To be honest, the last couple of weeks have been hard to focus on building things and this is partially late because of that.

With everything happening in the midwest and nationwide, it’s been hard to not mindlessly scroll and fall into despair. Watching families be torn apart by ICE has been just been heart breaking.

We’ve been trying to find ways that we can help those more directly affected by this senselessness. In all this turmoil however I’m proud of the way our local community has rallied to support those in need, especially with how many in our community knew Alex or have family and friends in Minneapolis.

Personally we’ve been trying to find ways to make a positive impact in our community, by showing up locally where we can to stand in solidarity and show that we’re not ok with what is happening.

//Zone 44

Amongst all the turmoil I’ve tried to continue to create where I can, a small bit of stress relief when i can.

This last month I’ve kicked off my local playtest with some friends, we’ve rolled up characters and got a brief overview of the setting and world. I’m excited for this playtest, it will act as a forcing function for a lot of the assets I want to make and help me gather some much needed feedback.

Speaking of assets that need to be completed I put together a map of the first space station, which you can download here for free here.

To build each location I’ve been spending time in Figjam outlining the over all location and trying to understand the flow. This helps me see connections and navigation paths that players might take.

I try not to be super detailed here but capture enough to give me an idea of what can and can not be done. Then I go into blender to block out a shape. I’m not super good at drawing perspective and this helped me get the sense of scale and angle I want for the location I’m working on.

After a drawing over the top of the station render I add in small details and highlights to give it that depth.

Finally I bring it back into Figma where I can add some color, labels and additional bits to capture the vibe I’m going for. I’m not sure with green as the final color yet, but I’m using a system where I can change it rather quickly if I find I like something else more.

Narratively, this station is the access point to the Zone, the elevator is the only way to get safely down to the planet. The salvage council has a tight grip on security and only wants things going through the official channels.

This station is going to act as a hub that players can return too, to get resupplied and turn in artifacts they find in the zone. So it needs to be substantially fleshed out with various characters and areas for the players to interact with in between adventures.

Let me know if you like this kind of behinds the scenes stuff.

Till next time, Cheers.

//PS

-Watching: American Revolution Documentary

-Playing: Citizen Sleeper 2

-Reading:Beyond the Wall & Animal Farm