Chloe

Chloe

@itisevan.bsky.social

squeezing all the serotonin i can out of life. she/they| game developer | pfp by @misguidedlavender.bsky.social lead developer at @toontowngrindworks.com

204 followers82 following93 posts

Chloe reposted

loonatic
@loonatic.pro

Hi. I've been notably MIA for a bit. Let me explain my circumstances: I had my passion obliterated by single individual. An individual who believed that creating impersonated messages of me would make them some sort of "savior" for others. The exact opposite happened.

Chloe reposted

Toontown: The Grindworks
@toontowngrindworks.com

It has officially been one whole year since the launch of Toontown: The Grindworks on March 1st, 2025. There are truly no words to describe how incredible this last year has been for our team, and we can do nothing but extend our sincerest gratitude towards all of you for being here for it.

Chloe reposted

Panda Phil
@itspandaphil.bsky.social

👋 Good morning, good afternoon and good evening everyone! 👋 In 30 minutes join me for Toon Talk Live, where we talk all things toony and toontastic! This month, I'm interviewing some of the team behind the incredible Toontown: the Grindworks so come check it out! twitch.tv/pandaphilplays

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

one of my (least) favorite parts of the toontown community is how projects seem to have this idea that if another project did a particular idea, we *have* to do it differently. no we can't call them managers, that's clash. we can't call them supervisors, that's ttr. (grindworks does this too, tbf)

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Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

this is definitely due largely to the fact that these projects feel so un-personal. people try to create a brand around their toontown projects where i think collaboration and human connection between projects and players is far more encouraged in other fan-game spaces.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

tl;dr: the toontown community takes itself way too seriously. it was a mistake to present these projects as brands first, and people second, if at all. each project has beating hearts behind it that deserve more recognition than they are given.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

one of my (least) favorite parts of the toontown community is how projects seem to have this idea that if another project did a particular idea, we *have* to do it differently. no we can't call them managers, that's clash. we can't call them supervisors, that's ttr. (grindworks does this too, tbf)

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Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

it's part of the toontown community's grander aversion to "plagiarism" as a whole. where plagiarism in this case just means finders keepers. despite the fact everyone's making the same game, if you come up with a cool mechanic or idea, no one else is allowed to use it or that's stealing.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

reminder that there was a decently visible outcry when ttr released field offices and they had the gall to "steal" corporate clash's idea of status effects in a turn based rpg. something unique to corporate clash that no one could ever possibly conceive of outside of them.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

one of my (least) favorite parts of the toontown community is how projects seem to have this idea that if another project did a particular idea, we *have* to do it differently. no we can't call them managers, that's clash. we can't call them supervisors, that's ttr. (grindworks does this too, tbf)

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

there's a long running inside joke on the development end of toontown projects that if it keeps up, they'll all run out of unique business terms and be forced to start using the ones other projects used. but the kicker is that we're talking about words in the english language no one ever owned.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

it has officially been a year since i posted this trailer. this project grew to heights i never saw coming, and i’ll always be proud of the work myself and others put into it. i hope you’ve all enjoyed what we were able to put together 🫡

Chloe@itisevan.bsky.social

Toontown: The Grindworks (Trailer)

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

it always saddens me to see people spending time with their family instead of camping outside retail stores for 20% off a printer or something. we are a nation built on consumerism, damn it! try being “thankful” for the blockbuster deals on smart refrigerators for a change.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

Having nothing to do for the first time in 10 months has been a very strange feeling. Pretty much every day from beginning to end there was always some task I needed to work on. I finally feel like I’m giving myself an actual break from that. I’m learning to enjoy the silence in its absence.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

Making Toontown fan games is a double edged sword. Having a built-in audience is great for improving your skills as a developer/designer. Though at some point, you do start getting diminishing returns on the thousands of hours you spend working on free content.

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Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

(Kinda used “me” and “the team” a little interchangeably here, but I can’t speak authoritatively for everyone on the project. Above all, this is just a reflection of my current feelings towards being the lead developer of a fan project I never thought would get this far.)

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

TL;DR: Toontown: The Grindworks is no longer my main focus project. I’ve still got bugs to fix and ideas I’d like to see through, but releasing a major expansion to the game every few months is definitely not a realistic goal to keep up with.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

Making Toontown fan games is a double edged sword. Having a built-in audience is great for improving your skills as a developer/designer. Though at some point, you do start getting diminishing returns on the thousands of hours you spend working on free content.

View full thread
Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

But I am acknowledging that Toontown can’t be my home forever. I’m very proud of myself and the team’s work on the game, but it’s not a project I think we need to update and maintain forever. Making the project open source was an intentional decision to allow the game to continue through anyone.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

So, I wouldn’t call Grindworks dead by any means. But I do hope folks understand that going forward, I and many others on the team will be seeing it as a side project. Something to work on here and there while we focus more on our other endeavors.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

Making Toontown fan games is a double edged sword. Having a built-in audience is great for improving your skills as a developer/designer. Though at some point, you do start getting diminishing returns on the thousands of hours you spend working on free content.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

Toontown is very fun to work on with the right conditions and people around you. Though by nature of it being a fan project driven solely by passion with no way to earn a living off of it, eventually you’ll have to leave the nest and do the scary thing of making an original video game.

Chloe
@itisevan.bsky.social

To quell any fears this isn’t a “Grindworks is over” thread. Just a bunch of my jumbled thoughts on Toontown development in the admittedly limited time I’ve been doing it (depending on what “counts” to you, either 2 years or 7 months).

Chloe reposted

Alastair
@alastairalpaca.bsky.social

New update means new music! You can listen to the tracks I put together now on bandcamp, Youtube uploads will be out soon! alastairalpaca.bandcamp.com/album/toonto... #music #indiegame #vgm

alastairalpaca.bandcamp.comToontown: The Grindworks (Original Soundtrack), by Alastair14 track album
Toontown: The Grindworks@toontowngrindworks.com

Attention Toons! The Masters of Mischief update is now available! Head on over to the download page to begin playing today! www.toontowngrindworks.com

toontowngrindworks.comToontown: The Grindworks by EvanA Toontown Roguelike

Chloe reposted

Toontown: The Grindworks
@toontowngrindworks.com

Calling all Grindworks fans! Right now and tomorrow at 4 PM PT, join our very own composer, Buck, who is streaming LIVE from LANFest to raise money for the LANFest Charity Stream Zone at PAX West! Come jam out with some new tunes! 🎥 twitch.tv/KingPantsTT 📥 lanfest.donordrive.com/participants...

lanfest.donordrive.comLANFest Charity Stream Zone at PAX East 2025LANFest is bringing creators together to raise funds for a variety of causes at PAX East 2025! Make sure to tune in and support your favorite creators as they raise funds for LANFest and a charity of their choice.