The boys descended upon the plane, the outskirts of scrubland that surrounded the village and covered the planet. Seven of them, the seven sons, but not Tim; Tim wasn’t a proper boy. They had packed their bags; some setting pillows up under duvets and climbing out of windows, others sneaking food from their own stashes … Continue reading The Boys – The Pretty Boat
Rent (2)
Renting or buying, life is gonna cost you. In the style of Killing Time (2) by Simon Armitage. Work nine-to-five putting money into boxes. Got a little money, now you're feeling like a big whizz. Gotta behave; Money to save. Don't trust landlords, sneakier than foxes You know these walls, yeah? The ones where your … Continue reading Rent (2)
The Salt Trail – 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
The Sum of Their Parts
As a game designer, I follow the same philosophy I follow when it comes to writing. You learn a lot about writing by reading. You learn a lot about game design by playing games. The broader and further you play and write, the more you learn: mechanically, stylistically, emotionally. In this sense I found that … Continue reading The Sum of Their Parts
Five Ideas to Keep You Writing
When you’re writing, it can easy to get blocked from carrying on and the cogs in your brain reach for a blue screen and all that wants to leave your fingertips is blargh!! In my post about writing blogs, I briefly brushed upon my little blue book. In concept, this book is full of random words, … Continue reading Five Ideas to Keep You Writing
Mr T. Curning – The Pretty Boat
The Mayor was pacing his office. Each step measured to fit the space, three and half widths, and each creak fitting into a practiced pattern. Outside, the staff sitting at their desks knew the sounds as Curning Steps. The rhythm of his thinking put out in almost four/four timing. They found that their keystrokes and sometimes the … Continue reading Mr T. Curning – The Pretty Boat
Five Mechanics in 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
The Death of Ali’s Shoe
Ali’s Shoe was a project I started in the style of The Humument, a collection of found poetry from the book Caliban’s Shore. Found poetry is something I had explored as a genre and was excited to start doing again. However, with this project, I found that it became more of a task than fun like it … Continue reading The Death of Ali’s Shoe
Getting There
After driving seven hours of what should have been two and a half to get to her graduation, we arrived past midnight after a day of work and the scare of a merging lorry. I was tired, I was proud. Next time, you can drive We started out on the southern rail lines Then moved … Continue reading Getting There
Sarah – The Pretty Boat
The ship floated at a distance from the settlement. A slight smudge of grey in the darkness that surrounded the small lump of planet. It was Sarah that had seen it first, Sarah and her sharp eyes. She had never properly learnt to calculate ship distances, but compared it to the brightness of the stars when … Continue reading Sarah – The Pretty Boat
AF Cowlin 