drive. fall. sink. dream

I'm experimenting with the idea of adding the option to make this a shared experience.

Project TORI will be delayed significantly while I learn Blender extensively so I can create original assets. Would love to hire a 3D artists, but there's just not much funding in games to make that happen. Grateful for what I have been given to make a prototype. Next step is learning a new skill.

Soft announcement. My next ::ephemera game will be highway::ephemera where you will traverse a vast network of roads. Will feature original atmospheric soundscape by Greg Nunn (Glacial Anatomy) who provided music for ocean::ephemera

This is one of my favorite shots from my game The Light Of Our Yearning. I delayed it 1 month to make this happen. Basically, after you complete the game, time still continues. Bones start to decay. Nature reclaims the land. There is no end. If you completed it a while ago, try opening it again...

📢PUBLICATION DAY📙 "Everything To Play For: How Videogames Are Changing The World" out now w/ @versobooks.bsky.social.🌏 www.versobooks.com/products/308... The 📕 blends cultural theory & materialist critiques with accessible language and personal stories engaging both novices & seasoned connoisseurs.

The main focus is building out a budget for writing about the games and contributors in the zine. Other people (pizzapranks.com/10-indiepoca...) and I (pizzapranks.com/features/) have done this in the past, but cons have taken the I would use for this and would like it to be a consistent thing.

I'll be at TGS today helping out with Off-Score: A game of songs. It's a surreal music game with carefully crafted interactive music set in magical worlds. The music is soo good. store.steampowered.com/app/1355000/...

My friend gave a presentation at Tokyo Indies about his game Doom Spiral which is inspired by gnarly skeleton memes. I met him at Tokyo Indies over a year ago and we've been good friends since. He'll be at @gaemz.bsky.social meetup Tokyo on the 29th to talk about his magical shader skills.

I'll be at Tokyo Game Show and hosting Tokyo GÆMZ Show on the 29th. Still looking for 3 speakers. So far there will be a talk about cool shaders from the in development game Doom Spiral, and a talk about the creation and development of plunderludics / unityhawk

I originally planned on making large open areas, but frustrations with the Unity terrain system made me down scope it for what I think is the better. I now prefer horse sequences to be short linear vignettes, similar to the game Promesa which I found inspiring.

Woah, saw this beautifully animated game during the @gdocexpo.com direct called A Heavy Morning. Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is how I start my mornings. What will the tone of the day feel like? That first action you take can ruin or energize a whole day. youtu.be/2t5g40p5bqQ

GDoC Expo happens soon. I'll be giving a talk! Check out the full schedule and buy a ticket here. There are affordable options available as well and everyone is welcome to attend the online festival. They also have in-person watch parties across America. www.gamedevsofcolor.org

Some notes on this. Most games featuring indigenous people are full of stereotypes. I could only find 12 good examples that fit. Many are made by Dr. Elizabeth LaPensée an award-winning Irish, Anishinaabe, and Métis game creator. Please check out these important games.

I played Ico and wrote about it farfamahar.github.io/blog/i-playe...

Been reading @jordanmagnuson.bsky.social book Game Poems and it's really helping me find the language to describe the game I'm making. TO:RI (tentative title) is essentially a collection of visual poems that use the language of games to redefine and expand the constraints of the medium.

Congrats to @roguesite.bsky.social for the launch of their website. Rogue is worker-owned and independent games media that is human-first. We've added the website to our Game Worker Cooperatives collection. If you know of more games media or studios that are taking this approach, let us know!

An environment test. Turns out a light flickering bug I was spending all night trying to fix was just a Unity editor bug. Doesn't exist in the build. Reminder to do continuous build testing.

This bundle supports Game Devs of Color, a nonprofit organization that uplifts and amplifies game creators of color. itch.io/b/3171/game-...

I'm considering using unconventional camera angles for the horse controller. It could work. (warning for horse fans, wonky animation asset is for testing purposes)

Was playing this ps2 game called Urban Chaos. There are fire fighters that never put out fires. Reminds me of Hardly Working by Total Refusal. NPCs that do a simulacra of work, trapped in an endless loop of non-productive behavior.

This weekend I went to an isolated beach and stared at the ocean for the whole day. I came home and worked on this scene more. The game is becoming more like a place of digital rest for me. It's very peaceful. This is something I'm making for myself first, but I hope others will be able to enjoy it.

fun bug

This looks really interesting. I like existing in a small dense space and interacting and exploring at my own pace. Motivated by curiosity and not by goals. TO:RI has a lot of similar systems so I find this a good reference too.

robsgob.bearblog.dev/intermission... Check out my website @exhibitplay.com. It's very much leaning more towards a web 1.0 style. Basically a blog. Click the link, see a list of games. Niche recommendations too (not just Steam and console platform). No logins or gamification.

Getting confident that I can get a prototype of TO:RI finished this year. Currently can be played from start to finish. Polishing it is going to be brutal. Almost all assets need to be replaced and there's a lot of optimization that needs to be done. But I'm really happy with how far it's all come.

Playing around with game discovery tool @ludocene.bsky.social and it's got some pretty solid recommendations based on what I liked so far.

My 30 minute talk titled "Atmosphere in Games: Crafting Experiences That Feel Alive" will be shown at this years GDoC Expo. I'll examine atmosphere through player embodiment, UI, sound, game state, environmental design, narrative, VFX, and emergent atmosphere. Join online next month!

warning. loud merzbow noises. good placeholder music for the sound design I want.

Big fantastic bug turned feature?

Worked on a drunk effect system. Uses a bunch of preset depth of field focal length values that gradually change with each drink. Still a lot of fine tuning to do with the values (plus need to add shaky cam).

If you're in the Tokyo area, I'm hosting a movie night where we'll watch a selection of short machinima films from the collective Total Refusal. Part casual hang out part "I'm going to roleplay as an arthouse theater owner and attempt to create that special in-person movie atmosphere".

Found 40+ at a bookoff! All on one shirt so not sure if this counts but it's a lot of faces.

Some game ideas. I write down everything as soon as it comes to mind. Most ideas come when I go on walks. I have at least a 100 in this document. It's extremely empowering to have the skills to implement an idea. The hard part is choosing one to commit to long term.

This will make more sense once you play the game, but for now enjoy wobbly horse and the boloopi band

screen recorders can't handle this grass shader

Found a cool ripple shader so now the desert looks spicy

Check out these car conversation games. I was inspired to make this list after playing Crossing Lines at A MAZE.

Interactive Noise 007 available. Read and subscribe: bit.ly/4m7pw3X The Light of our Yearning by @infinitetears.bsky.social Welcome to the Science Club by @hanwenxumame.bsky.social Systemelegy by strawberrycongee The Surface by Local Wizard Lethal Dose by @aberdevine.bsky.social

Next week 👀 If you know of anymore, please share! Games need to take place primarily in a vehicle and be focused on conversations.

Maybe one day I'll make a game that sells so much that I can open an animal orphanage / tiny game studio in the countryside.

This is art The Many Faces of Ohtani - 4 × 4.5 print on microfiber towel

Whenever I'm slogging through unsatisfying gameplay just to get some crumbs of story, I have to remind myself to stop and go read an actual book.

AvantBeetle Presents: CRTL ALT RESIST A three-day videogame exhibition highlighting games as a tool for protest, political resistance, and radical imagination; elevating play as a political act.

Really wild that I used to browse social media before I slept and right when I woke up. Like it was just a natural habit. Getting brain assaulted during the most quiet parts of my day. It was extremely unhealthy. But it seems like a common thing people do still.

Reminder to all itch users. If you enjoy something you played, let the creator know. Personally, a thoughtful comment lights me up more than a purchase.

I've always dreamed about adding a cross fade to one of my games. I think it's a powerful scene transition technique that I notice in films I love. Paired with the right imagery, it can evoke a lot. There's a lot I can do with this.

If you buy INDIEPOCALYPSE #24 from @pizzapranks.bsky.social you'll save $9985 on my game The Golden Tower. Why is it priced so high? The answer to that question is

Maaybe a July release of this. Hard part is recontextualizing this as a standalone release. Do I add more? Cut stuff out? What's the new environment that the space lives in? Are you an observer or participant? Does it conclude? So many unknowns. Maybe The Zium is the best place for it in the end.