meredithgran

[meredithgran]

Perfect Tides: Station to Station is Coming to Switch

Today I’m announcing that Perfect Tides: Station to Station is being developed for the Nintendo Switch, along with the planned PC, Mac and Linux releases.

You can read the press release here or watch the announcement trailer below:

As a developer I’m very excited for the prospect of more people being able to play this game. And, on a personal nostalgia-poisoned millennial level, it will be very nice to say I have a game of my own on Nintendo. I hope you will join me on your platform of choice!

[meredithgran]

Please enjoy the very first trailer for Perfect Tides: Station to Station! Coming next year.

You can wishlist it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2088810/Perfect_Tides_Station_to_Station/

[meredithgran]

About Newspaper Comics

An ask cross-posted from Cohost, which is not long for this world.

Anonymous User asked: I would like to know your opinions about newspaper comics

This is a very choose your own adventure kind of question. Am I meant to speak about the art or the business of newspaper strips? The current state of newspaper comics or their century-spanning history? Stream of consciousness it is.

Newspaper comics were the original dream for me before all other dreams. I fell in love with Garfield and the story of its success, and wanted to make a syndicated strip at an early age. Later, I fell in love with Calvin and Hobbes - itself a lesson in craft, history and business - and abandoned the syndication dream for “art by any means necessary”, and dove into webcomics. (There were a few more steps along the way, but that’s the basic trajectory and not uncommon for my age.)

In the 80s and 90s when I was dreaming Garfield dreams, syndicated newspaper strips were already dying. They’d been jam packed so tightly into rectangles in the comics section that no room for great cartooning remained. The schedules were brutal, the audience was broad and apt to complain, and the aging comics legends were phoning in or delegating their work, so even the full-page Sunday strips were gridded and lifeless. Even fresh new artists (rare as they were) were hammered creatively into the shape of the paper. The death of most major newspapers from the late 00s onward spelled the end of Garfield Meredith's dream.

The thing is, Garfield Meredith would be very pleased with the present day. Comics are bountiful, they're free to read online, and they're all accessible from a single app. Even better, the creators interact with their audiences day and night. In comics we have safely returned to the late-stage newspaper syndication model, after a brief "art by any means" era, with 24/7 access to the creators as a bonus. It goes without saying that most of the money these comics generate goes to the platform. As more people discover online comics, the memory of any other model has faded. Comics is a pushover industry, easily steamrolled by detached parties with money.

So what do we do? I'm afraid that's not what this post is about. Mom's tired. My heads is not really in the comics game anymore, and big tech & our rotting internet is a problem everywhere. But I think discussions about our history as cartoonists and comics appreciators - and an acknowledgment of what is disappearing - is important. It's no surprise that Bill Watterson's stubborn refusal to license, adapt, or needlessly continue his creation past its prime shocked me and many others onto a different path. I think it is useful to be a high-functioning crank in your own age: to fully accept the now without forgetting past possibilities or drawing a border around the future.

And of course, we mustn't let current trends tame our wild imaginations or our command of the craft. We have been given the tools to create beauty and make sense of life, and these creations - not the platforms that indiscriminately corral them - are worth sharing.

[meredithgran]

Things to discuss

I'm staring down the barrel of a year of game marketing, and that means being more active and chatty online in ways that are (hopefully) not just nakedly self-promotional. I'm looking for some topics I can comfortably - if not authoritatively - blog about in the coming weeks & months.

So this is a call for asks! I'm happy to talk about my own work, or games, comics, writing and/or animation more broadly. And hopefully it'll mean posting here a bit more, in ways people might like.

Fire away with your burning Q's!

[meredithgran]

Today is the day. A demo for Perfect Tides: Station to Station is now available on Steam. Please enjoy!

It’s an incredible thrill to be offering this first look at this game, which could not exist without the artists who’ve helped to craft it. Please join me in celebrating the work of the core team Soren Hughes (Background Design) and Daniel Kobylarz (Music), as well as the artists who have contributed graphic assets: Garrett Hobson, Carly Monardo, and Tony Wilson.

This build has also benefitted from dozens of hours of testing and feedback, thanks to a generous and dedicated pool of playtesters. You will find their names at the end of the demo, when you’ve experienced their efforts for yourself.

While you’re downloading, consider wishlisting the game! It keeps you abreast of game updates, feeds the Steam algo, and is a big help toward getting the word out about these games.

[meredithgran]

Octopus Pie: The Complete Series Box Set - Coming in September 2023!

I’m delighted to announce that you’ll soon be able to collect the whole Octopus Pie series in a neat, handsome box! Coming September 19th from me & Image Comics. You can read the full press release here.

The boxes, along with all 5 Image volumes, feature new artwork and - perhaps most excitingly - a custom insert that aligns them together on the shelf! Finally, my youthful page formatting decisions, corrected and… vindicated??

If you’ve been trying to hunt these books down for a while, you’ll be happy to know this release coincides with a REPRINT of Vol 1. Check the press release to find a comic shop that’s got your back, or pre-order the whole set from a major retailer.

What does this mean if you want the box, but already own the Image books? Well, apart from the clout of being an original OP head, I’ll have a limited but mighty supply of empty boxes for you. I’ll offer these online in the near future - more info when I’ve got it!

It’s really fun to have a new OP thing in the mix, and after months of planning and prototyping, I’m so pleased to share what we’ve made. Thank you for all the love, 16 years on!

[meredithgran]

Eight Crazy Nights!!

Perfect Tides is on sale for 40% off - a cute Hanukkah-appropriate price - for the next week! get yourself or someone you love that Most Cryable Game of 2022 you've been hearing about!

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172800/Perfect_Tides/

Itch: https://granulac.itch.io/perfect-tides

[meredithgran]

Octopus Pie Eternal

There is a new Octopus Pie story today. Please enjoy!

[meredithgran]

Hi everyone here! I wanted to let you know I’m planning to make another Perfect Tides game. I’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign all month to help fund it. Rewards include a discounted copy of the original Perfect Tides, plus lots of other goodies. You can find the Kickstarter here:

https://t.co/IAoDKqeFmQ

You can also watch a teaser trailer here. I hope you will join me in bringing this game to life!

https://youtu.be/xAF69uAkjuI

[meredithgran]

You know I only post on here when it's a BIG DEAL. And folks, the deal is big. My point & click adventure game Perfect Tides is now out on PC + Mac! You can get it on Steam or Itch.io.

If you're a fan of Octopus Pie you can expect the kind of stories I like to tell most. But this time, you see the world through the eyes of a teenager. It may be my most immersive endeavor yet, and I've put my whole heart into it. I hope you enjoy!

[meredithgran]

Hey! Did you catch the Octopus Pie story I posted back in April? Well, now there's a full-color version available in print! With interior colors by Valerie Halla. I'm doing a small run of these, and they will all be signed. Snag yours here.

[meredithgran]

Octopus Pie: The Other Side

Hello! Believe it or not, there is a new Octopus Pie story for you to read in its entirety! You can start at the beginning here.

[meredithgran]

Perfect Tides trailer #2. Coming in 2021.

[meredithgran]

Octopus Pie in reruns!

Hey all, if you’d like to reread Octopus Pie as a daily comic strip with commentary - or you never got through the whole thing while it was updating - you can start today! I won’t be x-posting to Tumblr this time around - it’s just too time-consuming in addition to my other work - so be sure to bookmark http://www.octopuspie.com to enjoy a new strip every day!

[meredithgran]

There’s less than 48 hours to get in on backing Perfect Tides! We’re now very close to a 40k stretch goal, where the minicomic for backers will be in full color. Check out the trailer if you haven’t, and considering pledging to my next big project!

Perfect Tides

Hi Tumblr people, it’s been quiet for a bit!! But I have been working on something that you may want to hear about: my first ever game, Perfect Tides!! It’s a point and click adventure about being a teen. Written, directed and animated by me, with environments by Soren Hughes.

I’ve just begun fundraising on the game. If you’d like to preview the trailer and initial art, and maybe be a part of making this project a reality, click the link and have a look!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/465155699/perfect-tides

[meredithgran]

Hey, I've been a fan of Octopus Pie for years and as soon as I saw the game announcement I wanted to back it instantly, but sadly Kickstarter doesn't take paypal. ;n; Is there another way for me to contribute to the game?

I appreciate the sentiment! Something you could do is contribute to my ongoing Patreon campaign. Since I’m reserving the KS bucks for freelancer payouts, Patreon is the part that actually pays me to work on the game. Anything at all is a big help!

[meredithgran]

Perfect Tides

Hi Tumblr people, it’s been quiet for a bit!! But I have been working on something that you may want to hear about: my first ever game, Perfect Tides!! It’s a point and click adventure about being a teen. Written, directed and animated by me, with environments by Soren Hughes.

I’ve just begun fundraising on the game. If you’d like to preview the trailer and initial art, and maybe be a part of making this project a reality, click the link and have a look!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/465155699/perfect-tides