You can read about what Syphilisation is here and the manifesto for the game here.

Work Done

This week was just checking things off the list I built while stabilizing the game last week. I fixed the most egregious ugly spots in the game, which were mostly menus and missing icons. I’m going to put the game through its paces a few more times next week and it should be up for sale by the 30th. I would recommend holding off on purchasing it until more is in place, but if you want to give me some really early feedback, I would appreciate that too.

Interesting Fact

The following quote from Ursula K. Le Guin’s version of the Tao Te Ching has stuck with me a bit - “The point is that Taoists gain their ends without the use of means. That is indeed a light that does not shine - an idea that must be pondered and brooded over. A small dark light.” This is something that Syphilisation needs to be able to express in order to be fully anti-colonial and while I have a number of things that push towards it, I feel like it doesn’t come across clearly right now. Part of that is communication, but I also think that I need to figure out a way to make it fundamental to the game.

I also want to bring up the new Sid Meier autobiography. I’m quite a bit of the way through the book already and I plan to finish it today after I get the final work for the week done. It’s a very fun read and while the game design principles that Sid Meier brings up in it have already been covered many times before, seeing them put together like this does help keep them clear in one’s head. It’s a great book and one that I highly recommend.