Rooslawn
@unmappedworlds.bsky.social
I'm Rooslawn and I write something about games every Monday on my indie site, https://unmappedworlds.com.
Playing with Morrowind's Atronach sign accidentally turned me into a religious pilgrim. I wrote about that, and other games that trick you into caring about their world - like Subnautica and Breath of the Wild.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/when-p...
#GameDev #ElderScrolls #Subnautica #Zelda #Essay
unmappedworlds.com/posts/when-p...
#GameDev #ElderScrolls #Subnautica #Zelda #Essay
February 9, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Playing with Morrowind's Atronach sign accidentally turned me into a religious pilgrim. I wrote about that, and other games that trick you into caring about their world - like Subnautica and Breath of the Wild.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/when-p...
#GameDev #ElderScrolls #Subnautica #Zelda #Essay
unmappedworlds.com/posts/when-p...
#GameDev #ElderScrolls #Subnautica #Zelda #Essay
This is Osbryht, a local blacksmith. We're kind of friends now - and that's because of something cool that Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon does with it's NPC characterization and quest structure.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-bl...
#TaintedGrail #RPGs #VideoGameEssays #IndieGames #GameDev
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-bl...
#TaintedGrail #RPGs #VideoGameEssays #IndieGames #GameDev
February 2, 2026 at 4:47 PM
This is Osbryht, a local blacksmith. We're kind of friends now - and that's because of something cool that Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon does with it's NPC characterization and quest structure.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-bl...
#TaintedGrail #RPGs #VideoGameEssays #IndieGames #GameDev
unmappedworlds.com/posts/the-bl...
#TaintedGrail #RPGs #VideoGameEssays #IndieGames #GameDev
Why does stocking a cellar for the winter in Vintage Story feel so good?
unmappedworlds.com/posts/prepar...
#VintageStory #FoodPreservation #IndieGames #GameDev #GamingEssay
unmappedworlds.com/posts/prepar...
#VintageStory #FoodPreservation #IndieGames #GameDev #GamingEssay
January 26, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Why does stocking a cellar for the winter in Vintage Story feel so good?
unmappedworlds.com/posts/prepar...
#VintageStory #FoodPreservation #IndieGames #GameDev #GamingEssay
unmappedworlds.com/posts/prepar...
#VintageStory #FoodPreservation #IndieGames #GameDev #GamingEssay
There's a right and a wrong way to implement food mechanics in survival games. Valheim nails it, and I dig into why.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-va...
#GameDev #IndieGames #Valheim #Fallout #ProjectZomboid #TheLongDark #MonsterHunter
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-va...
#GameDev #IndieGames #Valheim #Fallout #ProjectZomboid #TheLongDark #MonsterHunter
January 19, 2026 at 5:33 PM
There's a right and a wrong way to implement food mechanics in survival games. Valheim nails it, and I dig into why.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-va...
#GameDev #IndieGames #Valheim #Fallout #ProjectZomboid #TheLongDark #MonsterHunter
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-va...
#GameDev #IndieGames #Valheim #Fallout #ProjectZomboid #TheLongDark #MonsterHunter
Boring games can be really exciting, sometimes. There's a sweet spot between blood pumping action and completely disconnecting your brain, and zen lives there.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-bo...
#EasyDeliveryCo #SnowRunner #EliteDangerous #IndieGames #GamingEssay
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-bo...
#EasyDeliveryCo #SnowRunner #EliteDangerous #IndieGames #GamingEssay
January 12, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Boring games can be really exciting, sometimes. There's a sweet spot between blood pumping action and completely disconnecting your brain, and zen lives there.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-bo...
#EasyDeliveryCo #SnowRunner #EliteDangerous #IndieGames #GamingEssay
unmappedworlds.com/posts/why-bo...
#EasyDeliveryCo #SnowRunner #EliteDangerous #IndieGames #GamingEssay
2025 was an interesting year in gaming for me. Handhelds, contact naps, and diaper changes.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/2025-i...
#Parenting #HandheldGaming #IndieGames
unmappedworlds.com/posts/2025-i...
#Parenting #HandheldGaming #IndieGames
January 5, 2026 at 5:23 PM
2025 was an interesting year in gaming for me. Handhelds, contact naps, and diaper changes.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/2025-i...
#Parenting #HandheldGaming #IndieGames
unmappedworlds.com/posts/2025-i...
#Parenting #HandheldGaming #IndieGames
Ugh... I'm too good at reading games: booting up the game, and immediately understanding all the systems. But that's where knowledge-based progression systems in games really help.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/ugh-im-too-good-at-reading-games/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/ugh-im-too-good-at-reading-games/
unmappedworlds.com
December 29, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Ugh... I'm too good at reading games: booting up the game, and immediately understanding all the systems. But that's where knowledge-based progression systems in games really help.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/ugh-im-too-good-at-reading-games/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/ugh-im-too-good-at-reading-games/
Love feeling small. Like not in a pathetic way, but I just love the way cosmic dread makes me feel. I only wish more games did dread better. Cause y'all tell me to be scared of the dark and then hand me a flashlight and a shotgun.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-want-your-game-to-not-care-about-me/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-want-your-game-to-not-care-about-me/
unmappedworlds.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Love feeling small. Like not in a pathetic way, but I just love the way cosmic dread makes me feel. I only wish more games did dread better. Cause y'all tell me to be scared of the dark and then hand me a flashlight and a shotgun.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-want-your-game-to-not-care-about-me/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-want-your-game-to-not-care-about-me/
Morrowind and OSRS really did their fast travel right. Why hasn't there been as much love put into these systems since the 2000s?
December 19, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Morrowind and OSRS really did their fast travel right. Why hasn't there been as much love put into these systems since the 2000s?
Every time I alt-tab to check a wiki I feel a small part of my soul leave my body.
December 18, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Every time I alt-tab to check a wiki I feel a small part of my soul leave my body.
"Just don't use fast travel then" is not a design philosophy. I want meaningful diegetic fast travel systems in my games.
December 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
"Just don't use fast travel then" is not a design philosophy. I want meaningful diegetic fast travel systems in my games.
Dowloaded Tides of Torment only to spend 10 hours in a Throgg campaign. Buggy hunts aside (CA, please fix!), it's the most fun I had in a while.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
December 16, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Dowloaded Tides of Torment only to spend 10 hours in a Throgg campaign. Buggy hunts aside (CA, please fix!), it's the most fun I had in a while.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
Pic is Nano Banana's attempt at Throgg riding N'Kari.
Hot take. Fast travel is kind of awesome, when done right. Morrowind, Old School RuneScape, Dragon's Dogma... Fast travel can kick ass.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
unmappedworlds.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Hot take. Fast travel is kind of awesome, when done right. Morrowind, Old School RuneScape, Dragon's Dogma... Fast travel can kick ass.
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/fast-travel-is-awesome/
Me: I don't care about achievements. Also me: sees 92% completion and twitches.
December 14, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Me: I don't care about achievements. Also me: sees 92% completion and twitches.
I've spent more time reading about games and watching videos about games than playing them this year and I'm choosing not to examine that.
December 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I've spent more time reading about games and watching videos about games than playing them this year and I'm choosing not to examine that.
So my wife asked me how is my Warhammer 401k game going...
Pic via Nano Banana.
Pic via Nano Banana.
December 12, 2025 at 5:08 PM
So my wife asked me how is my Warhammer 401k game going...
Pic via Nano Banana.
Pic via Nano Banana.
Me: I should try something new. Also me: boots up Total Warhammer for the 400th time.
December 11, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Me: I should try something new. Also me: boots up Total Warhammer for the 400th time.
My gaming backlog has achieved sentience and is now judging me.
December 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
My gaming backlog has achieved sentience and is now judging me.
I don't get it - I felt like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was everything I wanted in a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, but at some point I just stopped playing and haven't gotten back into it. Like it looks good, it feels like the zone, I have no idea what's wrong with it.
December 9, 2025 at 5:14 PM
I don't get it - I felt like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was everything I wanted in a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, but at some point I just stopped playing and haven't gotten back into it. Like it looks good, it feels like the zone, I have no idea what's wrong with it.
Achievements ruin games for me. Blame it on mild OCD, or my love of checklists - these are hard to ignore. They can lock me into specific playstyles I might not enjoy. Oh, oh, and sometimes they even spoil things for the game. Am I alone in this?
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
unmappedworlds.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Achievements ruin games for me. Blame it on mild OCD, or my love of checklists - these are hard to ignore. They can lock me into specific playstyles I might not enjoy. Oh, oh, and sometimes they even spoil things for the game. Am I alone in this?
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
unmappedworlds.com/posts/i-hate-achievements/
Love feeling alone in a video game, like when no one is around for miles. Or maybe I'm the last person in the universe? It just feels so cozy.
December 7, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Love feeling alone in a video game, like when no one is around for miles. Or maybe I'm the last person in the universe? It just feels so cozy.
Is it weird to love games I haven't finished? I rage quit Nier Automata after losing an hour and a half of progress, but it's still among my favorites...
December 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Is it weird to love games I haven't finished? I rage quit Nier Automata after losing an hour and a half of progress, but it's still among my favorites...
So... Anyone else wishes they knew less about games? Like I wish I didn't immediately look at the game and understood all the mechanics at play. Miss that feeling of wonder.
December 5, 2025 at 5:29 PM
So... Anyone else wishes they knew less about games? Like I wish I didn't immediately look at the game and understood all the mechanics at play. Miss that feeling of wonder.
Loved Return to Castle Wolfenstein as a kid. Never got far, just ran around the map because I didn't know what to do or where to go, and I didn't think to read the objective text.
December 5, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Loved Return to Castle Wolfenstein as a kid. Never got far, just ran around the map because I didn't know what to do or where to go, and I didn't think to read the objective text.
Yeah, RuneScape, make quests impossible to complete without guides, and then make fun of me for using a guide.
December 4, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Yeah, RuneScape, make quests impossible to complete without guides, and then make fun of me for using a guide.