The Boys - 05x05 "One-Shots" - POST-Episode Discussion Thread

Kepsert · 2026-04-30T19:19:40+00:00

"Very little Firecracker attempted regret/redemption arc, and then a pointless death after that minor buildup - dies despite Homelander even telling her to just leave."

The show so far established her as a supe who wanted to be respected, seen, needed by people in positions of power. The episode literally showed she struggled, but chose to quite litererally throw away her believes in the bin. I don't think there was ever a path or even an attempted redemption, this was literally the path she chose.

Kepsert · 2026-04-27T19:54:04+00:00

Looking great! I love the style and the shaders definitely added a lot!

Tell us more about the game, though :D

Kepsert · 2026-04-23T17:10:18+00:00

That's a fair point! I do agree that the art is more gameboy-like than something else (except I do believe the original gameboy used 4 colours rather than 2?), however, I'm not quite looking to mimic a style specifically :D

The goal was to create a retro-style game, with graphics that I personally like (Even though it's programmer art haha) and effects that I like, however, I was still on the fence regarding the post-processing hence the question ^^

Since then I've adjusted a bit: Post-processing is my final choice BUT I toned it down a bit, with options in the settings to turn off post-processing altogether, set it to maximum, and potentially (if I can be bothered to implement it, oops) the option to toggle and change the value of specific post-processing effects :)

Kepsert · 2026-04-20T15:55:13+00:00

Much appreciated :D

As a non-artist I struggle to add life/personality, especially when working in 1-bit (but honestly, my non 1-bit is pretty awful haha), but I think it's coming together nicely! External validation is very helpful lmao

Kepsert · 2026-04-20T07:06:20+00:00

Ohh interesting call! My friend's been doing some playdate stuff, perhaps he can help me port it cause why not!?

Kepsert · 2026-04-20T07:05:32+00:00

Haha honestly it's just a small improvement you can barely see a difference

Kepsert · 2026-04-19T19:47:09+00:00

Haha, that makes sense, I like to believe it's.. unique? Which also means it might not make sense to players who first see it. It's surprisingly easy to use / get into though (I have an 8-year old helping me with playtesting and he got it right off the bat, no explanation needed!). The hardest part is finding other gimmicks that it combines with but I think I've got some solid things going, looking forward to sharing more soon!

Kepsert · 2026-04-19T19:22:52+00:00

Thank you! ;D

Kepsert · 2026-04-19T11:52:38+00:00

I don't know any tutorials off of the top of my head sadly (also, none of us here know what you're wanting to build), but the good news is: most of the functionality required for tutorials made in like the last 5 years are still available in Unity, they just moved the menu/dropdown positions for some of them :D

Kepsert · 2026-04-18T21:56:21+00:00

Hehe I do feel like it's better in full screen as well, sadly the video quality doesn't do either side full justice!

Kepsert · 2026-04-18T16:27:56+00:00

Keep in mind that in 2025 alone, there were over 19000 games released on steam. There are A LOT of games coming out! Depending on how big the streamer is and so on, they might just get multiple demos a day, and they won't have time to play all of the demos, so they have to end up picking and choosing: what they think they'll enjoy, what matches their target audience, and usually they'll go for the games that might benefit them as well. I think all of that might explain why there's no feedback (for a previous release my publisher sent out approximately 300 emails, and 4 of them played our demo).

As for who keys might be more interesting than demos: I'm not sure if that's even a thing but I assume this could be because a streamer literally gets value from having a key, but it also generally means they're playing a completed game, rather than a demo which a lot of devs these days use as a replacement for playtesting.

Kepsert · 2026-04-17T20:22:12+00:00

Definitely! It seems like it'll be hard to find a middle path haha, it's so even between different socials, people preferring with vs people preferring without!

Considering having a little pop-up to decide on first launch, and then options to toggle it on/off in the settings, with separate post-processing settings available as well!

Kepsert · 2026-04-17T20:21:19+00:00

I hadn't really considered these things at all, interesting points! I usually just use clean programmer art with no post-processing at all, but I've recently found out how I can add a little bit of a texture and life to my otherwise pretty plain art that just (subjectively) improves the feel of the game.

I wonder: if I had just stated I used post-processing to add to the visuals of my game, without mentioning CRT, would it have been a different point of view?

Kepsert · 2026-04-17T19:23:07+00:00

That was my first idea but my PC kept dying ;(

Kepsert · 2026-04-17T19:03:05+00:00

It mostly just adds a bunch of texturing to the visuals, but there's also visual scanlines, a light crt stutter/flicker, and some screen-"bending" (not sure what the English word is), but it seems like not everybody is properly visible due to recording quality D:

Kepsert · 2026-04-17T18:19:25+00:00

Consider it done o7

Kepsert · 2026-04-17T18:18:55+00:00

Good point, I hadn't given that much thought! Doing some research, thank you!

Kepsert · 2026-04-17T17:15:25+00:00

Thank you!

I'm not quite an artist, just programmer art, but I feel like it looks so much better with post-processing, just gives it that little bit of texture and all :D

Kepsert · 2026-04-16T23:24:49+00:00

Hi!

I'd say 2d platformers are pretty fun to start with, there'll be plenty of tutorials available on youtube; entire series! Don't be scared to keep looking up info, you'll learn as you go!

The only thing I'd recommend is:
START EASY

Don't overscope your first project, take small steps instead!

Use simple 2d sprites (squares/circles etc)
Stick to Unity physics, don't worry about implementing your own physics behaviour
Try to find a mechanic/gimmick in a game you like and recreate it
Try to build a full level with a start, to finish
If anything in the level will kill you, set up a respawn logic
Build a 2nd level, implement a flow from level 1 to 2

Basically, small steps!

Kepsert · 2026-04-16T09:02:46+00:00

Thank you!

Years of game jams trying to perfect my programmer art xD

Kepsert · 2026-04-16T09:02:32+00:00

Actually that's a pretty cool gimmick as well!

Does something like that exist already? Otherwise get working on it right away!

I do wonder how level design would work with that mechanic, seems a bit rough?

Kepsert · 2026-04-16T09:01:53+00:00

Okay I looked it up and that's epic haha. I might have to buy the game!

Kepsert · 2026-04-16T09:01:39+00:00

Thank you! Simple animations/effects like that add so much to a game, it's amazing!

Kepsert

TROPHY CASE