So, a crazy thing happened a while ago. I consulted for this fun little show called Game Changer...
Mark Larson
@mrklrsn.bsky.social
Freelance board game, puzzle, and interactive experience designer from Minneapolis. Design portfolio: mrklrsn.com 🏳️🌈🦆
"Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities, has been—and still is—under a paramilitary occupation in which the federal government is at war with the population. 'War' is the operative word here." @jvl.bsky.social on what he saw in Minneapolis: lnk.thebulwark.com/46kVMuT
Special Saturday Triad: What I Saw at the Battle of Minneapolis
The national media has moved on. Minnesota is still under siege.
lnk.thebulwark.com
MPS is extending online classes into April and even though this is good for students in hiding WE CANNOT KEEP THIS UP FOR TWO MORE MONTHS SOMEONE WITH REAL POWER DO SOMETHING DEMOCRATS YOU FECKLESS ASSHOLES STOP FUNDING THIS TERRORISM
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to check in on me these past few weeks. Seeing the outpouring of support across this country and around the world means so much to all of us in Minneapolis. I'm so immensely proud of my city. Abolish ICE. Prosecute ICE. Get rid of this fascist trash.
I got the best response in my meeting today. We were discussing different input methods for a immersive game I'm developing, and one of the clients asked, "Can we get one of those pull things on a pinball table and use that?" Mind blown. Never would have thought of that. Brilliance.
Here's what moving forward looks like for our Minneapolis based tabletop games company. #gamepublisher #lgbtq #tabletopgames #minneapolis #protest #bipoc
It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing
I love having meetings with clients from across the country during the winter. I get to hear how cold it is for them. "It is supposed to get down to 40 tonight! And we might get an inch of snow!" Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, I'm just giggling cause that'd be shorts weather!
Shh. Don't tell anyone I'm using Tinkercad in a weird way, with entirely the wrong units.
The MIT Mystery Hunt this weekend was outstanding - a perfect hunt for a small remote team like Luigi's Death Stare! And, it was a wonderful distraction from the events happening in my city. To my fellow neighbors - take time to recharge and please take care of yourself. It's so important.
It’s MIT Mystery Hunt weekend! So far, we’re loving the hunt!!
I love Minneapolis. I love this city. I love this community. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. And, I'm so proud of how our community comes together in times of crisis. It gives me hope. I'm angry, and I'm tried of our lovely city again being the focus of national political theater.
Despite sleeping horribly, a brainstorm meeting with creative people first thing in the morning is magical.
Starting to write rules for a game, no mater how large or small the game, is the worst. It's a hurdle I have to force myself to get over every time.
There's something fun about dreaming up a concept for a game, and then testing the first version and seeing both how spectacularly bad it is and how much potential it has. Prototype fast and try things!
While battery life on devices can be frustrating, it also serves as a great reminder for me to take a break! Can't work on my iPad when it runs out of power, so I guess I'll stretch and stare out the window for a while...
We’re starting day 2 of King’s Dilemma and one of our players got everyone the perfect accessory.
It's a 4-meeting day, so I put a couple of personal tasks on my list and decided to take a day off from writing. Ended up writing 3k words in between meetings and other tasks. The solo RPG is coming along nicely!
I'm writing a solo journaling RPG and I have the last 10% of the rules to write. It's amazing how much other work I can get done to justify putting off tackling this last bit! Extraneous graphic design, editing and reworking other parts, brainstorming...
Playing Cubemelt - such a delightful push-your-luck roller. Simple, cute, lots of yelling at dice. Basically perfect!
THIS IS A GAME!?! ITS SO SILLY!! Game: Yubibo. We were terrible at it. So much fun. So silly. Do recommend. Thanks @proptartmn.bsky.social for bringing it!!
Started my semi-annual board game retreat last night and we’ve already played Money! twice. I love this game!
A reminder to check out the Ministry of Lost Things Kickstarter, if you haven't yet! I'm really delighted with how this one turned out - it's a tabletop puzzletale suitable for all skill levels. I promise you'll love it! www.kickstarter.com/projects/pos...
Ministry of Lost Things - Case 2: Finders Keypers
Embark on a whimsical tabletop adventure full of beautifully illustrated tactile puzzles.
kickstarter.com
Hot debate topic from a design jam last night: Which way do the dots on the 6 go on a standard d6? Vertically or horizontally? I didn't realize that I had such a strong opinion on this, and that my opinion was so abhorrent to others! 😄
Today I had the third conversation in a week about making fun things. What is the worth or value of that in today's landscape? I feel the pressure of making something "meaningful" to push against the horrors of the world. Something that speaks to the core of humanity. (1/3)
Another awesome review of our upcoming Kickstarter. I'm so thrilled with how this one turned out - the pair at PostCurious is amazing and an absolute delight to work with! Link to the Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/pos...
The Escape Puzzler (Matt)@escapepuzzler.bsky.social · 10mo agoThe Ministry of Lost Things from @postcurious.bsky.social is back for Case 2: Finders Keypers! More puns, more beautiful artwork and even more puzzles to solve?! You won’t want to miss this one, which launches tomorrow on Kickstarter. A full, spoiler-free review of the game is available now!
Playing Bomb Busters today for the first time. It’s a real winner. The last time I was this hooked into a game was The Crew. I could play this for hours non-stop.
I have another puzzle game Kickstarting next week, working again with the amazing duo at PostCurious! Check out this stellar review of the first game in the series.
The Escape Puzzler (Matt)@escapepuzzler.bsky.social · 11mo agoI’ve just published a new review for Ministry of Lost Things - Case 1: Lint Condition. It’s the first in a series of whimsical puzzle games from @postcurious.bsky.social. Case 2 launches on Kickstarter next Tuesday so now is the perfect time to get caught up on the happenings in the Elusiverse!