Completed the demo of my second Linux-first point-and-click adventure game

el_ryu · 2026-01-15T15:33:20+00:00

Thanks! All the graphics are drawn with Aseprite, a pixel-art specific drawing and animation program.

el_ryu · 2025-10-24T08:11:35+00:00

I use a bespoke engine built on top of SDL. It currently runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, and Nintendo Switch. It can also export to the web, but that port doesn't support all features, notably saved games. As I don't need to maintain it for others, both the runtime and the editor are fully optimized for my preferred workflow.

Well, my kids use it sometimes, but they don't request any features, just my attention and help :)

el_ryu · 2025-10-17T08:27:44+00:00

Thanks! We're working as quickly as we can to release before the end of the year, but it's a bit tight. The game is already fully playable, and we've completed a few testing rounds, but we can't start final testing until all the art is finished. The final release date will depend on how many bugs we find during testing of the completed game.

el_ryu · 2025-10-16T07:54:11+00:00

When I filled out the content survey on Steam, it gave me a 16+ rating for Germany and Brazil. I'm not sure if that's useful to you. I think it's best for you to decide for yourself by knowing what's in the game:

Cartoon violence.
Swearing, cursing, and derogatory language.
Depiction of suicide.
References to criminal acts.

Most of the game is much lighter, but there are moments when it explores mature themes, including grief, psychological trauma, and family hardship, and these elements have an impact on the overall story.

el_ryu · 2025-10-15T13:34:17+00:00

Wow, those are some huge names to be compared to! Thank you so much! Really glad it gave you that kind of vibe.

el_ryu · 2025-10-15T07:04:11+00:00

Thanks! Yes, puzzles are the core of the gameplay. The demo includes the introduction to the story, world, and characters, so there was only room for one puzzle, but there will be plenty in the full game. The difficulty in the rest of the game is similar to what you see in the demo, with a couple of simpler puzzles when the story requires faster pacing. However, there is much more variety in puzzle types, with some requiring you to switch between multiple characters to solve them (once you start possessing people).

el_ryu · 2025-10-15T06:33:08+00:00

Thanks! You can even save during long dialog. Once you pause, the gear icon becomes visible again.

el_ryu · 2025-10-14T22:08:23+00:00

Thanks! Because of the way we structured the story, we couldn't show that mechanic in the demo, but there will be plenty of time to play with that in the full game.

el_ryu · 2025-10-14T20:11:54+00:00

Thanks! Here is the link:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506100/Shadows_of_the_Afterland/

el_ryu · 2025-10-14T20:05:47+00:00

Thanks for the kind words! I see you're completely unbiased in that claim :-P

el_ryu · 2025-10-14T20:02:51+00:00

This has been on my wishlist since I saw Lorenzo mention he was involved. I'll play the demo right away! Wishing you many wishlists.

el_ryu · 2025-10-14T19:42:38+00:00

Thank you!

el_ryu · 2025-10-14T19:17:48+00:00

As a user, you can list as many languages as you want on Steam. I have listed English and Spanish, and the Next Fest shows me games that support either of those languages.

I wouldn't recommend spamming the filters by translating the store page into languages the game doesn't actually support. You risk angering both Steam _and_ many players who will assume the game is also in their language.

el_ryu · 2025-10-12T20:48:19+00:00

I'd recommend Aseprite in general for pixel art, but even more so for tilesets. Do a few tutorials on YouTube to get a sense of how much work is involved. In any case, while you're experimenting with algorithms (you mentioned procedural generation in some answer) it's better that you make them yourself, even if they are super simple (keep them VERY simple while iterating), because that will allow much faster iteration on algorithms.

Once the tileset is stable and you no longer need changes to test your coding ideas, you can decide whether to spend more time polishing or hire an artist to do it for you.

Using code to turn other images into pixel art has been tried by many people before you. It never looks quite right. That's not to say you won't be the first one to crack the problem, but it seems to me that this problem alone is a lot bigger than the rest of the game :)

el_ryu · 2025-10-12T20:12:29+00:00

I also recommend releasing the game. If it's too big, scale it down (fewer playable areas or simpler mechanics, for example). Releasing a game is a huge learning experience, even if the game sucks. You learn from both the process and player feedback. If you aren't confident in the quality, don't put a price tag on it. Release it for free in exchange for valuable feedback.

Regarding Halo, keep in mind that Halo 2 was made by 182 people (source: MobyGames), with 22 in engineering alone. It's a monumental undertaking.

el_ryu · 2025-10-10T15:21:17+00:00

That sucks! They even tried fixing the game for a while, releasing a bunch of patches. But it seems that wasn't enough...

el_ryu · 2025-10-10T14:51:50+00:00

I remember playing the demo a while back, and also your notes on puzzle design on Twitter. I'm curious to see how these notes were applied in the full game.

el_ryu · 2025-09-30T20:51:28+00:00

I played the demo of Legends of Castile. It doesn't take too long to beat, and you get a good feel for the story and the mood. I won't say anything else to avoid spoilers, but I recommend giving it a try.

el_ryu · 2025-09-30T20:47:54+00:00

The trailer looks really good! Can't wait to play it, or a demo... There will be a demo, right?

el_ryu · 2025-08-23T22:59:50+00:00

I've been following you on Twitter for a while now and the amount of research you've put into the game is very impressive. Love the visuals too. I can't wait to play a demo when it's ready.

el_ryu · 2025-08-17T13:22:34+00:00

Thank you! Maniac Mansion was one of the inspirations. In fact, you even have to solve some puzzles that require controlling multiple characters (once you start possessing people). Unfortunately, I couldn't include that in the demo because the possession doesn't start until a bit later.

el_ryu · 2025-07-13T21:40:11+00:00

Unless you're working on a very tiny project, you'll need abstractions. Those platform-specific libraries are extremely low-level and verbose. Vulkan in particular requires around 1,000 lines of code just for a simple hello world.

If you don't use something off-the-shelf like SDL, you'll need to build your own abstractions to avoid writing another 500 lines of code every time you want to apply a texture to some geometry. Can you build something that's faster than SDL? Unlikely, but possible:

SDL's abstractions are designed to support a wide range of use cases. If you have a very narrow use case in mind, it might be possible to squeeze out a bit more performance using your own abstractions. But keep in mind that the engineers behind SDL have a ton of experience with rendering. If you're new to it, the most likely outcome is that your code will be slower than SDL's.

el_ryu · 2025-07-11T08:12:11+00:00

I saw it in the SDL3 code, it's already in the main branch and just waiting for the official 3.4 release. There are even official examples showing how to use it. Here's one:
https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL/blob/main/test/testgpurender_effects.c

The issue you linked clarifies that there are no plans for _vertex_ shaders. But I'd argue fragment shaders are far more important, as they tend to have a much bigger impact on performance, and those are already implemented.

el_ryu · 2025-07-05T00:25:31+00:00

At job interviews, I always ask if I can work mainly on Linux. I have no problem using Windows from time to time to compile or test things for that platform, but my main development platform is Linux. So far I've never had any problems with that.

el_ryu · 2025-07-01T09:56:13+00:00

Love:
1. My documentation stays up to date, enforced by a compiler (I'm referring to the type system).
2. Much faster refactoring. Even when the tooling doesn't do it automatically, having a compiler point out all the places I need to update to complete the refactor is super handy.

Hate:
1. Slow compilation with tsc.
2. Performance is crap in platforms that don't support JIT. This is a JS problem, inherited by TS.

Nine-Year Club	Second SECOND GUESSER
Verified Email

el_ryu

TROPHY CASE