Tag: Maskwitches

A little medicine for the discouraged, perhaps?

Jon: So a couple of years ago, before it was open to the public, a friend introduced me to the closed beta of this weird widget that made images based on heavy remixing of an existing set of images. It was really curious, and produced these hard to predict, weird, dreamlike images. Some were horrific. All were very odd.

I loved the idea of looking into the mind of a machine and instead of looking like Tron it looked like… hell?

And so I made thousands of images with it, curated them with my art direction skills, and made the first edition of Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland. The unfolding conversation with this very futuristic-seeming machine about this ancient place was really revelatory. It would show me things, and I would ask it questions about those things. It was a really interesting exploration of what this new technology was all about.

But soon after release of that game, it became clear that this widget was simply-put, misbegotten and antithetical to anyone invested in copyright, making things, and supporting artists and the future of culture.

People I was speaking to in illustration were finding their previously honest little businesses, hand-making new things, were out of work because the widget was practically free.

Now while others may make peace with this as the forward motion of technology, which they are free to do, it didn’t sit well with me. So overnight I resolved to withdraw all of the games we’d made with the widget and resolved to remake them differently.

It’s taken a long time. And it’s been a heck of a journey into my past as a model maker. But Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland Redux Edition is already out on PDF and the print book is about to leave preorder for everyone. There’s also a range of supplements available.

Entirely AI-free, with all the imagery made from props, sets and models. With larger companies attempting to lead the charge away from human-made games, we’re very happy to explore what humans can do when they put their minds to it.

Maskwitches is out now at Drivethrurpg. As we send out the last parcels for our Kickstarter backers, it’s available in the final days of the preorder here.

Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland is out now in PDF!

The even more discerning reader can also now get the black and white coffee table book version, Pine Pitch Black which also released today.

Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland is a unique experiment in graphic approach and unique mechanics. Find out more at the dedicated Maskwitches page.

“Maskwitches was one of the most immersive, emotional and dramatic games I ever ran.” 
– Royston Harwood, Maskwitches playtester

“A game that feels like a conjuring – a curious and compelling artefact. It is strange in the best possible way, a genuine work of art from the prose to the mechanics to art.”
– Gareth Hanrahan, author of The Black Iron Legacy Series, The Lands Of The Firstborn Trilogy, The Eyes Of The Stone Thief, The Darkening Of Mirkwood.