wingedsheep

By the campfire

Hi, I'm Vincent. I design and build software, and I love making things, with AI and without: games, stories, drawings, odd little experiments. I write about what I learn along the way. When I'm not at a screen, I'm up a mountain, on a river, or losing an evening to a board game.

This island is where it all ends up. Most things here have a story, and some only show up at the right hour. Pull up a log.

I also build things like this for other people: interactive websites, 3D, AI and games.Here's how that works.

Want to talk about AI, a game idea or a good river? You'll find me here:

• LinkedIn
• GitHub
• X
• RSS

Where to?

• Librarythe blog
• Workshopprojects
• Campfireabout me
• Mountain trailcareer & skills
• Mountain hutstop for the night
• Lighthousethe keeper
• Commissionswork with me

The signpost only points at the big places. The rest you'll have to find.

Field journal

Things you've found on the island. Some only show up at night.

• ???Someone is napping where the boats come in.
• ???Someone got to the bench before you.
• ???Look up. Then click.
• ???Follow the sound of strings.
• ???Some wells go deeper than others.
• ???Every good journey has benches.
• ???There are holds on one of the rocks. The top of the lighthouse has a good view of it.
• ???The trail keeps going up.
• ???Someone left in the middle of their turn.
• ???Check the water by the dock.
• ???The kayak goes further than round the pier.
• ???Some nights there’s a light far out on the water that isn’t a boat.
• ???Only at night. Only for a moment.
• ???Count the moons in the sea at night.
• ???Not all the music on the island is played outdoors.
• ???Somebody left a Walkman up at the hut, with a tape still in it.
• ???↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A
• ???Someone in the workshop keeps tripping over things.
• ???Lean in close to the globe in the library.
• ???Someone at the hut writes things down the moment they wake up.
• ???One book on the keeper’s shelf won’t open.
• ???The keeper’s box of games has one about where he grew up.
• ???Not every cartridge by the telly has a proper label.
• ???Someone in the meadow has a ball and all the time in the world.
• ???There’s a sett at the edge of the eastern woods. Its owner keeps late hours.
• ???After dark, someone keeps an eye on everyone who comes ashore.
• ???Something prickly snuffles about near the bench at night. Not in winter, though.
• ???On some nights, something red hunts mice in the meadows.
• ???At dawn and dusk, the woods come out to graze.
• ???Now and then the deer bring someone wearing a crown.
• ???Some evenings, something is digging up the edge of the eastern woods.
• ???On some days, the grass by the lighthouse path has a ginger visitor.
• ???On a fine day, look up. Higher than the gulls.
• ???Sometimes a pod passes the south of the island.
• ???Watch the sea for a while. A long while.
• ???The old sailors swore the deep only shows itself in foul weather.
• ???Look up in autumn and in spring.
• ???Every flock has one. Not on every visit.
• ???Someone very small, very rarely, comes ashore at the dock.
• ???Very rarely, one of the flock has a mark on its back.
• ???Someone with five legs and no face very rarely drops by the workshop.
• ???Someone grey, with a staff and a tall pointed hat, very rarely comes up from the dock. Never late.
• ???Once in a long while, one of the flock has somewhere to be. Fast.
• ???Keep an eye on the beach. Now and then the sea brings something in.
• ???Someone by the fire should keep a closer eye on his dinner.
• ???On some dry evenings there’s music just past the campfire. The nights round Midsummer are the surest.
• ???On a calm evening, summer best of all, look up. Gelderland’s skies are full of them.
• ???At dusk in autumn and winter, thousands of wings over the west of the island, turning as one.
• ???On some days, someone comes up out of the sea to lie on the beach.
• ???Out on the hour, back on the half hour. Keep an eye on the sea to the south.
• ???Very rarely, something from another century passes on the horizon.
• ???On some early mornings, someone has the end of the pier to himself.
• ???Far out past the lighthouse, a boat that isn’t fishing. Somewhere on the island, a set can pick her up.
• ???On a misty night, listen for a coin on a roof.
• ???On a fine day, something grey comes in low over the water. Bow first.
• ???On a properly windy day, look for ribbons of light round the buildings.
• ???Very late, on a still, dry night, keep half an eye on the campfire.
• ???Hardly ever, and quite improbably, something falls out of the sky. Two things, in fact.
• ???Some animals were only ever written down. Now and then, in the right weather, one wanders out.