Fern Forest Games

Prototype screenshots

Justin Spahr-Summers — Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Here are some screenshots from the current (very early!) Exsolum prototype. I’ve omitted the UI here because it looks pretty ugly at the moment, but hopefully these images give a sense for the vibe of the game. We’re going for “sense of wonder mixed with melancholy.”

All of this art is placeholder and likely to change. I’ll be looking for an illustrator and 3D artist; if you know anyone who might be interested, please get in touch!

The first jump

Justin Spahr-Summers — Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

From Exsolum

As your ship approaches the wormhole, the entire universe twists and dilates in front of you. A wound of black nothingness opens at the center, then grows. The hull shudders slightly, as if afraid to be engulfed.
Just when it seems the emptiness will devour you, its growth halts. The mouth starts to close, shrinking back into itself. A ring of light filters out from behind the diminishing circle.
Suddenly, blinding light bursts forth, and the disc begins to inhale the sky around it. Space folds in on itself, rushing forward past you, as if being pulled on a thread. Inside the cockpit, the colossal tidal forces that must be pulling on the ship register only as a slight groaning from the hull.
Another shocking explosion of light. The black rift tears back through the light, then starts ejecting stars. Finally, the universe is spilling back into view.
An unfamiliar sky settles into place.
Where am I?

Hello from the forest

Justin Spahr-Summers — Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the Fern Forest Games blog! I’ll soon be posting devlogs for Exsolum here, including worldbuilding notes, narrative excerpts, and anything else I think might be interesting.

If you’d like to follow along, you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

Thanks for reading! More coming soon.