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. :)

Will we be watching you in the pairs competition at the world jigsaw puzzling championships this year in Spain? :)

lol There are dozens of us!

thank you!

thanks!

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

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.”

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. :)

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 :)

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.

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.

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!

Love it!

Nothing beats eating breakfast in the morning while being watched by an apex predator

My game studio is called Milkbag Games 😅