THE RETRO GRID COLLECTIVE
Games and
concept art.
Idleball is in development. The other projects are ideas I want to work on after the sports series.
About me.
I'm 42, I'm a dad, and I'm in the middle of a major career shift. I was a Comp Sci major, then went more than twenty years without coding. About a year ago I picked it back up and started working on a football management game.
The first year was mostly trial and error in VS Code, working on player creation and the game simulation. I'm now building the prototype in Godot. I write about that work in the dev blog, including the parts I had to go back and redo. There are also earlier and recent game screens if you want to see how it has changed.
Gridiron Fantasy Manager ’27 is the game I'm working on now. The other art on this page is for projects I plan to release after Idleball. The release schedule runs from football in February 2027 to Upload in August 2034.
WORLD / 01 · SPORTS
Idleball
Four sports, starting with football
Idleball is the sports management series. I’m working on Gridiron Fantasy Manager ’27 first, with baseball, hockey and basketball planned after it.
Coming SoonSeries starts
THE IDLEBALL FRANCHISE
- Football ·
- Baseball ·
- Hockey ·
- Basketball ·
Football is currently in development.
WORLD / 02 · FANTASY
The Starfall Saga
Airships, Star Metal and a world split apart
A steampunk west and a fractured east, both shaped by a fallen star. Star Ore powers zeppelins, survives in family heirlooms and gives the Star Blessed something to commune with. The wooden sailing airships carry sails above and underneath their hulls.
Coming SoonPlanned release
The mythos.
Six hundred thousand years ago, a falling star remade Gaia. Its fragments became Star Ore—a faintly glowing green metal that now powers the zeppelins of the steampunk west and carries the secrets of the fractured east.
The rare Star Blessed are born with enough of that material in their blood to commune with Star Metal. A family ring can heal a wound. An inherited blade can strike beings most people cannot see. Many mistake their gift for instinct.
In The Starfall Saga, kingdoms compete for a resource they can barely forge, while four surviving sanctuaries guard what they know. An ordinary heirloom may be the most dangerous thing a person owns.
THE WORLD BEHIND THE ART
What fell from the sky.
About 600,000 years before the story, a meteor struck the north of the Eastern Continent. The impact raised mountains, scattered fragments across the world and left an ice age behind it.
The fragments became Star Ore: a scarce, deep-green material with a faint glow. Its dust worked into the water, crops and eventually the people who lived there.
The Star Blessed.
Some people are born with enough Starfall material in their blood to commune with Star Metal. Many have no idea what they are doing; it feels like instinct or an ordinary gift.
In contact with Star Ore, they can draw on it to heal, endure pain, sharpen their senses or move with unusual strength and speed. Some can levitate it or sense beings others cannot see. A family ring or amulet can be much more than an heirloom.
Two very different continents.
The west has become a steampunk society. The east remains fractured, with nomadic and warlike societies in its south and east.
Arcane kingdoms once sheltered inside the stone of the world. Much of that knowledge was lost to wars, espionage and time. Four sanctuaries remain, each with its own school: three in the east and one in the west. The gifted few guard what they still know.
Getting it into the air.
The sailing airships have wooden hulls and sails both above and underneath. Zeppelins use Star Ore generators. Ships, fuel and the material that keeps them flying all have to come from somewhere.
Working Star Ore takes a master smith and charcoal made from hardwood native to the impact region. Even then, there are only minutes to shape it before it hardens. That makes the trees, the ore and the trade routes worth fighting over.
The kingdoms and their trade
From small island kingdoms to mainland empires. These are the populations and governments in the setting I’m building; Northland is still largely unknown.
| Kingdom | Population | Government | Main exports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Islands | 25,000 | Council of Elders | — |
| Triminith Island | 205,000 | Council of Elders | — |
| Volkar Reach | 22,000 | Council of Elders | — |
| Wolph Island | 5,000 | Monarch | — |
| Gomeria | 36,000,000 | Monarch | Arms and armor |
| Halleria | 56,000,000 | Council of Elders | Horses |
| Kaelor | 45,000,000 | Monarch | Herbs, spices and slaves |
| Milandra | 1,125,000 | Monarch | Gold |
| Nessillia | 62,000,000 | Senate | Fish, grain and textiles |
| Northland | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Racinia | 25,000,000 | Senate | Star Ore |
| Scarpia | 25,000,000 | Monarch | Oil |
| Silver Empire | 110,600,000 | Monarch | Ships and zeppelins |
| Torvia | 104,000,000 | Senate | Lumber and metal ore |
| Yeurlo Empire | 75,000,000 | Monarch | Ships and zeppelins |
The world map
WORLD / 03 · SCI-FI
The Emergence
A planet split open
The Emergence is the sci-fi project. That small ship in the artwork gives you an idea of the scale: the structure next to it is breaking through a planet.
Coming SoonPlanned release
WORLD / 04 · CYBERPUNK
Upload
The cyberpunk project
Neon streets, rooftop terminals and a huge face hanging over the city. This is the first concept for Upload, the cyberpunk game I plan to work on after The Emergence.
Coming SoonPlanned release
