There’s a smell you don’t recognise, a smell that you don’t believe has ever existed before in the world above. The walls, though originally white washed, are damp, and the colour comes away with your finger in the flicker of a hydrogen lamp. From walking in the wind across barren terrain, now you feel enclosed, the whistling nothing … Continue reading Underwood (Dead Eden) →

She was an unassuming woman, tucked neatly in a corner of the town square, black hair neatly parted. The people went about their business, fixing metal and wood and concrete into useful shapes and defences. They didn’t recognise her, so they kept watching, always glancing from their work to make sure she wasn’t doing anything, anything they deemed she … Continue reading The Paper Saints – Dead Eden →

You don’t know what brought you here, or the many others that have come here before you. The only other way round is a boat, and you don’t have the time. The only way is over. What was once was said to be beautiful countryside is now flat. Earth rancid from chemicals, the husk of a … Continue reading The Salt Trail – Dead Eden →

As a designer, I try to design games that have mechanics that encourage the behaviors I want to see while it is being played. It’s all well and good telling players to act or feel a particular way, but unless you have the mechanics in place, there’s isn’t much point. (You can have a look at … Continue reading Five Mechanics in Dead Eden →