Released September 23, Tiny Glade is a game that couldn’t be simpler. It involves creating small dioramas of buildings in a medieval style with an extremely limited number of tools. A game with atmosphere chilla little soft music to accompany our constructions and a colorful and cute artistic direction. Brief, Tiny Glade is perfect for a relaxing and creative evening after a day of hard work. Except that Tiny Glade revealed my lowest instincts and led me to question myself.
The excitement of discovery
When I first started, I made a small castle on top of a hill with a few houses below. I feel that I barely use the tools offered by Tiny Gladebut I’m more or less satisfied with my first build. I activate photo mode to have a screen specific to my project and I stop there. Indeed, the game is cozy and unlike games like Planet Coaster which offers 1000 different objects, the Pounce Light game teaches us how to create beauty with the bare minimum.
Then comes the next day, when I decide to go to the hub Steam community to see what people are doing. I see dark magic at work, crazy things, and I wonder how these other players manage to make stairs like this, or make bridges with arches. And this is where we discover the full depth of Tiny Glade. A structure will not take the same shape if it is placed on water, on grass or on a path. A circular tower can become a village square if the roof is removed and its level lowered to the minimum possible. A building without a roof and placed at ground level near another building is then transformed into a staircase. Two windows placed side by side will make a larger window.
Then comes the time for experiments. We try tons of things, we try to reproduce what we have seen on screens other players, with the feeling of copying from your neighbor during a math test. What a pleasure to see that Pounce Light has managed to do so much with so little, and even though it sorely lacks a copy and paste tool or the ability to save a block of several elements to make a diagram, we continue to dig, get inspired, start again. It doesn’t matter whether you have a basic talent for this type of creative game or not, the progression and improvement curve with each new diorama is palpable and very concrete.
My sick mind in diorama
Things could have stayed there, with the pleasure of learning prioritized, but it is at this precise moment that my sick brain comes into play. Not being the most creative on this type of game, I accept that there will always be someone more talented, but an unhealthy competitive spirit has nevertheless taken hold of me. This is notably the fault of a great community concept put in place by the studio: the theme of the day. Every 24 hours, we will be treated to a different theme. Alchemist’s workshop, hamlet on top of a hill, inn near a lake, castle on a hilltop… In short, the perfect opportunity to compare your creations directly to those of others.
While I certainly gain a lot of lessons and ideas from these themes, I can’t help but feel a certain frustration when I see an idea I had executed in a much better way, or with a much sharper sense of aesthetics. Being completely overwhelmed by the talent of the players Planet Coaster is one thing, because the complexity and the number of tools mean that there is a fairly high level of expertise to be acquired. The limited number of tools Tiny Glade at least gives the illusion that we could get there too.
When I arrive very proud of my creation on the “Daily Theme” topic of the Steam discussions to post my creation, and I then see those of others, I quickly change my mind as my project seems ridiculous from an aesthetic point of view. Not enough to leave me depressed or feeling bad about myself, I assure you, but a hint of frustration despite everything, which makes me say that I would do just as well next time. As a former Gamekult journalist whose name I will not mention would say: “There are zero rankings or scoring but you want to kill people 24 hours a day. »
My contribution for the theme “Inn on a lake” vs some examples of the design:
Have my years of playing competitive games like League of Legends or Apex Legends (to name a few) definitely ravaged my brain to the point of making me competitive on fucking Tiny Glade ? In any case, this is the question that I was led to ask myself after a few hours on it. My introspection makes me say (or convinced me anyway) that as long as I’m not toxic with others, that’s my problem. And as long as it doesn’t put me off going back, it’s a non-issue and just the fact that I’m a psychopath. In short, play Tiny Gladeit’s a great game.
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