iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Yeah I can imagine. I just thought a bit about how I'd translate the battle system and it gave me an idea for a new game, so thanks for that!

010

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Can't wait! Did you experiment at all with a tabletop version of avianos? I would love a smaller 4x game like that on my shelf, but I can imagine the combat system would be pretty tough to adapt to the table

100

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Here's a look at the game I've been working on! Turn-based tactics where you jump on cards to play them, and there's an early prototype available here! Any feedback is much appreciated! ethans-byproducts.itch.io/stop-right-w... #indiedev #gamedev

3196

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

3196

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Jesse Boo-rascia 👻 @jesseguarascia.com · 01/10/2026

If your atonement comes at the cost of betraying the trust of hundreds of thousands of people, many of which are victims of the very thing you’ve perpetrated, you’re just creating more sins to atone for. Cut the shit.

09311

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah I have a bunch of ideas for new keywords and stuff, but I was hoping the 30ish cards in there now are enough to prove the concept. Totally agree with everything you said btw!

111

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Hey if anyone wants to try out a prototype of my next game, I'd really appreciate your feedback! It's a tactical deckbuilder kinda thing, so if you're into that, give it a whirl! ethans-byproducts.itch.io/stop-right-w... Password: stop!

ethans-byproducts.itch.io

STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU CARD - demo by Ethan's Byproducts

Deckbuilding tactics game where the floor is made of cards! A downloadable game

132

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

ethans-byproducts.itch.io

STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU CARD - demo by Ethan's Byproducts

Deckbuilding tactics game where the floor is made of cards! A downloadable game

132

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Looks amazing! Really curious about the system you used to assign unique abilities to 120k different words

000

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Totally agree, and more striking to me is how barren the parts of the game without sounds feel once you add a single sound effect anywhere

010

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Aftermath @aftermath.site · 27/08/2026

There's more--like Tomb of the Bloodletter, Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle and Midnight Moments--below!

aftermath.site

Impressions - Aftermath

Where we write about the games we've played and are playing.

1202

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Counting every period, this game has 9 punctuation marks in its title! I'd assume that's a record but there's probably a game called like %%%%%%%%%%

metacritic thumbnail for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl - Cost of Hope

000

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

This is awesome! @aftermath.site wrote this really insightful (and positive!) review for tomb of the bloodletter! aftermath.site/tomb-of-the-...

aftermath.site

Tomb Of The Bloodletter Is A Tough But Goofy Typing Game

A word game that's trickier than it looks

0326

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

This is awesome! @aftermath.site wrote this really insightful (and positive!) review for tomb of the bloodletter! aftermath.site/tomb-of-the-...

aftermath.site

Tomb Of The Bloodletter Is A Tough But Goofy Typing Game

A word game that's trickier than it looks

0326

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Armie Hammer? Let's start asking "are WE hammer?"

000

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Nothing consumes them except buildings, so getting them early allows you to stockpile them for the future. I think it mostly works since the whole point of the game is digging up as many blocks as you can, so any resources you collect in doing so are kind of a bonus

101

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Honestly hard to say, but I definitely feel like gold is far and away the most valuable resource, and carrots are pretty useless until you have more buildings.

100

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

The scope was kind of an issue inherent to the concept. It's a systemic strategy game with various resources, and balancing that kind of game in such a short time frame is tough for me. I'd like to do more mechanically elegant games for jams in the future

100

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Thanks so much! Yeah I'm not too sure about the strategy myself since it's sort of just a collection of mechanics and systems I thought were fun and then strung them together. Glad to know it works!

000

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Here's the GMTK game I made, pretty happy with the sounds and effects, but definitely should've scoped down and done something tighter #indiedev #gamedev ethans-byproducts.itch.io/downville

192

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I finished my #GMTK jam game if anyone want to give it a go! It's a tough one to explain but I'm pretty happy with the sound design ethans-byproducts.itch.io/downville

ethans-byproducts.itch.io

Downville by Ethan's Byproducts

Minimalist excavation village builder

141

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I finished my #GMTK jam game if anyone want to give it a go! It's a tough one to explain but I'm pretty happy with the sound design ethans-byproducts.itch.io/downville

ethans-byproducts.itch.io

Downville by Ethan's Byproducts

Minimalist excavation village builder

141

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Thanks for sharing, love seeing this kind of WIP footage! Curious if you have anything similar for downwell?

110

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Excellent tomb of the bloodletter review

Screenshot of a positive steam review reading "Ethan I'm going to ******* kill you"

281

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Congrats Jesse! Your podcast appearances will be missed!

010

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

The slay the spire board game is fantastic! It's a little complicated, but being familiar with the video game makes it a lot less so

010

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Tomb of the bloodletter shout out in here!

030

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I think I'm gonna make a game based on those kids breaking into scientology facilities

030

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Thanks! I'm thinking I'll probably go with that third option for now

000

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

If you're playing a card game which lets you merge cards together (7 of diamonds + 4 of diamonds = jack of diamonds) what would you expect to happen when you merge an 8 and a queen?

200

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The past 2 decades of game feel theory in indie games has all been in vain attempt to recreate the sensory ecstasy of hitting a piñata

031

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

The cmyk version of quacks really improves the visuals imo

010

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

My word-game deckbuilder Tomb of the Bloodletter is 20% off for its first steam summer sale! That's right - $6 for 6 playable characters! What a steal! Steam page: store.steampowered.com/app/3531630/... youtu.be/wbbOcI6wjYo?... #indiegame #roguelike #gamedev #indiedev

youtu.be

Tomb of the Bloodletter - COMMERCIAL!

YouTube video by Ethan Goldreyer

062

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

youtu.be

Tomb of the Bloodletter - COMMERCIAL!

YouTube video by Ethan Goldreyer

062

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Hey if you like metroidbrainias, I made one earlier this year! It's free on itch, and people seem to like it a lot. I'd love to expand it into something bigger, so if you know/are a publisher looking for a similar project, please reach out! ethans-byproducts.itch.io/sceptorn

ethans-byproducts.itch.io

SCEPTORN by Ethan's Byproducts

A small, dense metroidvania about planning your path through a strange world...

001

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

ethans-byproducts.itch.io

SCEPTORN by Ethan's Byproducts

A small, dense metroidvania about planning your path through a strange world...

001

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I think a key "softer" decision is "hurt them, or don't" in situations where your obviously advantageous decision would actively hurt another player, and the tension ostensibly comes from how mean you're willing to be

000

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

These are really interesting! This might be a sub-category of risk/reward, but I feel like "stick or pivot" is a decision type I see often, where you're choosing between doubling down on your current strategy and branching out into something discordant with it

250

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Brother let me know when you find a poem by someone *without* autism

041

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

That would be a great manifesto topic

030

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

it's interesting how easily identifiable AI/crypto posts are, even with no mention of AI or crypto by name. Always some vaguely positive combination of numbers, acronyms, and tech buzzwords like "hyped for the BTL-5.5 update! Using this with Gribby-0.9 will really streamline my content pipeline"

010

Reposted by Ethan Goldreyer

Ethan Goldreyer @ethangoldreyer.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Is there anything to the idea that metroidvanias and roguelikes - 2 of the biggest genres in indie games - seem to be shifting in radically opposing directions?

121