iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It’s not a bug, it’s a feature 👀 I can’t believe I had this microscope clip from over 2 years ago, and it’s the same creature too 🤣 #indiegames #gamedev #microscopy #microbiology #unitygames

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Cellscape now has an official release date!! January 12, 2027 🎉 I’ve decided to release directly to 1.0 instead of Early Access. More details in the Steam announcement: store.steampowered.com/news/app/365... #indiegames #gamedev #unity2D #microbes #sciencegames

A poster for the game Cellscape, showing the release date of January 12, 2027.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

In the course of development I naturally spend a lot of time (like, a lot) watching the Cellscape ecosystem run. I realized it would make a nice 24h Twitch stream! Here are a few clips from the first week 🦠💕 #twitch #microbes #gamedev #microscopy #indiegame

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Cellscape now has an aquarium mode! Still in development, but working well so far. It’s now live on Twitch 👀 I added Twitch integration so anyone can use commands to feed the microbes and spawn items into the scene. Come check it out! www.twitch.tv/protozoaprin... #indiegames #unity2D #biology

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Started adding character customization in Cellscape. As someone who tends to prefer things more on the realistic side I surprised myself by how much I enjoy decorating my little protozoa with bright colours 🎨 💅 #indiegames #unity2D #gamedev #microbiology #sciencegames

A screenshot from a video game showing a character customization window in development. There is an image of a protozoa with selectable parts, a colour swatch, and a live preview of the character.

A screenshot from the game Cellscape showing the player character and several of their clones with bright custom colours.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Bacteria nodes, fungal aggregates, and more new creatures 🦠 #gamedev #indiegames #microbes #biology

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Just released my biggest Cellscape playtest update so far! Some major new mechanics change the game quite a bit. Fungi are now part of the ecosystem, bacteria spawn via decaying nodes, new creatures, and a lot more. Also, now you can customize the controls! #gamedev #indiegames #soillife #microbes

A screenshot from a microbe themed video game set in a soil environment, with hand-drawn artwork. There are soil particles of various sizes, strands of fungal hyphae, protozoa and bacteria.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

That was a close call for this bumblebee 🫣 Could that spider have even managed to grab a bee that size? It was definitely ready to try but the bee noticed it just in time and flew away. #bumblebees #crabspider #nature #wildflowers

A large crab spider hiding among vetch flowers, with a bumblebee hovering just above it.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Frozen berry slushies to help the chickens cool down on a hot day. They seem to like it! #chickens #heatwave

A group of hens eating red berry slush treats out of ice cream boxes.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

We need way more emphasis on protecting existing trees and established forests.

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Reposted by Kate Solbakk

Lin Hawthorne @haggewoods.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Perfect pose for a pristine Peacock, Echinops ritro, in the garden

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Last night I woke up around 3 and couldn’t get back to sleep. Too warm and too bright. After about an hour I gave up and went out for a walk. I remembered learning that greater butterfly orchids are specialized for pollination by hawk moths so I went to check on one of the patches near our house.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Norway has way more cool plants than you might think. The other day I found wild orchids in my yard and today I spotted these carnivorous plants along the edge of a nearby lake. It’s called Great Sundew. Looks like something from the tropics! #norwegiannature

Reddish-pink long tongue-shaped plants covered in hairs with droplets of liquid at the tips, growing in a mossy bog.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Wow these foxgloves are pretty! Just growing randomly on the side of the road

Deep pink foxglove flowers on a tall stalk with a rocky slope in the background

White foxglove flowers in the sun with a large tree stump, rocks and shrubs in the background.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

WhatsApp asks for FaceID to pair a VR headset. Maybe it’s for the best that they are giving up on the metaverse 😂

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I know we all hate Microsoft too but at least they figured out how to pair a VR headset with a PC without having to take the headset off.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Felt like working in VR again today and was disappointed to find Workrooms gone. Meta put so much money into VR and then handled everything in the worst way possible. I’m still grieving the old Oculus home, it was such a cool place and an amazing way to get started in VR.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

A popsicle to help the chickens cool down during the heat wave. We’re just at the very top edge of it here in southern Norway so we don’t have it nearly as bad as the rest of Europe, but this is plenty miserable. Really feel for those suffering in 40+ degrees. Can’t imagine what that must be like.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

This is an endangered species of hoverfly, Callicera aenea. Spotted feeding on grass pollen next to my garden. Threatened by habitat loss due to the lack of big old trees with rotting wood, as usual. Exciting find during #PollinatorWeek! Registered the sighting at #artsobservasjoner 💚

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Summer sleep deprivation is making game dev a challenge right now (I live in Norway but didn’t grow up here). The garden is my happy place in the meantime 💕

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Five minute morning walk in summer in Norway: harassed by at least four horse flies and a deer fly. A tick crawling up my leg. Hordes of biting midges. Oh and the air is sweaty 🥵 Sorry Phoebe dog, you’ll need to pee in the yard until things calm down out there #Norwegiannature

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Reposted by Kate Solbakk

Petra Michaela @petramichaela.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Bumblebees are the gentle giants of the pollination world and are considered among the most important creatures on Earth. Every flower they touch helps nature thrive and your garden bloom.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

The horseflies are psychotic with the heat right now. Their bites are brutal! Huge welt on my leg still visible after nearly three weeks. I fed four of them to the chickens today though, so I’m winning 😌

static.klipy.com

Shit For

ALT: Shit For

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

For my next contribution to #PollinatorWeek, here is a bumblebee with a thing for feet 🦶🐝

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I just found wild orchids! It’s the Greater Butterfly-orchid, which is pollinated mainly by moths at night, especially hawk moths. I cut this area near our driveway with a scythe once or twice in the last five years, otherwise it’s unmanaged. Happy to see the wildflowers thriving 🦋 #PollinatorWeek

A stalk with sparse white orchid flowers in sunny meadow, with diverse grasses and wildflowers

A close up of the greater butterfly-orchid flowers, showing widely spaced pollen structures that differentiate it from the lesser butterfly-orchid.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

This horse fly tried to bite me, so I fed it to a chicken. I feel victorious 🙌

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

This weevil is beautiful! I keep finding insects and spiders I’ve never seen before. We leave most of the property as wild meadows instead of short grass and it shows 💕

Metallic green weevil standing on the tip of a small tree branch with a folded stem and rolled up leaf.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Finally getting some real summer warmth! Personally I prefer cooler weather, but the chickens are loving it.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Too nice to be inside today. Working on my next Substack post from the garden, with the chickens 💕

View from a garden chair with a laptop, sunny blue sky and hilly Norwegian rural landscape in the background.

Hens roaming around a veggie garden with plants protected by chicken wire

Two hens drinking from a shallow water dish in a garden, on a warm summer day

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

The artwork in Cellscape is inspired by real microscope views, and of course it’s all hand drawn. Here’s a photo of my compost I took this afternoon as a reference for decomposing organic material. I think it’s so pretty 😍 #soillife #gameart #gamedev #indiegames #microscopy

Dark field microscope image of compost. The image shows scattered debris that looks somewhat glass-like, ranging from colourless to soft gold and brown colours.

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

This is an early prototype of fungal hyphae which will grow from spores and stick to soil clusters and creatures. Fungal growth and its effect on soil structure is the last major game system that needs to be in place before Cellscape’s early access release! #gamedev #indiegames #mushrooms

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Three new viruses that can infect your character, and a virus-eating ciliate that can cure them 🦠 The virus eater is based on the real life Halteria, which actually does eat viruses. I doubt it cures infected flagellates irl.. but we’ll allow it with game logic ☺️ #gamedev #indiegames #microbes

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Making a roadmap for my game has actually been so helpful. I’ve never been good at planning ahead, but a game is so complex it’s easy to get lost in analysis paralysis and decision fatigue, esp with adhd. Even if you don’t share, it’s absolutely worth doing. #gamedev #solodev #indiegames #adhd

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I love this little guy! Cyclidium is the newest member of the Cellscape ecosystem. Very jumpy and very hungry for bacteria. When it stops to feed on biofilm bacteria it weakens their biofilm production and can even destroy the whole patch! #indiegame #microbes #gamedev #Cellscape

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Here’s a tentative roadmap for the rest of 2026, with major development goals leading to (hopefully!) early access release at the end of the year 🎉 Announcement on Steam: store.steampowered.com/news/app/365... #cellscape #indiedev #gamedev #unitygames #upcominggames

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Next Fest is almost over! 👀 Exciting as this week has been, I can’t wait to put my head down and focus 100% on game dev again. I’m dying to start the next round of play testing with Halteria and the new player virus system! 🦠👾 #SteamNextFest #gamedev #indiegames #unitygames #cellscape #microbes

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Tried a little experiment today, using clear nail polish to capture snowflake impressions on a microscope slide. It actually kind of worked, and was very fun 😁❄️ Will try again next time it snows and hopefully get some better ones! #microscopy #winterwonderland #snowflakes #nature

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

I’m working on a special new creature for Cellscape. Halteria is a ciliate that eats viruses irl! In the game your character can get infected with viruses and you can use Halteria to remove them 🦠💕 #gamedev #indiegames #unitygames #microbiology #protozoa #ciliate #steamnextfest

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Reposted by Kate Solbakk

Amanda @ The Indie Game Cafe @the-indie-game-cafe.com · 03/02/2026

Indie devs! I’m looking to play as much as I possibly can during #SteamNextFest at the end of the month. Let me know if you’re taking part, or better yet, will have a demo up before the event starts! (Drop a link, or my email is in my bio) Thank you ❤️ 😊

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

The Cellscape demo is now playable! Check it out for free on Steam. The demo lets you play in 5-minute timed runs, but you can play as many as you like. Have fun! 🦠💕 #unitygames #indiegames #microbes #microbiology #SteamNextFest store.steampowered.com/app/3650410/...

store.steampowered.com

Cellscape on Steam

Experience life as a microbe in a dynamic, living ecosystem. Hunt bacteria, dodge hazards and predators, and divide as many times as you can!

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Only a few days left to join the playtest! Come try living the microbe life while you can 🦠 #gamedev #indiegames #steamplaytest #mocrobiology

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

So lovely to see the night sky again. Didn’t expect auroras already! They are strong enough to see without a camera tonight 😍 #auroras #october #norway

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Kate Solbakk @protozoaprincess.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

I’m a big fan of whoever invented anti hair wrap vacuum brushes. #thankyou

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