Dr. Will Helmke
@williamhelmke.com
He/Him
Level 39
Wisconsin farm kid turned Postdoc Scholar (University of Illinois)
I play video games & write research about them
One of those radical leftist college instructors Fox News warned you about
Level 39
Wisconsin farm kid turned Postdoc Scholar (University of Illinois)
I play video games & write research about them
One of those radical leftist college instructors Fox News warned you about
Pinned
My September #promosky
I'm Will, I'm a gamer that teaches about/researches media and video games!
Follow if you want to hear about:
-my takes on games
-TTRPG GMing
-teaching, video game research, and academia
-anime convention management
-Japan adventures
-Random life stuff
❤️&🔁 appreciated!
I'm Will, I'm a gamer that teaches about/researches media and video games!
Follow if you want to hear about:
-my takes on games
-TTRPG GMing
-teaching, video game research, and academia
-anime convention management
-Japan adventures
-Random life stuff
❤️&🔁 appreciated!
How much do you like these tropes?
Enemies to lovers: 8/10
Second chance: It depends/10
Fake dating: 5/10
Friends to lovers: 9/10
Age gap: 6/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 11/10
Pregnancy: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯/10
Slow burn: YOU'RE TAKING TOO LONG/10
Love triangle: 2/10
Enemies to lovers: 8/10
Second chance: It depends/10
Fake dating: 5/10
Friends to lovers: 9/10
Age gap: 6/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 11/10
Pregnancy: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯/10
Slow burn: YOU'RE TAKING TOO LONG/10
Love triangle: 2/10
How much do you like these tropes?
Enemies to lovers: 9/10
Second chance: 8/10
Fake dating: 2/10
Friends to lovers: 7/10
Age gap: 10/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 8/10
Pregnancy: Go away/10
Slow burn: 100/10
Love triangle: 0/10
Enemies to lovers: 9/10
Second chance: 8/10
Fake dating: 2/10
Friends to lovers: 7/10
Age gap: 10/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 8/10
Pregnancy: Go away/10
Slow burn: 100/10
Love triangle: 0/10
How much do you like these tropes?
Enemies to lovers: 5/10
Second chance: 4/10
Fake dating: 4/10
Friends to lovers: 9/10
Age gap: 0/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 2/10
Pregnancy 1/10
Slow burn: 1000000000/10
Love triangle: Negative 10000/10
Enemies to lovers: 5/10
Second chance: 4/10
Fake dating: 4/10
Friends to lovers: 9/10
Age gap: 0/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 2/10
Pregnancy 1/10
Slow burn: 1000000000/10
Love triangle: Negative 10000/10
September 24, 2026 at 12:41 AM
How much do you like these tropes?
Enemies to lovers: 8/10
Second chance: It depends/10
Fake dating: 5/10
Friends to lovers: 9/10
Age gap: 6/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 11/10
Pregnancy: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯/10
Slow burn: YOU'RE TAKING TOO LONG/10
Love triangle: 2/10
Enemies to lovers: 8/10
Second chance: It depends/10
Fake dating: 5/10
Friends to lovers: 9/10
Age gap: 6/10
Found family: 10/10
Grumpy x sunshine: 11/10
Pregnancy: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯/10
Slow burn: YOU'RE TAKING TOO LONG/10
Love triangle: 2/10
When industry-wide unionization finally gets established in the video game industry in the states, we need to be prepared to support a long strike that will delay some of your favorite games. Cuz' that's what it's going to take to make these companies start giving a shit about their workers.
September 23, 2026 at 8:52 PM
When industry-wide unionization finally gets established in the video game industry in the states, we need to be prepared to support a long strike that will delay some of your favorite games. Cuz' that's what it's going to take to make these companies start giving a shit about their workers.
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
Made another Kingdom Hearts reaction image by accident 😆
September 23, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Made another Kingdom Hearts reaction image by accident 😆
Probably the best kind of story to help radicalize Wisconsinites to the Left, and I mean that unironically.
The NFL BANNED the Packers' Ownership Model. Here is Why
YouTube video by Prime Time Sports
m.youtube.com
September 23, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Probably the best kind of story to help radicalize Wisconsinites to the Left, and I mean that unironically.
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
What a great idea! @drjohnwills.bsky.social it can be used in the classroom too.
I just released a new keepsake game- Bleed Map!
You play alongside a video game of your choice, creating a map of the digital space. At the same time, you'll be prompted to record emotions and thoughts from your everyday life that bleed into the experience.
florencesmithnicholls.itch.io/bleed-map
You play alongside a video game of your choice, creating a map of the digital space. At the same time, you'll be prompted to record emotions and thoughts from your everyday life that bleed into the experience.
florencesmithnicholls.itch.io/bleed-map
Bleed Map by Florence Smith Nicholls
A keepsake game for materialising digital play
florencesmithnicholls.itch.io
September 21, 2026 at 11:18 AM
What a great idea! @drjohnwills.bsky.social it can be used in the classroom too.
It's gonna be Wild Arms for me-it was the first time I played a game that showed you can tell serious, interesting stories. It started me down the road to where I am today, studying games as a scholar.
September 21, 2026 at 1:43 PM
It's gonna be Wild Arms for me-it was the first time I played a game that showed you can tell serious, interesting stories. It started me down the road to where I am today, studying games as a scholar.
September 20, 2026 at 8:34 PM
If the industry switches to "SI" instead of "AI", We all agree we're gonna just call it "Stolen Intelligence," right?
September 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
If the industry switches to "SI" instead of "AI", We all agree we're gonna just call it "Stolen Intelligence," right?
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
Tech CEOs are existential risk to our societies and democracies.
OpenAI and Microsoft admitted LLMs are predatory tech built on “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” and the “largest theft of labor in human history.” An internal Microsoft document said AI has created a “doom loop” that is killing “the entire web.” www.404media.co/doom-loop-op...
‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
"Millions of people around the world will soon consider large models ‘hoovering up’ all their work to be an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions."
www.404media.co
September 18, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Tech CEOs are existential risk to our societies and democracies.
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
Don’t miss this moots! Time for another road trip 🤩🫶🏻
The FFXV collaboration event, A Nocturne for Heroes, returns to FFXIV on September 24!
Don’t miss out on rewards like the Regalia Type-G 4-seater mount, the Lucian Prince costume set, Modern Aesthetics - Lucian Locks, orchestrion rolls, and more! 👑 sqex.to/M46s2
Don’t miss out on rewards like the Regalia Type-G 4-seater mount, the Lucian Prince costume set, Modern Aesthetics - Lucian Locks, orchestrion rolls, and more! 👑 sqex.to/M46s2
September 18, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Don’t miss this moots! Time for another road trip 🤩🫶🏻
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
it's creepypasta for adults but somehow dumber.
always just assumed roko's basilisk was a serious thought experiment of old, not some shitpost someone came up with on a forum 10 years ago
"i must contribute to building the torment nexus in case the torment nexus becomes sentient and persecutes anyone who didn't help build it"
fuck offfffffff
"i must contribute to building the torment nexus in case the torment nexus becomes sentient and persecutes anyone who didn't help build it"
fuck offfffffff
September 16, 2026 at 10:00 PM
it's creepypasta for adults but somehow dumber.
One of my continual frustrations of being a media and games scholar is that neither field can seem to come to a consensus on a unified citation style for their journals 🫠
September 16, 2026 at 10:00 PM
One of my continual frustrations of being a media and games scholar is that neither field can seem to come to a consensus on a unified citation style for their journals 🫠
Boy, this week has been hectic between work/teaching/writing/anime con running 😩
September 16, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Boy, this week has been hectic between work/teaching/writing/anime con running 😩
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
Happy 25 years to the Nintendo GameCube
September 15, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Happy 25 years to the Nintendo GameCube
Day 4: Dance-Off!
(It's a bullet hell rhythm/dance fight, so I say it counts):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeDI...
(It's a bullet hell rhythm/dance fight, so I say it counts):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeDI...
September 13, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Day 4: Dance-Off!
(It's a bullet hell rhythm/dance fight, so I say it counts):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeDI...
(It's a bullet hell rhythm/dance fight, so I say it counts):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeDI...
September 13, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
UI-Con is recruiting volunteer staff for 2027! If you want to join us, fill out this form and we will be in touch:
forms.gle/3jMvLw3BAmzQ...
forms.gle/3jMvLw3BAmzQ...
September 12, 2026 at 4:40 PM
UI-Con is recruiting volunteer staff for 2027! If you want to join us, fill out this form and we will be in touch:
forms.gle/3jMvLw3BAmzQ...
forms.gle/3jMvLw3BAmzQ...
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
They want you to think you have to buy it. You don't. It was already in your own heart all along.
Support your friends.
Support strangers.
Support independent publishers.
You do not need a corporation's permission to have fun.
Support your friends.
Support strangers.
Support independent publishers.
You do not need a corporation's permission to have fun.
YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO MAKE YOUR OWN VERSION
YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO MODIFY ANTHING YOU OWN
TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS
YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO CREATE YOUR OWN WORLDS
YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO DO IT YOUR OWN WAY
TO MAKE YOUR OWN VERSION
YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO MODIFY ANTHING YOU OWN
TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS
YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO CREATE YOUR OWN WORLDS
YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO DO IT YOUR OWN WAY
September 11, 2026 at 11:49 PM
They want you to think you have to buy it. You don't. It was already in your own heart all along.
Support your friends.
Support strangers.
Support independent publishers.
You do not need a corporation's permission to have fun.
Support your friends.
Support strangers.
Support independent publishers.
You do not need a corporation's permission to have fun.
Day 2: opening level
September 11, 2026 at 3:44 AM
Day 2: opening level
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
You don’t have to qualify to play a game. You don’t have to pay any dues to enjoy something. If you only play FFXVI and want to praise Final Fantasy, go for it.
Just like things.
Just like things.
There’s something uniquely wrong with the brains of people who regularly use Twitter. Like years of being conditioned to regurgitate nothing but the same handful of catchphrases has stunted their critical thinking skills
September 10, 2026 at 5:35 PM
You don’t have to qualify to play a game. You don’t have to pay any dues to enjoy something. If you only play FFXVI and want to praise Final Fantasy, go for it.
Just like things.
Just like things.
Reposted by Dr. Will Helmke
I need to remind everyone, especially after their presentation today.
Level-5 has been very openly using Generative AI in their game development and are proud of it. This includes their newly announced titles such as New World of Steam, Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Curious Village Remake.
Level-5 has been very openly using Generative AI in their game development and are proud of it. This includes their newly announced titles such as New World of Steam, Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Curious Village Remake.
September 10, 2026 at 2:09 PM
I need to remind everyone, especially after their presentation today.
Level-5 has been very openly using Generative AI in their game development and are proud of it. This includes their newly announced titles such as New World of Steam, Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Curious Village Remake.
Level-5 has been very openly using Generative AI in their game development and are proud of it. This includes their newly announced titles such as New World of Steam, Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Curious Village Remake.