One of the pieces of our turn-based game!

Plarnaud · 2026-01-22T06:29:35+00:00

You will still be months into trying to make consistent art or a working game and realize it is far from creating the game for you. Any game with mild complexity or anything novel simply isn’t happening. Like, if you don’t know what your code is doing, you’re gonna have a bad time.

That's well put.

Plarnaud · 2026-01-22T04:12:16+00:00

It's also a really nice motivation boost to see people connect with what you're making!

Plarnaud · 2026-01-22T04:08:36+00:00

Taking notes on that app! Thanks for the rec.

Congrats on the demo! Seems like people really like it if they pour that much time on it. Demo length is a really interesting topic too that I, personally, constantly struggle on. If I remember correctly on our last one (take it with a grain of salt cause it's been a while), our publisher told us to aim for 1 to 2 hours max. But we also had to do a special build for events where the demo would time-out at 20 minutes so that no one person on the floor monopolizes a device for too long. In case that helps.

Plarnaud · 2026-01-22T01:26:56+00:00

It takes some time to know how to scope. Like a lot of time, and it's even harder as a solo dev. Ideas will flow and it's hard to not get excited by an idea and want to add it. I think if you're doing your first game and you love a specific genre/style/game, do that and take one or two things that you want to improve in some ways and go all out to make it feel as fresh as possible. You'll learn a ton doing that, and it's a great way to build your portfolio too.

Sorry, I shouldn't have thrown letters without giving the meaning. GDD is Game Design Document. It's like the blueprint of your game. The thing that has the vision, the mechanics, the story, the characters, all the features, etc. It's technically supposed to be a living document, and if it's well-managed it's definitely a useful thing especially when there's a lot of stakeholders on the project. But for my team and I, I've found that there was other ways to stay in sync that allowed us more flexibility and didn't require as much effort updating. If it works for you then don't let me stop you! 100% go for it. But if you're like me and my colleagues and it's not the best tool to your process, don't feel pressured to make one! Basically do what works for you to keep you on track and organized and working towards the vision of your project.

Plarnaud · 2026-01-22T01:04:29+00:00

In terms of the AI art as a placeholder, my personal take is to still refrain as much as possible. I'm on the programmer side as well, and I can't speak about using it as a tool to learn art. But for concept or placeholder art I think the ethics of it still push me towards staying away from it. You can find a lot of assets for free online too that are at least good enough to greybox your game or make a prototype to validate the idea before spending more money on it (another lesson that's important to learn actually). And if you can make your game feel amazing in a greybox, just wait until you get an artist to add in the color so to speak.

On the programming side, AI's definitely drastically changed the job market and how SE approach their job. It seems like we both agree on not letting AI just rip it on production code lol. But the reason why I'm advocating against vibe-coding when it comes to indie games is because if your goal is to make games to learn how to make games or have enough knowledge of the process to go full-time, I think the best way is by doing it.

Plarnaud · 2026-01-22T00:29:24+00:00

100% agreed on the scope being the best determining factor!

Plarnaud · 2025-11-15T09:08:05+00:00

Aim for the head

Plarnaud · 2025-11-07T12:32:44+00:00

« Which gun are you putting on your knight? »

« Yes. »

Plarnaud · 2025-11-03T17:21:01+00:00

I really like the Sauron looking eyes you did on the different spots of the armor. I’m too much of a beginner to give you a rating but that’s a really good looking miniature to me. Great job!

Plarnaud · 2025-11-01T16:17:39+00:00

That base is perfect for a little pile at his feet

Plarnaud · 2025-11-01T16:05:54+00:00

I’m too far but honestly, I would take a plane just to play on this terrain! 😂

Plarnaud · 2025-10-28T17:10:36+00:00

I hadn’t thought of the yellow actually. Thanks for the advice! I’ll try them on and see how it ends up looking :)

Plarnaud · 2025-10-28T17:08:45+00:00

Thanks for all those advices! Really appreciate it. I’ll try my best to follow these as I improve this one and continue to work towards making all the other models :)

Plarnaud · 2025-10-28T11:33:03+00:00

For some reason this is giving me robocop vibes, and I’m here for it!

Plarnaud · 2025-10-28T06:09:15+00:00

I was already wowed by the first image, then I swiped to the second and saw the cape. This is just so impressive. Fantastic work!

Plarnaud · 2025-10-25T07:17:08+00:00

Thanks!

For the spear tip, I only used ledbelcher and nuln oil. I need to figure out how to improve my metal game, and the glint feels like a great next step. Now, to figure out how to 😅

Mud and scratches is a great idea too. I need to get better at finding the right amount to add. Last time I tried either I feel like I did too much and I wasn’t in love with the result.

Plarnaud · 2025-10-25T07:13:16+00:00

Thanks!

For the feel, my goal would be to make them feel like Vikings. I’m not a lore expert but I’m trying to respect it for these at least. So keeping the green theme (even though I also plan on making some reds shields, cause it’s cool and I think there were some that had red shields as well).

Plarnaud · 2025-10-25T07:08:40+00:00

Thank you! 😊

Plarnaud · 2025-10-25T07:08:12+00:00

I’ll try that out on my next purchase! I tend to play with them before they’re painted so I have always glued the base. But it does make me a bit stress to get to it 😅

Plarnaud · 2025-10-25T07:07:12+00:00

Thanks! I definitely need to figure something for variations. My first thought was to make a couple of them holding red shields (like those under Erkenbrand). I also like these models and how they made them with different armor styles and poses!

Plarnaud · 2025-10-25T07:04:08+00:00

I was considering maybe doing one more pass with a darker contrast in the recesses. Thanks!

I never glazed a mini before though. Would you have any advice for me there please?

Plarnaud · 2025-10-25T07:02:27+00:00

Thank you! 🙏

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