Dec
2025
We released Yarn Spinner 3.1
We released Yarn Spinner 3.1 on December 3, 2025, introducing several significant improvements to our dialogue system framework. This update …
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Posts
Dec
2025
20 Years of Digital Life, Gone in an Instant, thanks to Apple
Summary: A major brick-and-mortar store sold an Apple Gift Card that Apple seemingly took offence to, and locked out my entire Apple ID, effectively …
Dec
2025
Space News, December 2025
These are my notes and expanded thoughts from this month’s Space News segment on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania. Every month I join …
Nov
2025
Slop for the People
The Australian Public Service’s (APS) official culture of AI adoption is not found in the glossy press releases of its ministers. But …
Nov
2025
Australia's social media ban… A looming implementation disaster
Australia’s world-first ban on social media for children under 16 takes effect in just over a month on December 10, 2025, yet nobody knows …
Nov
2025
Space News, November 2025
These are my notes and expanded thoughts from this month’s Space News segment on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania. Every month I join …
Oct
2025
The Government Wants Your Selfie to Use Instagram
Australia has a new plan to keep kids safe online. On the surface, it sounds simple, maybe even sensible. The government is banning anyone under …
Oct
2025
Space News, October 2025
These are my notes and expanded thoughts from this month’s Space News segment on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania. Every month I join …
Sep
2025
Space News, September 2025
These are my notes and expanded thoughts from this month’s Space News segment on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania. Every month I join …
Aug
2025
CommBank's AI boyfriend
CBA has been naughty, and too reliant on their AI boyfriend. Here’s what happened: A CBA customer contacted bank requesting contact details for …
Aug
2025
Space News, August 2025
These are my notes and expanded thoughts from this month’s Space News segment on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania. Every month I join …
Jul
2025
We're all adults here
The recent delisting of over 17,000 games from the independent platform Itch.io wasn’t a content moderation decision made by the platform …
Jul
2025
(Gradient) Descent into Mediocrity
While the rest of the world loses its collective mind over artificial intelligence, Tasmania is sitting on an amazing competitive advantage… …
Jul
2025
Space News, July 2025
These are my notes and expanded thoughts from this month’s Space News segment on ABC Radio Hobart and ABC Northern Tasmania. Every month I join …
Jun
2025
/dev/world and X World are back!
CFP open now! I’m thrilled to, once again, be helping run two of my favourite conferences in the world: /dev/world and X World! Both are …
May
2025
Don't use Wise
Wise has stolen more than $60,000 AUD from us, and refuses to let us access it. We’ve had a Wise account for around 5 years (since they were …
Apr
2025
Mass Effect 2 for Yarn Spinner
You’ve been begging for it, and here it is! Announcing an exciting new product from Yarn Spinner… 🪐 Mass Effect 2 Save Importer for Yarn …
Mar
2025
Constraints are the Point
I get it. I disagree with it, but I get it. The tech industry is throwing obscene amounts of money at LLMs. VCs are salivating over AI startups. The …
Mar
2025
Beyond Bad Output
The Deeper Problems with AI in Creative Work “But AI will get better at writing stories, won’t it?” This response to my rant about …
Mar
2025
The Empty Promise of AI-Generated Creativity
“Are you going to add AI writing to Yarn Spinner?” It’s a question I hear almost weekly these days. Whether at game development …
Feb
2025
'Weekly' Links for February 26, 2025
Some new links! Huzzah! “The closer to the train station, the worse the kebab” - A “Study” Blogging in the age of …
Feb
2025
'Weekly' Links for February 14, 2025
So it didn’t end up being weekly. Here’s some links! Duh: Fewer students are enrolling in doctoral degrees Torment nexus is going well: …
Feb
2025
Yarn Spinner at GDC 2025
We’re thrilled to announce that Jon, from the Secret Lab and Yarn Spinner team will be presenting a talk at the GDC this year in San Francisco: …
Feb
2025
SAGE 2025
Today, I got back from the South Australian Game Exhibition 2025 (SAGE). It was an expo and mini-conference with a showcase, and an awards night, run …
Feb
2025
TasICT Creative Technologies Event
Update: This event is now passed, and it went great! I’m incredibly excited to be speaking at the upcoming TasICT event in Hobart, alongside the …
Jan
2025
Tas Game Makers 2025
We just had AGM for Tasmanian Game Makers, Inc. (TasGM), and for the third year in a row I was pleasantly surprised to be elected President. I’m …
Sep
2024
Level Up Tasmania 2024
I’m thrilled to share that we’ll be part of Level Up Tasmania 2024, a fantastic celebration of our local game development industry. This …
Sep
2024
Weekly Links for September 12, 2024
Another set of links I found interesting: So cool: Voyager 1 Team Accomplishes Tricky Thruster Swap Great Barrier Reef already been dealt its death …
Sep
2024
Weekly Links for September 8, 2024
It’s been a busy week! Here are some interesting links: How the Oldest Company in the World Has Survived Nearly 1,500 Years How does banking …
Sep
2024
West Coast Space Show Wrap-up
The West Coast Space Show was a fantastic success! We had a great time presenting our space-themed show and activities for kids and adults alike, all …
Aug
2024
Weekly Links for August 29, 2024
Here are this week’s interesting links: Dishwashers are critical: At the heart of every restaurant Hahahah, oh ho ho ho, hahahaha: …
Aug
2024
Weekly Links for August 15 and August 22, 2024
Here’s the latest links. I was travelling the last two weeks, so I missed a week, and this one is late, but here we are: The staggering death …
Aug
2024
Weekly Links for August 8, 2024
And so it continues! Here’s my interesting links for this week: Airlines Are Running Out Of Flight Numbers, And They Don’t Know What To Do About …
Aug
2024
Yarn Spinner will be at GCAP 2024
We’re so excited to announce that we’ll be presenting at the amazing GCAP conference in Melbourne, Australia, this year! We’ll be …
Aug
2024
Weekly Links for August 1, 2024
With the death of Twitter, and the fracturing of social media, I’m going to try an experiment! To that end, I’m going post some of the …
Jul
2024
West Coast Space Show
I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that, together with my wife Mars, I’ll be heading to the West and North West coasts of Tasmania to …
Jul
2024
NarraScope 2024
Phew, it’s been a week. Last week, I travelled all the way to Rochester, New York, to attend the NarraScope 2024 conference at The Strong …
Apr
2024
Yarn Spinner for Books
You already know that Yarn Spinner is one of the most powerful, flexible and innovative tools for writing interactive stories. Yarn Spinner makes it …
Mar
2024
You can now (also) buy Yarn Spinner
Yarn Spinner is now available for purchase! We’ve been working hard to make it easier for you to get started with Yarn Spinner, and we’re …
Jan
2024
I Feel Fine
We’re thrilled to announce that our next game, I Feel Fine, is coming out this year! I Feel Fine is developed by studio, Secret Lab, written by …
Jun
2022
Practical Simulations for Machine Learning is out now
Another new book! Our latest book, written together with my wife Mars, plus friends Tim and Jon, is out! It covers everything you need to know to do …
Dec
2021
Head First Swift
It’s finally done! My latest book, written together with my Jon, is out! It’s a fantastic, visual beginners guide to Swift programming, …
Sep
2021
Night in the Woods for iOS
We’re thrilled to announce that Night in the Woods, a game we’ve been working on for some time, is now also out for iOS. You can grab it …
Nov
2019
Practical Artificial Intelligence with Swift is out now
Our latest book, written together with my partner Mars, plus friends Tim and Jon, is out! It covers everything you need to know to do practical AI …