plug103.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Design at The Open University. EdSIG Convenor for the Design Research Society. Co-Author of Studio Properties (pub Bloomsbury, Autumn 2025).
Also: recovering architect; nihilist (pragmatic); and defender of the Nation of Hilltown.
54 posts
182 followers
213 following
Prolific Poster
Conversation Starter
comment in response to
post
My pleasure! I have a personal mission to help people better understand what actually goes into making a game. It’s not a silver bullet to the harassment devs get, but I think if it’s better understood, there might be less of it, and for more positive players, they can better appreciate the works
comment in response to
post
Paper four: Black student experience on an introductory STEM module: Closing the awarding gap by listening to our Black students, written by Louise MacBrayne, Jennie Bellamy, Angela Richards and Elaine McPherson:
doi.org/10.21954/ou....
comment in response to
post
Paper five: Co-creating a more inclusive design curriculum with virtual student interns as partners, written by Nicole Lotz and Vera Hale:
doi.org/10.21954/ou....
comment in response to
post
Fun session on the quirks diagnostic screen
[Vehicle] [is destroyed] > [Offside rear tyre] [doesn't notice]
comment in response to
post
Love how the offside rear tyre is juuuust fine 😂
Good trip.
comment in response to
post
I’d buy it- if it kept to the vibe
i.e. you have to bolt on a slightly hazardous 100kV steel net to the side pa els, and drive through water without stalling.
If you the fish are sarcastic to you and snigger in a spooky way.
You die but also get a dancing fish trophy for the garage!
comment in response to
post
But keep plugging away at this - am liking the small flying boat vibe with interactive deck elements :) could see that going in a number of directions.
comment in response to
post
Def feels a bit intrusive and obtrusive to me. If visual feedback of flamer is needed, maybe design / model the pipe work to work with pilot view? (Eg if going with a steampunk vibe, wrap around wheelhouse or make a feature of structure?)
comment in response to
post
retractionwatch.com/2024/12/27/e...
comment in response to
post
I am so incredibly sorry I asked.
comment in response to
post
Tell me that’s a onesie - head to toe grump?
comment in response to
post
Teaching is a very complex thing even in game design.
"Just make it intuitive" *sighs longingly* if only that were so easy.
The reality being different background experiences mean different approaches are intuitive to different people. Heck even iconography has its own entire specialization.
comment in response to
post
Lastly, as a lifelong SF&F reader, no award means as much as the Nebula to me. It's the award stamped on the cover of every book I grew up on, the source of my imagination
If you know a SFWA member & put in a good word for Pacific Drive with them, I'm forever grateful
pacificdrivegame.carrd.co
comment in response to
post
Or the easy path is taken - that design didn’t start until the early 19C in Europe and can be applied universally ….
Histories in their contexts reapplied in contemporary contexts are harder to find.
comment in response to
post
A third thought is that we sometimes come across events that explore design textbook authoring - developing new authors (which is also important - new voices are reaaallllly needed).
But we have never yet landed on something that really breaks through some of the shapes and structures
comment in response to
post
Interesting. My first thought is ‘burn them all and dialogue the shit out of all of it’;
My second more measured response is not directly but we have explored alternative modes of ‘writing’ in a few different forums. (eg we have a more diverse range of submission formats for our conferences)
comment in response to
post
There’s a tiny bit of this on the EdSIG forums but that a smaller group and DRS members only.
Hmm maybe we need look at this …
comment in response to
post
We do this in the Futures events (and completely agree - nothing to do with moaning and all about scholarship).
But if doesn’t happen often enough to get conversations going, sadly. We have also yet to find a half decent online space to do this too.
comment in response to
post
I guess what I mean is that it wasn't just "it was wrong" or "it was opaque" - it's that there is very often a nice bit of discovery that goes with some instruction?