Char

@alphachar

making Sparrow Warfare with @martinpi ~ writing games ~ teaching writing & yoga ~ 'when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro' ~ alphachar.com

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Char@alphachar· 15d

Shanghai, here we come! 🙌

Picture of two happy people on their way to China for a week, from Copenhagen Central Station

Char@alphachar· 19d

Hello @studiodaimon.bsky.social & thanks for hosting #TurnBasedThursday! I'm half of @neonaurelius.bsky.social along with @martinpi.bsky.social & we're making SPARROW WARFARE! We're HYPE this week as we're heading to Shanghai to talk strategy at #ChinaJoy 🙌 store.steampowered.com/app/3473440/...

Char and Martin with their new business cards

Poster for Char and Martin's session at ChinaJoy

A screenshot from Sparrow Warfare, the hot new mahjong-inspired deckbuilder that will rock your world

Char@alphachar· Jul 3

I would love to be part! Submitted, but no space to kind of "explain myself", so here goes: I'm a writer, mostly videogames, but also making the art for a new game with my partner: Sparrow Warfare. I collage, remix, recolour public domain bird images for it! 🐦 store.steampowered.com/app/3473440/...

Char@alphachar· Jun 18

Hi there @playdigious.bsky.social & thanks for hosting #TurnBasedThursday this week! @martinpi.bsky.social & I are making SPARROW WARFARE - a bird-filled, mahjong-inspired deckbuilder. Demo on Steam with 100% positive reviews, and today's news is that we just pushed a teaser demo live on itch! ❤️

Screenshot from the game Sparrow Warfare, where the valiant little sparrow is battling agains the boss of Level 3: The Poacher.

Char@alphachar· Jun 15

Very exciting to receive the Scholar's Codex in the post, featuring my chapter on the story of Greirat of the Undead Settlement. If you like the worlds of From Software, you might like this book too! Now available from @tuneandfairweather.bsky.social: www.tuneandfairweather.com/products/sch...

Char@alphachar· Jun 15

Char@alphachar· May 28

Hi there @dieinthedungeon.bsky.social & thanks for hosting #TurnBasedThursday! We’re a 2-person team making weird bird deckbuilder SPARROW WARFARE. Demo out now with 💯% positive reviews! & this week, we’re working on new bird tiles - here’s Yikesaroni Toni: store.steampowered.com/app/4396770/...

Char@alphachar· May 22

Proof from the big hall with thanks to @doodledemmy.bsky.social!

Char@alphachar· May 22

Exciting day for our game today - it's being played out in the world at TWO big events this weekend! Check it out if you're at: 🏰 Leftfield Collection, MCM LONDON 🏯 Bitsummit KYOTO & if you're at home? Sure, you can play the (100% positive reviews!) demo too! store.steampowered.com/app/4396770/...

Char@alphachar· May 15

Everyone who knows me knows I can't wait to go to China again - & I'm so excited that I'll be there in July, to speak at the Chinese Game Developers Conference at ChinaJoy in Shanghai with @martinpi.bsky.social! If you'll be there, I hope to see you! & if you have any Shanghai tips for us, shout! ❤️

Image advertising a talk at ChinaJoy China Game Developers Conference on July 31st 2026.

Remixing Strategy: Designing Hyper-Local, Hyper-Global Games

In their 27 years of indie game development across 19 commercial releases, Martin and Charlene have learned a lot about turning game ideas into finished works. This talk is a reflection on how many ideas behind games are globally connected, while rooted in the culture their designers come from.

While working on their new game, strategic deckbuilder Sparrow Warfare, Martin and Charlene explored the history of strategy games: from ancient board games to 17th-century Austrian card games, mahjong, and today’s deckbuilders. From this, they realised how many mechanics from older games remain largely unexplored in modern deckbuilders, which often focus on a narrow set of familiar systems.

They also discovered how many strategy games from around the world are connected as if through a global web of evolving ideas and mutations. For a Danish studio presenting in China, this highlights the balance between designing hyper-locally (drawing on personal and cultural influences), and designing hyper-globally (building on game ideas that have travelled across centuries and continents) to resonate with the widest audience possible.

In this talk, they will share their collective creative process, and offer three ideas for game developers to apply in their own projects: how to find overlooked mechanics, how to transform personal influences into design ideas, and how to use remix culture to create fresh and engaging work.

Char@alphachar· May 14

Thanks for hosting #TurnBasedThursday, @mantisgames.bsky.social! We made a tiny video to show you the most haunted things we could find in our game 👻 @martinpi.bsky.social & I are making SPARROW WARFARE, weird bird deckbuilder! 100% positive demo out now! 🐣 store.steampowered.com/app/4396770/...

Char@alphachar· May 9

Yesterday evening 3 of the authors of “Scholar’s Codex” happened to be out together! Me, @domford.bsky.social, & @florencesn.bsky.social - don’t you want to read our Dark Souls musings?! Praise the sun!

Three jolly cooperators sharing a beer in the sun

Char@alphachar· Mar 18

Super good piece by Irish writer Donal Ryan pghrev.com/as-close-as-...

The only war Ireland should wage is one of calm logic against the swollen belligerents of the world who expect other people’s children to take up arms against each other, to sacrifice their precious lives in a trillion-dollar theatre of fire and death. We’ll explain to them that our national identity is founded on the edict that no political change is worth the shedding of a single drop of human blood. So, we’ll mind our own business and they can fuck right off.

Char@alphachar· Mar 6

Friends, chumps, wizards-of-ill-repute: today we launched our DEMO for Sparrow Warfare! If you are into deckbuilders and somehow not already 110% consumed with Slay The Spire 2, give us a whirl over the weekend! store.steampowered.com/app/4396770/... #indiedev #indiegamedev #deckbuilder #demo

Char@alphachar· Feb 26

Hi there! Thanks for hosting #TurnBasedThursday & I'm super excited for your demo, Alchemice looks stunning!! I see your demo is out on March 5th - ours for Sparrow Warfare is out on the 6th & we made a tiny video about that choice that you might relate to 😅 store.steampowered.com/app/3473440/...

Char@alphachar· Feb 9

It was a lot of fun to host #TurnBasedThursday last week! Check out all the cool games in the thread & here are 4 of my most-anticipated: 👾 Quasimorph - extraction roguelike in space 🃏 Forbidden Solitaire - creepy 90s cards 👻 Deck of Haunts - become a haunted house 🍲 Arcane Eats - cook magically

Char@alphachar· Feb 8

Reach out & touch snow

Char@alphachar· Feb 5

I am so honoured to officially host this week's #TurnBasedThursday on Bluesky! 🗣 INDIE DEVS! Show off your turn-based games in this thread with the hashtag! PLAYERS! Come on in & 💬comment, ❤️like, 🔁repost & ✨wishlist all the great games in the thread!

Char@alphachar· Jan 19

It's #BirdArtWeek2026! Here are some of my collage homages to amazing bird art that I am including in our game Sparrow Warfare, where your magnificent bird army frees the world!

Char@alphachar· Jan 8

You know what feels really really really good? Feeding the birds. It's cold out there, & most of us have the ability to walk outside with a few fistfuls of bird seed and absolutely make the day of scores of beautiful, talkative, feathered friends. Makes my day too!

Martin feeding the ducks before the lakes froze over

Lake birds super excited about bird seed as the temperature drops

Char@alphachar· Jan 6

Facebook memories tells me that today 15 years ago I posted this image. Back then I was working in Facebook, longing for a creative life. Here I am, many many many mistakes later: still alive, creating, making mistakes. Life is so wonderful: as long as we breathe, we can always choose our next step.

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful, than a life spent doing nothing." - George Bernard Shaw

Char@alphachar· Jan 5

Hello from frozen Copenhagen!

A tiny snowman waves in central Copenhagen

Char@alphachar· Dec 23

Feast YOUR EYES upon the glory I had last year! Crispy roast pork, spiced red cabbage, roast potato, in a bun with verrrrrrrrrrry rich gravy.

Char@alphachar· Dec 23

A few years ago we (@joonturbo.bsky.social, @polclarissou.bsky.social, @torfi.bsky.social, @muuutsch.bsky.social & I) made a cool game about squirrels - it's on sale on Steam now & people are still enjoying it. What a delightful feeling!! ❤️

Char@alphachar· Dec 3

I like my little emoji clump, looks like a good spell

a circle filled with lovely positive emojis

Char@alphachar· Dec 1

Honourable mentions: Grady Hendrix, Joyce Carol Oates, Irene Sola, Mariana Enriquez. AND to finish with an old fave, in case you haven’t read it yet, you really need “Negative Space” by BR Yeager in your life. A black hole that will rearrange your entire perception, doesn’t that sound delightful?

Char@alphachar· Dec 1

“Coffin Moon” by Keith Rosson It’s almost illegal to recommend a book I haven’t finished yet but this one is such a banger that I am compelled. Vibes like Straub’s “Koko” with a pace that’ll leave you breathless.

Char@alphachar· Dec 1

“Pilgrim” by Mitchell Luthi Crusaders, demons, alternate realms, this bad boy has it all. Mercilessly sweeps you along with a malevolent undercurrent. Historical fiction with a lot of twists.

Char@alphachar· Dec 1

“A Short Stay In Hell” by Steven Peck Is it fiction or philosophy? This takes about one hour to read, ten hours to talk about with your partner, & a hundred plus hours of rumination. Incredible mental bang for the buck, and absolutely what I recommend if you’re having a meh day. Sit, read, better!

Cover for the book “A Short Stay In Hell”

Char@alphachar· Dec 1

“The Lesser Dead” by Christopher Buehlman I liked this book a lot when I read it, but the more time passes the more I LOVE it. A real damn good vampire story with so many little moments that will linger with you. Buehlman’s humour and heart like friends keeping you company the whole way.