🌲 From the Forest, Comes the Handle for the Axe 🪓

From the forest itself, comes the handle for the axe! I’m not sure where that was first spoken, but man is it true.

I spoke with someone today… will people even need cameras, or people’s ideas at all in the future? Like, why don’t we just say it out loud and have it instantly created? You know what? I can’t fight that logic. Many folks will never know the difference.

Then in another conversation with someone else, well if it’s only 15% that are gonna get it, that’s who I am going after! I’m not sure who this game is for these days… it’s definitely for me lol. I am making it, hoping my kids might play it or something, but let’s be honest, no one LIKES math. Just kidding. This game is for everyone. But its style and aesthetic first really took off when I spent time working on the story mode in the very first build.

🎵 Music & Vibes

One day I hope to tell all of the story of this app — it’s actually been pretty interesting. But that first story, which is now the prologue of Story Mode Forest (name still subject to change), was actually a pretty cool setup.

It’s weird… it all started out as math tips. And while I haven’t gotten rid of that idea or mode, this particular iteration was never really meant to do much for learning. It’s about mood. It’s about vibe.

Last night, I got the music back! I had honestly forgotten about the track, but I guess it never stopped calling. I knew that I had to include the story I had written and was working on, but I am now very glad to add ONE MORE TRACK to that jukebox (not added yet btw, remind me later).

Honestly, Patch did a lot of the framework, from like a “I had to prompt you 40 or 50 times” standpoint. What do I mean? The intro to story mode is my usual idea for a setup, but the chapter selection screen — which it kind of did, but I locked in by accident — is near and dear to my heart right now. It suggests that there are things to come.

📖 Prologue Writing

I am working on the Prologue now and it is as good as I remember. I even spliced a Walt Whitman poem throughout it — I mean the thing is absolutely dripping with literary essence. Atm I am just moving slide to slide, and have only gotten as far as the Euclid problems… but man, I just checked it on phone, and it looks so good.

This mode is more of a slideshow experience, it’s a lot better if you read it of course. But in the future, it looks like Chapter One will be available on Day One. I keep thinking I should do some sort of release on that day of it… that may happen… but I’m not quite sure how to do it. That would actually be smart.

The only thing that gives me pause is the badges. I could always add those later. That’s one of those moments when I ask myself: why think on it for more than even a second? None of this brings me any money… sadly.

🤖 AI, Art & Meaning

But now that I am prologuing, I remember that this was the part of the code I felt very comfortable with. I can see the very simple pattern, and then all I gotta do is write! I love writing!

AI could write everything. But wtf would it mean, man!? Why are we so blindly consuming art these days? Binge watch a series, stream music all day, talking while in front of a painting at a museum… AI will easily entertain such a dismal attempt at appreciation.

But that 15% is gonna notice. And if they don’t, they’ll ask who. Why? Because I think it matters. Not who I am making this for. But that it was in fact made by a who. Whom? I’ve never pretended to make sense.

🌲 Lost in the Woods

I have been lost in the woods (sings Weezer song) since May 2025. Through a lot of persistence I have survived there. I built new things there. I built the way in.

Now I’m building the avenues, the tent zones, the pavilions, the lakes, the cool cats that talk back (I’m coming for you Grampy P), and maybe soonish, I’ll have this Prologue done.

I have some crazy ideas for Chapter One… but those may go on hold once I finish the Prologue. If I finish the Prologue and go over to MathTips and finish the Catbot chatbot, then it’s just wiring badges and finally doing the XP I think.

🎯 The Dream

Then… then maybe I call it v1.0.0 and can just work on more polish and Story Mode stuff. That’s the dream anyway.

I DO NOT want to work on this forever. I CAN’T. But I DO want to finish it completely.

1/1/26.

Here…I use the power of AI to give you Euclid fixing the SnowCone..

JPS Grooves