Owen Goss
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owengoss.com
Owen Goss
@owengoss.com
Canadian indie game designer/dev. Half of Milkbag Games: Fivefold, Kickoff League, Disco Zoo, FutureGrind, Sidewords, SantaCraft, Photobomb. Amateur potter. He/him
Links: owengoss.com
I went to the studio last night with the goal of just throwing a bunch of cups to similar size and shape. I cut them all in half to check my wall thickness. Learned a lot. But at the end of the session I looked at the pile of clay and realized I had a lot of reclaiming to do. :)
January 8, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Will we be watching you in the pairs competition at the world jigsaw puzzling championships this year in Spain? :)
January 6, 2026 at 6:34 PM
lol There are dozens of us!
January 5, 2026 at 10:15 PM
thank you!
January 5, 2026 at 7:44 PM
thanks!
January 5, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Adding to my intro post to mention the two daily web puzzle games we created in 2025, both of which you can play free in your web browser:
Fivefold: fivefold.ca
Kickoff League: kickoffleague.com
You can find all our games at: milkbag.me
January 5, 2026 at 3:48 PM
We once lived in a place where the upstairs neighbours always seemed to watch their tv at full volume. I’d be like, “oh, they’re watching Empire Strikes Back today. They’re at the Hoth battle scene now.”
January 3, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Oh, I see what you’re saying. I think I misunderstood your original point about exploration/discovery. :) But yes, I would argue (maybe getting into pointless definitions) that discovery results from gameplay rather than being gameplay itself. Exploration could be gameplay, but requires friction. :)
December 31, 2025 at 2:42 PM
But friction doesn’t need to be unpleasant. The friction itself can be fun. Learning to walk in Baby Steps is enjoyable in itself, but it also makes everything else in that game more rewarding simply because walking is non-trivial.
Sorry for rambling, this is stuff I’ve been thinking about lately :)
December 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Exploration and discovery of a space, be in physical, mental, or systemic, results in an emotional response when it is not trivial to achieve a goal. That requires friction. And how and where that friction is applied results in a different experience and emotional response to the situation.
December 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Exploration and discovery don’t exist without friction! This is why looking at someone’s hiking pictures are not as enjoyable as doing the hike yourself. It is enjoyable to have had to worked at getting to the nice view, not just having it shown to you.
December 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Matt and I talk a lot about this in terms of game design, but we use the term “friction”. That is, the systems that push back on the player that make the player engage with the game in certain ways. And I think this does apply to exploration and discovery!
December 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Love it!
December 19, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Nothing beats eating breakfast in the morning while being watched by an apex predator
December 19, 2025 at 3:04 PM
My game studio is called Milkbag Games 😅
December 19, 2025 at 2:42 PM