Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗BrainMess
Jesse "jGatzB" Snider · Published by Jesse "jGatzB" Snider
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
You've been locked in a room with pen, paper, pins, and strings, and you're not leaving until it makes sense.
Action, Adventure, Indie, Early Access · More free games
In BrainMess, explore a puzzling world where logic meets creativity. Use simple tools like pins and strings to solve intricate riddles, all while being locked in a room that won't release you until everything makes sense.
About this game
Your Brain is a Mess. Make it make sense.
"Have you tried making a list?" God, why do they always ask this.
Yes, I tried making a list. But I didn't have pen or paper, so I had to try and hold onto those thoughts until I did have pen and paper. Then by the time I had pen and paper, I'd forgotten what was supposed to go on the list.
So I sat the list down and lost the list, and when I thought of what to write, I couldn't find the list. After wasting my day repeating this process, I finally went home, and realized I'd left the list at work.
"No," they say, "Like, on the computer. Saved to the cloud."
OH, THE CLOUD. Why didn't I think of the CLOUD. So I get on the computer and instantly forget why I was on the computer. Eventually I stop scrolling through memes and remember to make the list.
I create a new document. I try to think of a name for the document. I spend fifteen minutes trying to think of a name for the document before I finally just name it The List. Then later I can't figure out which LIST is THE LIST because I have SEVENTEEN unfinished documents named THE LIST.
"It isn't that complicated," they say. PLEASE, EXPLAIN HOW IT ISN'T THIS COMPLICATED. Please show me the DIFFICULTY SETTINGS on my LIFE so I can TURN THEM DOWN from EUROPEAN EXTREME.
Oh. Speaking of video games, what if I just... made the list... in a video game?
"Why?!" They balk. "How would that be easier in any way?"
"Yeah..." I reply, already firing up Unity. "Yeah this is a way better idea."
Don't make a list. Make a CRAZY WALL.
BrainMess isn't the first mind-mapping product to exist, nor is it the best. But it is the only one with first person controls, set in a 3D room that you can plaster from wall-to-wall with notes, strings, and organized insanity.
It's also the ONLY mind-mapping product to be developed by an eighth grade English teacher who lost his job during quarantine, worked in a hospital during the pandemic, transitioned into a games startup after that, got diagnosed with ADHD, finally started to feel at peace with himself, IMMEDIATELY lost his games startup job, and couldn't find full time work anywhere except for the local MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON.
And he'd really appreciate it if you'd buy his little productivity game for like, the cost of a cheap sandwich.
Do that, and he promises to keep working on it and adding features until it feels like it's worth AT LEAST three sandwiches.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 / Intel Core i3-2120
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon HD 7770 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X / Intel Core i5-8400
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 3 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon RX 580 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
The Ballad of BrainMess
The Ballad of BrainMessHey everybody. Gatsby here.I've been busy trying to turn the barebones prototype of BrainMess into something that I can be proud to call a demo--even if it isn't quite a real GAME yet. Initially, I'd hoped to deliver a true vertical slice--something that would showcase the gamification of task management, how that unlocks progression, the game's narrative, and exploration elements. But, as I tried to create that vertical slice, I realized I was suffering from scope creep--adding and adding and adding, but failing to refine on the foundation of the game's mechanics.So, I've pulled back a little bit. That has resulted in many fans asking, "Will ____ be in the game on release?"And the answer to that question is typically "yes, if I can manage to make it fun," but I also don't want to be so high on my own supply that I don't recognize when I'm overworking myself, making something more complicated than it ought to be.To better demonstrate what I'm talking about, I thought I might just show you all the weird ideas I've had for this game so far.The Inside JokeBefore BrainMess was a notes app, a mind-mapping tool, or a productivity game, it was just a word my friend Krystin and I would use whenever we couldn't think of a better one for "whatever is wrong with me." Years later, I found out I'd been raw-dogging ADHD all my life without realizing it, so my specific BrainMess is ADHD (and likely CPTSD from undiagnosed ADHD). My Return to Game MakerIn 2024, I had a really sweet job that gave me hope that I wouldn't have to go back to teaching. Then, I lost it, and as I struggled to find new work, I decided to try and jump back into game design. I hadn't made games since high school, during which time I'd been playing around with Game Maker Studio. The first thing I made was a little falling block game, where you typed to-do-list tasks into the blocks.It looked cool, but it wasn't really a game.The TV With Sticky Notes On ItI got to thinking about games lik...Read full article on Community Announcements (jGatzB)AnnouncementsOfficial
The Road to a Playable Demo
Hey everybody! Gatsby here.First of all, thank you so much for wishlisting BrainMess. It has existed in multiple forms over the past few years. Initially, it was a mobile app, developed using TypeScript and React, but wasn't much different than ordinary mind-mapping tools. This project is my attempt at making something that is technically very simple, but provides a lot of value to those who use it.I hope to release the first demo in June of 2026.Could I release a demo right now? Yes. But if I'm being honest with myself, the tool is still pretty jank. I would prefer to iron out all of the weird unexpected behaviors before a live, public demo is available.Likewise, I need to try and generate around 10,000 wishlists prior to the launch into Early Access if I hope to be included in "Popular Upcoming" algorithm stuff. So, the plan is to build a somewhat more polished demo of the tool, and it's simplified "Sandbox Mode" (name pending), for the Steam Next Fest in June 2026. This will give you guys something to play around with, and hopefully generate more hype for a project that I would really prefer didn't die in its infancy.Will there be limits on the demo?Yes. Those limits will be based somewhat around how I envision the "Game" part to work.Basically, in "Sandbox Mode," you'll be able to place as many notes, images, strings, rooms, etc as you like--because I know some people just need a unique virtual space to organize information in. They don't necessarily need their productivity "gamified."But some of us, like me, kinda do need that. Like, people with ADHD who struggle to make themselves do dull, boring tasks--we might benefit from a to-do list that lived inside a weird liminal space dungeon crawler, right?The full scope of the "game" is still up in the air, but I know placing notes, strings, and rooms will cost a limited resource. Let's imagine that resource is "spoons."In the demo, you'd have a limited number of "spoons" to spend. You'd get refunded those spoons fo...Read full article on Community Announcements (jGatzB)
