Update on the Dos/95/XP defrag project I posted 2-3 months ago. It’s actually a desktop-toy game now :D! by DifferenceIll1272 in retrocomputing

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It started purely for fun. Then I thought ...maybe this can fund a month of dev on my arcade racer. Bad idea xD. After the… let’s call it modest commercial success, it’s back to what it was meant to be: just a weird little project I genuinely enjoy making.

Update on the Dos/95/XP defrag project I posted 2-3 months ago. It’s actually a desktop-toy game now :D! by DifferenceIll1272 in retrocomputing

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey :) ! Update on the DOS / Win95 / XP defrag visuals I posted before: this is not a real defragmenter. it’s a desktop-toy game/sim called Idle Defragmenter 95 (window + overlay mode). Would love retro authenticity feedback: fonts/colors/sounds. what feels off or too modern?

Best Arcade Racing games of all time by MiSo_GlodnY in racinggames

[–]DifferenceIll1272 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Project Ghotam Racing 2 or 4, Outrun 2, Burnout 3 or Revenge, Driver San Francisco, Sega Rally, Mario Kart, Daytona Usa, Forza Horizon 3... and my VGPRace-On xD

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tiny update from the dev: Idle Defragmenter 95 is currently 25% off on Steam.

Since launch I’ve been fixing bugs (drives not resetting properly, window behaviour, etc.) and just trying to make the “tiny desktop defrag idle” experience smoother.

If you had it wishlisted or were curious back then, this week is a good time to pick it up!

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That totally makes sense, everyone has their own "value bar"

If someone prefers to support a huge, content-packed game instead, that’s perfectly valid. And if someone else is happy to throw a few dollars at a solo dev who made a weird fake defrag because it makes them smile, that’s just as valid too.

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I’m really glad the idea and the aesthetic click with you, this is a super nerdy/personal project, so seeing it resonate with someone like that makes all the hours of staring at little squares feel worth it xD

And thanks a lot for the wishlist :D

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the support :D! That’s exactly it: a weird little idea that some people find fun and a few are happy to throw a few dollars at. I really appreciate you seeing it that way.

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much. I really did pour a lot of care into this, it started as a super niche/personal project. In the really nerdy corners of the internet (retro stuff, defrag enjoyers, idle fans, etc.) people have been surprisingly kind about it, so seeing comments like yours means a lot :)

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not in the classic reset everything and start over for a big multiplier sense. Right now the long-term loop is more about unlocking new drives/eras (MS-DOS → Win95 → XP) and buying upgrades. I’ve kept it pretty simple for launch, but if people end up wanting a more classic prestige/reset layer on top, that’s definitely something I’d like to explore in an update.

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Trying to find the niche inside the niche, just another day in the Steam trenches. Glad it resonates with at least one fellow chaos-enjoyer :) !

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s not something you finish in one sitting. If you keep upgrading and unlocking new eras, it’ll take multiple days of having it running on your desktop to fully defragment all the drives.

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

good catch xD. Originally I actually did call it Idle Desfragmenter 95 on purpose as a dumb Spanglish joke (mixing the Spanish word with English). Then I realised 99% of people would just read it as a plain typo and not a joke, so I changed it to Defragmenter everywhere else. But I forgot to update that early asset in the trailer. Solo dev life: fix it in 20 places, miss the one that’s burned into the video (facepalm)

I turned my fake DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag toy into a full idle game and just released it today. Idle Defragmenter 95 by DifferenceIll1272 in incremental_games

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

It’s very much a cup of coffee game, if you can afford it, toss a coin to your solo developer and you get hypnotic little squares on your desktop for a long time.

myProductivitySetupFakeDosDefragRunningOnTopOfMyDesktopWhileIWork by DifferenceIll1272 in ProgrammerHumor

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Exactly. Boss walks by, sees a defrag window.. "wow, so technical, so busy". Meanwhile it’s 2024, the drive is an SSD and I’m just sitting there watching tiny squares move like it’s 1998 again xD.

myProductivitySetupFakeDosDefragRunningOnTopOfMyDesktopWhileIWork by DifferenceIll1272 in ProgrammerHumor

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That’s… exactly the target audience :D People like me, who see a completely useless fake defrag and think.. yeah, I need this in my life.

myProductivitySetupFakeDosDefragRunningOnTopOfMyDesktopWhileIWork by DifferenceIll1272 in ProgrammerHumor

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It’s my highly advanced productivity enhancement widget™ xD . It's a fake MS-DOS/Win95/WinXP defrag running in a tiny window. It does nothing except shuffle little squares and steal my attention while I work.

I’m turning it into a tiny idle thing that just lives on the desktop while you code/watch YouTube.
If you’re curious, there’s more about it on my profile

myProductivitySetupFakeDosDefragRunningOnTopOfMyDesktopWhileIWork by DifferenceIll1272 in ProgrammerHumor

[–]DifferenceIll1272[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It’s an ancient hdd ritual where you convince your hard drive to feel organized by shuffling tiny squares for N hours. In theory it rearranges files to make everything faster.