Hello everyone. I just wanted to update you all on Memories' (working title) development during this difficult time. Firstly, myself and my family are doing well: Goro is still getting his daily walks, my husband now works at home (making my daily life a little less lonely) and my routine is pretty much unaffected. Actually, I'm probably doing better with someone else around as it's helping my productivity and I find myself working longer hours than I did before. Of course, some days it's difficult to focus...but we're in a crisis and I'm not going to beat myself up over getting distracted by the news and panicking for a couple of hours a week.

I got married in the beginning of March (yay!) and had my birthday last Sunday (hurray!)...and it's been weird trying to be happy when it feels like everything is up in flames around you, but I believe we can still find happiness in times of darkness and we should try to keep our moods up now more than ever. Also, Animal Crossing helps!

However, I know many people are in much less fortunate positions than I am right now, which is why I'm offering One Night Stand for free on PC, Mac and Linux for those who're experiencing financial difficulties. Just write me an email or contact me on Twitter or Facebook and I'll send you a key. It's not much but it's the best I can do. I believe we all have to try and help each other however we can right now, even if that's just by staying home.

Anyway, since returning from my wedding, Memories has come a long way. Christmas, New Year, trips home, bureaucracy and wedding planning slowed me down the first two months of the year, but now I'm plowing through tasks like the Plow King shovels snow. I finally set my Trello board to good use and got it working for myself. I've made lists of jobs for each area of the game: programming, memory artwork, present day artwork, sound effects, editing tasks etc. I was finding myself lost every Monday morning, unsure of what to tackle each week, whilst now I can see everything clearly and bash on with it. I've done so much present day exploration artwork recently so I'd like to share some with you:

Note: These are in development and subject to edits.

Programming and UI are coming along nicely too: I've recently added some jigsaw puzzle-like games, keypad locks, button hovers and screen pans. Sound and music is a little behind, but I'm slowly adding sound effects on the more-finished scenes. Also, most of the new artwork I've drawn is in and working too.

Next up is finishing the exploration artwork and implementing it all – Seriously, you can search for so much stuff in this game, it's crazy! – followed by more sound effects, ongoing editing and programming. There are a few memories left than need artwork too, so once the next round of edits is done, I'll be starting that, wrapping up almost all of the remaining artwork!

It's still a few months away from being completed, but Memories is coming along nicely. I really hope I can continue this productivity whilst we're in lockdown and get the game out before Autumn hits! That's my goal but this is game development and she tends to have different plans ;-)

Everyone, thank you for reading this post! Please take care and check in with loved ones during this difficult time. Remember to stay inside and stay safe! I'll be back with more updates as I get closer to finishing the game soon! Until then!

Well, we're a week into 2020 now so it's about time I finished my list. I hope you get the chance to check out some of my recommendations!

Ahh, I loved this game! Eliza (named after the natural language conversation program created at MIT's AI laboratory) is a visual novel by Zachtronics about an AI counselling program, the people who use it and the people who develop it.

You play as Evelyn, who's reconnecting with old colleagues and studying Eliza in practice. There are many choices about the morality of the program and how it should be used in future. It's harrowing on one hand, but hopeful on the other. The story is enjoyable and well written, enhanced by its perfect voice acting. (And, whilst writing this blog post, Eliza has also been nominated for two IGF awards, including the grand prize!)

Oof...I don't know where to start with Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It is a huge game and my favourite of last year! I'll try and keep this post short...

I guess I'll start with the house I chose first: Golden Deer. For some reason, during the weeks leading up to release, I was stressing out about who to pick! My fiancé picked my first choice (Blue Lions) but we wanted to see how the routes differed...So I considered GD but assumed that was the hardcore route. I wasn't as interested in Black Eagles, either, and...Edelgard... *stares daggers at her*

(Spoilers ahead)

Claude won me over with his speech at the beginning as he did for many. To me, GD was the overall story route: You find out the most about the world, Byleth, Sothis, Rhea and "those who sliver in the dark". That's not to say the other routes are pointless; rather they tend to focus on more human matters. My second playthrough was with the Blue Lions, and the story focussed on Dimitri's revenge wish and redemption. As much as I loved Claude, Dimitri was my favourite character...He was so interesting to follow and watch grow. However, both voice actors did a tremendous job. Chris Hackney (Dimitri) plays the wonderful, soft, princely Dimitri perfectly, and the crazed, bloodthirsty Dimitri, well, perfectly. Joe Zieja (Claude) does a brilliant job too, as both serious and jokey Claude – It's clear he absolutely loved his role.

Now then, I'm pretty biased, aren't I? I haven't played Black Eagles yet. However, since my BL playthrough, I'm intrigued to find out what Edelgard's deal is. I've already spent over 140 hours on Three Houses and I'm looking forward to getting back into it, but there are some parts of the game that drag for me...In particular, the monastery part.

The first time I played Three Houses, I love the monastery life sim/ social link aspects. It borrows from games like Persona and adds those elements to the Fire Emblem series, which works surprisingly well. However, when the first half of the game contains pretty much the exact same content no matter which route you're on, it gets pretty boring on a second playthrough. The same items are lost, fish still need to be caught, flowers grown etc. Of course, there is an option to skip this, and there's new game+, too (where you can use points to speed up the process), but still, your party will be weaker if you skip and don't spend any time here. (I wanna get all the characters and ship them, so...)

Three Houses doesn't have the same dating mechanic as Awakening or Fates, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. There are so many characters, I just enjoyed watching their support conversations, which I doubt I'll ever fully see as there are just too many options! For my first playthrough, I romanced Claude (as many did) and, on my second, I was gunning for Dimitri, but when I saw his and Marianne's support, I just had to ship them! I gave him up for her because Marianne is precious and they both seemed like they understood each other (Please, give me a medal for my sacrifice!). I recruited Ignatz and dated him instead, correcting my mistake from my first playthrough (damn you, flirty Claude!). However, Ignatz is so much like me, it was like dating myself which was weird.

Apart from Byleth (the silent protagonist), the characters in Three Houses were all really good. I feel like everyone is like someone in that game. I'm like a venn diagram of Ignatz, Bernadetta, Marianne and Ingrid. I loved Dorothea, Dedue, Ashe, Raphael, Hilda, Cyril, as well. I hated Lorenz and Sylvain for being such flirts (harassers), but they both made me laugh like hell, too! The support conversation between female Byleth and Lorenz is one of my favourites: Yes, there have been very many real complaints made against you from the female students! And she has to keep repeating this fact because Lorenz can't fathom why the girls wouldn't find him charming. Haha!

Fire Emblem: Three Houses wasn't just downright fun and I can't wait until the time is right to play the final Black Eagles house!

Better Call Saul is incredible. I'm not the biggest Breaking Bad fan; though I respect the show, it's not my idea of entertainment, but Better Call Saul mostly ditches the gritty drug story for a courtroom drama. Of course, it's an origin story for Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad, so crimes and naughtiness are afoot, but the focus is on Saul (known at this point as Jimmy) and his relationship with his older brother, Chuck, and friend/partner, Kim.

Since it's a spin-off, I put off watching Better Call Saul for years...but when I watched the first episode, I couldn't stop. I said Fleabag was my favourite show of the year, but I'm tempted to say this was, too – It's just so intense! For me, this is mainly down to the acting. Bob Odenkirk is amazing in this show and I was stunned watching him express so many emotions throughout. I empathised with him many times throughout and loved his character even more. Everyone's favourite, Mike (Jonathan Banks), also returns, and new characters (Kim especially) were really fleshed out and just as likeable as the established ones. I enjoyed Jimmy and Kim's relationship as it's not the stereotypical heterosexual relationship: They both put business first and maintain their own sense of independence, which I relate to.

Better Call Saul is full of exciting twists and turns and I can't wait until season 5 comes out later this year. Don't sleep on this show like I did!

My Roommate is a Cat is an accurate depiction of my everyday working life with Goro. Simply replace the word cat with dog and author to indie dev and it's me.

The protagonist, Mikazuki Subaru, is socially anxious and lives alone. He struggles with any relationships and likes to close himself off from the outside world, but a little cat who was dumped by humans comes into his life. This cat is tough and learned to look after herself, so from both angles, there are characters trying to form a relationship with each other.

Caring for a pet, when you've only needed to think about yourself most of your life, comes as a shock. I had pets when I was younger, but I had a 15 year petless gap before I got Goro...Plus, I'd never ever had a dog before. I spent months trying to adjust, sometimes despairing thinking that I couldn't manage him, but with time I coped. I slowly learnt that there's joy in looking after something other than yourself. Feeling needed.

These feelings are difficult when you're not only used to being petless, but used to being alone and are bad at socialising. Like Subaru, I have social anxiety. Sometimes, it's just easier to not see anyone and recluse...I totally get where he's coming from. Plus, he wants/needs to work on his writing but keep getting distracted and stressed by the little cat that needs him. I totally relate! It takes time to adjust, but I'm so glad we both did.

Our Dreams at Dusk focuses around Tasuku Kaname, a gay teenager who has just been outed for having gay porn on his phone. He's about to commit suicide, when he sees a woman jump from a building on a cliff edge. When he discovers the building, the woman is there unharmed. It turns out the building is a drop-in center for LGBT people, who renovate houses in the town. Through them, he slowly learns to accept his sexuality.

Our Dreams at Dusk is beautifully drawn and serious in tone. Whilst there is value in light-hearted gay stories, like Yuri on Ice!! and Steven Universe, being LGBT comes with challenges which should be discussed as well. I imagine this manga will really help those who're struggling to feel accepted in the world.

​KUUKIYOMI is a relatively short ​game, with options to play co-op. You play quick scenes (WarioWare style) where you have to consider the right thing to do. There are over 100 scenarios: Some are everyday things, like moving aside to let people sit down, whilst others are hilarious or downright cruel! I don't want to spoil them, but I was speechless for a few of them...How could the developers even go there?

For the short time I spent with KUUKIYOMI, I left feeling inspired. It makes a game out of social cues in such a simple, smart way. I'd love to make a game like it one day!

KUUKIYOMI is short and cheap, so you should pick it up yourself and give it a go!

How not to be a Boy is a funny autobiography by Robert Webb, yet it also questions the harmful sides of masculinity; how rules such as "drink beer", "don't cry" and "love sport" don't bring anything positive to society. He takes us through his own childhood and adolescence, describing the pressures he felt to not be who he really was (Hmm, I'm being to see a theme with my list this year...). It's something I relate to a lot, being a woman interested in "typically male" fields such as video games, programming, having my own business etc. I have struggled and continue to struggle with pressures to conform to the gender binary and become what is expected of a typical woman. Well, Webb and I say screw that!
​
I enjoyed reading every page of How not to be a Boy. It's hilarious but also heartbreaking. Truth be told, I'm not much of a Peep Show fan, but now I really like Webb; He's brutally honest and open but, above all, a brilliant story-teller. I wish I had the memory and skill to recount my past the way he did. Reading through, I could see the flip-side of the struggles I faced whilst growing up and, really, what is it for?

I literally saw one tweet with screenshots from this show and was sold. O Maidens of Your Savage Season is an anime series based on its manga. The show is about a group of school girls in the literature club, and I know what you're thinking: "Yawn. School anime". The thing is, O Maidens is actually the most realistic school anime I've seen. We follow the girls and their different grips on puberty and sexuality. First, there's Kazusa (the protagonist): A romantic but somewhat shy or unsure about sex, maybe even on the asexual spectrum. Then there's Niina, who was harassed as a child (groomed, even) and isn't particularly interested in boys, until she falls for Izumi. Izumi is Kazusa's childhood friend (and crush) and they both start noticing the differences between their bodies as they grow up. Momoko is another girl in the club who feels confused as she has a crush on Niina and wonders if she is lesbian. Hitoha writes erotic novels but is told by her publisher that her stories sound like they're written by a 40 year old male virgin, so she desires life experience, meeting up with a guy from an online chatroom. Rika is the club president and very uptight about sex because of her upbringing, but cannot deny how she feels about boys.

As a woman, I feel as though each of these stories has something to offer a female audience. Like Booksmart, I felt represented. Whenever a shoujo high school anime attempts to discuss sex, it's always too innocent and romantic, where sex is barely even mentioned, or, if it's shonen, it's more sexual and almost pornographic. This is worrying as, if parents and friends aren't talking to teenagers about sex, then they are clueless when it happens to them. It's part of the reason I made One Night Stand: We're in dire need of more realistic stories about sex.

Whilst sometimes handled problematically, O Maidens is still valuable. I wish it had come out when I was the age of the protagonists. Puberty is such a confusing time and it's, like, the biggest thing in your life that no-one's talking about! If you're female and lucky, you get taught sex-education (periods, how pregnancy happens etc) but you probably won't get taught anything about sexuality. This show went there, plus the animation was beautiful. It's a shame I've not seen anyone else talk about O Maidens.

I nearly forget Shibuya Scramble, which was actually one of my most enjoyable gaming experiences of the year! It's because I played it earlier in the year and it was released on Steam and PS4 in 2018. Plus, it's initial, Japanese release was in 2008, too, but enough with my excuses...Let me tell you why I loved it so much!

SS is a visual novel with a few FMV scenes, but mainly static photographs. I don't think I've played a visual novel quite like it. It's like a series of 24 but with Japanese humour to soften the content. At first, SS feels weird and the game design is janky: You get multiple bad endings, and initially these make you want to give up, thinking you've done something wrong but once you realise this is just how the game works, you get into the swing of it and want to discover all the endings. There're 87 different endings, I believe, but the game's designed so you try again to get the true one. You can easily jump to the choices you made and alter them, too.

The music was superb. The acting, even though the game is mainly photographs, was great. The narration was hilariously Japanese, but so engaging I couldn't stop reading it. SS had it all: crime, war, romance, mascot suits, cleaning a toilet, you name it! You play an array of characters who start off not knowing each other. Achi Endo's story was exciting and romantic (hence my favourite), whilst Kenji Osawa's was dark, complex and sci-fi. Everyone is intertwined and it's hard to put the game down once you unlock the barriers.

After the main story is "finished", there are a bunch of extras, and I mean a bunch! I still haven't got them all, which I should rectify because I think I'm still missing out on the true, true ending...But there are loads of additional episodes for the side characters. Canaan's ending is anime styled, whilst Suzune's made me bawl my eyes out: It was an hour or so of visual novel's at their very best.

Shibuya Scramble requires a lot of reading. It's Japanese in tone and humour, but I still recommend it to everyone. Get into the swing of the game after 1-2 hours and I'm sure you'll have as much fun as I did!

I'm very grateful to all the creators who helped work on my favourites from last year! There were a ton more shows, books and games I enjoyed, but I had to draw the line somewhere! (Maybe I should do these lists a little more frequently? Hmm.) A quick shout out to Dreamwork's She-Ra, Tuca & Bertie, Sarazanmai, Shenmue 3, Carole & Tuesday, Hynospace Outlaw, Classmates (the manga) and Death Stranding. However, I'd also like to express my sympathies to Kyoto Animation, who tragically lost so many talented creators. Last year, I watched their film, Liz and the Blue Bird, at Nippon Connection and loved it. Before that, I was wowed by Violet Evergarden's stunning animation, and years prior, I particularly enjoyed Free! and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. Their attention to detail was second to none and I just cannot fathom why this tragedy happened.

Please look after and celebrate the creators you love! With that, let's move forward into 2020 with hope for the future.

Take care and I'll be back soon!

It's that time again when I look back at the TV, films, games and books I've enjoyed over the last 12 months. 2019 has been the most trying year of my life, but I honestly feel stronger coming out the other side of it. I have high hopes that things will continue to improve throughout 2020 and life will get back on track!

Because it's been a tough one, this list is waaay longer than I anticipated so it comes in two parts! Note: South Korea bossed part 1!

Like last year, my list is not necessarily "What was new in 2019" – Rather, what was new to me. Warning: There are a few spoilers below but I've tried to mark them all so you can skip ahead if you want.

​Okay, let's begin...

This "game" came at a perfect time. The time we live is trying, we feel lonelier than ever despite being more connected than ever, mental health is at an all time low, and online communities are toxic places. But what if being connected online could actually help us instead? Kind Words achieves this almost effortlessly. When you load the "game" for the first time, you give your name but will only be referred to by your first initial from then on. You receive letters from other, actual humans who are struggling or wanting to share their positivity. You can reply, but only once, and they cannot reply back. They can send you a cute sticker and thanks, but that's it.

It sounds kinda disappointing, right? Anonymity and no way to stay in touch with someone who was kind to you...but that's why it works. People want to help when it suits them i.e. when they load the "game". They do not want to feel burdened or overwhelmed when someone continues requesting help. It's a one time only thing: Try and help, then move onto someone else you maybe able to help. It makes you really consider each word carefully (since there is a character limit) and not turn things sour. Sure, trolling could happen, but I haven't seen it. Trolls will never get any feedback or satisfaction from being mean in Kind Words, so they don't seem to bother. I believe if things go bad, you can report them, although, frankly, I don't understand who'd go to the effort of downloading Kind Words, listen to the chill lo-fi beats, and then be nasty. The "game" is designed for empathy, and I am amazed at some of the kind responses I've received to my own problems. It restores my faith in humanity.

I keep saying "game". It's not a game. Kind Words is so much more than that, but it is being sold on Steam...so I guess it's a game? There are collectable elements and things to work towards, but I see Kind Words more like a perfectly designed online forum: a place to visit once a day or a few times a week to enrich your life and the lives of others. I absolutely love it. Whenever I feel a little hopeless or useless or whatever, I go on Kind Words, maybe write my own problem, and then spend time trying to help others. It encourages empathy and love, which I then throw back at myself. 30 minutes or so later, I walk away feeling better. I can't say the same for the average dose of Twitter or Facebook.

I hope Kind Words becomes an app that's on every device; in the top corner, as important as your cloud save or schedule app. It deserves more than to be lumped with "video games" on Steam.

Blank Canvas is an autobiographical manga by Akiko Higashimura (Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls). She's quickly become by favourite mangaka, with Tokyo Tarareba Girls being one of my highlights from last year.

Blank Canvas starts when Akiko is in high school and trying to get into university. She's overly-confident and believes she can do anything, but reality comes crashing down when she meets an art tutor who straight up says her work "Sucks!", "They are all crap!" and "You ain't gettin' in anywhere with this junk!". He's introduced almost like a villain, but in Higashimura's style, these scenes are expressive, full of energy and hilarious. I laughed so much reading this book because it felt so true.

Higashimura looks back at her younger self as naive, silly, even stupid, and when she's back to present day, you can feel the heaviness of her regrets...so much, that these books brought me to full on tears several times. You can feel just how much she loved her sensei through her art, composition and words...Plus, the iconic tracksuit she wears now as her respect for him.

As we get older, we begin to regret the actions of our younger selves. I think that's something everyone feels one way or another, so reading Higashimura's autobiography, even if you aren't an artist, feels so real. Lost moments, opportunities, and even people can forever hold a place in our hearts.

(Spoilers ahead)

This scene from the end of book 2 destroys me. Something as simple as leaving a bottle of shochu can be so dramatic when story-telling is just right. Read bubbles right to left:

Night on the Galactic Railroad, a Japanese animated film from 1985, is odd. It's not a particularly great film, but it mesmerised me for some reason. I felt like I was engulfed in some other world and I loved it for that.

I think part of how it grabbed me is how movies are today. Take Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker, for example (no spoilers): I walked out saying "I felt like I was flicking through my Twitter feed. We went from one planet, to another, to another like it was nothing". Since when was travelling to planets "nothing"?! (Meanwhile, Akiko Higashimura made me feel the bottom of my soul because of a shochu bottle!) The original Star Wars trilogy would stay on one planet for a long time, establishing it, building atmosphere and showing us the inhabitants. However, the latest trilogy didn't seem to consider taking a pause every now and then to let us get to know a place...Night on the Galactic Railroad does pause, and it's wonderful because of it. Yeah, it's an incredibly slow, almost dull movie, but that almost comes as a surprise these days and was the reason it stuck with me. That and Kunihiko Ikuhara (my favourite anime director) was clearly inspired by it's surrealism as well.

The music is eerie and beautiful, the cinematography is stunning, and the ending is...Well, I won't go there but it got to me! Night on the Galactic Railroad is an old film: It's slow and confusing at times, but it left an impression on me that very few movies have done recently. If you like Ghibli and are tired of Disney, I recommend giving it a watch.

Okay, I enjoyed this show perhaps for all the wrong reasons: I shipped Hong Seol and Baek In-ho HARD, like no other ship before!

The story is about Hong Seol, a university student who can see through her senior's (Yoo Jung) kind exterior. He is manipulative and uses his power and position to destroy the lives of anyone who crosses him. Seol also decides to date him. Whaaaat?!

(Spoilers ahead)

For some reason, Seol chooses to date the sociopath, Jung, instead of "bad" boy (good boy) In-ho. Whilst it's great to see a sociopathic character trying to make himself better, his bullshit hurts Seol in too many, unforgivable ways...hospitalising her many times. What's worse, the couple barely laugh or smile together – Why the heck are they even together?! I just don't understand it! Meanwhile, In-ho protects her, comforts her, makes he laugh, plays piano with her, goes from homeless to hardworking and supports his god-awful sister who he should have ditched long ago. I get that you can't control who you love and what someone does for you does not equal love, but Seol and In-ho looked so happy together! Every scene with Seol and Jung was misery or arguing. Whenever they were close, it felt so forced. I guess she just dated him because he was there first? *shrugs*

Reading into the series' reception, apparently I am not alone. The series is based off a webtoon, which apparently treats In-ho as an after-thought, but in the series he shines, more so than Jung. I assume the director wanted who she ends up with to be a surprise but, to the viewer, it just doesn't make sense. Both actors for Baek In-ho (Seo Kang-joon) and Hong Seol (Kim Go-eun) had chemistry. For them alone, I enjoyed this show, but for everything else, it was frustrating as hell! Still, it lead me on to becoming a Seo Kang-joon fan-girl, so I sought out what else he's starred in, hoping he gets better treatment elsewhere... ​

I actually had a dream about Life is Strange 2 last night...That's how much of an impact this game had on me! When I started the game last year, I was disappointed to find out we play as the older brother, Sean, who doesn't have any special powers. However, as the game progresses, we see just how much of a burden Sean has to take on to protect his younger brother, Daniel, and his powers. Daniel is 10 years old and doesn't quite understand or agree with everything going on around him. Not only are you navigating the crazy situation they find themselves in, you're also trying to raise him as a decent human being (at least, that's what I tried to do).

(Spoilers ahead)

Episode 3 felt like the weakest of all the episodes to me, and after I played it, I waited until 4 and 5 came out so I could play them both together. I guess I was too much of a big brother in episode 3; I went to bed early with Daniel and looked after him, instead of sleeping with Cassidy or kissing Finn...Two things I had no idea you could even do until I heard other people chat about it. So my poor Sean, who was only friends with Cassidy, left the camp a one-eyed virgin, which really skewed my decision of what to do in the last two episodes...

I'd gone from looking after Daniel and caring only for him to putting Sean first. He's only 16 himself and gone through so much shit to protect his brothers powers. The racist scene in episode 4 (where the guys force him to sing in Spanish) tore me apart. I flat out refused to do what they wanted and got beaten to a pulp for it, clearly playing like a typical white person who's never had to deal with this. Honestly, this scene was the strongest in the entire game for me. I really felt the racism and the frustration and injustice that comes with it.

At the end of episode 5, where you decide to push forward of give yourself up, I knew the right thing to do was to give yourself up...though, in my white privileged opinion, I would have done that from the start. Too much had happened since and we know that Sean is going to be in prison for a long time. The poor boy was just defending his brother and trying his best to get through an awful situation. I just couldn't give up at this point...too much had happened. So, I pushed forward and used Daniel's powers for myself (the only time in the game) but since Daniel was raised with morals, he jumped out of the car to be arrested by the police. The brothers never see each other again...and this still tears me up inside. It's what I dreamt about last night: What is Daniel doing locked inside his grandparents house? Will Sean ever see him again? Whilst it's sad, it made the most sense to me. Sean was finally free and Daniel, who had killed people and was dangerous, is kept under close watch.

Like Life is Strange 1, I quickly watched the other endings after completing the game, and yeah, I think I got the best ending for me. If I'd raised Daniel to be a shit, I would have gotten the "happiest" ending of the lot, but at what cost? If I'd played the game oppositely to what I did, Sean would've... Anyway, by episode 4 and 5, I really, really loved Sean. He went through so much and never stopped caring about Daniel. Maybe he made stupid decisions at times, but it never felt frustrating for the player: He's a teenager and learning about who he wants to be, too. He is his own character, but leaves enough player agency to make your choices matter. In what I found to be a year of soulless, silent protagonists, Sean Diaz was a refreshing change.

Eeeee! I loved Tangle Tower! Although I wasn't part of the IGF jury this year, I took part in the judging and got to play a load of indie games. Tangle Tower was the standout to me and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves over the coming months.

I'm not really a murder-mystery fan, but within minutes, Tangle Tower had me hooked. The beautiful background art, music, fabuluous voice-acting and stunning character animations made the experience a delight and I couldn't put it down. The game itself was welcoming and eased you into how to play with a perfect tutorial and clear objective given in the first 15 minutes – Great!

I could honestly gush about the character animations for this whole post, but I won't as you can see how awesome they are yourself. I hadn't played any of the Detective Grimoire games before this, but the mechanics were clever and inspired me for Memories. Even the tip button was nicely implemented; I only used it once (when I was truly stuck) and I didn't feel dirty for doing so. Usually with point-and-clicks, I get stuck all the time, and it's a reason I don't play them as much as I'd like to, but Tangle Tower got it right.

I guess the only thing I wasn't too happy about was how quickly it ended. You know me, I don't have a problem with short games, but the beginning spent many hours investigating everything, whilst the ending got wrapped up in what felt like a few minutes. To me, it felt rushed and I wished I could've seen a few more hints towards the culprit leading up to the end...Though, I suppose murder-mysteries tend to reveal the truth only right at the very end.

I had so much fun with Tangle Tower and it was about 5-7 hours of playtime. I highly recommend it!

Fleabag had been on my list for a while. I'd heard good things but just never got around to it. After the release of season 2, I thought it was finally time to watch it...

I still don't know how to describe Fleabag. It's a drama...about a woman...who runs a small business...in London. Most of the characters are awful people too, but they're fully human; warts and all. I guess what makes Fleabag so great is not what the show is about, but how the show is told. It's intimate and truthful, with Fleabag especially breaking the forth wall and talking to us directly about all her thoughts. It has the perfect balance of humour, love and tragedy.

I watched a lot of shows last year, but Fleabag was probably my favourite. It's perfectly executed and thoroughly entertaining. I already want to watch it again and am gutted I missed the stage show!

I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy Parasite when I saw that it featured heavy violence, but I'd heard good things and, since it's from South Korea, I decided to take the gamble. Whilst I turned away from the violence of last scene (with audio commentary from my fiancé), I couldn't look away for the rest of the film. I felt like I was watching a Hitchcock, except here the story just kept taking unexpected turns after unexpected turns.

I usually write these blog posts full of spoilers, but I don't want to do that for Parasite. It's best to just experience it yourself. I genuinely laughed out loud in the first half of the film and was in shock for the second half. I left the cinema feeling enriched: The morals of the story were on my mind for days afterwards, and it makes me look twice when I see poverty or desperation.

Join me soon for part 2!

​Happy new year everyone!

Whoa, it’s been over a year since I last updated you all on Memories' development! Apologies for going dark on it for so long; the year has been crazy with One Night Stand’s console launch and localisations, plus my own personal illness, but I’m through the thick of it now and pushing forward! Memories is really starting to come together and I’m very happy with how much I’ve achieved in the last couple of months.

To start, I’ve been updating all the memory artwork in the game so it animates in an inkblot style.

The old style is on the left and the new is on the right:

It's subtle, but the advantage of the animated style is the opportunity for lack of clarity i.e. when the protagonist's memories are most blurry, the fade can be more dramatic. The original gouache-like style on the left wasn’t able to convey that because it was too clean, so I've leant towards watercolour paints, which are pale, fluid and expressive.

Sometimes, I think doing this traditionally would have been easier! Digital paint brushes can be a pain, but I found that Procreate has some of the best out there, so all this new artwork has been done on my iPad. It’s taken a while, but last week I began drawing some new scenes, which was refreshing!

​Here's a look at some of them (stills):

I started on the non-memory/ present day artwork, too, to ensure both styles suited one-another. I was considering rotoscoping for a while, but it wouldn’t match the memory art style unless I rotoscoped that as well, and I’m just one person with limitations – I have to draw the line somewhere (hohoho).

​I still wanted the present day art artwork to look more realistic than the memories, so I decided to use direct photo reference instead:

Now, there is a clear distinction between what Millie remembers and how she is today, not just in colouring but also in how people are drawn.

Artwork aside, I’ve been editing the script and adding a few more puzzles to the game. It’s definitely more “gamey” and, with only a few different outcomes, more linear than One Night Stand. I estimate a playthrough will take a few hours, perfect for one or two good sessions of gaming!

My next plans are to continue editing and ensuring the puzzles work. Also UI. UI has been a mess for a while, so I want to fix it and wrap the whole game in a neat little package (cue Homer Simpson). Then, I'll be seeking out alpha testers who will finally be able to see what they're actually doing! There's also a little music and SFX in there too, exciting!

Obviously, there’s still much work to go, but over the next few months, I can see Memories getting wrapped up. I may even decide on a final name! I've narrowed down my shortlist so I will be picking one soon.

I plan on writing a “Best of 2019” post on here before the year is out, so I'll be back here before you know it. There's been a lot of inspirational and fun things this year which I want to share with you all.

​Happy holidays!

One Night Stand is now available to play on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch. I can't believe it!

It's now playable in the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.

We are celebrating with a launch discount on some platforms, so grab it whilst it's cheap! The full price will be $4.99.

Also, if you're playing on PC, Mac or Linux, there has been an update adding Traditional Chinese, Spanish AND Portuguese (EU). There are also some minor bug fixes and improvements, but please note: Portuguese (EU) is NOT yet included in the Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions.

I hope you all enjoy experiencing One Night Stand on your home televisions or on-the-go! Have fun and thanks for all your support!