APPS, GAMES & EXPERIMENTAL BUILS

The last time I worked on any of my projects was April 21st.

Today is June 19th.

Almost two months.

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Life got chaotic.

Not the exciting kind of chaotic where you’re juggling a dozen projects and drinking too much coffee.

Just regular life chaos.

The kind that quietly steals your time and energy until one day you realize you haven’t opened your project in weeks.

Then months.

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Before everything came to a stop, I had made a lot more progress than I think I gave myself credit for.

Soft Static is in a really good place.

The base theme is finished.

The cover page, yearly page, daily page, journal, tab system, and core functionality are all built and working.

What’s left is mostly the fun stuff:

• additional themes
• add-ons
• polish
• getting it ready for TestFlight

For the first time, Soft Static feels like a real product instead of just an idea.

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Whispering Hollow is still sitting quietly in the swamp waiting for me.

It’s my first game, and honestly, I still have no idea what I’m doing.

But I can finally see the shape of it.

The atmosphere is there.

The world is there.

The systems are starting to connect.

It’s still far from finished, but it no longer feels impossible.

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AW Horse Transport is in a strange place.

The app works.

People use it.

It solved a real problem.

And in a lot of ways, it became the proof that I can actually build things that people need.

Without that project, Dustline probably wouldn’t exist.

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Which brings me to now.

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Over the last few weeks, a new idea has been quietly taking over my brain.

It’s called Boardly.

And honestly, it might be the biggest project I’ve attempted yet.

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Boardly is an all-in-one platform for animal businesses.

Boarding facilities.

Dog daycares.

Horse boarding barns.

Training facilities.

Rescues.

Groomers.

Pretty much anyone caring for animals.

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The idea is simple:

Businesses create their own workspace inside Boardly.

Their own branding.

Their own colors.

Their own logo.

Their own customers.

Their own staff.

Their own records.

Their own world.

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From there they can manage:

• facilities
• bookings
• customers
• animal records
• staff
• daily care
• billing
• communication

All in one place.

Across every species.

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The more I think about it, the more it feels like the natural evolution of everything I’ve built so far.

Soft Static taught me UI.

AW Horse Transport taught me logistics.

Whispering Hollow taught me how to build bigger systems.

Boardly feels like all of those lessons crashing together into one project.

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So that’s where things stand.

Some projects are paused.

Some are nearly finished.

And one completely new idea has shown up demanding attention.

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For the first time in a couple months, I’m opening my projects again.

And honestly?

It feels good to be building.

okey… this is a big one…

The base theme is finaaaaally finished!

Everything is built.
Everything works.
All pages, all functions… done!

Which feels a little unreal considering where this started.

(especially after the “everything in one file” era)

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Right now, the core of soft static is fully there:

• cover page — done
• tab system — done
• yearly page — done
• daily page — fully working
• journal — working (yes, even the chaos parts)
• weekly + monthly — built and ready

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So now, im not building the app anymore.

The app exists, now its about expanding it.

Next phase:
THEMES!

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The whole idea behind soft static is that it feels personal, like something you actually want to open.

Themes aren’t just colors, they change the entire feel of the app.

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Next steps:

• build out 3 more themes
• refine visuals across all pages
• start adding optional add-ons

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Im totally freaking out bit im super excited for this phase!

Okey… this is the first time i can actually say this:

This thing is almost there

Like not “idea almost there”
Not “kind of working almost there”

Actually… close

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After all the chaos with the code (and my questionable decision to put everything in one file), I finally hit a point where things are working, which feels illegal, but im not questioning it

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Whats fully done:

• cover page — finished and working
• progressive tab system — fully working
• yearly page — done

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Daily page:

Everything is built
Everything works

Just missing a few finishing touches:

• animations (feeling selection + crossing out tasks)
• one last function → incomplete tasks move to the next day

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journal page:

fully built and functioning

just one thing left:

• fixing text overflow between pages (which has been… an experience)

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Whats partially done:

• weekly summary page → layout done, needs design + function
• monthly page → layout done, needs design + function

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Thats kind of where things stand right now…

Everything exists!

Now it’s about making it feel right

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This planner is supposed to be:

• customizable
• simple
• not overwhelming

Something you can actually use without it feeling like just another thing to manage

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Next steps:

• finish the base theme
• add 3 more themes
• build add-ons

And then…
testflight!

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Its not fully there yet, but it’s definitely not just an idea anymore

Sooooo yeaaaa…

i did the thing everyone says not to do…
i put basically the entire app into one file.

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At the time it felt efficient. One file, everything in one place, nothing can get lost.

Nothing did get lost because it was all buried in the same 3000+ lines of code.

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It started out fine. Just a few components, a little logic, nothing super scary!

And then it slowly turned into this… creature.

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At some point opening the file became an experience (and not a good one!)

Like:

• scroll
• scroll
• scroll
• oh cool im still scrolling
• where am i
• what is this function
• who wrote this

(it was me)

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Fixing anything turned into a gamble:

Change one thing → something else breaks
Fix that → something else breaks
fFx that → the original thing breaks again

An incredible system if i do say so myself lol

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Well, now im undoing my own decisions which somehow feels harder than building it in the first place.

Everything is connected to everything else, like past me designed it specifically to hurt future me later.

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Right now:

• journal system works (don’t ask how)
• daily pages are mostly stable
• pencil mode is… participating

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Im splitting everything into:

• actual components
• files that make sense
• code that doesn’t require emotional preparation to open

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Ironically is this app is supposed to feel calm.

Like something you open when your brain is overwhelmed, and meanwhile i open the code and immediately need a break.

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Dont get me wrong, its still a mess.

Just no longer one single, massive, terrifying mess

Ill take that as win!

i didn’t expect this one to get under my skin like it has… i mean that in a good way!
this is also my first time ever building a game, like… ever.

i have no idea what im doing, just figuring things out as i go!

It started off as something simple.
Just something quiet, swampy, and a little witchy; but the more i build it, the more it feels like the world is… reacting back

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Right now its still early, but pieces are starting to click:

• the fog doesnt just sit there anymore — it changes how the world feels
• some areas feel safe, and others dont… even when nothing is happening
• the stealth system kind of works, but not in a predictable way

Its not polished but it already has moments where something feels off in the right way.
i had the idea of Whispering Hollow over a year ago, but i didnt start actually building it until a few months ago.

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i thought about all my favorite cozy games, the pros and cons for each. A big downside is after a while, they just feel like a grind, repetitive, and all too similar.

My goal for this game – as the player you wont be stuck doing the same repetitive quests and tasks. Whispering Hollow is full of secrets that only you can uncover.

Its not your typical farming sim.

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where im at right now:

A lot of things exist, but nothing is fully finished.

Potions work, quests exist, systems connect – but the loop is very much still open.
Its like everything is half awake.

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My biggest challenge so far:

i keep building sideways instead of forward

Ill start fixing one thing and then suddenly im:

• redesigning fog
• tweaking UI
• adding mechanics that absolutely did not need to exist yet

Its not that things aren’t working, its that everything keeps growing before it’s stable – the creative juices just keep flowing!

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The next step is building a full loop that actually feels right:

• find something
• use it
• unlock something
• realize there’s more going on than you thought

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i don’t want this to feel like a checklist game.
i want it to feel like youre discovering something that was already there

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it’s not there yet, but im excited to see how everything comes together!

i don’t fully know what this is yet.

Dustline is where im building things — apps, games, weird experiments — and figuring it out as i go.

Right now that includes:

• a horse transport app that somehow already exists
• a mental health journal app (Soft Static)
• a swampy game idea that refuses to leave my brain
• whatever else I decide to make at 2am

None of this is polished.
Some of it barely works.
Most of it is being built while i learn.

This isnt a company pretending to have it figured out.
Its just me building in real time.

Ill be posting dev logs here — whats working, whats broken, and what im trying next.

If youre into watching things come together (or fall apart), youre in the right place.