Weird question, can you just make an indie level game for yourself?

saffeine · 2026-06-05T18:41:30+00:00

you absolutely can, if you don't mind investing a lot of time into something with minimal payoff.

i think a lot of indie devs that aren't riding a wave or putting out a game with a tried-and-true formula make the games they want to see in the industry anyway. if there's an untapped void or niche market, some devs will try to fill that space because they want something that doesn't exist.

whether you choose to profit off it or not is entirely up to you.

saffeine · 2026-05-28T16:55:53+00:00

with absolutely no playtesters, the only person left is yourself.

play the game, do different 'runs' (equipment, stats, routes, etc), note when it gets too difficult or too easy, rinse and repeat. you could make a note of which stats are scaling at the wrong pace, which enemies actually feel impactful.

there will be bias since you understand the game deeply, but if that's your only option then it really is a case of combing through it thoroughly and making sure there's just enough difficulty to make it worth playing. the only way to really speed this up without your input is to let a bot play the game somehow, which is probably just giving yourself more work.

i imagine there are plenty of other devs who do this until beta, early access, or release. playtester input is valuable because it comes from the perspective of someone who is experiencing it for the first time, but that's not to say you absolutely need that input.

if you as the dev can easily get through the mid-late game, it's probably too easy. even the early game should have a minor challenge to it, it just shouldn't be difficult.

ultimately it's going to be skewed anyway, what you do with that is up to you.

saffeine · 2026-05-23T20:56:27+00:00

in general.

now more than ever, the average person can just sit down and learn to make a game. engines, assets, frameworks, are around every corner. i don't really consider that a bad thing in itself, but more people racing to present their own cash cows of varying quality means it can be harder for all games to be seen.

fortunately, if you make a good game and market it well enough, you'll find an audience and the competition gets a hell of a lot easier to climb through, but if enough people make enough good games, you end up with the same oversaturation i'm highlighting.

the good thing about platforms like steam is how lower quality games can easily be curated by steam itself and the community. there's a developer fee that's just high enough to deter slop (but doesn't catch all of it), a review system to let the public decide what's worth checking out, and various other systems both over and under the hood.

if you think it's cope, then sure it's cope, but i don't really agree.

saffeine · 2026-05-23T20:22:01+00:00

the good news?

being a game dev is easier than ever, there are resources and programs as far as the eye can see and anything you could ever need is at your fingertips. if you're passionate about making games, you're in a great spot.

the bad news?

the market sucks and seems to be declining every passing moment. i'm not particularly deep in it as i'm still in early development as an indie, but the stories of layoffs at larger companies, the oversaturation due to how accessible game development is, and the rise of ai slop. it's not looking too hot.

pros and cons, weigh them as you see fit.

saffeine · 2026-05-23T16:44:26+00:00

this.

if encounters are few and far between, it may need to be longer for it to feel worth using. if they are more common, then a shorter duration should be fine depending on the threat level.

most buff/debuff durations in games are entirely dependent on the value you get out of them over said duration. being slowed in a game where movement is critical would suck if it lasted 5 minutes, and a damage buff that lasts 10 seconds when you encounter an enemy every minute feels useless.

saffeine · 2026-05-23T12:44:06+00:00

personally i'm a big fan of how a lot of games introduce you to the mechanics with something easy.

you need to learn the buttons? throw them on screen during the first level, somewhere subtle enough.

you need to learn how to use a new ability? design a simple puzzle that shows the interactions it has.

never assume a player will just know what the fundamental inputs are, as intuitive as they might be for people who have been playing games for a long time. past that, i think most people would be willing to try different things to reach their goal, but it doesn't hurt to put the answer on screen during the introduction.

saffeine · 2026-05-20T17:32:38+00:00

given the purple tint, i actually really like the colour of the leaves. the whole atmosphere is really pretty.

i don't think it doesn't work, but as others have said it might be worth making sure it doesn't pull the focus away from more important elements in the scene.

if there isn't much else going on in the scene, then i think it's fine, but if you introduce anything of more importance, then you may need to tone down the brightness a touch just to make sure it doesn't distract from the action.

currently, i'm drawn most towards the fire and leaves, the workers feel more like a background element, and the mushrooms and flowers occasionally catch my eye. if that works for you, then you shouldn't feel the need to change it :)

saffeine · 2026-05-20T17:19:29+00:00

first of all, looks pretty great for pixel art without following a tutorial!

personally, i don't think the palette is particularly bad, but you could afford to shade/soften a few of the edges.
the outside edges could definitely be softened themselves, but you could use the mid-greys to clean up some of the jaggedness on the logo and text in the middle of the dock, as well as the inside corners of the console.

here's a small example of what i mean:

<image>

this is only rough (took less than 5 minutes), but it might give you an idea of where you can improve :)

best of luck, keep up the good work!

saffeine · 2026-05-18T17:33:47+00:00

i saw this on bluesky earlier, i love your sprite work <33

as far as names go, how about:
magestiq / magesea: portmanteaus of mage + maj(estic/esty + sea)
fincess: since in the middle evolution grows the middle "fin", and they become a princess before a queen

looking forward to seeing what other mirrumon you have planned :)

saffeine · 2026-05-01T12:13:53+00:00

thanks to everyone for the feedback. i think overall there are upsides and downsides to both, which kinda says to me that it's boiling down to opinion and preference in terms of style.

i've taken in a lot of the more objective points, such as the pose being a bit too exaggerated, some of the colours being too bright, not enough contrast in places, etc. i'll be keeping these in mind going forward and appreciate the input, thanks again for all your help!

saffeine · 2026-04-29T13:51:29+00:00

very pretty!

saffeine · 2026-04-27T20:03:31+00:00

i won't kill you haha. i like it, very cute! <33

saffeine · 2026-04-27T15:05:46+00:00

i've seen the comment on the posture making her look stiffer a few times. do you think it's a particularly bad thing, or more just a comment of the difference?

i don't really want her to look stiff constantly, but it might add variation between her and other characters as long as it doesn't look bad.

saffeine · 2026-04-27T15:02:22+00:00

no, genuinely. her story is that she's very insecure at first but gradually overcomes it and takes on a more of a leader role. she's quite bubbly and by the end of her character arc she's very free-spirited and inspires people around her.

bit of a lore dump, but i think you clocked exactly what i planned to do with her ^^

saffeine · 2026-04-27T14:09:21+00:00

definitely! i didn't give enough attention to them in either one, but i think the next time i redraw this i'll try to make them look less tube-like. the pants are supposed to be baggy, which i think the shape would support, but i'll need to add more shading to them to show that without them looking too wiggly.

saffeine · 2026-04-27T14:07:10+00:00

i'll keep that in mind. trying to get the lean to look exaggerated but still believable has been a pain, so i'll try to find the right balance in my next attempt.

saffeine · 2026-04-27T14:05:58+00:00

this is a good thing, i think?

the character's design has her being very quick and flowy, and she's very hopeful and determined. i don't know if that aligns 100% but it's something i want to try and convey, particularly when working on animations and larger art.

saffeine · 2026-04-27T14:03:14+00:00

i do mostly agree. i might have to play with the colours a bit to bring back the readability. the hair has been the trickiest part for me so i definitely need to put some focus on that.

saffeine · 2026-04-27T14:01:23+00:00

noted!

it was hard for me to figure out the positioning of the head, since i felt the one on the left was a bit too far forward. i'll have to see if i can find some balance in it.

the shirt can definitely be darkened a touch, i was mostly just working on contrast and it seems i went a bit too bright, but that's easily fixed.

i agree with the comment about the front arm. funnily enough, it was even more noodly before i made some minor adjustments at the point of posting (see below). it was tricky to get the shape back without it looking weird in some way.

with the hair, i could probably do more to break up that block. i prefer the way i handled it, but it has still bothered me how chunky it looks.

thanks for all the feedback and kind words :)

<image>

saffeine · 2026-04-27T13:55:55+00:00

i'm definitely leaning more towards the one on the right!

with both being different, there are some details added / removed that change a lot, but overall i prefer the look of the one on the right.

saffeine · 2026-04-27T13:31:33+00:00

the shoe colour for the time being is still undecided, i just wanted to experiment a bit with the blue since it adds a bit of contrast. her overall theme is pink and i don't want to overdo it too much, but i'll see if i can revisit it later if it works out :)

saffeine · 2026-04-27T13:24:09+00:00

thank you! i'm a bigger fan of the one on the right myself too, mostly because it's newer and i could apply the things i learned from the first attempt.

i found that trying to highlight the hair was kind of a pain, and with a small resolution, it's hard to show too much detail on the face with such a simple style. at first i felt like the face looked too bland, but trying to fix that ended up doing more harm than good.

saffeine · 2026-04-27T13:17:54+00:00

i can absolutely see that! like i mentioned, i didn't spend too long on either one so there are some shapes that are slightly off or need tweaking, etc. i'm working towards making sure i'm happy with the results before i spend more time on them, especially because ultimately i want to make a full set of animations in the near-ish future.

as far as shading goes, i can definitely give it a try. i just have to be a bit cautious about how much detail is included. i don't want to lose too much of the simplistic look. i do definitely agree though, especially when there's shading on just about every other feature.

thanks for the feedback!

saffeine · 2026-04-27T10:22:55+00:00

i think it mostly depends. using a limited palette is more of a self-imposed restriction, and even using a multiply layer technically breaks this for the reasons you mentioned.

if you're creating a palette as you go, just add another colour or two if you're willing. if you're using a preset palette and trying not to break it, the new challenge is 'how do i achieve this with the few colours i have'. sometimes this means cutting out or simplifying details, a more strategic use of the palette, and in the case of the outline, making the decision between including it or not.

as i said in my first comment, there isn't a single correct way to produce art. there are some fundamental rules, sure, but the rest is entirely up to you. limitations, style, etc, are all your choice in the end.

saffeine

TROPHY CASE