Transmission 090426hz

What’s going on in The Archives.

For those that may not have seen me post about this elsewhere, I suffered a protracted family tragedy (CW: Pet Stuff, Cancer) earlier this year. I’ll try not to dwell on that and how it’s affected my work output here but it obviously put me behind on some of my ambitious plans for the year. So what’s been going on since then?

Over the last few months, I’ve been grateful to be working with some amazing clients on a bunch of awesome projects; some of which are live now and others which you’ll hear about in the near future. I’ve also managed to release a couple of short-form projects for summer game jams that I wanted to share with you all here!

First up is Va(r)nish, written for the 2026 One Page RPG Jam. Pronounced “vanish,” it’s a 2-player miniature agnostic narrative/roleplaying tabletop painting skirmish game where players take on the role of painters fighting over a shared love interest. With street duels and competitive fencing outlawed, the only option is to let your paintings do the fighting for you.

Next up is The Vanishing Vale, made for this year’s Appendix N Jam. I really liked the evocative title I was assigned for this year’s jam and was inspired to write something for Cairn 2e. This adventure tells the story of the small town of Evanstref as it fades in and out of existence. Tucked into a verdant valley pass (or vale) this roadside community is a vital pitstop for merchants, pilgrims, and adventurers. In its place is a giant gaping hole and a shimmering, iridescent afterimage that flickers in and out. Can your party discover what is happening to this pivotal township before time runs out?

Both of these are double-sided US letter and available as PWYW now on my Itch game storefront!

So, What’s Next?

With my initial Annum 2026 Release Schedule kind of in ruins, here’s an updated look at what’s coming up for Lone Archivist. You’ll see some familiar faces here, some of the projects highlighted earlier, along with a few new names (like Project: CoG). More on those in a future transmission.

For the rest of the year, my focus is going to be on closing out outstanding projects (PK49, IOW: Terminus) as well my newly crowdfunded project (Jupiter in Eb Minor). Want to give a special shout to the backers of those projects and thank you for your support! Can’t wait to get those projects in your hands.

Sneaking In A Game Jam

I’m also going to try to sneak in one more game jam that sounded like a fun challenge. Adam Vass (of World Champ Game Co. fame) is hosting the Superheroes for Jeff Game Jam over on Itch. So for that I’m developing Archons, a solo superhero skirmish game inspired by Superman, Green Lantern, Eternals, and My Hero Academia.

I’m borrowing the “location” mechanic from my other superhero game that’s been in long-time development called Ultra. That mechanic uses index cards as tiles to represent and abstract locations; could be as small as a school classroom or as large as a football field. Initial playtesting of Archons has been a blast and I really think this “location” mechanic is unique and works super (pun intended) for a solo skirmish game.

The Long-Awaited 1e Update

As announced in a previous transmission, Primeval Gods is coming soon to Backerkit! I have the pre-launch page up now so please hit the follow-along button, enter your email, whatever the case may be to get notified when the project goes live. I know this has been a long-awaited update to Mothership 1e from the community (including Sean, thanks for your patience!) so I’m excited for this one to hit crowdfunding.

Think that’s it for now. I’m gonna get back to hitting the books and will have more to share with you soon.

Thank you for tuning into Transmissions from the Archive and hope you’re here for the next broadcast.