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Evan Torner

@guyintheblackhat.bsky.social

3.8K followers 3K following 3.2K posts

Associate Professor of German, Niehoff Professor of Film & Media Studies at U of Cincinnati; Scholar of East German cinema, science fiction, and role-playing games. He/Him. Bi. Wears a hat.

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · Jan 5

I'd like to think of "dark academia" as "I, a brooding professor who wears all black, have [these clothes] on while I send many emails and update Canvas assignment due dates"

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 10m

I believe you!

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1h

"Cosplaying" and "larping" are real activities done by real people, and using these terms as slang for "pretending to be someone you're not, for political purposes" does indeed alienate those of us who take part in these activities.

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1h

Now that lots of y'all have listened to The Album, may I now submit for your consideration Alessandra's hilarious take on Grieg's Peer Gynt

music.youtube.com/watch?v=SyDK...

Queen Almighty

YouTube video by Alessandra - Topic

music.youtube.com

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 2h

The book cover + the graphic novel at the beginning convinced young me that W:tA was super-awesome.... and *all about* the Crinos form. Indeed: my players always tried to get to that point of the session ASAP.

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 6h

If you do everything based on GPA and SAT scores, both of which are directly correlated with whiteness, citizenship, and wealth, then you will simply be leaning on the scales in favor of whiteness, citizenship, and wealth.

(And discrimination is their explicit goal!)

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 7h

I think it's the 30-year anniversary of me *receiving* my first black hat, I think, as a hand-me-down from my dad or brother, because I "liked to dress up anyway."

Reposted by Evan Torner

The Golden Cobra Challenge @goldencobra.bsky.social · 7h

ssssssssss

Gamess are due THISS coming Monday, the 13th.

Let'ss ssee your larp ideasss cook!!

www.goldencobra.org

Golden Cobra Challenge

www.goldencobra.org

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 8h

explain your username:

I've been wearing a hat as my hairstyle, when I could get away with it, since 1997, so everyone knew me as the "guy in the black hat" at least a heartbeat before black hats became associated with A Certain Type of Person, and I will still be wearing it when I'm gone.

James Mendez Hodes @lulavampiro.bsky.social · 8h

explain your username:

all capoeiristas formally receive an insulting nickname based on their idiosyncrasies. my wrestling background led to several awkward in-game grappling situations, so mine is "lula" ("squid"). b/c that username's often taken online i further specified it to my favorite squid.

Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 23h

explain your username:

short version: it’s my author pen name

long version: I was going by the initials “CM” on a message board for writers, because it stood for “Chicken Mafia.” People knew me as CM and then suddenly I needed a real name for human interaction purposes.

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 8h

Long live Nobilis, the Werewolf: the Apocalypse with the raised-claw-mark cover, first ed Unknown Armies, the Italian edition of 1001 Nights, and of course Yazeba's for being BOOK TTRPGs where the book itself will change your life.

Asa Donald | Backwards Tabletop @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social · 9h

"A thing that I'm really thinking about is the holistic quality of the game. This is a game that, even if you don't ever actually get a group together to play it, it enriches your life and it provides you with meaning and you can sit down with it and engage with it."

Interview: Jay Dragon on Bookplay

An interview with Jay Dragon about how ttrpgs play with books

www.backwardstabletop.com

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Reposted by Evan Torner

Liz Alfos @touloutoumou.bsky.social · 1d

this meeting could have been a failed Hades 2 run

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Reposted by Evan Torner

VGDensetsu @vgdensetsu.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote a long article about Rieko Kodama, her career at Sega, the evolution of her company, the games she worked on (including some canceled games and/or games for which she is not credited), the status of women and working conditions in the video game industry, etc.
vgdensetsu.net/riekokodama/

Illustration: a portrait of Rieko Kodama with some of the games she has worked on. The dominant colors are yellow, purple and red. Counterclockwise from top left: Rieko Kodama, Alis and Lutz from Phantasy Star, Sonic in a maze, Alex Kidd and his motorbike next to Flicky on a waterfront pier, Joe Musashi and his dog near the Statue of Liberty facing a skyline, the three playable characters from Golden Axe seen from behind on the edge of a cliff, and one of the flying ships from Skies of Arcadia.

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Reposted by Evan Torner

Judd Karlman (he/him) @juddthelibrarian.bsky.social · 1d

Classic Traveller: Training and Experience

In the Classic Traveller books there are a few pages about improving one's character on pages 42 and 43 of Book 2: Starships.

Classic Traveller: Training and Experience

In the Classic Traveller books there are a few pages about improving one's character on pages 42 and 43 of Book 2: Starships.

githyankidiaspora.com

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1d

Spiders kill a lot for our household.

The lizards don't really get up to much.

And the cave crickete? Only up at night, and kinda timid too.

No reason why not to include them all in the family.

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1d

Time to admit that I will annihilate the mice and mud daubers, but choose otherwise to *respectfully co-exist* with the lizards, spiders, and cave crickets.

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1d

The math is so depressing, and literally impossible if you have to rush to pick up children.

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1d

Our lack of public transit also contributes substantially to this. In grad school, I either biked (total of 20 miles round trip) to work, or I sat on a 30-minute bus ride and read books, whatever I wanted.

Where I live, it's 15 minutes by car, 1 hr and 15 minutes by bus, to work.

Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 1d

I see pieces like this a lot, often w/ a spin of lamenting cultural degeneration, but reading is a LABOR issue, it’s declined because so many people are working overtime or two jobs & employers expect after hours work. France has Earth’s highest reading rate b/c long lunch breaks & labor protections

After Dinner Conversation® @afterdinnerconversation.com · 1d

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Reposted by Evan Torner

Strong Women, Strange Worlds @swsworlds.bsky.social · 1d

The exercise of imagination is dangerous to those who profit from the way things are because it has the power to show that the way things are is not permanent, not universal, not necessary.

Ursula K. LeGuin (1929-2018), author

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1d

Wait -- this is the game that was like "What if Shining Force, but slightly more 3D and waaaay better written?"

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Reposted by Evan Torner

Jonaya Kemper @violetriotgames.bsky.social · 1d

Do you find yourself at the intersection of performance, games, and design? Do you want to work with world class artists in research, pedagogy, and games? Then maybe apply to work with me at UCSC! We're hiring a Assistant Professor of Interactive Art, Performance & Games

recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF01998

Assistant Professor of Interactive Art, Performance & Games (Initial Review Date 11/14/25)

University of California, Santa Cruz is hiring. Apply now!

recruit.ucsc.edu

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Reposted by Evan Torner

Trav is writing about something @travisadork.bsky.social · 3d

"THE POWER OF FICTIONAL PUNCHES:

"One of those longstanding messages that will always be important for kids and adults to see is Indiana Jones punching Nazis."

Read more about #IndianaJones at @fanbasepress.bsky.social: fanbasepress.com/press/featur...

Geeky Parent Guide: Why ‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Endures After 40 Years - Fanbasepress

40 years ago this June, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in theaters. 40 years have gone by, and it still stands the test of time.

fanbasepress.com

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Reposted by Evan Torner

Naomi Clark (@metasynthie) 暗悪直美 @halfrobot.com · 1d

GONE GONE THE AGE OF SKILL
STRATEGY THE THINKLAD'S SWILL
LABOR GAMES YE'LL NEVER "WIN"
THE ERA OF THE COIN BEGINS

bsky.app/profile/nuzc...

nuzcraft @nuzcraft.bsky.social · 1d

My first #LudumDare! Random Walk is inspired by @hthrflwrs.bsky.social’s Unfair Flips and in playtesting it made a child cry in frustration. Try it out! #GameDev #IndieDev #GodotEngine nuzcraft.itch.io/random-walk

Confused hero on a path. On the left it show confusion % plus buttons to upgrade think time, reduce confusion, increase multiplier and increase step value. On the right is a log of resets and a success

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 1d

It is great to have my job and kids distracting me a lot rn actually

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 2d

I am stuck on Cerberus/Mount Olympus, so you've got more success to speak of than me!

I was an early beta tester on this and it was the sheer difficulty of that build that repelled me until the official release.

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 2d

It makes me feel better that someone who just fr beat the game was *also* leaning hard on Luckier Tooth, because that's the main engine of my success lol. On the other hand: If I take the Chaos bait, I tend not to handle it well and it ends the run early :-/

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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 2d

David Lynch was not dissimilar from many American men I grew up with: loud, creative, driven, with very specific quirks related to our consumerist culture, and also a sardonic, psychosexual attitude toward sex and violence that persisted under the surface. He was more honest with us than most!

matthew ellis @matthiasellis.com · 3d

I’m quoted in this! Give Ben a follow!

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