A Fourth Game, Pressed in Ink
An endless tower defence in sumi-e, where what you break keeps the loop alive. It's on paper, and staying there for now.
Yes, a fourth one. In the same week we paused two games, that needs explaining, so here it is: Phase Loop is on paper, and paper is where it’s staying for now. Nobody’s hours have been diverted. It’s a design document, not a distraction. Mostly.
It’s an endless tower defence, washed in sumi-e ink. At its centre is a loop: what one tower breaks down, another feeds on, and the matter changes state as it goes. The whole economy runs on that cycle. Nothing to buy, everything to break. Keep it turning and the run goes on; let one part falter and the rest feel it.
Every run ends, and that’s the design rather than a flaw. What you earn carries over, so each fresh page reaches a little further than the last.
Where it stands: In Design, step one of six. The loop, the states of matter and the pillars have been pressed in ink, and the ink is still drying. No prototype, no build to speak of, and a release window of 2027 that we’ll narrow once something actually runs.
It’s just a phase. We’ll tell you when it becomes another.