{"id":234,"date":"2025-12-09T08:41:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T08:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/?p=234"},"modified":"2025-12-09T08:41:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T08:41:51","slug":"about-follow-the-butterflies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/12\/09\/about-follow-the-butterflies\/","title":{"rendered":"About Follow the Butterflies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This game is&nbsp;<strong>Follow the Butterflies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re in a bar. You order a drink. The more you drink, the more you&nbsp;<em>think<\/em>&nbsp;you\u2019re seeing butterflies \u2014 and your goal becomes simple: catch all 10 before closing time. That\u2019s the core loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve used any of the tools I\u2019ve released, you might recognize the name&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gatene.itch.io\/topic-creator\"><strong>Topic Creator<\/strong><\/a>. Every game\u2019s&nbsp;<em>theme<\/em>&nbsp;can be boiled down to three words, and Topic Creator randomly picks those from a massive dictionary. For&nbsp;<strong>Follow the Butterflies<\/strong>, my spark came from these three:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bartender. Decagon. Butterfly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first glance, they don\u2019t go together at all \u2014 and that\u2019s exactly why I love Topic Creator.&nbsp;<em>You<\/em>&nbsp;build the meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since I was hunting for the next minigame in my&nbsp;<strong>Glean<\/strong>&nbsp;series, here\u2019s where the words took me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bartender<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Easy. This story belongs in a bar or tavern.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Decagon<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Trickier. A 10-sided polygon didn\u2019t click right away, so I pivoted: what if it\u2019s not a shape, but the number\u00a0<em>10<\/em>? Ten of something\u2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Butterfly<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 After riffing with Spruce (my AI partner in crime), the idea snapped into place: there are\u00a0<strong>10 butterflies<\/strong>\u00a0in the barroom, and you have to catch them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot more riffing happened (believe me), but eventually the vibe crystallized:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Night after night, the player drags themselves into the same bar, orders the same beer, and stares at the same spot on the wall. One evening, something flickers in the corner of their eye \u2014 something small, cyan, impossibly out of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With just enough liquid courage and absolutely no sense of self-preservation\u2026<br><strong>the hunt begins.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concept Art + Tileset Inspiration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting a new game means diving into art direction \u2014 letting the ideas wander, collide, and sometimes run totally sideways. Here are the four pieces of AI-generated concept art that shaped the look and feel of&nbsp;<strong>Follow the Butterflies<\/strong>. I\u2019ll be building the tilesets with my other tool,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gatene.itch.io\/spritegrid\">SpriteGrid<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-1-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">I love the flooring in this one \u2014 it fits the barroom better than the tile you\u2019ll see in the next images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-2.png 1024w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-2-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-2-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-2-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The butterflies aren\u2019t cyan like I envisioned, and the whole thing leans more SNES-style\u2026 but the assets? Love them. Several of these pieces are finding their way into the final tileset.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-3.png 1024w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-3-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-3-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-3-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This one locked in the cyan color choice for me. It also has major Super Game Boy energy. I especially like the placement of the kitchen doors \u2014 beside the bar shelves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-4.png 1024w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-4-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-4-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Scene-4-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">These butterflies have a look I\u2019m really into. They\u2019re not cyan yet, but I\u2019ll fix that in SpriteGrid. I also love the whole scene: other patrons, the pool table, the warm lighting, and \u2014 yes \u2014 the short Hagrid bartender.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Plenty to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wrapping Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is shaping up to be a fun addition to&nbsp;<strong>Glean<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 and a chance to showcase another batch of 10 game-design patterns in&nbsp;<strong>Glean Vol. 1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More devlogs on the way. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This game is&nbsp;Follow the Butterflies. You\u2019re in a bar. You order a drink. The more you drink, the more you&nbsp;think&nbsp;you\u2019re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,24,16,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devlog","category-follow-the-butterflies","category-glean","category-project"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Bar-Night-Intro.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240,"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outboxgames.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}