Jay Tholen
@jaytholen.net
https://jaytholen.net lead designer, writer, artist, & composer for Dropsy, 1999 web sim Hypnospace Outlaw, & Slayers X. Clickteam software oldhead. follower of Jesus. husband of Katie. dad. 70s prog/fusion/zeuhl guy. Braunschweig, DE / Florida
Pinned
Jay Tholen
@jaytholen.net
· Feb 5
Hi, I'm the lead dev of Dropsy and Hypnospace Outlaw. and I've been working on my website lately!
If you enjoy ruminations on indie game dev or digital prog rock/jazz fusion please sign up for the newsletter (scroll 👇 on the home page!) & follow my RSS feed!
/!\_,.-~> jaytholen.net <~-.,_/!\
If you enjoy ruminations on indie game dev or digital prog rock/jazz fusion please sign up for the newsletter (scroll 👇 on the home page!) & follow my RSS feed!
/!\_,.-~> jaytholen.net <~-.,_/!\
Reposted by Jay Tholen
❌ LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT 2026 ❌
New episode of Mike & Rami Are Still Here is up on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, EVERYWHERE
mikeandrami.com
New episode of Mike & Rami Are Still Here is up on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, EVERYWHERE
mikeandrami.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:49 PM
❌ LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT 2026 ❌
New episode of Mike & Rami Are Still Here is up on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, EVERYWHERE
mikeandrami.com
New episode of Mike & Rami Are Still Here is up on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, EVERYWHERE
mikeandrami.com
Reposted by Jay Tholen
REVIEW DE HYPNOSPACE LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOGAÇO
youtu.be/RUqezLOdkW0
youtu.be/RUqezLOdkW0
hypnospace: a review do bug do milênio
YouTube video by GEMAPLYS
youtu.be
December 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
REVIEW DE HYPNOSPACE LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOGAÇO
youtu.be/RUqezLOdkW0
youtu.be/RUqezLOdkW0
Reposted by Jay Tholen
@jaytholen.net your vision of the future has come to pass
December 24, 2025 at 6:15 AM
@jaytholen.net your vision of the future has come to pass
Reposted by Jay Tholen
Christmas Pain in Christmas Town, by the incredible @hotterdad.bsky.social !!
Watch:
youtu.be/ftEz-m0kEWA?...
And grab Hypnospace at 75% off now:
store.steampowered.com/app/844590/H...
Watch:
youtu.be/ftEz-m0kEWA?...
And grab Hypnospace at 75% off now:
store.steampowered.com/app/844590/H...
December 22, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Christmas Pain in Christmas Town, by the incredible @hotterdad.bsky.social !!
Watch:
youtu.be/ftEz-m0kEWA?...
And grab Hypnospace at 75% off now:
store.steampowered.com/app/844590/H...
Watch:
youtu.be/ftEz-m0kEWA?...
And grab Hypnospace at 75% off now:
store.steampowered.com/app/844590/H...
Reposted by Jay Tholen
HYPNOSPACE CHEAP GO BUY IT
💲4.99 on Steam!* Check out them bundles too!!
💲5.99 on Nintendo Switch! Plays great on Switch 2 as well!!
💲4.99 on GOG!* No DRM, and no download client needed!!
*Windows, Mac, & Linux :D
💲4.99 on Steam!* Check out them bundles too!!
💲5.99 on Nintendo Switch! Plays great on Switch 2 as well!!
💲4.99 on GOG!* No DRM, and no download client needed!!
*Windows, Mac, & Linux :D
December 21, 2025 at 11:16 PM
HYPNOSPACE CHEAP GO BUY IT
💲4.99 on Steam!* Check out them bundles too!!
💲5.99 on Nintendo Switch! Plays great on Switch 2 as well!!
💲4.99 on GOG!* No DRM, and no download client needed!!
*Windows, Mac, & Linux :D
💲4.99 on Steam!* Check out them bundles too!!
💲5.99 on Nintendo Switch! Plays great on Switch 2 as well!!
💲4.99 on GOG!* No DRM, and no download client needed!!
*Windows, Mac, & Linux :D
The Soft Bulletin has got to be their best. best of the genre maybe.
December 22, 2025 at 8:16 PM
The Soft Bulletin has got to be their best. best of the genre maybe.
Reposted by Jay Tholen
Why don't you go and craft some gameplay that isn't a massive flatulent chore????
December 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Why don't you go and craft some gameplay that isn't a massive flatulent chore????
Reposted by Jay Tholen
Highly recommended! My third-most played game on Steam for this year, lovely characters and setting, definitely takes me back to old-school adventure games.
I really should go back and play more.
I really should go back and play more.
ROSEWATER isn't your typical Wild West adventure game: it's about storytelling, found family, and choices that actually shape the story.
And it's been nominated for IndieCade 2025!
Get it for 20% off during the Steam Winter Sale: store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/...
And it's been nominated for IndieCade 2025!
Get it for 20% off during the Steam Winter Sale: store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/...
December 19, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Highly recommended! My third-most played game on Steam for this year, lovely characters and setting, definitely takes me back to old-school adventure games.
I really should go back and play more.
I really should go back and play more.
Reposted by Jay Tholen
A late and final Very Special Episode of Other People's Music is here. This FINAL installment of 2025 (yeah, I'm taking Xmas off) is a look back at what it was like to review 250 independent music releases this year, including a look at a few I kept coming back to
www.etherdiver.com/2025/12/19/o...
www.etherdiver.com/2025/12/19/o...
OPM: Memories of 2025 – Ether Diver
www.etherdiver.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:23 PM
A late and final Very Special Episode of Other People's Music is here. This FINAL installment of 2025 (yeah, I'm taking Xmas off) is a look back at what it was like to review 250 independent music releases this year, including a look at a few I kept coming back to
www.etherdiver.com/2025/12/19/o...
www.etherdiver.com/2025/12/19/o...
Reposted by Jay Tholen
In home alone, the same actor who plays one of the bad guys plays the cop at the beginning of the movie.
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 AM
In home alone, the same actor who plays one of the bad guys plays the cop at the beginning of the movie.
Reposted by Jay Tholen
A gentle reminder if you've received an invoice from a Freelancer/Self employed person which is due before Christmas.
Be a love, and pay it today.
Be a love, and pay it today.
December 19, 2025 at 9:46 AM
A gentle reminder if you've received an invoice from a Freelancer/Self employed person which is due before Christmas.
Be a love, and pay it today.
Be a love, and pay it today.
Reposted by Jay Tholen
ANNOUNCING:
Boot The Dispute, the app that solves ALL* your problems, available RIGHT NOW, free on Google Play and the App Store:
tetronimedia.net/boot-the-dis...
*some, probably
Boot The Dispute, the app that solves ALL* your problems, available RIGHT NOW, free on Google Play and the App Store:
tetronimedia.net/boot-the-dis...
*some, probably
December 19, 2025 at 1:29 AM
ANNOUNCING:
Boot The Dispute, the app that solves ALL* your problems, available RIGHT NOW, free on Google Play and the App Store:
tetronimedia.net/boot-the-dis...
*some, probably
Boot The Dispute, the app that solves ALL* your problems, available RIGHT NOW, free on Google Play and the App Store:
tetronimedia.net/boot-the-dis...
*some, probably
Reposted by Jay Tholen
yeah "right" good idea
(sarcastic)
(sarcastic)
this is a mild, unserious take but i think with few exceptions you shouldn't name your very first game in a series [Thing]: [Subtitle]. you should just have to name it [Thing] and then if it does well and you make a second one you can start adding subtitles.
December 18, 2025 at 9:36 PM
yeah "right" good idea
(sarcastic)
(sarcastic)
Reposted by Jay Tholen
Dropsy (2015)
December 12, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Dropsy (2015)
here's the less niche thing i'm making. started it yesterday. it'll be as small a scope as I can manage, so not THAT small but still pretty danged lean.
the bottom controls are from @nifflas.bsky.social's multimedia fusion sound engine because it rules
the bottom controls are from @nifflas.bsky.social's multimedia fusion sound engine because it rules
December 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
here's the less niche thing i'm making. started it yesterday. it'll be as small a scope as I can manage, so not THAT small but still pretty danged lean.
the bottom controls are from @nifflas.bsky.social's multimedia fusion sound engine because it rules
the bottom controls are from @nifflas.bsky.social's multimedia fusion sound engine because it rules
New Active Object came out one year ago today! The game version is on indefinite hold because I need to focus on making something less niche lol.
Jay Tholen - New Active Object (2024) - Full Album with Lyrics // Digital Fusion, Prog, Jazz Fusion
YouTube video by Jay Tholen
www.youtube.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:56 PM
New Active Object came out one year ago today! The game version is on indefinite hold because I need to focus on making something less niche lol.
Reposted by Jay Tholen
Eyvind Earle - Three Wise Men.
Gouache, 1966.
Gouache, 1966.
December 17, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Eyvind Earle - Three Wise Men.
Gouache, 1966.
Gouache, 1966.
if all of you gift your friends Hypnospace Outlaw on Steam I promise to someday make another videogame
December 17, 2025 at 9:23 AM
if all of you gift your friends Hypnospace Outlaw on Steam I promise to someday make another videogame
i respect Larian and I'm sure Divinity will be amazing but it's thematically too dark for me to want to invest play hours into
December 17, 2025 at 8:43 AM
i respect Larian and I'm sure Divinity will be amazing but it's thematically too dark for me to want to invest play hours into
my 5-year-old has a linkin park song stuck in his head and is running around singing something approximating "i wanna heeeal, i wanna heeaaal, gibby garna sumthin reeeeal" only it changes every time he sings it
December 17, 2025 at 8:40 AM
my 5-year-old has a linkin park song stuck in his head and is running around singing something approximating "i wanna heeeal, i wanna heeaaal, gibby garna sumthin reeeeal" only it changes every time he sings it
google is now just a bluesky poster thanks so much AI. frick
December 16, 2025 at 9:29 PM
google is now just a bluesky poster thanks so much AI. frick
Confession: I used Gen AI in like 2021 to make a few Insane-Clown-Posse-esque album covers in Zane's room but they all required heavy editing and in the end it wasn't worth it to keep using the tech, because I was quicker at just photobashing/drawing/modeling everything.
that said...
that said...
December 16, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Confession: I used Gen AI in like 2021 to make a few Insane-Clown-Posse-esque album covers in Zane's room but they all required heavy editing and in the end it wasn't worth it to keep using the tech, because I was quicker at just photobashing/drawing/modeling everything.
that said...
that said...
UFO50 is the best Switch 2 game and I haven't even played it on Switch 2 yet
December 14, 2025 at 10:59 PM
UFO50 is the best Switch 2 game and I haven't even played it on Switch 2 yet
Reposted by Jay Tholen
Play more indie games!!
1) Dropsy
A weird and wonderful little point and click with lovely art. Came out in 2015 which was a big year for indies so it was overlooked. Made by A Jolly Corpse and Tendershoot, the latter of which worked on Hypnospace Outlaw.
store.steampowered.com/app/274350/D...
1) Dropsy
A weird and wonderful little point and click with lovely art. Came out in 2015 which was a big year for indies so it was overlooked. Made by A Jolly Corpse and Tendershoot, the latter of which worked on Hypnospace Outlaw.
store.steampowered.com/app/274350/D...
December 12, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Play more indie games!!
1) Dropsy
A weird and wonderful little point and click with lovely art. Came out in 2015 which was a big year for indies so it was overlooked. Made by A Jolly Corpse and Tendershoot, the latter of which worked on Hypnospace Outlaw.
store.steampowered.com/app/274350/D...
1) Dropsy
A weird and wonderful little point and click with lovely art. Came out in 2015 which was a big year for indies so it was overlooked. Made by A Jolly Corpse and Tendershoot, the latter of which worked on Hypnospace Outlaw.
store.steampowered.com/app/274350/D...
in 2004 i my asked my old childhood game dev haunt for donations because we were stressin over money during Hurricanes Charley and Francis. it was super kind of them to post about it on the front page. in retrospect the hurricanes weren't as much a problem as just being lower middle class.
December 14, 2025 at 10:32 PM
in 2004 i my asked my old childhood game dev haunt for donations because we were stressin over money during Hurricanes Charley and Francis. it was super kind of them to post about it on the front page. in retrospect the hurricanes weren't as much a problem as just being lower middle class.