Local-first software is a new type of multiplayer app (or game) that lives on your device, not the cloud.

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Social networking and cloud apps have made it easy to connect and share with others over the internet. In return, you're required to hand over your data and identity, and follow their rules and requirements.

Back in the '90s, software worked whether you were online or offline, didn't sell your data or rent it back to you, and let you use it however you wanted.

Local-first software is a way to bring back ownership of your tools, and control of your own data.

For a more in-depth explanation, check out this article by Ink & Switch.

Building a team is hard work! Figuring out a company culture for a company that doesn't exist is a bit like trying to grab an eel with your elbows, however it's absolutely vital to get right first-time.

Fortunately, there's a set of questions we can test ourselves against:

1. Who gets to use what we make? Who are we leaving out? How does what we make facilitate or hinder access?
2. What data are we using? Whose labor produced it and what biases and assumptions are built into it? Why choose this particular phenomenon for digitization or transcription? And what does the data leave out?
3. What systems of authority are we enacting through what we make? What systems of support do we rely on? How does what we make support other people?
4. What kind of community are we assuming? What community do we invite through what we make? How are our own personal values reflected in what we make?

-- “Toward a new hacker ethic” by Allison Parrish

For us, "data" includes secondary sources (metrics, bug reports, player telemetry), but also means content produced by creators.

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