IT CAME FROM THE TERRORDROME: OCTOBER 2025

Princess with a Cursed Sword

                        October 27, 2025

            IT CAME FROM THE TERRORDROME: OCTOBER 2025
            October 2025: Thaumaturge, Bitsy workshop, Jackie Os.

                    Newsletter 1, Oct 2025
WELCOME TO THE TERRORDROME. It is lovely to have you.
Once a month, I’ll send out a TERRORDROME DISPATCH with links to all my recent updates, plus a bunch of odds and ends: things I’m writing, things I’m playing, things I jotted down in a google doc somewhere.
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ANNA ANTHROPY PATCH NOTES: OCTOBER 2025
The Art & System crowdfunding campaign went live on October 1 and was fully funded by October 2! This campaign includes the new bound edition of the Princess with a Cursed Sword series, which I’ve been working on with Evlyn Moreau and a rogue’s gallery of other designers, and which I am very excited to bring to you! We just made our stretch goal but there are a few more days to get on board if you want to be.
In the lead-up to the crowdfunding campaign, I wrote an eleven-part “let’s play” of Thaumaturge, a new game exclusive to the Princess Sword bound edition. I explain the new system that powers the game as well as my creative process as I play.
I just wrapped up a four-week remote workshop on creating interactive fiction with Bitsy! I’m hoping to be able to offer similar workshops again in the future – you’ll hear about them here.
As part of the promotion, I was interviewed by Liz Davidson for the Beyond Solitaire podcast! It is a fun listen, I think.
Some of my big projects wrapped up this month, so if you’ve been thinking about having me speak at your school, write for you, or design a little art game, now is the perfect time to get in contact about it!
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THE IMAGE GALLERY
Screenshots from some Bitsy demos I created for my workshop.
Image description: Blocky pixel art of a figure standing next to a dammed river and a house. Dialogue: “No ruined house, no crying children.”

Image description: A pixel art temple with columns and lit torches. A crowd of worshippers stand around as an officiant, arms raised, approaches a horned idol.

Image description: Rocky pixel landscape representing a cliffside with obstacles and vines. A figure is climbing toward a flag at the top.
Some of these might be cleaned up and published on w.itch.io eventually.
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LIFE DURING WARTIME
For the last ten years I’ve lived in the city of Chicago, which is currently under attack by the federal government. Masked ICE agents are kidnapping and brutalizing Chicagoans and tear-gassing neighborhoods. Abandoned by elected officials outside the city, our first and last line of defense has become groups of organized citizens with whistles who patrol their neighborhoods and alert the community when ICE is trying to take someone.
Reading material: What I Need You To Understand, Notes from Chicago in Late October by Dan Sinker
Unreadable material: I really love the Public Collectors zine Who Shares the Restroom Code with ICE Agents?, which I picked up at Chicago zinefest a few months ago, but it’s unfortunately out of stock as of this writing.
Donate money to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to support the organizing that is keeping Chicagoans safe from ICE.
Or donate to the GoFundMes of Rogers Park families who have had loved ones detained by ICE. Rogers Park is right next to me; I walk there all the time.
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AND NOW OUR PANTHER CORRESPONDANT, ENCYCLOPEDIA FROWN, WITH THIS MONTH’S FROWN REPORT:
Image description: Little black cat sprawled on the floor, eyes closed, basking in the sun.
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THE WHAT HAVE I BEEN PLAYING CORNER
Blippo+: As a child of PBS, watching this utopian vision of alien television while my city is under assault from federal agents genuinely made me cry.
Serpent at the Vernissage: I really loved the world of this game, a private archipelago for the ultra-rich that is basically designed as an outdoor mall. Reminded me of Paradise Killer, though with awkward platforming and shooting and an unfortunate lack of checkpoints. Was worth it though.
The Spooky House: I play this little game every year. It combines the charming simplicity of an early text adventure with Bitsy-style bumbling around.
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THE FOOL
In the name of the Sacred Librarian, I do solemnly profess the following errors, committed on this Third Moon of the Month of the Bell:
Overslept by one minute and seventeen seconds.
Mismatched socks at morning assembly.
Applauded insufficiently loudly when Garner was promoted to First Full Apprentice over me.
Took over an hour to escape the cellar Garner locked me in despite my duty to bring a very important grimoire to Master Ramos' study.
Snuck out of the library rather than face Master Ramos' anger.
Stole a very important grimoire.
Wrote on the pages of a very important grimoire.
– from Thaumaturge
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JACKIE O WATCH
Sighted: two small jackie-os. Guess which one is by me and which by my stoner boyfriend.
Image description: Two small tiger-stripe pumpkins sit on a table. One has a smiling face with big, heavy eyelids drawn on, the other large cat’s eyes and little teeth.
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That’s it for this month’s dispatch! From our terrordrome to yours: Stay soft, stay strong, stay nasty.

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