iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Speaking of South Africa, it seems like this owner had some sort of connection to the Netherlands. There are a lot of stamps for the Netherlands, various South African states, even Curaçao (not pictured). This also tells a story. Were they Dutch-American? Or a big fan of all things Dutch?

A collage of six pages from a stockbook depicting Dutch stamps. Stamps originate from the Netherlands, Dutch colonies, and pre-South African states like Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

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The previous owner had some goofs, however. Here you can see they placed this South West Africa stamp upside-down! I think it just adds to the charm. These little imperfections tell a story, and I'm sure the owner was probably embarrassed about the mistake!

Historic South West African stamps in a stockbook. One is green and one is red. The green one is placed upside-down.

Is it Communism time yet? Looks like it. Here are some fun USSR designs. I particularly love the space-themed ones. Their designs have always been so striking, and the colors here are still quite vibrant! None of these stamps were in the book, so the previous owner just stuck them here!

A collection of USSR stamps, some of which depict the Russian space program. The colors are varied and vibrant.

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Another country I have ancestry from: Greece! These designs are fun and highlight all the great culture that Greece has to offer. I wish the pottery stamp was there!

Stockbook showing 1947-1950 commemorative stamps from Greece. The placed stamp is in Greek blue.

How about a country I have some ancestry from? That's right, it's Egypt! The old green Egyptian flag always throws me off. You can see the previous owner had some Egyptian stamps that were colored differently, so they made do by pasting them atop the description of the country.

A stockbook page for Egyptian stamps. Many of the earliest ones are filled out. There are a few King Fuad stamps as well.

Next up is an empty page for stamps from Cuba. And what a shame that it's empty! These designs look so lively and full of energy, and I love how huge the stamps are.

A stockbook page for stamps issued by Cuba. There are no stamps in place, only the monochrome print on parchment. The designs are large and full of energy.

It's rather common for stamps to depict leaders. These serve as a cool reminder of history, but I find them to be not as interesting outside of that merit. Here we have Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China, as well as King Ghazi of Iraq.

Stamp depicting Sun Yat-sen of the Republic of China. The colors are forest green and the stamp is valued at 10 yuan.

Stamp depicting King Ghazi of Iraq. The colors are brown and the stamp is valued at 4 fils.

Let's start with... Bavaria! The previous owner of this stockbook was kind enough to pencil in the issue dates for these stamps. We have a depiction of Ludwig III, the last King of Bayern.

1914 issued Bavarian stamp depicting Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria.

1870 Bavarian stamp valued at 3 pfennigs, former currency of German states.

One more US stamp, this time commemorating a century of friendship with Canada! Canada achieved a responsible government in 1848, prior to Confederation in 1867. I'm personally fond of stamps that try to depict abstract concepts, like international relations.

A US 3 cent postage stamp commemorating US-Canadian friendship. The text on it says "A Century of Friendship; United States - Canada; 1848-1948". The design shows a bridge over a river with a steam locomotive running across the bridge.

This commemorative 3 cent stamp of vaudeville performer Will Rogers made me laugh, mostly because of the beautiful shade of magenta-pink used alongside the quote of "I never met a man I didn't like." Yes, it's a very famous quote of his, but consider this: it's giving yaoi.

US postage 3 cent commemorative depicting Will Rogers. The color used is a vibrant magenta-pink. Will Roger's famous quote of "I never met a man I didn't like" is depicted on the stamp.

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I'm going to highlight this particular US stamp, because it's stamped with a DIFFERENT stamp, and that different stamp is urging you to buy US bonds and to ask your postmaster.

A US 3 cent postage stamp depicting the Ordinance of 1787. A stamp is placed atop of it saying to buy US savings bonds and to ask your postmaster.

This stockbook opens up uniquely: the previous owner added their own pages to showcase various US-specific stamps! It seems like the tape on some of these has worn off over time.

A stockbook page of old US stamps, ranging from 1 cent to $2 in valuation. Most stamps here depict US Presidents.

A stockbook page showing US commemorative stamps, ranging from the 50th anniversary of motion pictures to Iwo Jima to the Florida Centennial.

The stockbook that I have inherited is The Coronet DeLuxe World Stamp Album 1955. This one is focused on stamps of the world. The world map was different in 1955! Since this is a stockbook for historic stamps, the map isn't exactly accurate to what 1955 was (Manchuria as a separate entity is odd!)

Cover of a used stamp stockbook. The stockbook is the 1955 edition of The Coronet DeLuxe World Stamp Album.

A world map of Asia from 1955. The USSR is prominently featured. Manchuria is marked separately from China. Taiwan is called Formosa. The Middle East is very confusing to look at. There are two Somalilands. Egypt looks normal.

3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 03/05/2025

I'm making an indie game where you collect stamps in space, so let's take a look at a real stamp stockbook and see just how cool philately really is! 🧵

A page from a stamp stockbook showing stamps from Ceylon issued 1886-1949.

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I'm very excited that so many folks have already wishlisted Sincerely, Stampy! I'm working on a blog post explaining the current state of the game, what the next steps are, and how far away we are from finishing the game. I plan to write monthly devlogs, so please look forward to that!

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 03/05/2025

It's the poster key art for our upcoming game: Sincerely, Stampy! Drawn by @gelatobear.bsky.social! 👽 I love how they captured each character's personality. If you're itching to go on a stamp-filled space odyssey, please wishlist the game! It helps a lot! 🌌 store.steampowered.com/app/1994910/...

Poster art for Sincerely, Stampy. Four humans are getting abducted by aliens, each of whom have a different pose and expression. Stampy at the bottom is reading through a stamp stockbook as stamps go flying near them.

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 02/05/2025

👽 STEAM PAGE ANNOUNCEMENT 👽 The Steam page for SINCERELY, STAMPY, a stamp-collecting space odyssey, is live! You and 4 others have been abducted by aliens and put in a 14-day experiment. 12 endings! 4 romance options! 💚 Wishlists and reposts appreciated! 💚 store.steampowered.com/app/1994910/...

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 29/04/2025

A live look at me waiting for Steam to approve the store page for Sincerely, Stampy. Just sitting back. Waiting. And waiting...

Key art of Gamal Choi from Sincerely, Stampy, in chibi form, getting abducted by aliens. He looks disinterested, his arms crossed, and his legs casually out as if he were sitting.

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 29/04/2025

Me summoning aliens as I wait for Steam to approve the store page for my game about aliens 👽 Hands: mine Alien: also mine OP flashlight that caused this to happen: you betcha, that's mine Photo: @gelatobear.bsky.social

Photo of the poster's hands holding a glow-in-the-dark green alien toy that is very vibrantly glowing

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 28/04/2025

I have submitted Sincerely, Stampy for Steam Store Presence! 🎉 Please follow to be notified when the game is available to be wishlisted, and please wishlist! Wishlists are very important for #indiedev folks such as myself. 🎁 Here's hoping no hiccups in the review process!! 🙏

Screenshot from the Steam backend showing the status of the Store Presence milestone. Text reads "Your app is in the review queue. This review typically takes 3-5 days and we will e-mail you with feedback or approval. No further action is required until the review is complete."

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 24/04/2025

A small feature I added for Sincerely, Stampy: custom marquee messages above the Assembly Room door. These messages will vary based on the current day and time of day. You can also see the overall color grading shifts based on this too! It's the little details that count~ #indiedev

Four screenshot snippets from the game Sincerely, Stampy. The protagonist is staring at a bolted metal door with a marquee sign in all four. The color grading gets darker from left-to-right, with the rightmost comp an ominous red. The signs read, in order:
1. WELCOME!
2. MEET 2NITE
3. GO TO BED
4. EMERGENCY

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 22/04/2025

You've heard of the surprise remaster release, now get ready for a small #indiegame that's been out for years! Features vs the big game: 🍵 $35 cheaper ($14.99 MSRP) 🍵 More linear 🍵 No deluxe edition/DLC 🍵 Only 30 hours of gameplay and not 3000+ It's on Steam! store.steampowered.com/app/1613950/...

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 15/04/2025

One of the things I'm proud of in Sincerely, Stampy: contextual hints! If you've done something that reveals information for a quest task, but you haven't completed said task, the game will remember it and surface that information to you. Some of the more difficult quest tasks have multiple hints!

Phone UI examples from the game Sincerely, Stampy. The left comp shows a list of quests at various difficulty levels, some with notification icons. The right shows details on a single quest, including an icon, a description, the quest rewards, and a checklist of tasks to complete. Notably, the incomplete checklist items showcase contextual hints.

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 08/04/2025

Updated screenshot! 📧 This is the UI for the stamp stockbook, where you will see all your unlocked stamps. Each stamp has its own stats, and you can equip them to give yourself temporary stat boosts for skill checks. It's coming along!

Screenshot from the game Sincerely, Stampy, showing the stamp stockbook UI interface in the game. On the left page under a heading labeled "The Starwatchers" are many stamps depicting people and aliens. On the top-right is a section for Equipped Stamp Set, and below that is a section focusing on a stamp for the Astral Gardener.

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 03/04/2025

The most fun part of making Sincerely, Stampy has been handing off tasks to @gelatobear.bsky.social with little to no guidance beyond "fill this room up with things you like, follow the theme" Some items designs are mine, some theirs. Our interpretations are different, so it coming together is fun!

Screenshot from Sincerely, Stampy. Stampy is standing in a hallway in front of an open door. The leftmost door is surrounding by game-related items, while the door Stampy is standing in front of has beauty-related items nearby.

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 02/04/2025

It's really coming together! I made a gif of this at 616px width for the Steam page. Seeing it in motion is such a different feeling from seeing it in a screenshot. I hope clips like this get you excited for the game! And to the GDC folks who got to play it... what a difference two weeks can make!

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 01/04/2025

It is my opinion that every game benefits from having a little dancing haniwa in it.

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3 Halves Games @3halvesgames.com · 31/03/2025

Today's Wikipedia featured article is EXTREMELY relevant to Sincerely, Stampy. What are the chances?!

Screenshot of a featured article from Wikipedia. The text says: The Apollo 15 postal covers incident involved the crew of NASA's Apollo 15, who in 1971 carried about 400 unauthorized postal covers (example pictured) to the Moon's surface. American astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin agreed to receive about $7,000 each for transporting the covers, which were inside the Lunar Module Falcon as Scott and Irwin walked on the Moon. The covers were postmarked both prior to liftoff from Kennedy Space Center and after splashdown.