Florence Smith Nicholls
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florencesn.bsky.social
Florence Smith Nicholls
@florencesn.bsky.social
9K followers 2.3K following 2.3K posts
Video game archaeologist + game dev//
PhD on archaeogaming as play preservation + procgen//
Prev: Story Tech @gutefabrik.bsky.social, Planning Archaeologist at Museum of London Archaeology
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💾 florencesmithnicholls.com
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florencesn.bsky.social
YouTube comments don't disappoint
"This just looks like an average day in the UK"
February 13, 2026 at 10:32 AM
florencesn.bsky.social
This week on The Bathysphere we have a lovely essay by Chris on the brutalist parkour game VHOLUME:

buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...
Screenshot of a strange brutalist structure
February 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Had an interesting morning
Sticky label for Larian Studios Writing for Games Workshop at King's College London
February 12, 2026 at 1:50 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Not a woman but
Adorable chair version of Souta in Suzume
February 10, 2026 at 3:35 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
This week in The Bathysphere I have a piece on "Moogles as a Designable Surface," in which I consider the Moogle Paint feature in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles as an example of a cosy ritual and mechanic:

buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...
An exquisitely round Moogle by a fireplace which has been airbrushed with the outline of a red heart.
February 5, 2026 at 1:19 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
I'll be speaking alongside Milly Gunn, Maddalena Grattarola and @kurainisei.bsky.social at the Goldsmiths Game Library Night on February 20th, 6-8pm! The topic is games preservation, tickets are free, get them here:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/losing-gam...
Photograph by Wilson Alwyn "Snowflake" Bentley (1865–1931) one of the first known photographers of snowflakes.
February 2, 2026 at 1:36 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
For full context, I could have chosen any object and topic to write about, and what did I do?
I chose them
Prisoner from Elden Ring (beautiful and perfect) doing Ring of Miquella gesture
January 28, 2026 at 3:31 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Also here's a photograph of Ottawa’s 1911 Hockey Team that I found on the Public Domain Image Archive
Photograph of 9 men in stripey sports gear - Ottawa’s 1911 Hockey Team
January 22, 2026 at 5:27 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
This week on The Bathysphere, inspired by Grapefruit Games' manifesto, I argue that Heated Rivalry is a Sportslike:

buttondown.com/Bathysphere/...
Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander in the TV show Heated Rivalry being interviewed and looking tense
January 22, 2026 at 1:12 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
About to run my LARP Ruin The Game, about a group of video game archaeologists exploring an abandoned MMO, at The Smoke!
Rock with eyes and Limerence Archaeological Taskforce Field Diary
January 10, 2026 at 3:10 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
The playtest of Ruin The Game went really well! Excited to refine it more for The Smoke next week with the help of my rock companion
Rock with eyes, very cute
January 2, 2026 at 7:10 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
The piece I wrote about applying my theory of an archaeological mental model to Blue Prince was included in Critical Distance's Year in Blogging!

critical-distance.com/2026/01/01/t...
Drafting the Archaeological Mental Model of Blue Prince
January 1, 2026 at 6:51 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Here's a screenshot of the blurb!
This is the first time a team of digital archaeologists have been allowed to explore the online multiplayer game Limerence since it was shut down at the end of 2032. Once searingly popular, the fantasy kingdom now stands empty, rotting at the seams. What caused Limerence to be taken offline so abruptly? Was it the obsessive behaviour of its fans who regularly played for 24 hours straight that scared the developers? Or were the rumours of a secret room in the castle tower worse than true? Ruin The Game is a sci-fi keepsake larp. Play is split between characters encountering archaeological remains and artefacts in the game world of Limerence, and then gathering as an expedition team to discuss their findings. As part of gameplay, they will record and interpret what they find in a provided field diary that they can take away as a keepsake of the larp experience, itself acting as a meta archaeological record.
December 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Doing some research for my next LARP by visiting Sleaford Castle
Photograph of what remains of Sleaford Castle at dusk
December 26, 2025 at 5:31 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Merry Christmas!
Selfie of me wearing a velvet jacket and a harness
December 25, 2025 at 3:17 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
I love LARP photography
(Photo by Chiara Cappiello)
Portrait of me during the sci-fi LARP Eclipse, wearing a brown jumpsuit with my arms crossed looking moody
December 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Is it game?
Probably not, but that won't stop me
Image of the Phaistos Disc
December 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
This talk is coming up at 3:30pm today!
Continue without saving? Video game archaeology as a hauntological practise
December 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Its hauntology time
Slide: whar does it mean to be haunted? With brat on it
December 15, 2025 at 1:09 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Hi
Selfie of me wearing a military style coat and a necklace with a rabbit
December 12, 2025 at 8:41 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
There is a LARP mission in Dispatch, does this mean its cool now?
Screenshot from Dispatch with mission title "LARP Gone Wrong"
December 7, 2025 at 9:30 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Fish fear me
Selfie of me wearing a cap that says joie de livres
December 5, 2025 at 11:34 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Wordcount met Fromsoftware meme
December 2, 2025 at 4:41 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Remember her?
Screenshot of clam shell reader in It Follows
December 1, 2025 at 4:51 PM
florencesn.bsky.social
Got a piece on three-sided football in tomorrow's Bathysphere! Looking into it has made me want to read more situationist theory
Picture of hexagonal three sided football pitch
November 26, 2025 at 10:07 PM