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
e546 — Smart Play Doom Brain Brick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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e543 with Andy, Michael and Michael - stories and discussion on #LEGO’s new #SmartPlay brick, this is a human brain (cells) on #Doom, #OrcAudio for #vibecoding, #LiquidDeath’s Spotify #urn for playlist #immortality and a…
e545 – Cyberpunk pot holes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash Published 2 March 2026 e545 with Andy and Michael - Get to talk about mostly non-AI topics this week, as we look at a cool kickstarter, Titan, that is building out a futuristic ga…
e544 — Are We Bananas? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:35
This week's episode dives into the latest on AI devices, privacy issues, and tech giants like Apple and Meta. Plus, some fun chats about listening through fruit and the fate of VR.
e543 — Rent-a-Anything [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:08
e543 with Andy, Michael and Michael - #AgenticAI and the changing nature of work, #agents #RentingHumans, #RealTimeTranslation, artistic #roads, #e-bikes for your feet and a whole lot more.
e542 — Vibe Coding Vowels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:01
e542 with Michael, Andy and Michael - Stories and discussion on #ProgrammingLanguage #localization, #VirtualBoy #hardware & #emulation, #AR & #LaserKeyboard, #LEGO terrestrial & orbital #dwellings and a whole lot more.
e541 — Invisible Llamas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:33
e541 with Michael & Michael: Stories and discussion on #AI with local #Claude (and #Clawdbot, #Moltbot & #openclaw), collaborative #agents, 25 cent physical #microtransactions ( #quarters ), #InvisibilityCloaks, #LEGO #S…
e540 — Saucer Separation Button [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:29
e540 with Michael, Andy and Michael - Stories and discussion on #MobileControllers, #AI playing #Anchorhead, #Zork & #RollerCoasterTycoon, an #isometric #NYC, human artistic #creativity and a whole lot more.
e539 — Wikipedia is 25! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:29
Michael R interviews Ian Hughes to discuss recent changes at Meta, Apple, and Wikipedia. They explore how large company layoffs can create opportunities for startups and highlight innovative uses for VR following Meta's…
e538 — MagSafe Stacking [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:47
e538 with Michael M and Andy - Stories and discussion on #CES2026, #EuroTech, #PhoneTech, #AI playing your games for you so you can watch and a whole lot more.
e537 — Reading, Listening & Building Together [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:13
e537 with Michael M and Andy - ringing in the new year with the amazing power of #music to move and #heal, #LEGO and #retro #builds and a whole lot more.