iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 25/09/2026

Enjoying some time away to explore Japan after TGS, but the fact Donut Panic is still at 100% positive reviews is blowing my mind and I can't wait to get into the final stretch of development! Huge thanks to anyone who's played, streamed or reviewed the demo, it means a lot ❤️

Screenshot of the Donut Panic demo on Steam showing fifty 100% positive reviews

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 17/09/2026

First day of TGS! Come make some donuts and grab some free goodies 🍩

Photo of the Donut Panic booth at Tokyo Game Show

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 09/09/2026

Having a blast watching folks play the demo! If you've enjoyed yourself, leaving a review helps a ton ♥️

Screenshot of the Steam demo page for Donut Panic showing 100% positive reviews

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 08/09/2026

The Donut Panic demo is out now on Steam!🔥 - Master your pâtissier skills and keep customers happy - Run for your panic room when the hallucinations start - Survive each night or remain stuck in the loop forever - Uncover the secrets behind your hauntings to influence how your story ends

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 12/03/2026

Announcing DONUT PANIC, anomaly horror with a cooking sim twist! 🍩 - Master your pâtissier skills to keep customers happy - Run for your panic room when the hallucinations start - Unlock new recipes and accessorize your panic room - Explore the diner to uncover the secrets behind your hauntings

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 04/02/2026

Sooo close! Just one more review until Farewell North is 'Overwhelmingly Positive.'

Screenshot of Farewell North on Steam showing 499 reviews at 95% positive.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 14/01/2026

Annual reminder that you can just leave a one word Steam review and make an indie developer's day.

A positive Steam review from MoistMelon that just says "Dog"

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 07/01/2026

Very video game door on this train. Yellow means I go through, right?

A very yellow metal door on a train, with grungy black textures reminiscent of Resident Evil

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 06/01/2026

Also implemented serializing interface references because it drives me crazy that Unity doesn't have this by default 😌

Code snippet showing how interface references can be serialized in Unity using this tool.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 06/01/2026

I open sourced this little Unity tool a few years ago to declare dependencies and improve performance of resolving references (no more GetComponent*), which was very important for smooth world streaming. Glad to see it still gets hundreds of downloads every month. Neat! github.com/KyleBanks/sc...

Snippet of code showing how dependencies are defined using this tool, rather than using standard GetComponent* calls in Unity. This tool provides Scene, Self, Child, Parent and Anywhere tags which will automatically resolve references and serialize them in the editor, so at runtime there's no need to search for references in Awake, which can cause significant frame rate hiccups when world streaming.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 03/01/2026

I'd like to bag a few Munros and keep exploring Scotland this year. My wife and I realised after living here a few years we lost momentum and fell into old habits, so we started planning monthly adventures to keep active. Sometimes a quick event in town, others a big trip, but it's helped a lot!

View from the start of Ben Vorlich in the Scottish Highlands, looking down at a field and loch in the distance.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 31/12/2025

This wasn't always my favourite year for various personal reasons, but two standout memories were being selected for the BAFTA Breakthrough program, and joining John Konsolakis as he won an Ivor Novello for the Farewell North soundtrack after four years working together.

BAFTA Breakthrough photo of me kneeling behind a cardboard boat

On stage with John Konsolakis at the Ivor Novello Awards.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 30/12/2025

I loved a lot of what I read this year, but a few standouts in no particular order: - A Short Stay in Hell - Penpal - The Lies of Locke Lamora - The Haar - As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow - Children of Paradise - His Bloody Project - The Witcher Series - Pet Sematary - Ghost Story

My "Goodreads Year in Books" for 2025, showing 98 books read and 35,559 pages.

Cover of "A Short Stay in Hell" by Steven L. Peck

Cover the "The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 29/12/2025

We're getting there, slowly but surely!

Screenshot from a discord bot that shows the weekly review summary for Farewell North, with 3/3 positive reviews this week and same last week.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 25/12/2025

Merry Christmas folks, sorry to make you all feel so under dressed

Selfie wearing a blue shirt with pink glittery "Beans" written above a collage of chihuahua photos

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 24/12/2025

Farewell North is currently 50% off for the Winter Sale! Play a Border Collie and restore color to your human's world as you: 🛶 Explore a chain of Scottish islands 🐏 Herd sheep and other animals ✨ Unravel a touching tale about saying farewell to the place where you grew up farewell-north.com/steam

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 22/12/2025

Really enjoying Dead Reset! Very much Alien inspired with great performances and an intriguing time loop setup, though I do wish the interaction points were a bit more frequent.

Screenshot from Dead Reset showing the main character looking back over his shoulder with a glow stick in a dark ventilation shaft, wires and tubes around him.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 21/12/2025

This year's entries are in! We're undecided for now on who won, but definitely an improvement for each of us.

Six painted nutcrackers of varying success. In the center are this year's, a red and white on the left, and a green and brown on the right

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 21/12/2025

Every year my wife and I have a highly competitive Nutcracker paint-off, and every year she wins. But not this year. This year, I brought references. Wish me luck!

A table with paints, brushes and several unpainted wooden nutcrackers.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 19/12/2025

Farewell North is sooo so so close to the 500 reviews needed for "Overwhelmingly Positive" but reviews have also slowed quite a bit, so if you played and enjoyed the game then please consider leaving a review and I'll love you forever 😌

Screenshot from the Farewell North Steam page showing 479 reviews with 95% positive.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 17/12/2025

i do not and will not use AI, but my games ARE made in large part by my trusted desk Chihuahua who enjoys napping on my keyboard and pressing buttons until walk time

A Chihuahua (Beans!) laying on my keyboard, dangerously close to the power button

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 16/12/2025

Thrilled to see Farewell North nominated for best performance at @indiecade.bsky.social! As always I'm so grateful to all the wonderful actors who brought the game to life ♥️

Farewell North key art with the Indiecade 2025 nominee badge

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 15/12/2025

Dress rehearsal today for a few scenes we're shooting for the new game, how's it looking?

Selfie wearing a 60s wig and sporting a new moustache

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 08/12/2025

The sheer volume of AI garbage YouTube sponsorship requests I'm getting right now is so disheartening... They don't even believe in their grift enough to stand behind it.

Screenshot from an AI model generator YouTube sponsorship, instructing the creator "If your own generated model doesn't look ideal, please choose a polished high-quality model from the Community section on our homepage instead."

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 30/11/2025

I still can't quite believe we got to work with Siobhan Miller on THREE renditions of "My Heart's in the Highlands," just an absolute dream come true.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 28/11/2025

I haven't been posting much this year, but I've been enjoying some time away from the computer with a few adventures instead: - Munro bagging - Visiting Orkney - Skiing - Some basic woodworking projects

Wife, Chihuahua and I at the top of Ben Vorlich, hands on a pile of stones at the peak

Wife, Chihuahua and I again, on a rain soaked cliffside in Orkney

Looking out across a landscape of snow covered mountains in Val Thorens, France. A few skiers in the foreground.

Some basic woodworking projects: a bench, shelf and wall paneling for a hallway.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 25/11/2025

Always appreciate an opportunity to tell folks that Chesley from Farewell North is secretly a Chihuahua

Beans the Chihuahua at the peak of Ben Vorlich, a Scottish munro

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 25/11/2025

It’s such an honour to have been selected as one of this year’s @bafta.org Breakthroughs, what a wonderful way to close out the Farewell North journey. I’ve been working away on a new game, it couldn't possibly be more different but I’m having an absolute blast and can’t wait to share more soon!

BAFTA Breakthrough announcement photo with me peaking out from behind a cardboard boat

BAFTA Breakthrough announcement overhead photo showing all the Breakthroughs with various cardboard props

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 29/05/2025

The Cozy & Family Friendly Games Celebration is on ☕✨ If you’re into cozy games, sayyy a narrative driven adventure where you play as a border collie restoring color to the world at 30% off, then check out @cozycelebration.bsky.social!

Cozy & Family Friendly Games Celebration featuring Farewell North on Steam

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 23/05/2025

Still can’t believe it, massive congrats to John Konsolakis for winning Best Video Game Soundtrack at The Ivors! Celebrating his work on such a grand stage, with so many prolific artists, was really special and I continue to be blown away by the places this game has taken us.

Selfie with John Konsolakis on the Ivors red carpet

Official "winner" announcement showing John Konsolakis winning the Best Original Video Game Score for Farewell North at the Ivors

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 04/05/2025

Hey look mom, I made it! Thanks so much to @shanodin.bsky.social for the wonderful article and MCV/Develop for the nomination 🙌

Article from The National newspaper titled "Scotland's paws all over video games award ceremony", detailing four Scottish game's nominated for the MCV/Develop Awards, including Farewell North!

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 21/02/2025

Definitely didn't expect this, huge thank you to @debugawards.com for a great evening 🔥

The Debug Indie Game Awards trophy for Best Narrative to Farewell North

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 16/02/2025

This week we said farewell to Barney after nearly 16 years. FN players will know him as Comfy Boy, but to us he was the bestest and weirdest little guy, and it fucking hurts that he's gone. Rest well little man ❤️

Barney the Chihuahua in a field of leaves

Barney the Chihuahua climbing Mt Snowden in Wales

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 29/01/2025

The first ever Myths & Legends is on with some wonderful folklore-inspired indies, including Farewell North! (... also currently 30% off on Switch 😲) store.steampowered.com/sale/Mythsan... #mythsandlegends2025

Myths & Legends Steam event banner with Farewell North featured, taking place from Jan 29 to Feb 4

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 22/01/2025

Thrilled to learn Farewell North has received @debugmag.com Indie Game Awards nominations for: ✨ Best Narrative ✨ Best Voice Acting You can even grab Farewell North in a bundle will our fellow Best Narrative nominee @copycat.bsky.social ❤️

Best Narrative nomination shortlist including Farewell North, Copycat, Closer the Distance, 1000xResist, Mouthwashing and Two Falls

Best Narrative nomination shortlist including Farewell North, Closer the Distance, 1000xResist, Still Wakes the Deep, The Holy Gosh Darn and Two Falls

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 19/01/2025

Wee stroll through the Pentlands today ☁️ not pictured: me, an embarrassingly sweaty mess

View from the Pentlands, a range of hills just outside Edinburgh, looking over the city

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 13/01/2025

Hmm I don't have many gifs, but we do have some awesome emotes created by discord members! Here's a handful of favourites

Emotes of Chesley, the border collie from Farewell North. One is crying, one is hearts, and one is smug

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 13/01/2025

We had a flurry of new reviews over the weekend thanks to the Daily Deal (still 30% off btw) and so far it's all been extremely positive! Another reminder that all it takes is a few words and a thumbs up to brighten an indie dev's day 😌

Steam review: An absolutely incredible game. The story is so rich and well-told. The graphics and scenery are beautiful. The gameplay itself is super interactive and it truly feels like you are on the adventure

Steam review: Great game, very surprised by the size of the world, quite impressive.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 09/01/2025

Somehow I've never played any of the Half-Life games, so today I see what all the fuss is about 🧐

Half-Life key art with the main character standing before metal wall with the Half-Life symbol on it

Screenshot from the opening train ride in Half-Life

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 08/01/2025

Farewell North is 30% off as Steam’s Daily Deal! With 97% positive reviews and an 80 on metacritic, this is the biggest discount we’ve ever done, so it's the perfect chance to check it out 🎉 farewell-north.com/steam

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 03/01/2025

It's always extra special to see Farewell North in physical print, like somehow this thing I spend all my time on suddenly feels "real", you know? Just me? Anyways, thanks so much @thepatchmag.bsky.social! ❤️

Farewell North listed as one of the games in the "12 Days of Patchmas" segment of Patch magazine.

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 15/12/2024

Just one word is all it takes, punctuation optional. It makes all the difference ❤️

Steam review for Farewell North that just says "dog"

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 14/12/2024

What an honour it was to take home the Gooderest Boy Award at the prestigious @tgagwcaga.bsky.social awards last night 🥹

A lovely picture of a very real trophy, definitely not stolen from Google images, for the Goodst Boy Award for games released in 2024

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 13/12/2024

It means so much to see people deeply connecting with Cailey and Chesley's story ❤️ Thank you so much for the GOTY pick @scree.bsky.social! www.qualbert.com/game-of-the-...

Farewell North selected as game of the year for Qualbert by Renee O'Flynn

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 12/12/2024

My wife made release day sweets! Snickerdoodles and a raspberry trifle donut, which sadly I've somehow made a mess of... Happy to share with anyone who grabs the game and finds me before I finish them all 😊

A donut sitting on several snickerdoodle cookies

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 12/12/2024

📢 Farewell North is OUT NOW on PlayStation 5! Play as a border collie and restore colour to your human's world as you: 🐏 Herd sheep, solve puzzles and free wildlife 🛶 Explore a chain of Scottish islands ✨ Unravel a touching story about saying farewell to the place where you grew up

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 07/12/2024

It’s pretty wild to even be in the same conversation as games like Balatro, Animal Well and Crow Country, even if this is the only time it'll ever happen 😅

Screenshot from GameRant's article "The 15 Best Indie Games of 2024" featuring Farewell North :)

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Kyle Banks @kylewbanks.com · 06/12/2024

I'm no food photographer but my wife made eggnog creme brulee donuts and I'm in heaven 😊

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