Eclipse and Binging Video Essays

Hello friends,

August gave me the reassuring information that 92% of the sun can be obscured by the moon, and it’s still quite bright and warm. We had a not-quite-total eclipse here in the UK.

I happened to be in Birmingham’s city centre so I got to enjoy watching crowds of people all trying to experience it in their own way — through their phones, eclipse glasses, cereal boxes pin-pricked with holes, and my personal favourite, by projecting dozens of little suns using a colander.

Here is my atmospheric picture of the eclipse on the Birmingham Riviera, over a giant Lego giraffe.

(Ok it’s actually Duplo. In case any of you are aficionados of the Lego family of building block toys.)

It’s almost like sunset, but the sun isn’t’ setting…

The Museum of Everything

The game is in the process of being transformed into HIGH(ish) DEFINITION, with textured watercolour(ish) artwork! I've also been cracking on with some animations. In the Beekeeper's Picnic I really enjoyed a moment where Watson will sit up and look at you expectantly if you approach him, and then look away if you leave. I'm trying to add lots of similar interactions, because I think it makes the environments feel more alive.

Madge’s new work buddy.

I enjoy how each task involved in creating a game has a slightly different flavour to it. For writing, I need silence (or just ambient noise) and I spend a lot of time pondering. It’s something I can do anywhere, so I’ll head off to a library or a coffee shop. For programming, I can often chip away at small problems, so it’s easy to do a bit after work and accomplish a few small tasks.

With art and animation, I have to be at my desk, and I find I have to have something vaguely engaging to listen to (but it can’t conjure up visual images in my brain, so audiobooks and audiodramas are out)

This month, the soundtrack to my work has been TinCanAudio’s livestreams, and some favourite podcasts and video essays, including this one by Jenny Nicholson which had me thinking wait… am I Sherlock Holmes Horse Famous? (you’ll have to watch to find out what that means!)

The Beekeeper's Picnic

Last month I said that I had some exciting Beekeeper's Picnic news. I hope it doesn't end up feeling anticlimactic! I realised later that it might be more exciting for me than for my long-time newsletter readers. But here goes - the Beekeeper's Picnic is coming to GOG!

GOG is an online storefront for games similar to Steam, which distributes games DRM-free. This means that when someone buys a game there, they own the installation files and can play them directly without needing a launcher or internet connection.

This is exciting for me because ever since the initial launch I've had people requesting that I host the game there, but GOG is a curated platform and my first application there was declined. I'm sure the fact that it's now been accepted is due to continued support and enthusiasm by people like you, so once again I owe this community a big thank you!

Getting GOG's online systems to 'talk' to the game is a bit of a challenge for me as someone who is primarily a writer/artist who manages to muddle through the technical part of game development. I’m making slow but steady progress figuring it all out. Watch this space, I guess!

The Future

I expect that September is going to entirely be about continuing to create all of the art assets I need for the prologue/proof of concept demo, and maybe if I get time, going back to my programming and changing things to account for the new resolution and artwork.

I’m really looking forward to attending the London Podcast festival for a day! Sunday 6th September is audio drama day and has a lot to interest Beekeeper’s Picnic fans.

Sound designer Amber Devereux and friends are going to (aim to…) to create an audio drama in under and hour in the chaotic Audio Drama Done Quick, Ella Watts (who cast and directed the voice acting in Beekeeper’s) has a live performance of the first episode of her superbly written show Camlann (which stars Tobias Weatherburn, aka Toby III) and later Wooden Overcoats are returning, with Felix Trench and Beth Eyre!

Monthly Malkin

This month I’ve been able to take my laptop and work outside sometimes, and Miss Malkin joins me! We’ve had lots of thunderstorms in the past few days. Unlike fireworks which she HATES, she’s a bit of a fan of thunderstorms and likes to watch them, provided she’s somewhere warm and dry.

See you all next month!