Essay Games Footnotes | April
Hello hello!
Bundle of Joy is out!
It’s been just under two weeks since we hit the release button on Steam and Itch.io. I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive feedback and warm reception of our Dad-Simulator minigame love letter to the chaos and joys of early parenthood.
I celebrated the release in Brooklyn at boshi’s place last week and it was a wonderful evening. I am so thankful to everyone who came out on a cold and rainy night. During the entire evening, folks were so complimentary about the story, gameplay, soundtrack, and well… everything! It was truly a perfect way to officially cap off an incredible release week.
This month for FOOTNOTES, I wanted to share some notable highlights from the past couple of weeks and then look ahead to the coming months for Essay Games.
First is an amazing article by the ever-insightful Lewis Gordon. He names BoJ as one of the best games of 2025 so far! I’m in some unbelievable company (Citizen Sleeper 2, Keep Driving, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage) and I am so honored to have been included in this list!
Next was a total surprise and I only caught it because a friend messaged me about it. Patrick Klepeck and Austin Walker from Remap Radio briefly mention Bundle of Joy on their recent stream.
I’m such a huge admirer of Remap Radio and although I knew Austin attended the release party, it’s so flattering to hear him and Patrick spend a second to highlight my lil’ indie game (while discussing Nintendo Direct no less)!
OK, those are the biggies. But, there’s plenty more coming up for Bundle of Joy and the studio! Here’s a quick round-up:
I will be presenting “Narrative Design for Solodevs” at GodotCon in Boston (May 5-7)
My talk “Re-learning Narrative Design Lessons from Children’s Books” was accepted at Narrascope which is at Drexel University this year (June 20-22)
BoJ will be at Too Many Games in Philly (June 27th-29th). I plan on doing another diaper drive (like I did at MAGFest) while there, so stay tuned for that.
—
That’s it for now! If you’ve played BoJ and haven’t left a review I would REALLY appreciate it! We’re so close to hitting that all-important 10-review threshold on Steam.
OK more soon in May and thanks as always!
Nicholas
Essay Games