Awards and Accidental Giant Mechs

Surprise! Although my newsletters usually come out at the end of the month, you're getting this one a little bit early, mostly because I'm bursting to share...

GAYming awards nomination

The Beekeeper's Picnic has been nominated for Best LGBTQ+ Indie Game at the Gayming awards!

AND Tobias Weatherburn aka Toby III has been nominated for LGBTQ+ Actor! (For his much more lofty roles, I’m sure, as fabulous as he was as Holmes’ faithful hound!)

The nominations are the result of submissions by the public, so I know that this was definitely because of some of you chaps writing what I assume must have been really convincing recommendations. This means I owe many of you a great big thank you!

Much like Eurovision, 50% of the score is down to the public, so all of you can head to gaymingawards.com/nominees/and get voting!

There will be a red carpet event in Hollywood later in the year streamed globally which I expect I’ll be attending virtually!

Sherlock Showcase

A little bit closer to home for me than the glittering lights of Hollywood but just as star-studded — on Sat 23 May, the Sherlock Holmes Society of London is taking over Hammersmith Studios in London for a ⭐Sherlock Showcase⭐

There's a ticketed event for a programme of screenings and performances. There's also going to be a free to attend 'market' with stalls, guests and signing opportunities, including a table for the Beekeeper's Picnic!

I'm hoping that some of the Beekeeper's Picnic actors will be able to make it - they're busy folks, but fingers crossed! I will definitely be there giving out Newt Facts. I hope that some of you can come and say hello!

Other News

Research Trip to the British Museum

I decided to take another little excursion to gather inspiration for my new game The Museum of Everything, and where better than that archetypal bastion of colonial collecting, The British Museum?

I also had fun trying out a fancy new camera. You can watch my vlog here.

I may have got a bit distracted making a funky snakedragon

For the past couple of years I've attended an event called Fantasy Forest. To the USians out there, I gather it's a bit like Renaissance Festival, but without any pretence of historical accuracy. There are steampunks, there are hoards of fae beings, there's always a large contingent of Discworld fans, and you'll definitely run into a Doctor or two.

The general atmosphere of Fantasy Forest.

Every year I go with friends who are incredibly skilled in leatherworking and costuming, while I've generally been content to raid my wardrobe to put together something comparatively simple.

For this Summer, I have grander plans. I thought I'd try upping my game and dressing as an Edwardian adventuress, recently returned from an expedition. I wanted her to have some kind of beast who she has found on her travels and has been attempting to keep as a pet, but it DEFINITELY wants to eat her.

I’m calling him Sherbert.

Sherbert, being constructed.

If I'm being hand-on-heart honest, creating Sherbert became a bit of an obsession which drew me away from game dev for a few weeks, but fear not gentle reader: I did get some stuff done this month!

I'm making good progress on what I'm thinking of as my 'proof of concept' demo, a little slice from the beginning of the game. Look, I’ll even prove it to you by showing you a screenshot of a time i got some numbers wrong and accidentally put a giant mech in my game.

This is J33, he’s not supposed to be that big.

Well, I guess it’s about time I got back to the grind — these awards don’t win themselves! See you next month!