Rosebush article: I have recently published an article in The Rosebush about Drew Cookʻs 2025 Spring Thing Back Garden game Portrait with Wolf, a game that is part parser; part poem, while at the same time being neither parser nor poem. The article tries to unpack what PwW is doing and why it’s effective by applying poet Charles Olson’s principles of field composition to parser elements such as the room description, command prompt, and epitaph. The article briefly considers Andrew Plotkin’s The Space Under the Window by way of comparison, and also references Jordan Magnuson’s Game Poems framework. It ends by proposing some other possibilities for parser poetry.
Newish game: These Very Stars is “a political fantasia” created for ShuffleComp 2025, which ran from December 20, 2025, to January 30, 2026. It is about 5,500 words, and takes about 15-30 minutes to play. It is inspired by the song 55 Days at Peking Chinese Boxer Version 北京55日中文義和團版 by Dimitri Tiomkin and The Victorian Chinese, submitted to ShuffleComp anonymously. This song is a 2022 remix of a song from 55 Days at Peking, a 1963 Hollywood film about the Boxer Rebellion starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner that features actors in yellowface. The version of the song by youtuber The Victorian Chinese (who is possibly an American) is written from the Boxers’ perspective and features lyrics like “the devils all have blue eyes” and “we shall surely eliminate all foreigners.” This version has gone viral in China, and is often posted as a meme for what Chinese students must secretly be thinking when they perform poorly on compulsory English exams.
This was my first time making a game for ShuffleComp and I had a blast! My favorite submissions from this comp were Out by crotovane for its compelling, well-paced story and gorgeous visuals, and Hardcoded by Galvan for its original take on a story about AI.
Game Poems: Finally, I am happy to have been a volunteer first reader for Game Poems issue #1: First Moves. Game Poems is a playable magazine dedicated to exploring the artistic and poetic potential of short-form videogames. Keep an eye out for issue #2: Videogames Inside.
La Vie en Meow 