Experiments that aren't yet games.
Some things sit on our workbench for months before they become part of a game, a devlog, or nothing at all. This page is where we file them. Tiny prototypes, pattern notes, a little engineering. Nothing here is a product or a roadmap.
Current experiments
Beam attenuation curves
Testing eleven attenuation curves for Warden's Lantern fog. We like the logarithmic-with-plateau one; it reads as "physical" without feeling like punishment.
Procedural fragment density
How many hand-written sentence fragments does Paperline need before cases stop feeling repetitive? Our guess is 1,500. We're at 400.
Stained-glass shaders on phones
Volumetric vs. baked vs. hybrid lighting for Tideglass. Hybrid runs at 60fps on a four-year-old tablet. Full volumetric runs at 11.
Bell-buoys and far-off clarinets
Field recording experiments for the Warden's Lantern winter EP. A coastal bell buoy, a clarinet in a dry loft, and a very patient friend with a boom.
Pattern notes
Short observations from working. We collect them here and occasionally promote one to the monthly newsletter.
"Procedurally generate the graph, not the prose. Hand-write the fragments and let the player's brain join them. The brain is the best generator we have, and we don't have to pay it."
— from Paperline devlog #2
What this page isn't
The Lab is not a roadmap. Things here usually don't ship. We put them up to keep them honest — if they're worth publishing, they're worth continuing; if they aren't, we move on quickly. If something does turn into a game, it leaves the Lab and shows up on the games portal.