Footnotes #1 | The Conception Story

Hiya folks,

This is it. The start of regular behind the scenes updates from Essay Games as we ramp towards the release of Bundle of Joy.

These monthly “footnotes” will offer some transparency into the development process as we bring the game to full term, highlight notable studio updates along the way, and share a lil’ round-up of links that caught our eyeballs.

Here’s something nifty to kick things off:

Want to join an exclusive Bundle of Joy Playtest?

On Thursday 14th November, we’ll be opening the doors to an exclusive and limited Bundle of Joy playtest, as we build towards a brand new demo - complete with a slew of new features - at the start of December.

If you’d like to join the playtest and offer up your reactions, thoughts and feelings, please join the Essay Games Newsletter, where we'll be sending out invites on a first-come-first-serve basis.

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But let's back up a minute. I wanted to take you back to the very beginning of the project, when Bundle of Joy was but a twinkle in my eye...

The Conception Story

The seed for Bundle of Joy was first planted way back in 2021 when I got the wild idea to make a game about the seismic identity shifts that happened to me when I became a parent during the pandemic.

Originally, the game was more like a walking simulator where the player wandered around a lake house after a particularly rough day of taking care of a newborn kiddo. However, in early rounds of playtesting, I received some pivotal feedback that the game’s most gripping moments happened during the minigame sections and narrative vignettes. So I decided to shift gears and radically redesign the project.

What I realized is that I wanted to create an experience where the player feels the stress of parenting rather than reads about that experience. Instead of having the inner monolog do all the narrative heavy lifting, I found the minigame-play was just as good (if not better!) at communicating my narrative intentions.

Additionally, some of the early feedback I got was that the inner monolog of the initial prototype was too heavy.

Parenting is a big deal and there’s a lot of huge shifts that happened to me personally and professionally during that first epic year of fatherhood. Even though I was going through a rollercoaster of emotions, the narrative I had crafted from that experience was mostly… negative.

Upon reflection, I realized that I might’ve needed the catharsis of writing that story, but it didn’t make for a very interesting game. I found, however, that in writing that original story, I wanted to design something that was more celebratory, supportive, and encouraging. The result is Bundle of Joy and I can’t wait for you to check out the full game early next year.

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Thanks for reading! We’ve got some great stuff lined up for the months that follow, as we lay down a roadmap to BoJ’s release in Q1 of next year. If you’ve not already, please Wishlist the game, which really helps as we build momentum towards release.

See you next time,

Nicholas.