Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
@solidsmyth.bsky.social
He/Him. GM, Bard. Writer. Narrative designer. AU Game Center alum. TND Game Writing alum. I played Snake Eater once, blacked out, now I’m here. Opinions my own
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
good article, i think the biggest lesson of this contract is: ai protections, layoff protections (14 months of recall rights!!!! good lord!!), pay raises was won on *months* of worker mobilization alongside the bargaining. direct action gets the goods, as they say
After years of company stalling, Blizzard workers win mega-contract that applies to all unionized teams
aftermath.site/blizzard-union...
aftermath.site/blizzard-union...
September 9, 2026 at 3:13 PM
good article, i think the biggest lesson of this contract is: ai protections, layoff protections (14 months of recall rights!!!! good lord!!), pay raises was won on *months* of worker mobilization alongside the bargaining. direct action gets the goods, as they say
Some guy at Nintendo: what if we put Kirby in a Truman Show scenario?
September 9, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Some guy at Nintendo: what if we put Kirby in a Truman Show scenario?
OH THATS MY JAM
R A V E N O U S
R A V E N O U S
September 9, 2026 at 2:30 PM
OH THATS MY JAM
R A V E N O U S
R A V E N O U S
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
One of the reasons people are viscerally mad about AI is that it is constantly publicly being used to violate millennia-old but today-largely-unspoken social taboos.
September 8, 2026 at 8:14 PM
One of the reasons people are viscerally mad about AI is that it is constantly publicly being used to violate millennia-old but today-largely-unspoken social taboos.
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
they made him linkedin
September 8, 2026 at 2:46 PM
they made him linkedin
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
Ok hold up the audio input thing is so unnecessary and FUCKING RULES
September 8, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Ok hold up the audio input thing is so unnecessary and FUCKING RULES
Okay wait seeing Castle Town like this is amazing
September 8, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Okay wait seeing Castle Town like this is amazing
I can’t get over Links face and that’s mainly because all the other faces look…good? Overall? But Links eyes look Dead
September 8, 2026 at 2:19 PM
I can’t get over Links face and that’s mainly because all the other faces look…good? Overall? But Links eyes look Dead
For all the pain this season, Coby Mayo is a damn revelation for the orioles
September 7, 2026 at 7:42 PM
For all the pain this season, Coby Mayo is a damn revelation for the orioles
Just watched S2 episode 8 of Andor again and god it hit even better the second time
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
September 4, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Just watched S2 episode 8 of Andor again and god it hit even better the second time
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
We’re a game under .500 baby we’re gonna win the World Series I swear
August 30, 2026 at 11:02 PM
We’re a game under .500 baby we’re gonna win the World Series I swear
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
🌌 you are going to buy so many copies of Star Wars Zero Company that every company spends the next ten years asking us all to make turn based strategy games 🌌
🌌 you are feeling very sleepy 🌌
🌌 you are going to buy Star Wars Zero Company 🌌
🌌 you are going to buy Star Wars Zero Company 🌌
August 27, 2026 at 6:46 AM
🌌 you are going to buy so many copies of Star Wars Zero Company that every company spends the next ten years asking us all to make turn based strategy games 🌌
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
The prologue of every Stephen King novel published between 1975 and 1988:
Under thy shadow by the piers I waited
Only in darkness is thy shadow clear.
The City’s fiery parcels all undone,
Already snow submerges an iron year...--Hart Crane
We've got the biggest balls of them all --AC/DC
Under thy shadow by the piers I waited
Only in darkness is thy shadow clear.
The City’s fiery parcels all undone,
Already snow submerges an iron year...--Hart Crane
We've got the biggest balls of them all --AC/DC
August 21, 2026 at 12:29 PM
The prologue of every Stephen King novel published between 1975 and 1988:
Under thy shadow by the piers I waited
Only in darkness is thy shadow clear.
The City’s fiery parcels all undone,
Already snow submerges an iron year...--Hart Crane
We've got the biggest balls of them all --AC/DC
Under thy shadow by the piers I waited
Only in darkness is thy shadow clear.
The City’s fiery parcels all undone,
Already snow submerges an iron year...--Hart Crane
We've got the biggest balls of them all --AC/DC
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
Everyone should play Ledgerbound because 1. It’s really good and 2. Everyone must hear Ben Starr as a brooding demon man
August 14, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Everyone should play Ledgerbound because 1. It’s really good and 2. Everyone must hear Ben Starr as a brooding demon man
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
“Sam, what are your thoughts on big walk?”
See image below.
See image below.
August 5, 2026 at 8:07 PM
“Sam, what are your thoughts on big walk?”
See image below.
See image below.
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
The best TTRPG GMs *interpret* the characters as rich texts & agents in of themselves, and then offer NPCs, lore, and fraught situations that play on characters' core themes & traits.
GMs are consantly reading both the characters-as-conceived and also the characters-as-played.
GMs are consantly reading both the characters-as-conceived and also the characters-as-played.
A friend asked me what makes a good GM. It’s a personal question as difficult to answer as “what makes good art?” I don’t have the definitive answer, but I do have an answer.
A good GM invests in the characters and shows how their actions change the world, e.g @juddthelibrarian.bsky.social
A good GM invests in the characters and shows how their actions change the world, e.g @juddthelibrarian.bsky.social
August 5, 2026 at 5:39 PM
The best TTRPG GMs *interpret* the characters as rich texts & agents in of themselves, and then offer NPCs, lore, and fraught situations that play on characters' core themes & traits.
GMs are consantly reading both the characters-as-conceived and also the characters-as-played.
GMs are consantly reading both the characters-as-conceived and also the characters-as-played.
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
BOURDAIN (voiceover): I found myself surrounded by discarded objects. An empty soda can, a dead battery. Life becomes death. But death can become life. The simmering pot with its spicy aroma in front of me is proof.
BOURDAIN: What's in this dish?
ME: Pikmin
BOURDAIN: Pikmin. Oh man that's good.
BOURDAIN: What's in this dish?
ME: Pikmin
BOURDAIN: Pikmin. Oh man that's good.
August 5, 2026 at 2:58 PM
BOURDAIN (voiceover): I found myself surrounded by discarded objects. An empty soda can, a dead battery. Life becomes death. But death can become life. The simmering pot with its spicy aroma in front of me is proof.
BOURDAIN: What's in this dish?
ME: Pikmin
BOURDAIN: Pikmin. Oh man that's good.
BOURDAIN: What's in this dish?
ME: Pikmin
BOURDAIN: Pikmin. Oh man that's good.
I’m slow on the post cause I’m at OTAKON but
GO
BIRDS
BABY
GO
BIRDS
BABY
August 1, 2026 at 2:11 AM
I’m slow on the post cause I’m at OTAKON but
GO
BIRDS
BABY
GO
BIRDS
BABY
They’re not done, but I finally sat down and started painting my guys and I’m very proud of these given my extremely shaky hand
July 26, 2026 at 8:16 PM
They’re not done, but I finally sat down and started painting my guys and I’m very proud of these given my extremely shaky hand
Reposted by Sam Smyth #OriolesMagic
That man's never been to Olive Garden in his LIFE
July 21, 2026 at 3:26 PM
That man's never been to Olive Garden in his LIFE