DEV
I'm in the last 20% of the virtual desktop right now, and I can tell you, its starting to drive me crazy. Wiring, plumbing, syncing, basically the glue that makes the fun stuff possible.
So while I slosh through it, my brain keeps wandering off to the thing I actually can't wait to build: a player-driven internet you can only reach from inside HeavenX.
I won't get my hands into it until later this year, which is exactly why I'm writing this now, while it's still soft enough for feedback.
Years ago we made a little game called "MyFloppy Online".
Players built items (basically drawings) and used them to decorate their floppy's room, and they could sell those objects to each other through an in-game economy.
That loop, one player makes art and another uses it to make their space feel like home, was the most beloved thing in the whole game.
While building HeavenX's interactable computer, that memory and feeling really started to resonate with me again - we already have the desktop, the apps, and a real backend serving them.
What if I scaled MyFloppy up from "items in a room" to "pages on the internet"?
Around the same time, Dreamsettler (the Hypnospace Outlaw sequel, which was also going to let players build a fake internet) got cancelled.
Creator Jay Tholen put out an honest postmortem View game page... and a lot of the pain came from ambition, which I can definitely sympathize with.
I took two lessons away from that video. First, people clearly want this. Second, keep the scope tight.
I don't think an HTML/CSS equivalent engine is needed. I want the MyFloppy magic, simple enough that I can actually ship it.
Here is how I am thinking it will work: You design a page from graphics and text.
Some graphics ship with the game, the rest you make in Easel, our paint app, which supports simple three-frame animations, so yes, blinking dancing GIFs are on the table.
You arrange graphics, drop in text, add buttons and links, group your pages into a project, and publish it to an "address" that points at the underlying "webpage" bundle.
Those bundles live on the HeavenX backend, so other players can visit your "webpage" from inside their own game.
It's two apps: one to author and publish, one to browse.
The fidelity target is Neocities/GeoCities. Chunky, personal, a little broken.
I keep eyeing another project through this same lens, Decker: https://internet-janitor.itch.io/decker
... which is a modern HyperCard equivalent. I think its really cool how much it does with a small scope.
Part of me wants that level of interactivity, but I won't promise it until I'm actually in the build phase on this. Consider it a north star for the vibe, not a commitment.
Like most virtual desktop apps, this one pulls double duty: we author official ZHI pages for the story (expect ARG and easter-egg content buried in there, some of it load-bearing for the plot), and you get to build and host your own corner of an internet only HeavenX players can see.
All that is to say that none of this is built yet, I just wanted to get it off my chest, and to see if your feedback can steer it:
* How much interactivity do you want to see?
* What would you build? Fan pages, guestbooks, shrines to your favorite boid, fake corporate intranet sites?
* Must-have features? Animated graphics, hit counters, webrings, guestbooks, links between player sites?
* How much hidden story do you want buried in the official ZHI pages?
If you have any feedback - I'd love to hear it. On this one especially, they'll shape what I actually build come later this year.
Back to work.
- Hunter
DESIGN
I'm in lockstep with Hunter on this one -- still finishing the desktop, still the last stretch, still moving through work that is otherwise 90% done. My version of that is going window by window through the screens that were designed by a programmer and bringing them up to my standards, which I can admit are probably unreasonable past a certain point. The programmers do a good job whiteboxing. They build things to work and its sort of a fun task to go through an audit menial stuff that only designers will notice: spacing that is 2 pixels off, a button with the wrong weight, overly enthusiastic use of font highlighting, not treating scroll bars in a uniform way... I digress.
The obvious fix for this is designing everything before a programmer touches it. With a team this size moving this fast, waiting on me to hand down a mockup isn't always entirely possible. Sometimes the context of the application isn't even fully defined before the work starts -- not ideal but that's our little indie reality. In that case, I come along behind and tighten the screws. The pipeline could be cleaner but this is our reality.
Attached is a very exciting picture of my obsidian document where I have been collecting my formal audit: 
WRITING
The narrative sections of these upcoming devlogs will not be summaries of what I’ve been working on, as they would become redundant very quickly. I’ve already described how the process of translating my writings into the game works, so I don’t know that readers need me to repeat myself weekly to understand what I’m up to. Rather, I think I’d like to describe how I’m doing what I’m doing. Namely, how I get into the headspace that HeavenX demands of me.
When it comes time to work on HeavenX’s narrative, the first thing I do is get caffeinated. I do this as quickly as possible to make sure I can overcome the lulling calm inherent to a multi-day discord call with my wonderful colleagues. I’m certain coffee or an energy drink is the go-to for everyone else on the team as well. After the sip has been cracked, someone will put on music. Per my bitching a few years back, albums with vocals are to be avoided for the most part. Some might think this a tad dramatic, but I’d challenge them to try writing dialogue to Medúlla by Björk and see how far they get.
yeah we kinda crazy over here this the kind of sh!t we be sipping on.....
Given that the game is meant to evoke a sort of proto-cyberpunk corporate coldness, IDM or ambient on the music bot does wonders. Personally, I love when someone puts on Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, or even an ambient mix from another game’s OST. Our 3D guy loves Metal Gear Solid, so the MGS2 ambient mix for studying and chill is quickly becoming a standby (Editors Note: Hello its me the 3D guy who also compiles the devblogs. This is a very good video for locking in )
Our lead programmer loves the Ape Escape OST, and it was by far the most played selection in our entire history. I never played that game, but the music alone makes me nostalgic for the bygone year of 2023.
When I get free-reign over the music bot, my go-to is the Death Note soundtrack. It was my preferred essay writing music in college, and I guess I’ve just held onto that since graduating. The works of Hans Zimmer and Vangelis on both of the Blade Runner soundtracks are great too, but people have understandable complaints about the latter making them drowsy. Most of our weekends sound and taste just as I’ve described. It’s probably not everyone’s preferred way to spend a day off, but it can be pretty relaxing. Hence the need for caffeine.