Notices by Nathalie Lawhead (alienmelon) (alienmelon@mastodon.social)

one of the coolest jams on itch is happening again, and the theme is more important now than ever…
🔥 Fuck Capitalism Jam 2026 🔥
“We're living in shitty times, but there's room for optimism. Capitalism is collapsing; that much is obvious.”
https://itch.io/jam/fuck-capitalism-jam-2026
let’s go! 👆

Devlog update for "She danced in the wind like a holographic dream before the world died"
It's on Steam and Epic with the macOS build coming next https://alienmelon.itch.io/flower/devlog/1460326/she-danced-in-the-wind-like-a-holographic-dream-on-steam-and-epic
thank you everyone for supporting it! because it made more than my initial goal i was able to put it on both storefronts🎉

YESSS!! it finally worked! it’s up 🎉✨
“she danced in the wind like a holographic dream before the world died” is on the Epic store 🌼 https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/before-the-world-died-b39ecd
tho its just called “before the world died” because the name was too long 🫠
#IndieGame #UnrealEngine #Gamedev

ok i needed it for the Epic store but it has a website now!
fwiw -> https://bluesuburbia.com/flower/
i'm always amazed by all the little things you need between these different storefronts.
publishing your game is almost as much work as finishing your game lol #GameDev
(⊙_⊙;)

‘This shouldn’t be normal’: developers speak out about bigotry on Steam, the world’s biggest PC gaming storefront…
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/feb/16/bigotry-steam-pc-moderation-developers-speak-out
i spoke for this too. it’s a well researched article.

screenshots of how the whole thing looks inside the actual Unreal game #GameDev
Unreal -> Twine -> Bitsy ... Yay 🎉✨

here is a video of Bitsy embedded in a Twine game!
this will be embedded in my Unreal game as story pieces that you can find.
the Bitsy is an interactive illustration of the story, so it's like you can investigate memories closer by playing them.
it's very cool! 🤓 #ScreenshotSaturday #GameDev

people getting upset at itch.io for “giving into UK censorship laws by hiding developer pages from UK visitors”… very much don’t know how a website works. these laws affect all websites & platforms.
fwiw itch tells you if your page is hidden or not (and what you can do) in the geo restrictions tab. 1/2

we don’t deserve alternatives like itch. we deserve predatory platforms that sell our data to advertisers or use us in training data behind our backs. we deserve algorithms, and secret exploitation that takes advantage of us existing on a platform… all the worst that we’re used to and don’t bat an eye at… why not? 3/4

because as soon as an actual alternative that does none of these things that every other mainstream website does in the dark… as soon as it falls victim to this awful big thing (like payment processors coming down on it) where if it doesn’t comply it will be crushed… we turn on it like it should die. 4/4

i’m just going to boost this again instead of 🤦 at how ignorant people are.
https://voidfox.com/blog/payment_processor_fun_2025_making_your_own_msp/
any website that hosts your games FOR FREE, that doesn’t sell your data, or force exorbitant amounts off ads, is a public service & operates at a loss.
you are hurting the wrong people by setting revenue to them to 0.
1/4

seeing how absolutely gleefully willing people where to turn on itch like it should just die (and still want it dead), based entirely on misinformation or lies, even after everything that site has done… has got me really questioning why at all create to empower others. we turn on our own so fast… 2/4

the “made with the Electric Zine Maker” collection is now at 300 zines!
some of the recent additions feature beautiful art and writing ✨ https://itch.io/c/1041007/made-with-the-electric-zine-maker
go look! support some cool artists 😎

#zine #zines #WebZine #DIY #art #NetArt

there’s another bundle being organized to support Gaza: Games for Palestine Charity 2025
https://itch.io/jam/games-for-palestine-2025
“We're looking for the following for the charity bundle:
* Digital games (finished or jam-style)
* Game assets, tools, tilesets
* Soundtracks, music packs
* Zines, artbooks, short fiction, comics
* Any digital content you own the rights to”
🙏 if you can, please consider joining, and donating your work!!
#GameDev #Charity #game #games #indiedev

this in no way surprises me, and goes as further indication that you need to be super fucking careful around most anyone in the game industry that holds positions of power or influence.
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/unity-senior-client-partner-rod-stafford-jailed-for-sexual-offences
shit like this is too normal.

Hey!!~ A Butterfly is 50% off on Steam right now.
meaning you can grab it for a whole 49cents: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3439300/A_Butterfly/
half a dollar for a poetic surrealist experience, with good high quality existential despair vibes.

#GameDev #IndieGame #IndieDev

I've been polishing the level bounds today. i wanted to do that trick where you prevent your PCG system's foliage from "growing" on steep edges, and it was so easy to figure out! so i decided to fill those empty spaces with dandelion seeds... omg isn't it perfect? it looks like these fuzzy spores just kind of gathered at the base of cliffs, and stayed there.
#GameDev #GameArt #IndieDev #IndieGameDev #Procgen

another dramatic one...
(lol i've been sick and am slowly getting my head back into gamedev again... no more life-stuff interruptions nuuugh!)

a few screenshots from recently...
i've been slowly populating the landscape with trees, the shapes of which are roughly based on people. it's effective.
both unsettling and kind of beautiful.
#GameDev #GameArt

i’m only part of the orphan grinding death execution squad because times are tough and i need the income. it’s just a job and shouldn’t reflect on me personally.
my own political views are pretty progressive actually.