Episodi

  • e569 — Vice City or ASCII City

    e569 — Vice City or ASCII City
    Sep 28 2026
    Photo by Logan Voss on Unsplash Published 28 September 2026 e569 with Andy, Michael and Michael explore flight and world simulators, VR glasses that burn temples, sideburns, ice printing, a camera robot, audio optimized venues and a whole lot more! The Game at Work cohosts Andy, Michael and Michael are back together for a whirlwind review of the latest in technology. They start off with a flight simulator, which is not from the perspective of a pilot – rather from the perspective of a passenger. The familiar sights and sounds or jet travel can be yours from the browser-based InFlightSimulator. Then, zooming out a bit, the cohosts consider God’s Eye View, where the user can experience a photorealistic digital twin of the planet. After briefly touching (down) on Geoscape, Andy has an opportunity to share the ASCII City experience. This is not your 1980s ASCII art, rather a very Matrix-esque view of a city, with cars, pedestrians and buildings. Switching gears, the team takes a look at several VR stories, including the new VR glasses from Meta and the Inmo Air3. The Inmo glasses have had a recall for overheating, which opened a etymology discussion on the origin of sideburns. And an article from heise.de details challenges stemming from GDPR requirements. In the last part of the episode, there are several cool stories. One details how it is possible to 3D print ice by removing air. Another is an interactive art exhibit. A third is a kickstarter for flat dice. After looking at Beni, a camera robot designed to follow or race ahead of you to film you, the team wraps up with the new Apple Music Hall venue in London, which looks to be a fantastic place to hear performances. What city would you like to experience in ASCII? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know! These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Selected Links World Simulations In Flight Simulator @gamesatwork_biz If you happen to know any flight simulator enthusiasts/delightful nerds… why not offer them a God-like-vista to keep them busy exploring forever… https://youtu.be/o_FJ1NIH9yw #FrontierMapping#SuckYouInHighU11Y — 𝓛𝔁𝓼 / 𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕩𝕚𝕤 🏵🇪🇺💫 (@lxs@fosstodon.org)2026-09-15T17:44:24.510Z God’s Eye View on GitHub Geoscape ASCII City Grow Now! Games (for ASCII City) ASCII Art Archive AR/VR Glasses IGN article: Meta’s New VR Glasses to Entice Casual Viewers With 3D and Full-Frame IMAX The Verge article: These smart glasses have been recalled for overheating temples causing burns Wikipedia article: Ambrose Burnside (for the etymology of “sideburns”) heise.de article: GDPR trap Smart Glasses: Why Ray-Ban Meta wearers can be held liable Ice Ice Printing Fabbaloo article: A 3D Printer That Makes Ice By Removing Air PNAS article: Three-dimensional printing of ice structures via evaporative cooling in vacuum More Cool Stuff Ink and Switch Ink and Switch Ambsheets Kickstarter: HEXFORME DICE: Ultra-Thin Modular Magnetic Spinner Dice Mondo Robotics Games at Work e171: Jelly Jelly Bo Belly (for the selfie taking wrist drone) Apple Newsroom: Apple opens Apple Music Hall, a brand‑new state‑of‑the‑art live music venue in London Berliner Philharmoniker
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    27 min
  • e565 — Building Minas Tirith

    e565 — Building Minas Tirith
    Aug 17 2026
    Photo by iridial on Unsplash Published 17 August 2026 e565 with Andy, Michael and Michael – invisible prompt injections in legal briefs and resumes, podcasting games, No Man’s Sky & Pokemon Go’s anniversaries, LEGO and a whole lot more! Andy, Michael and Michael begin with invisible prompt injections. The first example is in legal briefs with the intent to influence AI agents reading the filings. Another example attempts to influence agents evaluating resumes. Continuing on the theme, the co hosts consider a story about machine-readable watermarks in text and images in accordance with the EU’s AI Act. Next up is an intriguing podcast game from friend of the show, Ian Hughes. In this game, the player collects stories that appeal to the co hosts of the podcast in order to put together a show. Bravo, Ian! Andy shares his Twine take on the Games at Work choose your own adventure game including inventory and time constraints. Andy’s game even allows you to create a choose your own adventure Twine game in the game! Then, the team celebrates several 10 year milestones – for No Man’s Sky and for Pokemon Go. Next – it’s time for LEGO! A new Nike + LEGO AF1 creation replete with a Spaceman minifig sporting Nike logos on his space boots makes its appearance. LEGO also announces the “Masters Academy” at the LEGO house, where you can learn to become more creative with your builds. This inspires Michael M on how LEGO can spur creativity in other settings, following on LEGO’s Serious Play offerings. Michael R found the Minas Tirith build with all 8,278 pieces while the builder was watching the entire extended edition of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. The builder was wearing an Oura ring to track their stress level and included in the article are screenshots from the ring’s app. Check them out from the link below. Closing out the episode, the team takes a look at Prima, a retinal implant for macular degeneration. Amazing times we live in. What features would you like to see in the Podcasting games? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know! These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Selected Links AI 404 Media article: Person Hides Prompt Injection in Legal Filing Telling AI to Side With Them Fast Company article: ‘Fighting fire with fire’: Job candidates are sneaking AI prompt injections into their applications The Verge article: Claude will apply invisible watermarks to AI text and images Made by Human European Commission article: EU Icons for labelling AI-generated content Podcast and other Games LinkQuest: A Tech Podcast Adventure from Ian Hughes Games at Work Podcast Game from Andy Games at Work e35: Pirates of Pizzazz (for the Games at Work choose your own adventure game) Games at Work Podcast Game from Michael M Games Radar article: No Man’s Sky Cosmos is the next big update as Hello Games refuses to slow down after 10 years Kotaku article: No Man’s Sky Players Have Visited Less Than 1 Percent Of Its Planets After A Decade Of Exploration And 40 Major Updates Damp Squib / Damp Squid references IMDb: Remarkably Bright Creatures Pokemon Go news: Every Trainer can celebrate 10 years of Pokémon GO with a special Mewtwo! LEGO IGN article: LEGO Reveals Nike Air Force 1 Set With a New Version of the Classic Spaceman Minifigure Stuff article: I became a better builder at Lego House’s epic Masters Academy sessions – and you can too! Games at Work e130: The Final Countdown (for LEGO Serious Play) Stuff article: I tracked my stress while making an 8000 piece Lego set, and the results are surprising Tech New Scientist article: Eye implant that restores vision lost to age approved for use Prima
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    30 min
  • e566 — Making Fetch Happen

    e566 — Making Fetch Happen
    Aug 31 2026
    Picture by Michael Martine, Dennis, MA, August 2026 Published 31 August 2026 e566 with Michael M and Andy who strive to make fetch happen with AI podcast search and news aggregation, spoof computers (Mactini & MacBook Wheel), Doom ports & mods, Flying Toasters, falling Acme anvils and a whole lot more! Michael M and Andy get together while Michael R is away, starting and ending the episode with some classic lines from stage and screen. Michael M is freshly back from seeing the Cape Playhouse’s rendition of Mean Girls, which was such a delight. Turning then to AI – the cohosts start off with a story about making podcasts searchable and usable by AI agents. This reminds Andy of Particle, an app that both he and Michael use occasionally to review the news. Next, they both use the Cringebot 3000 to make up some LinkedIn posts. Then, a series of hacks – beginning with a super fun one, the Apple Mactini, not to be confused with Dr. Dorian from Scrubs favorite drink – the appletini. The Mactini is not a watered down cocktail, rather it is a one button computer that Tucker Osman made based on the spoof of an Apple TV commercial from 20 years ago, and that remained true to the spoof in it’s function. The Onion made a spoof of a click wheel (from the iPod) Mac in 2009 – and you can see that video in in the notes below. After checking out a number of LEGO gaming PCs, Andy shares the story of the eenk firmware for Xteink devices to create the choose your own adventure games we’ve been sharing on the podcast recently. Longtime listeners will know that the Games at Work team collects Doom stories, and for this episode, there are a couple of new examples. There’s a story about Doom running on the EMFCamp Tildagon Badge, a mod called Mr. Friendly whose objective is to help the monsters recover from the latest space marine rampage, and an article about Anthropic’s Claude playing the game. Closing out the show, Andy and Michael take a look at a port of the After Dark screen savers which you can now experience again thanks to Afterglow. They also look at a review of the Coyote vs Acme film that is premiering, and the linkage to Looney Tunes, and Ben Moor’s talk entitled “Pronoun Trouble”. And, as mentioned at the start of the show notes, the ending for the episode ties everything up with an Elmer Fudd bow where we is hunting Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and Daffy of course utters the classic line in his classic voice, “You’re despicable.” What is your favorite Acme product? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know! These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Selected Links Mean Girls @ The Cape Playhouse Mean Girls 2026 AI TechCrunch article: Radar makes podcasts searchable — and usable by AI agents Particle.news LinkedIn CringeBot 3000 Hacks hackster.io article: The Apple Mactini Just Became a Real Computer Games at Work e529: Shake, Shake, Shake Your iPhone (for the Onion MacBook Wheel) Brick Fanatics article: New LEGO gaming PCs revealed, and you can make them at home eenk custom firmware for the Xteink ESP32 series of e-ink reader devices Doom Mr. Friendly Hackaday article: Claude Plays Doom Miscellany Afterglow for After Dark Flying Toasters Games at Work e382: Know it when I see it (for the creepy AI generated flying toaster) IGN article: Coyote vs. Acme Review Ben Moor post: Pronoun Trouble Rabbit Fire (1951) on r/looneytunes (for the Rabbit Season, Duck Season bit, which is such a classic)
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    23 min
  • e567 — Infinite Pong World Model

    e567 — Infinite Pong World Model
    Sep 7 2026

    e567 with Michael M and Andy - Stories and discussion on Xteink reader mods, PONG, mathematical innovations for dice, walled garden vs open vibe coding, World Models, AI productivity and a whole lot more!
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    12 min
  • e568 — LEGO ThunderCats Ho!

    e568 — LEGO ThunderCats Ho!
    Sep 14 2026
    photo by Gabriel Lopez (augmented with a grey and a black cat by Michael M): https://www.pexels.com/photo/spectacular-lightning-storm-over-a-river-at-night-37895958/ Published 14 September 2026 e568 Michael and Michael discuss AI Vision invisibility techniques, set flavors to stun with Le Creuset’s Star Trek inspired cookware, enjoy LEGO Ideas projects, review Audio Intelligence features and a whole lot more! Michael and Michael get together while Andy is away and kick things off with a story about making cars invisible to AI. This discussion reminds Michael R of other examples such as clothing or glasses that aid in obscuring visual algorithms. Michael M is reminded of a story the Games at Work team covered about Duke University’s work on an “invisibility cloak”. The next dish on the menu deals with a fun mashup between cookware maker Le Creuset and Star Trek. A wonderful article from Wired chock full of puns boldly goes where the cohosts did not dare. I’m a chef, not an away team member, Jim! How they missed a saucer separation is really beyond us. In the attached show notes, you can delve into the differences between a Trekker and a Trekkie – but consider yourself warned. Then, a couple of pieces about LEGO, specifically the LEGO Ideas that have reached 10,000 community votes, and are up for consideration to be made available for purchase. Michael M highlights his favorites from the recent batch of contenders, focusing on Lion-O and his ThunderCats team. The 1950s diner with it’s lighting kit for all the neon decor is also fantastic. This was the week for new announcements from Cupertino – and the cohosts picked up on two interesting pieces. First, a set of cases for the new iPhone Duo that hearken back to the color language of the iBook. And second, a take on the privacy for the Audio Intelligence features for the new Apple Watches. The team wraps things up with the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and a sidescroller game celebrating the 900th anniversary since the last time the Bayeux tapestry was in England. Who is your favorite ThunderCat? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know! These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Selected Links Hiding in Plain Sight Bitdefender article: An “invisible” car? Researcher uses machine learning to hide vehicles from Flock cameras Games at Work e541: Invisible Llamas (for stories on invisibility) Games at Work e396: GAN vs GAN (for details on the Duke invisibility cloak, Daniel Suarez Kill Decision) Le Creuset x Star Trek Wired article: To Boldly Dough! Le Creuset Sent Its New Star Trek Cooking Collection Into Space Le Creuset x Star Trek The Trek BBS thread: The difference between Trekkie and Trekker? (Remember, you’ve been warned) LEGO Ideas ThunderCats IMDb ThunderCats TV Series 1985-1989 Emergency Kit 1950s American Drive-In Diner LeLightGo LEGO Light Kits Not An Apple Podcast MacWorld article: The perfect iPhone Duo case doesn’t exis (sic)… iBook Clamshell: iBook Colors MacRumors article: Apple Explains What Happens to Conversations Siri Recap Hears Apple article: About Audio Intelligence features on Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 Anniversaries and Games https://bayeuxgo.live The British Museum: The Bayeux Tapestry NPR article: After 900 years, the Bayeux Tapestry returns to England and goes on display in London
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    32 min
  • e564 — Saving Drowning People With Spiders

    e564 — Saving Drowning People With Spiders
    Aug 10 2026
    Photo by Zac Taheriyan on Unsplash Published 10 August 2026 e564 with Michael, Andy and Michael – a spider filled episode with AdTech and lifesaving robotic implications, VR Mario Kart, quantum lawn mowing, identity management and a whole lot more! Michael, Andy and Michael begin the episode with Spider-Man showing up in an unexpected place – a BMW infotainment system! The negative reactions from the articles and cohosts were not surprising. The team have discussed ads you don’t want showing up where you don’t want them – like on automotive windshields, in AR, and more – see e481 from 2024 in the links below for more on this. The team shifts to a more enjoyable driving experience, where Andy describes what he did to enable a VR version of Mario Kart. Next up – a reflection on 30 years of Quake with an anniversary release. Then, appealing to the team’s sensibilities on mowing lawns and penchant for NP quantum problems, a lawn mowing optimization game from Pudding. Switching from software to hardware, the cohosts take a look at a surprising smaller than expected device called the Octopus 16 which measures EEG brain signals to allow the user to control a computer. See the show notes below for the original box for the Emotiv headset from the July 2015 kickstarter. Then, the titular post for this show, a new robot based on nature for rescuing people who are drowning. The inspiration for this robot was a fishing spider who walks on water to capture its prey. Your show notes thankfully do not include pictures of such spiders, though if you click through to the Arxiv paper, there is a picture, so consider yourself warned. While not discussed in this episode, Dr. Kate Darling’s book The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots explores social and ethical themes on robotics that fit nicely into this theme. Michael M had a chance to hear her speak at Duke earlier this year and an article about that talk is included in the notes below. Rounding out the show, the team wraps up with an identity service from Meta called Facebook Verified. This free service is intended to help identify when a person is a human and distinguish from AI agents. The cohosts shared thoughts about this topic and the service before the recording time was exhausted. Aside from spiders, what other robotic form factors based on the animal and insect kingdom would you want to see? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know! These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Selected Links Friendly, Neighborhood (Automotive) AdTech Consumer Rights Wiki post: BMW Spider-Man in-car advertising Techspot article: BMW is putting Spider-Man ads on your dashboard, after promising it never would Games at Work e481 — Services You Don’t Need (for ads you don’t want and hyper-reality) Driving, Quaking & Mowing Simulations Retrododo article: Mario Kart VR Puts You In the Driving Seat Through Classic N64 Courses Bethesda article: Quake – 30th Anniversary Update Kottke post: Are You Good at Mowing Lawns? Pudding post: Why some people mow a lawn better than others Arxiv paper: Solving The Travelling Salesman Problem Using A Single Qubit CNX-Software post: Play games with your brain signals using Octopus 16 wireless EEG device Games at Work post from July 2015 – Getting All Emotiv(tional) (for the Emotiv headset) Spiders & More Multi-Legged Things hackster.io article: A Spider-Inspired Robot Built to Save Drowning Victims Arxiv paper: Design and Control of the “QuadBoat”: A Quadruped Surface Vehicle for Drowning Rescue (warning – spider photo in this paper!) No link to fishing spiders. You’re welcome. Duke Sanford School of Public Policy article: Wilson Lecture: Kate Darling brings joy, humor, and urgency to a conversation about humans and robots Identity Management (or not) The New World article: 2026 – the year fakes finally broke social media Meta post: Introducing Facebook Verified
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    32 min
  • e563 — Space Nerds in Space

    e563 — Space Nerds in Space
    Aug 3 2026
    Photo by Michael Martine, Chapel Hill, NC Aug 2026

    Published 3 August 2026

    e563 with Michael, Michael and Andy – Games at Work Game, and a cornucopia of other games: Haex, Pathbind Quest, a physical cockpit for Halcyon Dawn, Chris Pirillo’s UFO game from his Arcade and a whole lot more!

    Michael, Michael and Andy start off this episode with a discussion about what a Games at Work game might look like. In addition to the idea that there could be three avatars scanning the internet for stories, Michael M reminds the team of a “choose your own adventure” Games at Work game coded back in e35 Pirates of Pizzazz in 2013. You can still play that game from the link in the show notes!

    Then, the team turns to a cornucopia of games. First up is Haex, an immersive world builder game. Other games discussed include Baldur’s Gate 3, which has a 3rd person over the shoulder mod that had Michael R intrigued. In Crowd Supply, there is a small piece of hardware that has a virtual world encoded in it called Pathbind Quest. After checking out an extensively built physical spaceship cockpit to go along with Halcyon Dawn, the co hosts wind up on Chris Pirillo’s Vibe Arcade and play the UFO Game.

    Do you have a favorite from Chris’ Arcade? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know!

    These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

    Selected Links Hypothetical and real Games at Work Games

    Games at Work e35: Pirates of Pizzazz (for the Games at Work choose your own adventure game)

    Games at Work Podcast Game

    ChooseYourStory.com

    Adafruit article: How To Homebrew Game Boy Games

    Games

    The Guardian article: Haex – a wilder, weirder open-world adventure

    Screenrant article: Baldur’s Gate 3 Over-The-Shoulder Camera Mode Adds New Level Of Immersion

    Nexus Mods: True Third-Person Camera (for Baldur’s Gate 3)

    Crowd Supply post: Pathbind Quest

    Hackaday article: Behold the Most Beautifully Ambitious Starship Simulator Yet

    Chris Pirillo’s UFO game

    Chris Pirillo’s Vibe Arcade
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    27 min
  • e561 — For the Birds

    e561 — For the Birds
    Jul 13 2026
    Photo by Michael Martine, South Yarmouth MA, July 2026 Published 13 July 2026 e561 with Michael, Andy and Michael – arial-aquatic robotic locomotion, Puffin wingspan, e-ink mini PDAs, maker marketplaces such as Tindie, Lectronz and SmallRun, custom vinyl, cooperative LLMs and a whole lot more! Michael, Andy and Michael get things started with a new robot that can fly and swim, and transition between the air and water on it’s own. This amazing feat was inspired by diving birds such as the puffin. This story inspired the cohosts to consider the wingspan of the puffin, and while writing up the show notes, the Wingspan boarding game and the airborne velocity of the swallow. Switching to non-robotic tech, the team take a look at the PocketMage PDA, which then opens up a whole discussion on (dare we say vintage) other PDAs, and the maker culture of EMF Camp, where Andy is spending some time as discussed in e560. Crowdsupply’s Open Printer article primed the team for a number of favorite maker marketplaces which you can check out in the show notes below. Examples like Tindie, Lectronz and SmallRun all get the benefit of the Games at Work bump. And a google search turns up another SmallRun website that provides the service of creating custom vinyl for recordings, and inspires Andy on a potential gift. The team then looks at a couple of YouTube videos where a number of different LLMs are tasked to work collaboratively to play Pico Park. You can see these below, and it is an intriguing way to consider how multiple autonomous agents may work together (or not) in other contexts. In e173 in 2017, the cohosts discussed an example of two Google Homes talked to one another on Twitch. Rounding out the episode, there is an Inc article on what happened when the Starbucks app had a failure. The behavior was very reminiscent of last week’s discussion on Ian Bogost’s new book, The Small Stuff. The article concludes “Connivence creates its own fragility” – what an interesting turn of phrase. Have you had an example of when convenience created fragility for you? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know! These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. All rights reserved. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Selected Links Avian Robotic Technology NPR article: A new kind of robot swims the seas and soars the skies Science article: Leaping out of the water: Aerial-aquatic locomotion with flapping wings Audubon Bird Guide: Atlantic Puffin (for the wingspan in case you’re curious) Stonemaier Games Wingspan Interesting Engineering article: Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow More Technology The Verge article: The PocketMage resurrects the PDA with an e-paper screen EMF Camp Sellshirts: HTTPShirts Wikipedia article: T-Mobile Sidekick Wikipedia article: Danger, Inc. Crowdsupply article: Open Printer – Progress Update & Details About Our Nomination for a French Design Award! Society for Hopeful Technologists Tindie Lectronz SmallRun smallrun.com.au Games experienced with AI (shhhhhh…) Pico Park for Switch Games at Work e173: Babel Fish (for two Google Homes talking to one another #seebotschat) When tech goes wrong Inc article: Starbucks’s App Went Down This Morning. What Customers Did Next Is a Warning for Every Business
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    35 min