#gamedev blogging

[falselyprofound]

(1) (2)

what is going on

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

With the end of season two comes a second redraw!

[Nov 2022] [June 2023] [June 2024]

[waytothewoods]

Happy New Year! Hope all is well and that you're treating yourself. Was thinking about your game recently and look forward to hearing whatever you got cooking.

Also unrelated, any indie games you're looking forward to this year? Some of my top ones include Demon School and Morsels. Been hopping on the Horror train more and more since Mouth Washing lol.

happy new year crawjack97 :) how's ur 2025 going so far? >:3 you've reminded me i need to check out Mouth Washing too. -- for Way to the Woods, we kicked off the year with our first team meeting! recently, in the 'cat town' level, i added multiple body types for the citizens. comically, this is on a slider.

will you press 'F' to pick him up? there's a kind of 'cat character creator' i use to generate the townsfolk with different eyes, patterns... plump-ness... (i needed plump cats. for gameplay reasons) surasshu said something funny along the lines of "it's like we've made 3 separate games" which is so true lmao. the current state of wttw has more of the original rpg elements.

on a more personal note, my desk is getting messier than usual lately. but that is usually what happens when things pick up... i also took a break to go visit japan on the new year holiday! the yen is currently cheap, hooray >:3! when i got back home, i was inspired to create these blob mobs, which i'm quite fond of.

-- and to your question, i'm most looking forward to 'Sorry We're Closed'. Those PSX styled games look so fun to me. A smaller game called 'Natsu-mon' was also so charming - it is by the studio that developed 'boku no natsuyasumi' from the year 2000, which many of you may be more familiar with. AND! the people who made 'Before Your Eyes' have their next game coming 'Goodnight Universe' that has such a beautiful art style. some other games that really gripped me in 2024 were Webfishing, and Helldivers 2. I'll let you know what I think of Mouth Washing when I get around to it soon! actually - what are the kinds of other games that you guys think Way to the Woods might play like? i'm curious...

untill then...

[sarawritesif]

Ardenia Online is a fully immersive virtual reality MMORPG set in a fractured world where two realms collide — the techno-industrial sprawl of Abelion and the myth-touched wildlands of Ioyeni.

Players jack in to escape a dying Earth, finding power, meaning, or madness in the neural depths of the game. Every decision matters. The people you meet — they’re more than just code. They remember you. They rival you. They might even fall for you.

➤ Two Worlds, One Avatar

Switch between Abelion’s neon chaos and Ioyeni’s ancient magic. Your choices ripple between both worlds — forging quests, unlocking new identities, and altering destiny itself.

➤ Build Your Legacy

No rigid classes. Develop your character through stats, implants, magic, and choices. Everything from cybernetic spines to divine mutations is on the table.

➤ Romance That Evolves

Companions grow with — or against — you. Rivalries can become romances. Betrayals can become obsessions. Every connection is dynamic, memory-driven, and meaningful.

➤ Consequences Are Real

No reset buttons. Your wins and failures echo across the server. The world is reactive, persistent, and built to remember who you are.

Amelia/Abel [F/M]: Your best friend since childhood. Grounded. Steady. Comfort in human form. Amelia/Abel is the kind of person who brings you soup when you're sick and threatens your enemies with a shovel. Loyal to a fault — but that same loyalty can be classified into blind stubbornness. They want things to stay how they were, even if the world is changing too fast to hold onto. Quietly brave, a little anxious, always watching you for signs that you're slipping away.

Age: 23

Height: 5'6"

Skin: Fair with freckles

Hair: Curly (brown, Back Length for Amelia, blonde, Neck Length Abel)

Eyes: Hazel (Amelia), Amber (Abel)

MBTI: ISFJ

Enneagram: Type 6

Love Type: Friends to Lovers, Fast Paced

Raven [M/F/NB]: The mysterious strategist who sees through you. Intense. Razor-sharp. Elusive as hell. Raven doesn’t open up — they unfold slowly over time. They're analytical and cold on the surface, but their silence hides emotions. Observant to the point of discomfort. They remember everything. Will never admit they care, but they care so deeply it aches. The romance feels like solving a puzzle with your hands tied behind your back by barbedwires.

Age: 24

Height: 6'0"

Skin: Pale

Hair: Black, straight, Shoulder Length

Eyes: Onyx

MBTI: INTJ

Enneagram: Type 5

Love Type: Strangers to Lovers, Slow — slow Burn

Kai [M]: The firestarter. Charisma incarnate, walking serotonin and chaos. Kai’s your ride-or-die adrenaline junkie. He jokes through danger, flirts through fire, and fights like he has nine lives. But there’s depth under the bravado — fear of failure, a need to be seen, and an almost desperate hunger for connection he masks with swagger. He’s loyal, but unpredictable. You'll laugh with him. You might will cry too.

Age: 22

Height: 5'9"

Skin: Tanned

Hair: Dyed red, natural brown, Ear Length

Eyes: Turquoise-green

MBTI: ESFP

Enneagram: Type 7

Love Type: Fast-paced, Flirty Disaster

Nova [F]: The Healer. Warm. Empathic. A soul like moonlight on water. Nova is gentle with others, sometimes too gentle with herself. She listens more than she speaks, and when she does speak, it’s with weight. A natural healer, emotionally and physically, but struggles to prioritise her own needs. She’ll hold your hand through storms but might forget she’s getting wet too.

Age: 24

Height: 5'8"

Skin: Dark

Hair: Dreadlocks

Eyes: Deep brown

MBTI: INFP

Enneagram: Type 9

Love Type: Gentle Romance, Emotional Healing

Iris [F]: Tactical, graceful, deadly. Commanding. Strategic. Hot enough to burn and cold enough to freeze. Iris exudes competence and doesn’t suffer fools. She’s brilliant, blunt, and often a step ahead. She demands respect — but the real challenge is earning her trust. When she opens up (rare), it’s like standing in a sunbeam. She feels deeply but doesn’t always know how to show it without turning it into a battle plan.

Age: 36

Height: 5'10"

Skin: Brown

Hair: Wavy black

Eyes: Dark brown

MBTI: ENTJ

Enneagram: Type 8

Love Type: Power Couple, High Stakes, Slow Burn

Howard [M]: Scarred and silent. Grim. Stoic. Quietly haunted. Howard’s the type who keeps his back to the wall and watches exits. He doesn’t talk much unless it matters. But when he lets you in — it’s real. He’s not brooding for the aesthetic, he’s seen things he can’t explain and carries guilt like armour. Underneath that: surprising softness. The kind of man who’ll sit in silence with you because he knows sometimes that’s enough.

Age: 38

Height: 6'1"

Skin: Tanned, scarred

Hair: Short dark brown

Eyes: Grey

MBTI: ISTP

Enneagram: Type 1

Love Type: Protector Dynamic, Stoic Softie

Arlo [M]: Grumpy. Tired. Always one snarky comment away from becoming your problem. Arlo’s the kind of guy who rolls his eyes while patching you up, mutters "idiot" when you make a reckless choice, and then stands in front of you when things go bad anyway. He will protect you — just don’t expect him to smile while doing it. He has a soft side, but it’s buried under layers of deadpan, reluctant affection, and brotherly grumbling. Low tolerance for bullshit, but infinite tolerance for the people he secretly cares about. Especially his sister.

Age: 26

Height: 5'10"

Skin: Deep caramel

Hair: Cropped dark brown

Eyes: Warm brown

MBTI: ISTJ

Enneagram: Type 1

Love Type: Protective Romance

Alex [F]: Absolute gremlin. Tech goblin. The chaos engine. Alex is clever, snarky, loud, and borderline feral. He will roast you while fixing your hair and probably break into your heart by accident. He talks in memes, flirts in saracsm, and runs on caffeine and spite. Underneath the noise? Loneliness. Insecurity. Genius. And a weird sweetness he pretends doesn’t exist. If you romance him, it’s like dating a livewire with a crush on you and a grudge against god.

Age: 19

Height: 5'2"

Skin: Pale

Hair: Long ash-brown

Eyes: Pale blue

MBTI: ENTP

Enneagram: Type 4

Love Type: Banter-Filled Chaos, Fast Burn

Elara [F]: Elara is radiant — a bold idealist with a poetic soul. She speaks with passion, acts with purpose, and believes deeply in love, beauty, and people. There’s fire in her, and she’s not afraid to fight for what she believes in. But for all her confidence, she’s also deeply trusting — sometimes to a fault. She sees the best in others, even when they don’t deserve it, and her heart leads her into places her head maybe shouldn’t. She’s fearless in pursuit of what feels right — even when it puts her in danger.

Age: 22

Height: 5'5"

Skin: Fair

Hair: Blonde, wavy

Eyes: Blue

MBTI: ENFJ

Enneagram: Type 4

Love Type: Whimsical Soulmate, Artistic Romance

Sora [F]: Still waters run deep — and Sora is deep. Thoughtful. Unshakably calm. She's blind, but nothing escapes her notice. She listens like it matters. She moves like a whisper. She sees people more clearly than they see themselves. Getting close to her is like entering a quiet place in your mind you didn’t know you missed. But her calm hides storms — and some scars she doesn’t talk about yet.

Age: 23

Height: 5'5"

Skin: Pale beige

Hair: Soft grey

Eyes: White and clouded

MBTI: ISFP

Enneagram: Type 9

Love Type: Quiet Romance, Tranquil Connection, Soul mates

DEMO: TBA

[twoconfusedgamedevs]

Birbs! I'm definitely learning that I enjoy making small things much more than large things in pixel art

[frank-game]

Hey, first post! We're trying to make a game where you play as cats trying to escape a wizard tower. Here's a first look at our player characters.

From left to right we have Frank, Lucy Lou, Bone Disease, and Gannie! All named and modelled after real cats.

[akabaka-dev]

Aka has been noodling on concept characters for SFL 3

Meet Nan'si and Yan'si, the Twin Blasphemers🕯👯‍♂️🕯

Based on Nug and Yeb, the spawn of Shub and Yog-sogoth and parent(s) of Cthulu

"As for little Nug and Yeb (only ten feet in diameter when in their average form), they are a bit destructive sometimes, though it's only a playful, good-natured roughness. I like to have the little fellows about (even though they sometimes do dissolve visitors and passersby, and cause occasional troublesome enquiries), for they are basically very friendly and companionable"

- HP Lovecraft

[crowscales]

Testing some shaders in UE5 for Bug Soccer Game

ignore centipede texture glitching tf out

[tagamantra]

turning d&d 4e into a brutal xianxia game

i've always looked at D&D 4e as particularly amenable to the wuxia genre. in fact, it works as a spirit cultivation game. a problem with a lot of 4e (for me at least) is its disconnect of mechanics from the fiction. it is a game-first, player-first game, and that's a great genre in itself. but this post is looking at 4e through potential diegetic lens, with each game mechanic justified through spirit cultivation xianxia genre

as follows:

XP as Cultivation: exp serves great as cultivation. leveling up serves as cultivation progress. the three tiers work as "Man -> Earth -> Heaven" kinds of Cultivation Realm.

Powers as Techniques: each power works as a martial art technique that can be learned and mastered. this works better using the Alternative Rewards system found in the DMG, and getting powers from the world instead of getting it immediately on level up.

emphasize alternative rewards: instead of purely making level-ups the main way to get powers, have the powers be found in the world as alternative rewards. have them be of differing levels. if they find a level 14 fighter power from learning it from a bull God, they need to be a Level 14 PC with a Fighter Feat to be able to "equip" it.

Classes as Martial Arts schools: Fighters as the Fighter Sect, Wizards as the Eight School Magics Sect, etc. Subclasses or the Build Options work as School Specializations. this is the one that is least wuxia-esque to me, because wuxia is an inherently classless idea. you should be able to learn a strand of martial arts from one master and then learn a completely new and different one from another master that chooses to pick you up on.

every pc from a different school: to bridge this genre gap, when you make a PC, write the class they choose as a martial school. even if two PCs are two Sorcerers, they must come from different but perhaps similar schools. maybe one is from the Tantric Deity Sect and the other is from the Nine-Elements Yang Sect

Healing Surges as Qi: Qi is the breath or the life force. Similar ideas in other cultures are prana, ginhawa, ki, and kebatinan. You can only heal yourself as much as your inner reserves can heal you. If your Qi is tapped out, even healing potions will have a muted effect

Hit Points as Hit Protection: this one is stealing from NSR ideas. replace hit points with the idea of Hit Protection. Fighting in Wuxia/Xianxia etc. is a flurrious exchange of blows. when attacking a character, as long as they're not bloodied, they're actively fighting back, defending according to the targeted defense (blocking, parrying, ducking, weaving with AC, dodging and leaping with Reflex, resisting with Will, etc.) Hit Protection still includes personal vigor, which justifies attacks that poison or set them on fire as those attacks probably hit home to transmit those effects

xianxia lethality: xianxia and wuxia are surprisingly more brutal than one would think. it's bloody and arms are broken, legs are cut off. we move into homebrew-y territory here.

half HP, double damage: lean into this. power comes not from numbers but from techniques and traits for PCs. half HP and double damage not just for monsters, but for PCs as well. this will make fights less meat sack slogs and into tense, explosive engages.

move attack hit rate from 60% to 90%: this is something fft did well. most attacks have a 100% starting hit rate. enemy evasion values shifts that around. my idea is to raise attack hit rate to much higher. this makes defense-raising options much stronger as well and every attack becomes an important additional strike

make bloodied more potent: bloodied inflicts an injury. make this fiction oriented: a good enough attack might scar your face, or might render your arm useless and make you suffer disadvantage. this might not feel fun, but it will force creativity and the players must respect the world

improvisation: in wuxia and xianxia you actually will see more instances of the heroes using their environment to affect the outcome of the battle. throwing tables to distract, using roofs to provide cover, etc. here we move again into homebrew territory:

improvisation as default. this one is a large shift in the game. get rid of action economy. get rid of action types. you can move and do one thing. this is anything. most commonly it will be an attack. this includes even minor actions. there are no set actions you can do, no list to choose from. use your imagination. lean into the p 42 of the DMG. turn THAT into the core mechanic of the game

use essentials rules: this one is the least controversial but 4e essentials rules are the best consolidation of the rules. especially the item rarity stuff.

dare to be unbalanced: 4e's neo-golden cow is balance. don't care about the balancing. xianxia thrives on the unbalancedness of things to create tension and friction. the need to have revenge on a martial master that killed your master before, but they are a Level 28 Fighter and you're a measly Level 3 Wizard. You have to cultivate to get up to his level. You need 10,000 more years of training to get to him! now there's a reason for adventuring (collecting training manuals, finding masters, finding cultivation cores to gain XP). adopt an OSR mindset. become world-first: make the PCs rise to the challenge instead of tailoring everything to them. if they move into an area with level 8 monsters, they can choose to take those on, or just go back and go somewhere else, return at a later time when they have better equipment and better weaponry.

[cultofgalaxy]

Hey folks! It's been a while since I posted on tumblr. We tend to be more active on bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/cultofgalaxy.com

However, would like to do try use this platform more along with a few others, so lets just cut to the chase!

Demo is released

The demo has finally be released a month ago where the playtime is usually around 5 minutes.

The demo takes place in a tutorial room and it's suppose to give a demonstration of how Kinoko and the Starsprites would move and what the general gameplay might be like. Of course any feedback we get will be taken into consideration!

There's still plenty to refine, and we'll do our best to make sure the gameplay is as smooth as possible.

If you're interested in the demo, is it free to play in our Discord server where you can download it.

[dokjafang]

the yan vn community is a bit hectic,

Whats your opinion on the indie visual novels with yandere characters?

People get intense with games to be honest. Though, root cause is pride to be honest. Unfortunate. Hopefully, things cool down sooner rather than later. I don't get involved with networking, so I'm not a direct associate to the yan vn community.

WARNING: My controversial opinions. Things I keep to myself. But, you did ask for my opinion so here. Also, casual and unstructured content.

Well I like playing them, or watching gameplays of it. Usually, though, I wouldn't say a lot of characters are my type. Most of the characters are my friend's type, not mine. So rarely will I play yandere visual novels. Usually on the emotional side or um, just know a lot of them aren't my type!

Also, ANY visual novels... well, I honestly treat it the same way as any other story or book. It's just another story to play through. Sure, it has visuals, but what matters most to me is story and characters. Like, if the MC genuinely irritates me (usually ENFP's, ESFJ's, or ENFJ's protagonists irritate me most), then I will not play the game no matter what. I can tolerate things; but honestly I can't play a game, where I have to constantly deal with an annoying character.

It's also one of the reasons why I didn't get so far playing Love and Deepspace. I heavily dislike the MC there. Too emotional for my tastes, too outspoken, and frankly? I'm no dom, you won't find any dom bone in this tiny body of mine. haha So yeah. But mostly, MC personality irritates me. Things like that. It also goes for yanderes and plots in general.

I play games to have fun, and I don't have any expectations for yandere visual novels. I play for just relaxation; because I know it's once-in-a-blue-moon will I ever find an actual yandere that vibes with me.

Because most of the time, the male yanderes I like are what people consider "abusive" and what most consider not yandere. People say it's plain abuse shiz and all. But for me? Food. Like for me, my favorite "love story" manhwa of all time is this one:

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THIS STORY. WHO IS THE PREY.

BOTH THE NOVEL AND MANHUA. YES I LOVE IT. Why?

Don't ask. Reminds me of my husband and I hardcore. Like among all stories I've read (that I haven't written), it's this one that resonated most.

So... you can already tell I have unconventional tastes. People hate this man. lol. But I love this story. Hardcore, reminds me of my own love story wahhhh so it's really close to my heart. 🖤🖤🖤

OH WAIT! I REMEMBER. I love this character because reminds me of my husband. People hardcore say he's not yandere, but I consider him one:

YANNNGGGG. I love this man.

Among all yanderes I've seen, this guy was most memorable for me. Yes, choke meee.

A lot of yanderes are on the soft, emo, creepy but wholesome, or what you generally read on most manhwa, for example. But, truly unhinged or unapologetic villain yanderes? Rareeee.

It's why I'm starving hardcore for content. Like actual confident + doesn't need validation from darling + unapologetic + sadistic + intelligent + truly black flag yanderes. That's my type.

Listen. I play games, write, or do anything really because I love my husband. Truly do. So anything that reminds me of him makes me happy.

Anyways.

There's this one story my friend played. People may not like or vibe with it, but it's called "Boyfriend to Death (BTD)". Never played it but my friend chatted it about it with me since she finished the game, and it's my kind of vibe. I don't like the graphics so I wouldn't play it. But the survival horror and genuine aim for your life? Well, that's dope. So, basically stuff like that is my kind of vibe.

Sorry, I do play otome games and visual novels, but usually it's not even yandere. The personalities are never vibing with me :((. It's difficult to even find fanfiction or stories in general with truly confident, unapologetic yanderes. Like truly strong.

My husband is like that, and well... I can't find any wahahahha. Oh well. At least I have food now in the form of writing.

Rambled but yeah. To me, visual novels, whether yandere or not, well, just another video game to me. As long as the game is generally fun to play and doesn't irritate me, then I'll play it. I don't really care nor get involved in community stuff; because I just want to have fun playing. And, I keep to myself, so yeah.

[falselyprofound]

Forgot to mention, but I made a Return to Zork-like maze mapping game for MAGS January 2025! It's called ONE MILLION YEARS DUNGEON. Because that's how long you'll be stuck there.

Grab the prototype from the AGS forums if you hate yourself, or wait a couple of months until I rebalance the puzzles and fix a few glitches.

Don't forget to RTFM!

[kcamberart]

A random assortment of major characters from my current project! Can't show off everyone because spoilers, but you'll see them when you see them.

[obligatory demo link here]

[necroticspider]

Hi everyone. I've just created this page. Here are some screenshots from the game i am making in Godot.

Wishlist Dungeons of Blood and Dream on Steam

[dreamyfreakout]

i made this movable/physics-y cage ball thing in this image by building it in tiles, and then using a greenscreen background and then i touched up the screenshot and removed the bg in clip studio and reimported it in the game (a collider wouldn't work on it originally, it was like overloading the game lol)

[twoconfusedgamedevs]

Made a silly little abstract cat based on the genetically modified glow cats (I love them)

reference below