Lucy Dreaming
After my recent devlog about puzzle design I have been chatting to other people, players and devs about some of the themes in the post. One thing that came up was the fact that I talk to my characters. I’m aware that this makes me sound like I’m a sultana short of a fruitcake but […]
I’ve written a couple of times in the past about individual elements of puzzle design, but I wanted to have a bit of a ramble about it in a blog post as it helps me to be transparent about my development process, and also to reflect on it as I “think aloud” while I write. […]
To date I have created two point and click games using Visionaire Studio. The first of them to launch was Hair of the Dog, and shortly after that the demo for Lucy Dreaming. The process for developing each one was quite different. Lucy Dreaming has been a longer, more organic process which has changed and […]
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we are one of only eleven indie game studios to have been accepted for Round 7 of UK Games Fund funding. What does this mean for Lucy Dreaming? The grant can cover work and expenses from UK-based suppliers, so we can’t put it towards the localisation of the […]
I promised I wouldn’t put myself into this position. Don’t worry I thought, you can always find a bit of time to scribble a few thoughts down in a blog post and keep the shop-front open. Well that all went to pot once the Kickstarter campaign launched. This is the first blog post in four […]
Like everyone there are a lot of things I wasn’t expecting about the last 14 months of my life. But sitting in bed under a clothes horse, shrouded in a duvet with a camping light and a microphone. Now that is weird. How on earth did I get here? When the idea of voicing Lucy […]
As many of you will be aware, I have a tendency to waffle a bit in my blog/devlog posts, but really this is juat an announcement and a “thank you”. We’ve actually gone and done it! After months (which quite honestly felt like years) of preparations, we have finally pushed the big, green button and […]
I’m taking a break from harping on about my Kickstarter campaign to write about something that I’ve known for a while, but had confirmed in no uncertain terms during the recent Easter egg hunt competition. Recently, a journalist asked me a question regarding “obscure” puzzles. My response was that I believe that any puzzle has […]
Wait! Stop right there! The Lucy Dreaming Kickstarter will now be launching on 27th April. Follow it here to be notified when it launches so you don’t miss out on an early-bird discount! OK, now on with the blog… In my preparation for Kickstarter last year I read A Crowdfunder’s Strategy Guide by Jamey Stegmaier. Jamey’s […]
I’ve not written a blog post for a few weeks, the main reason being that I’ve been getting a row of ducks organised for launching the demo, promoting it, and subsequently making sure all of my figures add up for the forthcoming Kickstarter campaign. During this process, I also decided to launch Hair of the […]
At the tail end of last year Tall Story Games was lucky enough to receive a modest grant to afford us some industry-focused business consultancy. We have been working closely with a seasoned industry pro to help us form a solid strategy for launching our fledgling studio. The existing art just wasn’t good enough. Last […]
A lot of my devlog posts have been about my own personal journey creating my first fully-fledged adventure game. For this post, instead of pouring out my latest insecurities or opinions, I wanted to showcase some of the cool things that you’ll be able to experience in the new (shorter) demo. Although you can justifiably […]
I’ve been working on the demo for Lucy Dreaming since May 2020 and have a bit of a confession to make. I actually finished it last year. I managed to get it all designed, voiced, developed and tested all ready to adorn my Kickstarter campaign. The feedback from everyone was very positive, the humour, styling […]
After AdvXJam in November, I have 3 completed (albeit relatively short) adventure games under my belt. As a result of this, I have started to take things a bit more seriously and have now officially launched Tall Story Games in partnership with my long-suffering wife Emma. This will be the overarching brand that all future […]
The AdventureX Jam I took part in in November 2020 has had some utterly stellar entries. But here are just a few of my top picks for various reasons. Unrelenting ear worm award Swarm of the Plague Babies by @charlottegore Despite being a beautifully-written and acted piece of hilarious adventure game drama. This entry will […]
Over a two-week period in November, I decided to down tools on Lucy Dreaming for a while and have a go at my first “game jam”. A game jam is a type of challenge where game developers and designers are tasked with building a new game from scratch within a set time period, and within […]
Over the past few months of posting updates and questions on social media, one thing has come up more and more often. You really have to do something about that space in your verb menu! Despite being a designer, the gap in the verb interface didn’t bother me, and it really surprised me that the […]
A lot of my previous posts have been opinion-pieces about my approach to game dev and storytelling, which is all well and good but I wanted to post an update about where the demo is currently up to. I’m not a patient man and I always want things finished immediately, but a few weeks ago […]
This project initially started out as a passionate, self-indulgent fantasy where I grandly stood on the backs of giants to create a game which included all of the things I love about point & click adventure games, with none of the bits I didn’t. Through engaging with other gamers and game developers online it has […]
After a bit of a crisis of confidence last week where the narrative of the game seemed to have evaporated into an over-complicated and vague nonsense, I brought it back with the help of my wife who managed to talk me down. A sobering reminder to continually involve other people in the creative process to […]