Technology

Hope spiralled tender as a rice shoot along the resurrected Sanriku Railway Rias Line in north-eastern Honshu. Summer's blooms spilled from pots on station platforms; storybook houses peeped from the forests' folds; a man knelt beside the ice-blue river and cleansed a fistful of spring onions. Rice crops flashing by in the valleys were ripe for the harvest: their imperial yellow shimmer filled the windows as my friend and I rattled along this once-moribund coastline.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I mostly ignored nature. "I'm a city person" I'd say to anyone who tried to drag me on a hike. But during lockdown, I noticed finches nesting on my balcony. I hung bird feeders and downloaded an app to ID bird calls, hoping for something to keep me away from doomscrolling.

The finches made for a soothing distraction, but things really changed when I spotted a cute "critter cam" account on social media. People weren't just feeding birds, they were filming them – even setting out a tiny hot tub for the birds to splash around in.

High-profile YouTube stars KSI and the Sidemen have been named alongside the creators of Candy Crush, Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto as some of the richest gamers and creators in the UK.

Taking the top spot of the Sunday Times' inaugural top 30 Gaming Rich List are co-founders of Playrix, Igor and Dmitry Bukhman.

The brothers, with a combined fortune of £12.54bn, are behind titles like Township, Fishdom and Homescapes. KSI and the Sidemen are the highest placed gamers, coming in joint 21st with £50m.

Performers working in the games industry have spoken of their distress at being asked to work on explicit content without notice, including a scene featuring a sexual assault.

Sex scenes are common in modern games - and are often made by filming human actors who are then digitised into game characters.

But performers have told the BBC a culture of secrecy around projects - where scripts are often not shared until the last moment - means they frequently do not know in advance that scenes may involve intimate acts.

Fans of Civilization have been waiting almost a decade for the latest instalment of the cult video game series.

Now it has been revealed that theme of time passing is pretty appropriate: the inspiration at the heart of Civilization VII, to be released in February, is how the capital of the UK has changed from the Roman era to now.

And it all started with a map of Londinium - as London was known to the Romans.

It is an increasingly common message from websites: browse for free - if you allow us to track your data and target you with personalised ads - if you don't, hand over some cash.

The model is known as "consent or pay" and, while it may be becoming increasingly common, questions remain over whether it is ethical or even legal.