Brian W Packer
@thesmall001.bsky.social
ECAM Assoc. Lecturer & PhD Research for Games Tool UX @ Chichester Uni. Views not representative of employers. They/He.
Just putting together my kids 'Police and Protest' toy set ready for Christmas @goodlawproject.org
December 23, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Just putting together my kids 'Police and Protest' toy set ready for Christmas @goodlawproject.org
My hot take to close out 2025 is that Sonic 4 should be an adaptation of 'Sonic Heroes' and not 'Sonic CD'; and it should be an entire allegory for how kids can overcome the anxiety about their future prospects being replaced and governed by AI through better unionisation and collective action.
December 19, 2025 at 10:04 AM
My hot take to close out 2025 is that Sonic 4 should be an adaptation of 'Sonic Heroes' and not 'Sonic CD'; and it should be an entire allegory for how kids can overcome the anxiety about their future prospects being replaced and governed by AI through better unionisation and collective action.
I want to level a Night Elf Shaman and a Kul Tiran Paladin and a Blood Elf Druid and an Orc Demon Hunter, and there's no good reason those aren't already all enabled.
December 16, 2025 at 9:02 AM
I want to level a Night Elf Shaman and a Kul Tiran Paladin and a Blood Elf Druid and an Orc Demon Hunter, and there's no good reason those aren't already all enabled.
Reposted by Brian W Packer
All current candle orders will be shipping out tomorrow! You still have time to get your orders in for Christmas, too!
grumpycandlecompany.com/collections/...
grumpycandlecompany.com/collections/...
Holiday
Homemade soy candles and wax melts from one grumpy old man in Milwaukee, WI.
grumpycandlecompany.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:08 PM
All current candle orders will be shipping out tomorrow! You still have time to get your orders in for Christmas, too!
grumpycandlecompany.com/collections/...
grumpycandlecompany.com/collections/...
Reposted by Brian W Packer
Ion Hazzikostas and I have very different opinions about what constitutes as a "surgical change".
November 13, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Ion Hazzikostas and I have very different opinions about what constitutes as a "surgical change".
The threenager just learned a valuable life lesson over the course of a 3-hour battle to not nap: There might not be a limit to Dad's patience. Dad might be able to be bored forever. He doesn't know, you see, that my ADHD meds would've worn off if he'd just hung in there another 40 minutes. Fool.
November 2, 2025 at 3:19 PM
The threenager just learned a valuable life lesson over the course of a 3-hour battle to not nap: There might not be a limit to Dad's patience. Dad might be able to be bored forever. He doesn't know, you see, that my ADHD meds would've worn off if he'd just hung in there another 40 minutes. Fool.
I ordered Nando's today and when I collected it, the person serving me had the most amazing, smooth, dynamic voice; after we finished, I said "Sorry, I have to ask, do you do any VO work?". They got a huge smile on their face and said "I do, actually, I had a game come out just the other day..." 🤩
Just completed it and wept at the end. One of our pets died today & a deer visited my window during the finale. Fond places from my childhood back home came up in the credits. I'll probably never play a game that makes me as proud of my Irishness again, and that's okay. Incredible.
Video games man.
Video games man.
So...The Séance of Blake Manor is my favorite game of 2025 so far.
A first person murder mystery with detailed investigation mechanics, superb writing, and atmosphere. Also the best game about Irish History I've ever played
Bravo @spookydoorway.bsky.social 👏
store.steampowered.com/app/1395520/...
A first person murder mystery with detailed investigation mechanics, superb writing, and atmosphere. Also the best game about Irish History I've ever played
Bravo @spookydoorway.bsky.social 👏
store.steampowered.com/app/1395520/...
October 29, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I ordered Nando's today and when I collected it, the person serving me had the most amazing, smooth, dynamic voice; after we finished, I said "Sorry, I have to ask, do you do any VO work?". They got a huge smile on their face and said "I do, actually, I had a game come out just the other day..." 🤩
Interesting how you can chart the degeneracy of WoW by Remix expansions. Just got kicked from an LFG dungeon for AFK after reloading my UI for 15 seconds. So >I< get a 30 minute deserter timer, naturally.
October 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Interesting how you can chart the degeneracy of WoW by Remix expansions. Just got kicked from an LFG dungeon for AFK after reloading my UI for 15 seconds. So >I< get a 30 minute deserter timer, naturally.
Midnight Alpha and Legion Remix got me realising that Hunters, Warriors, DKs, Rogues, and Warlocks should all be able to (and queue as) Tank in any spec using their Class Trees. Gimme Parry on Overpower. Gimme LeechZerker. Gimme DW Frost with ASPD Slows. Gimme Sap/Eva Rogue. Give me Dark Apotheosis.
October 26, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Midnight Alpha and Legion Remix got me realising that Hunters, Warriors, DKs, Rogues, and Warlocks should all be able to (and queue as) Tank in any spec using their Class Trees. Gimme Parry on Overpower. Gimme LeechZerker. Gimme DW Frost with ASPD Slows. Gimme Sap/Eva Rogue. Give me Dark Apotheosis.
Hey @ketsuki.com I don't have twitter anymore so can you poke @archimtiros.bsky.social and remind him he can stop playing Sarah McLachlan after 9 years on loop.
October 15, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Hey @ketsuki.com I don't have twitter anymore so can you poke @archimtiros.bsky.social and remind him he can stop playing Sarah McLachlan after 9 years on loop.
I can't believe WoW cut math. I worried AI was going to create the largest entry skill gap in CS industries, but WoW really said "hold my many brain-dulling beers, small humans".
October 9, 2025 at 11:24 PM
I can't believe WoW cut math. I worried AI was going to create the largest entry skill gap in CS industries, but WoW really said "hold my many brain-dulling beers, small humans".
2nd year in a row, since my teaching hours were cut, that I've been given modules (6 this semester!), only to be told on Week 1 that they can only afford me till Week 5. The indignity, the gutting of my hope each time, is just hollowing. I think this one has finally broken me.
September 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
2nd year in a row, since my teaching hours were cut, that I've been given modules (6 this semester!), only to be told on Week 1 that they can only afford me till Week 5. The indignity, the gutting of my hope each time, is just hollowing. I think this one has finally broken me.
Oh, the Twisting Nether is based on DnDs The Upside Down, I can't believe I never (no pun intended) looked up the definition of 'nether'. Twisting Nether would literally be 'the realm of the twisted lower place'. This goes all the way back to The Last Guardian's Medivh encounter in anti-Karazhan.
September 29, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Oh, the Twisting Nether is based on DnDs The Upside Down, I can't believe I never (no pun intended) looked up the definition of 'nether'. Twisting Nether would literally be 'the realm of the twisted lower place'. This goes all the way back to The Last Guardian's Medivh encounter in anti-Karazhan.
Reposted by Brian W Packer
Excited to share that the latest issue of Geek Magazine (out Friday in France!) features my 6-page interview with @celiahodent.com!
She champions Ethical Games, a collaborative initiative dedicated to defining and promoting ethical practices in games.
Learn more and get involved: ethicalgames.org
She champions Ethical Games, a collaborative initiative dedicated to defining and promoting ethical practices in games.
Learn more and get involved: ethicalgames.org
September 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Excited to share that the latest issue of Geek Magazine (out Friday in France!) features my 6-page interview with @celiahodent.com!
She champions Ethical Games, a collaborative initiative dedicated to defining and promoting ethical practices in games.
Learn more and get involved: ethicalgames.org
She champions Ethical Games, a collaborative initiative dedicated to defining and promoting ethical practices in games.
Learn more and get involved: ethicalgames.org
I just read about the most inspired act of allyship of which I think I've ever heard. A really heart-warming story. Wish I could give details but they're not mine to share.
September 17, 2025 at 10:54 AM
I just read about the most inspired act of allyship of which I think I've ever heard. A really heart-warming story. Wish I could give details but they're not mine to share.
I prefer Resourcefulness because I trend towards low volume SSF (solo, self-found) crafting and professions. This right here feels so freaking bad, man. I don't care if it's justifiably balanced by some arcane maths... This just feels terrible. (That's the 24 silver cost flux proc'ing.) #Warcraft
September 9, 2025 at 12:24 AM
I prefer Resourcefulness because I trend towards low volume SSF (solo, self-found) crafting and professions. This right here feels so freaking bad, man. I don't care if it's justifiably balanced by some arcane maths... This just feels terrible. (That's the 24 silver cost flux proc'ing.) #Warcraft
Dion, once again, helping me convert my half-baked, tiredness-addled, fleeting thoughts from monitoring the 3 year-old's screen time into coherent words and actually important sentiments.
Re-upping this for the Monday crowd: On how changing UK children’s TV theme tunes capture transformations in their protagonists, the communities they represent, and the impact of globalisation.
All reposts (and subscriptions) much appreciated. x
All reposts (and subscriptions) much appreciated. x
My new piece on children's TV theme tunes, and how the changes in the music, lyrics, and credit sequences opening and closing shows like Postman Pat, Fireman Sam, and Thomas & Friends reflect huge shifts in the ideas and structures behind their production. 🧵
#skystorians #polisky #socsky
#skystorians #polisky #socsky
September 8, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Dion, once again, helping me convert my half-baked, tiredness-addled, fleeting thoughts from monitoring the 3 year-old's screen time into coherent words and actually important sentiments.
Why is Glad-tier Crafted Gear capped at 662 PvE item level, whilst Conquest gear is up to 704 by Champion track? I get that it's a bit less time-gated, but 1) the Conquest time-gate is very dumb in a post-Delves world, and, 2) Tier conversion is the real bottleneck and so doesn't compete /w crafted?
September 3, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Why is Glad-tier Crafted Gear capped at 662 PvE item level, whilst Conquest gear is up to 704 by Champion track? I get that it's a bit less time-gated, but 1) the Conquest time-gate is very dumb in a post-Delves world, and, 2) Tier conversion is the real bottleneck and so doesn't compete /w crafted?
Give all Tanks an anti-Taunt to allow them to de-threat ("Intimidate"?) and reset mobs one-by-one, and cause them to become pull-resistant for like 30-60 seconds after they reset. That's literally all it would take.
Blizzard has started addressing the tank and healer shortage - noting that it's a big ask and they have some plans in wanting to make tanks and healers more approachable or forgiving down the road!
#warcraft #midnight
www.wowhead.com/news/apex-ta...
#warcraft #midnight
www.wowhead.com/news/apex-ta...
"Apex Talents" and New Hero Talent Lanes for Every Spec in Midnight - MarcelianOnline Interview with Blizzard
MarcelianOnline interviewed Paul Kubit and Jade Martin on the new Apex Talents, the new Demon Hunter Hero talent tree, the Tank and Healer shortage and more!
www.wowhead.com
August 24, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Give all Tanks an anti-Taunt to allow them to de-threat ("Intimidate"?) and reset mobs one-by-one, and cause them to become pull-resistant for like 30-60 seconds after they reset. That's literally all it would take.
I'm hype for Midnight, but honestly, this reveal just repeatedly confused me. Cinematic? Great stuff. I needed more than just the Flame's Radiance theme to explain to me what a dozen copy-pasted silhouettes mean. Game content? I'm having to piece together YT shorts and press kits for any context.
August 20, 2025 at 11:56 AM
I'm hype for Midnight, but honestly, this reveal just repeatedly confused me. Cinematic? Great stuff. I needed more than just the Flame's Radiance theme to explain to me what a dozen copy-pasted silhouettes mean. Game content? I'm having to piece together YT shorts and press kits for any context.
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social I can't find Jeph. Can you please yell at him (as we all have tinnitus now from the rock'n'roll, or crotch goblins) he can't use Faye's Dad's suicide as a cut-away gag 'cos anybody here that long is -at best- in the early stages of senility now. Please and thank you. o7
July 29, 2025 at 8:00 PM
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social I can't find Jeph. Can you please yell at him (as we all have tinnitus now from the rock'n'roll, or crotch goblins) he can't use Faye's Dad's suicide as a cut-away gag 'cos anybody here that long is -at best- in the early stages of senility now. Please and thank you. o7
Reposted by Brian W Packer
We don't have to push children into poverty.
We don't have to make life harder for the sick and disabled.
We don't have to aid and abet genocide.
For too long, people have been denied a real political choice. Not anymore.
Join us at yourparty.uk
We don't have to make life harder for the sick and disabled.
We don't have to aid and abet genocide.
For too long, people have been denied a real political choice. Not anymore.
Join us at yourparty.uk
July 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
We don't have to push children into poverty.
We don't have to make life harder for the sick and disabled.
We don't have to aid and abet genocide.
For too long, people have been denied a real political choice. Not anymore.
Join us at yourparty.uk
We don't have to make life harder for the sick and disabled.
We don't have to aid and abet genocide.
For too long, people have been denied a real political choice. Not anymore.
Join us at yourparty.uk
Reposted by Brian W Packer
Brutal to learn that Margaret Boden has passed. An absolute powerhouse in the areas of AI and creativity.
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/07...
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/07...
In Memoriam: Margaret Boden (1936-2025)
Professor Boden, who spent most of her academic career at the University of Sussex, was a leading figure in cognitive science, who wrote extensively on computational models of the mind, on artificial ...
leiterreports.typepad.com
July 24, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Brutal to learn that Margaret Boden has passed. An absolute powerhouse in the areas of AI and creativity.
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/07...
leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2025/07...
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social Look at all these clowns worrying, as if you'd ever pass up the narrative option which leads to you being able to sell Joyce getting tag-teamed, as if you don't want the web comic equivalent of a 401k.
July 14, 2025 at 4:38 PM
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social Look at all these clowns worrying, as if you'd ever pass up the narrative option which leads to you being able to sell Joyce getting tag-teamed, as if you don't want the web comic equivalent of a 401k.