#tuff mallow

[tuffmallowinteractive]

It may seem like I've just been quiet. BUT

I just released my first commercial game!

https://tuffmallow.itch.io/a-simple-twist-of-fae

A Simple Twist of Fae started out as a game entry for Josei after after Dark 2024 game jam. But you know me, it quickly became more in my eyes.

And now 50k words, 50 backgrounds, and nearly 100 manga panels big and small later... And here we are with my first commercial game!

Not gonna lie- I'm so very nervous about it! But I hope the love I put into this silly soft game about learning to open your heart and let love reaches the people who will enjoy it.

I'll be getting back to my regular grind now, but before I do-

I just want to say again, thank you for all the Vivs out there- you know who you are. Thank you for keeping me in the dev game. This year is going to be a year of releases, and A Simple Twist of Fae is only the beginning!

💗💗💗💗💗💗

[acronym-chaos]

Mushroom & Elf Themed ID Pack

[PT: Mushroom & Elf Themed ID Pack].

[ID: A purple thin line divider shaded at the bottom. End ID].

Names

[PT: Names].

Agar, Alder, Alou, Beryl, Bosc, Bramble, Briar, Bryn, Cap, Chanter, Crim, Dew, Drift, Elm, Fawn, Faye, Fern, Fidge, Fig, Finn, Flint, Flit, Fungi, Glim, Gloam, Grove, Hazel, Hush, Juno, Kith, Lark, Lichen, Lume, Lush, Lyss, Mallow, Maras, Mire, Mist, Moss, Mote, Moth, Muir, Myc, Nib, Nix, Nock, Nym, Oak, Ophi, Oryn, Parch, Pepp, Pip, Puff, Quill, Riff, Rue, Ryn, Sap, Sedge, Shale, Shrike, Smid, Snip, Sorrel, Spore, Sprig, Sprout, Sum, Syb, Syl, Thim, Thistle, Thym, Toad, Tove, Trill, Tuff, Tully, Umber, Vale, Vesh, Vex, Vinn, Vryn, Weft, Wisp, Yarrow, Yew, Yonder, Zeph

Pronouns

[PT: Pronouns].

Cap / Caps / Caps, De / Dew / Dews, Dri / Drift / Drifts, Elf / Elves / Elfs, Fae / Faem / Faer, Fai / Fairy / Fairys, Fog / Fogs / Fogs, Fun / Fungi / Fungus, Gli / Glim / Glims [Glimmer], Glow / Glows / Glows, Goss / Goss / Gosses [Gossamer], Lich / Lichen / Lichens, Log / Logs / Logs, Miss / Mist / Mists, Mush / Mushs / Mushs [Mushroom], Myc / Myco / Mycos, Puff / Puffs / Puffs, Shroo / Shroom / Shrooms, So / Spore / Spores, Spri / Sprite / Sprites, Spro / Sprout / Sprouts, Truff / Ffle / Truffs [Truffle], Wisp / Wisps / Wisps

Titles

[PT: Titles].

[Noun] Made of Fungi, [Noun] Rooted in Magic, [Pronoun] Who Wanders Among Mycelium, [Pronouns] Who Speaks the Mushroom Language, A Whisper in the Woods, One That Grows in Shade, The Elf from the Fog, The Elf of Mushroom Groves, The Elf Who Wears a Cap, The Fungal Forager, The Fungi’s Favorite, The Glow Under the Canopy, The Luminous Sprout, The Mushroom Cap, The One Sprouting From the Forest Floor, The Quiet Fungi Forager, The Soft-Spoken Fae, The Spore Elf, The Sporeborne, The Toadstool Caretaker

[ID: A purple thin line divider shaded at the bottom, End ID].

Requested by anon

Also tagging: @id-pack-archive

[iwasaka-motoi]

only stars knows

(a short short story)

Hatchling: Hey Gabbro, I've always wanted to ask you, why don't you hang your hammock near the campfire on the cliff? you'll feel safer near the fire and enjoy the burnt marshmallows.

Gabbro: ...Yap. I know Hornfels calls me "an astronaut who deliberately burns their marshmallows". I think I can tell you because we're time buddies, there's a deep reason why I do it.

Hatchling: Huh? what kind of reason would you purposely turn precious food into a carcinogenic substance?

Gabbro: Well, it was when Mica first built a model rocket by themself. It stalled immediately after launch, crashed and burned. It happened right next to me when I was taking a nap. I woke up in shock at the huge flash and roar, and the whole area was a sea of ​​fire. Tuff came running to put out the fire, and Spinel also doused the fire with water from the bucket containing the fish they had caught. Thanks to them, I was saved, but the marshmallows I had just opened were burnt black like Black Hole eggs. But I wasn't hurt, and I felt a little sorry for Mica, who was crying and apologizing while holding the remains of their rocket, so I told Mica it was okay because I always burn mallows to this extent before eating them, and then I ate the Black Hole eggs. all. This is how I became a "Marshmallow-burning Astronaut.

Hatchling: Oh, I see...! Yeah, Gabbro, everyone thinks you're just a weirdo, but I knew you were actually considerate!

Gabbro: right? I just thought of it just now, but I think it's a great anecdote that describes me very well.

Hatchling: Give me back the time I listened and the time I praised.

Gabbro: Gabbro: Haha, that's why I said we could talk if we were time buddies. Don't mind, the sun will give you back the time. By the way, about the reason why I don't hang my hammock by the campfire up there.

Hatchling: Are we going back to that topic here? Now let me put my time to good use.

Gabbro: I think it'll be useful. The thing is, sometimes the Construction Yard fall down there. It's usually crushed the moment I realize it's falling. So I stopped relaxing there. It's scarier than a model rocket falling.

Hatchling: Why didn't you say something important like that before borrowing that campfire!?

In fact, while I was playing and dozing by the campfire on Gabbro's island, the Construction Yard came crashing down on me. And I died in an instant. What’s up with this planet?

[karayage-spoiler]

Impressive dialog and translation of Outer Wilds

This post is about the latest updates to my Outer Wilds fan site. (As a pilot project)

🔗No - Impressive Dialogues and Translations

In this post, titled "Impressive Dialogues and Translations", I wrote an article comparing the translated Japanese text of the game with the original English text and what I found particularly interesting. Due to the length of the article, only a portion of it is presented in this post. All the content can be found at the link.

The phrase "Give me the dirt" in the conversation with Tuff was unfamiliar to me (I am 99% Japanese speaker).

Gabbro "You know, I kind of wish I’d built a hammock here before we ended up in this time loop."

The dialogue where Gabbro talks about their hammocks is a bit vaguely translated in the Japanese version. Therefore I did not know they rebuild their hammock every time.

Feldspar "Hornfels would have my very handsome head if they knew I’d been riding the cyclones again."

I chuckled when I learned that in the dialogue when reporting to Feldspar about the secret of the tornado, Feldspar described their own faces as "handsome". This text is also a safe translation in the Japanese version.

I find it amusing that the slightly cynical Cassava described Avens and Mallow as "gooey". The Japanese English dictionary also lists "gooey" as one of the words used to describe the stickiness of natto.

Pye's phrase "I'm a gas" was also new to me. I wonder if she chose this phrase to allude to the gas explosion, since they were talking about an explosion.

This is an illustration of the column at the end of the text of my article. In the game, all Nomai words are displayed through a translation tool. This means that the names of planets, etc. are all replaced by the Hearthian language. It occurred to me that it is possible that the Nomai language does not use names like "Brittle Hollow" or "Timber Hearth" but names of a completely different origin.

Since the inhabitants of The Stranger showed no interest in the game's star systems, they may not have given their planets unique names. However, I could not rule out the possibility that some of the inhabitants personally (as their own secret) referred to certain planets by special names.

----

That's all for this post. Thanks for reading.

[meimikana]

Meimiday 2025 Wall of Awesome

AROUND AND AROUND WE GO!!!

January 28th is my birthday, dubbed Meimiday several years ago by my friends (I think it was hojo who started it). For those years, I would spend all day watching streams from said friends playing games for my birthday entertainment. Over a decade ago, however, when asked what I’d like to see I kinda just went “Why don’t you just beat some games?” and so the festivities truly began. Most of us frequent the Backloggery, so it’s kinda easy to see why it has snowballed~

IT'S GO TIME!!! LET'S PLAY SOME GAMES!!!

AstraeFeres :B: Tales of Vesperia

Hojo :B: Trials of Mana :C: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest :C: Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble :B: Tuff E Nuff :C: Picross S: GENESIS & Master System edition :C: Picross S4 :B: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle He also complete the ARR fishing stuff in FFXIV to remind me what suffering is.

Cephiyumi :B: Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus :B: Sonic X Shadow Generations :B: Harmony's Odyssey :B: River City Girls 2 :B: THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake :B: BATSUGUN Saturn Tribute Boosted :B: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom :B: Princess Peach: Showtime! :B: YOHANE THE PARHELION -BLAZE in the DEEPBLUE- :B: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Neko :B: Metaphor: ReFantazio

Endaso :B: Mouthwashing :C: Darkest Fear: Grim Oak :B: Gylt

Drumble :C: Mario Is Missing :C: Gekirindan :C: Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania

Sobou :B: River City Girls :B: Palworld (co-op with bnuuy)

ShadowStarEXE :B: River City Girls (co-op with burr) :B: Palworld (Feybreak Island boss defeated)

Valkoor :B: Axiom Verge :C: Treasure Planet :C: & :M: Super Mario Sunshine :C: Gravity Rush :B: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty :B: The Legend of Zelda

FireEmblemLord :B: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

mrdots :C: Mortal Kombat Gold :C: Cruis'n World :C: Philosoma

Macc :B: Stretchmo - Mallow's Plaza (3DS) :B: Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (3DS) :C: Super DX-Ball (PC)

John :B: Metroid Dread :C: The Final Fantasy Legend :B: Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2

Slythex :C: Dangeresque: The Roomisode Triungulate :C: Metroid Fusion :B: Astro’s Playroom

PaperLink :B: Visions of Mana

Moomba :B: Kirby's Star Stacker :C: Doom 3: VR Edition :B: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

eski514 :B: Super Mario Bros. 2 :B: Wargroove :B: STREET FIGHTER II' CHAMPION EDITION :B: Newtonian Inversion :B: Castle Break

Pally :B: & :C: Astro's Playroom

Wude :B: Ninja Gaiden II Black

spagetiii :B: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge :B: Thank Goodness You're Here

Krile :B: Dragon Quest III HD2D Remake :B: Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Lyndis :B: Smushi Come Home

Lottie :B: Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Honorable Mention: Hojo :B: Little Samson

Honorable Mention: Drumble :B: Valfaris

Honorable Mention: Geminias :C: Metaphor: ReFantazio

[glitterbombedshadow]

Opps looks like I dropped my story of greed-ler lyrics into your ask box don't mind them being a little off-.

Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Story of the greedler

My family laughed at the sight

Took a wagon couldn't afford a fight

Hurting my pride

This is The Once-ler

I Traveled for days and got lost a lot

Until my mule Melvin decided stop

I got a shock

Saw some trees we saw a lot

Wiped tears off my face started

singing 'this is the place'

But then I hear some growls

LEAVE ME ALONE

But saved my life with marshmallows

Should I chop this tree

Or should I chop that tree

Feeling evil I'll chop them all

I'm swinging my axe at a steady pace

I want to chop every tree and leave a thneed in its place

Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

No time, don't have patience

I've got to move on

Smelling the truffula tuffs. Screw this giant log

I got a bad fright

Jump ? Or take flight ?

I fell on my behind

Because of the lorax.

Tried giving him a mallows

But he refused  

he took it anyway I got confused confused

Told me to leave with the axe I used

Don't want to stop I still have some hope

Lorax doesn't like this because he can't cope

I kept trying to sell my thneeds but got treated like a roach

I lost all my hope

Done being a target for there tomatoes

Screw all of this

I think I'll give up

But then they came  and bought them all

My family returned without those laughs on there face

Going to sell my thneeds to the whole race

Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

I got the money

I got my green suit

I'll even take there fruit

Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Send those trespassers to jail

Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Story of the Greed-ler

Its hard to see the light

Smog? Or is it night

Truffula tree genocide

This is the greed-ler

Bigger hat, bigger office

The old once-ler? What a novice

Green gloves, designer shoes

See my billboards I am THE news

The lorax wants to stop me and all my goals

But he's a fraud so I hope everyone knows

Until he gets me to look in that moment I froze

Thats the last one (there my family  goes.)

I'm left in there dust I'm left alone as a disgrace

I just wiped out all life in this place

I got no lorax

I've got only one seed

I regret this screw this sour smog!

YOOOO👀

You write songs? Fucking swagular dude

I love that! 🔥

[indiegamesofcolor]

[I.D.: A photoset containing four screenshots of the visual novel The Closet Door.

Image 1 shows off the fantasy world the game takes place in. Faun, the player character, expresses her thoughts in a text box: “Far as the eye could see, the view around me was fairytale worth. I’d never seen anything as expansive and surreal in my life.”

Image 2 shows three dialogue options the player can choose from. They’re listed as: “Alternate universe?,” “A whole new world?,” and “The fifth dimension?”

Image 3 shows the character Willow speaking to Faun, saying, “Don’t worry. Reality is what we make of it. And questions tend to answer themselves in time.”

Image 4 shows a scene where the character Scirocco leans towards Faun to speak to her. His dialogue in a text box says, “The binding of names is not a single thing that can be broken.” Behind them, Levi, Arun, and Octavious watch the interaction. 

end I.D.]

The Closet Door is a visual novel about having your world turned upside down! Play as Faun, a self-assured business diva as she falls into a new world filled with mysteries and magical men. Meet Arun, the joyful and inquisitive Fire elemental; Octavius, the prideful and strong Terra elemental; and Levi, the cool-headed Water and Ice elemental as Faun struggles to return home!

For Mac and Windows. Free demo is out now.

Developed by Tuff Mallow Interactive, a small company that aspires to make visual novels and other interactive media with compelling stories, enoyable gameplay, and that’ll make audiences smile. There’s also an official Tumblr for the company as well.

This game was recommended by @hummingbird-games​

[sunsetsunriseofficial-blog]

What the Future Holds for Sunset Sunrise

Greetings! I have so much to tell you! The newness of this all is really sinking in for me as the creator of Sunset Memory Sunrise Promise. I thought in the beginning this was going to be a small one time project. And maybe with that, the gravity of being a game developer making an otome for PC release seemed small as well. 

Between the last update and this one, I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with and learning from some amazing individuals and creators in the otome development community. It really gave me a dynamic perspective of the potential to really reach audiences and create stories we can hopefully all relate to and enjoy. 

As for Sunset Sunrise, progress is going great! I’ve got the character cards created, the common route completed and 70% of the GUI complete. Sprites are underway as well! CGs for the common route are being fleshed out, and all backgrounds are planned. 

There will be changes though! There are even more projects to come, including a free to play game in the works, and a collaborative effort with a talented colleague’s studio. I’d like to be able to showcase all of these developments. So I’m making a new account. One for Tuff Mallow Interactive - the umbrella for all of my interactive projects and collaborations! The discord is also available for those interested in joining in on the journey: Join the Discord!

I want to continue to post about the boys in Shoreville, but I plan to post about so much more as well! So be prepared to see these new changes take place! This is about to be one heck of a party! 

Now lets look at the boys of Shoreville

Thanks for coming along for this ride. Like Demetri, I can’t wait to see where adventure takes us! As always- keep a lookout!

~AlwaysJmb

[a-bitter-thought-blog]

Okay, so this goes along with my previous post.  Don’t make a character trans just cause you are. Don’t make a character black just cause you are. Now which character am I talking about?  Ah yes. Dave Strider.  Now, before people come at me, I wish to ask why people view him as such when he’s not. I’d love to see your guys’ point of view on things and try to understand.  And on another note, if you don’t like what i’m typing them message me. I acknowledge not everyone likes my views on things, and that’s okay. But please, if you have a problem, message me kindly.  But as i was saying,  Lets get onto the first topic. Dave, in the comic, is classified as male. Andrew Hussie specifically made him that sex and gender. He is cis. But i wont delve too much into this. Now with people viewing Dave as Black, he isn’t.  He’s albino. Its not scientifically possible for him to be dark skinned. Sure, his race can be such, just not skin color. But i don’t want to see everyone going around and making him have curly hair, and dark skin when he doesn’t.  But before you use the ‘’Hussie made everyone racially ambiguous’’ excuse, I believe he didn’t. If everyone was racially ambiguous in the comic, he wouldn’t have stated that Dave’s a blonde on his formspring (ill get a link as soon as i can.)  He also wouldn’t have added these things into the comic:   ``beep beep albino hairless dickmonkey coming through `` http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004672  `` AT: cERTAIN FEATURES OF YOUR PALE ANATOMY MAY SERVE AS THE MARSH MALLOW INGREDIENT, nEEDED FOR THE MOLTEN SNACK, `` http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=005391 And most times, If a character has red eyes, its safe to assume they have ocular albinism, which can be linked to albinism as a whole.  Also, side note, don’t say Dave was ever a ginger. When rose was talking about those ``Orange tuffs of hair``, Hussie confirmed she was talking about a smuppet on his formspring. I hope this didn’t come off as rude to anyone. It was never meant to be. But if it did, i apologize sincerely.

[tuffmallowinteractive]

A Simple Twist of Fae!! What about it?

SO! I popped in a few days ago and dropped the news about my first commercial game, A Simple Twist of Fae. And I'm sure many of you were like... "Huh?"

So I would like to talk a little about this gem of my heart!

A Simple Twist of Fae is a small story I started working on as a jam entry for Josei After Dark 2024. I was really excited to join the jam and create something a little spicier than my normal works! In the end, I ended up only being able to submit a demo, with plans to make the full game within a few weeks.

But then the scope creep got me and I really REALLY wanted the game to be as authentic to a manga as I could make it!

I did stick to the original five sprites, but found myself drawing SO MANY PANELS. My heart goes out to manga artists and creators- they are the real heroes!

In the end, A Simple Twist of Fae missed the deadline I set for February 14th in Q1 of this year. But I stuck with it and was able to release it to the full extent of my vision this April. And I couldn't be prouder!

One of the biggest delays was the Impings scene- the whack-a-mole like minigame I was so determined to add... simply because I promised I would. I learned very quickly that I was not equipped to reprogram outdated code that I found on ancient Lemmesoft forums... I was really fortunate for the help of Applesplosion who made the code work, and the minigame possible. I am so grateful!

(they really were some nasty buggers)

This entire process was a labor of love and most definitely worth the pain. From the UI design to the music and sound effects, I definitely think this game has its own unique vibe. I really hope people play A Simple Twist of Fae and have fun and enjoy the silly moments! Kalaira and the gang are a fun bunch and it has been a pleasure sharing their story <3

[themallows]

How much is Mallow Haus worth?

While I’m not going to get into the gritty details of it I did some more math to figure out how much the items in Mallow Haus has cost them both. Mind you that they are ICly renting a small home in Ishgard. They have sold some of their old things to make the move easier and have a bit more money to work with. I had Ana’a help me with keeping track of the items currently in the home that can be bought from vendors, and restricted vendors. 

Their current Small House worth of vendor items?  234,350 gil The rest of the items had to be hand crafted or purchased over time. Ana'a, guaranteed, made or bartered most of their furniture to negate the cost of buying it from a vendor or the Market board. All of Mallows pots, pans, metal baking dishes and knives were made by him since he's a Blacksmith. Very few of her items have been bought. Once again, to put the work they do to make ends meet into perspective, they got their little girls a bunk bed. Right now they're too small to use both top and bottom so they just sleep in the bottom together. Eventually, they'll get a little older and bigger and one of them will be sleeping on the top. For now it acts as a high play area, storage for laundry and toys or a time out spot if they're fighting.   Mahogany Bunk Bed 4 Mahogany Lumber (Limsa/Costa)   - 12 logs 5 Undyed Felt (Gridania, Thanaland, Coerthas Central)   - 5 natron (effervescent water & rock salt) , snurble tuffs, 10 fleece 5 Apkallu Down (Limsa/Costa) 2 Steel Rivets (free Ana'a is Blacksmith) Travel cost to gather by hand: (Note is is only travel no meals, rest or mending) Starting in Ishgard Camp Dragonhead - Free travel by foot/chocobo South to Gridania - Free travel by foot/chocobo Further South to Thanaland - Free travel by foot/chocobo or pay 120 gil in Gridania to take the Airship or cut corners and go to the Gold Saucer for free and then take the free airship ride back to Ul’dah. (Mallow’s extreme gil saving techniques at work) To Limsa next. The options, ride to West Thanaland to Vesper bay and take Sea Ferry for 80 gil to Limsa and then ferry again to Costa for another 40 gil but round trip back to Limsa will cost 80 gil in total. Airship back to Ishgard 150 gil  (Grand Total 310 gil) Or Go to Ul'dah and take airship for 120 gil to Limsa and then pay 80 gil for round trip to Costa. Airship travel to Ishgard 150 gil (Grand Total 350 gil)   Or Take sea ferry to Limsa in Vesper Bay for 80 gil and then ride to Costa through Eastern La Noscea before traveling back to Limsa and paying 150 gil to travel back to Ishgard. (Grand Total 230 gil) OR Take sea ferry to Limsa in Vesper Bay for 80 gil and then ride to Costa through Eastern La Noscea before traveling back to Vesper Bay for 80 gil, and ride all the way back up through Thanaland, Gridania into Coerthas. (Grand Total 160 gil) All in All the cheapest route is going to cost a total of: 160 gil This isn't including how much TIME it will take to reach these locations, sleeping at an Inn or outside, meals, mending or chocobo feed. ...Putting it that way she'd probably see him in about a year. :D I'm kidding. Mahogany Bunk Bed with all the travel expenses, meals, gear mending, inns in total cost or estimates to be around 3000 gil or higher. That's not including the time to craft all the parts and make it for the girls and set it up for them.  

Thankfully their little girls are too small to understand the cost of living and what their parents go through to make sure they’re fed, warm and happy.

[tuffmallowinteractive]

GETTING BETTER WITH AGE

Tuff Times 5/12/25

The cool thing about creative endeavors is the more your create, and work hard at, the more you learn. And the more you learn, the more you improve.

The Closet Door has undergone a lot of changes over the years. I changed and the game changed accordingly. I grew and the game, story and characters grew with me.

Like I said, we improved. But when do you get to a point where you realize this is enough?

Recently when I released A Simple Twist of Fae, I looked back at my work for The Closet Door. I thought, maybe I should update this game to reflect the visual appeal of A SImple Twist of Fae.

After all, the latter was my newest project- surely it represents the most up to date and better version of my skills, right?

Wrong.

The art for A Simple Twist is its own thing. It's uniquely its own style, story, characters and vibe. But it's different. Not better.

I was able to make it because I improved so much with The Closet Door.

(constantly working on the backgrounds!)

My games so far have been fashioned to look like books come to life:

- Lake of Reflection is an old handwritten memoire- a journal

- The Closet Door is a storybook

- A Simple Twist of Fae is a manga style comic

It's no surprise to those who've played my available works that I have fun playing on the theme of the visual novel genre.

And I like what I've made so far! All of these stories carry themes of self exploration and self redemption. Of learning to see the many ways love takes form in our lives. Themes of truly smiling from the heart and the journey to that point.

I want to complete this game. It's become a word that must be spoken, a song that must be sung, a love that must be given - it must be shared. My heart wills it so.

And as I look at the art for this game, I see how I've improved over the years. How I've learned, how I've grown. I see the distinction of a story book design and how it looks good being itself. How the style breathes its own life and exudes its own vibe.

I really do feel like TCD holds its own. And that is such a good feeling!

I'm working my butt off guys. I have no idea how quickly I can get this thing done, but know I'm working at breakneck speed and trying to build something worthy of the feelings I have for it.

I'll be updating progress here quite often and maybe on Bluesky as well, so stay tuned!

[tuffmallowinteractive]

Watch me Do it.

5/16/25

Tuff Mallow is coming back to Twitch!

And we're going all the way baby!

Honestly it's long overdue. I used to love streaming in Tuff Mallow Discord server, but I'd freeze up every time I considered streaming my work and development process for a more expanded audience.

I think one of the fun things about streaming is really taking a hold of sharing one's journey and bringing everyone along with them. So guess what- I'm past being nervous. I want to share. I want you to see where I'm at and know what games I'm making, commissions I take on, awesome people I get to meet and work with- I want you to see Tuff Mallow Interactive.

Finally!

We can have a conversation and talk about all the games I'm always working on behind the scenes! This is so exciting! Because YES, I'm working diligently on finishing The Closet Door, but there are so many more projects I've got lined up- some are already in production!

You encourage me to give my all. And I am asking that you support me by popping in and saying hello! By dropping an ask here or popping in stream at Tuff Mallow's Twitch with your questions! By stopping by the Tuff Mallow Discord or saying Hallo on Tuff Mallow's Blue Sky

I appreciate it all! There's so much I want to share, so much everyone has inspired me to do! And I couldn't have made it this far in the journey without you!

I'm planning my first live stream Saturday, 5/17/25, 9:00am Central Standard Time (CST)

Just to get my feet wet and plan a proper schedule- if you're up to it, stop by and say hello!

Super HYPED- and for those of you who keep up with IndieOtome! stuff, I'll be happy to make some pretty cool announcements about that as well! See ya then!

~AlwaysJMB

[tuffmallowinteractive]

WE ARE SO BACK.

Mannn it's been a long time going. I have been so excited as I look at this game with fresh eyes. There's a lot of exciting things I can do with it before release, and I look forward to showing off all the shiny new changes and features!

So much to talk about- so little time. So stay tuned!

[tuffmallowinteractive]

Coming Back with Fresh Eyes

Decided it was time for an overhaul. Again. But fully this time. The Closet Door is a project that I picked apart and picked at for years. So when I finally pulled out my game ready to complete it once and for all, I noticed the big strewn about mess I've made of it. Of the script, the art and even the music.

(Remember these?)

I think I wanted to do so much with TCD, but at the same time, there was also too much I wanted to do, as well as not having the skill set to know my limits and push the right ones to move forward.

(things were pretty vague for a while)

Lake of Reflection and Simple Twist of Fae taught me a lot. And so did the testers that helped me shape my growth as a dev. I'm definitely more efficient than I was previously. And having learned, I want to apply those skills.

I'm going to forever own imperfection. There is beauty in being imperfect. In being unique. But there is necessity in striving for the best version of self. I promise to do that here. I want to update my game one last time before release. To make sure that The Closet Door is its best version of self.

Let it be said, I have always shown up. And I always will. But this is my time to show out, and I intend to with TCD!

(some folks are born to be a diva)

Today I went over the script. It was a MESS. Same goes for the organization of the completed minis CGs. 😩

But Imma get it together. Update in a few days. Let's move on this. It's time.

~AlwaysJmB

[tuffmallowinteractive]

Tuff Mallow Update 4/18/24

Let's talk about all the things.

I've always been a "tell you like it is" person to a fault. I have never had a problem being direct, even if it has been awkward sometimes communicating.

So if I haven't had anything to say, you can be sure something serious is up.

Most recently I moved. And it was necessary. I was in a previous living situation that made game dev nearly impossible. I'd kept trying though, even as the world was crashing around me, while trying to keep up a front that everything was good. My dev friends were like "JmB, things are not okay."

It was a hard pill to swallow. So I doubled my efforts, took on more work and finally moved and wow have things been moving fast since then!

I went to GDC 2024!!

Having peace of mind in my own home was already awesome, but then the opportunity to go to GDC arose and I couldn't turn it down! I traveled to San Francisco and attended the week long event for people of the gaming industry, via a scholarship initiative by Black Voices in Gaming! I learned so much and made so many connections with talented phenomenal game industry professionals. But most importantly, I came to understand that this little Mallow has a place in the gaming industry. That the way I am is valid. That I don't need to be perfect, and that other game professionals want to see other creatives succeed and are also actively working towards that goal. It was inspiring and humbling and I never felt more a part of a community. It just reminds me to try harder to build up the creatives around me because if we all come up together, we come up strong!

Well Now We Are Back in Action!

I am back home. Finally stabilizing a workable schedule. And finally able to finish the things I promised! I owe people content!

- The Closet Door main release

- Background art to clients

- Chibi art to a supporter

- Some art for upcoming jam releases (shhhh)

There's so much going on this month!

I want so desperately to promise that TCD will be out next month- I mean all I have to do is finish coding the game in!

But for now...

I'm just taking it one step at a time.

You'll definitely know when I release this game (as well as announce the other projects I've been fortunate to be a part of, as well as the solo projects I've been working on behind the scenes. Because I am SO READY!!

As soon as I can officially make a beta version of The Closet Door (late April or Early May), things will move pretty fast! So at that time I hope you will still be with me on this journey, as it's been hell for us all getting here. I'll most likely announce it on all media channels.

Professionals Do... Their Best

I'm thankful. Always thankful. I would never have made it this far without the kindness people have shown me.

I am not perfect.

Professionals are not perfect. And I refuse to attempt perfection anymore, as I've learned just how toxic that can be to anyone's physical and mental health.

Best believe at any point that I am striving to do the best I can. I will always give the best of what I've got to my work and to others if I can help in any way.

And I will continue to strive towards being genuine and expressing those beliefs in everything I do and make.

I probably won't post another very personal dev post like this again. But it needed to be said.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm AlwaysJmB.

And I am doing my best. 💗

Until next time~