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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 · 12/09/2026

@harvey1966.bsky.social I reckon you've played King of Dragon Pass? It's designers, @radiofreelunch.bsky.social and @robindlaws.bsky.social, have just put out a new tactical narrative game, and I think it's a step forward in procedural narrative, in the same way KoDP was in the late 90s.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Let me tell you about Thousand Hells! @radiofreelunch.bsky.social with Robin Laws and the rest of the A Sharp team, have delivered an extremely engaging and novel tactical narrative experience, with a unique vision, and excellent writing. Go get it on Steam! store.steampowered.com/app/3794210/...

store.steampowered.com

Save 10% on Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists on Steam

Recruit your team, choose your path, and descend into hell. Four heroes must overcome the trials of the underworlds in tactical narrative encounters. A new systemic storybook experience blending mytho...

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David Dunham @radiofreelunch.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Tomorrow (11 September) I’ll be holding a Reddit AMA on r/Games to answer questions about my latest game, underworld mythologies and anything else related! (Or King of Dragon Pass, of course.) See you on Friday at 11:00 am PT/2:00pm ET at /r/Games/ (I’ll post a more specific link on the 11th)!

Screen shot from Thousand Hells, with a “Free the Slaves” challenge just started. Three situations are available, and four tiles are below them, which can be played. To the left is the narrative so far, two tile bags, and portraits of the four team members.

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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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RPS | Wishlist Fallosophy on Steam! @fallosophygame.com · 15/06/2026

Fallosophy is in Steam Next Fest. Getting Over It, but the mountain is a giant pinball table through the history of philosophy. Two buttons. No score. No savers. Just gravity, momentum, and the choice to climb again. Demo updated with bug fixes, QoL improvements, and new music. Play now on Steam

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Outlier @outliersocial.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

If you missed the Steam sign-up window, don't worry! There will be plenty more opportunities to play Kitman in the coming months. Make sure you're following the game on Steam and have server notifications enabled here so you don't miss out store.steampowered.com/app/4186890/...

store.steampowered.com

Kitman on Steam

KITMAN is a 1-4 player job simulator set in the backrooms of a soccer stadium. Run the team by running the locker room. Clean the team’s boots, patch jerseys, mop floors, and when no-one is looking… s...

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Every few weeks I stress test Persevere to ensure that I'm keeping on top of performance and stability. Here's a short video from today's session, pushing the game to extremes, finding and improving problem areas. #strategy #gamedev youtu.be/eokoLz-I9Vo

youtu.be

Persevere - Stress Testing the Tower Defense

YouTube video by Universe or Nothing

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

We will be demoing Persevere at @ardan-ie.bsky.social's FìS Game Summit on April 24th. We're busy working on a new, more content complete, build for the event. It will be focused on a station/tower defense level, with all of core tower defense and crew economy gameplay. youtu.be/SZnU5EosQXg

youtu.be

Persevere - Tower Defense Multi-Target Abilities, Husk Damage and Death Animations

YouTube video by Universe or Nothing

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𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦 | ⁣⁣⁣⁣𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 🌸🐁 @sharpglassgames.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

//✨𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐈𝐏✨// "𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭-𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵."— 𝐀 𝐟𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐍𝐃𝐞𝐯 ⁣⁣ #indiedev #indiegame #screenshotsaturday

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Sam Redfern @psychicsoftware.com · 23/01/2026

I wrote a blog post about pathfinding and pedestrian simulation: www.psychicsoftware.com/2026/pathfin...

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Thank you so much to @screenireland.bsky.social, @imirt.bsky.social, @ardan-ie.bsky.social, and Screen Northern Ireland, to the staff and volunteers, for making IndieDev happen, and for the support you have given to us, and the rest of the brilliant teams. You have helped to make dreams a reality.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

I am still a bit overwhelmed by the reaction to Persevere at the @imirt.bsky.social AGM. It was so far beyond any expectation I had, the positivity and energy people had for the pitch, and the demo, just, wow. Getting a little emotional now even thinking about it. #indiedev @ardan-ie.bsky.social

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I will be doing the first pitch of Persevere at the @imirt.bsky.social AGM in just over an hour, as part of the IndieDev program (shout out to @ardan-ie.bsky.social also!). This marks the end of our IndieDev period, and the start of our road to release! Exciting! docs.google.com/presentation...

docs.google.com

Persevere_PitchDeck_ImirtAGM

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Sam Redfern @psychicsoftware.com · 20/01/2026

"A Gothic Masterpiece That Dares to Be Different" -- Expert Game Reviews The Necromancer's Tale is discounted by 20% this week. Check it out if you like good (un)wholesome fun, dabbling in the dark arts and raising the dead. store.steampowered.com/app/1315320/...

store.steampowered.com

Save 20% on The Necromancer's Tale on Steam

A story-rich gothic RPG. Master the rituals of an ancient spellbook. Raise an undead army to march against your enemies. Commune with the realm of the dead & struggle with your descent into madnes...

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I've completed the first draft of the Persevere game pitch deck, which has been written for our publisher funding round. I will be presenting at the IMIRT AGM next week! Feedback is very welcome! #gamedev #indiedev docs.google.com/presentation...

docs.google.com

Persevere_PitchDeck_WorkingDraft

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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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davetheallthing.com @davetheallthing.com · 27/12/2025

Neat write up of @psychicsoftware.com's The Necromancer's Tale here: medium.com/@Froswald/th...

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Psynwav @psynwav.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Axyz is a fantastic puzzle game based on the PS1 classic Kula World (Roll Away). One of the rare 'indie homages to an old game' that understands what made the original fun and builds on it in a smart way. Highly recommend!

store.steampowered.com

Save 30% on Axyz on Steam

Axyz is a retro gravity switching puzzle game that asks the player to use their environmental and spatial awareness to beat every level. Soak in the vaporwave, switch gravity, collect tapes, and more ...

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PAUL CONWAY @doomcube.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

The Séance of Blake Manor has been nominated for Best Art Direction in the @thinkygames.com Awards!

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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 · 16/12/2025

@harvey1966.bsky.social Hey Harvey. I had been meaning to reach out and say hello, but I deleted my Twitter account, and I only have your old arkane-austin.com email. I took the plunge this year and started my own studio, to create a narrative strategy game, Persevere. I'd love to catch up!

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

I do really like your pronoun notation, particularly when it comes to the more complex <doctor.they+trails/trail>, it is fairly easy to follow/read.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Really, I feel we have to write a lot more scripts for Persevere before I have a handle on what will work on terms of traits, the personality system, and scripting features. I think the bones of the system are good, but I am not sure if it's enough.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Oh, cool! I've signed up to be notified of the release. Thanks.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

We limited pronoun generation to he/she for the prototype, for simplicity. Our writers for the prototype had never written for a game before. I will need to extend the system during production in order to support a full range of pronouns, much as you have with <doctor.they+trails/trail>.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

It just happened to be that the secondary character was written without gender in this case. We still need to work on consistency between writers, some drifted towards they/them explicitly, instead of using the pronoun function, as it was easier for them to write. I'm learning as I go.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

And yes, pronoun implementation is an ongoing topic of discussion!

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Will your essay be public? I'm keen to read it.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

We'll have more depth in the character motivations, which are collections of narrative events which tell a more authored story for that crew member. In the motivation data, we specify what traits are compatible with the motivation, and use that when generating the character's traits.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Yes, the poles design was very much a trade-off between the needs of the mechanics, and the narrative. In the end, we decided that this should be fine for our use-case, as we don't expect to have a lot of depth within the procedural events.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

This may be of interest to you @radiofreelunch.bsky.social. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

I recorded a dev log for Persevere, giving an introduction to how crew traits are used to generate personality profiles, and how those personality profiles are used in our narrative scripts to fill roles, and adjust behaviour, within the story. youtu.be/0IDsIvnasz0 #narrative #strategy #gamedev

youtu.be

Persevere Dev Log - Trait/Personality System Introduction

YouTube video by Universe or Nothing

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PAUL CONWAY @doomcube.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

This is cool. The Séance of Blake Manor made GameSpots 10 Best games of the Year list! We're up there with some big games. www.gamespot.com/gallery/game...

gamespot.com

GameSpot's 10 Best Games Of 2025

We've tallied the votes, debated the games' merits, and chosen our top 10 games of the year.

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Sam Redfern @psychicsoftware.com · 12/12/2025

The Necromancer's Tale is Mortismal's favourite indie RPG of 2025. This means a lot to me, Mortismal being a very in-depth RPG reviewer with high standards! Well done @unfetteredmuse.bsky.social @zgpope.bsky.social @michaelthomet.com @davetheallthing.bsky.social Damir and all the voice actors! :-)

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Sam Redfern @psychicsoftware.com · 08/12/2025

The Necromancer's Tale is in the #ChooseWiselyFestival this week, celebrating branching narrative games where choices matter! Thanks @studioephua.bsky.social for hosting! 20% discount this week... time to dabble in the occult and raise an undead army 💀💀💀💀💀 store.steampowered.com/app/1315320/...

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

The Necromancers Tale made quite the impression on Mortismal Gaming. He chose it as his indie game of the year! @psychicsoftware.com youtu.be/pbdmvGXStTI?...

youtu.be

My Personal 2025 Game Awards

YouTube video by Mortismal Gaming

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Mark Aherne @wiredmark.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I played the ~30 minute Deathwish Bloom build at IndieDev. I can honestly say that I have never connected to a narrative in any game as quickly and deeply as I did with it. It's still in my head. I have a strange ache looking at the screenshots, I have unfinished business there.

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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 really cool element of the storyteller/traits/personality profile system is that people gain traits in the game, from narrative and the environment. These traits, which can be transient or permanent, change the personality profile, and so characters evolve over time. Traits also affect gameplay.

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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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