iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ryan @defnotreal.com · 30/08/2026

I'm gonna make a grand announcement soon, but I went ahead and soft-launched Shootem's Steam page. This will be our little secret. store.steampowered.com/app/2968300/...

store.steampowered.com

Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! on Steam

LITERALLY level the playing field in this brick-breaking, heat-packing arcade party game for 1-4 players.

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Lina "play HEX POP" rabbitlegs @rabbitlegs.bsky.social · 5h

Thanks to everyone who caught the stream last night! I'm gonna start posting the art from it, starting with Pastel from Twinbee!

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pilebunker @pilebunker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

gona start posting here more #hello this is my #oc

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EngineerKappa @engineerkappa.net · 27/09/2026

so nano ka?

Drawing of Rumia from Touhou 6. She's doing that silly little hand gesture the New Classic art reveals.

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confettie! @spacebeer.net · 27/09/2026

The kind of messages Amiga devs were putting in their games' code as warnings to pirates trying to crack their games:

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裏ドラ @ura--dora.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Elphelt Valentine #GuiltyGear

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Tool-Assisted Speedrun clips @tasnocontext.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Game: Kirby's Dream Course (1994, SNES) TAS Author: snc76976 Source: tasvideos.org/1633M

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 19/09/2026

And now, a word from Shootem's lead developer.

What's up, party people.

SAGE 2026 ended as of last night, and my one and only patch for the event is now out in the wild, so I just wanted to take a minute to do a little post-mortem, I guess you could call it.

This demo, needless to say, was vastly different from what SAGE had in the past. I mentioned it a little going into the new year, but what you played was quite literally the work of moving what I had in GameMaker to Godot, then taking a chainsaw to it and completely uprooting the gameplay, UX, etc., and I did it all in roughly six months. As someone who has almost no real game development or design chops, I personally think everything I did in that frankly short timeframe was pretty goddamn impressive, and I'm VERY happy with what you got to play. Obviously, it's still a little rough around the edges, but this demo truly is as representative of what the final game should be as it ever has been. In what's been a good yet tumultuous year for me so far, especially filled with a super healthy dose of gamedev impostor syndrome, I'm glad this mostly went super well.

I obviously can't take all the credit, though. I need to give huge props to my friends in PA for helping make my move go as smoothly as possible, as well as all of the friends I've made through SAGE that I've been able to truly rely on for making Shootem as good as it can get, and in turn entrusting me to do the same for their games. I also want to, like always, extend an especially great thanks to my amazing team for working as hard as they have to bring the game to life. We unfortunately didn't have time for quite a few things in this demo, even some things that I was super excited to have ready for SAGE that I think people would've lost their minds over, but at the end of the day, it's nothing to stress over too much.

CONTINUED ON NEXT IMAGE

Though, I want to really give one person in particular their flowers, something I think doesn't happen nearly enough. If it wasn't for Mr. Freaks, even with all of his works-in-progress, stepping up to the plate, doing a shitton of art, guiding me through development by helping with time management/workload stuff, and so many different things that I can't name off here just to respect your time, I am absolutely CERTAIN that this demo would not have made it out on time. For that, he's without a doubt the MVP of this game's development, from now until well after the full game comes out. And now, not only has he gotten me in on boilerplate work for Strato Freaks DX, an amazing project that I've fawned over even since murmurs of its existence started cropping up, we're about to take that game to fucking MAGFest, an opportunity I never thought I'd be able to partake in this early in my journey as an actual gamedev. Needless to say, I've enjoyed every second of working with you, hanging out, just about everything. I honestly feel like we're fantastic business partners in the making.

With that said, I'm sure you could've gathered from the booth, but yes, this is the last time you're gonna see Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! at SAGE. I think I'm in a position now where the whole rest of the game just gets built on top of what's already here, so it's time to get serious with this project, put a bigger and even better demo up on Steam, and get this true Ship of Theseus of mine finally out to the people after almost 10 years. Will I return to SAGE? Probably, but it's gonna be a little while, I think.

Whether you've been following that silly Mr. Shootem since my old prototypes from back in high school, or are just now hopping on after SAGE 2026, I thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you're just as excited for this as I am.

CONTINUED ON NEXT IMAGE

I hope this SAGE was a good one for you, whether as a player or a developer, because there were a lot of heavy hitters this year, and it's not just about my game. If you haven't checked out the list yet, I highly recommend taking a few hours to comb through and see what you might like. I'll give a list of recommendations in the next image.

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

- Ryan / defnotreal_

Crudely drawn image of Mr. Shootem giving a thumbs up, next to "Thanks for playing!!"

Check out these games at SAGE this year!

Artius: Pure Imagination
Blocks for Babies
Fox Stamps
The Galactic PAC-MAN Brothers
HEX POP
Pomeraider
Prototype N
Slashbang
Strato Freaks DX
Total Destruction 2Dee
Witchfall: Secrets of Emotica
Y O U

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Sharb 🏳️‍⚧️ @firengames.com · 19/09/2026

SAGE 2026 is coming to a close so I figured I'd draw a collection of goobers from people I know

Sprite art of several indie game characters present at sage, in order
Dee - Total Destruction 2Dee
Nadine - Prototype N
Blade the Ferret
Classic Scruffy - Strato DX
Y O U
Mr Shootem - Mr Shootem Breaks out

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Mr. Freaks @mr-freaks.itch.io · 18/09/2026

ko-fi.com/mrfreaks Hello! If you haven't seen the good news I'll be demoing Strato Freaks DX at MAGFest 2027! One small step for freaks, one big step for freak-kind. This is of course pretty costly though, so I might need a little extra. I've just made a ko-fi if you're willing to donate!

ko-fi.com

Support Mr. Freaks

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Sonic The Hedgeblog @sonichedgeblog.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

'Mr. Shootem Breaks Out!' by defnotreal_ an arcade-inspired "puzzle-platform-shooter" that takes the tried and true Brick Breaker genre and lets it pack heat. sonicfangameshq.com/forums/showcase…

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 15/09/2026

I DIDN'T EVEN POST THIS ONE Legit every single person I've talked to said even the idea is abhorrent but I genuinely love it LMFAO

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Vanylla Beane🍦 @vanyllabeane.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Metroid but she is hungry 🍔🤤

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Kuji (Comms Open!) @kujikawaii.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Marina Liteyears trade with @dtee.bsky.social !

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philRaco [⠀　⠀⠀　⠀　　⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀　⠀ ⠀　⠀⠀] @phiiraco.lhlgames.com · 11/09/2026

guess who made a new official Plok song (thank u Ste and to the shooteam for the opportunity a) youtu.be/FqH1x1THopc

youtu.be

Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! - THE Demo OST: Plok ~ Flying Limbs

YouTube video by THE SHOOTEAM

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Lina "play HEX POP" rabbitlegs @rabbitlegs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

SAGEXPO IS LIVE!! CHECK OUT OUR GAMES! sagexpo.org

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 11/09/2026

Admittedly have been holding back a couple tears the past two hours. I’m so glad that despite everything I could get something new out and at the level I did. This demo is basically a true look at what the full game is gonna be.

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 11/09/2026

Shootem demo is OFFICIALLY releasing at noon EST! A couple more sacrifices were made to get it out the door (I ran into a really nasty glitch right at the end lol), but I'll be updating the demo over time to compensate. ENJOY!!! ❤️

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 11/09/2026

They got my goofy ass in for another stream on 9/13 at 12am EST (9/12 9pm PST), come and stop by!

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 10/09/2026

Some music tracks from THE Demo are now available on YouTube, with more to come in the future! youtu.be/yPks_499-gY youtu.be/cDDUJfRjPGc youtu.be/YxFbCx0lwUs youtu.be/FqH1x1THopc

youtu.be

Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! - THE Demo OST: Bricks in the Concrete Jungle

YouTube video by THE SHOOTEAM

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 09/09/2026

That Metal Slug collection looks fire but I’d be giving the Saudi oil barons money, I’m basically in an abusive relationship

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 09/09/2026

I guess to explain: a flaw in Steam’s backend was found where anyone can view the achievements of unreleased games, aaaaand Shootem was one of them! I can’t stop you from looking at them, but obv understand it’s all WIP and some Adventure Mode stuff is already in there, so small spoilers ahead.

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 09/09/2026

Thank you Valve for giving Shootem its first genuine leak LMFAO

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Kuji (Comms Open!) @kujikawaii.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

elpheltttt (yes reposting these again)

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 05/09/2026

Not enough people are playing Ghosts n Goblins at the arcade I guess because I got the top score without even beating level 1 LMAO

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 05/09/2026

NEXT WEEK: Shootem demo *part 1* drops at SAGE. We’re giving world 3 a little more time before we send it out, but it’ll be ready for sure when the demo comes to Steam/itch. I’m so so excited to get this new demo out to you all, it’s easily the best work we’ve done yet.

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 04/09/2026

I can always rely on Chibi-Robo remaining locked in the ninth circle of hell

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screenshot archive of internet @archiveofficial.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

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boots (comms delayed sorryyy) @darekit.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

i still crack up from this image i cant lie

old emo illustration of two simple characters, original caption of "i made you a cookie but i eated it" partially replaced, now stating "i made you a cookie but then i freaked it"

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furry hater @furry-hater.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

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samipeko🐱 @samipeko.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

comm. is that The daiwa scarlet

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 29/08/2026

Went to the local arcade’s grand opening last night and I showed up in a guy’s YouTube video playing The Simpsons while looking like an absolute beta LMAO

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EngineerKappa @engineerkappa.net · 26/08/2026

thinkin about Mail again

Chibi drawing of Mail from Popful Mail with a limited color palette

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defnotreal_ 🔜 Super MAGFest 2027 or something lol @defnotreal.com · 27/08/2026

GTA extended look no lie looks better than the leaks but I still felt a whole lot of nothing watching it LOL, definitely waiting for a sale and a PC port before I dive in

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 27/08/2026

Scary. #gamedev #godotengine

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furry hater @furry-hater.bsky.social · 27/08/2026