iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Unreasonably excited to encounter my first armadillo since moving here. 🙀

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Came across this on my morning walk, lol. Which one of y’all freaks did this? 😆

A poster on a traffic light, declaring “Deltarune Chapter 5 Released!!!!”, with various meme images below.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Time for an art-related confession: I've seen many drawing tutorials that sketch out the entire picture before applying any inks/colors, but that's never worked for me. I can't labor over a picture that looks like shit with assurance that it will suddenly not look like shit down the line.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I had the chance to try 'Kidbash: Super Legend' yesterday, and its aesthetic has me hooked! 😍❣️ Lots of games used this clay-molded look for ads or box art, but this uses it for the entire game! Combined with the clean UI and low-framerate animation, it evokes Wii-era retro revivals in the best way.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

A rare sighting of @askiisoft.bsky.social in the wild! 👀 Could this mean something…?!

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

As part of its 1.0 release next month, I drew some new art for 'Haunted Heist' by @autotrophgames.bsky.social! 💎👻 It's not often I get to go back and redraw a previous piece like this, it was more fun than I expected.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

If anyone in Austin is even remotely interested in game development, this is probably the best chance you'll EVER have to meet all of the biggest local organizations in one place. Huge thanks in advance to @owlchemylabs.com for hosting this. I'll be volunteering again, so come on down! 👋

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

@garybutterfield.bsky.social I was just re-listening to the Yuri’s Revenge episode and was reminded how you were dreading Tim Curry’s passing. …My condolences. 😞

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Today marks the 17-year anniversary of Askiisoft’s ‘Tower of Heaven’. It was the first game project I ever worked on, and my introduction to the world of indie games. 🧵

Intermission room from 'Tower of Heaven'

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Bobby Schroeder @ponett.dog · 19/07/2026

i appreciate that when they need to do a video game bit on game changer they seem to get actual pixel artists to do it and end up with actual nice looking sprites instead of having a mess of mixed pixel sizes like i've seen on so many tv shows lol

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

This morning's Secret Sauce showcase included 'John Gleep', a game I made art for! Congrats to Monthbug and @offbrand.games for the reveal. It's about a hapless alien trying to pay off space mobsters by abducting humans en masse and feeding them into a giant pachinko machine. 🛸🎰

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Regarding my previous posts, now's the time to reiterate this... 👇👇👇

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Despite the weather, there was plenty of turnout for today's #SaveOurDevs rally at BGS Austin, meant to protest Microsoft's sweeping layoffs. Heartening to see solidarity and defiance across the game industry.

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Eternal Skies TCG RPG @eternalskies.neocities.org · 07/07/2026

Okay y'all, so about that whole thing where indie games are supposed to keep the games industry alive while AAA melts.... We really need to figure some way for indie game devs to get money DURING the process and not after. I have been working three jobs (including the game) for over two years now.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Guess I’m done buying games on PlayStation. 🤷‍♂️ I already let my PS+ sub lapse in April. When Sony first tried to shut down the PS3 and Vita stores back in 2021, they backed down due to outcry. I wonder theres still enough nostalgic cache for those consoles for it to happen again.

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IGDA Austin @igdaaustin.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

We want to spotlight ATX game devs and Austin based studios but it’s hard to find them online sometimes! If you or anyone know know fits that category tag/reply so we can boost you! We want to share your trailers, steam pages, progress and more on all of our socials to help uplift Austin devs!

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Browsing this Steam Next Fest has fried my brain. Every third game has AI-generated capsule art and logo, all horribly stretched b/c genAI's like, "lol wtf are Layers, beep boop". Until Valve adds a 'Hide AI slop' filter, I don't think I'll be browsing new releases on Steam anymore.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Not sure if I have another replay of Persona 4 in me, but I'm beyond excited for Revival's soundtrack given how great Persona 3 Reload's remixes turned out. Gimme that Lotus Juice, babyyy~~~

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

During my last visit to Albany, I told my friends that 'Steamed Hams' could be the biggest pop-culture exposure that city has ever had. They had no idea what I was referring to. At that moment, I realized I might be terminally online.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

I'm re-listening to Mortal Kombat: The Album in preparation to see the new movie. It's both awesome and weirdly preoccupied with the characters' ages, for some reason?

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Bought my mom a Lego Botanical for Mother’s Day! After suffering the pain of stepping on my old Lego bricks for decades, now she gets to experience the zen of brick-building.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Are any of my mutuals video editors open for work? I’ve been approached by people looking for help with making trailers for their indie games, but right now I have no one to point them towards. 🤷‍♂️

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

If they ever make a Katana ZERO movie, please give me a small speaking cameo so I can be the worst actor in the whole film and drag down the Rotten Tomatoes score by double digits. Thanks! 😋

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Today marks the 1.0 release of 'Die In the Dungeon', a dice-based dungeon roguelike by ATICO. I had the pleasure of drawing some key art for it! 🐸🎲

Official key art for 'Die In the Dungeon'

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Soph @ningyousaiban.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

A package I've been waiting for a while finally arrived yesterday A person from the Katana ZERO Discord server decided to print out my Leon model, and they sent it to me!!! I'm currently researching how to paint 3D prints, I'm so hyped for this!!! Thank you!!!

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Hi, just a quick question for y'all, but it's something I gotta know: Am I a frog kind of guy? 🐸 Like, do you think I have an aura that would attract frogs and frog-related media to myself? Do I exude a certain amphibious-ness?

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

One of the best things in games is hiding high-tier items in the starting area, letting players jump the progression curve and making replays easier. Off the top of my head, there's the Merc Suit in the attic in Stalker: SoC, the Drake Sword in Dark Souls, even the Pipe Axe in Fallout: London.

A screenshot from STALKER: SoC of a Merc Suit hidden in the attic of a house in the Rookie Village.

A screenshot from Dark Souls of the player shooting arrows at a dragon's tail to obtain the Drake Sword.

A screenshot from Fallout: London of a Pipe Axe hidden in the game's tutorial area.

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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

"I'm just using AI for concept art and promo, I'll hire real artists when production gets started " lol no you won't. I don't believe you.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

After going to some local dev meetups this week, my big takeaway is: wear a cool t-shirt. One based on a game, movie, band, etc. We’re all there to chat & network, but too shy to approach each other. Giving us a reason to say, “Hey, nice shirt!” gets past that hump and on to the handshakes. 🤝

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Coff @coffpic.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

夢見させてよ…🫠

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Once again, thanks to @coffpic.bsky.social and @theomniasian.bsky.social for helping put this year's comic together! 🙏😁

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Justin @askiisoft.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Happy 7 year anniversary. A lucky number.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Anniversary comic tomorrow. 🤖🦾🦿

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Finally tried out MtG Commander with friends during a recent get-together, and I think I finally get it! A ton of fun. It's much more enjoyable being able to fool around with opponents whom you know won't take it personally--hard to do with total strangers at an LGS.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

The next KZ anniversary comic is due in a few weeks! ...Sooo, if anyone could tell me what it should be about, that'd be great. 'Cuz I'm out of ideas. 😚

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Artem @cyansquare.art · 05/04/2026

Another KZ thingy.

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John Henderson @misterpedantic.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Why do game developers keep having to relearn this like it isn't known? Why do I keep seeing people allegedly in my area announce themselves for the first time by declaring the game that they made is coming out next week?

premortem.games

What solo dev Kaighen Finley learned from his time developing Daemon: “Don’t build in isolation” - PreMortem Games

While working on his second solo developed game Daemon, Kaighen Finley (working under the name Team Intuition), learned an important lesson...

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Art time! I drew this one for 'Demon Bluff', a single-player deduction game about rooting out the demons and minions hiding amongst innocent villagers. 😈🔪🧑‍🌾

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Just came across this game on Steam. I was wary b/c of the massive anime tits, but this actually looks kinda cool...? 🤔 The big Contra-like background bosses are a neat addition. Judging from this and Sanabi, I guess people really want a grappling hook in these kinds of games.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Over spring break, I subjected my brother to a marathon of all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. It was a upside-down Bell curve of quality, ending with a high note on Mutant Mayhem. His favorite (and mine) was still the 1990 original, though.

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jasper byrne @jasperbyrne.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

my new triple album, 'Lose Your Body To The Dance' is out today! title track taken from the new @ghmofficial.bsky.social game 'Romeo Is A Dead Man' now go ahead and ... Lose Your Body To The Dance 🔥 spacerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/lose-y...

spacerecordings.bandcamp.com

Lose Your Body To The Dance, by Jasper Byrne

33 track album

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

(I just realized how bleak it was to literally see Woody, Jessie, and Buzz behind glass in a Japanese toy museum, given the plot of Toy Story 2…😔)

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

With things the way they are, I'm getting nostalgic for Japan lately. So on this lazy Sunday, I'd like to take you on a photo tour of a toy collector's paradise: the Kaiyodo Hobby Museum in Kochi, Japan!

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autotroph games @autotrophgames.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

We loved working with Dave! And we just featured his art at our Emerald City Comic Con Table.

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Dave Zhang @godsavant.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Just came home from an exhausting but wonderful day at GDC², an event hosted by UT Austin for aspiring student devs. Tons of student game showcases, lectures from industry guests, and yummy food! Thanks to the Electronic Game Developers Society (EGaDS!) for putting this on.

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