Design
How games work underneath: mechanics, systems, and why a loop keeps you playing.
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Unpacking vs PowerWash Simulator vs Grandma Left Me a Building
Unpacking, PowerWash Simulator, and our upcoming Grandma Left Me a Building relax you in different ways. A design comparison, honest about which one is ours.
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Flow State in Games: Why You Lose Track of Time
Flow is the state where hours vanish into a game. Here is the science behind it, and how games like Tetris, Hades, and Stardew Valley engineer it.
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10 Games That Tell Their Whole Story Without a Single Word
Ten games that tell complete stories with zero dialogue, and exactly where each hides its narrative: architecture, animation, objects, color, and sound.
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Why Do We Get Attached to Game Characters?
The psychology of NPC attachment: parasocial bonds, four peer-reviewed studies, and the design levers that make players care about game characters.
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A Short History of Management Sim Games
The history of management sim games, from Utopia in 1981 and SimCity to Two Point Hospital, plus where a modern apartment sim like ours fits in.
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Cozy Games With the Best Stories
Six cozy games where the writing is the reason to play, from Spiritfarer to Venba, plus one character-driven cozy sim in development at Overbaked.
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What Makes a Good Roguelike?
A good roguelike rests on meaningful runs, real variety, and readable deaths. Here is what separates a great roguelike from a merely hard game, with examples.
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What Is a Cozy Game? A Definition and Short History
A cozy game emphasizes safety, abundance and softness over challenge: low-stakes, usually non-violent, relaxing. A clear definition, short history, examples.
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Why Are Deckbuilders So Addictive?
Deckbuilders hook you with synergy, variance, and variable reward. Here is the design and psychology behind the one-more-run loop, and where Hellmate fits.
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What Makes a Good Management Sim Fun?
What makes a management sim fun, not just busywork: meaningful tradeoffs, real stakes, characters over columns, teaching difficulty, and legible feedback.
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Why Restoration Games Are So Satisfying
Restoration games satisfy because effort becomes visible: the endowed progress effect, the reward of the changed object, and how we use the loop in our sim.
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What Games Get Right (and Wrong) About Being a Landlord
A fair look at what games get right and wrong about being a landlord, from The Tenants to Landlord's Super, plus how Grandma Left Me a Building handles it.
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Is the Cozy Game Genre Growing? What Steam Data Shows
Yes, the cozy game genre is growing: 543 cozy-tagged games hit Steam in 2025. Here is what is driving it, and what it means for a small studio like ours.
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Cozy Management Games Compared: Stardew vs Two Point
How three cozy management games compare: Stardew Valley's calm farm, Two Point Hospital's comedy, and our own chaotic apartment sim, on design not a scorecard.
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Inheritance Games: Why We Start With a Ruin
Why do so many games start with an inheritance? From Stardew Valley to My Time at Portia, why a grandparent's run-down farm is gaming's favorite opening.
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Why Are Cozy Games So Relaxing? The Science
Cozy games relax you for real reasons, not laziness: they remove time pressure, rest your attention, and meet basic needs. Here is the psychology behind it.
