iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 8h

Man, I can't believe how cool the idea is. I'm already working on the meshes needed. I'll need about 3 or so I figure. If you count non-animal meshes as characters easily puts me in the 11-12 character count. This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't started reworking my workflow..

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 9h

I was thinking I was basically done with my characters, right? Nah. My oldest nephew came up with a fucking brilliant idea to increase character/model count. Won't add humans either, and really gives the Wendigos another layer. I've already demonstrated it's possible too in an old devlog.

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Reposted by Bullrush Studios, LLC

Mr Natural @neilmatheson66.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Hasui Kawase (1883-1957) Autumn at Saruiwa, Shiobara, 1949. Coloured Woodblock.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 22h

Finally getting back to character design. Think I'm gonna take a little pivot. This'll be the last supporting NPC. Kinda combining two characters in concept and purpose. I don't want to overdo it with supporting NPCs. One handles a tutorial and has a few people in the field. Helps advance things.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 28/09/2026

So I’ve been going through some stuff lately, and disability always makes things harder. Trying to do my best. I’ll be back to making progress on this soon enough. I added stuff to and changed the first level a little. I added a frozen lake and lighthouse. It gives more rural Michigan vibes.

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Reposted by Bullrush Studios, LLC

Jay Troyer @gr8flbluejay.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Fragment of a face, Teotihuacan, Mexico, 0-650 CE, clay, 7 x 4.6 x 2 cm, National Museums of Berlin, Ethnological Museum, Berlin, Germany

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 25/09/2026

Been playing way too much KotOR 1, but finally getting back into character modeling. KotOR 1 kinda slows down around where I'm at anyway. Anyway, back to finishing up the character models. I'll probably at some point write some code too.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 24/09/2026

So, I played around in Stride. Didn't do anything major. It's impressive software though. To feel productive I put a few seeds down to start growing my systems from Unity in a way that's more easily reusable than empty objects and monobehavior scripts.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 23/09/2026

So I’m about done with my 7th and 8th characters. I’ve got to finish face/head meshes and then rig them. Almost done with the character work. The originals look and work better, and the new ones aren’t generic. Totally worth the extra work. Can’t wait to share them all

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Reposted by Bullrush Studios, LLC

AgonyFlips @agonyflips.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

When you're ticked off and a friend sends you something to make you feel better. 🐑🔊

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 20/09/2026

and fwiw what I said about my nephew doesn't mean I expect anyone to think the game is a work of art. That's stupid and unrealistic. But hey, even if a few people think it's cool that's more than no one. I don't expect anyone to randomly fall to their knees cause it's a masterpiece.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 20/09/2026

2 more characters basically down. I gotta rig and map them. I'll probably give them another pass at some point. Thinking 10 might actually be where I want to sit too. I think I'd rather have the game be kind of isolated vs populated with cookie cutter models. Gives interactions more weight.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 19/09/2026

Since people like mental health stuff. When does it magically get better? I've had more jobs than revolutions around the Sun, and I'm a late bloomer. Real over achiver there. When though? When do people finally get how hard life can be? How isolating life can be?

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 19/09/2026

Like I’ve got anxiety, depression, and ptsd. I’ve had issues like all my life. Hypervigilence is exhausting in a way people don’t seem to get. Making progress though and almost got two more characters down.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 19/09/2026

Really sucks having diagnosed disabilities and trying to get help to survive. Easily puts you between a rock and a hard place with no good solution, and doesn’t seem like anything or anyone seems to care. The system is full of platitudes and dead ends.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 18/09/2026

Yeah, so I gotta stop procrastinating and get back to work on the characters. The new first level was blocked out. Way smaller, but also way more packed with cool shit and a good FPS (90+ish). I'll write a devlog when I write a devlog. Might end up being a wall of text. There'll be a YT video.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 18/09/2026

Also last post but whenever I do post a devlog again I’ll likely include small videos of things that trio me up in stride. Idk when next one is coming though. I was having fun writing them but they’re walls of text so idk. It’ll happen when it happens ig. I need to get off Bluesky though.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 18/09/2026

No shade toward unity or anyone who uses unity. It’s just how I like to do things is all. Being able to integrate these things cause open source is just really cool to me

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Reposted by Bullrush Studios, LLC

Jonathan Slater @jonathanslater.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This is bullshit

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 18/09/2026

I just realized the systems I hacked together in unity don’t need to be hacked together in stride. That’s cool. Anyway I think my first level redesign is finally almost entirely blocked out.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 17/09/2026

I'm also making levels way shorter so there's less walking and more stuff to see and stuff too. So overall, I think it's all an improvement. There's things I'll have to play with to get the exact feel I want, but yeah. I think the end result is gonna be a much better experience overall.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 17/09/2026

I know what you'll be thinking, but hear me out. I made the jump from Unity to Stride. I know, I know just ship. However, to keep performance high as I revamp everything I'm doing a lot of work outside of Unity. My workflow works just fine for Stride. I'm also liking the results a little more.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 16/09/2026

Refactored the first level terrain and tbh yeah I’m just doing everything in blender abt gimp and leaving unity for physics and rendering. It’s freed up a lot of overhead. I’ll work on redoing buildings and finishing up characters again.

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Reposted by Bullrush Studios, LLC

Jay Troyer @gr8flbluejay.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Claude Monet, French (1840-1926), A Seascape, Shipping by Moonlight, c 1864, oil on canvas, 60.0 x 73.80 cm, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 15/09/2026

Dang, just do the work in Blender. According to ChatGPT my new terrain tiles are like 4x lighter in geometry alone than Unity terrain tiles. TBH, probably don't even need all that geometry in Blender. In my defense, the class I took on game dev used Unity for everything.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 15/09/2026

I fixed some of the terrain issues I had by going back into blender and building tiles that way instead of relying on Unity. Thought about integrating an absolutely unhinged level of optimization, but it likely wouldn’t be worth it. Levels would take forever, and it isn’t needed.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 14/09/2026

So another head down, and I can easily finish up two more characters. Already 2 more character models than I had before. It’s gonna be a loaded drop. I’d do it piecemeal, but I feel like managing expectations is super important. Also don’t wanna wear people out.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 13/09/2026

Putting the finishing touches on what will be another supportive NPC. Have a fun idea for the next one I'll work on. It'll totally be worth the wait when I'm finally done redoing the whole cast.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 12/09/2026

Another NPC is basically done. They're clocking in at just under 6k tris so far. I expect closer to about 6.5k which'll bring them in line with the rest of the characters so far. Feel like it's a pretty clean mesh, esp the head. Super stoked to get all these done.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 11/09/2026

I know I’ve worked a lot of warehouse and factory jobs. My body isn’t what it used to be. Sleeping the right way and getting out of bed can be tough. Don’t destroy your body moving heavy stuff like I did. Finding work i can do even part time is really difficult

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 11/09/2026

Just a reminder to take care of your body. Eat right, hydrate, and remember physical strain can and will break it down. You don’t need to be 90 to move like you’re 90.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 09/09/2026

I'm finishing up the mesh for the fifth character I'm working on. The core characters are done. The rest here on out are for added flavor and more narrative. I kinda just wanna do one major character drop since I redesigned the core. That being said, it's going kinda quick.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 08/09/2026

But that's basically the main cast finished and fixed since my nephew said that combat was boring. Well, mostly. Still need to rig and map. All of this will let me create meatier, weightier animations. Added characters will let me make it more of a game and less of a walking simulator.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 08/09/2026

So another quick update. Male protagonist is basically done. Looks way better too. Has actual clothing with pockets, boots, and a face that will deform nicely. Looking at 4.6k tris atm, but I'd estimate closer to 5k once I add more edge loops for the rule of 3 along his fingers. Plus needs eyeballs

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 07/09/2026

If I had caught the quality issues sooner I wouldn't have hyped things up so much. I'm sorry. I'm a lot of things, and not all of them positive, but I assure you that isn't my style. Back to going quiet/dark, but still open to ideas. I can do better and I'm going to.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 07/09/2026

Noticed traffic drop I get it. But if you've been with me this far please trust the process. My male protagonist had two armature modifiers and at one point Lox had three. The Wendigo had blocky feet and now it's got toes. It has a hanging eyeball, skin flaps, and a more complex rig.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 06/09/2026

So before I disappear into the sunset here's what I'm thinking. Probably put something up on the site somewhere. - Double digit character models: 11-13 probably. - SMG, not Bow. Shell casings will be folklore inspired, but it speeds up combat. - Tutorial where you pick up the gear now.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 06/09/2026

Also going immediately to work on finishing up the Wendigo mesh. Going dark just means cranking out a ton of work before I start working 30+ hour weeks again soon. My workflow for character work isn't really gonna introduce anything new after the first or second one. I'm not doing a self analysis

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 06/09/2026

Yeah sorry no September devlog. I’m going dark. This is too stressful for me. I’ll post another devlog once I got something worth dropping. Possibly by EOY. Thanks for understanding.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 06/09/2026

Oh shit! I fixed Lox! He’s def good enough for a devlog tomorrow. The female is fine too. She’s got some ngons, but they don’t mess anything up. They’re fairly clean and honestly if I did the work myself it wouldn’t really change anything. So I’ll post a devlog tomorrow after all!

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 28/08/2026

Just put up an announcement on the site. I'm pushing back the game to sometime 2027. IDK when yet. I'll update the product page when I get a shot. I explain why in the announcement. It'll def be finished, but I need time. No reason to rush things too much.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 28/08/2026

Good news is I was wrong about Lox's rig. It took the small changes I made very well. I do have to redo his UV map. So lots of painting in GIMP today, but that's okay. The little extra details improve the design. I got a second pair of eyeballs on it.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 28/08/2026

I actually went back and worked on Lox a little. I'll have to update his rig a little. He's got a bowtie and buttons on the dress shirt. I'll probably give him a pass in subd, but nothing insane because diminishing returns hits fast. He looks a lot better though.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 28/08/2026

Anyway, it'll take so long cause she's got the most compllicated UV map. Probably would be a good place to use a normal map, but my potato doesn't bake well. One time i tried to bake a light map for shadows and ETA went from "maybe before you're dead" to "after the heat death of the universe".

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 28/08/2026

I'll probably have the texture done tomorrow at the latest. Then I'll UV map. I'll also have a new role for Lox, a slightly more active one. Didn't realize how tall 40 ft. was until I imported him into Unity. He's a lot easier to make scary now, and I got a few ideas in mind.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 27/08/2026

So, I did some unhinged stress tests but tbh I think I'm just gonna bump up my models to the mid 20ks for characters. Could easily get to 90k, but eh.. I can't justify the bump without adding more details, and that just takes away time for animation.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 27/08/2026

So, I've been stress testing my characters and stuff which I should have done sooner. My 5k tri counts are really low and I'm probably gonna add a lot more to them and some more details to help justify it further.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 27/08/2026

Ginger is pretty much done far as the mesh goes. 5.6k tris. About where everyone else is so far, but might give models another pass once I know it won't kill performance. Think I got a bit of a cold open that'll expand the game a little too. Nothing too major. Just a nice intro.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 26/08/2026

So I’m redoing structures and stuff too to cut down on texture calls. The first one is tall atm, but otherwise looks good. It should let me put more buildings and stuff down so the world feels more lived. Not to mention more places to sprinkle the story. Should be a nice change too.

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Bullrush Studios, LLC @bullrushgames.com · 26/08/2026

So few things Probably pushing back the actual release date. There's a lot I can do now to make the world feel more lived before it went to hell. I'm gonna do that. Also, Ginger is almost done. So that's cool. Then I got the Wendigo redesign. Next devlog is probably coming like early September.

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