Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 18hI like this as an example that is good to show beginners and kids (will be showing my it to my class next week even) - a sketch of the Mona Lisa by Raphael. Even the Renaissance masters were copying from each other to learn! upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...upload.wikimedia.org 110
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 10/10/2026www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLx9... my brain immediately went to thisyoutube.comanime story arc titlesYouTube video by ProZD 000
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 09/10/2026people who have released demos or other partial versions of your games before, any advice? I'm hoping it'll get some eyes on the project as well as some feedback but I'm curious if there's anything I should be aware of before releasing it 142
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 09/10/2026my patreon now includes a membership tier with an actual reward. available while supplies last! (the supply is unlimited, but don't tell anyone that)patreon.com@elliesprites | Membership | PatreonBecome a member of @elliesprites on Patreon. Join for free or become a member for just $1/month. Queer pixel artist working on a roguelike where you play… 083
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 07/10/2026counterpoint: if she decides she likes it, she might decided to go after the real thing, which would be bad. 110
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I just realized that means I need to come up with a name for it 😩 my least favorite part of any project 050
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Just reached 30 patreon posts about my current project after a little over two months of development. I'm really happy with it so far and can't wait for other people to experience all the stuff I've been putting into it. I don't have a date yet but a demo will be coming... soon. 1100
Reposted by EllieEmily Minnow (FuzzFish) @emilyminnow.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I've got availability to take on more soundtrack work! Flexible rates! Right now you can listen to this NES influenced OST but I can also send you some samples of some other tracks if you are interested. I should have more work to put in my portfolio soon. fuzzfish.bandcamp.com/album/pyroma...fuzzfish.bandcamp.comPyromancer OST, by FuzzFish7 track album 163
Reposted by EllieMae @maenots.bsky.social · 03/10/2026The first game I ever made, BroodStar (yes, it's named after the MtG card) is currently on sale for 50% off! It's a shmup roguelite that's easy to get into if you're new to both genres but also has a high skill ceiling for those who aren't. store.steampowered.com/app/1232100/... 24017
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 03/10/2026game now has npcs... I'm now tired, but that was worth it. Really happy with how things are going. Really need to start thinking about when to stop adding things and let more people play it. just gonna add a couple more things first I guess...... 0110
Reposted by Ellieincrepare @increpare.bsky.social · 03/10/2026www.bfxr.net BFXR major update. I need to spend a *lot* more time with the presets of the instruments, but I was so immediately sold by the Mixfxr tool (that just overlaps two existing synths) that I had to put it live RIGHT AWAY. Try it out! 924188
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I was telling someone yesterday - I don't think committing this sort of crime should mean that the person never be allowed to work again and that they need to starve and die. But I do think that means they should not be a public person who shapes the opinions of literal millions. so yeah 010
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 02/10/2026most of the world was primarily buying famiclones instead of the official versions, and they kept doing it all the way into the 2000s. there's no way the ps2 can beat that. 030
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 02/10/2026thought: ps2 is only the highest selling console because famiclones aren't being included in the count for the nes/famicom. 291
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 01/10/2026there is something to be said about gamedevs seeing themselves as auteurs (pejorative) 130
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I think "I'm not adding options because of budget or time or because it just hasn't crossed my mind" is fine, for the record. I'm only encouraging self reflection to the people who have already thought about this and doubled down on not changing *anything* because their 'vision' is so important. 161
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 30/09/2026a lot of people's visions are like "this game will be brutal and only beatable by the most skilled and dedicated gamers" and in that case like... yeah, sure. if your vision is excluding people, it makes sense not to add settings that include people. but then maybe ask yourself why that's your vision 1143
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 30/09/2026this! if your vision is undone by a couple of settings then maybe it's not that strong of a vision 1112
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 29/09/2026The more content I add into the game, the more new ideas I have for both more of the existing content types, as well as entirely new things. I need to start figuring out how much of that I actually want to include in the first public release and how much to leave for later. 050
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 29/09/2026You've convinced me to add an npc who's a cane user to my game. Although I worry that at that resolution, people will assume that "otherwise young-looking character" + "cane" is meant to signify that they're actually old. But I guess at that point that's on them. 121
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 29/09/2026That's the point. Easy mode and accessibility options shouldn't be 'rebel behavior', they should be part of the intended experience. 000
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 28/09/2026ultimately calling them settings instead of cheats is probably much healthier and more likely to get people actually using them when they need them instead of giving up. (it will also make 'gamers' mad, but oh well! we can live with that) 120
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 28/09/2026this makes me think about how "cheats" in old games would often fill in for a lack of finer difficulty control. being able to give yourself infinite lives, money, health, etc, could make an otherwise unbeatable game beatable without removing the fun of playing through it. but - 220
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 28/09/2026this is a big one for me - when I was a kid I couldn't get very far into a lot of games, but I still played them for hours. I still couldn't tell you what stage 2 of gradius ii looks like but the first stage is one of my earliest gaming memories and I really loved that game. 020
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 28/09/2026This is really cool! Do you plan to expand it after the jam? 100
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I'm still into challenge runs and extra hard builds, just I guess not as the main way of balancing game difficulty. they seem like they should be separate knobs to me. 030
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026this is why I prefer difficulty options to be numbers on a menu instead of paths in the game - if the game offers a variety of cool builds, I'd prefer them to be balanced the same instead of some being (secretly!!) challenge runs. or at least make it clear ingame that you are picking the hard option 130
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Is there a way of handling stealth mechanics that you like or think would like, or do you think the concept is always destined to fail? 120
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026but I don't think any work of art is capable of having universal appeal, and that is why it is a great thing that we have so many of them, giving people the chance to gravitate to the niches that accommodate their particular strengths, weaknesses, and wants. 180
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026devs can try to accommodate more players but someone will always get left out. but on the other hand if the player is willing to engage with the game, that also means different games will challenge different people's different strengths and weaknesses uniquely, which I think is also pretty cool. 170
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I think the answer to "How are they supposed to perfectly target you" is that they aren't? some games will feel too easy for some players and some games will feel too hard - even games with difficulty modes will have easy modes that are still too hard or hard modes that are still too easy. 1111
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I don't have a point or anything. Maybe "If you're a mediocre artist then your best chance at success is to target kids and adults who haven't been exposed to much media in their lives yet". lmao it's not NOT a successful model... 140
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026This isn't limited to games, you see it a lot in books, too. Movies. You name it. As artists we often end up copying the things we like, and to an audience familiar with those things, the work can be derivative, boring... But to fresh eyes? It's groundbreaking! 150
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I find it very interesting how sometimes people will play a lower quality clone of something unaware of the original and it'll still change their lives. There's probably some kid out there who's never heard of [your favorite game], but someone's shitty roblox recreation is their favorite thing ever. 190
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 26/09/2026If you want to read more about the new level or the game in general, as usual you can do that on my patreon, for free, although if you also want to become a paying supporter that would be really cool! patreon.com/elliesprites/patreon.com@elliesprites — Pixel Art and GamesGet more from @elliesprites on Patreon. Pixel Art and Games. Support @elliesprites and get exclusive access to their work. 0103
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 26/09/2026the problem with taking actual screenshots instead of doing mockups is that your randomly placed enemies in your randomly generated levels will rarely decide to sit in the ideal spot posing on their nicest frame while contributing to the overall composition 071
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I'm assuming you're not looking for recommendations like "don't use a mouse", but uh... 130
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 25/09/2026in happier news I'm probably going to have gotten enough done on the game this weekend to be able to share some new stuff. so there's that at least. 0100
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 25/09/2026all anxiety sucks but money anxiety really is up there as one of the worst 2160
Ellie @elliesprites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026They do confirm being pro-AI in the same post, so I guess it's still good enough reason for anti-AI gamers to avoid supporting their game. 130
