Hello! I'm Tom. I'm a game designer, writer, and programmer on Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizards. Here's some more info on all the games I've worked on, here are the videos I make on YouTube, and here are two short stories I wrote for the Machine of Death collections.
By me. Uses Adaptive Images by Matt Wilcox.
I’m in a cabin in the woods in Sweden for seven weeks, with 20ish other game developers, all working on our own games. This is Stugan. None of us have finished yet, but we have successfully developed the following non-digital games along the way, and I release them to you now:
Players: 1+
Notes:
Probably best to do this at the lake.
The reeds in the lake serve as good distance marker.
It is interesting to determine the optimal size of a rock for distance.
It is somewhat interesting to determine the optimal throwing angle.
The random nature of available rocks makes true scientific assessments of adjustments in method tricky.
Although Throw A Rock As Far As You Can can be played with others, the true enemy is the prison of your mind.
Players: 1
Notes:
This is easier when your throw is very symmetrical and your two hands can do the same catching action.
It is slightly more interesting to intentionally avoid this.
Players: 2
Players: 2
Notes: this is not as good as Super Catchy Pinecone, which is reflected in its name.
Players: 1+
Notes: this is weirdly hard.
Players: 2+
Notes: the ‘closest without exceeding’ thing I am half remembering from something else, and it ruins this already fairly weak game.
Players: 2+
Notes: the first round of this is the best, before everyone has established how many of what kinds of dice are involved, because no-one has a good ballpark of what the value might be. We guessed in the hundreds and the value was sixty something.
Players: 1+
Notes:
Getting into the balance position seems very hard at first, but can usually be mastered quickly.
If you are light enough for the ball to counteract your water weight, this game may be impossible.
If you want to get technical, as anyone having fun in a pool naturally would, jump height should be measured relative to the person’s standing height, to control for player height.
Players: 2+
Players: 2+
Notes: with enough balloons and guns this quickly becomes impossible, but involves so much shooting that it’s hard not to enjoy.
Players: 2+
Notes: this is awesome.
Players: 2+
Notes:
We tried ‘3-2-1-go’ but it doesn’t work well as the thrower does not know in advance when the best time to catch will be. We saw best results from just saying ‘Ready’ shortly before throwing, so the catcher has a rough notion, but still relying on the precise timing of the ‘Catch!’ for success.
I guess there is no special reason this game needs to be in a pool.
If the catch fails, it is not strictly necessary to die, but it is against the spirit of the game to go on with your life.
Armel adds:
Players: 2+
Notes:
The building phase of the Frisball itself is underrated, as playing with a carefully made Frisball drastically improves the chance of it not falling apart after even the lightest throw.
Some purists say the real game only begins when someone else asks what the hell everyone is doing and you have to think of a clever explanation.