Being completely genuine, nothing in the world has ever crushed my spirit more than dealing with game publishers.

I literally logged into this fucking website and THIS is the first thing i see.

All of these have to feel cared for equally because if not the experience has lost its purpose.

Every mini game could be someone's favorite so they all need to be equally thoughtful in player experience.

You might want to stay and help take care of the inn and the guests with quiet peace and occasional chaos.

You might want to just know how to find a way home and way to see the story unfold.

I think that's most challenging to communicate when I talk about what makes the game special. It's that all parts are designed to support each other because it's built by a person that spent their life playing this type of game incorrectly and needed a game to give this specific experience.

The combination of making a visually vibrant world to explore off path, interesting global mini games, and ways to move back and forth between old spaces and new in engaging ways brings a unique experience that wasn't always in the original vision but a satisfying world couldn't exist without it.

Without combat able to give the player easy access to quick engagement, the spaces between locations take on that task. As a result it's been a constantly evolving problem to solve.

This causes a lot of challenges, especially narrative wise. However, the one that unites all three paths to my frustration is engagement balance.

Under normal circumstances there would be combat to break up movement points because in most RPGs combat is a high engagement time padding for story.

My game, Inn Between, is designed in a way that different gameplay styles influence how players reach the end of the game.

I wanted to do this because I the concept of all roads leading to the same result fits the game but also I don't want to take away progress if people just want to focus on fun.

yeah exactly

Until one is carbon negative, stands on it and has it as a part of their actual development I will not be giving any leeway at all.

I get that and I'm not saying you are supporting them. I'm just saying how I view all crypto and AI as a whole. Just because they're trying doesn't mean I'm handing out passes because easy forgiveness leads to permittable performative bullshit.

Local crypto says "oh im different i want to therapy" like it exempts them of all the fucking damage they caused.

absolutely fucking not.

If someone lit your house on fire every day for 10 years and got paid for it then one day came up and said "hey I can light your house on fire less and still make the same amount of money we cool right?" would you give them a pass???

Still an object that had no purpose that did incredible damage to the planet then "solved" the problem that it caused 12 years later while we're seeing the climate crisis becoming extremely visibly terrible. There should not be a pass for any AI or crypto that suddenly pretends to give a shit.

If any folks have resources for education in game level design, more specifically open world level design I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

i just constantly feel like communication needs purpose and talking about how I'm feeling is selfish compared to how insane and shitty the rest of the world is. So, I don't wanna talk openly about what is happening w me but I miss being an online goofball sometimes

i think a grilled cheese could fix me

if you hate someone and you tell them in a way that isn't you doing something fucking cool while also hating them you are

fucking

up.

"yo I'm skating a half pipe but i still fucking hate you"

is way more cool than

"your addiction to glue is tearing this family apart"

I've truly enjoyed the small ways I've been able to help Marc on Inn Between. What started as a way to work through some game design ideas after being tossed out into the gutter by the machine of the industry enough times, has flowered into a whole entire video game bursting with ideas and life.

I'd like to show you all my game Inn Between.

It's a cozy game for people that are bad at cozy games.

I've been working on it since November with the more recent help of @brylon.bsky.social and @elmore.zone and last month we finished the proof on concept.

Excited to continue creating this.

I need this extremely bad

Shadow of the Colossus

I completely agree. The only way you're able to up your rates and take "less" is if you're already affluent enough to not need the current job you're taking on in order to survive.

Being away from making music for such a long time while I work on my game has been refreshing.

I do have music that I want to share. However, I'm more focused on making worlds that that music can exist in.

The sled race tutorial area for Inn Between is really prety

I'm extremely grateful that you've been a part of helping. Even just times you encourage me to keep going when it feels impossible is more important than you know. Without the hours of chats over souls games I don't think I'd be the same designer or person. Thank you for being a part of this.

Did a quote reply because I get asked it a fair bit and wanted to make sure to explain because it's a valid question. I hope it clarifies things!

When I play cozy games I often end up wanting more things to do.

I want things outside of the core gameplay loop to have fun with.

That's why I feel like I'm bad at cozy games so I made one that feels like something I'd play!

Something with lots to do and a story you can take at your own pace.

Who is bad at cozy games? me.

I love the idea and the onset experience of them but just as quickly fall into a trap of feeling limited and longing for more.

Animal Crossing - Made it like 6 hours
Stardew - Literally only fish
Minecraft - I make a giant sky island and blow it up then uninstall