e565 — Building Minas Tirith

e565 — Building Minas Tirith

Author: Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, Andy Piper August 17, 2026 Duration: 30:27
a tree with white bark against a blue sky, reminiscent of the White Tree of Gondor
Photo by iridial on Unsplash

Published 17 August 2026

e565 with Andy, Michael and Michael – invisible prompt injections in legal briefs and resumes, podcasting games, No Man’s Sky & Pokemon Go’s anniversaries, LEGO and a whole lot more!

Andy, Michael and Michael begin with invisible prompt injections.  The first example is in legal briefs with the intent to influence AI agents reading the filings.  Another example attempts to influence agents evaluating resumes.  Continuing on the theme, the co hosts consider a story about machine-readable watermarks in text and images in accordance with the EU’s AI Act.  

Next up is an intriguing podcast game from friend of the show, Ian Hughes.  In this game, the player collects stories that appeal to the co hosts of the podcast in order to put together a show.  Bravo, Ian!  Andy shares his Twine take on the Games at Work choose your own adventure game including inventory and time constraints.  Andy’s game even allows you to create a choose your own adventure Twine game in the game!  Then, the team celebrates several 10 year milestones – for No Man’s Sky and for Pokemon Go.  

Next – it’s time for LEGO!  A new Nike + LEGO AF1 creation replete with a Spaceman minifig sporting Nike logos on his space boots makes its appearance.  LEGO also announces the “Masters Academy” at the LEGO house, where you can learn to become more creative with your builds.  This inspires Michael M on how LEGO can spur creativity in other settings, following on LEGO’s Serious Play offerings.  Michael R found the Minas Tirith build with all 8,278 pieces while the builder was watching the entire extended edition of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.  The builder was wearing an Oura ring to track their stress level and included in the article are screenshots from the ring’s app.  Check them out from the link below.

Closing out the episode, the team takes a look at Prima, a retinal implant for macular degeneration.  Amazing times we live in.

What features would you like to see in the Podcasting games?  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

AI

404 Media article: Person Hides Prompt Injection in Legal Filing Telling AI to Side With Them

Fast Company article: ‘Fighting fire with fire’: Job candidates are sneaking AI prompt injections into their applications

The Verge article: Claude will apply invisible watermarks to AI text and images

Made by Human

European Commission article: EU Icons for labelling AI-generated content

Podcast and other Games

LinkQuest: A Tech Podcast Adventure from Ian Hughes

Games at Work Podcast Game from Andy

Games at Work e35: Pirates of Pizzazz (for the Games at Work choose your own adventure game)

Games at Work Podcast Game from Michael M

Games Radar article: No Man’s Sky Cosmos is the next big update as Hello Games refuses to slow down after 10 years

Kotaku article: No Man’s Sky Players Have Visited Less Than 1 Percent Of Its Planets After A Decade Of Exploration And 40 Major Updates

Damp Squib / Damp Squid references

IMDb: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Pokemon Go news: Every Trainer can celebrate 10 years of Pokémon GO with a special Mewtwo!

LEGO

IGN article: LEGO Reveals Nike Air Force 1 Set With a New Version of the Classic Spaceman Minifigure

Stuff article: I became a better builder at Lego House’s epic Masters Academy sessions – and you can too!

Games at Work e130: The Final Countdown (for LEGO Serious Play)

Stuff article: I tracked my stress while making an 8000 piece Lego set, and the results are surprising

Tech

New Scientist article: Eye implant that restores vision lost to age approved for use

Prima


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
Podcast Episodes
e567 — Infinite Pong World Model [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:29
e567 with Michael M and Andy - Stories and discussion on Xteink reader mods, PONG, mathematical innovations for dice, walled garden vs open vibe coding, World Models, AI productivity and a whole lot more!
e566 — Making Fetch Happen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:46
Picture by Michael Martine, Dennis, MA, August 2026 Published 31 August 2026 e566 with Michael M and Andy who strive to make fetch happen with AI podcast search and news aggregation, spoof computers (Mactini & MacBook Wh…
e564 — Saving Drowning People With Spiders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:03
Photo by Zac Taheriyan on Unsplash Published 10 August 2026 e564 with Michael, Andy and Michael – a spider filled episode with AdTech and lifesaving robotic implications, VR Mario Kart, quantum lawn mowing, identity mana…
e563 — Space Nerds in Space [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:44
Photo by Michael Martine, Chapel Hill, NC Aug 2026 Published 3 August 2026 e563 with Michael, Michael and Andy – Games at Work Game, and a cornucopia of other games: Haex, Pathbind Quest, a physical cockpit for Halcyon D…
e562 — Field Notes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:58
Photo by Michael Martine, Hamptonville, North Carolina, Oct 2018 Published 27 July 2026 e562 with Andy and Michael M – EMFCamp recap, whole lot of LEGO love, the game of life, a Playdate mini MMO, AR assisted murals and…
e561 — For the Birds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:38
Photo by Michael Martine, South Yarmouth MA, July 2026 Published 13 July 2026 e561 with Michael, Andy and Michael – arial-aquatic robotic locomotion, Puffin wingspan, e-ink mini PDAs, maker marketplaces such as Tindie, L…
e560 — Sweating the Small Stuff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:10
Photo by nik biziuk on Unsplash Published 6 July 2026 e560 with Andy, Michael and Michael – stickshift & phone handsets with Ian Bogost, camping at EMF Camp 2026 & Mountain Quest 2026, brain cooling, dwarf lemurs, World…
e559 – Welcome to the Matrix [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:40
Photo by Francis Painchaud on Unsplash Published 29 June 2026 e559 with Michael R and Andy – it’s a catch-up and geek out on things we’ve been doing, games we’ve been playing, and topics we’ve been thinking about… includ…
e558— Exploding Bananas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:55
Photo by Gabriel Meinert on Unsplash Published 22 June 2026 e558 with Michael M and Andy – slowing things down with games where you walk, fly, sail, throw bananas and play ball, along with 3D printing innovation, a new f…
e557 – The British are Coming! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:52
Andy talks to fellow Brit Ian "epredator" Hughes about all things AAA gaming, all with a British slant - from IP, to studios, and actors. Plus, the fully-funded Virtual Worlds museum.