iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 06/10/2026

V2! Thanks for the idea ⭐

Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 06/10/2026

Excellent idea, I'll give it a go 🫡 I was trying to balance not adding too many distracting elements but I think you're right about needing a little more Minesweeper in there.

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 06/10/2026

It's just me at the moment, if the game gathers enough interest where it makes sense to bring others on board I will let you know!

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 06/10/2026

Have pulled the 3D models for Trainsweeper over into Blender to create the 0.4.0 demo cover art. You can check it out here mangomoose.itch.io/trainsweeper There's always a mountain of bugs to fix but would love to hear your thoughts! #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 02/10/2026

Save system and sounds are now restored 🥳 just a little bit of polish now to get the demo ready to go live in the next couple of days. I turned off the blue fog here and everything is looking more saturated, not sure which way to go yet. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 01/10/2026

River is back in from the 2D map and added in cliffs to define the edges of the demo space. All your efforts will lead to lowering a bridge crossing to reach the rest of the world. Also dimmed the mine counts when travelling so you can focus on your train! #gamedev #indiedev #godot #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 01/10/2026

Excited for you to take a look. I enjoy the gameplay loop of Minesweeper (once I figured out the rules) but always found myself getting bored with the abstract nature of it. Trainsweeper exists to give some meaning and deeper complexity to the great design of Minesweeper.

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 29/09/2026

Great to hear, thank you! An early demo is in the works and should go live this week on itch.io. Then on to Steam when the project is a bit further along. I'll drop a link here so you get a notification ⭐

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 28/09/2026

Little bit of animation fun to give the game an intro. #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 25/09/2026

The bugs are back in town. Getting close to the 3D version of Trainsweeper being available for testing! #godot #gamedev #indiedev #lowpoly

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 23/09/2026

Sweet sweet debug colours and upgrade updates. #gamedev #indiedev #debug

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 21/09/2026

Improved camera behaviour on the weekend. Added in warning symbols and engine smoke this morning. On to getting all the upgrades working again now. Crane, spotlight, and ultrasonic repeller work is underway. May need some restrictions for placements, the crane is huge! #gamdev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 18/09/2026

New colours for the mine fog, little highlight for the current grid event, and playing with depth of field because it's fun. Have a good weekend! #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 17/09/2026

Working on updating the fog that the mines are hidden in. Landed on sampling a 3D noise texture using world coords which makes for this really cool blending as you move the tiles around. #gamedev #indiedev

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 16/09/2026

Have been building the map out with new models and added in some fog, the atmosphere is really improving. Also managed to get the tutorials existing in the world again, they're feeling much better to interact with now. Want to work on the mine field fog next. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #minesweeper

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 14/09/2026

Upgrades and cargo have been ported over to 3D. Got the minesweeper working again and moving on to the other existing upgrades tomorrow. Much happier with the camera now, the more you zoom out the more a traditional Minesweeper view you get. #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 11/09/2026

Getting close to finishing the 3D port! Floating text, tutorials, and train routes are back in. Also reconnected the main UI panels and rebuilt the overhead maps views which are looking much better. On to train car upgrades next! #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 09/09/2026

Mine fog, flagging, revealing, counts, and exploding are all back in 3D. Also got the event locations rendering with some new models I've put together in Blockbench. Still not sure about the best camera angle/projection but having fun seeing it come together. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #blockbench

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 08/09/2026

Rails are modelled and now placeable again in 3D along with train movement. Systems are moving over fairly easily which is in part due to separating the grid data and rendering logic early on. Will probably tweak the corner logic as it doesn't work as well for 3D. #gamedev #godot #indiedev

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 04/09/2026

A brief teaser for Trainsweeper's next rabbit hole, 3D! I've had a lot of fun learning Blockbench and figuring out my pipeline to get the models in to Godot. Using a GridMap as the level editor has been fairly straightforward too. #godot #indiedev #lowpoly #gamedev

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 02/09/2026

Trainsweeper 0.3.0 is now up 🥳 Have incorporated over 40 pieces of feedback from the last playtest and I think it has improved the experience a lot. Looking forward to what's next! mangomoose.itch.io/trainsweeper #indiedev #indiegame #gamedev #godot

mangomoose.itch.io

Trainsweeper by Mango Moose

A minesweeper RPG. Clear mines, lay track, upgrade your train, save the world.

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 31/08/2026

Checkpoint system is now working (mostly)! Almost finished with the feedback from the last round of playtesting and looking forward to getting a new build out this week. #indiedev #godot #gamedev #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 28/08/2026

Me at the end of the day when the checkpoint system was almost working but the train refused to respawn in the correct position. Until Monday, you mischievous little engine.

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 26/08/2026

Bugs over River Basin are now swarming 🪰 also swapped from the radio beam to an ultrasonic repeller upgrade to scare them away. Ignore the huge patch of ruined ground where I messed up my minesweeping and set off a chain reaction. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 24/08/2026

A day of tweaks and odd jobs. You can now build on blasted land but it costs a lot more, added dithering to the edge of the map to make the transitions nicer, and removed vision fog. I think I'll replace vision with a system to unlock new sections of the world. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 21/08/2026

New crane upgrade for the train cars so you can grab cargo and upgrades from the world. Hope you're all in for a good weekend! 🏖️ #gamedev #indiedev #godot #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 20/08/2026

Have replaced the train engine proximity graphics with a new shader that I like better than the ground pulsing. Also started working on displaying the grid cell data alongside the coordinates just above the minimap. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #shaders

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 17/08/2026

Trying out a new approach for rewarding flagged mines. The engine now checks its neighbours when entering a cell. If you want to earn credits you'll need to flag the cells and take the risk of getting it wrong when you drive close. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 15/08/2026

I like it, I'll try adding a marker/icon when the radio towers are at the edge of the range and see how that feels.

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 14/08/2026

New radio receiver upgrade so you can stay connected to the towers in transit. May add a range indicator but I want to be careful with the amount of info on the screen. Going to try a crane next to pick up items next to the track 🛤️ #gamedev #indiedev #godot #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 12/08/2026

Thanks man, getting a little bit better every day. I'm most excited for having a super long train full of upgrades convoying across the map.

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 12/08/2026

Route planning is now sorted and our second favourite direction (backwards) has returned! #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 11/08/2026

Still working on the more lightweight UI updates. Need to get to the next town over though to do some more testing which is a great opportunity to work on the new route visualisation. #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 07/08/2026

Taking a break from hunting for feedback and swapped gears into applying a less saturated colour palette for a moodier feel. Drawing some new UI elements too that are less chunky to leave more space for the game world. #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 05/08/2026

I've moved to an automation approach, when you leave a location the train will drive itself until you reach the next. This reinforces the minesweeper / track laying part of the game loop as you need to plan your route before you set off. It also makes you predict what you will need as you travel.

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 05/08/2026

Important bit of context is that it was also the first playtest round, so it was the first time my ideas were meeting fresh players. It gave me confidence that the core idea had legs but some mechanics in the loop I thought would be fun turned out not to be (like manually controlling the train).

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 05/08/2026

Trainsweeper 0.2.0 is now available! This was a major rework of a lot of the core systems based on the 0.1.0 playtest. If you're interested I would love feedback and thoughts on the game. mangomoose.itch.io/trainsweeper #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #godot #trains #playtest

mangomoose.itch.io

Trainsweeper by Mango Moose

Survive a minesweeper world with your train

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 30/07/2026

Got rewards working again for correctly flagging mines and added in a quick explainer for it. Final push to get a 0.2.0 release out for testing! #godot #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 27/07/2026

This is an in-depth write up on the impact of AI on game sales from a data/stats point of view www.game-oracle.com/blog/ai-part2 I haven't had a chance to dive in to it yet but have seen it referenced quite a lot. The game experience always comes first!

game-oracle.com

AI in Games: The Impact On Sales

Explore how AI influences game success on Steam. This data-driven analysis uncovers the link between AI usage and sales performance, revealing whether AI-generated content in Steam games is impacting ...

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 27/07/2026

Skill tree is in along with some rough ideas for potential skills. Currently using a data transfer mechanic to extract research from buildings out in the world to be spent as skill points. That's all the big features for now so 0.2.0 release is around the corner! #gamedev #indiedev #godot #trains

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 24/07/2026

Have pulled all the latest updates back in to the main game so we're on track for a 0.2.0 update next week! Have made the maps more interesting and plugged in mission rewards so they get awarded on completion. Last big piece is some kind of talent tree, stay tuned! #indiedev #gamedev #godot #trains

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 23/07/2026

Created a minimap component for Trainsweeper that's now used for the main UI minimap, a larger map / quest log, and the missions section for the event UI! All part of the overhaul to improve the missions part of the game loop. #gamedev #indiedev #godot #trains

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 20/07/2026

Beetles are back in. They're not a danger but they do slow you down which could be dangerous at later points in the game. The UV light upgrade deters them for now so you can make your escape. #indiedev #gamedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 17/07/2026

Big step forward for the upgrades, they now impart both stats and effects on to the train cars (and sometimes their neighbours). #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 15/07/2026

Busy couple of days of business admin and Linux setup so a quick one today, just setup a test scene so I can iterate on the train cars and upgrades super quickly. I'm quite enjoying the Tardis train station! #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 14/07/2026

Back from the holiday and have finally made the jump to Linux. In the process of getting everything setup but Godot and Trainsweeper are running fine 🥳🍻 #gamedev #indiedev #godot #linux

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 01/07/2026

Have a busy week of travelling followed by a week of holiday so Trainsweeper updates shall be slow for a little while. Did enjoy this watch though about balancing safe bets against moonshots to try and carve out a space for your business www.youtube.com/watch?v=WueQ... #gamedev #indiedev

youtube.com

I Analysed 62,000 Indie Developers. Here's What Actually Predicts Success

YouTube video by Game Oracle

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Mango Moose @mangomoose.co.uk · 26/06/2026

Added stations and radio transmissions. Big update in progress for train car buffs and stats. This is going to allow for tons of interesting choices for which train cars to get, what order to use them in, and which upgrades to equip. Can't wait to start adding them! #gamedev #indiedev #godot

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