Getting back to it!
Hi, Everyone!
There’s been a LOT of stuff going on in 2020…and lots of it has been pretty rough for a lot of folks. It’s been particularly interesting to see the perception of Portland in the media versus what it’s actually like to live here. Our neighborhoods and streets are not filled with rioters or looters. In fact, the “riots” are local people protesting police violence against black people largely within a 3 block area downtown around the federal building, and which must be declared a riot each night usually around the same time in order to “legally” start tear gassing the people. The mini-mart 1 block away isn’t being damaged or looted…it’s just open late and SUPER busy with peaceful protestors buying drinks and snacks to keep up their energy through the long nights. Local Portlanders. Our friends, neighbors, parents, students, and businessfolk willing to take physical and chemical harm to stand up for what’s right, while local and sometimes federal officers work together to suppress the message of the people. Don’t believe the media spin. Believe people who actually live here. It’s a protest, not a riot, and citizens are being assaulted, arrested, gassed, and seriously injured by officers and their “less lethal” weaponry. The long-term effects of all the tear gas will become more of an issue over time. But, but the research doesn’t look good, and there’s a reason using it is a war crime under the Geneva Convention and UN’s Chemical Weapon Convention. Ryan and I unequivocally support the premise that Black Lives Matter, and really wish compassion and compersion, humanity and happiness, liveability and a sense of purpose were the core tenants of our culture rather than greed and conflict, oppression and violence, dehumanization and apathy. In the context of the world right now…our own little cares are pretty small. I am very privileged and lucky to have a safe home and community, family, and the ability to pay my rent, go to work, and buy food without fear. We wish that those things were true for everyone.
In lighter news, After the Empire is supposed to ship in a couple months. So, we’re very excited to finally see this game in real life with no whiteout, taped on updates, or mismatched iconography. We have another game (mostly) signed, but it was recently pushed back due to COVID. Originally scheduled to release Origins 2021, it is now rescheduled for 2022. So, Mountain God’s Revenge is still coming, but it’s a ways out!
During this pandemic, my life has been very busy with my baby girl who’s now 10 months old. In my free time, I focused on designing the solo mode for After the Empire as well as learning how to create a fully-scripted mod for Tabletop Simulator. It’s basically a programming language for controlling the physics sandbox to help players avoid annoying repetitive clicking and dragging. I thought I’d be done by now, but every time I learn a better way to do something, I have to re-do much of my previous work so it’s more stable and works more smoothly and intuitively. It’s a slow learning process, but enjoyable and I’m actually getting pretty darn close to done now!
I have also had the pleasure of joining an online board gaming group, which has been wonderful not only to catch up on a lot of board games I never got the chance to play before, but also a nice social outlet to interact with some great folks. I just got my butt kicked in Potion Explosion…again!
Ryan and I have recently returned to our game design meetings after a LONG hiatus due to COVID. You may see in these photos that we’re making it work outside!
Here you can see Ryan preparing to get crushed by my skills at saving little grimes under the fridge from the Great Moppening! This game, Grime, is one of the games being entered in an online pitch event coming up very soon! Designers are chomping at the bit to get their games in front of publishers, since we can’t have physical conventions. So, the industry is slowly figuring out ways of accomplishing this online. Wish us luck!
Stay safe out there and please treat each other with respect and dignity…even online!