Many, many years ago, there was a period where I was the sickest I've ever been.

I had 103 degree fever for the better part of a week that would not break.

The thing that kept me from losing it all was spending all of my time playing the many, many expansions for shovel night.

I loved an original game, and then in the depths of sickness, spent a lot of time playing the many, many expansions for shovel night. I loved an original game, and then in the

depths of sickness, spent a lot of time playing the many expansions for shovel night, many,

many good ones as well. So you would not be surprised to learn that I would be really, really

excited for what that studio is working on next. And for a long time, I thought it was a 3D version

of Shovel Night. They were working on a 3D version of Shovel Night.

They were working on a 3D version of Shovel Night. But due to a lot of complications over the year, some of which we'll get into here. The game that is actually coming out is Mina the

hollower, a 2D top-down Zelda slash souls alike influence game that is one of the best games I've played this year.

Do I lament?

Shovel Night 3D, not existing yet?

Of course.

But wow, what a wonderful solace Mina the Hollower is.

And what a wonderful time it was chatting with two of the folks that work at Yacht Club

Games, Yacht Club studio founder and director Sean Velasco, and programmer David DeAngelo.

I've actually talked with David before many, many years ago.

And so having a full circle moment of talking to David, talking to Sean for the first time about the trials and tribulations of making Mina the Hollowar,

how they didn't have a ton of examples to turn to for design solutions on how

one does platforming in a top-down game. There's lots of top-down games that involve jumping

occasionally, but not really the focus in the way Mina does. So you're just focused to spend a lot

of time on Gremlins to the new batch. Of course. I mean, everyone should have known.

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