loren schmidt
@lorenschmidt.bsky.social
i make art, mostly with computers. currently working on an open world RPG with roguelike roots and an experimental bent. cat mom. she / her or they / them.
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loren schmidt
@lorenschmidt.bsky.social
· Nov 25
i am making an open world roguelike.
i have been imagining this world for years, and i want to make this game so people can go there and live many lives in it!
the game features whole-cloth, accessible design, deep mysteries, and a meticulous generated living world.
i have been imagining this world for years, and i want to make this game so people can go there and live many lives in it!
the game features whole-cloth, accessible design, deep mysteries, and a meticulous generated living world.
if you're using your 1 allotted explosive per level as a weapon, then tentatively scrap weapons, caltrops and spikes could be combined with explosives to make effective shrapnel. possibly you just place them on the ground and they add to the explosion? i have to playtest but that could be neat.
January 16, 2026 at 2:15 AM
if you're using your 1 allotted explosive per level as a weapon, then tentatively scrap weapons, caltrops and spikes could be combined with explosives to make effective shrapnel. possibly you just place them on the ground and they add to the explosion? i have to playtest but that could be neat.
oh and i didn't explain caltrops. caltrops are a consumable used for area denial. one idea is that you can activate them and then chose a movement direction, and it places them where you were.
another idea is that you could throw them and it would place a few, noisily, in an area.
another idea is that you could throw them and it would place a few, noisily, in an area.
January 16, 2026 at 2:15 AM
oh and i didn't explain caltrops. caltrops are a consumable used for area denial. one idea is that you can activate them and then chose a movement direction, and it places them where you were.
another idea is that you could throw them and it would place a few, noisily, in an area.
another idea is that you could throw them and it would place a few, noisily, in an area.
oh i forgot one of my favorites. boots can protect your feet, but in starvation situations you can use standard verbs to cook them and eat them...
January 16, 2026 at 2:11 AM
oh i forgot one of my favorites. boots can protect your feet, but in starvation situations you can use standard verbs to cook them and eat them...
inspired by historical usage of cloaks in dueling. i don't know what's going on with the lantern though, that's new to me as of 30 seconds ago and now i am curious.
January 16, 2026 at 2:10 AM
inspired by historical usage of cloaks in dueling. i don't know what's going on with the lantern though, that's new to me as of 30 seconds ago and now i am curious.
i'm on board with this sort of multifunction design as a designer and as a player, but now i have to implement it all haha.
January 16, 2026 at 2:07 AM
i'm on board with this sort of multifunction design as a designer and as a player, but now i have to implement it all haha.
another idea is that because you use a lantern for a long period of time, it eventually becomes attuned to you, which might open the doors for interesting mechanics. can you see whatever it illuminates, for instance?
January 16, 2026 at 2:06 AM
another idea is that because you use a lantern for a long period of time, it eventually becomes attuned to you, which might open the doors for interesting mechanics. can you see whatever it illuminates, for instance?
lanterns, of which there are many regionally specific kinds, provide illumination, but are generally not a weapon. you can set them down to provide light away from your character.
potentially you can throw a lantern to, exactly once, create lingering flame in an area. this destroys the lantern.
potentially you can throw a lantern to, exactly once, create lingering flame in an area. this destroys the lantern.
January 16, 2026 at 2:06 AM
lanterns, of which there are many regionally specific kinds, provide illumination, but are generally not a weapon. you can set them down to provide light away from your character.
potentially you can throw a lantern to, exactly once, create lingering flame in an area. this destroys the lantern.
potentially you can throw a lantern to, exactly once, create lingering flame in an area. this destroys the lantern.
a torch can be held to provide unsteady light, but it can also be used as a weapon. additionally, a torch can be thrown to create a light source away from your character.
January 16, 2026 at 2:02 AM
a torch can be held to provide unsteady light, but it can also be used as a weapon. additionally, a torch can be thrown to create a light source away from your character.
you can wear a cloak, but you can also throw it at an opponent to temporarily foul their movements.
January 16, 2026 at 2:01 AM
you can wear a cloak, but you can also throw it at an opponent to temporarily foul their movements.
food can be eaten. i'm not doing a food clock by default, but food can be opted into for survival / simulation enthusiasts. however, your character will by default care a lot about food narratively. even if starvation is off, mechanically, it's still important.
also food can be used as a lure.
also food can be used as a lure.
January 16, 2026 at 2:01 AM
food can be eaten. i'm not doing a food clock by default, but food can be opted into for survival / simulation enthusiasts. however, your character will by default care a lot about food narratively. even if starvation is off, mechanically, it's still important.
also food can be used as a lure.
also food can be used as a lure.
lamp oil can work for lanterns, but also be a thrown weapon (molotov cocktail? or does it oil soak things?), and can be eaten if you for some reason have oil but no food.
January 16, 2026 at 1:59 AM
lamp oil can work for lanterns, but also be a thrown weapon (molotov cocktail? or does it oil soak things?), and can be eaten if you for some reason have oil but no food.
[spikes], possibly to be renamed, can jam doors but are also a launcherless ranged weapon, and are ammunition for things like portable ballistae.
January 16, 2026 at 1:59 AM
[spikes], possibly to be renamed, can jam doors but are also a launcherless ranged weapon, and are ammunition for things like portable ballistae.
i think base item types are incredibly important texturally and in terms of role play. eating food? you can connect so many ways to local culture, character preferences and history, biology, embodiment.
January 16, 2026 at 1:59 AM
i think base item types are incredibly important texturally and in terms of role play. eating food? you can connect so many ways to local culture, character preferences and history, biology, embodiment.
i'm currently making placeholder items for all the base item types i want in the first pass. various pieces of armor and clothing. a few weapon classes with distinct shapes, aesthetics, advantages and disadvantages (the hardest to implement). multifunction items like oil, torches, caltrops, spikes.
January 16, 2026 at 1:59 AM
i'm currently making placeholder items for all the base item types i want in the first pass. various pieces of armor and clothing. a few weapon classes with distinct shapes, aesthetics, advantages and disadvantages (the hardest to implement). multifunction items like oil, torches, caltrops, spikes.
wow there are so many of them! it must have been so hard to set them up.
January 16, 2026 at 1:35 AM
wow there are so many of them! it must have been so hard to set them up.
i'd really love to work with people to do proper localization some day! i don't really see localized roguelikes and it seems like they would be good candidates (the few weird questions aside).
January 16, 2026 at 1:14 AM
i'd really love to work with people to do proper localization some day! i don't really see localized roguelikes and it seems like they would be good candidates (the few weird questions aside).
for the time being, useful for representing characters! but also potentially localization (though i think how to localize generated text is a big question).
(also please feel free to opine if any of the letterforms are off, i don't natively speak any languages which are written with cyrillic.)
(also please feel free to opine if any of the letterforms are off, i don't natively speak any languages which are written with cyrillic.)
January 16, 2026 at 1:03 AM
for the time being, useful for representing characters! but also potentially localization (though i think how to localize generated text is a big question).
(also please feel free to opine if any of the letterforms are off, i don't natively speak any languages which are written with cyrillic.)
(also please feel free to opine if any of the letterforms are off, i don't natively speak any languages which are written with cyrillic.)
out: all the species are mechanically identical
in: equalizing mechanics are important, but also it's critical for species to be radically different in ways which challenge anthropocentrism, eg species have different cognitive modes. we don't conflate species with culture or "race".
in: equalizing mechanics are important, but also it's critical for species to be radically different in ways which challenge anthropocentrism, eg species have different cognitive modes. we don't conflate species with culture or "race".
January 16, 2026 at 1:01 AM
out: all the species are mechanically identical
in: equalizing mechanics are important, but also it's critical for species to be radically different in ways which challenge anthropocentrism, eg species have different cognitive modes. we don't conflate species with culture or "race".
in: equalizing mechanics are important, but also it's critical for species to be radically different in ways which challenge anthropocentrism, eg species have different cognitive modes. we don't conflate species with culture or "race".
Reposted by loren schmidt
People are so far ahead of the supposed politicians who are supposed to *represent* them.
January 15, 2026 at 10:34 PM
People are so far ahead of the supposed politicians who are supposed to *represent* them.
i like how they are rocking 60s era neckerchiefs
January 16, 2026 at 12:45 AM
i like how they are rocking 60s era neckerchiefs
the one one the right knows how jaunty they look
January 16, 2026 at 12:45 AM
the one one the right knows how jaunty they look
this goes so hard
magazine screenshot (1988) archive.org/details/popc...
January 16, 2026 at 12:41 AM
this goes so hard
congratulations! well-deserved.
January 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM
congratulations! well-deserved.
Reposted by loren schmidt
HORSES was nominated for the Grand Prize and Nuovo Award at the 2026 Independent Games Festival! What a great opportunity to give shoutouts to the incredible talent that made this production possible. Check out the following posts to find out who they are, and what else they worked on! Thread:
January 15, 2026 at 7:28 PM
HORSES was nominated for the Grand Prize and Nuovo Award at the 2026 Independent Games Festival! What a great opportunity to give shoutouts to the incredible talent that made this production possible. Check out the following posts to find out who they are, and what else they worked on! Thread: