e540 — Saucer Separation Button

e540 — Saucer Separation Button

Author: Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, Andy Piper January 26, 2026 Duration: 35:29
Coffee cup separating from it’s saucer.
Photo by Aneta Pawlik on Unsplash

Published 26 January 2026

e540 with Michael, Andy and Michael – Stories and discussion on mobile controllers, AI playing Anchorhead, Zork & Roller Coaster Tycoon, an isometric NYC, human artistic creativity and a whole lot more.

Michael, Andy and Michael get things clicking with some mobile controllers.  Starting with one of Andy’s latest technology acquisitions, the team enjoys hearing about Andy’s experience with the MCON.  And they especially like the “saucer separation” functionality.  The featured image from Unsplash was selected because there were very few TNG images – if you want to see the saucer separation that inspired this week’s show title, have a look at the YouTube video below.  After discussing the Anbernic controller, which has some interesting features like a screen and heart rate monitoring, the team moves forward with AI.

Claude features in a couple of the stories – first with an article from Fernando Borretti who details how he hooked Claude into the text based adventure Anchorhead.  The co-hosts have been intrigued by this kind of thing for years, and were reminded of the recent open sourcing of Zork.  Ramp Labs also used Claude with Roller Coaster Tycoon, which struck the team as a great way to run optimization routines across a multitude of data points that make us the game.  Next up was a story about using AI to create a SimCity-style rendition of New York City (New York City!) with astounding detail.  There were a couple of jumping off points of note from this story – Nvidia’s Omniverse digital twin, traffic optimization routines and another being the language in SimCity called Simlish – and a translator is included below for the listeners to enjoy.

After all the news on AI – it is refreshing though unsurprising that Hermès selected human creativity, complete with the imperfections that make the artwork more real.  Wrapping up the episode, the team closes with Netflix’s foray into social engagement.

What game would you like to have AI set up to play?  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

Hardware: Mobile Controllers

Kickstarter: MCON: The Switchblade of Mobile Controllers by Ohsnap

The Verge article: Anbernic’s next wireless controller adds a screen and heart rate monitoring

AI

boretti.me blog post: Letting Claude Play Text Adventures

Wikipedia article: Anchorhead

Games at Work e534: Hiding in Plain Sight (for Microsoft’s open sourcing of Zork)

Ramp Labs blog post: We Put Claude Code in Rollercoaster Tycoon

atari.com Roller Coaster Tycoon

cannoneyed.com Isometric NYC (click the ℹ️ in the upper right for description)

PC Gamer article: Software engineer creates classic SimCity-style map of NYC—and argues that AI will be good for creatives, actually

Nvidia’s Omniverse

Games at Work e316: Omni Metaverse (for Nvidia’s Omniverse)

The Sims Wiki: Simlish

lingojam.com English to Simlish translator

Inc article: Hermès Just Made a Bold Statement in the Age of AI

acquired.fm Season 12, Episode 2: LVMH

Art

This is Colossal post: Pam Connolly Weaves Family Snapshots on Vintage Potholder Looms

Everything is Social

TechCrunch article: Netflix to redesign its app as it competes with social platforms for daily engagement


The weekly conversation hosted by Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, and Andy Piper, Games At Work dot Biz, explores the intersection where our digital play and professional lives collide. This isn't just a review show; it's a deep dive into the technology that powers our hobbies, the business behind the leisure, and the cultural news shaping both worlds. Each episode feels like pulling up a chair with three friends who are as passionate about the craft of game development and the evolution of hardware as they are about the pure joy of finding a great new title. You'll hear specific discussions on everything from the latest graphics card impacting performance to the narrative design of an indie darling, all filtered through the lens of professionals who live in the tech space. The Games At Work dot Biz podcast operates on the belief that the games we play and the tools we use are inextricably linked, offering listeners a consistently thoughtful and engaging analysis that goes far beyond a simple score. Tune in for a regular dose of insightful commentary where the serious business of technology meets the serious fun of games.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Games At Work dot Biz
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