March has been a busy month for us, and April looks to be only marginally slowing down, if not speeding up. With the Game Developers Conference (GDC) behind us, we're looking ahead to OZ Play, continued preproduction, more pitching, and hopefully some April showers.

An Inspiring GDC

Greg, our creative director, joined me at GDC this year and our experience was nothing short of incredible. Building on last year's trip, we visited with old friends, met new ones, and finally stood face to face with people we'd spoken with only through Twitter or BlueSky for years. We also schemed many a scheme.

The game industry is in a rough place. It has been for a few years now. That fact definitely puts a damper on these events, like it did last year's GDC, but there was a new sentiment this year: resilience. Our fellow indie developers (and many AAA devs as well) all seemed to share the same perspective that we can't wait for the industry to save us, we need to do it ourselves and, more importantly, together.

One of the moments that cemented this the most was Wednesday morning's announcement of the formation of the United Videogame Workers, a North American industry-wide union dedicated to making the industry more sustainable and labor-friendly, changes that we desperately need.

Beyond the two of us, we had a full delegation of Arkansas-based developers this year including Brain&Brain (who I went with last year), Artie of Final Ferry Studios, and Tom of Trinket Studios. I never got tired of people's reactions to finding out there were 6 of us representing 4 studios (plus an individual composer the last few days), all from Arkansas, though I only know of one person who actually caught all of us (cue Pokemon theme).

Todd's Thoughts on the Matter: A vignette from the Worlds Across the Causeway

Todd couldn’t believe it. After everything he’d been through to make it to Harvest, those incredulous pencil-pushers were sending him back to the flatlands. He’d come to them for help, but as usual they couldn’t see how dangerous the situation had become. True, now that The Inquirer and Reflection once again acknowledged Oblivion’s existence the town was no longer haunted by the plague of forgetfulness, however this was merely a delay, not a solution.

A silver lining to this was that Todd would not have to traverse the Phantom Plains to return. As his car crossed the state line, he worried about what he’d tell everyone back in Oblivion. It was clear no one would look out for them except themselves.

A Lynchian Tale of Regrets

While much of March was spent finalizing the funding pitches for the next couple of games, that also helped us crystallize exactly what they are. Especially this next one. Our elevator pitch got a little more refined, the art direction has come more into view, and a prototype for the title sequence is showing great promise. For now we'll continue to tease little elements of the game, while leaving you in the dark for the bigger picture.

Tome of Witnessings - The Mausoleum: A vignette from the Worlds Across the Causeway

Liminal. Liminal. To be apart, yet never be a part. Cold, stone hallways — grand, sublime, cosmic, yet… personal. When did you nestle one of your doors in my valley? Are you sneaky because you’re never really there, or have you always been here? Are you the outsider, or am I?

OZ Play 2025 – A Local Games Showcase

The Ozark Game Developers group is hosting OZ Play again this year to put the spotlight on local-made, Northwest Arkansas games! We will be in attendance once again with a playable demo of The Haunting of Joni Evers, some merch, and maybe a sneak peek at the next game (subject to whether or not something comes together by the event).

The event takes place on Thursday, April 17th, at Likewise in Fayetteville. bring your friends and come check out some locally made games!

Event: https://lu.ma/fx1uimfd

Finally, I'll leave you with a milestone and some of our consistent reminders:

  • The Haunting of Joni Evers has crossed 1,000 copies sold! Thank you so much to everyone who's picked it up, played it, and left a review, and we're so close to 100 reviews that if you haven't done so, let me remind you that one of the most helpful things you can do is leave an honest review on Steam!
  • Did you know that Joni is only one tale from our vast connected anthology universe, the Worlds Across the Causeway? There are over 100 vignettes in our lorebook, some relating to Joni and others giving hints of things to come.
  • If you know someone who loves strange tales, why not share one of the above vignettes (or The Haunting of Joni Evers) with them?

Thank you for joining us on this journey, more to come soon.

Until we meet again along the Causeway,

Kjartan Kennedy, Studio Director