The only concrete detail Pope offered is that he's continuing work on an unspecified project started during his time at Housemaru!, the studio behind Granblue Fantasy: War of The Stars and Love Live! School Idol Festival: Groove Coaster.\n\n Beyond that, he remained characteristically tightlipped. While many developers might attribute this to non-disclosure agreements or marketing gag orders, Pope simply cites personal discomfort: \"It's not a hard rule, but I've got a kinda feeling about that.
I just don't feel as comfortable talking about what I'm working on again.\u201d Pope acknowledged that this reticence may itself be newssuggesting he's working on something extremely daring or even controversial, in keeping with his pattern of defying expectations. However, he insisted that the decision is rooted in preference rather than secrecy: \"I'm just finding the fun over here,\" he said, adding that he simply enjoys the creative flow of unbridled experimentation. Still, there are clues.
For one, Pope mentioned how difficult it has become to start fresh after decades of genre-bending hits. \"I always hate switching tools,\" he said, noting the pressure of staying current without being defined by any one technology. He also spoke of scouting indie conferences, drawn in by strange experiments and curious ideas—signs of restless curiosity.
Then again, Pope never plays by the rules. Perhaps the most tantalising clue lies in his reflection on Mechanicism, his recent entry in the Boss Key Blastathon, a multiplayer shooter event headlined by Key Forge creator Richard Garriott. According to Pope, Mechanicism was inspired by Garcio's recent political advocacy on Twitter; the game forces players into real-world debates before letting them fight it out in combat.\"Rick garnered a lot of flak for that,\" Pope said.
\"I was kind of fascinated by the debate around whether he actually cared or if it was performance art.\u201d Could this be hinting at a deeper exploration of performative politics or the nature of online identity? Or perhaps something sharper and more confrontational? We'll likely never know—unless Paper Tiebird decides to tell us.