[Mastodon](https://cyberplace.social/@GossiTheDog/115146505796013181).

[Tweet Source](https://farside.link/nitter/PlayOverwatch/status/1961497778263294315).  Context: [Main Reddit Thread](https://farside.link/redlib/r/Overwatch/comments/1n1mxay/it_was_fun_while_it_lasted/).

> In the recently released game [Tiny Bookshop](https://tinybookshopgame.com/) you are invited to “leave everything behind and open a tiny bookshop by the sea”. Tiny Bookshop has been described as an ambient narrative management game, which has a cosy and calming feel. > > From [Zoo Tycoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZErevuwNmmM) to [SimCity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyIRsLoWTgA) and now Tiny Bookshop, computer games have made work feel like play. But the recent explosion of “cosy work simulators” reveals something profound about modern labour and why we’re seeking meaning in the most unexpected places. > > [Critics](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/aug/11/tiny-bookshop-review) and fans have loved [Tiny Bookshop](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2133760/Tiny_Bookshop/), where players spend hours organising shelves, recommending novels and chatting with customers. Meanwhile, [15 million people](https://store.steampowered.com/app/227300/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2/) have bought Euro Truck Simulator 2 to drive virtual trucks on digital motorways. [Stardew Valley](https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/stardew-valley/c3d891z6tnqm) has sold over 20 million copies, letting players escape to virtual farms where they grow turnips and milk cows. > > This isn’t just escapism. It’s something philosophers have been trying to explain for decades. > > Research has shown that video games are as [powerful as morphine](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-plato-can-save-your-life/201608/video-games-stronger-morphine-us-military). Other researchers have commented that gamification of work is [pacifying workers](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296320305415) who should be demanding better conditions. There’s truth here. It’s easier to download Tiny Bookshop than to quit your corporate job and start a real shop. > > The romanticisation of small businesses also ignores that [bookshop owners often earn little](https://www.thebookseller.com/news/the-booksellers-salaries-survey-2025-results-what-you-told-us-you-earn-from-the-book-trade) and have no benefits. You can quit playing a game and return to it when you feel like it. That’s not so easy with real jobs.

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/48384923 > > This study shows that playing an open-world game, such as The The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and nostalgia evoked by Studio Ghibli films significantly foster a sense of exploration and calm in life, as well as a feeling of mastery and skill, and purpose and meaning, hence ultimately contributing positively to one’s overall happiness in life. > > Source: Arigayota A, Duffek B, Hou C, Eisingerich A > **[Effects of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Studio Ghibli Films on Young People’s Sense of Exploration, Calm, Mastery and Skill, Purpose and Meaning, and Overall Happiness in Life: Exploratory Randomized Controlled Study](https://games.jmir.org/2025/1/e76522)** > JMIR Serious Games 2025;13:e76522 > DOI: [10.2196/76522](https://doi.org/10.2196/76522)

> This study shows that playing an open-world game, such as The The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and nostalgia evoked by Studio Ghibli films significantly foster a sense of exploration and calm in life, as well as a feeling of mastery and skill, and purpose and meaning, hence ultimately contributing positively to one’s overall happiness in life. Source: Arigayota A, Duffek B, Hou C, Eisingerich A **[Effects of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Studio Ghibli Films on Young People’s Sense of Exploration, Calm, Mastery and Skill, Purpose and Meaning, and Overall Happiness in Life: Exploratory Randomized Controlled Study](https://games.jmir.org/2025/1/e76522)** JMIR Serious Games 2025;13:e76522 DOI: [10.2196/76522](https://doi.org/10.2196/76522)

Boycott Steam. They were not even willing to fight back with the power of 5% of their annual revenue.

Boycott Steam. They were not even willing to fight back with the power of 5% of their annual revenue.

> **Censorship is quietly deciding which games you can buy.** > > We are fighting back. > > Some games vanish. Not because they broke the law but because someone decided they shouldn’t exist. > > For 48 hours, these games are free, because if a game is legal, you should be free to buy it.

> Future? No Thanks! was meant to be announced weeks ago but the Steam page didn't pass the first review because a screenshot marked as "Suitable for all ages" had suggestive themes. The screenshot? This one [Source](https://bsky.app/profile/molleindustria.org/post/3lv6tjyxfwk2q). > Steam reviewers under pressure from anti-porn bigots:  [Source](https://bsky.app/profile/molleindustria.org/post/3lv6uqv7wtk2q).

> Future? No Thanks! was meant to be announced weeks ago but the Steam page didn't pass the first review because a screenshot marked as "Suitable for all ages" had suggestive themes. The screenshot? This one [Source](https://bsky.app/profile/molleindustria.org/post/3lv6tjyxfwk2q). > Steam reviewers under pressure from anti-porn bigots:  [Source](https://bsky.app/profile/molleindustria.org/post/3lv6uqv7wtk2q).

[Source](https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content).

[Source](https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content).

> - Video game composer Peter Connelly has been jailed after fraudulently obtaining a second Covid Bounce Back Loan for his company > - Connelly, known for his work on Tomb Raider, inflated his company’s turnover during the first few months of the pandemic in 2020 > - Insolvency Service investigations have also resulted in the 52-year-old being banned as a company director for six years

> - Video game composer Peter Connelly has been jailed after fraudulently obtaining a second Covid Bounce Back Loan for his company > - Connelly, known for his work on Tomb Raider, inflated his company’s turnover during the first few months of the pandemic in 2020 > - Insolvency Service investigations have also resulted in the 52-year-old being banned as a company director for six years

   [Source](https://bsky.app/profile/steamdb.info/post/3lu32vdlsmg27).

   [Source](https://bsky.app/profile/steamdb.info/post/3lu32vdlsmg27).