iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thank you! Yeah, they have just been projects I do in my free time. It's a nice format for that cause I can release something polished while keeping the scope reasonably small. It could be cool to make a full game like this someday though 😁

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Thank you to everyone who's played them, it makes me so happy seeing what people do with them! I don't know how many more of these I'll make, but I do have one more in progress 😁

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C tier: millpunk - mattstark.itch.io/millpunk basilica - mattstark.itch.io/basilica

millpunk by mattstark

Available for Windows

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B tier: choo choo - mattstark.itch.io/choo-choo fish tank greenhouse - mattstark.itch.io/fish-tank-gr... treehouse canvas - mattstark.itch.io/treehouse-ca...

choo choo by mattstark

Play in your browser

A tier: coal toy - mattstark.itch.io/coal-toy islandoodle - mattstark.itch.io/islandoodle vaulton - mattstark.itch.io/vaulton mazegarden - mattstark.itch.io/mazegarden

coal toy by mattstark

Play in your browser

S tier: tramstertram - mattstark.itch.io/tramstertram islandoodle II - mattstark.itch.io/islandoodle-ii

tramstertram by mattstark

a minimalist town builder with trams

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Someone suggested I do a tierlist of the building games I've made over the last couple years. It's difficult picking favourites cause I've enjoyed making all of them! You can play them on my itch.io page but I'll also link them below. #gamedev

A tierlist where the thumbnails represent 11 games I've made since 2023.
The tiers and the corresponding games are as follows:
S tier - tramstertram, islandoodle II
A tier - coal toy, islandoodle, vaulton, mazegarden
B tier - choo choo, fish tank greenhouse, treehouse canvas
C tier - millpunk, basilica

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I'm also running it in chrome, my computers pretty powerful though. I'll maybe do a standalone build later cause that might run better. The game's also just not as optimized as it could be haha

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

I've made a maze-building game where you can explore them in first person! It's got some puzzle-y mechanics and you can share your build for other players to solve. You can play it here: mattstark.itch.io/mazegarden #gamedev

A screenshot of a game showing roman-style buildings and a hedge maze, with level editing UI.

A screenshot of a game showing roman-style buildings, crates, gates and other objects in a hedge maze, with level editing UI.

A screenshot of a PS1-style game showing a mansion with columns, terracotta roofs, a pond, and trees.

A screenshot of a PS1-style game showing a courtyard surrounded by columns, with an urn on a pedestal at the centre.

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Reposted by Matt Stark

Matt Gardner | GameTripper @gametripperuk.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Viewfinder is finally coming to Xbox and Switch, and you love to see it. If you've never had the opportunity to play it, now's your chance. Sad Owl Studios deserved both BAFTAs, and meeting a couple of the team at Gamescom (including @serknowles.bsky.social) confirmed they're Good Eggs™

forbes.com

2023’s Most Brilliant Puzzle Game Finally Comes To Switch And Xbox

After years of being a PlayStation console exclusive, the most inventive game of 2023 is finally coming to Xbox and Switch.

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Reposted by Matt Stark

Gwen Foster @ifnotnowgwen.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

viewfinder is finally coming to xbox this august 12, one more platform to go!!! 🫡🫡🫡

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Reposted by Matt Stark

🐁 Luka The Mouse - SQUEAKROSS 🧩 @lukathemouse.gay · 16/05/2025

📢 We only have 1 day left!!! The current status is 961,203 / 1,000,000 this is SO close we can do it!! Please it just takes 1 minute!

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

I've made a game about building medieval castles! 🏰 you can play it here: mattstark.itch.io/islandoodle-ii

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

The style's loosely based off woodcut maps of Italy from the Nuremberg chronicle, old maps are so cool

Various sketches of buildings and a section of a 1493 map of Rome from the Nuremberg chronicle

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

just uploaded another building game, this one's smaller and more basic than the others I've made but I thought I'd share it anyway 😊 mattstark.itch.io/basilica

a minimalist cathedral builder

basilica by mattstark

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

I made this procedural puzzle game a while back but never finished or shared it, so I decided to amend that 😁 You can play it here: mattstark.itch.io/landflip

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Reposted by Matt Stark

Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Today, the UK government announced a proposal to change copyright law - for the benefit of AI companies - that would cause huge, irreversible harm to creators. More info below, but most importantly here's what you can do (wherever you live): 1. Email your MP. Template letter in 🧵 👇 1/10

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Thanks! I started it about 2 months ago and worked on it most weekends. I wasn't starting from scratch though, since I re-used various bits of code from my previous building games.

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

how to build elevators and bridges in Vaulton! u can play it here: mattstark.itch.io/vaulton #gamedev

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Reposted by Matt Stark

My underground city builder is done! You can play it here: mattstark.itch.io/vaulton

a minimalist city builder

Vaulton by mattstark

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Yeah you're welcome to feature my games! 😁

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It's mostly based on London, I love how clutter from different eras stacks up

Wall clutter inside a London Underground station (Elephant & Castle I think?)

A spiral staircase inside a London Underground station (Elephant & Castle I think?)

A heavily weathered wall with windows near Waterloo Station in London

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Initial concept vs result! I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted with this one haha

A sketch of an underground street with adjoining tunnels

A game screenshot showing a similar underground street with adjoining tunnels

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It's a bit different to the previous ones I've made because there's only one material, so all the features (tunnels, streets, bridges, stairs, elevators, trains) are produced by different patterns of cells

Screenshot of a building game showing underground Victorian-style streets, houses, tunnels, bridges and other features.

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My underground city builder is done! You can play it here: mattstark.itch.io/vaulton

a minimalist city builder

Vaulton by mattstark

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Reposted by Matt Stark

Soph @serknowles.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

We got Best Puzzle

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Thanks! There's various systems at work. First it generates tunnels and elevators, then it generates the larger spaces, starting with streets then stairs, houses, balconies etc

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Even for organic stuff there's many approaches. For Islandoodle I just used conventional heightmaps for the terrain and rivers, while in the fish tank one I used billboarding meshes on the edges of rock to get the look I wanted

a screenshot of the meshes of a game where the mesh on the edge of a rock voxel is highlighted

a game screenshot showing rocks with seaweed and corals, fish, and a greenhouse

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Kind of a variety - I start with an idea of how it should look then split it up where necessary. I've used the corner pieces approach in the past but I've not found myself needing it for these cause it's more useful for organic shapes like caves and islands

A screenshot showing the wireframe meshes of a building game, with a wall highlighted

A screenshot showing the wireframe meshes of a building game, with a bridge highlighted

A screenshot showing the wireframe meshes of a building game, with house details highlighted

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Gonna be called Vaulton I think! That's been the working title, and I brainstormed others but I prefer it. I like how it's both vault-town and volt-town, cause the tech is kinda electric retrofuture 💡⚡

It varies, but the last two each took a couple months where I'd be mostly doing it on the weekends. It helps that they re-use stuff like the save system and interactions. I'm trying to keep up a good pace and not get too perfectionist about things - once an asset is done, it's done 😅

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the GIFs stopped working, looks like for now I gotta convert them to video

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yep! I usually do rough concept sketches on paper then model them in Blender. Each of these projects uses a single texture atlas for all the models, which streamlines the process and helps me get the colours, shapes etc feeling harmonious

The texture atlas for my game Fish Tank Greenhouse, with various plant textures on a grid.

The texture atlas for my game Coal Toy, with windows, walls, terrain and tree textures.

the GIF stopped working, looks like for now I gotta manually convert them to video

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Matt Stark @mattstark256.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

the GIF stopped working, looks like for now I gotta manually convert them to video 🚋

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next building game is nearly done I think 😀 #gamedev

A screenshot of a game showing an underground street with shopfronts, a bridge, tunnels and an elevator.

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Thanks for reading, and thank you to all the people who've played these games! I don't have any particular long-term plan with these, but I've really enjoyed making them so perhaps there'll be more.

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Islandoodle is the most recent in the series. It extrapolates a heightmap from what you draw, and can create waterfalls and lakes. People have made some amazing stuff with this one; you can see some of them in the page's comments section. I love seeing what people make! mattstark.itch.io/islandoodle

A gameplay gif showing the player building a nordic-style house and pier on a lake before zooming out to show the entire island, with forests, villages and mountains.

A game screenshot showing islands with villages, roads, forests and fields of wheat.

A game screenshot showing a river and a dirt track winding down a hillside.

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Tramstertram uses a 2D grid instead of a 3D grid like the previous ones. I like how much faster that lets you build, since you can click and drag to draw, and it feels like using MS Paint or something. mattstark.itch.io/tramstertram

A gif of a game showing the player building an Amsterdam-like town on a grid, with houses, bridges, trees and a tram.

A screenshot of a game showing an Amsterdam-like city, with houses, bridges, trams, trees and a church. The game's name, "TRAMSTERTRAM", is shown above it.

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Treehouse Canvas uses a variation of Leonardo da Vinci's "rule of trees". The rule states that when a tree forks, the new branches have the same combined cross section area as the initial branch. It's also useful for things like rivers and blood vessels. mattstark.itch.io/treehouse-ca...

A gif of a game showing various treehouses supported by twisting bonsai-like trees.

A game screenshot showing an ornate treehouse perched on a twisting bonsai-like tree.

Leonardo da Vinci's notes illustrating his "rule of trees".

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Fish Tank Greenhouse was the result of me wanting to scale down after Millpunk, and focus more on architecture and visuals. The fish use the Boids algorithm, so over time they form shoals. mattstark.itch.io/fish-tank-gr...

A gif of a game showing a greenhouse filled with tropical plants inside a fish tank, surrounded by seaweeds, corals, and shoals of fish

A screenshot of a game showing a greenhouse filled with tropical plants inside a fish tank, surrounded by seaweeds, corals, and shoals of fish

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