News Roundup November 2024
I’ve been busy, but lots of non-internal things are going on in dev world and beyond.
Perfect Tides is now Steam Deck verified! The game was already working pretty well, but I’ve gotten it up to Steam’s standards and now it’s playing great on its own exclusive build. You can get it here.
I was recently on Flat Art Show hosted by my friend Evan Dahm, who came up alongside me in the 2000s/2010s webcomic age. We discussed our long lives in comics and art, I went off somewhat on the Octopus Pie days, making sense of those stories today, and transitioning into game work. It was a fun and lively show, and you can check it out here:
During AdventureX last week, I recorded a live playthrough of the Perfect Tides: Station to Station demo, adding context and commentary. You can view it here:
That’s all for now - back to the game grind.
Dev Log: November 12, 2024
I turned 40 on Sunday. I have no complaints about my life thus far - none that I feel are necessary to air at least - at this tender and toughened age.
I’m on vacation with my family and friends, but still spending time on the game. I just finished a big promotional push for PT2 and some compatibility work on PT1. I’m overdue to round up all the latest news on this front, but suffice to say the result has been good, and I’m looking forward to (eventually) getting home and putting my head down for the next big development sprint.
Matt is editing the game’s ending, and Daniel is working on the last handful of tracks, which means I’m spending a lot of time clarifying where this story has taken us. It feels as if we’re seeing it end together, even though there’s so much left to do. With Matt’s help I’m about to take a long hard look at how these thousands of details, often written in heightened states that can not be revisited, are working together.
I know it’s all going to work. I’m anticipating this part will be fun, if a little disorienting. I sometimes think that adeptly connecting the dots of seemingly unrelated thoughts is both an illness and a gift. But the goal is to get this into playable shape for testing, so all the connections, all the pleasure and anger and despair that have bubbled up internally, will have to make sense.
My family’s awake now, and I don’t really have a fine point to put on all this. Not yet… but it’s coming, faster all the time.
Dev Log: October 26, 2024
It’s been an emotional week in my life and in my work. I am reconciling and strategizing. I’m taking stock and feeling anxious to declutter. I am writing the end of the game.
Lots of tears at my desk, but never for the wrong reasons. This is a good thing. If it wasn’t this way, I’d be more concerned.
But I’m pretty vulnerable, is what I’m saying! Throw in a few days of engagement with the latest marketing push - a time when my sworn enemy, social media, is buzzing in my ear - and I’m desperate for a few Saturday hours at home with nothing to do but reflect. (There’s actually lots to do, but Mom’s on the porch right now, okay?)
I showed a few things to Mike after working without feedback all month. He reacted as I’d hoped to the story, and we had some great conversations about potential interactive bits. So I’m still building. But in another week, this will all be out of my hands for deeper editorial feedback, and I’ll be looking long and hard at systems for a while. Can’t think about it now. Must stick to landing.
My friend Evan shared a list of writing tips by Walter Benjamin, and one in particular has stuck with me all week:
Do not write the conclusion of a work in your familiar study. You would not find the necessary courage there.
He’s right, of course. To maximize my work hours, I almost never leave my desk to write. There’s just too much settling-in before the flow state activates. But courage is exactly what I need right now, and it’s more than likely I’ll be writing in novel locations this week, even if I only go as far as my porch or back yard. Fortunately, these are the most beautiful days of the year to go looking for courage. Or, like, pick apples n’ stuff.