thisisstar

The Briefs games are out!

A portrait of Star St.Germain, a woman with blond and pink hair and pink glasses.

Hello Friends! Today is my birthday. Please tell me something that made your day a little better, send me a poem, recommend a piece of excellent media, or share a science fact. I hope you’re doing great.

Frank made a new game! I haven’t played this yet, but when he explained what it was to me at GDC last year it sounded extremely wild. Gonna check out this demo this weekend!

A photograph of art prints of several different illustrations by Star St.Germain.

FREE STUFF: Found a huge box of art prints of my illustrations from back in the day in the basement. If you’re in SF and can pick up, I’d love to give you some for free. DM me or reply for more info. These are 8.5 x 11 on heavy card stock. Other freebies in the next post!

The burnside fountain in Worcester Massachusetts. A statue of a boy riding a turtle.

The burnside fountain in Worcester Massachusetts. A statue of a boy riding a turtle.

Worcester, Massachusetts would like a word

Black and white photographs printed from old 1950s negatives. Images of department store mannequins and behind the scenes photos of catalogue photo shoots.

Lastly, I have these prints from old 1950s negatives that I printed years ago. Unlike the others, these are just these 3 & then they’re gone.

Photos of the Zine “All Over the Map” by Star St.Germain and John C. Worsley, with a couple postcards with other illustrations by Star below.

I have some zines and postcards too! This was a split zine with @jcworsley.bsky.social. These are also free. (They are doing no good in my basement)

A photograph of art prints of several different illustrations by Star St.Germain.

FREE STUFF: Found a huge box of art prints of my illustrations from back in the day in the basement. If you’re in SF and can pick up, I’d love to give you some for free. DM me or reply for more info. These are 8.5 x 11 on heavy card stock. Other freebies in the next post!

I recommend this whole bundle, but like, Red Strings Club for 2.99? That’s something you should go play if you haven’t yet.

I would die for Pinky!

‎Game of the Day: HoloVista ‎Learn about Make Yourself at Home on Mac App Store. Download HoloVista and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Here’s the direct link to the feature: apps.apple.com/story/id1534...

A screenshot of the game HoloVista as the Game of the Day on Apple’s App Store.

Oh hey! HoloVista is Game of the Day today on the App Store. If you haven’t checked it out yet, today is a great day for it.

Totally! Hooked is more of a platform for click to advance phone stories. I haven’t looked at it in forever so I have no idea what it’s like now, but it was kind of a similar community to wattpad a decade ago. Just, phone stories only.

I think it depends on the mechanics in play. Are you picking dialogue options with few other interactions? (I.e. Hooked) That’s a visual novel. But if you’re exploring the rest of the phone, going through the photos, puzzle solving (Simulacrum, HoloVista) then it’s an Adventure game.

Yo this rules. I stay in Takadanobaba every time I visit Japan & the train plays the theme song on arrival. Here’s the mural at the station exit. So much nostalgia for Astro boy.

I keep thinking about "3D impressionism" as a much needed term for the way we think about art direction in games

To me measuring how "better" or "worse" the graphics are only in terms of their relation to reality is like claiming the photo of a street in Arles is objectively superior to Van Gogh

Congrats! I’m gonna check it out!

Good luck! I hope they are great!

No worries, hope you had a good trip!

You still in SF?

Stoked to hear this! I loved the Layers of Fear games and Observer, but thought they really missed the mark with The Medium. Gonna check this one out!

Post a PERFECT album from the 90s that isn’t Nirvana or Pearl Jam

Lasers and feelings is great for players who are brand new and want an extremely rules light experience.

huh. I'll be in town while this is running, but my Japanese is lousy...

Did they flood any part of the house? Y/N

Post one of the most haunting shots in movie history from a film made before the year 2000

Sleep no more was already a game. We already have a blueprint for open world theatre.

I also think this has something to do with both of these being a pastime of a bygone era, machines that need upkeep, etc. Both activities are amazing in Japan (imo), where they haven’t lost popularity the same way as in the states.

I feel like bowling is a vastly different experience depending on the venue, and many don’t put in the work to make the experience worth doing. I feel similarly about arcades, but often it’s less pronounced there than with bowling.

2021, 8 colors, pixelart