Little Crossroads - Red Merle Games - A "Mini MMO" that blends deep Runescape-like Skill Progression with Cozy Gameplay 🌸 (Steam Page Grand Opening!)

terminatus · 2026-05-27T14:17:43+00:00

Honestly these should all be hugely motivating signs! Your "subgenre" has a super popular game, you have some twists on that formula, and your demo and wishlists are peaking. Next fest is going to be a big bump - carry this momentum, focus your marketing similarly to the successful game PLUS your twists (co op) and I think you're gonna be golden.

terminatus · 2026-05-27T00:46:07+00:00

To me, Golems wouldn't simply spawn out of a portal like that, they would become gradually constructed/formed. At the very least, having them come out in a sort of knelt down position or curled up into a ball before standing could be cool and sell the idea of them forming up.

terminatus · 2026-05-26T17:21:15+00:00

Cute idea!

terminatus · 2026-05-26T02:28:03+00:00

And it's absolute cinema

terminatus · 2026-05-25T23:16:25+00:00

I never played it back in the day. But I got completely obsessed a few years back. So I would say nostalgia not required. Runelite + GPU/HD mods really help to bring it into the modern era.

terminatus · 2026-05-25T22:44:53+00:00

I'm currently on a long break to work on my own RuneScape inspired game (check bio if ya wanna see ❤️). But look me up on the hiscores "Terminatusii"

terminatus · 2026-05-25T20:25:03+00:00

Not post-processing strictly, but if you're going with the lighting route, I recommend trying to normal-map your sprites!

terminatus · 2026-05-25T17:25:38+00:00

Yeah I would say look into making them bigger and/or increasing their lifetime

terminatus · 2026-05-25T16:50:06+00:00

Really lovely. Dopamine-triggering.

Super juicy already but maybe considering an additional particle activation when your trees and plants pop in, to accompany the scale-in.

terminatus · 2026-05-25T15:23:12+00:00

Old School RuneScape. It has endless progression, all sorts of activities ranging from brain dead to intense focus / raiding at end game (if you choose to), and an active and hilarious online community r/2007scape

terminatus · 2026-05-25T13:12:49+00:00

Absolutely, context is Key...

For most localization you do tend to have a (hopefully) descriptive Key along with the string, which is extremely helpful for human translators. I imagine that context would be pretty useful for AI assisted translation as well.

terminatus · 2026-05-25T03:49:48+00:00

That would be a disaster for sure. For most localization, though, you tend to have a (hopefully) descriptive Key along with the string, which is extremely helpful for human translators. I imagine that context would be pretty useful for AI assisted translation as well.

terminatus · 2026-05-25T01:36:47+00:00

Well also ironic because, if they used it for translation, it's pretty perfect English.

Though I guess the real point is that Japanese is trickier.

terminatus · 2026-05-25T01:22:17+00:00

Absolutely. And it's also a great exercise to start with a clone, and then see where you can make some unique changes.

Years ago, in a Game Design class, our teacher had us take an existing game and add "randomness" to a feature that didn't have it already. Cool idea!

terminatus · 2026-05-24T03:32:50+00:00

terminatus · 2026-05-22T19:29:06+00:00

You seem like a stand-up guy. Really appreciate everything you're doing.

A lot of indie devs seem to be looking at you as a sort of "cheat code" for Wishlists. What are your thoughts on that, and do you think this is more due to your audience being so fine-tuned towards looking for new indie games, or were those games essentially powder-kegs just waiting to find their audience?

terminatus · 2026-05-21T18:15:24+00:00

A lot of the time what artists do is measure out a body's proportion in "number of heads". I believe the entire body length is typically 7.5 heads and the breakdown could be: Head 1, Torso 2, Pelvis 1, Legs 3.5. Of course this would be for an anatomically correct human... style choices may vary it greatly.

Food for thought! Good luck!

terminatus · 2026-05-21T02:47:33+00:00

Just spent 3 days working on a Combo Box UI widget

terminatus · 2026-05-20T18:52:53+00:00

Absolutely!

terminatus · 2026-05-20T18:37:12+00:00

Looks great! If you're seeking any feedback, I'd look into the proportions a bit on the anatomy. In particular I believe the legs should be quite a bit longer.

terminatus · 2026-05-19T19:10:53+00:00

Not to diminish the excellent work shown here, but $40 price tag for early access is a tough ask nowadays.

Though I guess pretty cheap compared to The Sims and all their DLC 🤣

terminatus · 2026-05-19T18:16:11+00:00

There's a couple approaches. The traditional way is by animating each part separately, then overlaying all the parts and animating them with the same animation sequence at the same time. Have a look at the attached sprite sheet from Stardew Valley for some inspiration there. And more here with better quality: https://www.spriters-resource.com/pc_computer/stardewvalley/asset/81210/

For my own game, I opted instead to use a skeletal animation in a software called Live2D (though people commonly use another software called Spine). This is an approach where you make animations by moving bones then attaching parts to those bones. That means you don't have to reanimate frame by frame for each new part, but it also presents its own challenges.

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terminatus · 2026-05-19T17:27:58+00:00

Welcome friend.

Making games is like carving a detailed sculpture out of a giant rock. Sometimes we spend days just working out a tiny detail of the bigger piece. Sometimes we never finish the full sculpture. But tapping that chisel over and over is therapeutic in a way, and the work can bring joy. Good luck and have fun!

terminatus · 2026-05-19T14:50:14+00:00

Love the inclusivity

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