The Bottom Feeder

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

I’m only being driven out of my shell by my need to push the Kickstarter for our next indie RPG, Geneforge 2 - Infestation. Let’s talk about games. There is a surprise hit indie game I really like, and breaking down that kind of thing is very much in my job description, so let's talk about Vampire Survivors.

Indy 89

Indy Balance Game Design Game Designer 89

Keith Burgun

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

(Above: some WIP pixel art from Wizbane) You might have noticed I’ve been writing about and playing a lot of RPGs recently. Final Fantasy VI-inspired pixel art. Seen on the left: some WIP pixel art portraits by Blake Reynolds.) Over the course of my late 20s and much of my 30s, I sort of parted ways with RPGs.

Fantasy 119

Fantasy Pixel Art Fighting 119

Game Dev Unchained

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

The gaming world is filled with intriguing tales of passion, dedication, and transformation. This time, the narrative revolves around Eric Manahan , the former architect who found solace in pixelated characters and captivating storylines. Eric’s foray into gaming began late one night in an architecture studio.

Indy 64

Indy Pixel AAA Art 64

Grumpy Gamer

MAY 31, 2009

The game was feeling good and long already, so I just punted on this puzzle. You'd never do this in an adventure game today, but like pixel hunting, it was accepted. Something I added to the Humongous Entertainment adventure games was the cursor changing into a big arrow when you hit the edge of the screen and it was an exit.

Puzzle 130

Puzzle Point and Click Fighting Animation 130

Grumpy Gamer

MAY 30, 2009

The game was feeling good and long already, so I just punted on this puzzle. You’d never do this in an adventure game today, but like pixel hunting, it was accepted. The other puzzle I did in this same vane was in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade adventure game where Indy has to have faith and just walk over a ledge.

Puzzle 130

Puzzle Point and Click Fighting Animation 130

Mircosoft Game Dev

JANUARY 26, 2020

It tricks the eye into believing that there are rooms modeled behind the windows, but ceilings, floors and walls are actually created on the fly by a special custom pixel shader. Demo: Making 3D adventure games with Godot | Paweł Fertyk ( miskatonicstudio ). Are you tired of 2D pixel art platformers? Try 3D adventure games!

Point and Click 52

Point and Click Engineering Engine Demo 52

Interesting Choices

AUGUST 20, 2011

Whenever I'm trying to make something that people can pick up extremely quickly, I find it makes a lot of sense to start from a game that everyone is familiar with and innovate from there. Those who follow me on Twitter might have seen me agonizing over the design of the front of the cards.

Sprite 52

Sprite Pixel Mechanics Localization 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 17, 2020

This sort of elongated production process obviously has increased project cost ramifications, which only reinforces the above mentioned design evolution - more Hybridcasual! It leveraged its hypercasual core game design to center its marketing videos around, while also showcasing its more RPG elements in a light and fun way.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Platformer Studios Data 52

The Bottom Feeder

JANUARY 30, 2024

He is a highly successful indie game creator who makes really good action games (Salt and Sanctuary is the best-known one.) My games, by the modern standard, look like absolute dogs. Yet, I'm going to have a full career writing indie games. Video games have similar terms: "RPG." Metroidvania."

Indy 101

Indy Art Writing Co-op 101

Radiator Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2022

SPOILER WARNING: This post spoils what happens in my new game That Lonesome Valley. CONTENT WARNING: This post contains discussion of gay sex acts and some screenshots with obscured pixel art nudity. It's mostly "safe for work" even if the actual game is not. Much of the pixel art is from the gorgeous 64x64 tileset by Yar.

Pixel 130

Pixel Film Art Prototyping 130