 😊

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · 26d

MORE RANTS!!!!! 😂

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · 27d

✨I’m recruiting for a research project on game monetisation!✨
I’m keen to chat to game devs about how monetisation shapes the dev process. Interviews will be 60mins via Zoom. To learn more, head to bit.ly/40mOB3f

if you'd like to participate, shoot me a DM or email [email protected] 😊

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Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

ally @allyhennessy.bsky.social · Sep 5

FREAKON IS BACK
www.freakon.com.au/blogs/news/f...

FREAKON 2025 ANNOUNCED - SEASON OF DECAY

We’re looking around at a world rife with rot. More layoffs, more greed, and the birth of a whole new type of AI guy have filled the air with a foul stench. It’s tempting to imagine our community coul...

www.freakon.com.au

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Leon Xiao @leonxiao.com · Aug 11

We’ll be hosting GachaCon 2026, a hybrid academic conference on gacha games with Genshin Impact as the theme, on 12–13 February 2026 at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. 🇭🇰🇨🇳

Call for Papers: tinyurl.com/gachaconcfp

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Aug 7

You can take a girl out of Dubbo but you can’t stop Dubbo from following the girl forever and ever and ever (team Freeplay @ Dubbo skate park tho)

Bonicle @bonicle.bsky.social · Aug 7

i found a website thats like r/place but you draw on the world map so im making a freeplay logo at dubbo because i had no idea what else to do

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Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

Waypoint @waypoint-events.com · Aug 4

The return of Waypoint Constellations✨

🎫 events.humanitix.com/waypoint-con...

A close collaboration with @serenade.games to celebrate Sydney's games and creators.

🗓️On Oct 14th just before SXSW's games festival begins

Follow and sign up for more info as we tease out the secrets of this event.

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Aug 2

(Crowd chants) dubbo 👏 dubbo 👏 dubbo 👏

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Aug 2

Freeplay 💕💕💕

jae @ freeplay angles 2025 @jemztones.bsky.social · Aug 2

A sample* of academic style with Jacqui Moran @mahliann.bsky.social @darthtayrah.bsky.social @cassiebara29.bsky.social
#fashionOfFreeplay

* statistical significance has not yet been established (n = 4)

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Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

Freeplay @free-play.bsky.social · Jul 7

The Freeplay Angles 2025 schedule is now online, and tickets are on sale! Angles runs from 31st July - 2nd August at Science Gallery Melbourne.

www.freeplay.net.au

Freeplay Angles, at Science Gallery (Grattan St, Carlton) on Thurs 31/07, Fri 01/08, and Sat 02/08. The image shows a tarot spread of Lovers, Death, and Fortune in an orange and blue colour scheme. The image is by Percy Harris.

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Reposted by Taylor Hardwick

Brendan Keogh @brkeogh.bsky.social · May 24

If you liked or hated my takes on ‘deprofessionalisation’, I went into a lot more detail in this great chat with @pushtotalk.gg for his newsletter.

Connected what’s going on now to what I observed in the Australian industry in the 2010s

www.pushtotalk.gg/p/gamings-gr...

Gaming’s Great Downsizing and the Garage-Band Game Economy

Brendan Keogh explains the post-2008 collapse of the Australian games industry and how it might prefigure changes coming for the rest of the world

www.pushtotalk.gg

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Apr 30

Thank you!! 🥰

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Apr 30

Then, we make 4 recs for designing games in kids’ best interests:
1. No monetised random chance features!
2. Easy access to refunds for child accounts
3. Better protection for kids’ accounts & items, and
4. Reversible & transparent virtual currencies

✨Games are good, but they could be better✨

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Apr 30

Kids used words like “scams”, “lying” & “false” to describe harmful spending features & outcomes in games. So, we argue that kids are harmed when game monetisation features are deceptive & misleading. Spending in games isn’t bad - but it is when it deceives children.

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Apr 30

Super excited to present our research on how children perceive & experience harm resulting from game monetisation at #CHI2025 today! Co-authored with @marcuscarter.com @saharkin.bsky.social @tianyizhangshao.bsky.social & @benegliston.bsky.social - check it out here: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Apr 18

It was fun! It’s great to see the research coming together 😊

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Apr 17

Really interesting and important report out today on deceptive design practices in games and how they impact players from @cprc-research.bsky.social @coolrobbie.bsky.social and @bradyjay.bsky.social - some really great recommendations on making games safer for everyone!

cprc.org.au/report/playi...

Playing the Player - CPRC

Australians of all ages are engaging with gaming to relax, learn or connect with friends, but common design features can leave players worse-off – 95% of Australian adult gamers encounter manipulative...

cprc.org.au

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Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Apr 11

We are professionals

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