detachment

Summer
Last summer was dragging on, as I took the train out to the coast as much as I could. My friends picked me up each day, by phone, by car, by wine. Me and my ex took turn living in our home with our daughter. He found a new apartment fast, while I was living in stranger's apartments. I'd still show up at my church job, going to other people's funerals, sharing their grief. Se, da stiger solen af hav på ny, alle dødens skygger for evig fly. 

Autumn
Don't make big changes in your life the first 6 months after a divorce, someone told me. Good, because I would've ended up with bleached bangs, a dilapated house on the countryside, an expensive membership to the local paddling club, and a sensible fulltime job as a administrative worker in the state. Instead I gave up, in order to detach from my old life and identity. Started to swim, going to yoga and dance parties, kept moving. Took the classic divorce-trip to Italy, crying while consuming delicious carbs, cigarettes and heartache. Great trip. 

Winter
Hibernation while Copenhagen turned into a Frozen replica. I started drawing again, bought a 25 meter long paperroll, an infinity drawing with no purpose. Every night after the child was put to sleep, I would sit and draw, because I know this: If I just start drawing, I will figure out what to do. 

I left everything in 2025, and on the 1st of January '26 I pushed a button: Let's fucking go. I applied for more art funding for my game, I participated at a panel talk at Copenhagen Gaming Week on the NIMBI stage, about what games can also be about. The game "Dead Pets: A Punk Rock Slice of Life Sim" where I was a lead writer and narrative designer finally came out after years of waiting, was recieved well. I sang "Something Stupid" at an open mic. I said yes yes yes to everything. Sex, clothings, food, work, life... 

They Say It's Spring 
I received money from NIMBI to continue MAMIMAL, so here we go again. YES. So where am I at? 

The Mall
During vinter vacation I was at Frederiksbergcentret with my daughter, where you could buy child tickets, pushing you from store to store to find mostly sugary food and discount plastic items. The mall is in 3 floors, and they're all quite similar (and empty and grey). We took the lift up and down between them, as I tried to find the right stores for our tickets. I kept losing my way, going in endless circles. After hours of walking around we ended up at the smallest playground in the world, where I was trying to eye-flirt with other sad divorced dads, while my child had the time of her life. When we finally left the mall, I felt depressed and discouraged, as if all life had been sucked out of me in this consumer labyrinth. 

But then it was clear: MAMIMAL should take place in a mall. Of course! Actually it was where my initial idea for the game started. I stayed at a creepy 90s hotel in Kobe, Japan a whole summer, trapped inside with my 1 year old due to very high degrees outside. In the basement there was an almost abandoned mall on several floors, with the exception of escalators running 24/7 and a couple of weird stores such as jewelry, clothing and chicken restaurant. Very dystopian, very fascinating. A perfect location for a game! 

Here's some reference pictures from the mall in Kobe: 
 

The contrast to the mother, the animal, the natural will be even more crucial and strong in this setting. 

Also, making a game where you can enter weird stores and unluck memories and odd conversations is like the perfect framework for me to work in. I need the fun, imaginative aspect in order to make things up. And when I realized this, the game suddenly opened again. 

I also realized, just like with my personal life, that I didn't want it to be heavy or profound. I want to have fun, I want to experiment, be creative, be soulful, and this is how the game will be developed from now on. 
With a sense of freedom. 

 

New Sketches
So I am slowly figuring out how the mall should look. 
Here's some sketches for some of the mall content that we will try to implement. 

 I am so excited about this game.