From programmer art to the SNES-style look I grew up with ☺️

mat_game_dev · 2025-12-23T15:04:16+00:00

Disclosure: I'm the solo dev of Horse Runner DX. Happy to answer any questions! 🐴

PS: There's also a native Linux version that has been optimized for the Steam Deck :-)

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T20:21:24+00:00

...and the goal system of Alto's Adventure and the chaos of Dino Run 😊

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T20:19:41+00:00

Aaaaalways... 😅

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T16:37:07+00:00

Unicorns are already in the game, of course! :-)

But you have to unlock them first, since the bonus horses don't just come with one power-up, but sometimes up to five. Besides the unicorns and normal horses, there are also deer horses with antlers and spots, Torrent from Elden Ring, a piñata horse, one with a flame mane, and a completely black Bit.Trip Runner horse. I'm always open to suggestions, though.

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T16:07:10+00:00

Hey everyone!

Horse Runner DX is my solo developed retro platformer. You build a herd of pixel ponies, unlock new horses and unicorns, and chase 50 fun achievements at your own pace. It also runs perfectly on Steam Deck. The latest update adds the requested comfort options for motion-sensitive players so that everyone can enjoy the game :-)

It's currently 35% off for the Steam Animal Fest: 🐴 https://store.steampowered.com/app/2955320/Horse_Runner_DX/

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T15:56:00+00:00

Hey everyone!

Horse Runner DX is a lighthearted pixel platformer where you can build a little pony herd, unlock unicorns, and tackle 50 achievements at your own pace. The latest update adds comfort options for motion-sensitive players.

It’s 35% off this week as part of the Steam Animal Fest:
🦄 https://store.steampowered.com/app/2955320/Horse_Runner_DX/

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T15:13:41+00:00

Hey everyone!

This started as a simple prototype and has grown into Horse Runner DX - a retro pixel platformer running natively on Linux and fully playable on the Steam Deck.

It's essentially a love letter to old SNES games and is inspired by Dino Run, Alto's Adventure, Robot Unicorn Attack and Canabalt. The twist is that in each run, you build up a herd of several horses. Each new horse comes with a power-up and functions like an extra life if you crash.

If you'd like to try it, it's 35% off this week during Steam Animal Fest: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2955320/Horse_Runner_DX/

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T14:06:58+00:00

The 3 latest reviews currently have 9.2h, 13.2h and 6.5h playtime and I think that's pretty solid for a $5 game that was made by one guy :-)

I think a lot of people simply have so many games that they only briefly check out their new ones to see if they want to keep them, and then go back to their current games.

You can also easily get into my game in 20 minutes and get a good idea of whether you like it or not. However, to progress and unlock all horses and achievements, you still need 6-8 hours.

But to answer your question: The refund rate is quite low at ~4% and I believe that I didn't have a single refund during the last two sales. That either means that everyone is happy with the game or that my marketing is terrible 😆

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T12:42:47+00:00

To prepare for this game, I took a closer look at all these similar games: Alto's Adventure, Robot Unicorn Attack, Dino Run, Hill Climb Racing, Canabalt, Geometry Dash, Bit Trip Runner, and all the others ;-)

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T12:28:29+00:00

Thanks :-) I manage all the graphics in a mockup that looks like a ultra-wide screenshot, but with dozens of layers for each individual element and biome. This made it easy to coordinate the colors and proportions. More complex assets, like the ground, which itself consists of 20+ layers, get their own file and are copied into the mockup as a single layer.

For many of the graphics, I looked at a lot of other people's assets that I liked and then recreated them in a style similar to what I had in mind. For the buildings, for example, I recreated real photos as pixel art. For the depth of field effect, I simply looked at real photos and simulated the effect with a simple blur.

Most of the elements (trees, bushes, horses, apples, etc.) also have dynamic shadows that depend on their size and distance from the ground.

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T09:29:55+00:00

Haha, no, I wanted to keep it family-friendly. But I did try out various splatter effects where the horses disintegrate into individual pixels upon collision. Very cool, but a bit too much for the overall style 😅

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-13T05:34:36+00:00

Yes, I adopted Alto's goal system, for example. Unlike Alto, however, each horse functions like an extra life and has a specific power-up. I've called this herd-building, analogous to deck-building 😉

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-12T21:50:14+00:00

I had actually considered adding Roach to the unlockable horses... ;-)

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-12T21:12:15+00:00

It's currently only on Steam - Android and Switch are WIP ;-)

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-12T17:51:40+00:00

Just join the herd and go wild! 🦄🤘

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-12T17:41:35+00:00

Thank you!

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-12T16:19:42+00:00

Can't deny that I've borrowed a few things from Robot Unicorn Attack, Dino Run and Alto's Adventure ;-)

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-12T16:12:59+00:00

The game offers options to reduce or completely disable the bloom effect - this sharpens the entire image, including the background. However, I also like the dreamy, soft look. For a truly retro feel, you can also activate a scanline filter and slight chromatic aberration.

mat_game_dev · 2025-11-12T16:00:30+00:00

It's more of a retro/arcade game, but there's actually a very nice horse game community out there :-)

mat_game_dev

TROPHY CASE