Newsletter 5, Feb 2026

WELCOME TO THE TERRORDROME. It is lovely to have you.

TERRORDROME DISPATCHES are sent out once a month, and are a great way to keep up with my gay mischief.

(I’m also on Bluesky as @cyborgurl.)

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ANNA ANTHROPY PATCH NOTES: FEBRUARY 2026

• With the conclusion of the five-year project that was Caves of ZZT Remix, we have already started on the next game in the series, Dungeons of ZZT. I contributed a board — preview below!

• I worked on a movie a few years ago that debuted on the queer film fest circuit in 2025. The titular video game in Outerlands is my game REDDER, plus additional animations I created.

• I’ve started on some new contract work. I can’t talk about it yet, but it will probably not surprise you when you hear about it.

• In anticipation of the Princess Sword: Bound Edition coming to print this Summer, all four of the original Princess Sword games are now on sale for just $5. I’ve also made them (plus one more game) available on DriveThruRPG, if you like that site for some reason.

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DUNGEON TRANSFORMATION

As part of the Dungeons of ZZT Remix project, a bunch of folks in the ZZT community are remaking the 1991 Dungeons of ZZT game board-by-board.

I was immediately drawn to this board:

This board is all about managing bombs — represented by the “mars” / male symbol. The player can push them, but doing so immediately begins a timer, at the end of which the bomb explodes, potentially harming the player.

In practice, this board is really punishing to play, but I like the theme of “bomb disposal,” and I love that the layout looks almost like a blueprint of connected rooms.

Here’s what I came up with:

I tried to preserve the general layout but add a bit more structure to the puzzles, so that early parts of the board teach the skills needed for later parts of the board. The $s represent optional bonuses the player can pick up if they can avoid bombing them first.

Above all, I tried to add a little bit of storytelling to what was originally a very abstract board. These rooms were the former staging grounds for an unsuccessful heist, and the player can unearth a small story of crime family tragedy.

Hopefully, it isn’t another five years before you get to play this one.

TIM SWEENEY DISCLAIMER: Tim Sweeney designed the original board, and he’s a billionaire creep and an Elon Musk sycophant. This is not intended as a loving tribute to the man.

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THE BIRTHDAY ZONE

It’s my birthday this week. I’m in my mid-forties; I feel like young people imagine how they will be when they’re old — 70s and 80s — but rarely how they will be at middle age. As a young trans woman, I never really believed I would even reach this age.

I’m disabled, unemployed, and the cat whose caretaking structured my entire daily routine for the last several years has passed on. There is no blueprint for what life looks like now.

Compared to my twenties, when I devoted a lot of energy to seeming cool and hot and edgy, that’s weirdly freeing. I recently told my boyfriend (pictured), “I’m glad we found each other when we were ready for each other.”

Chronic pain and fatigue require you to slow down, to start listening to your actual needs, to grow for real. I’m trying my best.

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WHAT HAVE I BEEN PLAYING CORNER: MIDDLE-AGED GAMES EDITION

• Mrs. Dynamite: An unreleased 1980s arcade game I discovered via the Retro Pals, whom I’ve been watching lately. It’s a maze game about a lady who blows up monsters while they roll barrels around trying to crush her. I weirdly love it. Mrs. Dynamite!

• Pop Idol Debut: A fan localization (not translation!) of a 1989 Famicom visual novel. Most of these early adventure games / visual novels are confusing and clunky. This one is too, but it’s rarely hard to make progress. Surprisingly charming!

• Pirate’s Plunder: Was able to get this classic of my childhood working on my PC thanks to winevdm, still adore it. It has an almost board game-like perfect marriage between luck and strategy.

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And that’s this month! From our terrordrome to yours: Stay soft, stay strong, stay nasty.