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<p>Published 29 September 2025</p>
<p>e530 with Michael and Michael &#8211; an AI extravaganza with vibe coding, AI gaming chums, rating LLMs via Infocom games, robots for construction, self assembling space habitats and a whole lot more.</p>
<p>Michael and Michael get things moving this episode with an AI extravaganza while Andy is away.&nbsp; The co hosts start things off with a vibe coding assistant to help you with your QBasic programming needs.&nbsp; Next up, the pair consider a couple of stories dealing with assistants who can help users be more effective in playing games.&nbsp; There is a real Goldilocks zone for the assistant to help the player remain in a state of flow, where the game is neither too easy due to the assistant’s help, nor too frustrating to play.&nbsp; Michael R gives an example of his trying to get to Orc Town to progress in Mines of Moria.&nbsp; Continuing on the theme of AIs playing games, Michael and Michael take a look at TextQuests, where a variety of LLMs take up the challenge of playing Infocom text based games.&nbsp; With all the discussion on AI slop in the news, the article from Computerworld about the mathematical inevitability of hallucinations is particularly timely.</p>
<p>Michael and Michael move from AI to robotics and take a look at the construction bot from Dusty Robotics, which prints out a life size blueprint directly on the floor.&nbsp; Michael M shares a space habitat construction solution from Aurelia that uses magnets to self assemble in orbit.&nbsp; Michael R shares a story about the engineering feat of moving a viking ship without damaging it, which reminded Michael M of the challenge of moving the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.&nbsp; Check out the links below for all the details.</p>
<p>What would your ideal game chum be like?&nbsp; What do you think about the current state of AI chum?&nbsp; Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz@mastodon.social (our home for now) and let us know!&nbsp;</p>
<p>These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot.&nbsp; All rights reserved.&nbsp; That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Selected Links</strong></h2>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>AI</strong></h2>
<p><a href="http://hackaday.io">hackaday.io</a> <a href="https://hackaday.io/project/203972-ai-coding-assistant-for-microsoft-qbasic">AI Coding Assistant for Microsoft QBasic</a></p>
<p>Engadget article: <a href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/google-is-turning-gemini-into-a-gaming-sidekick-with-a-new-android-overlay-130052048.html">Google is turning Gemini into a gaming sidekick with a new Android overlay</a></p>
<p>PC Gamer article: <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/microsofts-new-gaming-copilot-ai-tool-promises-to-be-your-personal-gaming-sidekick-but-it-mostly-seems-to-do-the-work-of-a-google-search-with-the-potential-for-hallucinations/">Microsoft&#8217;s new Gaming Copilot AI tool promises to be &#8216;your personal gaming sidekick&#8217; but it mostly seems to do the work of a Google search, with the potential for ‘hallucinations&#8217;</a></p>
<p>Games at Work <a href="https://gamesatwork.biz/2024/11/04/e488-fight-for-your-right-to-pla-aaay/">e488: Fight. For Your Right. To Pla-aaay!</a> for Jane McGonigal and flow&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Gamer article: <a href="https://www.thegamer.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-return-to-moria-lotr-orc-town-location/">How To Find Orc Town In The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moria</a></p>
<p>404 Media article: <a href="https://www.404media.co/ai-powered-animal-crossing-villagers-begin-organizing-against-tom-nook/">AI-Powered Animal Crossing Villagers Begin Organizing Against Tom Nook</a></p>
<p><a href="http://TextQuests.ai">TextQuests.ai</a>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Wikipedia article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infocom">Infocom</a></p>
<blockquote  data-instance="wandering.shop" data-post-id="115243409249133768" class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed">
<p>OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws<a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/4059383/openai-admits-ai-hallucinations-are-mathematically-inevitable-not-just-engineering-flaws.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">computerworld.com/article/4059</span><span class="invisible">383/openai-admits-ai-hallucinations-are-mathematically-inevitable-not-just-engineering-flaws.html</span></a></p>
<p class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed-author">
            &mdash; Charlie Stross (@cstross@wandering.shop)
            <a class="ftf-fediverse-post-embed-link" href="https://wandering.shop/@cstross/115243409249133768">2025-09-21T17:14:32.576Z</a>
        </p>
</blockquote>
<p><script data-allowed-prefixes="https://wandering.shop/" async src=“https://wandering.shop/embed.js"></script></p>
<p>Computerworld article: <a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/4059383/openai-admits-ai-hallucinations-are-mathematically-inevitable-not-just-engineering-flaws.html">OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws</a></p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_34_(novel)">Rule 34</a> by Charles Stross</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando">Accelerando</a> by Charles Stross</p>
<p>Games at Work <a href="https://gamesatwork.biz/2021/02/01/episode-306-weak-ties/">e306: Weak Ties</a> for Accelerando&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://hitchhikers.Fandom.Com">hitchhikers.fandom.com</a>: <a href="https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Infinite_Improbability_Drive">Infinite Improbability Drive</a></p>
<p>Washington Post article: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/09/16/deepseek-ai-security/">AI firm Deepseek writes less secure code for groups China disfavors</a></p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>Robots</strong></h2>
<p><a href="https://www.dustyrobotics.com">Dusty Robotics</a></p>
<p>Aurelia: <a href="https://www.aureliainstitute.org/tesserae">Tesserae: Self-Assembling Prototypes</a></p>
<p><a href="https://magnatiles.com">Magnatiles</a></p>
<p>This is Colossal article: <a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/09/oseberg-viking-ship-museum-of-viking-age-oslo/">A Feat of Engineering Transports the World’s Best-Preserved Viking Ship to Its New Home</a></p>
<p>National Park Service article: <a href="https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/historyculture/movingthelighthouse.htm">Moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse</a></p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>Two More Things</strong></h2>
<p>Six Colors article: <a href="https://sixcolors.com/link/2025/09/apple-announces-a-new-set-of-immersive-film-releases/">Apple Announces a New Set of Immersive Film Releases</a></p>
<p>Random Thoughts post: <a href="https://michaelrowe01.com/index.php/blog/my-airpods-review/">My AirPods Review</a></p>
<div class="wp-block-post-author">
<div class="wp-block-post-author__avatar"><img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/413b204bea2a9cb455940cdcb1580892e0777e4b07485d1ebbdf43db70375711?s=48&#038;d=retro&#038;r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/413b204bea2a9cb455940cdcb1580892e0777e4b07485d1ebbdf43db70375711?s=96&#038;d=retro&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' decoding='async'/></div>
<div class="wp-block-post-author__content">
<p class="wp-block-post-author__byline">Web 11.0 mashup junkie, and co-founder / co-host of the GamesAtWork.biz podcast. My views are my own.</p>
<p class="wp-block-post-author__name">Michael Martine</p>
</div>
</div>


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