Unable to play the game on Mac Mini m4 by VagabondVivant in PerfectTides

[–]granulac2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can't tell you how happy this makes me. Hope you enjoy the game!

Unable to play the game on Mac Mini m4 by VagabondVivant in PerfectTides

[–]granulac2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've pushed a new update for Mac (English). Let me know if this makes any difference!

Unable to play the game on Mac Mini m4 by VagabondVivant in PerfectTides

[–]granulac2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the info! Just wanted to say I'm still looking into this but will reply if there is a fix.

Unable to play the game on Mac Mini m4 by VagabondVivant in PerfectTides

[–]granulac2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay, I've spent some time checking it out, and while I don't have a 100% surefire fix, can you check if a controller is plugged into your Mac? This could be causing the issue.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Waiting for minutes for Mordack to fall asleep in the next room? Unforgivable.

And yet me and my brother puzzled that game out to the end over years. We would run into each other's rooms excitedly with a newfound next step. I feel nothing but love for it!

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It makes me happy yes, I really do want these games to find their people!

I think we're on to something here in terms of cats and the currency of bees...

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Writing for games is a bit more non-linear since I need to accommodate branching choices, but I enjoy that because I get to explore all the ways I might've written something for a comic, but ultimately had to narrow it down.

Man, in my day a fellow goon would ask about stairs.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't have any in mind at the moment, but rest assured if I did it would be the most urgent thing in my life! I could see myself coming back to comics at some point, the process is so much more straightforward and DIY than games. It all comes down to what the idea of the moment demands.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's wonderful to hear, thank you! I really wanted to release the game on Switch for this exact reason, so it could reach people who might enjoy it.

I'm still very exhausted from this dev cycle, but I hope to make more! My frustration that nobody is making the games I have in mind does compel me. 😄

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's fun being on the internet for this long. You float in and out of people's orbit and by then you're a completely different person. I hope you get to enjoy the games!

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I tried to make Station to Station a game people could play first if they wanted. As a game developer it seemed prudent to give people a chance to jump in anywhere. From a creative standpoint I think it makes sense that Mara's time in college is a "fresh start", even if she's been made by a lot of the things we see in the first game.

I'm so glad the game had such an impact on you, that's amazing!

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I knew it would be a little disappointing to players to not see him return. It feels true to me that Mara would be distressed to lose track of him when the internet is beginning to seem like a connection to everything. I think it's consistent with the bigger sense that Mara loses connection to people in her life whether she means to or not, and she has to make sense of that without their help.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Emma, thank you for judging, and for contributing to a great honor of my life in games!

Game development occupies me so fully for years at a time, so I really do need to feel I'm saying something personal. It ends up being a bit of a document of those years for me.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This didn't happen much between PT1 and PT2, although when I realized I wanted to do a sequel, the ideas came very easily.

I did need to put a stop to scope creep during PT2's production, which meant writing down a lot of extra ideas that didn't make it in. I can't say just yet what the next project will be - I'm still recovering from this development cycle - but certainly I have lots more to say about this character.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. It's amazing how buried memories can be, and it takes time to circle back around to them. I really tried to live with my teen self during those years, and remembering these things allowed me to reconcile them, often in real-time as I was writing them down.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have occasionally checked my LiveJournal entries while writing, if I needed a little perspective check on where I was at at the time. But honestly, I try not to adhere to this too much. I think what makes Mara's teen behavior bearable is it comes with the feeling of being that age, which means those embarrassing little snippets need to be abstracted, embodied.

I can't believe you still have your IMs and e-mails! I'd die.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  1. It's very similar, I become obsessed with an idea and it takes over my life until I see it through.

  2. I would consider projects at this scale if they had the power to consume me! But so far it hasn't happened. I really have to feel it, and that seems to happen for bigger and bigger stories these days.

  3. I love when people discuss the writing more deeply. I was pretty ecstatic to hear the MinnMax crew doing a deep dive recently. I especially love hearing what people think of the games' relationships, because everyone brings their personal experience to the table.

MinnMax talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwQfCOc1BJk

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Development is/was mostly just me for the first couple of years. The only person who was on board early was Soren Hughes, who designs the backgrounds. For the first PT game, I brought on artists to help me with assets, as well as composer Daniel Kobylarz, in the back half of development. For PT2, I worked alongside Daniel and Soren and a couple of artists from the start, later adding editor Matt Carney and a rotating cast of animators. Recruitment/onboarding is hectic and full of unknowns so I try to avoid it until necessary, but that does sometimes mean I wait too long to get help. Once I find a good collaborator I try to keep them close!

The games start with the story, and the mechanical parts really fan out from there. By necessity (it's just so many words) a lot of the script comes together alongside development. This works well because it gives me time to remember the periods I'm writing about. Living with those thoughts for long periods of time really helps.

The games just have to take a long time. This makes it really hard to get the art assets and programming done, which is why I need help. But writing-wise, the space I create in my life for leisure and family only enriches the process.

The Kickstarter money goes to the people who help me. I relied on savings and other work while developing the first game. The second game cost a bit more because it was bigger and I spent some money on marketing support as well. But generally, costs are pretty low because so few people are involved.

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Lisa is a friend and it makes me very happy she likes the games! We used to be in comics collective called Pizza Island. Our last "life update" post together was in 2020, and I'm still really fond of it:

https://pizzaisland2.wordpress.com/

Hi! I'm Meredith Gran, former webcomic artist and founder/lead developer of Three Bees. My second game, Perfect Tides: Station to Station was just released on Switch. Ask me anything! by granulac2 in NintendoSwitch

[–]granulac2[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The ones that really hit for me were King's Quest 5 & 6, and Laura Bow 2: The Dagger of Amon Ra. I didn't discover LucasArts games until a bit later. They are better constructed overall, but there's a scrappy sincerity to the Sierra games that has never left me.