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Ian Malcolm

@imalcolm@mastodon.social

mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06

Melbourne-based writer, editor and proofreader for books, publications and web.

Worked in game dev as a designer from Star Wars and Nightshade on NES through to Need For Speed: Shift on iOS, with approx. 30+ titles in between.

Bass, uke, harmonica and low whistle player.

Unrepentant folkie.

#reading #writing #books #fantasy #scifi #videogames #boardgames #ttrpg #music #movies #photography

434 Followers

273 Following

50 Posts

Joined January 10, 2023

Moby Games:

https://www.mobygames.com/person/2760/ian-malcolm/

IMDb:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1823772/

Bluesky:

@ianmalcolm.bsky.social

Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@phocks@bne.social A board game originally created as an educational tool to illustrate that monopolies are bad for people and society (called 'The Landlord's Game'), with two sets of rules - an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded when wealth was created, and a monopolist one with the goal was to create monopolies and crush all opponents. Guess which one Parker Brothers went with, when they commercialised it...

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@nixCraft@mastodon.social Reminds me of this. 😉

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@golgaloth@writing.exchange Good advice! Never had Spotify to delete, but just bought an album for #BandcampFriday about an hour ago, and now occasionally staring at my extensive wishlist to decide which other one my discretionary music budget can stretch to for this month... 🤔

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@benroyce@mastodon.social Like watching a flock of birds, or a school of fish, breaking apart and reforming in different patterns. 😎

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@isol@mastodon.au And yet it's the younger generations that are the most vocal and widespread in rejecting it, so I don't think this is necessarily true or inevitable. Human creativity isn't going away, no matter how much the slop merchants might insist that it is. @thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@jake4480@c.im Would be hard for them to be any worse. 🤮 (I say that as someone who worked for a studio that did five or six games for them, and who quit just before said studio subsequently got bought by them in 2010. Bullet dodged.)

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.place Previously finished the original on Mac and iPad, think I’ll pick up the discounted Switch version today, for a refresher replay sometime between now and 2028. 😉

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@cgsines@mastodon.world From the article: “A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included ⁠in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools.” The only human error is trusting slop machine output to be correct. Yet another massive fail for #GenAI. If LLMs can make mistakes this obvious, imagine all the small but possibly important ones that slip by unnoticed til it’s too late. @mothninja@beige.party

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

#MayThe4th is here once more, so here's a little #StarWars videogame history for the few possibly interested - an interview I did with Jack Yarwood at @timeextension.com back in 2023, about developing #NES Star Wars for Lucasfilm.

#MayThe4thBeWithYou

https://www.timeextension.com/features/flashback-how-an-australian-developer-helped-lucasfilm-make-its-first-star-wars-game

mastodon.social

Mastodon

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@cgsines@mastodon.world No worries, and apologies again for missing your intent. My posts will prob disappear in the next couple of months anyway - I have auto-delete set for various things and this will likely get caught in the next sweep.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@cgsines@mastodon.world Ah, understood! I missed the sarcasm in the text. 👍 (Happy to delete my comment if you like - let me know.)

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@emmadavidson@aus.social Sadly I've missed a lot of great gigs esp. over the last few years, just cos I was unaware they were happening. Too many bands/artists/venues seem to only promote via FB, which I don't do. Sigh. 🤷‍♂️

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@firstdogonthemoon@aus.social It may not really work as revenge, but having fun is definitely a better way to pass the time than constant hand-wringing, catastrophising and misery over things I'm powerless to change. I mean, I still do the other things, hard not to, but I'm at least alternating it a bit. 🤷‍♂️

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@Phangurl@vmst.io Sorry to hear you;'ve been having a hard time, DI. Here's some of mine: The Princess Bride Monty Python and the Holy Grail Local Hero My Neighbor Totoro The Big Lebowski Best In Show What's Up, Doc? The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! Hope you're feeling better soon.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@mvsde I really needed to read this tonight. 😎 👍

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@huwr@aus.social I have a room full of hugely impractically shaped/configured Macs which is testament to this truth. 😉 @NanoRaptor@bitbang.social

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@mtechman@mastodon.ie Another fan of Kanopy here. So good. 😎 @kamellatate@mastodon.social @drakakis@thecanadian.social

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@tallandtrue@aus.social Same result, but without thinking I'd get it in two. 😉 Wordle 1,836 3/6* ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@tallandtrue@aus.social Yeah I was at desperation point after my turn 4 - I normally don't look up words but was trying to find anything that fitted the pattern off what I already had, and letters eliminated. I literally could not think of anything else and typed the "word" in anyway in frustration, saying “Surely not…” 🤷‍♂️

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@tallandtrue@aus.social Yeah, I sent my result to a mate - we both got it in 5 but also thought it was kinda bullshit. 🤨

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@Phangurl@vmst.io I just love that film SO much, and it's one that always springs to mind when people talk about under-appreciated movies. The crazy thing is it actually did pretty well (grossed $123 million against a $55 million budget) but while the sequel was being prepped Sony pulled the plug because apparently that wasn't _enough_ profit... Shame, as there were four more books after the one the film was based on. But at least we have that, and it is an utter joy! 🥰

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@cstross Good move, but can imagine it was quite the pain... Having to use Chrome on my employer's Win machine has inoculated me experientially, so that my Macs at home have never had Chrome installed on them. (Safari for my main, and Firefox as a backup, plus it has a few privacy-related extensions I find handy that Safari doesn't, though I'm thinking of trying out Waterfox sometime as well.)

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@troberts Got to admire that level of commitment. 🏆

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@phocks@bne.social Ironically the impact at my place is it's taught my teen kids (and their friends) to learn various methods to avoid surveillance rather than accept it. Kind of proud of them, to be honest.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@tallandtrue@aus.social Oh shit! Sorry to hear it, Robert, but glad it's something relatively easily treatable - phew!

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@tallandtrue@aus.social You're too kind! 🙏

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@tallandtrue@aus.social Wordle 1,823 3/6* ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 (Don't hate me…) 😉

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@flargh@mastodon.social Yep, also the more folk use it, the more the vast majority realise the claims made for it are largely bullshit. Suspect economics will also, if not kill it off, at least stop the flood of "put it in everything, you MUST use it" bollocks. When vendors try to charge what it actually costs, instead of the heavily subsidised, "all you can prompt" smorgasbord it has been, most people stop using it at all. A lot of orgs pushing us to use it will stop as true costs kick in.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@Mafalda@toot.wales Oh interesting, re: Bay Area "dress code". Hard to do season dressing when climate change seems to be making it all so chaotic. People like to joke over here that Melbourne has four seasons in one day, but its starting to feel like that is happening a lot of places now...

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@pseudonym@mastodon.online bloodninja has entered the chat. (Serious nostalgia! 😂) @Beasley@troet.cafe @cmconseils@mastodon.social

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@mtechman@mastodon.ie Ooh, thanks for the tip - had not heard of that one but just had a quick read and it looks excellent. Watchlisted! @tehstu@hachyderm.io

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@golgaloth@writing.exchange Turns out my spirit animal is actually a plant.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@xot@mastodon.gamedev.place Absolutely brilliant doco. Have seen it twice so far (digi version late last year, then again when the BluRay arrived a couple of months ago) and it is so damn llovely, I may watch it again this week. Can not recommend it highly enough, now that it's available to all. 🦙 #Llamasoft #HeartofNeon

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@NanoRaptor@bitbang.social The “unthinking fuckwit who doesn’t stop to check” factor is way too high. 😬

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@Phangurl@vmst.io Yes, the books are very silly, but fun and a fast read (as they're not terribly long). (The book is a bit different, instead of Queen Victoria the main villain is the Bishop of Oxford, but otherwise is similar, with Charles Darwin, the dodo, etc.) And yes, loved Aardman since first seeing 'A Grand Day Out' on VHS!

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@RnDanger@infosec.exchange Aha! Thanks for that - got to love the acquisition of random knowledge. 👍 @swisslet@mas.to

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@ELS@sfba.social

Getting rid of so-called AI on duckduckgo is easy - they provide user options that only need to be set once.

From the DDG home page (or after any search) click the 'hamburger" (three horizontal lines at top-right of screen) then:

Select "Settings".
Select "AI Features".
Set "Duck.ai" to "Off". (Disables chatbot features.)
Set "Search Assist" to "Never". (No more AI summaries.)
Set "Hide AI-Generated Images" to "On".
Select "Save and exit".

@theplaguedoc@glitterkitten.co.uk

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@DJDarren@mendeddrum.org This is why, despite my gaming these days being about 70% Switch (1&2) and 30% Mac, I never post about the Mac stuff on Reddit. Frame rate bores are the fucking worst. Too busy obsessing over numbers and wanking on about it to actually have fun.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@swisslet@mas.to Classic fudge-era Batman... 😉 Though to be fair, I can detect no sunspot activity on those delicious fudge bars.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@swisslet@mas.to

Damn, missed experiencing this unknown pleasure by a decade. (Actually my parents would have just said "No!" if I badgered them about getting some.)

What really weirds me out is the presence of the word "quiescently" in the sentence at lower-left, and trying to decide which definition might fit:

quiescent adjective

Quiet, still, or inactive.
Characterised by an absence of upheaval or discord.
Having little or no sunspot activity.

🤔

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

RE: https://mastodon.social/@tonylongworth/117050334484499312 Aha! I've enjoyed streaming quite a few tracks as they were released individually but was waiting til this album was complete before the lot, so #BandcampFriday is the perfect time. Tony is a sonic wizard, scoring the soundtrack for the #HeartOfNeon documentary amongst many other musical goodies, and is well worth checking out, especially if you like darker alternative and soundtrack-vibes. 😎

mastodon.social

Tony Longworth: "It’s done. PRIMAL SERENITY is finished and stream…" - Mastodon

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@flargh@mastodon.social Yep. Some associates say I'm becoming more lackadaisical about it all as a "coping mechanism" (they're a mix of opposed "perpetual-doomers" and "it's inevitable" cultists) but I genuinely believe inherently enshittified economics and an unreliable/untrustworthy product that ultimately no-one truly needs make it a self-resolving problem eventually. The shit thing is we still have to live (and work) through this period where it's all empty hype and fear and bad decisions...

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

My second #BandcampFriday pickup this month (good thing it runs after midnight, haha) is Bird Hide, a dose of dreamy, trancelike jazz-tronic flute ambience from Jak (aka Jem and Kent), the latter half of which is Mastodon's own @kentparkstreet1@mastodon.online This one is going straight to the "late afternoon to late evening ambience" pile. So damn fine. 😎 https://jakflute.bandcamp.com/album/bird-hide

jakflute.bandcamp.com

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social Baby goats are indeed excellent, but to be fair, gargling raw shit and razorblades at the same time is probably better than SpaceX.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@flargh@mastodon.social Ugh, it's infuriating. I'm currently more in the "being forced to (grudgingly, sparingly) use it by those who don't really understand it or its limitations" boat, but I can easily imagine your situation... 😬

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@joannaholman@aus.social Aww, cute lil booger.

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@markarayner@mas.to Broken arm incoming, in 3... 2...

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@Mafalda@toot.wales Gorgeous colours! 😍

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@Mafalda@toot.wales Very non-typical mid-May/late autumn weather here. The pattern now is icy cold, foggy and 6-9° C in the morning, then somehow it gets up to 21-22° C and sunny by midday... So I'm starting each day in four layers (thermals, t-shirt, fleece, puffer jacket) just to walk the dog, and by early afternoon I'm down to just a t-shirt. Even now it's almost 8pm and I'm still in t-shirt, as it's currently still 17° C. Winter is supposed to be in two weeks. Really not normal. 🤷‍♂️

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Ian Malcolm @imalcolm@mastodon.social

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@kentparkstreet1@mastodon.online That's a lovely piece, Kent. Just added the Bird Hide album to my wishlist to pick up next #BandcampFriday. 😎

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