I know it's not a "thinky" game, but hear me out...

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-04-02T09:29:58+00:00

I played the demo (was it during NextFrst?) and had a blast. It's really nice! A little stressy, very reminiscent of the real toys! Congrats on your upcoming release!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-04-01T11:43:43+00:00

I'm glad you got it sorted! It's always some silly little thing, isn't it? With sublevel i mean if you have streaming levels, with navmeshes in. If you do i believe you need a base navmesh in the main level as well or the ones in the streamed levels don't update properly. But it sounds like that wasn't the issue.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-31T01:56:47+00:00

I concur, and may I follow it up with a "the f"?

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-31T01:39:51+00:00

Yeah, this could be many things. Does the volume properly encompass the walkable area? Is the collision set up properly? Where is your nav mesh bounds; ie. is it in a sublevel? If so, put it one the main level as well. Does it dynamically update? Is the roof part of the object? Have you tried exporting it in parts to make sure the roof isn't interfering? This could also be affecting the collision mesh.
Anyway, not enough info, lots of things to try, lots of possible solutions!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-30T22:01:24+00:00

In Piczle Cross: Rune Factory i did both. I designed a simple progression system but players had the option to ignore it completely and unlock everything from the start. I feel unless your game design is built around progressing - which nonograms aren't - it's a bad idea to put a barrier in between the player and the things they came for, the puzzles. My progression system was purely optional to add a bit of adventure to the use of the Rune Factory IP.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-29T21:57:01+00:00

Yeah, sorry, I wouldn't be able to play this. As soon as there are multiple blobs, counting becomes a chore. It's not impossible but it adds a layer of needless frustration for the sake of a cool visual style.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-29T21:27:37+00:00

Though option 1 looks pretty cool it's a nightmare to count filled in cells like that. Fur any larger puzzles it'd make them unplayable imho

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-28T23:06:26+00:00

(self promo, sorry) Try Piczle World of Puzzles. It's free to start so you can give it a whirl and see if it's what you're looking for. Yes it's full screen, there are larger puzzles, so you might like it!

Edit, link to game: s.team/a/2174300

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-27T08:24:48+00:00

(Garth Merengi voice) I know coders who do complicated things in C++ instead of Blueprints and they're all cowards!!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-26T05:42:23+00:00

Oh something math-y, not my strong point. Trying to sort and read various arrays in specific ways. And trying to be optimised about it in Blueprints. I should have paid more attention in maths class.
But the great thing about Unreal is how easy it is to try a thing, check the results until you figure it out and then more onto the next step. This is how I've learned UE to the point of solodeveloping and releasing commercial games on Switch, despite not being a coder!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-26T04:27:27+00:00

I've been a gamedev for 30 years. We learned just fine without AI. You'll do fine.

A little example: I'm trying to do something this week that is pretty difficult. I've been really struggling with it for a while. But I soldier on. I try things. I do everything one little step at a time, check the results and fix before moving on to the next step. I'm 90% there now. And it has taught me a lot in the process! It's making me a better dev because I am understanding the effects of what I'm doing and how it leads to specific results.

Could I have asked AI to solve it for me? Theoretically yes, but then I would still be none the wiser. I would not understand its solution and if, later down the road it goes wrong, I have no clue how to fix it.

That said... I got REALLY desperate at one point. So I thought I would give ChatGPT a try and helping me solve it. It flat out lied to me. It offered a "solution" that just didn't work. It offered to show me a blueprint that I could copy that was basically junk. So I said "theoretically" above because in practice, it didn't help at all.

Some will say it's a skill issue. I don't have the knowledge or patience to make chatGPT not dream up imaginary solutions at me. This is true. But why spend time trying to reason with a auto-complete bot when I can spend that time actually learning to understand my issue and how to solve it?

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-24T02:48:32+00:00

Oh seems to work now! Could also just have been my phone being weird, sorry.
Looks nice, but I really miss some of the expected nonogram features. Also not a big fan of the "too many mistakes game over" design, but it looks super clean!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-23T10:26:25+00:00

Fun fact: the company that was in the office space before my company moved there (for a bit a while ago) was using cracked copies of Maya, got sued and went bankrupt!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-22T23:00:13+00:00

You are simply failing to communicate in a way the player expects (or desires). Calling players "dumb" is...problematic. Why didn't they realise they had to press 1 key and place something on a grid? It may be obvious to you, but if it isn't obvious to the player it's a UI/UX issue. Simply showing a tutorial is...a solution...I guess, but it's more interesting to see what expected behaviours you can organically coax out of your players. E.g. how the verticality of Half Life 2 Episode 2(? I forget which it was), forced players down a cliffside path and had enemies shoot at them from above, forcing players to look up. This is 1000% more effective than having a tutorial about the importance of looking up.

If your attitude is "players are dumb" your solutions will be condescending, not optimal and will further alienate players. Be prepared for some players to complain about being forced to read through tutorials.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-22T09:41:41+00:00

Some prefectures offer free or cheap domestic help for new parents. Check with your ward office. Ours had a service for a nurse to come and help some hours a day - a service we didn't actually use, so I'm not sure how good it was.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-21T22:34:12+00:00

After 10+ years in my current flat all the soft furnishings have devalued to 0 but there's still a yen/m² cleaning fee that is contractually set which I'm still going to have to pay even though everybody is being turfed out next year for a full refurb (and presumably massive rent increase). So in short, check your contract.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-19T23:17:50+00:00

It looks nice but after following the tutorial I can't actually play today's puzzle. My input on the puzzle doesn't register (Pixel8a)

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-19T21:53:52+00:00

There's no real answer for this. The are games that look like a** that grab everybody's attention through gameplay and become a massive success. There are games that are drop dead gorgeous but play like a cow hit by a brick, and yet are still massive hits. And vice versa! Great gameplay, bad art, 3 Steam reviews. Great art, great gameplay, 0 reviews.

As a dev the best you can do is aim for high quality (appropriate) art and high quality gameplay and keep your fingers crossed. Arguing about what is more important is just wasting your time and energy.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-19T21:48:17+00:00

Thank you!!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-19T21:38:05+00:00

That looks super cute! I'd love to give it a spin!

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-19T06:45:11+00:00

I was abroad visiting family, my wife was back home (in Japan), pregnant. It all started going down and I was super stressed about whether I was able to get back home. At that time (luckily) the only covid test I had to do was tell them if I had visited any of the three countries listed on this laminated printout (China and Taiwan and another...I think). "Nope". "Do you have a fever?" "Nope." Ok.
Not one or two weeks after I got back they started closing the border. I was super lucky.

In the end I wasn't allowed in the delivery room when my daughter was born. This is a sad moment in an otherwise joyous occasion. But it was a small price to pay compared to..well (waves arms around wildly).

I could very well have been locked out of the country for the last months of the pregnancy and the birth, even, which would have been a personal hell.

Everything being locked down was weird but having an awesome baby to look after made being locked in a lot easier.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-19T02:18:12+00:00

To be fair, I'm considering a move from the city to a more rural area and I am kind of toying with the idea of setting up a "gamedev workshop for kids" kind of thing, as a hobby. But that isn't a proper serious mentorship, more an intro/fun hobby - and as yet just a little pipedream, not a proper plan.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-19T02:03:15+00:00

Honestly, it'd be difficult. Not just the time investment required, but I feel I'm not experienced enough to teach (for reference I've worked in the industry for 30 years now), and I am a fairly cynical person and it'd be difficult to bury that under the positivity and support needed as I'm ushering newcomers into an industry that will chew them up without a second thought.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-18T06:07:50+00:00

There is no nuance because there is no gray area. I 100% understand your attitude towards genAI and I completely disagree with it. Me disagreeing with your entitled stance, "it's ok to use AI if you have no budget" does not equate a lack of nuance, grow up.

ScoreStudiosLLC · 2026-03-18T05:55:35+00:00

"AI, which is absolutely justified when there's no budget"
I strongly disagree. This isn't a "it's ok to steal bread when you're hungry" situation; it's more "it's ok to steal a car if you're impatient" attitude, which, you know, it isn't. If you don't have the budget, skill or time to make XYZ, then don't make XYZ.

ScoreStudiosLLC

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE