iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Persevere pre-alpha playtest build is really coming along! Here's a sneak peek, the new tower UIs with completed upgrade icons. The playtest build will be releasing in late October. I'll share more info over the coming weeks.

A screenshot from Persevere's pre-alpha build, showing the Flamethrower Turret UI, with stats, upgrade icons, and target priority selection.

A screenshot from Persevere's pre-alpha build, showing the Slow Turret UI, with stats, upgrade icons, and target priority selection.

A screenshot from Persevere's pre-alpha build, showing the Rifle Turret UI, with stats, upgrade icons, and target priority selection.

A screenshot from Persevere's pre-alpha build, showing the Beam Turret UI, with stats, upgrade icons, and target priority selection.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

We're back working on Persevere after a beautiful summer break. For me, it was mostly spent sailing on Lough Corrib ❤️. We're working towards a public pre-alpha playtest, targeting a release on October 5th, to get feedback and iterate on the core experience. This is so exciting! More info soon.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Work on Persevere's pitch deck continues. Here is the final draft of the Art Direction slide. Writing a deck really is a useful tool for re-focusing your understanding of your game #gamedev #indiedev #narrative #strategy #simulation #pitchdeck

Persevere's Art Direction slide. It states that Persevere's goals include having a strong, immediately recognizable visual identity, and a stylized painterly sci-fi aesthetic that remains grounded.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Work on Persevere's pitch deck continues. Here is the final draft of the Core Loop slide, and the first draft of the Market Opportunity slide (there will be a separate Market Analysis slide with metrics). #gamedev #indiedev #narrative #strategy #simulation #pitchdeck

The final draft of the core loop slide for Persevere's pitch deck.

The first draft of the market opportunity slide for Persevere's pitch deck.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

I'm working on the pitch deck for Perservere, our narrative strategy game. This is the most technical slide in the pitch deck. It's designed to show our competence, how well we have considered the design and the moment-to-moment gameplay of the player. I'd love to hear feedback on it. #gamedev

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Here's the first draft of the "Ballistics" train carriage for Persevere, our narrative strategy game. When added to your train, it gives you access to basic projectile towers. Train cars aren't just for tower defense though, there will be cars for research, medical, training, scouting, and more.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

And finally, I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, everyone who helped me to make this prototype a reality. In particular, my amazing team, who each contributed their skills, passion, and unique perspectives, to the game. #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

One of the most exciting aspects of Persevere is the dynamic storyteller system. Each person has 4+ traits, and from these we create personality profiles. Profiles are used by the system when choosing the narrative events, and they are also used to fill roles in that narrative. #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

It's best to stay as long as you can, to stock up on Fuel and Scrap which will let you travel further, and put up a quicker defense at the next station. When you click Leave, your crew are called back to the train. In an emergency, you can abandon any who haven't made it back. #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

The alien "husks" cannot be defeated, only delayed. You cannot win, only survive to make it to the next stop. To help with defense, you can upgrade your towers. The prototype has very simple upgrades, these will become much more interesting choices in a future build! #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Your crew gain Stress from a combination of the environment and their Traits. This Stress contributes to the crew's Strain, which leads to Crisis narrative events that you need to resolve. Our narrative system uses a procedural storyteller system, more on that in a later post. #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Next up, you need to build defense towers, to keep the alien "husks" at bay while you gather the Fuel and Scrap you need to continue your journey. The towers you have access to depend on the train cars you've built. In this prototype, there is just one "Ballistics" car. #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

After arriving, you should first assign your crew to gather resources. In the prototype there are two resource sites, the Fuel Depot, for generating fuel to allow travel to the next location, and the Scrap Mine, for salvaging Scrap to build and upgrade train cars and towers. #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

In the early hours of yesterday morning, we completed the prototype of Persevere, our narrative strategy game. I'd like to introduce you to it! Starting with arriving on the level with your train, containing five crew, who we'll get to, and a Ballistics train car. #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Working on the last elements of the Persevere #IndieDev prototype, the focus now is on exposing the crew simulation to the player; here is the crew person profile popup. Stress is gained from Stressors, and contributes to the Strain on the crew, which leads to crisis events. #gamedev #narrative

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

As well as working on the final Persevere IndieDev prototype build, we're also preparing for the IndieDev wrap event being hosted by @ardan-ie.bsky.social next week. As part of that, we've created a graphic for a pull-up banner, which I am loving. #indiedev #gamedev #stategy #narrative #prototype

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

We are doing the final content and polish pass for Persevere's prototype. He's a sneak peek at the locomotive, and the crew leaving to it collect resources... More media soon! #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #strategy #narrative

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

We've just started production of the Persevere prototype, after 8 months of (part-time) pre-production. Today we hit a milestone, testing a "full" train (your mobile base) in-game (using mostly placeholder assets). My one concern was if the scale and length would feel right, I call this a success!

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

My #gamedev team and I created a pitch deck for Persevere, our #roguelike #strategy #towerdefense #game, as part of an application to a local arts fund. I thought it'd be interesting to share some of the slides for #screenshotsaturday. If there's interest, I'll share more slides later today.

Persevere is a roguelike strategy game that fuses survival management with tower defense. Stranded on a hostile alien tomb world and hunted by drones, you must salvage a locomotive, recruit a crew, and chart a path across a strange planet dotted with enigmatic alien complexes and failing human colonies.

Fend off waves of aliens, gather vital supplies, unearth lost technology, expand your train, uncover the secrets of this forgotten world, and keep your battered crew intact as you search for a means of escape.

Universe or Nothing is a fledgling game studio made up of a group of friends based in Galway and Dublin.

Most of us have worked together before, whether in studios, on internships, or through the local dev community, and what's brought us together now is the opportunity to build something truly unique. This project is our way of putting a stamp on the gaming world, laying the groundwork for a future where we can keep creating together.

This is a tough time for the games industry, but it's a space we're each deeply committed to. Our goal is to build a studio that's not only creatively fulfilling but also stable and sustainable for every member of our team, a place where we can chase big ideas, support each other, and make games we're proud of.

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