iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Dominic Tarason @dominictarason.com · 14/09/2026

It's TIME! TO! GET! HYPE! Today, I get to proudly unveil Steam Hype, the project I've been working on with the help of @hookshot.media for the past two and a half months. A new PC gaming site which aims to demystify PC gaming, cut through the 100+ daily releases and spotlight indies as much as AAA

steamhype.com

Steam Hype

Steam Hype is your go-to destination for discovering the latest, greatest, and most talked-about games on Steam.

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

Chuckuddin @chuckuddin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Alabaster Dawn

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Leading your statement with "To every dev reading this" sort of has the implication that it's more advice than opinion. Anyway, I get your perspective. Still don't really think it's a major issue lots of people will have with the name.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Now the "being full of yourself" part I mentioned before is all about taking your bible-inspired perspective and turning this into something seemingly objective that every gamedev should be aware of and has to follow. It's just. arbitrary. symbolism.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Bottom line: You think Alabaster has to imply "yielding to faith" because the bible does it. But our game isn't about the bible. Alabaster is a building material to us. It might mean something else entirely.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Okay... I did a bit of research and ok: The bible does it. So if anything, it just demonstrates our ignorance about the bible and... yeah. Honestly, we don't care much about the symbolism dictated by one of several religions of this world. If you do, then yeah... I get your point.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Can you explain how the title "Alabaster Dawn" implies all this "yielding to faith" things you are talking about, while "Heavenly Dawn" doesn't? Again, Alabaster is just a material. I wasn't aware it has all these implications, and somehow I doubt this is common knowledge.

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Rami Ismail (رامي) @ramiismail.com · 14/06/2026

10% of your development timeline should be set aside after launch for crying. Post-launch depression is real.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Same with the game either having to be pro-faith or litterally god-killing with nothing in between. This is some impressively narrow black-and-white thinking.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Look, you just draw a lot of implications like they're set it stone - like everybody has to think Alabaster HAS to mean religious. It's a real-life material, it can mean a lot of things.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

You directed the original comment to "any gamedev reading this" and I'm a gamedev. You're right that this is all pointless, but sometimes I feel the urge to respond to people who are just a bit too full of themselves. And yes, it's a bad habit, I admit as much.

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Grass bear @grassbearart.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

There isn't enough Cabbage art out there. I'm really looking forword to 1.0 of Alabaster dawn. #fanart #alabasterdawn #digitalart

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

Grass bear @grassbearart.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Recently I've been playing the early accsees version of Alabaster Dawn. A real-time combat, RPG, created by the devs of CrossCode, one of my favorite games EVER. I love CrossCode and i've been loving Alabaster Dawn too. please play both. thank you. #art #fanart #digitalart #AlabasterDawn #RPG

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

People's opinions for us as developers are relevant if shared by a larqe percentage of our playerbase. Not the case here. Opinions can be perfectly honest and accurate and still be outliers. As for reasonable, well... It'd go with narrowminded.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Thanks to your explanation. And even with all the reasoning you've given me, I come to the conclusion that the title fits perfectly. You simply assume that the game "has" to be about something it isn't. Hope that helps!

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

That's your opinion and that's okay but also thankfully irrelevant.

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[DELTARUNE SPOILERS] almalex @almalex24.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

[ #crosscode #art ] today i draw lea too

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Alabaster Dawn EA Out Now @radicalfishgames.com · 29/03/2026

It really has been a long time since we had our last #AlabasterDawn #gamedev stream... We're finally back! Tonight we'll work on new enemies and divine arts! See you around! www.twitch.tv/RadicalFishG...

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The Triple-i Initiative @iii-initiative.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Enjoy stylish action-adventure games? Of course you do! Then tune in to the triple-i initiative on April 9th to see announcements from these games! #iiishowcase

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

With Next Fest over, it's a good time to tweak a few physics things again! Because, you know, what could possibly go wrong? #AlabasterDawn #gamedev #pixelart

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

Sevv Thomas @7th7th.myatproto.social · 28/02/2026

wrote a thread; massive shout-outs to @radicalfishgames.com 's Alabaster Dawn, Scritchy Scratchy, @greyalien.bsky.social 's Forbidden Solitaire & @sfbtom.bsky.social 's The Mermaid Mask!

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白雲凪 Nagi Shirakumo @shirakumon.com · 23/02/2026

New music from Alabaster Dawn! ♬ 『Family』 #gamedev #gameaudio #alabasterdawn

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

白雲凪 Nagi Shirakumo @shirakumon.com · 24/02/2026

I created a new battle theme for Alabaster Dawn. ♬ #gamedev #gameaudio #alabasterdawn

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

AndresPlays @andresplays.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Alabaster Dawn raises the bar in pixel art gameplay, animation and movement.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

We intentionally designed the puzzles in AD to be less reliant on timing and execution. You should have an easier time compared to CrossCode. Was there any puzzle in the demo you had trouble with?

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

csg | Demon Tides & Bubsy 4D @chrisscheidig.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Hey Game devs! I'm looking for an Audio programmer who might be able to answer some questions about modifing voice chat in real time so players might sound like non human, distorted, etc. Potentially a small paid job! #gamedev

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grandarcch.bsky.social @grandarcch.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Lea Crosscode fanart

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DigiTales Interactive @digitalesgames.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

🕵️‍♀️ GAME REVEAL: FROM RUINS 🌱 A new-gen detective adventure combining deduction gameplay with a gripping story full of twists and turns. Gather clues, establish connections, and solve a series of challenging cases. Will you uncover the feud that began at the end of the world? WISHLIST ON STEAM! 🔗

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

Alabaster Dawn EA Out Now @radicalfishgames.com · 04/12/2025

One of the early game puzzle elements in #AlabasterDawn: The power orb! This weird ball of flesh can be kicked around in multiple ways and some weapons can have unique interactions with it! The demo is playable right now! #pixelart #indiegame #gamedev

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Reposted by Lachsen (Radical Fish Games)

Rami Ismail (رامي) @ramiismail.com · 06/12/2025

At about $60K that's about 128 million graduate team indie games, at $150K about 500,000 small indie games, at $300K about 250,000 mid-size debut indie games, or at around $950K about 110,000 indie games by a team of more experienced devs. There are a total of 110,000 indie games on Steam.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Now there is certainly more to "moving characters", because using few sprites and just scaling and rotating them for movement quickly leads to the "puppeteer animation look"... which isn't too great either. There are tricks to avoid this too, but I feel that's enough writing for one thread.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

So to summarize: 1. keep pixel sizes as consistent as possible, avoid strong scaling 2. rotations are not as bad 3. both scaling and rotation are ok when it's for moving/dynamic

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

And thus, my final rule: when it's moving, it's fine ok to scale and rotate. Players are less likely to notice. Just make sure to not keep things too still. This includes in particular: moving actors and effects.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

And finally: people will notice a broken pixelart look when they take the time to look at it up-close. For certain things, that's a lot harder to do: Anything that's moving.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Which brings me to my second rule: Rotated pixels are not nearly as bad as inconsistent pixel sizes.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Here are the wrong pixels: left: rotated pixels right: upscaled pixels Which one did you spot first? In my opinion/experience: you will notice upscaled pixels a lot quicker. Rotated pixels on the other hand... they are "easier to tolerate".

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

So, when using a higher resolution you can achieve zoom-ins that look cleaner. But the downside is: when rotating pixels, you will notice. Right...? Let's do a little experiment: Can you spot the "wrong pixels" in this screenshot?

Can you spot the wrong pixels on this screenshot?

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

And this in my opinion is the biggest take-away here: To achieve a "clean pixelart look", pixelsize needs to be consistent. But they don't have to be perfect. When neighbouring pixels have a x2 or x3 size difference, you will notice. But a size difference of +-50% can be tolerated.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

So just reiterate: In the pixelperfect zoom in, neighbouring pixel sizes switch between 1x1 and 2x2 pixels. It doesn't look great. In the x2 resolution zoom, pixel sizes switch between 2x2 and 3x3 pixels. And it looks better.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Now, when using a higher resolution (say x2 the original) zooming in suddenly looks a lot "cleaner". The increased resolution allows each pixel to fall into a somewhat similar size, making their size more consistent. It now looks arguably more "pixelperfect", even though it isn't.

A screenshot from Seiken Densetsu 3 with x2 resolution. The right side is slightly zoomed in but due to the extra resolution, the size of each pixel is more consistent.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

For any zoom-level that leads to a clean multiple of the original pixelsize... you get inconsistent pixelsize. Especially when having fluid zoom-in and zoom-outs it can look jarring. That didn't stop PlayStation games from just doing this, though. So to some extend, it's authentic pixelart.

Screenshot from Xenogears showing scaled up pixelart characters inside a 3D environment

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

There are a few downsides to using a pixelperfect style. One example: zooming doesn't look too great. If I zoom into the previous screenshot it looks like this:

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Just to clarify: with pixelperfect I mean that every pixel has exactly the same size. There are not upscaled pixels, no rotated pixels and so on. Achieving a pixel-perfect style isn't all that hard: you simply render the game in low resolution and that's it. Most old pixelart games look like this

A screenshot from Seiken Densetsu 3 featuring a "pixelperfect" art style.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

So I've been working with pixelart ever since I started working on games (which is now over 20 years counting my RPG-Maker years) and over time I settled on a few rules on how to keep things "looking like clean pixelart" without the need to be pixelperfect.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Pixelart is it's own style and even "unclean pixelart" as seen here just has a different visual impact compared to highres 2D. Even if it's not clean, it might have a bigger appeal to many. Actually... let's turn this into a little thread so I can talk more about this.

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Lachsen (Radical Fish Games) @lachsen.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

This example features two things that break the pixelart look. 1. Pixel rotation 2. Different scales of pixels In Alabaster Dawn, we do rotate pixels a lot for dynamic parts, but we avoid inconistent scales pretty thoroughly.

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