“whens it coming out?” – asked by Anonymous

This summer. I know that’s not too specific, but I’m not great at planning or scheduling. I feel pretty confident in that estimate, though.

Two New Yorks

Wow! Lots of new followers. Welcome everyone!

I want to share more of the actual game, so I thought it might be nice to show how things look when the game is over. Because through the course of playing, you and your opponents generate a subway map. And how you play has a big impact on the end result.

Allow me to demonstrate. Here’s two finished games, played on the New York map.

In the first example, everyone played nice, and was concerned only with seeking valuable locations for their stations. It’s pretty, maybe a little boring, and fairly plausible.

In the second example, everyone tried to screw everyone else over. This meant building aggressively and in ways that prevented players from easily accessing more desirable areas. The end result is a tangled mess. It’s not pretty, but sometimes you have to play a little dirty to win.

Most games end up somewhere in the middle. You can tell a lot about a player’s strategy by the look of their finished subway line.

Third Rail is Alive

I’m going give you the condensed version of the last six months, because a lot has happened. I went to Shanghai to speak at GDC China. Kevin moved. I pitched a game for Double Fine’s Amnesia Fortnight. Kevin went to Taiwan. I moved. I spoke at GDC 2013 last week. Along the way, we’ve been working on Third Rail, and it’s come a long way during this quiet time.

But my big news is this: I have left Double Fine. Interesting! Double Fine is a wonderful company filled with wonderful people, but it’s not the same when you’re working remotely from New York. Being in San Francisco for GDC last week reminded me of what I was missing.

But New York is the place I belong, and I feel more certain of that every day. Over the past two years, I’ve met a lot of amazing indie developers here. Now I’m one of them.

So until Third Rail is finished, everything else is on hold. This includes my screenplay about a serial killer who is only striking user interface designers. Be thankful that’s on hold.

Expect more frequent updates.

NYC Gaming September Demo Night

Kevin and I will be presenting the latest build of Third Rail at the next NYC Gaming Meetup. So if you want to see a live demo (and demos from several other NYC indie devs), you should come by. Just don’t forget to RSVP, Microsoft is apparently very serious about their security.

Monday, September 24th @ 6:30pm
Microsoft
1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6th floor

RSVP here.

If you’re in New York, I will be speaking at Babycastles Summit on August 26th. I will be exploring how sometimes the most memorable interfaces are the ones that don’t make sense on paper, and how some of my best work has been the work that no one asked me to do.

Third Rail is a Game That Lets You Redesign the Subway System

Here’s how it works: Each turn, you build some track and add a new station. And so do your opponents. Because you’re not the only line in town, you have competition. Your goal is to serve as many desirable blocks as possible, while keeping your opponents at bay. How? Well, every piece of track you lay down cannot be crossed. So every turn, you are building walls. The only way through is via stations.

Over time a subway system will develop, its layout determined by how you and your opponents have chosen to play the game.

That’s my elevator pitch. If you ever meet me in person and ask me about my game, I’ll say something like that. Try to look surprised.