Ben Vance
@buffalovision.bsky.social
games, VR, art, tech 🦬 director&CTO at Windup Minds @windupminds.bsky.social😸
Take a peek at our cozy, reactive pet Ember. She's a goofy, loveable companion with a mind of her own, and she's a great partner for adventuring into the wilds! My team really pulled together so many elements -- I love what we've created. Unique, cozy, magical. Chill adventures await!
HUGE DAY. We've been through a lot to get here, only because we kept believing and finding our path. Excited for the next phase with @tripmaster.bsky.social and the team!
Bernie Yee@tripmaster.bsky.social · last mo.Launch day 🐾 We shipped TWO games today. Stay: Your Forever Pet: adventure with Ember in the Otherlands. Stay: Ember's Desktop Adventures: she lives on your desktop, chasing your cursor. #cozygames #indiegames #gamedev Both on Steam 👇 Made by @windupminds.com store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/...
Stay is out for Steam! It's one of a kind. If you like the look of the game, thank @canotico.bsky.social and @tylerschatz.bsky.social ! (rendering and art direction, respectively)
Canotico@canotico.bsky.social · last mo.The game I've been working on just released in Early Access on Steam! Go check it out! It's got a cute magical dog in it :D store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/...
Players often comment on the music in Stay: Your Forever Pet. There's a reason. @drenmcdonald.com knocked it out of the park!
Dren McDonald@drenmcdonald.com · last mo.Now you don't need a Quest to enjoy Ember's company! She's on Steam now in 2 flavors - the adventure game or as a desktop pal!
Now you don't need a Quest to enjoy Ember's company! She's on Steam now in 2 flavors - the adventure game or as a desktop pal!
Stay: Forever Home@stay-forever-home.com · last mo.Hey Everyone! Both Stay games are out now on Steam 🐾 Care for Ember in her cozy world, then bring your Ember to hang out on your desktop! Stay: Your Forever Pet store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... Stay: Ember’s Desktop Adventures store.steampowered.com/app/4766080/...
Hey Everyone! Both Stay games are out now on Steam 🐾 Care for Ember in her cozy world, then bring your Ember to hang out on your desktop! Stay: Your Forever Pet store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... Stay: Ember’s Desktop Adventures store.steampowered.com/app/4766080/...
WARNING CUTENESS OVERLOAD what should your magical pet do while hanging out on your desktop? ✨🦊✨
Stay: Forever Home@stay-forever-home.com · 4mo agoWould you want a little dog hanging out on your desktop while you work? We’re experimenting with that idea.. What would make it feel worth keeping around?
Happy Monday! Here’s a quick peek at exploring the world and collecting items 🌿 Anyone else love wandering around grabbing things “for later”? Make sure to wishlist the game here! store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #IndieGame #CozyGames #GameDev
Hope you had a great Easter weekend! 🐣 Gameplay peek: cooking for Ember 🐶🔥 (placeholder visuals) What should we add next? 🎥 youtu.be/co2XtP3maNc ⭐ Wishlist Today! store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #IndieGame #CozyGames #Wishlist #SteamGames #VirtualPet #IndieDev #WholesomeGames
Cooking for Ember
YouTube video by Windup Minds
youtu.be
Ember is not looking too thrilled about being brushed this morning. Check out this work in progress! Wishlist on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... Join the Discord: windupminds.com/discord Stay up to date on all the latest 🐾 #SteamWishlist #CozyGames #PetGame #VirtualPet
wait for the glasses! dogs in glasses 🤌
Stay: Forever Home@stay-forever-home.com · 5mo agoTake a look at our new customization screen! Dress Ember up exactly how you want and create your perfect pup. Wishlist on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... Want to help test the game? Join our Discord: windupminds.com/discord #indiedev #gamedev #cozygames #Steam #indiegame #wishlist
Want to pet ember? We are currently looking for testers for upcoming features. Take a look at the dev post on our steam page below! store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #CozyGames #CozyGaming #IndieGames #VirtualPet #SteamDeck #WholesomeGames #GameDev
Belly rubs? 🐾 Here’s an early look at belly rub visuals from our “Care Mode.” What do you think? We’re building new ways to interact with Ember, more coming soon. store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #IndieDev #DogGame #SteamNextFest #Wishlist
she used to be DRAGONWOLF
Stay: Forever Home@stay-forever-home.com · 6mo agoWe made a little GIF showing how our main character evolved during development 🐾 Prototype to now we softened her features and made her cuter, we wanted to show how she evolved. Curious what you think? store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #GameDev #CozyGames #CharacterDesign #IndieDev
we have absolutely killed ourselves wrangling with making this play nice on Quest and I'm so excited to share it with more people on PC! I cannot begin to express how complicated the animation engine is 🫠 store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/...
Stay: Your Forever Pet! on Steam
Meet Ember, your furry magical companion! Bring her home, care for her, and discover the extraordinary world of the Otherlands together. Stay: Your Forever Pet! is brought to you by the team behind th...
store.steampowered.com
Please wishlist and help Ember grow into her new home on Steam and Steam Deck! This feels like a homecoming after starting my indie career on Steam, then working in VR for 10+ years. Proud of the team -- a huge milestone for us! store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/...
Telling my future children that this is a cybertruck
☀️Last hurrah for Summer! Bask in the fun with Ember :D☀️ We worked really hard on this - lots of improvements! We're also on sale for a limited time. It's a great time to jump in!
Stay: Forever Home@stay-forever-home.com · 12mo agoStay: Forever Home – Update 3 is live! 👗 Ember’s new summer outfits are here! ❗Free Trial Currently in Testing and Available to some users Today! 🛠️ Behind-the-scenes fixes & performance upgrades www.meta.com/experiences/... Now’s a great time to jump in 🐾💛 #VRGaming #MetaQuest #CozyGames
Very much worth your time!
Joel McDonald@mcdjoel.bsky.social · last yr.Prune, my digital bonsai game about cultivating what matters, just turned 10! In an age of endlessly fractured attention, I still believe it has something to offer--now more than ever. So to celebrate, I'm finally bringing it to PC. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v7c...
We're excited to announce that applications are open for the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant 2025 🎉 The grant will award $15,000 to five thinky puzzle game developers from all over the world, and a year's mentorship with genre veterans. Deadline: September 28th More info 👇 grants.draknek.org
Stay: Forever Home – Update 2 preview 🎁💨 Coming Tomorrow! Present Boxes! Unwrap surprises in a new satisfying way! Here’s a video of the presents in action! Want more update details and patch notes? Join our Discord: windupminds.com/discord More cozy features are coming with the full update
If you've got a Quest 2, check it out! We poured ourselves into getting this out and have lots more updates coming!
Stay: Forever Home@stay-forever-home.com · last yr.🐾 Stay: Forever Home is now officially available on Quest 2! Already a favorite on Quest 3/3s, now even more players can meet Ember and step into a cozy world of care, connection, and mixed reality magic. #VRGaming #MetaQuest2 #CozyGames #VirtualPet #MixedReality #IndieGame
I'm late for @windupminds.com highlight; we're exceptionally fortunate to work with Austin Grossman. Austin, Doug Church and I wrote a pitch for cyberpunk MMO, Nightside; 25 years later, a game I wish existed. #VirtualPet #DigitalPet #SimulationGame #VRGame #MRGame #XRGame #IndieDev #IndieGame
How do you set up your room so you can play Mixed Reality games on your Meta Quest 3/3S? 🤔 It's a little more involved than Meta shows you, to get your couch just right! 🛋️ Then you can play our game: vr.meta.me/s/2aq2U7KEq2... #VirtualPet #VirtualReality #DigitalPet #PetSim #IndieGame #IndieDev
The game sounds absolutely beautiful thanks to @drenmcdonald.com's tireless efforts. Players frequently mention it as one of their favorite parts!!
Bernie Yee@tripmaster.bsky.social · last yr.Holy crap, @windupminds.com game Stay: Forever Home has gone live and I have more people to spotlight! Today, @drenmcdonald.com. The brilliant Michael Abrash told us @ Oculus, audio & animation extra weight in VR. #VirtualPet #DigitalPet #SimulationGame #VRGame #MRGame #XRGame #IndieDev #IndieGame
Our cozy pet sim-game-experiment is now live! meta.com/experiences/... We've worked incredibly hard to make Ember lovable... and to love you back! 💗
a bit about our A++ team! 😻
Bernie Yee@tripmaster.bsky.social · last yr.Studios don't make games. Let's pay attention to the people at @windupminds.bsky.social getting Stay: Forever Home ready for launch! Here's something I value about them. First up, @jukibom.bsky.social, gameplay programmer. #VirtualPet #DigitalPet #SimulationGame #VRGame #MRGame #XRGame #IndieDev
We have a fancy new trailer dropping tomorrow!
Stay: Forever Home@stay-forever-home.com · last yr.Launch Update! Ember’s almost ready, but we’re taking a little more time to polish things up– our new target date is April 24th when you welcome her to her forever home. 🥳🐾 Catch our trailer at the Ruff Talk VR Showcase this Friday at 10AM PT / 1 PM ET bit.ly/ruff-talk-vr #VirtualPet #IndieGame
