murmuring reflections

A simple score attack herding game. Herd the dots into the goals to earn a high score. There's not too much challenge to it once you figure out how it works though; I intended to ramp up the difficulty as the game progresses, but ran out of time.

If you want to play with the difficulty you can play with some of the key parameters using MIDI CCs 82, 83, and 85.

Download murmuring reflections

Controls: escape: quit;cursor keys, gamepad left stick: move

The Rules:

• The file at this link will be deleted 1 month from now (3/1/26).
• 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

Short mastodon thread kicking off from Alan Kay's thoughts on the pernicious effects of games like Sim City.

Startling cover of a bad Bruce Springsteen song by Electrelane.

And my favourite Electrelane song (technically 2 songs I guess): Those Pockets are People → The Partisan

Powerful account of the consequences of growing up in a heavily religious household and the shame around sex such an upbringing gives you. (CW: sexual shame, religious abuse, body shaming)

It takes its time, but this 4-track + nanoloop track gradually builds an incredible sense of atmosphere.

From MetaFilter: "he wasted his entire life, my mom said to me, the evening we found the love letters. his entire life, and mine as well."

It goes boing

Okay, this is the last here and then gone of 2025. I always get overwhelmed at this time of year with the stress of organising Christmas presents for everyone (I've not even started yet!), plus term 1 marking, and just generally struggling to fit everything I need to do in the limited time I have in the run up to Christmas. I did at least get my tax return done before December this year, which is something.

Anyway. While I am currently overwhelmed, I hope you are not. I hope you are entirely, appropriately whelmed, and keeping well alongside the people you care about. See you again next year.