Yuvraj Jha's talk, For a World Gone Mad!, was about worldbuilding for games and long-form storytelling, but it was really about this world. How fiction holds what reality can't quite articulate.
"For people who are only half familiar with video games, it might be strange to think about this medium in terms of connecting to the Sacred." This is how Joost Vervoort opens his personal essay "Exploring the Sacred Mystery in Video Games," published in Fetzer's Spiritual Solutions Library.
But, Vervoort argues, "This ethereal visual dimensionality makes the possibilities of essentially walking through spirit worlds feel endless. "
Have you ever accessed your spirituality or a sense of the Sacred through video games? Read on for this poignant, fascinating take on the digital world as a route to connection with our spiritual realms.
🔗 in bio for the full reflection!
Stunning artwork by Yuvraj Jha for the game All Will Rise.
Worldbuilding through a series of illustrations, some finished, and some, still evolving. But they give a sense of where the project is heading. I guess.
There are a variety of visual styles that I was trying to describe the feeling of being drunk, but now its a matter of producing more.
There are also oversized tshirts of the prints. Just in case. DM for that.
Also. More detailed updates and breakdowns are up on the website. And there’s a newsletter if you’d like to follow the journey more closely. And I have been putting out videos on the youtube channel (@monkeyevrse_in ).
Anywho, more updates next week.
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#art #conceptart #visualnovel #illustration #worldbuildingart
Much social change work focuses on policy and systems. But what if the deeper crisis is disconnection from ourselves, each other — and a sense of the Sacred?
This personal essay and poignant reflection by Joost Vervoort examines how "spirituality and belief can be...horribly oppressive or powerfully liberating." And posits that addressing deeper spiritual disconnect might be the most critical component of our systems transformation.
Read the full piece — and consider his thoughtful list of questions posed — here: https://shorturl.at/utOty
Stunning artwork by Yuvraj Jha for the game "All Will Rise."
Our artist, Yuvraj, has been working on creating new characters!
Still a work in progress, but looking fantastic so far. We love seeing the variations.
What do you think? What would you say are the characters personalities, based on your first impression?
#IndieGame #GameDev #IndieDev #Kickstarter #SteamGames
The more it changes the more its the same thing.
- Zen Proverb
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Whenever I open this this image, it wants to change. Its mental how many times I have worked on it. Every time I think I’ve figured it out, something shifts and I find myself drawing at it all over again. Personal projects I tell you!
Lessons in trying not to “finish” something or even negotiating with it. Just learning to listen to the instinct of the image.
Have you ever found yourself stuck to something that is forever changing?
Until next time. Keep moving.
Y
P.S. I have also been more active on youtube, where I am posting the process. You can follow along if you are interested.
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Other links
www.monkeyverse.in
www.monkeyevrse.in/thousand-arms
www.monkeyevrse.in/mind-of-my-mind
www.monkeyevrse.in/newsletter
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#illustration #worldbuilding #art #conceptart #visualnovel #drinking #whiskey #thousandarms #monkeyverse
Thousand Arms Update!
Very rarely are alcoholism and addiction presented in media with the nuance that it deserves. Usual depictions being that of the buffoon or the tragedy. A fool in some sense, with only flaws. Someone who breaks hearts and families. But the truth, though we find it tough to accept, is much more complicated. The addict suffers just as much. And we can level the blame on the person quick and easy but alcoholism is a symptom of a larger problem. It is a complex loop involving circumstances, brain chemistry, emotional coping, social conditioning and habit formation.
When I started writing 'The Thousand Arms' I was trying to tell a light hearted story of a boy who lost his way. But as the project and research develop, I am trying to present the facts separate from the fiction with the intension that it is important to understand the nuances that go along with drinking. Not just for storytelling.
Anyway. More on this later.
You can read more on these links. Or check the links in the bio!
www.monkeyverse.in
www.monkeyevrse.in/thousand-arms
www.monkeyevrse.in/mind-of-my-mind
www.monkeyevrse.in/newsletter
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#creativeResearch #worldbuilding #alcohol #mentalhealth #addiction #mindofmymind #worldbuilding #thousandarms #monkeyverse
Eyemyth. The festival where Monkeyverse began.
2017 CE (Those were the days)
I was still playing pretend as an artist with three years in. Only two of them employed. So it meant a lot when @antariksha.studio and @quicksandstudio gave me a platform to showcase my work in front of an insanely cool audience. I was intimidated. All I wanted to do was hide under the tables. Instead, I started signing the artworks “monkeyverse.” I don't know. To hide my name or something. But here we are.
I’m not usually one for nostalgia, but I’m always grateful to @thiruda.2040 for the opportunities he has given me :)
Excited to be part of the festival again. And to be speaking this time about worldbuilding, care, and accountability using All Will Rise and The Thousand Arms as examples.
Hope to see you there.
(Sharing some old artworks from previous editions of the festival.)
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#Eyemyth2026 #EyemythDelhi #MediaArtsFestival #NewMediaIndia #delhievents #WorldBuilding
WE ARE LIVE!
Our new game about taking a billionaire to court for the murder of a river is now LIVE on Kickstarter. You can also now play our ~3 hour long demo on our steam page.
Link in the bio for more details.
@speculativeagency
#gamedesign #worldbuilding #allwillrise ##IndieGame GameDev IndieDev Kickstarter SteamGame
IT'S TIME! Our Kickstarter for ALL WILL RISE is live NOW! All Will Rise is a wild and soulful game about taking billionaires to court for wrecking the planet, set in a speculative version of Kerala, India. It combines strategic role playing with deck building in a crime thriller story that can get cozy and dark at the same time.
We are running our Kickstarter because it is a time of crisis in the games industry in which normal publishing is very conservative and hesitant to take on political games. But we believe the world needs the fire of inspiration that such games can bring. All Will Rise hopes to be an example that will allow other teams to follow us!
Our team is made up of veteran game developers with successful track records (80 Days, Ultros, Sable, Tricky Towers, Horizon Forbidden West, Doom: The Dark Ages and more) who have poured all their love, rage and joy into making a game that takes a stand against the terrors of our time – making it fun and beautiful as hell.
Go to Kickstarter now and make a better future happen for games as a medium of resistance! https://lnkd.in/etJDhJCh or link in bio!
To show you just how real All Will Rise is, we have a beautiful and extensive DEMO on Steam, so you can play yourself! Find it on Steam!
And please, please spread this message FAR and WIDE in your networks! We need as many people to see this as possible!
#indiedev #gamedev #indiegames
The Thousand Arms is a dreamlike story about addiction. Told through haze, humour, withdrawal, repetition, and moments of quiet clarity. It follows Satori, a young man caught in the spiralling dance of alcohol, identity, love, and self-deception, where time folds, thoughts echo, and the mind turns into its own mythology.
It’s an exploration of the addictive personality — tender, absurd, painful, human.
Read more at monkeyverse.in/thousand-arms. Link in bio. Like and subscribe to support the project.
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#TheThousandArms #Satori #AddictionNarratives #MentalHealthArt #SurrealStory MagicalRealism WritersOfInstagram ArtAndHealing Dreamlike IndianArtists
Way before our story began. The Vajra woke up from his meditation in pearls of celestial laughter when he realised what was about to unfold.
Stay tuned for more cryptic stories that will slowly make sense :)
Read more on monkeyverse.in. Link in bio.
Created by @monkeyverse
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(The Thousand Arms, Short Story, Magical Realism, Addiction Stories, Dream Writing, Illustrated fiction, Shadow Work, Emotional Honesty, Indie Writing, Serialised Fiction, Creative Writing, Monkeyverse)
