iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I just casually implemented a feature today that has been haunting me for two years! I want these massive features out of the way so I can focus on what's fun! #indiegame #solodev #gamedev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Finished the room design and made the NPC. Now I'll have to make items and set up dialogues, yikes... #gamedev #sologame #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Oh yeah that guy is going to be a bit crazy!

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I started to work on a new shop, I usually try to develop a unique design language for each area, but this is really just an isolated room, so feels kinda strange to do that here. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Took me a full year to be able to set this up and I still start tearing up just thinking about it. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This is the last time I have to connect two spaces, two years after I build the place. This dungeon is now done, which makes it the third one. Out of 21, moving on... #gamedev #solodev #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I made a new room for the cutscene and giving the one from yesterday a different purpose. It's fun to work on your dreamgame, but saying I'm tired of building stuff for this dungeon is an understatement... #gamedev #solodev #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I'm working on the last room I need for a cutscene. Even then I can't resist from adding a little platforming challenge. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I'm making this completely optional, super hidden room that most players will miss and that's precisely why it needs to be a bit special, but damn is it a lot of work to make this work... #gamedev #indiegame #solodev #mazestalker

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is also a room I designed years ago. But now with my new tech I can make it functional, which is another thing off my list... #gamedev #indigame #zelda #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I usually love building little rooms with little tasks, but sometimes you just have to build the boring part in between and that's a drag. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This week I found a feature that is pretty fun. It breaks the balance of the game, so I decided that it will be a random pickup that adds a little power-trip occasionally. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Finetuning the sword-spam (more on that later), I'm also building the last missing level-corners. QoL improvement is that the game now remembers pushed blocks when they are in place. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Experimenting with this a little. This changes the game too much and I don't like it, but I think I might find a way to insert a little power trip sometimes... #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

this is how i play 2D Zelda: I just spam the sword and nothing ever gets close. In my game I have been balancing carefully around positioning, striking and repositioning. Can't ignore how fun this looks and feels though, of course...

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This breaks the game completely. I'm thinking of maybe making a random pickup that allows you to do this sometimes for a little powertrip?

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I'm playing with some balance stuff. Does this seem a bit broken? #gamedev #solodev #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This is nothing but a little sequence, but it kept me on my toes for a while. I usually hesitate to create advanced scenario scripting, but sometimes you really have to "show don't tell". #gamedev #solodev #indiegame #screenshotsaturday

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Something I decided early on was that as far as storytelling is concerned, dungeons shouldn't be story-free areas like in so many games. #landstalker is at it's best when the story plays out in the middle of a dungeon! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Storytelling has been on the backseat for the last two years because gameplay always comes first. That being said, I am super happy that this important story-telling feature is now fully implemented! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm working on finally adding the second main character to the game. Look at the bottom left. I know a lot of players get annoyed by dialogue, so when Wotton has something to say it is mostly optional! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev #mazestalker

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Ok I finished this effect today! Very happy with how it looks and feels, time to move on! #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #solodev #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I worked on the visual side of the effect and realized this would also be great for the running effect! #mazestalker #gamedev #solodev #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

While polishing I finetuned the battle to follow a certain flow. Now that I am happy with it I can add some additional combat-options! This attack allows the player to reposition themselves and hit several enemies in one hit. #gamedev #solodev #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Next: People are confused by the fighting system. Early on the enemies have little health and so offer no opportunity to explore the feature. Pacing-wise, I like this. Yet, I feel it's only fair that I offer a spot to practice. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Managed to polish it out, this is how interactions will be shown. This has the added effect that people can reconfigure their controls and still not get confused. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Sometimes people ask me, where's the tutorial? But I will die on that hill: There will be no tutorial. The game is the tutorial. I'm still always looking to improve the onboarding experience... Though the sprite still has issues. #gamedev #solodev #ux #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This year I finally reached this state where I look at an empty room that needs something from my toolbox to have some bite and it's all here. Designing dungeons is incredibly fun now! #gamedev #screenshotsaturday #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I didn't plan to hide part of the room when I made this, but that's a tool that emerged since then... I like what it adds to the room a lot! #gamedev #mazestalker #indiegame

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Working on a couple of rooms at once, but since I won't spoil puzzles, let's wrap up this one today. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Set up the full mechanism now. It's a lot more manual work then I'd like, but I'm happy it worked without much additional development effort! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

This should make so many more waves, but the bitter truth I have learnt over the decades: the consumer largely doesn't care.

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Took me a bit to figure out how I want this room to be played, but I think it's getting there! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Wow thank you, i'll consider your feedback for sure!

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Oh nice, that's exactly the kind of review I fear the most for my own project! If you had the time, I'd be really curious to know what you think of my demo...

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Just experimenting with a small challenge that is still missing in that place, hm. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Who can I point at, being a solodev? XD

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The first moments when you meet a character are always special. That is why I put in some extra effort into making the first meeting with my second main character memorable! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev #mazestalker

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Theres many issues that are just #UX problems that a player might not notice themseves. Gotto figure those out by watching. I hope I once and for all solved the problem with everyone running into spawning enemies. We will see.. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Next up I am working on a lot of QoL fixes from issues I noticed while watching streamers play my demo recently. Picking up stuff, resetting items in the store, this stuff goes a lot way in removing friction from the experience. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Part 3: Boss has to be updated. I'm noticing that this helps a lot with telegraphing which hit connected... It's interesting how much I have to hack my 3D engine reverse into simulating 2D, 2D was just way better at visual clarity. #gamedev #indiegame #screenshotsaturday #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Step 2: The bat enemies. I can't express how much this adds to the #gamefeel for me! It will be a bit of work to add this to all enemies, but it will be worth it! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

This is part of an ongoing new effort I have brought before myself: I want to give enemies exaggerated hitframes to make hits feel more satisfying. Starting with the bubbles. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev #mazestalker

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

All this work recently has been so I finally get to working on this... Gotto polish it more tomorrow. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Fixing a ton of bugs because it was very easy to break this contraption. I'm realizing that I write my dungeons way too long, but it is what it is! #gamedev #indiegame #solodev #landstalker

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I discovered this room with a puzzle that I wrote a year ago and couldn't remember the solution. How do you get this treasure? I figured it out eventually, but now I need to do a lot of polish to make sure this doesn't break... #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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MazeStalker @mazestalker.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I enjoy the fact how elements come together naturally. I never intended there to be an enemy here, but now it fits in like it was always intended. #gamedev #indiegame #solodev

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