Hey everybody! Gatsby here.

First of all, thank you so much for wishlisting BrainMess. It has existed in multiple forms over the past few years. Initially, it was a mobile app, developed using TypeScript and React, but wasn't much different than ordinary mind-mapping tools. This project is my attempt at making something that is technically very simple, but provides a lot of value to those who use it.

I hope to release the first demo in June of 2026.

Could I release a demo right now? Yes. But if I'm being honest with myself, the tool is still pretty jank. I would prefer to iron out all of the weird unexpected behaviors before a live, public demo is available.

Likewise, I need to try and generate around 10,000 wishlists prior to the launch into Early Access if I hope to be included in "Popular Upcoming" algorithm stuff. So, the plan is to build a somewhat more polished demo of the tool, and it's simplified "Sandbox Mode" (name pending), for the Steam Next Fest in June 2026. This will give you guys something to play around with, and hopefully generate more hype for a project that I would really prefer didn't die in its infancy.

Will there be limits on the demo?

Yes. Those limits will be based somewhat around how I envision the "Game" part to work.

Basically, in "Sandbox Mode," you'll be able to place as many notes, images, strings, rooms, etc as you like--because I know some people just need a unique virtual space to organize information in. They don't necessarily need their productivity "gamified."

But some of us, like me, kinda do need that. Like, people with ADHD who struggle to make themselves do dull, boring tasks--we might benefit from a to-do list that lived inside a weird liminal space dungeon crawler, right?

The full scope of the "game" is still up in the air, but I know placing notes, strings, and rooms will cost a limited resource. Let's imagine that resource is "spoons."

In the demo, you'd have a limited number of "spoons" to spend. You'd get refunded those spoons for deleting items, so you could still theoretically organize a small number of notes in a smallish network of rooms.

In the "finished" version of the "game," you'd also earn more spoons just from ticking personal tasks as complete, connecting notes together, organizing notes in boards, etc.

Depending on the state of development in June, I might try to show some of that off and have a different limiter to the gameplay. I'm unsure. But the demo would come down when Next Fest is over--hopefully to drive more wishlists and anticipation for a tool that isn't yet live, rather than convincing people they can settle for the limited capacity of the free trial.

Trust me: if I didn't need a job to support my family, this would just be something I did for fun and put out for free. But I don't live that fantasy, sadly, so please consider buying the game in early access for the cost of a cheap sandwich!

Holy yap, that was irrelevant. What's the picture about?

Oh, right.

So, in the current private build of the game, you can expand the mind palace by knocking down walls, which spawns a new room identical to the starting one, bordering yours, and disables the walls between it. You can also interact with the floors of those rooms to "demolish" them, teleporting you back to the nearest remaining room.

I've decided that's not how I want it to work in the demo or final version of the game.

ideally, the first room of the game would look like a bedroom or office--some familiar space that is lived in and messy. And you're trapped in there. Whether or not you're REALLY trapped in a REAL ROOM or the room is some PSYCHIC MANIFESTATION of your OVERWHELM is kinda up in the air right now.

But I'm sort of imagining an ethereal voice being like "go to your room and don't come out until you have your mess cleaned up," and then the voice literally removes the exit door to your bedroom.

Once you tick off enough chores and organize enough notes, you can spend "spoons" to buy a new door, which pops up with a menu to be like, ok, where does this door go? And this is more in line with the "this is all actually just a hypnotic visualization of your mind and not an actual place" thing.

And that's what the interface you're looking at would be for. In theory.

Anyway! Stay safe out there.

I truly appreciate what you're doing for me by wishlisting. It means a lot.