choisich a'chailleach thaisir na mara

I didn't really have enough time to do this month's piece justice, so it's really only the tiniest vignette of a game (< 1min) with some janky animations that I couldn't get working the way I'd intended.

I wanted to make something about the Cailleach, so I picked the story of her creating Scotland and the islands around it from the stones that fell from her skirt as she strode across the North Sea from Norway.

I'm indebted to my Abertay colleague Kaye MacLeod for the gaelic title (trans: The Cailleach walked across the sea).

Download choisich a'chailleach thaisir na mara

Controls: escape: quit; cursor keys: move

The Rules:

• The file at this link will be deleted 1 month from now (6/7/24).
• All downloads are zipfiles containing a Windows executable.
• All source code and assets are included, licensed under the Anti-Capitalist Software License.
• As long as you abide by the license, you can do whatever you want with the download.

Further Reading

The folk in DOMINO CLUB are consistently doing the most exciting work in games today. SUDDEN DEATH is an extraordinarily stylish sports romance (CW: 18+).

I haven't started it yet, but Robert Chapman's Empire of Normality has a prominent position in my to-read pile. Here's an interview with them covering the themes of the book.

I can't remember how I ended up there, but wikipedia's page on the List of demons in the Ars Goetia is a fun time, from the iconography of the seals and sigils to the incredible period illustrations of the demons. It's wild how pedestrian modern depictions of demons look in comparison.

When There is Sugar; a short story by Leonard Richardson about baking, grief, the aftermath of war.

The love story between Pom Harajuku and Max the Impaler; this is mostly in Japanese, but you don't need to speak the language to follow it. Just excellent physical comedy.

Eddie Kingston on why you need to stay alive. He really is incredible at this. CW: discussion of suicide

Aevee Bee on intentional game design 'jank' and maximalism, and how it's at least in part a response to the late 00's/early 10's trend towards simplicity and minimalism.

I don't think I'd come across Judee Sill until this month. Jesus Was a Cross Maker has been stuck in my head since I first heard it.

It's been a busy few weeks for me, and I'm really feeling quite tired now, but I've got 2 weeks off from work, so I'm looking forward to some proper rest. Hope you're feeling less tired than I am, wherever you are, and that the world is treating you kindly.