Game mechanics on their own are interesting to me, but they’re not what get me fired up. The theme is the thing that motivated me to start in the first place, so let’s talk about developing it!
Developing Theme – Starship Deck Builder Devlog 2
Author: trevor
Designing a Board Game – Starship Deck Builder Devlog #1
Recently, I played a deck builder and though – what if this, but spaceships? That’s becoming something of a trend. In this devlog I talk about influences, what it is and what it’s not, and where I’m going from here.
Lessons from a Babe in Quarantine
The day after my office sent us all home due to the pandemic, our baby was born. About twelve hours after I finished packing up my desk, we were on the phone with triage at the hospital. We were sure that the baby was coming. Nearly two weeks early and at a truly unpleasant hour of the morning, but on her way.
Prototyping a Video Game in Construct 3
Construct 3 is a 2D game engine from the folks at Scirra. We had an idea for a silly video game and started prototyping it and had a good time! The game is based on Tron’s disc combat and was a fun project to experiment with. We ran into the limitations of the free Construct 3 licence, but our game design adventures will continue…
Simply the Best Peanut Butter
I don’t lightly say that things are “the best” anything. But we’ve been on this peanut butter for a few weeks now and it’s so cheap, so easy to make, and so delicious that I don’t think we’re ever going back to the store-bought kind.
Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits
If you’re counting calories, you may want to become temporarily innumerate. Believe me, it’ll be worth it. These cheddar buttermilk biscuits are comfort food at its best. Flaky, soft, salty, rich, and absolutely the kind of thing where you’ll finish one and immediately reach for another.
Kid-Pleasing Creamy Hummus
This has been the go-to hummus recipe in our house for some months now, dialed in to everyone’s taste. The goal was something a step above a grocery store hummus, and something that could be made in large, family-sized batches. This one starts with the step of creaming together tahini and lots of lemon juice, which makes it smoother, brighter, lighter, and more acidic.
Grainy Maple Sriracha Mustard
Take your condiment game to the next level with this flavour-bomb. The recipe Obligatory Recipe Story Following a trip, my sister and her fiancé gifted me a jar of mustard from Butterfly Bakery in Vermont. It claimed to be of the maple sriracha variety. It was delicious and changed many meals for the better. But as I was washing the empty jar to recycle it, I noticed something. The ingredients. The mustard come [sic] in an 8 oz jar and is made with organic Canadian yellow and brown mustard seed, organic…
2019 Maker Report Card
One year ago, I made a video called Maker Resolutions for 2019, which said this: I’ve come up with 10 maker resolutions for 2019 that I think will help me be more productive, do more of the things I like, get away from some of the stuff that hasn’t been working for me, and generally make me less crazy about my various projects and makes. A growth mindset by itself is an important thing if you want to get better at anything, but equally important is doing a little self-reflection…
2019 Maker Year in Review
With 2020 fast approaching, I wonder a bit where the time went. In order to track that, I give you my maker year in review – a selection of projects I’ve started and finished in 2019! January Silicone moldmaking I started the year learning how to make molds with silicone and cast things in resin! This wouldn’t go anywhere huge in 2019, but I really enjoyed the learning process. February Bruno Valentine’s Day meant another project. NJ found herself enjoying having something to hold at night so I found a…
Labours of Love
Originally written October 18, 2019 As I write this I am deeply fatigued. But I am very, very happy. Mostly. See, when NJ returns from her latest round of work travel, I will have been solo with the kids for about half the month. And in that time, I’ve made an effort to keep the wheels on the household. That’s just being a parent. But I’ve also tried to make NJ’s travel more enjoyable, make Thanksgiving really special for the kids, host my sister and her fiancé, keep ahead of…
I’m a NaNoWriMo 2019 winner! What did I learn?
Last year, I had a fairly stale, flat, uninspiring NaNoWriMo flop. And despite the fact that I think talking about failure in the context of creative endeavours is dumb and bad, falling so far short of my planned word count stung. But this year, I rocked it. I’m a NaNoWriMo 2019 winner, and it feels pretty good. I had an experience this year that I wasn’t really expecting. Other than a couple of days of weak output in the final week (thanks to a cold), I killed it. It was…