brief bit of inside baseball showing off the dynamic combat analysis spreadsheet i'm building! making tools like this isn't the most glamorous part of gamedev, but i think it's important for ensuring a good degree of balance in the final product, especially for an RPG

sincere apologies for my long absence; been having to take care of some IRL stuff that's kept me from gamedev for a while. i'm ramping up production again this month, starting with implementing core status effects!

working on implementing the Chirugion enemy! the basic attack actually took a lot more new tech than i thought it would to make the effect work, but ended up turning out pretty nicely [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

finished up the model for the 4th party member: Vellum Argentum, the gun-toting priest! i had an earlier version of him that i did almost a full year ago, so i figured it was time to do an update now that i've got a solid texturing method down [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #b3d ]

spent some time implementing a new mechanic: your Weaves (re: spells) now use a shared party resource called Charge instead of Energy. this makes them easier to use, but requires you to ration your Charge carefully, though defeating a foe restores some Charge [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

spent most of this week working on the blacksmith's texture, which i used as an opportunity to try and really nail the art style i want for character models. i'd been very ad hoc before, so i wanted a process i could follow to be consistent. happy with the result! [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #b3d ]

spent most of saturday doing some 3D modeling work on the Blacksmith model! trying to introduce a few more danglies like the hammer and see how that works in-engine

wanted to do something a bit different with HP: when you take damage, a portion of it is stored as grey health ("Mettle"), which can then be recovered by attacking or using abilities like healing spells. this makes tactical play more important vs. pure attrition [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

i added in an "Interrupt" mechanic! some powerful enemy attacks can be interrupted by the player, indicated by a unique frame on the turn timeline. interrupts usually have a higher cost attached, so you have to plan around using them carefully [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

finished my entirely handpainted texture on the Chirugion model! good learning experience overall, but pretty time intensive compared to the more procedural methods i've been using; think i need to figure out a way to combine the two efficiently

modelled + rigged the chirugion enemy! gonna try more of a painterly marvel rivals look for the texture painting and see how i do, although it's way outside my artistic comfort zone

happy new years to everyone! this was the first year i started to share my work, but the support has been tremendous. it gave me the confidence to continue pushing forwards, and i've made huge strides since then thank you for all the encouragement, and i'll continue working hard in 2026!

doing some more game concept art! i'm going to build out the hub/home base after finishing up the vertical slice dungeon, so i wanted to come up with a few interesting NPCs to fill out the space, like this lovely weapon upgrading lady

it's a minor achievement, but i managed to finish the full blockout of half the area of my vertical slice. still a whole lot of polishing and decorating to do, but i'm proud to finally have a full level you can walk from beginning to end in hope everyone has a merry christmas!

updated the basic shop menu's aesthetics to feel more responsive and give some more personality to the vendors you interact with. the vending machine's a nice catch-all for now, but i'd like to add in many unique merchants in the future [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

trying to spruce up the game world by adding in more environmental windows: small, inaccessible areas the player can see but not visit. i think it helps to add visual interest to longer corridors & helps create an impression of a larger world [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

working on improving my 3D prop creation speed! this vending machine only took about 2 hours, but i think i can squeeze it down if i get a good material library built up

some WIP concept art for a new enemy! i want to get 2~ more enemy variants for the vertical slice done and thought something a bit weirder would be a welcome change

spent the last week battling a cold, so apologies for the lack of updates! i used the downtime to reconsider my technical approach to level design & improve the presentation to create a more visually appealing color palette [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

been doing some work on a more open section, trying to establish a sense of grandiose scale + experiment with environmental effects. especially happy with how the rain-on-window effect turned out! [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

mostly working on area blockouts this week, but wanted to share the updated version of the first VFX i ever posted. very happy with how much progress i've made since then! [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

added in a "Pressure" mechanic to combat: attacks on an enemy will increase a gauge that, when full, adds a Pressure Point to them, storing up to 3. certain abilities can "Exploit" one or more Pressure Points for additional effects [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

spent today setting up a basic elevator prefab, including adjusting the rain effect so it'd work on a moving platform. also did some work to try and create a more interesting layered soundscape, so let me know what you think! [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

mostly spent the last week taking a break, but i wanted to get something done before monday, so here's my first go at a basic talent/specialization system! still a WIP, especially visually, but it's a solid foundation to build off [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

trying to put more time aside in the week for practicing 2D rendering & character design

did some more work on combat UI/VFX to add more visual feedback to actions like button presses and damaging hits. first real attempt at a slash effect turned out pretty good, but i think i'd like to stylize it a bit more [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

worked on implementing a bonfire/checkpoint system! i've always liked campfire scenes in RPGs, so i spent some extra time on it so that you can see your party lounging around while in the menu [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

more vertical slice work! added in a slide, breakable crates, movable platforms, and navmesh links so that followers can hop along with you [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

put the new models in game and worked on a bunch of stuff, including basic follower AI for the overworld, baked lightmaps, cloth physics, and item pickups! [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

finished with etoile's new model! definitely the most technically complex model i've had to do so far, but i think i was really able to emphasize the parts of her design i love [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #b3d ]

fully rigged and textured shigeko's new model! think i'm starting to get a handle on the process so the next one hopefully shouldn't take as long [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #b3d ]

working on the texture for shigeko's new model! been studying marvel rivals models to try and improve my render and get more of a painterly style going [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #b3d ]

sorry for going quiet for a bit! spent a few days working on creating a new base rig + model for my humanoid characters. i decided i needed an update both for making animations and to fit my growing comfort with 3D here's Vae's new model to start! [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #b3d ]

spent today working on the combat victory screen & returning control to the overworld after [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

added in some simple roaming NPCs that can start combat! i also did a first go at putting in some more complex camera movement/screen effects for combat start; would appreciate any feedback on what you think [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

hippity hoppity [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #b3d]

started implementing a dialogue system today! also took the opportunity to change my UI flair system to allow for some more dynamic pop-in for each element [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

added a raising/lowering mechanic for bodies of water. i'm thinking this'll be the main puzzle mechanic for my vertical slice [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

happy friday! for a change of pace, i spent today working on a new enemy model: the spellcasting Magimoppet. i tried to incorporate stronger inner lines on the texture to give it more of a hand-drawn feeling [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #blender ]

working on adding environmental hazards, including the ever popular magical teleporting water [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d]

some initial concept art for another party member; still trying to work out the specifics of his outfit & overall vibe [ #sketch | #gamedev | #characterdesign ]

happy friday! here's a cool (ho ho) VFX to end the week with starting to get more comfortable with creating my own particles and adding in more details like decal projection. i really like the final effect! [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

⭐Be they witch or wizard? Available as a sticker :3 www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1730...

i added a simple projectile mechanic to the overworld! this can be used for destroying objects and interacting with elements like switches; should add a bit more interactivity to exploring and puzzle solving [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

first try at fake volumetric fog! still not completely happy with the ground layer, but i think it still adds some good atmosphere [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

Étoile's unique character mechanic is "Notes": her abilities generate one of 3 types of notes, storing up to 3 at once using the "Finale" command will perform a special finisher based on the combination of notes she has stored at the time [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

working on a simple environmental art test! trying to both improve my skill at making procedural materials, and figuring out how to use lighting/VFX to make good looking areas without complex geometry or lots of textures [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

implemented some basic projectile functionality! still need to work on VFX visibility/camera angles, but should be handy for adding spells in the future [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

happy friday! i finished off the week by adding in a basic store system. excited that i'm getting close to having most of the major overworld functionality done [ #gamedev | #indiegame | #unity3d ]

worked on some more enemy concept art today! trying out using a pencil brush instead of a plain ol' circle. think it gives the concept a nice texture that makes it easier to work quickly and still have something presentable after [ #indiegame | #conceptart | #rpg ]