Tomatoes
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A sneak peek into the creation process of Arcadia Bay
I’m really proud of the result we achieved with Arcadia Bay!! The time it took us to bring this world to life might surprise you.
Even though many people see what I do (or what others do) as a hobby, the mods, modular sets, and worlds I create are almost like a life purpose to me. Because of that, I tend to work at a different pace.
Setting such a short deadline this time was less about challenging myself (at least this time) and more about creating an intense period of focus where this world could simply take shape.
(As you probably remember, it started this way.)
It was nine days of almost obsessive focus.
During the day, I worked on it, and at night, while I slept, I dreamed that I was still working on it. (That probably explains the poorly slept nights, haha.)
During this time, every decision required me to think less objectively and more intuitively. Connecting all the dots and figuring out where the seams would be was a challenging task. I replayed Life is Strange throughout the process to gather information and inspiration. The terrain, the streets, the empty areas, the buildings… everything slowly came together from those sensations.
At many moments, the process was emotional. Not in a dramatic sense, but in the same quiet and melancholic tone that has always defined Life is Strange. That strange feeling of reconstructing a place that, in some way, already existed inside someone’s memory.
Those nine days shaped the rhythm of the map. Despite the speed at which it was built, I managed to achieve the opposite result (which was actually my goal). You experience Arcadia Bay as a calm, peaceful, routine place, perfect for observing landscapes, walking around, and developing relationships.
Now, with the map finished, sharing all these images here is a way of opening up that process to you. And maybe allowing you, while exploring Arcadia Bay, to revisit the feelings you had the first time you played Life is Strange — but this time with complete freedom to tell your own stories.
Arcadia Bay is now available on my Patreon.
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Book Recommendation: Small World by Tabitha King
Tabitha King is the wife of Stephen King and a fine, fine author in her own right. As a kid, after I’d read through Mr. King’s oeuvre to date, I dived into what I could find of her work. And I really liked it! Whereas Uncle Stevie goes for flat-out horror, Tabby aims for maximum…discomfort. Her work is unsettling, not scary.
Honestly, I think that’s worse.
I had never heard of Small World, but I came across it at a local library fundraiser and picked it up. And oh…my…god. This book.
This book!
The prose itself is languid in that way of seventies and eighties prose. A lot of descriptive writing that is quite good, but not usually seen any more. But the premise of the book is so utterly bizarre and the execution so deeply, deeply disconcerting… I don’t even know how to feel about it! It’s just icky. In the best way!
In a nutshell: The grown daughter of a former president is obsessed with dollhouses. And then she meets a disgraced scientist who has invented a gadget that shrinks things. The story goes exactly where you think…but by pathways you don’t expect, and with details and elements that skirt the edge of horror and careen headlong into outright mind-fuckery.
The book is out of print, but check around the used bookstores of the analog and digital varieties: If you can get your hands on a copy, check it out!
(This piece comes from my newsletter, which goes out monthly. For more stuff like this, and to get it first, sign up here!)
Read the full article
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Book Recommendation: Small World by Tabitha King
Tabitha King is the wife of Stephen King and a fine, fine author in her own right. As a kid, after I’d read through Mr. King’s oeuvre to date, I dived into what I could find of her work. And I really liked it! Whereas Uncle Stevie goes for flat-out horror, Tabby aims for maximum…discomfort. Her work is unsettling, not scary.
Honestly, I think that’s worse.
I had never heard of Small World, but I came across it at a local library fundraiser and picked it up. And oh…my…god. This book.
This book!
The prose itself is languid in that way of seventies and eighties prose. A lot of descriptive writing that is quite good, but not usually seen any more. But the premise of the book is so utterly bizarre and the execution so deeply, deeply disconcerting… I don’t even know how to feel about it! It’s just icky. In the best way!
In a nutshell: The grown daughter of a former president is obsessed with dollhouses. And then she meets a disgraced scientist who has invented a gadget that shrinks things. The story goes exactly where you think…but by pathways you don’t expect, and with details and elements that skirt the edge of horror and careen headlong into outright mind-fuckery.
The book is out of print, but check around the used bookstores of the analog and digital varieties: If you can get your hands on a copy, check it out!
(This piece comes from my newsletter, which goes out monthly. For more stuff like this, and to get it first, sign up here!)
Read the full article
Text
Book Recommendation: Small World by Tabitha King
Tabitha King is the wife of Stephen King and a fine, fine author in her own right. As a kid, after I’d read through Mr. King’s oeuvre to date, I dived into what I could find of her work. And I really liked it! Whereas Uncle Stevie goes for flat-out horror, Tabby aims for maximum…discomfort. Her work is unsettling, not scary.
Honestly, I think that’s worse.
I had never heard of Small World, but I came across it at a local library fundraiser and picked it up. And oh…my…god. This book.
This book!
The prose itself is languid in that way of seventies and eighties prose. A lot of descriptive writing that is quite good, but not usually seen any more. But the premise of the book is so utterly bizarre and the execution so deeply, deeply disconcerting… I don’t even know how to feel about it! It’s just icky. In the best way!
In a nutshell: The grown daughter of a former president is obsessed with dollhouses. And then she meets a disgraced scientist who has invented a gadget that shrinks things. The story goes exactly where you think…but by pathways you don’t expect, and with details and elements that skirt the edge of horror and careen headlong into outright mind-fuckery.
The book is out of print, but check around the used bookstores of the analog and digital varieties: If you can get your hands on a copy, check it out!
(This piece comes from my newsletter, which goes out monthly. For more stuff like this, and to get it first, sign up here!)
Read the full article
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Time for the next poll, with the games arranged in order of how long they will take to finish this time. X3
The next game after Nightmare Kart will be…
Smallworld (board game)
Bioshock Remastered (immersive sim shooter)
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls (a long old school dungeon crawler)
See Results
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✨️some previews for you✨️
Ya girl is getting back on a night shift schedule and has been busy💙
Small World pt 2
Azriel was studying you like a project. You were a different female down here. Cold, uncaring, forced into this role of the High Lord’s daughter.
Did these fae know you took far too much creamer in your coffee?
That you were afraid of storms?
That you only ate fruit pastries because you found chocolate too bitter?
You were Rhysand through and through with that mask on. But inside, inside Azriel knew you carried the very light of what your grandfather built. You were a true dreamer, and you could rattle the very stars themselves if your father would just give you the chance.
If Rhysand would just believe in you.
Kissed by Fire
This was the Gods mocking him. Eris held the female’s face in his hands, studying those blue grey eyes, memorizing every inch of her glowing skin.
He’d make her part of his bargain. Regardless of not knowing who the hell she was.
His mate.
His future wife.
The female he’d die to make his everything.
Extramarital Escape pt 2
Feyre was breathing heavily, eyelids fluttering shut as your lips were but mere inches from hers.
You finished fixing her earring, backing away from her and watching as she almost crumbled with disappointment. “How lucky are we to have such a beautiful High Lady?”
Cat and Mouse prequel part 3
Azriel’s chest was flush against yours. “Never again. You NEVER put yourself on the line for me again.” He wanted to clean the blood from your face. Erase this moment from history and hold you until it all went away.
But there was only so much he could truly do to comfort both of you.
Only so much time before more of your former “friends” appeared.
“Fuck it,” Azriel grabbed your face, slamming his lips on yours and just prayed you reciprocated.
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Even in the vastness the little things count!
Sometimes I feel just this small in such a massive world!!
Happy Hump Day!!
