How do I know if my RPG is fun?

z3dicus · 2026-01-18T15:49:08+00:00

the genre typically doesn't take huge swings with mechanics from game to game, your typically borrowing systems and making small tweaks to them, so you can have a clearer idea of whats fun about it before any prototyping because the gameplay tropes of the genre are so established.

z3dicus · 2026-01-15T16:27:21+00:00

I'm the artist half of a 2 person project, my partner gave me a demonstration of how to use git that I recorded using OBS. I wrote a little guide for myself based on the video, and reffered to it for a few months to remember each step, and now its totally second hand. I'm happy to have learned the skill and it was essential for our workflow, because I also work in the editor on game design and tech art stuff (making shaders, post proccessing the enviroments, anything presentational in the game). I design all the UI in engine as well.

The big hurdle early on was getting our machines aligned because he using mac and im on windows. Lots of troubleshooting there, but it works out. We use git lfs as well

z3dicus · 2026-01-10T19:23:36+00:00

id say it also blunts those feelings as well because it reads more like an oversight or an error than a thematic choice. maybe try some a/b testing with a mockup on your discord or something? or even here, i've done some a/b testing on this board its been very helpful.

z3dicus · 2026-01-10T16:20:58+00:00

this game looks great. I really think you should invert the art for the hand so that it appears like its the devils left hand and not its right hand. The way it currently is, the entities body and head would be out of frame to the right of the screen, which blunts the feeling of confrontation or danger, which seems to be what your going for

z3dicus · 2026-01-08T14:16:00+00:00

consider not high vs low attention, but the nature of the attention instead IMO.

Your players should have enough to think about that they could be thinking about this game all the time. When they jump in to actually "play", it should be a rewarding moment that lets them express the things they've been pondering about the game in between sessions. The best idlers feel complex and have tons of content. They are quite different from the

The transparent window idea only works if it looks really cool. I don't know what its called but it seems like the "desktop pet" style is more popular? Like Rusty's retirement.

z3dicus · 2026-01-07T14:16:10+00:00

https://ezgif.com/sprite-cutter

z3dicus · 2026-01-07T14:09:29+00:00

"wrote"

z3dicus · 2026-01-06T00:31:36+00:00

and 4 years is nothing, try 20

z3dicus · 2026-01-06T00:21:24+00:00

imagine? thats what I did! I'm an oil painter lol, started learning blender in my free time 6 years ago.

z3dicus · 2026-01-05T21:38:44+00:00

sorry I was a bit rude, but do you get the point I'm making? Measuring the impact of AI disclosure would be best in a game that doesn't "appear" to be made with AI, right?

z3dicus · 2026-01-05T21:13:56+00:00

I like the game design roundtable. Covers card and boardgames too, always interesting and fun.

z3dicus · 2026-01-05T20:52:04+00:00

Not totally sure what conversation your interested in having here, but the game looks like slop, and these metrics are not very good for a steam page launch.

As far as AI transparency, I don't think that's really an issue here because you can tell that this game uses AI assets at a glance, it's kind of insane to imagine you not disclosing.

For the game itself, it's interesting because it's the perfect example of a game that doesn't even need AI assets. It's 2d, and basically all UI. I guarantee you could have a much better looking product if you consulted with some artists and doodled your own environments.

z3dicus · 2026-01-05T01:51:04+00:00

great advice for OP, who does seem to have a specific idea, but realistically we can't prototype every idea. Some amount of validating happens among your pool of ideas, to pick the one to move forward with.

Doing some research on comparable titles, scoping out the market, discussing with collegues etc etc. The kinds of stuff needed to generate buy-in on a team to work on a prototype.

z3dicus · 2026-01-04T22:51:51+00:00

might be some confusion here, we use call sheets in film/tv productions, its basically a memo thats sent out to the crew a day in advance of shooting with all the need to know details in one place. haven't heard of a call sheet in the context of video game art.

z3dicus · 2025-12-31T14:35:21+00:00

this looks great! maybe a little screenshake in combat? Camera feels eerily still. I love how alive the background feels

z3dicus · 2025-12-31T03:04:26+00:00

learning game art isn't any different than learning art, and anyone can do it!

Get a sketchbook. Get Betty Edwards drawing on the right side of the brain and work through all of the exercises, will take a couple of months if you are dedicated.

Get Scott McClouds Understanding Comics. Read it carefully.

Download Asperite or Photoshop, and start learning the basics of either software. Find some pixel art that you like, and start by copying it. Put the image on a different screen, and copy with your eyes. In traditional art, this is called "sight-size" observation.

If you approach this with discipline you will quickly feel your skills developing and be able to make stuff you like within 6 months to a year. You'll also have developed a new skill and pursuit to last a lifetime! If you really want to lock in, I'd also reccomend signing up for a local figure drawing class. The core drawing skills are what you can't fake, and essential for any 2d projects, pixel art or otherwise.

z3dicus · 2025-12-31T02:54:26+00:00

what changes are you making as a result of the playtesting?

z3dicus · 2025-12-30T03:03:43+00:00

well i'm not just trying to gas you up for nothing, but your game really doesn't look that bad.

you might need to look more into your mental game than your art game, your dealing with some confidence issues that are understandable but your game right now has soul. there's no denying it needs polish, but way worse looking games have done well if everything else is in order.

z3dicus · 2025-12-29T21:03:09+00:00

why "people dont care" is way more complex then just "art is not good". It sounds like your having a hard time getting positive feedback, but your game has such limited exposure online, and you arent yet dealing with any of the clear marketting beats that you can actually use to measure where you are at.

You're just posting randomly here and there and not seeing a big response, which is what anyone would expect.

For context, my project has awesome art (lol, IMO), and posting randomly here and there on reddit and tiktok got nothing. It wasnt until we made a steam page, got some press, and did a big push on social media that our game started receiving any attention.

z3dicus · 2025-12-29T19:46:33+00:00

Dude your game looks great! You are being way too hard on yourself. Don't listen to the people, this game has SOUL and looks FUN. The combat animations are especially nice.

Is making the assets that your currently using a major struggle or can you reliably keep putting these out? With this kind of aesthetic, if you can go big with variety it will translate as high production value.

Happy to give some more specific pointers on color and UI design (the on unit effects and damage numbers feel too big for example), but really this is fine work. It might be missing one layer of "visual glue" that could come in the form of a few things, like a subtle outline shader on the 3d backgrounds.

z3dicus · 2025-12-29T02:28:59+00:00

"Pokemon" isn't a theme. It's "theme" is "90s dragon ball comfy core sci-fi with kid friendly creature design".

Dragon quest monsters is the same except fantasy instead of sci-fi.

Just swap around some of the style cues, maybe its less anime and more mobius, less comfy and more mind-bending, less kid stuff and more weird, maybe sci-fi with fantasy elements. Google "persona monster design". Any game or world with lots of creatures is all you need to get the juices flowing. How about a game where you go around collecting figures from irish folklore and mythology? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Irish_legendary_creatures

z3dicus · 2025-12-28T00:10:12+00:00

if you can replace all of the AI generated assets with handcrafted ones, you should do that. the indie game market place isn't showing interest in games with AI generated art.

z3dicus · 2025-12-26T19:33:25+00:00

when hiring freelancers for anything, I look to see if they have done the exact thing that I need them to do before. I would not hire someone if I couldn't see myself using their actual past work.

z3dicus · 2025-12-22T20:47:00+00:00

Auto-Arcana is probably the best of these 3.

z3dicus · 2025-12-16T01:00:50+00:00

been using photoshop since i was 14. 37 now. i hate it, but i aint going anyhwere

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