We should stop expecting companies to look after us like friends and family would, because they consistently prove that they won’t.
MAR #1: EDMUND
The grass is greening, the sun is shining and the global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to prowl the streets. Hey ho.
FEB #2: DUESSA
Happy grimmest month of the year, Beloveds! I have an announcement that might cheer you up. I’m not going to go into detail, but I *am* going to confirm that we’re working on some ✨ NEW CULTIST CONTENT ✨.
“What are your influences?”
This is probably the question I’ve been asked most over the years, and every time as soon as I answer it I think of someone I’ve left out. So here’s a semi-permanent list that answers the question.
STATE OF THE FACTORY: YEAR 2
Once again, here’s how Weather Factory is doing, here’s how we thought we’d be doing, and here’s what we’re doing next. Welcome to this year’s Giant Summary Post! This is almost twice the length of the post-2018 State of the Factory, because a lot happened. Come for the kitten pictures, stay for the data. As […]
FEB #1: CALIDORE & THE BLATANT BEAST
This sprint was truer to its name than expected! We took some holiday at the start because Alexis had booked a Secret Early Valentine’s Event for me. It turned out not to be a candlelit vigil in a graveyard sentineled by moon-crows, as I had first suspected. Nor was it an anatomically accurate papier-mâché heart-sculpting […]
‘The Sweet Bones’, Brancrug, June 28th, 1929
From an anonymous F. to Christopher Illopoly, this letter is remarkable for a number of reasons. First, that it explains with more clarity than usual the purpose and abilities of the Librarian of Hush House. Second, that the ‘secrets of inks’ are discussed with the candour of assured destruction. Third, that the letter was evidently […]
JAN #2: BRITOMART
Happy allegory, everyone! Britomart, as any fule kno, is one of the many faces of Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene, representing chastity, which Spenser shoe-horned in late on in the writing process as it became more and more apparent that Elizabeth wasn’t going to marry anyone. Britomart falls in love with the frankly underwhelming […]
POST-LAUNCH STEAM DATA: CULTIST SIMULATOR IN NUMBERS
I had no experience marketing games before Cultist Simulator, so I taught myself with Gamasutra posts, Googling and YouTube videos. There’s loads of useful stuff out there about how to get your game to launch, but there’re slim pickings on what to do afterwards. Here’s an attempt to bridge that gap. The below is a […]
GAME-MAKING’S SENSE OF LOSS
[ I wrote the article below for Wireframe, a British game dev magazine which ‘lifts the lid on video games’. And, inexplicably, lets me have a monthly column. This one’s from Issue #5, in January 2019. ] Following the last, wheezy gasps of 2018, I’ve been thinking about endings. Fewer players seem to ‘finish’ titles […]
