Jay Tholen
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jaytholen.net
Jay Tholen
@jaytholen.net
https://jaytholen.net lead designer, writer, artist, & composer for Dropsy, 1999 web sim Hypnospace Outlaw, & Slayers X. Clickteam software oldhead. follower of Jesus. husband of Katie. dad. 70s prog/fusion/zeuhl guy. Braunschweig, DE / Florida
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Hi, I'm the lead dev of Dropsy and Hypnospace Outlaw. and I've been working on my website lately!

If you enjoy ruminations on indie game dev or digital prog rock/jazz fusion please sign up for the newsletter (scroll 👇 on the home page!) & follow my RSS feed!

/!\_,.-~> jaytholen.net <~-.,_/!\
Reposted by Jay Tholen
then: Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
now: Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
Quote this with your favourite game from 2023 NOW, and what your favourite was THEN (if you had one)

Localisations/early access/expansions count, remasters/ports don't. Remakes depend.

Two-way ties count.

Refresher list: backloggd.com/games/lib/po...
January 8, 2026 at 1:14 PM
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HELLO.

I made a more snappy, vertical version of Boot The Dispute's trailer, for those who enjoy such things.

If you could (at minimum) feign enjoyment of such a thing, this would be helpful to me and my goals.

Kindly like, share, comment, follow, etc, here:
vm.tiktok.com/ZTHEq7mpCPMa...
TikTok - Make Your Day
vm.tiktok.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:35 AM
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same. and theme parks. also: walkin thru forests
A cool thing about games is that sometimes even when I'm playing a bad one I still find myself thinking "but someone built this whole virtual world and now I'm moving through it??? That's so cool!"
January 7, 2026 at 11:37 AM
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I think I'm going to treat myself to the best cushion in the world.
December 26, 2025 at 8:29 PM
RIP. someone knocked down every snowman in the park this morning. was a massacre.
January 6, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Tholen Snowman 2026
January 4, 2026 at 4:10 PM
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The father of indie gaming
December 18, 2025 at 7:54 PM
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Jay Tholen's piece on his experiences as a teenage game dev is one of the most interesting autobiographical time capsules you'll find of the early 2000s internet, right down to the weird infusions of Christianity everywhere and drama in the Klik community for The Games Factory (aka Clickteam).
Being a kid making games in the early 2000s - Jay Tholen
An autobiographical essay by Jay Tholen about being a youngster making games and posting them online!
jaytholen.net
December 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM
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Might blog more about this later but I cannot recommend UFO 50 enough. And that its roots are in Klik & Play—a tool and community that consumed a lot of my early teenage life—warms my heart. 50games.fun
November 11, 2024 at 3:08 PM
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He has to be here for this
December 31, 2025 at 12:32 PM
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OH YEAH time for the New Years Hypnospace Outlaw gaming! Bit late since I struggled letting go of Christmas lol

It's not New Years until I enforce web laws on the elderly
December 31, 2025 at 12:17 PM
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hypnospace outlaw is one of the best games i've ever played, so i made a video about it (like 2 days ago because i forgot to make this post until now oopsie)

youtu.be/YQ3sIz_t4po
December 30, 2025 at 8:41 PM
This demo is GOTY 2025
#pitchyagame Today is the day The Spirit Engine 1 officially hits its 22nd anniversary since its original release on Nov 7, 2003! A modern remake has a demo out now! If you Shift-Click the 'End Demo' button, you gain access to all of World 2! store.steampowered.com/app/3689900/...
December 30, 2025 at 10:25 PM
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hypnospace outlaw is one of those rare holiday-season games that's definitively *not* a christmas game! It's a new year's game! There's not a lot of those
December 30, 2025 at 4:36 AM
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❌ LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT 2026 ❌

New episode of Mike & Rami Are Still Here is up on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, EVERYWHERE

mikeandrami.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:49 PM
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REVIEW DE HYPNOSPACE LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOGAÇO
youtu.be/RUqezLOdkW0
hypnospace: a review do bug do milênio
YouTube video by GEMAPLYS
youtu.be
December 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
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@jaytholen.net your vision of the future has come to pass
December 24, 2025 at 6:15 AM
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Christmas Pain in Christmas Town, by the incredible @hotterdad.bsky.social !!

Watch:
youtu.be/ftEz-m0kEWA?...

And grab Hypnospace at 75% off now:
store.steampowered.com/app/844590/H...
December 22, 2025 at 9:16 PM
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HYPNOSPACE CHEAP GO BUY IT

💲4.99 on Steam!* Check out them bundles too!!
💲5.99 on Nintendo Switch! Plays great on Switch 2 as well!!
💲4.99 on GOG!* No DRM, and no download client needed!!

*Windows, Mac, & Linux :D
December 21, 2025 at 11:16 PM
The Soft Bulletin has got to be their best. best of the genre maybe.
December 22, 2025 at 8:16 PM
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Why don't you go and craft some gameplay that isn't a massive flatulent chore????
December 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
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Highly recommended! My third-most played game on Steam for this year, lovely characters and setting, definitely takes me back to old-school adventure games.

I really should go back and play more.
ROSEWATER isn't your typical Wild West adventure game: it's about storytelling, found family, and choices that actually shape the story.

And it's been nominated for IndieCade 2025!

Get it for 20% off during the Steam Winter Sale: store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/...
December 19, 2025 at 11:04 PM
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A late and final Very Special Episode of Other People's Music is here. This FINAL installment of 2025 (yeah, I'm taking Xmas off) is a look back at what it was like to review 250 independent music releases this year, including a look at a few I kept coming back to

www.etherdiver.com/2025/12/19/o...
OPM: Memories of 2025 – Ether Diver
www.etherdiver.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:23 PM
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In home alone, the same actor who plays one of the bad guys plays the cop at the beginning of the movie.
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 AM