Happy New Year!
2025! A big year for Essay Games! We hurtling closer to releasing our parent-simulator minigame romp Bundle of Joy on… well let’s not get hasty! (but more on that soon!)
As a parent, the Holiday season is far from a restful reset, but it has injected some new vigor into these final months of development. I got a chance to show the game to my partner’s family, and their laughter, excitement, and mild panic trying to get through the game was exactly the emotional cocktail I’ve been mixing up.
But it was a long break; almost 14 days home with the kiddos. And I was reminded when both of them caught a stomach virus on day 12 that looking after kids is HARD.
This notion of how hard and all-encompassing raising kids is was explored from a difficulty perspective in last month’s Footnotes, but for January we wanted to look at it through a narrative lens.
Comfy? Because it’s storytime
I have vivid memories of chaotic diaper changes where onesies wouldn’t unbutton fast enough and the diaper cream has suddenly gone missing (though you swear it was JUST THERE!). I hope the minigames capture that, but the more insular thoughts of early parenthood are articulated in the narrative during downtime & nighttime vignettes.
During these moments players can explore a branching narrative built from personal experience and stories shared with me (which you can still do!). Delving into the story relieves stress (as a gameplay mechanic), but players also explore some of the more cerebral hurdles I stumbled over in my early daddy days.
Taking care of a kiddo raises lots of questions about your emotional intelligence and upbringing. Being a parent makes you examine your relationships—with your partner, with your parents, with your friends—because you’re forming such a new and special bond and you’re sooooo scared of messing it up. But you WILL mess up, and so much of parenting is discovering how you handle that reality.
But instead of telling players how to feel, you can explore that discovery through CYOA storytelling. You can be nonchalant, panicked, angry, defensive, or inquisitive. Within those choices, the narrative gently nudges the player toward forgiveness; toward “allowing yourself to feel the feels,” and recognizing whatever choices you’ve made are absolutely valid responses to the wonderful wreck that is parenting.
Over time, the main character shares more about how their past, their relationships, and their doubts shape their approach to parenting. But it’s up to the player to explore how you get there.
One more thing!
One cool little nugget before I sign off this month’s Footnotes: BoJ will be at MAGFest January 23-26th as part of the Indie Video Game Showcase (MIVS)! Come find me @ Booth #3 in the Indie Hall and participate in our (currently super secret) event I’m running over the entire weekend.
Thanks for checking out this month's Footnotes. We'll have a Bundle of Joy release date to share with you very soon...
Until next time, then.
Nicholas
Essay Games