iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 15/09/2026

I've been trying to optimise the later stages of my courthouse #ManagementGame recently. The animations of people was the most problematic so I've been struggling with VAT (vertex animation textures) and have mostly got it working. Performance for some scenarios has gone from 20-60+ fps. #IndieDev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 05/09/2026

This #ScreenshotSaturday, I've been reworking the day-complete screen in my courthouse #ManagementGame, Justice Project. It's now in the style of a newspaper and still needs a lot of work, but it is much nicer than what was there before. #IndieDev #IndieGames #TycoonGames #GameDev #IndieGame

A screenshot of a game, with a courthouse in the background. The foreground has a UI panel formatted like a book. The left spread is titled "The Post" with a date and information about operations of a courthouse below it. The right spread is titled "Financials" with the same date again and a colour coded (green revenue, red expenses) list of income and expenses.

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 18/07/2026

This #ScreenshotSaturday I've spent a bit of time testing my courthouse #managementgame on this new toy. (the LCD Steam Deck is still in stock new in Australia and with the recent OLED price rises and eyeing a Deck for a while I finally grabbed one) #tycoongames #indiegames #indiedev #gamedev

Steam deck with a courthouse on the screen. There are UI elements in the top-left, top-right and bottom left. The bottom has controller input hints, the top some stats and balanced and the right a clock with game speed controls. The Steam Deck also has it's performance overlay on with 60fps (though unfortunately at the moment this isn't as stable of a 60fps as I would hope)

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 14/07/2026

Ok this is probably the least interesting post you'll see today, but its a huge win for me... I've finally got a somewhat versatile version of key remapping in my game (after having a system which was a buggy mess for months). #IndieDev #IndieGames

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 05/07/2026

I really should start a new thing of ScreenshotSunday, because I always post screenshots on Sunday not #ScreenshotSaturday. This week I've worked on improving my pathfinding system to allow different access levels, and now the UI for their selection. #tycoongames #indiegames #indiedev #gamedev

A screenshot of my game. It is in a darkened view in which the only thing visible are coloured floors for each room, representing different access classifications. The UI is visible with a panel in the bottom left titled "Access Restrictions" and a list of buttons below. Green corresponds with public access, red with secure access, blue with restricted access, orange with staff only and orange with red stripes for staff only (secure). In the future I hope to add different patterns to all to help with colour blindness.

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 30/06/2026

Who doesn't love a stats screen in a #ManagementGame to show you the most obvious of things: a significant rise in expenses and stagnant revenue = a problem. (The significant increase in expenses is a result of testing the fines system) #IndieDev #IndieGames #TycoonGames #GameDev. #IndieGame

A screenshot with UI mimicking a clipboard. There is a postit note at the top that reads "Statistics" and two graphs below. The post is related to the first game which has amount ($) on y-axis and days on the x-axis. The two most recent days (Day 71 and 72) have a steep increase in the red line (expenses) yet constant and much lower income (the green line).

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 28/06/2026

Slightly Belated #ScreenshotSaturday (it's still Saturday in some parts of the world!) This week I've been working on the tutorial so here is a gif (actually video) of a gif in my tutorial. Getting gifs to work in #Godot was interesting (and my approach is terrible). #IndieDev #IndieGames

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 20/06/2026

This week I've been working on the grants system for my courthouse #ManagementGame. Grants will primarily be for helping to fund building expansions. Wishlist Justice Project on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4634840/... #ScreenshotSaturday #TycoonGames #IndieGames #IndieDev #GameDev #SoloDev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 17/06/2026

It's been a little while now, it turns out uni is quite the distraction... Anyway I've decided to experiment with a slightly older (mid 90s?) setting for my courthouse management game, which means cooler looking tech and evidence shelves. #indiedev #managementgames #gamedev #tycoongames #indiegame

A small room with a top-down camera angle. The room has brick walls with the bottom section orange and the top section white. The floor is a grey tile. The main focus is a shelf with boxes and folders. The boxes and folders have labels, giving the impression of labelled evidence.

A thick television on a trolley, with what might appear to be a dvd drive or similar and a stack of paper on the bottom shelf. The screen shows "prosecution exhibit" in small text and "phone messages" in large text.

A wooden office desk with a blue swivel chair behind it. On the desk sits a small plant to the left and a large beige computer and connected mouse and keyboard, with a very blue looking operating system.

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 30/05/2026

Well... when working on a slight rewrite of your save system to support better interoperability between C# and GDScript this is not the message you want to see. I forgot that I even implemented this error message. Thankfully it was an easy fix! #ManagementGames #IndieDev #GameDev #IndieGame #Godot

Heading: Saving Failed
Description: The saving operation failed. Your game has NOT been save. Please report a bug.

A continue button is at the bottom.

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 27/05/2026

I'm just throwing my Steam link here for this week's #WishlistWednesday. I'm developing Justice Project, a #ManagementGame where you can build and manage a courthouse. Wishlist Now 👇 store.steampowered.com/app/4634840/... #indiegames #indiedev #tycoongames

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 24/05/2026

Stairs are now a lot more flexible in Justice Project, my courthouse #managementgame. Add balustrades for each side independently and customise the colour and pattern of the stairs themselves. #indiedev #indiegames #managementgames #basebuilder #basebuilding #tycoongames

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 23/05/2026

Here is the pause menu as well (ignore the butchering of the blur with compression lol) and the video in question if anyone is interested (I found it really helpful when the algorithm blessed me with it): www.youtube.com/watch?v=aagP...

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 23/05/2026

It's #screenshotsaturday! Did anyone else get distracted this week by a video on UI animation and just *had* to implement it? My courthouse management game now has (for now) over-animated buttons Wishlist on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4634840/...

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 17/05/2026

It's so crazy looking back at the UI and features from three months ago. Compared to now, they seem so sterile and boring. Here are some of my most recent screenshots for comparison. If you like the look of it wishlist here: s.team/a/4634840 #indiedev #managementgames #tycoongames #gamedev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 16/05/2026

Yep 227 people on site at the one time! Defintley needs more optimisation but I'm impressed that it still runs at a playable frame-rate (once every one has left security at the start of the day). Also this is very end game. Oh and here is a sneaky steam link: store.steampowered.com/app/4634840/...

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 16/05/2026

I think I've pushed my test-save a little too far... 200+ people onsite in my courthouse #managementgame, 6 large court rooms (for trials and soon civil cases) and two small (hearings). Wishlist Justice Project on Steam! #screenshotsaturday #tycoongames #indiegames #indiedev #gamedev #solodev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 13/05/2026

I've been working on adding this for a while now... My courthouse management game now has a (gamified) discovery system. Now that the base systems are done it's fun to see the depth finally taking shape. Wishlist Now! (Link in bio) #managementgame #tycoongame #indiegame #indiedev #solodev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 10/05/2026

There is no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than working on (playing!) your own game :) #indiedev #gamedev #managementgames #weekend #sunday

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 03/05/2026

No longer do you need to create complex rooms by placing rectangular walls and deleting the connecting walls. Flood fill really is a nice thing (also something I already used for rooms so I don't know why I only got around to adding this now) #IndieDev #GameDev #ManagementGames #BaseBuilding

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 02/05/2026

It turns out I'm not a very inspired builder in games... even my own game. #managementgame #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 14/04/2026

What is a #ManagementGame without statistics screens? Well my court house management game now has some. #IndieDev #IndieGame #GameDev #IndieGames

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 13/04/2026

Some screenshots from a new courthouse build in my courthouse management game. #ManagementGames #IndieDev #GameDev #IndieGame

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 21/03/2026

I had a long list of things which need to be worked on for my court house management game. This was not one of them. Now you have the flexibility to change the colour of the jail jumpsuits, that defendants held in custody will wear. #ManagementGames #IndieDev #GameDev #IndieGame

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 19/03/2026

On the topic of bugs. Looking through my screenshots this haunting screenshot shows up. Turns out I wasn't making a courthouse management game, instead I was making a clone simulator. #ManagementGames #IndieDev #GameDev #IndieGame #IndieGames

A small courthouse with the reception room filled with hundreds (thousands?) of people, all duplicates of the same 4 people. The jury facility is also filled with duplicates.

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 18/03/2026

Currently working on lot's of bug fixes. I find this one hilarious, some people seem to just give up when they reach the end of the security queue. (Actually, looking at this I see the issue, the bailiff is the one that gets sick of it all lol) #ManagementGames #IndieDev #GameDev #IndieGame

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 07/03/2026

A video of a verdict being handed down in my Court House #ManagementGame. #ScreenshotSaturday (not a screenshot I know) #ManagementGames #IndieDev #GameDev #IndieGame

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 04/03/2026

It seems the morning security rush isn't just an airport thing... well with the way these spectators, jurors and lawyers behave anyway. Still a lot of work to smooth things out, some people seem to think that they can push in. That's realistic right? #ManagementGames #IndieDev #IndieGames #Godot

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 21/02/2026

Here is a speed build of a small courthouse in the courthouse management game I'm working on. (I really need to pay proper attention to OBS settings, somehow I managed to not record any game audio or the mouse 😅) #indiegame #indiedev #managementgames #gamedev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 19/02/2026

Some screenshots of proceedings in action as well as the base UI and building elements for my courthouse #managementgame. #indiegame #indiedev #managementgames #screenshot #gamedev

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 12/02/2026

Yet more UI work. Normally I dislike making UI but I'm kind of enjoying this redesign, it makes the game feel way more alive (especially when combined with the SFX) #indiedev #managementgames #gamedev #screenshot #indiegame

A UI element representative of a paper form. There is a reference "number" at the top of the screen (although it is currently more than numbers due to me lazily using the first part of the related GUID) The next field element is the name "People vs Oscar Martin". The next is the case type, labeled as a criminal trial. Followed by details of the defendant and finally a "NOT GUILTY" stamp at the bottom.

A UI element which resembles a form within a Manila Folder. The tab buttons to the right are labeled "Basic Info" (the one selected) and "Needs". The top of the form has the name "Elliot Flores" with the role of deputy and age of 28 displayed in the following fields. Coincidentally his wage is also $28 an hour. Finally their is a signature "E.Flores" in cursive.

The same as the previous image, however the is a large red "TERMINATED" stamp to the right of the signature, indicating the player has fired the staff member.

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 10/02/2026

I've been working on making the UI feel more theme appropriate. Here are some before and afters. (before is the dark more generic UI) #indiedev #gamedev #managementgames

Before: A list of cases on a dark background with an icon only tab bar to the right. The cases are in a dark green with the selected case highlighted by a purple circle

AFTER: A UI which resembles a manila folder with two tabs labeled "Pending" and "Assigned" representative of physical tabs within a folder. The main screen is placed on a paper background with a list of cases.

BEFORE: A hiring screen with the selected applicant role of deputy. There are two columns of applicants with twelve in total. There are very bright green hire buttons and red reject buttons represented by icon only.

AFTER: A hiring screen with the selected applicant role of deputy. There is now only one column of applicants with six in total. The reject and hire buttons remain represented by icons, however are now much smaller and less attention seeking. The panel resembles a folder with tabs on the right labeled "Management", "Hiring", and "Statistics".

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Hopeful Pixels @hopefulpixels.com · 07/02/2026

Case scheduling system in my courthouse management game. #indiedev #gamedev #managementgames

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