iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Originally I didn't allow dodge cancelling because I thought it would trivialize combat, but eventually as the whole system took shape I came around. Dodge cancel out of melee attacks all you want #gamedev #indiedev #metroidvania #actionrpg #solodev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Ghost Song is 50% off on Steam store.steampowered.com/app/347800/G...

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Metal spin move lets you become a wrecking ball #screenshotsaturday #gamedev obviously what you're seeing is WIP/test area. There'll be more polished looking stuff to see in the near future #metroidvania #solodev #indiedev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I watched the Metroid Ravenous trailer with great interest, and I've gotta say this is the most excited I've been for an upcoming Metroid game probably ever. It also has the best cover art of a Metroid game in my opinion. Here's a wallpaper of it that I found #MetroidRavenous #NintendoDirect

A wallpaper of the Metroid Ravenous key art.

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#gamedev It's weirdly satisfying punching clankers with this ridiculous fist #metroidvania #solodev #animation

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Ogre Fist #screenshotsaturday I finally put this piece of equipment in -- I spent an embarrassing number of hours on this animation so please enjoy it #gamedev #animation It's a damaging move and a short term buff #metroidvania #solodev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

It's a small thing but I followed an impulse last night to animate the character's portrait in the HUD #gamedev #solodev #actionrpg #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

#screenshotsaturday WIP as usual - Been working on secondary powers lately and decided to add this Castlevania homage with the axe toss #gamedev I plan to add a better throw animation for stuff like this soon #solodev #metroidvania #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Was in a game shop and found this part of my lore. As a small child, my mom rented this for me. I wasn't critical of games at that age, but it was so bad it made me cry -- And I've held a grudge ever since. Not sure what I'll do with it, but it seems fitting to have it on hand...

Photo of "Super James Pond" for SNES in my car seat

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Welcome back to the test room. #screenshotsaturday Properly timed parry will interrupt not just the attacking enemy, but everyone in front of you, making fighting large groups of weak enemies fun and satisfying imo #gamedev Sorry it's not Saturday, I was busy yesterday #solodev #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I'm in the relatively very small group of people who got to make one of these and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity #gamedev #PS5 this is my only copy btw, no one ever gave me a box of free ones or nothin' haha

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Ghost Song is 50% off for #SteamSummerSale. Sales of this game still help me and are greatly appreciated! store.steampowered.com/app/347800/G... #gamedev #indiedev #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

my game, Ghost Song, has about 160k wishlists on Steam. Why haven't you bought it? Just kidding, it's fine that you haven't, I know times are tough, here's some steam keys. 05N3E-ZNZHQ-0DFEE XZBQZ-TQ6W7-IFKXB LHTR0-75GM8-E7M4X Z9AEH-Y2V2B-F2HX0 FEXPF-YFAPV-LRJ9X Z2LNP-KG3A3-YNQWE 4WXMK-LX02L-J7DNJ

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Okay, honest question, what is actually wrong with y'all? LOL. Ghost Song selling for $200+, sheesh

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

#gamedev #metroidvania The previous version of Ghost Song (2014-2019) was nearly content complete when I scrapped it. I've avoided showing publicly for a while but here's a look at what it was if you're curious. It was quite different. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc03...

youtube.com

Centaur Lab Full Walkthrough with boss fight

YouTube video by Old Moon

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

My friend spontaneously found a copy of Ghost Song at a Book Off in NYC. Fun find because it's SO rare to see these in the wild, print run was small. #gamedev #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

#gamedev when I made it so that a properly timed parry will interrupt all in front of you, and not just the attacker, it made things feel better (WIP obviously) not every enemy can be staggered from a single parry, but weak/basic ones can #metroidvania #solodev #animation

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

#screenshotsaturday Okay I've made it so you can do this little salute by pressing down, or if you press R3 you can "chill". A key mechanic being that while chilling you can move your head around with the analog stick. #gamedev #metroidvania #solodev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

#screenshotsaturday In TSS, holding dpad down doesn't crouch, bc directions are used w/ your attack button for different attacks. But I wanted some feedback when you press down, so I made her stance lower a bit when you do so... and it just looks like she's farting #gamedev #metroidvania #solodev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Very WIP! #screenshotsaturday This special move tentatively called Metal Storm comes from a piece of equipment and it lets you bounce around using your body as a weapon/surviving hazards. Think of it like a clumsy, bouncy screw attack. #gamedev #metroidvania #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Here's a longer clip at 60 fps of me beating up these robots. Weak enemies can be locked down and crowd controlled by repeatedly attacking. Note the successful parry of the second enemy from the left, allowing an instant counter attack. #gamedev #screenshotsaturday #metroidvania #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

WIP! Still messing w the combat system. Few fixes to be made but I think it's already feeling pretty good. If you played Ghost Song, what's most singularly different here is the lack of contact damage. Only actual attacks do damage. #gamedev #art #metroidvania #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I very roughly sketched out a cat girl idea, to be a side character in my game. (WIP if its not obvious). Cat girls may in fact end up being canon in this "cinematic universe" #gamedev #art #characterdesign

a rough drawing of a "catgirl" character

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

#screenshotsaturday demonstrating weapon block system I made a while ago. Swords, with proper timing, can parry (big red flash) which allows instant counter attack. It's not an essential thing to do (generally) but is rewarding if you want to play that way. #gamedev #metroidvania #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Demonstrating in a test environment a high impact mace weapon that can send enemies flying. #gamedev The methodology of enemy deaths is similar to my previous game GS, but more advanced. Its original inspiration is actually fallout 3! #metroidvania #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

So there's a "chill" button on the controller and on pressing it you just kinda hang out. #screenshotsaturday You can then use the right analog stick to do stuff, like move your head around. Yes, I have my priorities straight dev-wise. Thank you for noticing! #gamedev #metroidvania #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

In Ghost Song -- this is never mentioned in game and I've never seen anyone do it -- but the Sprinkler bombs can be directly controlled by the right analog stick if you hold L2 down. I made some odd decisions lol #gamedev I wonder if anyone ever stumbled on this on their own. #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Kill all clankers. Never before has this been more relevant. #screenshotsaturday WIP demoing some destruction stuff. Sword type weapons can sometimes cut enemies clean in two! #gamedev #metroidvania #animation #actionrpg

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

my niece got me this extremely cool Metroid shirt!

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Ghost Song is 50% off on Steam, happy holidays! #SteamWinterSale store.steampowered.com/app/347800/G...

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

in 2008 I was working on a comic called The Silver Sun. It never got finished, but some of the ideas ended up in Ghost Song. This is how Charley and Pasha were designed in 2008. Pasha got aged up a bit for the game, and Charley didn't appear... exactly... #art #characterdesign

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Ghost Song is 50% off on Nintendo eshop and Playstation store. If you have a Switch 2, it runs perfectly in my tests at steady 60 fps (it had some FPS issues on Switch 1, sadly). Eshop: www.nintendo.com/us/store/pro... PS: store.playstation.com/en-us/concep... #gamedev #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

#screenshotsaturday It can be hard to tell unless you have a big screen and eagle eyes, but Yuki can smile. She can also turn her head and look around while moving, which took an embarrassing amount of work to make happen #gamedev #solodev #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

My next game is called The Silver Sun. LMK if you have questions! -Sci-fi game with exploration, action, and rpg aspects -Play as Yuki, a very tough, very cool android girl -Melee focused -Not a souls-like -Yes those are horns -Still pretty early in dev #gamedev #solodev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

#screenshotsaturday Heavy attack button can be held for a charged version. This character is made from multiple different 2d skeletons which are sometimes substituted for traditional animation. #gamedev #solodev #metroidvania The goal is to avoid the paper doll or "flash" look as much as possible.

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Ghost Song is 50% off on Steam Autumn Sale! store.steampowered.com/app/347800/G... It has spooky parts for your halloweeny needs #metroidvania #gamedev #solodev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

one of my steam library categories 🤠 #gamedev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

Ghost Song was originally created as a different game in a different engine before I scrapped almost everything about it and started over in 2019. The original version was different in quite a few ways, but to sum it up it was darker, edgier, and had a silent protagonist. #gamedev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

my pet project that I may or may not ever make is a fantasy beatemup rpg. Sometimes I doodle ideas for it. #gamedev For a bit I was considering making it my main project, but I felt that business-wise beatemups are too risky to create unless you have a popular ip attached. #art #characterdesign

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

I made a 2d model (like in Ghost Song) that makes things very dynamic. Unlike GS, however, is that I switch to traditionally animated frames when needed to make the posing more exciting. Ie, these weapon attacks are all traditionally animated #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity #madewithspine

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Ghost Song is 50% off on Nintendo Eshop! www.nintendo.com/us/store/pro... --- Switch 2 has been a huge upgrade for it. I captured some 60 fps footage directly from the system. #gamedev #metroidvania #switch2

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Ghost Song is 50% off for the #SteamSummerSale store.steampowered.com/app/347800/G... #gamedev #metroidvania #gaming

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Ghost Song is 50% off on Playstation systems for a few more days store.playstation.com/en-us/concep... --- #metroidvania #gamedev #ps4 #ps5

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Footage of Ghost Song running at a stable 60 fps on Switch 2. I feel like the game's legacy on Nintendo has been secured, in a way #Switch2 #gamedev

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Ghost Song is running at a pitch perfect 60 fps on Switch 2. 🙌 I was never quite happy with its performance on Switch 1. If you're a Nintendo player and are interested in my game, this is a great time to play it! #switch2 #metroidvania

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Matt White @mattwhitedev.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

spent the past day trying to improve the look of Yuki's dress a bit. Tricky getting it to move right. Also -you'll see this soon enough- she can equip various weapons, hold them, swing them, etc. #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity #indiegame #characterdesign #art

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