Spring 2026 Postcard & Personal Update
Hello friends! It's a little later than intended (sorry about that!) but Ain and I worked together to finish this year's spring postcard design: Drama at Dot's Digs!
It's a little different than the original draft because it's been so long since it was first conceptualized that the whole game world has since been redesigned! At this rate, nothing is set in stone... but I like how these postcards mark how this project evolves over time.
For each postcard, I try to tie in some kind of meaningful theme that reflects the lessons I'm learning on this pursuit. This one was a bit tricky because it shows two characters in conflict while another secretly takes note of the drama for the sake of gossip! But okay, here goes nothing I guess!
Fair warning, I'm about to unleash a real stream of consciousness here. Consider this my burnout recovery check-in! Don't worry, I'm fine. :D
Life vs. Ambition
It seems there's always some kind of conflict happening between life and ambition. It's been too noisy to make out how I feel about it all, but it sure feels dramatic.
I'm taking some time during this hiatus to listen to both sides, and here's what I've been hearing:
Who are you making this game for, if not for your fellow dreamers? If you sacrifice yourself in the process, what message are you sending?
I don't mean to sacrifice myself, it's just taking a lot more time than it looked like it would at first. Now it's been so long I don't know where to begin fixing this. It feels too late, but I'm still going to try.
It would be easier if you'd dream smaller.
As if I could! And it's a little late for that, don't you think?
Yes, you should have given up a long time ago! You look a bit silly.
Is that such a bad thing? I'd rather be foolish than boring.
You're a clown, then.
Might as well embrace it. I live to entertain!
Well two can play at that game! This conversation is going in the Patreon post. You can tie it into your postcard theme~
Bit of a stretch, but I'm glad that's settled at least. Done and dusted, problem solved.
After that mental break-down great meeting of the minds, I came to the conclusion that I'm going to embrace the conflict, the clowning, and the mess. This stuff is just not that simple. Failure, experimentation, slow-down times and power-through times are all part of the process. I could look a fool, or I could make someone smile. It's also okay to explore other options and take time for myself so I know I'm taking the path that suits me now.
Life teaches us things when we're living. That's good material for a game, and it feeds creativity. Ambition shows us what we're made of so we can overcome challenges. Both are important, and I hear them more clearly one at a time. It just takes time.
Maybe I'll move forward faster if I think of it like a miner's handcar, where the momentum I seek comes from the back-and-forth. Sometimes it feels more like a stationary seesaw, but what is a dream if you're not having fun? I'd rather that than feel like I'm always at odds with myself.
Explorations
While I am still exploring other aspects of life right now as I navigate burnout recovery, I know I'm sticking with Moonshell Island. I didn't go through all I have so far to give up now. There's still so much to do though, and if there's a better way... I'd rather find out now.
GameMaker vs. Godot
One thing that's been nagging at the back of my mind is "what if this could be easier in the long run if I switch game engines?" I want to take some time to explore that question now that I am better equipped to make an informed choice.
I've heard good things about Godot, so one of my goals for this hiatus is to give it a try. It would take a lot to convince me to start over, but that itch is gonna drive me crazy if I don't scratch it.
Which game engine will win? Stay tuned to find out!
Personal Pursuits
Time has really flown by, and I've barely scratched the surface of all I wanted to do with this break: make some art, play some games, be more socially active, build a personal website, get through a rather thick workbook my doc recommended for burnout... The list goes on!
I guess I've done some of most of that. I'm still getting through that workbook, playing Tales of Rebirth here and there, becoming a lot more social online (especially while completing my 100-day recounting of the Moonshell Island Reboot daily devlogs, along with daily additions to my Mood of the Day Mix), and I've recently checked off one of my more ambitious side goals - switching to Linux!
The Linux Experiment
After experimenting on an old desktop I "gave to my dad" and an ancient $15 laptop I restored, I finally got Linux (Kubuntu) installed on my main PC.
It's not yet an improvement from Windows 11 (the devil's OS) in terms of functionality...
GameMaker is far less cooperative and has poor gamepad recognition. I had connectivity issues that took days to solve. Each PC I've installed Linux on has a unique set of problems to troubleshoot. There are still situations where I have to use the Windows partition, like working on this postcard!
It's gonna take more than switching to Linux to solve today's problems anyway, and it actually creates new problems I wouldn't have otherwise.
I'm not sure how worthwhile this experiment was... but I learned a lot and feel more capable for having done it! My curiosity is at least satisfied and now I can say pretty surely that when I finally release Moonshell Island, it'll be playable on Linux! Or maybe I'll be even less sure of that, knowing how miraculous that would actually be...
Meet the Artist
One of the bigger art goals I've set out to do is still a work-in-progress, and I'm not even sure I will finish it. By the time I do, it might not even look like me anymore, but it was meant to be some kind of meet the artist thing. It's got me, my pets, and my workspace. That workspace now looks a lot more monstrous as I'm surrounded by Linux machines! There's no way I'm pixeling all that, and I'm losing steam on this thing.
Anyway, here's what I've got done so far. It's whatever!
I know I got a little vulnerable here and shared some pretty random stuff! I'm trying to go with the flow a little more and let things be a little less polished. This is the real me, pretty much. Except I don't actually have pizza and melon bubble tea. :( I do regret that.
PS: I'll be sending out these postcards to qualifying tiers on Monday! Thanks for your patience, and your support! <3
Have a good one!
Sam
Comments (6)
That is quite a workspace you have :D Which computer/laptop is used for what purpose? Scratching that engine itch is probably a good idea. Sometimes something novel is quite motivating to get back into a habit :D I hope It'll give you new ideas on how to solve some of those programming puzzles, even if you don't continue with Godot later. Love the meet the artist portraint you put together :D Maybe you should treat yourself to some pizza and melon bubble tea from your Patreon payout XD
Yeah, it's gonna be hard to downsize when I give my dad his PC back! I was mostly using that one for my first Linux install practice before risking my main PC, then as my temporary workstation while I did take that risk later! The laptop was just more practice to salvage something that would've otherwise been useless... but I might do some gamedev on it when I want a change of scenery. :) Yeah, I have a feeling I'll return to GM, but Godot is one of the few remaining burnout bucket list items I want to explore before I commit to my next push. I seem to learn a lot from these experiments, so I think you're right! Thank you so much! I'm glad it was worth sharing in the unfinished state... life's too short to wait to actually finish things :P You know, I can't argue with you about that pizza and melon bubble tea... I really should do that next time I'm in town! Though I might have a hard time convincing the tax people it's a business expense xD
Congratulations on everything you've been doing, Sam! It all sounds great! I love the new self-portrait with the pets and everything too! It's a different style from your usual stuff, and yet still recognizably your style, and recognizably you! And now that you're a Linux expert, you get to have opinions about favorite software and favorite desktop environments and argue about those online! Ah, good times!
Thank you, Dave! I really appreciate all your support through these wild ups and downs. And thank you for helping me get started with my first Linux install! You're right, now I can have all kinds of fun and opinions about that!
Love the updates. Hope it's going well! Linux is a B. I've been using it since 1995. It was better back 20 years ago when hardware actually was more basic and better supported. I think people only use it now who can't afford a Mac (or would rather martyr themselves by using linux). Windows 11 drives me nuts too but at least it works. Keep making the game the way YOU like on your own schedule. It's a project and I think it's great that you keep learning and forging ahead despite the setbacks.
Thanks, Rob! I really appreciate it. :) Yeah, Linux is a bit of a joke but now I'm in on it I guess. It's made me a lot more reckless about changing things up, so there's that! I don't know if that's a good thing yet. xD