Richard Whitelock

Totally! Same same.

I’m all setup to spend the next autumn to spring in Tokyo once again. I’ll be busy doing a lot of gamedev work but will certainly be hoping to spend some time at TokyoIndies or any gamedev related meet-ups / cowork spaces I can find!

Unreasonable The "next Balatro" won't appear on a spreadsheet...

I wrote about being unreasonable when making games modecollapse.substack.com/p/unreasonable

Ok I’ve actually read it now. Superb advice all around!

Is it about me?

I Spent 175,000 Hours Working On Indie Games Thoughts after surviving 20 years in the games industry...

Hit 20 years in games this year - here's some thoughts after all that time

modecollapse.substack.com/p/i-spent-17...

Worked on and released : 20

I'm struggling to think of any that were fully in production and then cancelled... so unreleased : 0? Seems very lucky.

However in between all of those are various internal studio prototypes/pitches that didn't go anywhere. Plus many personal prototypes that I shelved.

The thumbnails are the worst crops. Please don't make me add borders.

A foggy view of a flooded meadow at sunset.

A foggy view of a flooded meadow at sunset. A tree is reflected in the water.

A foggy view of a flooded meadow at sunset. A lone figure stands by a very high river.

Figures cross a wide street. City spires vanishing into the foggy sunset.

A freezing, flooded and foggy day permeated by a wonderful sunset.

Screenshot of Quiet as a Stone. We orbit an island, floating on rocks above a foggy vista of trees at sunset.

Screenshot of review text : Quiet as a Stone is a visual experience by Distant Lantern, a studio created by artist Richard Whitelock. Within this masterpiece of atmosphere, you load into a scene and proceed to do... nothing, really. By clicking around on the books you can learn the controls, and then proceed to move objects around and smash stones to acquire gems. Once you've had your fill of a certain area, clicking on the map allows travel to other regions with descriptors of the location, before continuing to do the same thing as before. Quiet as a Stone is exactly what the name implies: a game of being quiet. Listening to the wind and rain, the clacking of the rocks as you smash and collect them, and the movement of the trees as they are forcibly removed from their home and put in a different location. Staring at the backdrop scenery as you rotate the scene in circles to get every angle as the day turns to night and the light catches the rocks. I'm certain that the only reason that the collection of gems is to fulfill the simple desire to collect little rocks after they've scattered across the dirt. If there is a practical reasoning for these gems, I couldn't figure it out — honestly I hope there wasn't besides the simple desire to collect things.

A nice review of Quiet as a Stone. medium.com/@tophatmuffi...

I certainly know it's not everyone's cup of tea, that is absolutely fine, but I was still always surprised at just how many reviewers seemed to 'get it'.

Save 40% on Quiet as a Stone on Steam Throw Rocks Plant Trees. Remake the world in this minimalistic slow game for casual creators. Discover a long lost history. Create your own scenes. Explore atmospheric countryside vignettes. Sit by Ca...

store.steampowered.com/app/872060/Q...

My strange, experimental autumnal-cozy-vignette creator and photography sim is on sale.

- Cheaper than buying an actual rock -
- Lovely soothing atmospheric sounds and ASMR like audio -
- Throw Rocks! Plant Trees! -
- It is pretty. Well I think so anyway -

💀 QRP with your skull art! 💀

Oh a reason to post something from the painting course I did. So many pictures of skulls..

Now I just need a 'QRP your portraits / vegetable still life art'.

Thank you for putting this together.

I also seem to still be in the UK :)

The intro title shot from the PS3 game Journey. This is from the finished game. The title "Journey" is displayed above a distant mountain, with the player character seeing it from atop a sand dune.

The intro title shot from a work in progress version of Journey. The title's font is different, the composition is asymmetrical, and the distant mountain is not as tall as the final version.

My initial sketch for the title shot for the game Journey. A simple, small line drawing featuring the player character in the foreground and the mountain in the distance.

10th anniversary Journey thread, recreated:
I was the art director of thatgamecompany's Journey. It set the course of my career and my art. I'm forever thankful to the community of players and their incredible love for the game. This is a thread comparing early dev images and how things shipped.

Solitomb is *HERE!* 🎉

⚔️ krajzeg.itch.io/solitomb ⚔️

Stack cards into combos, fight monsters, add new abilities to your build and emerge victorious (eventually, sometimes)!

Please share this to help spread the word and enjoy the game! 🤗

#pico8 #gamedev #indiegame

concept art of the Star-shaped plaza in the grasslands, showing a meadow in the centre. This image was my desktop wallpaper for about the second half of development.

Drawing of the plaza at the end of the bridge, showing the architcture and planting.

an early drawing of the campsite, side-on, with an NPC standing in the foreground.

some drawings of trees, some with pink foliage.

Hey it's #flockfriday again - time for more of Richard Hogg's wonderful concept art!

noclip is gold. Love to explore the DS games.

Adding a link to the other thread where I talk a little more about what it could do : bsky.app/profile/did:...

Featured image for Technically Art Issue 140: a 3D anime-style recreation of the jumbo berry special sundae from Frieren, made in Unity

If you can believe it, a new issue of Technically Art is here, and it's all with bsky posts =]

There's a bunch of insightful and inspiring posts in there, about shaders, VFX, tools, tech art and more ✨

Check it out here: halisavakis.com/technically-...

#gamedev #vfx #indiedev #shaders

How about Art Park?

868-BACK The sequel to 868-HACK. A cyberpunk roguelike adventure.

Hey! I've announced my next game and I am asking for money already so I can finish making it. :)
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...

A year or so ago I went on an exhausting but wonderful trek up Mt.Takao near Tokyo. It won't be quite the same but I'll try and manage a walk into Oxford today.

Really pleased to see that @elirainsberry.com's wonderful music for Flock has been nominated in the @indiegameawards.gg this year.

bsky.app/profile/indi...

Oh I have fond memories of Max Payne 1. Great atmosphere and lighting!

Thank you :)

I was hoping to experience some good snow in Kyoto but I only saw a few brief flurries. Whereas I saw on the news that Tokyo was getting blanketed just after I left!

Oxford snows.

Looking forward to more this year and hoping to have the energy to make the most of it.

Watch Miguel de Icaza's GodotCon 2024 presentation about the development of Xogot to learn more

The how to pronounce 'Godot' game has a harder level now.
xogot.com

#godot #godotengine

It's good to see more folk moving over here! I figured I'd do a thread of the building games I've shared on Twitter over the past year. All the games are free to play in-browser or as a download, and I'll include links to each.

More here : richardwhitelock.com/articles/pho...