iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Work in progress on Beyond Sentinel: Justin and Erica's character animations in Aseprite. #screenshotsaturday #pixelart #indiedev #gamedev

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Music in the demo was composed by @musicvsartstuff.bsky.social for our upcoming game "Beyond Sentinel".

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Been a lifesaver for trimming down to retro console palettes. You think you're at 15 colors but there's a rogue off-white, 4 pixels total, hiding in one frame of an animation. Now it sits at the bottom of the table, I click it, and it jumps right to those pixels. 😅

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 07/09/2026

Wrote an Aseprite script that tells you exactly which palette indices your indexed sprite uses, how much, and where. Click a color → jumps to its first frame/layer and selects the pixels. Great for NES/SNES palette budgeting. 🎨 #aseprite #pixelart

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Alphy now follows the action with his eyes as you move around the board in Alpha Pairs. Small touch, but it makes him feel a lot more alive. Also new: a pause screen, complete with curtain. NES version shown.

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 06/09/2026

We wanted anyone to be able to pick up Alpha Pairs and start playing right away, so there's a full tutorial built into the game. Here's how it plays on the NES version. Printed and digital manuals are coming too.

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and Sega Master System.

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Alpha Pairs cover art for the Sega Genesis version featuring Dr. Atoz and Alphy. In development now, and coming to 5 other retro systems.

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Indie game studio working on "Alpha Pairs" and "Beyond Sentinel" for NES, Game Boy, Super NES, Sega Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and modern systems.

Devlogs for Alpha Pairs and Beyond Sentinel are going up on YouTube - NES, Super NES, Genesis, Game Boy, Master System and Game Gear builds, all in progress. www.youtube.com/embraceware

youtube.com

Embraceware

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This is what the title screen looked like on real hardware before the fix. 😵‍💫

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 03/09/2026

Alpha Pairs is coming to the Sega Master System and 5 other retro systems. We hit corrupted sprites on real SMS hardware that didn't show up in emulators or even a Genesis in Master System mode. The EverDrive from @krikzz.bsky.social has been essential for catching bugs like that on every system.

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Alpha Pairs title screen on the Sega Game Gear. Music by Matias Sosa. #segadev #gamegear #chiptune

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 03/09/2026

Alpha Pairs title screen on the Game Boy. Music by Matias Sosa. #gbdev #nintendo #chiptune

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 01/09/2026

Devlogs for Alpha Pairs and Beyond Sentinel are going up on YouTube - NES, Super NES, Genesis, Game Boy, Master System and Game Gear builds, all in progress. www.youtube.com/embraceware #nesdev #segadev #homebrew

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 31/08/2026

Added platform edge detection to Beyond Sentinel, so the character strikes a dramatic pose at ledges - inspired by Sonic, Aladdin and plenty of others. Running here on NES, Game Boy, Super NES, Genesis, Master System and Game Gear. #nesdev #gbdev #snesdev #segadev #homebrew

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 30/08/2026

We commissioned Roger Loveless - a cover artist from the 80s and 90s era - to hand-paint the Beyond Sentinel poster. The full story: embraceware.com/en/news/2022...

embraceware.com

Painting Beyond Sentinel - Embraceware

Our latest game in development, Beyond Sentinel, is inspired by games of the 90s.

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 30/08/2026

We have this mapping engine working on NES, Super NES, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Game Boy and Game Gear. NES and Super NES are shown in the video above. Floor slopes and elevators were just implemented. All level artwork is a placeholder for demo/debug purposes.

Embraceware @embraceware.com · 30/08/2026

Announcing our second game: Beyond Sentinel, a metroidvania crossed with a horizontal shooter, in parallel development with Alpha Pairs. Mapping engine is operational, with a Super Metroid style mini-map. Level artwork is placeholder - character is finalized 😀 #nesdev #snesdev #segadev #homebrew

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 29/08/2026

Alpha Pairs title screen on the Sega Master System. Music by Matias Sosa. #segadev #segamastersystem #chiptune

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 24/08/2026

One composition, three very different chips. Alpha Pairs title intro on NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis, music by Matias Sosa. #nesdev #snesdev #segadev #chiptune

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 23/08/2026

Alpha Pairs title screen on Sega Genesis - animated, original score, and actual voiced speech. Sound on for this one. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqiE... #segadev #segagenesis #homebrew #pixelart

youtube.com

Alpha Pairs on Sega Genesis - Title Screen with Voice Acting

YouTube video by Embraceware

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 17/08/2026

High scores screen finished for Alpha Pairs (NES). Battery-backed SRAM, so the board keeps your scores between sessions. #NESdev #homebrew #gamedev

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 14/08/2026

Game Boy port is in progress. Alpha Pairs booting on a Game Boy Pocket and an Analogue Pocket. #gbdev #homebrew #gameboy

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 11/08/2026

After some palette, tile and sprite acrobatics, we finally got Dr. Atoz and Alphy both on the title screen together. The letter cube rotation is working nicely too. #nesdev #homebrew #pixelart #gamedev

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 10/08/2026

More progress on Alpha Pairs, running on real NES hardware. Getting the graphics compliant for NES was a fun challenge. Game Boy is next, and there's a peek at it in here. #nesdev #gbdev #segadev #homebrew

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 08/08/2026

Fitting 53,901 words onto a NES cart. Alpha Pairs is a word game: make words from letters on a 6×6 grid, cart validates them. The dictionary ships in ROM as a DAWG, 168KB of the 256KB PRG. Those ten solid banks in my space checker are all dictionary. #NESdev #homebrew #gamedev

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 06/08/2026

Thanks! Makes artwork edits so much faster. I draw per-system art in Aseprite, GameKit validates and crunches the exports, and they drop straight into that system's assembly project (6502, 65816, 68000, Z80). Nothing reaches a repo unless it's ready to use.

Embraceware @embraceware.com · 06/08/2026

Artwork pipeline is in. Our GameKit tool now handles validation, optimization and export per system — tile limits, palette rules and formats all applied automatically. #nesdev #gbdev #segadev #homebrew

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Thanks! "Tiny sound lab" is exactly the goal. GameKit will grow into our central hub for producing, validating and previewing game assets across every system we're targeting.

Building our own tooling to manage game assets across NES, Super NES, Game Boy, SMS/GG and Genesis. First up: sound effect authoring for NES and Master System, and NES music playback with FamiStudio FMS support. #nesdev #chiptune #homebrew #gamedev

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First draft of the title screen music for Alpha Pairs (NES). Just a little DPCM left to sprinkle in. Next up: getting the character to dance to it. #nesdev #chiptune #homebrew

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 03/08/2026

TurboGrafx-16 is not off the table. We were talking about it earlier today.

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Early development test: Alpha Pairs running on NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Gear and Game Boy. Same game, five sets of hardware constraints — still lots to build. (Master System works too, just didn't make the video.) #nesdev #gbdev #segadev #homebrew

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 03/08/2026

Alpha Pairs is coming to NES, Game Boy, SNES, Master System, Genesis, Game Gear, iOS, Android, Mac and PC. One palette strategy, ten platforms. High-color platforms use a closest-match index. NES, Game Boy and SMS are mapped by hand. Anyone shipped across this range? #nesdev #gbdev #segadev

Embraceware @embraceware.com · 02/08/2026

Two more platforms confirmed: Alpha Pairs is now targeting Game Boy and Game Gear alongside NES. Updates coming as we go. @krikzz.bsky.social flashcarts have made testing ROM builds so convenient. #nesdev #gameboydev #gamegeardev #homebrew #retro

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Ultimate Game Guide | Now Available

More app information here: embraceware.com/en/apps/ulti... (Available for iOS, Android, and Mac). We recently updated all of the app content in these languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese and Japanese. You can browse our site in those languages as well.

embraceware.com

The ultimate game guide for NES and Super NES.

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Homebrew is coming to the Ultimate Game Guide app, so collectors can finally catalogue their physical homebrew games alongside everything else. If you're a #nesdev with a physical NES game out there, send us a DM to get it listed. The listing can include a link to purchase the game as well.

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It has been an exciting first week of #nesdev. We're looking forward to sharing more progress. The battle of the day was the smooth curtain animation via MMC3 IRQ as well as getting our logo perfect with some background tile + sprite overlay tricks.

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 29/07/2026

Alpha Pairs for the NES is coming along nicely. I just realized today that my EverDrive cart had a USB port for debugging. It works flawlessly! Stay tuned for development updates. #nesdev #gamedev

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I really like the tin this one is packaged in👌

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 19/06/2026

Create and share interactive lenticular cards with HoloSnaps! Available for iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync. embraceware.com/en/apps/holo...

embraceware.com

HoloSnaps | Now Available

Turn Photos Into Holographic Cards.

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Embraceware @embraceware.com · 18/06/2026

HoloSnaps is here! Turn your photos into living lenticular cards that shift and shimmer as you tilt your phone. Collect them in your binder, and watch your memories come alive. Sync with iCloud and share your cards with friends and family. App Store: apps.apple.com/app/holosnap... #HoloSnaps #iOS

Embraceware @embraceware.com · 10/06/2026

One app. Zero distractions. SoloFocus is out now for macOS 🚀 It automatically hides every other app as you work, so your screen only shows what matters right now. Mac App Store: apps.apple.com/app/solofocu... #macOS #productivity #focus #deepwork #IndieApp