Backed!

I've played a bunch of versions of Slumberland, and each version is even better/spookier than the last.

It's been a long haul, and it's nowhere near what I envisioned, but I've finally been convinced by playtesters that it's a very good game. (especially for $4! that's less than a coffee!) Thanks to everyone in the #gamedev community who helped me get here: the QA, the advice, and the ❤️'s.

for the people in the back: WHY WOULD A ROBOT WEAR A SCARF

why would a robot wear a scarf, their neck can't get cold

Well, that's a little terrifying.

All credit for the #axolotl #plushy goes to my wife, who is extremely awesome but prefers mysterious anonymity. TEN MORE DAYS TEN MORE DAYS CONSIDER WISHLISTING TODAY OR DON'T, I'M NOT YOUR DAD

bluesky isn't parsing that link for whatever reason so here it is! the game is sitting at 89% positive on steam which I am very thankful for, glad to see people resonating with an alternate kind of city builder. if you pick it up please give it a positive review so it can spread through the system

Big news! Coraroc is on sale! A very big discount to the hit game, "Coraroc". If you have been on the fence for Coraroc, now is your chance to jump into his adventure. You should tell your friends about the sale, too. It's only polite. BUY CORAROC: store.steampowered.com/app/3963120/...

Don't ask me how long it took to make this trailer, and especially don't ask me how long it took to get ONE PARTICULAR TRANSITION to look right (it took 45 minutes).

The decision to move from co-op tactical RPG to solo #autobattle was a painful choice but the right one; credit to @aeiowu.com for pushing me on it. Maybe I'll write a devlog about the decision some day? We'll see how I feel about it in June.

These Conduit guys are really scary early-game, and really scary if you don't have bots, but kinda easy if you have bots.

I pray that, with experience, I will learn to put together an 11 second clip in less than *checks watch* 5 hours. 🫠 @hatsproductions.bsky.social I blame you for encouraging this suffering.

Judging this art is how I learned that I really like scarves. Aesthetically only, though! They always fall off my face when I try to wear them during the winter.

I called it a Tank in my notes, but then I told @wurmfud.itch.io it pushes people around and it became an evil bulldozer. I should probably rename it, huh.

Now that I look at it from a distance, that tooltip is annoyingly wide.

He also wrote three different tracks, for three different biomes, as subtle variations on a shared motif! And all of those also had high/low intensity layers!

It’s time to BUILD! Today, we’re launching our letter campaign in support of Governor Pritzker’s comprehensive pro-housing initiative. 🏘️ Sending a letter to your legislator takes approximately 30 seconds; add your name today! actionnetwork.org/letters/pass...

You gave him a BELLY BUTTON?! This is revisionism, @metroixer.bsky.social's lawyers will be in touch.

Man this game is SO EASY (when you turn on God Mode so you can record videos fast).

Oh man this has grown so much since I saw it at CIGS two years ago! Why is his little antenna is so murderous, though.

Excellent speech from @schatz.bsky.social Schatz on the importance of fixing anti-build-to-rent provision in the ROAD to Housing Act (h/t @pewilliams.bsky.social) (1/3)

I read it as "Oh no, oh NO, the Moksha! (of Dreaming)"

Awhile ago I wanted to tell a car in front of me their blinker was on so I made Shout Screen. It's completely free, no ads. Check it out, I had a lot of fun taking a little break to make it last month. shoutscreen.app

Of course, now I have to balance TEN DIFFERENT DIFFICULTIES, oh well.

Hope everyone is ready for a heap of visual improvements in HyperTyper!

Is the logo repeated across the middle column a⚡, or an S? We may never know.

It me. I also have a frustratingly narrow band between "too much socialization, need to recharge" and "too isolated, need to see people".

I love this new tileset, but @wurmfud.itch.io pointed out that the tiles now feel kinda *thin*. Should we add some depth to them?

Probably need to reduce all that duplication; no need to say "gained 1 stack" five times in a row.

HMM what's that empty space in the middle there? (also, great work; let's call this today's #screenshotsaturday post) #autobattle #roguelike #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev

I looked up the exact quote and it was "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations" from Orson Wells, which was probably conflated with "Necessity is the mother of invention" from Aesop's Fables?

I have no idea why scifi shields look like fantasy shields. Maybe it's like 💾, a symbol that massively outlived its provenance?

I spent an embarrassing amount of time coming up with a damage formula that ensured diminishing returns on any one investment.

Such a cool article, thanks for stopping by!

This is a screenshot of a game design doc so I think it still counts for #ScreenshotSaturday? FYI if you want a good and free way to make graphs/diagrams like this, app.diagrams.net is great.

It turns out modular autobattlers need a LOT of icons. Who knew!

Of course, this made me realize that all my early-implemented Upgrades need to be rejiggered to even work with the filters.

An unforgiving world still need a FEW cute things, as a treat. Like, look at this adorable little servo skull from Warhammer 40k!

Zoomed-in 16x16 icons are kinda hard to read unless you roll your chair way away from your desk

(Thanks to Ian at www.instagram.com/bigsirgames for playtesting, and making the looping gif, and pointing out Yet Another Design Problem)

Seriously the number of great suggestions I heard was overwhelming. I'm tempted to just roll a die every morning to decide what to work on, instead of trying to sift through all this. Thanks (again) to @indiecitygames.org for organizing!

Over the weekend, I went to the Chicago Indie Game Showcase and played a fine collection of upcoming games developed in Chicago, Illinois!

I already snagged one to put on my sticker board, so there are only 49 left, sorry. Find me at CIGS, and ask me why roguelikes are the perfect form-factor for online co-op!

The surgeon general cautions against dreaming about Escape From Slumberland, unless you have a LOT of spare moonbeams.

I made a sign for the table and everything! Well, Liz made a sign, and I nitpicked about it.

Incidentally, Fox was the first character we added to the game! Wait, no, there was also a human, but who wants to play a HUMAN, I do that in real life.

I'm not sure if she looks more like a golem or a lobster.

Excited to see this again at CIGS!

It found the scarf in a box, but it made the gloves itself!