Wish they had gone in this direction with the new macOS Finder icon. Still liquid glass but with the classic colors and no border. Keeps more of its original personality. #WWDC25

Getting fan mail from kids playing our games is pretty cool. Here Ondrej (11) gave us some excellent designs for a Fly THIS! Sequel.

Dinolords will feature a full orchestral soundtrack. Recorded across multiple studios, it blends sweeping cinematic themes with ancient, time-period-appropriate instruments: Lur horn, tagelharpa, goat nail shakers (yes), and more. I can't wait for everyone to hear this.

Viking Longhouse turned out real nice.

In 985 AD, Eric the Red unearthed dinosaur eggs in the Sermitsiaq Glacier. Once hatched, the creatures were integrated into Norse life—first for work, then for war.

A few souvenirs i picked up in Chicago.

I just released my 8th annual “Everything I Worked On” video. Eight years of projects, games, books, talks—and everything in between. I also wrote about what doing this every year has taught me: www.flarup.email/p/eight-yea...

I turn 41 today. To celebrate, I’m saying thanks—and sharing a small way you can help grow the newsletter. There are even some fun rewards if you do www.flarup.email/p/lets-grow...

Viking Townhall ✨

"I remember spending hours on the tiniest details of an interface element no one had asked for. Just… exploring. Pushing pixels for the sake of it. The tools I had didn’t dictate the results—and the community I found on Dribbble was open, curious, and encouraging."

One of the great things about writing directly to people's inboxes is receiving many thoughtful replies. It feels like having thousands of pen friends.

I wrote in my newsletter about how I used to avoid LinkedIn like the plague, and I received 130 connection invitations. My business network is growing 📈

Made a new sticker

Our art direction has evolved so much in the past year. Sometimes, I just wander around a village and marvel at it all.

My LinkedIn Redemption Arc www.flarup.email/p/my-linked...

Wrote a bit about Escaping the Purgatory of Boring UI open.substack.com/pub/flarup/...

My personal newsletter, flarup.email, has received a bit of a refresh. I'll be doing most of my writing here this year, and you're more than welcome to follow along.

We're working on juicing up combat. Needs to feel good to hit stuff. #screenshotsaturday

Feels like I’ve finally escaped boring-UI purgatory. Having a blast designing an interface that’s actually fun. Here are some of the latest components I’ve been working on!

I designed an award! 🏆 At this year’s Spilprisen (Danish video game awards), I had the honor of creating a brand-new trophy—a weighted ‘head’ symbolising the 3 pillars of game dev: art, technology, and business.

Some new models for village and camp life in Dinolords ⛺️ #screenshotsaturday

We've been experimenting with ragdolling units on death and we're definitely going in this direction.

I am not complaining about this placement in the Feudal Festival on Steam. Thank you to Box Dragon Games for organising this amazing lineup 🙏

Good bug. 'I'll just train a single swordsman'.

What’s your proudest achievement? In the latest Life in Design episode, we dive into the highs and lows of the creative journey—celebrating wins and learning from failures.

We've implemented head tracking, which instantly makes dinosaurs feel much cooler.

🎥 New Video Series: Life in Design I teamed up with with @MacPaw to share honest, behind-the-scenes stories about creativity, inspiration, and the lessons that shaped my journey. ✨ First video out now: Finding Creative Sparks → youtu.be/FENq5I__c54

Keep Calm

We added more color variation to our grass. I have totally accepted that we'll keep tweaking grass until the day we ship.

Our new weather system adds a lot of ambiance to the world.

New building menu UI and construction effects make it very satisfying to build out your village.

Been years since I last painted a figurine, but I had a blast bringing this @dinolordsgame model to life!

Put together a special Christmas surprise for the @heynorthplay team this year: a Dinolords figurine featuring a Lord riding a Raptor! A unique keepsake to celebrate our journey working on the game this past year.

It's been a year since I shipped the first macOS App Icon Books.

In the last devlog of 2024 we tour the new Northplay office, look at some of our new dinosaurs and then we celebrate the end of the year with a little Christmas surprise for the team. youtu.be/xn7jslvra_U...

So close 👀

First snow in Denmark

Another unit in the works: Dilophosaurus. A ranged unit that spits goo that slows units. Incredibly coy and will run away when it takes damage.

The new streaming setup at the Northplay office. Frame and setup.

New Unit we're working on: Stegosaurus, a lumbering siege unit. Heavily armoured on one side, so you'll need to reposition to defeat it, but beware of its spiked tail.

We're finally adding Daily Levels to Conduct THIS! Finished up a quick design. 🚂 Everyone plays the same level every day. 💥 You choose one benefit and challenge from a random pool of modifiers. ⭐️ More stars, more rewards.

The first 1000 subs are always the hardest. Been enjoying doing behind-the-scenes game dev videos with Northplay so celebrating this small milestone. www.youtube.com/@northplay

We're playing with random events in Dinolords and this one is, hands down, the worst one.

Hello, my name is Michael and I'm a graphic designer and game developer from Denmark 👋