Hello, dear inhabitants of this Gloomy Juncture,

I'm very happy to bring the news that the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2026 shortlist is out, and Gloomy Juncture is a finalist for the Creativity in Games Award!

Been keeping my head down, burrowed in code and drawings, but I had to share this fantastic news. Seeing my one man passion project among such huge titles in this category, like 007 First Light, The Mermaid Mask, and Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, feels surreal!
Check the full shortlist here: https://tiga.org/news/tiga-games-industry-awards-2026-shortlists-announced

Even more recognition: Taipei Game Show 2026 Awards

This is shaping to be another good year for international recognition, as Gloomy Juncture was also nominated for Best Audio award at the Taipei Game Show's Indie Game Award 2026 a few months back (which I totally forgot to announce here).

Photo: 狐狸牧場 / Fox Ranch

Focus on development

For the past year I've been away from events, showcases, social media, and even social life. The objective is simple: stay focused on what's left to finish. Gloomy Juncture has taken a lot from me over the last few years and, inevitably, from those close to me... but I've been incredibly lucky that my work keeps getting noticed and finding international audiences.

However, traveling to every ceremony isn't something I can afford right now, between paying rent, food, cat snacks, and voice acting, my monies need to go where it matters the most: Gloomy Juncture. Still, each of these nominations means the world to a guy that's still finding his footing in this industry, brings free visibility to my work, and tells me I'm doing something right.

What's to come

As many of you know, earlier in 2026 Gloomy Juncture was featured in EDGE Magazine (January #418). It was a childhood dream come true, made even better by being the first Portuguese game featured in the magazine - a small win for the growing Portuguese industry.
For the coverage they asked for an exclusive peek at what's coming, and I trusted them, opening the curtain to some WIP content... 👀 I got messages of encouragement from around the world because of it, even from people I deeply admire in this space. But, more than that, it made me realize just how deprecated the current public demo has become...

Next stop is Hamburg for the Indie Arena Booth EU Showcase. For the past couple months I've shifted my focus to overhaul the demo so I can take the latest version, closer to what Gloomy Juncture looks now, to the conference. It won't be finished: whether in narrative delivery, voice acting, polish, animations, assets, shaders, or gameplay... but with a travel grant in hand, I can't let this chance pass to playtest in front of real players.
I know I'm exposing something only I've seen so far (part is still in development right now), in a pretty big venue, but we only live once.

Join Discord for upcoming playtests

That said, I'll be looking for some private beta playtesting in the coming weeks. If any of you folks want to help test the latest version of Gloomy Juncture, and what's to come, please join us on Discord and demand keys!
https://discord.com/invite/Xh5qY7W7fX

This also means that maybe you can expect some news in the coming weeks... 👀

This isn't the first time Gloomy Juncture has found international recognition, and I have a feeling it won't be the last...

Thank you all for being there.

Filipe