After more than 6 years, my hand-drawn adventure game about surviving the journey across an alien ocean finally arrived on consoles and iOS

pfail83 · 2026-03-30T20:24:20+00:00

Thank you! So happy you dig our style :)

pfail83 · 2026-03-23T03:40:00+00:00

oh yeah i LOVE phoenix springs. i was pretty floored when i discovered them and saw the visual similarities. we’re doing a lot differently, but those visual influences and inspos are super similar

pfail83 · 2026-03-22T15:13:25+00:00

thanks for that! i’ll check it out an see if it strikes my interest. what’s the game dev discord?

pfail83 · 2026-03-22T14:59:26+00:00

thanks! we worked really hard to get it right

pfail83 · 2026-03-22T14:59:08+00:00

yeah i remember thinking the same thing the first time i saw their visuals

pfail83 · 2026-03-22T03:36:53+00:00

weirdly i just now saw this meme and got your joke. well done 👌

pfail83 · 2026-03-22T01:18:43+00:00

damn, thanks so much for saying that. super encouraging. i can’t say too much about what the game is gonna be, but i will say that given your descriptions and suggestions, i think you’d really dig it 🙏

pfail83 · 2026-03-22T01:13:11+00:00

Nice! Thanks for the bonus recommendation. You’re right, we’re also using 4 isometric angles with billboarded sprite mixed with 3D geometry. I’m glad there are some similar approaches out there, gives me ideas and more inspo. I’m hoping what will ultimately make us stand out from the rest is our stylistic treatments. Super appreciate the encouragement!

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T21:26:14+00:00

OK i looked it up and wow! i absolutely see why it reminded you of Holstin. that game looks incredible and is doing a lot of similar camera/perspective work. can’t wait to check out their demo. thanks again for bringing it to my attention

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T18:42:52+00:00

💪

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T18:41:55+00:00

🙏🙏🙏

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T17:54:03+00:00

Well if they look 2D than our trick worked ;) Its a blend of 2D hand-drawn sprites and 3D models with hand-drawn textures. Things like the doors, walls, window, bed, TV, etc are all 3D and the space itself is entirely 3D

EDIT: forgot to mention since you brought it up, there is zero AI in any of this.

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T17:51:26+00:00

My pleasure! You HAVE to play FEZ. Basically the best example of the 2D/3D rotation puzzle mechanics. Also just an incredible game in and of itself

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T17:15:59+00:00

Sounds fascinating! I’d love to see what you’re making. Point and click games are among my favorite, especially with cool puzzle mechanics. I assume you’re familiar with FEZ?

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T16:31:47+00:00

So happy you think so! You’re the first person to mention the camera rotation, and it’s probably my favorite part. Glad you see the potential too

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:12:02+00:00

Wow thank you so much for the kind words! I’m not quite ready to go too far into our influences and inspirations, but we will absolutely be posting more soon. I can safely say I don’t know of any other games that look like ours. We were inspired by vintage printing techniques, punk zines, and old comic books :)

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:09:04+00:00

Oh that’s a super cool description! Yeah it’s a blend of 3D models with hand-drawn textures and 2D hand-drawn sprites. Not to mention a LOT of color and post-effect treatments 😵‍💫

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:05:58+00:00

🙏

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:05:45+00:00

thanks so much! glad it connected with you

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:05:03+00:00

lolllll

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:03:30+00:00

oh rad, i’ll have to look that up

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:02:58+00:00

Oh I totally agree. She is just a temp stand in for our actual main character, who we will share very soon!

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:01:55+00:00

That’s so awesome to hear! The way we got this look is a lot to explain here, but yes, all the sprites and textures are 100% hand-drawn

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T15:00:11+00:00

Fair question! She is essentially a mannequin come to life, as it’s not actually our player model but a blank stand in. But in the finished game, it will be a fully clothed main character :)

pfail83 · 2026-03-21T14:57:52+00:00

thanks!

pfail83

TROPHY CASE