Yuri Jam 2024: The Frontier
Premiering... our submission for the Yuri Game Jam 2024, The Frontier.
This year’s Yuri Jam is running from October 1st to December 2nd!
Our submission is The Frontier. Although we were busy with Tomodachi 8in1’s dressup game, we saw the jam and it inspired us to take some time to flesh out a prototype for (perhaps) a bigger game.
Around last year, the tech world was buzzing. Investors were pouring enormous amounts of money into speculations of generative AI screwing over artists, actors and writers and massive layoffs kept bloated companies (and their C-Suites’ salaries) afloat.
The venture capitalist Andreesen Horowitz wrote The Techno-Optimist’s Manifesto, which, as people who genuinely believe in the power of technology helping others, made mabbees’ and my blood boil.
Fuck this “infinite growth” utopian capitalism masquerading as “progress.” We believe real progress is that forged through community and collective action.
In response to this and other “utopian” visions by Big Tech, mabbees began writing a story called “The Frontier” about a perfect utopia that is a “get rich” scheme for the ultra-wealthy. It mixes elements of .hack, The Matrix, and Black Mirror in a love story between two women—one who has figured a way out of this “perfect utopia” and one still trapped in it.
We’d love to know your thoughts. We’re on Discord and of course, our itch.io comments are always open.
We delayed our work on Tomodachi 8in1 to finish this prototype; but as a treat, we’ll show you our progress on our dressup game so far.
Thanks for tuning in! We’ll see you again next month for a deep dive into our work on Tomodachi 8in1.
Follow CJ on Bluesky or subscribe to the newsletter here for continued updates. Or tell your friends to subscribe. It’ll make us smile.
Your friendly neighborhood devs,
CJ & mabbees
Blog roundup
Here’s a roundup of a few blogs from our personal sites, talking about the indie web, tech and music.
Microformats and Webmentions - mabbees implements some new things on his blog and talks about the idea of a Sociable Web via nex-3.com
Egg’ry Buggy Clap Your Hands - mabbees’ tribute song to cohost.
The cohost summer mixtape of 2023 - CJ archives some of the best cohost summer tunes.
What part does tech play in a hopeful future? - CJ wonders about how much they need consumer tech, really.