iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Oh hell yeah, this looks awesome! I can't wait to hear all the good stuff you'll cook up for this one Rei :D

Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Although development on Radiant Sword has ended, you can still download the level selector and try out the unfinished game! There's a lot of polished (albeit buggy) content to try. Give it a look! squeakmouse.itch.io/radiant-sword (Windows build only atm, but working to fix that!)

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Thank you, Eddie! It means a lot coming from you. What you and Matthias accomplished on Chained Echoes was unbelievable, and I'll always carry your art as an inspiration.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I was so fond of the mix of instrumentation Rei chose for this piece. Audio identity for the game started to coalesce very quickly after he wrote it. The mix of eclectic world instrumentation, using both symphonic and folk elements, was so on point!

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Reposted by Radiant Sword

Rei Kitakaze @reikitakaze.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The intro sequence theme, “Night Mission,” I composed for Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social, featuring leitmotifs from the main theme and the theme of Animus, a religious supernatural force with demonic and dominating qualities. #JRPG #soundtrack #OST #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I mean, it's a great game! But... yeah, I was a compulsive replayer for a long time. It made me understand old games very well (and they have some underappreciated techniques that would slot really well into contemporary design!), but it was also very limiting.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I definitely wouldn't want to discourage anyone from making retro games, if that's what they're passionate about! For me, I needed to realize that I should have used my love of 1997 to make something *really new.* But FFT and Xenogears are incredible. They'll never stop being inspirations.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I'm glad to hear that resonated with you. From one dev to another, good luck with everything you make!

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Thank you so much for all the kind words! 💖

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I was actually at Anthrocon this year, I had an amazing time! If you can make it again next year, we should totally hang out. :D

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Thank you so much for understanding! I know there will be more game dev in my future, and even though the ending of RS was bittersweet, it will pave the way for better things.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Thanks Tim, I really do appreciate it. I'll be okay, just likely a lot of upheaval in my immediate future.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

In the meantime, this turn of events leaves me looking for new opportunities in game dev. I'd greatly appreciate if you share the postmortem with whoever you can. And if you're a dev who liked what you saw from Radiant Sword previews or the demo, hit me up! Thanks for all your support, Elly

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I want to extend my thanks to Rei Kitakaze, the extremely talented composer who was making original music for Radiant Sword before its cancellation. Give him a holler if your game wants music with JRPG DNA - he has been incredible to work with! x.com/KitakazeRei

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

For everyone who was looking forward to Radiant Sword, I'm very sorry I couldn't make it to the finish line. This game meant so much to me. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about it via DMs.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Although it will likely never be finished, I decided to share a level selector for the game on itch. It's buggy and full of placeholder audio, but you can use it to play quite a bit of the game, in any order you choose. Please take a look! squeakmouse.itch.io/radiant-sword

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Hi, everyone! It's been a while since the last update. Unfortunately, I have a sad announcement to make. Development on Radiant Sword has been suspended indefinitely. You can read more about the situation here: trashanimalsanctuary.com/goodbye-radi...

trashanimalsanctuary.com

Goodbye, Radiant Sword: Reflections on game dev, personal growth, and trans awakening

A postmortem for a passion project I started nine years, 13 Unity versions, and one gender ago - and then abandoned.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Life has thrown me a bunch of curveballs at once, and dev has had to take a backseat for a bit. Hopefully I'll get back on track soon!

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Reposted by Radiant Sword

Electric Airship✨ Isle of Reveries OUT ON CONSOLES!! @electricairship.com · 19/05/2026

Probably my favorite thing about Infinite Alliance is how it's uplifting #RPGMaker devs. Like, it's awesome to see Eternal Remnant get a spotlight! #IndieDev #GameDev #InfiniteAlliance

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Felt pretty good about the bespoke animation frames for this intro cutscene. Bishop is not messing around anymore XD (The water splash FX is currently placeholder, bonus points if you can guess where from) #tacticsrpg #jrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

With the current kit, Stealth Arts gives you access to 3 AOEs, a mass immobilize, single target possession, self full-heal, as well as the standard big damage sneak attack payoff. It's a pretty fun kit to play with already & I still hope to add more!

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Copyright as it's currently defined only exists for the benefit of the rich. For actual artists, it's just a cudgel that corporations hold over your head.

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Reposted by Radiant Sword

Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Thanks for hosting #turnbasedthursday! I'm Elly, and I'm making Radiant Sword, an isometric strategy RPG inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics and Xenogears. It's retro-inspired gameplay with modern QOL and pace. Hoping to have a demo ready to for Steam Nextfest next year! #jrpg #indiedev #tacticsrpg

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

I guess people don't enable sound on bsky videos cause I just realized I had my background working music captured by the recording in this clip, and nobody seems to have noticed XD You should listen to the new underscores album though, it's really good

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Hit me up if you're interested! I did a deep dive on this style for Radiant Sword and I love talking about it. :D

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Bit of a late reply, but: unfortunately, multiple story routes aren't part of the plan. :( There's a rather minimal crafting & upgrade system in place atm, which I need to decide whether to cut or double down on. That will all be up to how much time I have!

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

You got it in one! I actually made a Kunihiko Tanaka style bible for making the portraits. I adore his Xenogears-era style so much, they really contributed to my enjoyment of the game in a palpable way, and so I really wanted to recreate thta style.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Stepping in water, dropping too far, etc. will reveal you automatically. There are also specific skills & spells like True Sight that detect in a wide radius. And units gain a 1-radius "Squint" command that appears contextually if all their enemies are hidden :D

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Stealth Arts is a kit that requires the actor to hide first. If you can pull it off, you can do way more than just sneak attack. :D But being detected while hidden knocks your turn order way back, so it's pretty high-stakes. #tacticsrpg #jrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Finally set up enemy AI so that it knows how to use the magic cannons against you. There's an entire separate branch of the AI class just for this specific set of skills >< What I would give to go back in time and re-design enemy AI... #jrpg #tacticsrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Just reposting some old material. I added a couple new shields today, and while the overhead of making new Holy Shield abilities for them is costly, it does make me proud in the end. #jrpg #tacticsrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Thanks for hosting #TurnBasedThursday! I'm Elly and I'm making Radiant Sword, a retro tactics RPG inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics and Xenogears. My goal is to deliver beautiful visuals, a memorable story, and the richest character customization ever in an SRPG :D #tacticsrpg #jrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Been having some fun with the Burning status. It can spread both to and from physical attackers if they're close range. It does a little damage each turn, but it also increases your own fire damage dealt, so it can be either a positive or negative. :D #jrpg #tacticsrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I knew I wouldn't be satisfied unless I had some spell FX with mesh triangle explosions. #jrpg #tacticsrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Full rotating view for the stage from the arrow demo. This is probably one of the stages I pulled most directly from FFT in texturing style & color. I like the result, but I kinda want to rework those Lionel Castle turrets that don't make any sense though :/ One day... #jrpg #tacticsrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Decided to rework the arrow trajectory preview so it uses a solid glowing line. Figuring out the math for this took way too long. Not my strong suit >< #tacticsrpg #jrpg #indiedev

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Yeah! It reminds me of kitbash level building sometimes. You're always in that mindset of "What textures do I have lying around that would work well here... Oh, I bet if I color-tinted this ripple line, and stretched it on y, it would work really well as a plasma beam..." XD

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

The style you've developed here looks *so good!* The way you used that simple palette for the cel-shaded shadowing on the hair is droolworthy

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Without revealing too much, there is a really expansive optional dungeon that I am *very excited* about. Not spoiling it is such a struggle, cause it will be a while before it will be in players' hands. But it's gonna be awesome, & will incorporate some dungeon features not usually seen in SRPGs.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Current goal is to have a chunky demo (first chapter + a little of the second chapter) ready for next February's Steam Nextfest. :D Hope I can stick the landing! The campaign is almost entirely implemented up through the final dungeon, but systems support/assets/testing/tuning/etc. are a ways off.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

One of my favorite stages I designed & arted for Radiant Sword. Vertical stages are such a challenge to work with the camera, but so worth it when you pull it off! #jrpg #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

You don't have to be such a jerk about it Bishop... XD #tacticsrpg #jrpg #indiedev

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Reposted by Radiant Sword

Drawing Homos 🎨 @hexhomos.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

please read witch hat

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Oh yeah, absolutely. Biggest surprise was just how much of a challenge it would be to strike a balance between "tactical & vertical" and "the camera actually works." XD Render compositing was not easy either. But there's lots of map design opportunities you only get in 3D, so I'm glad I chose it it.

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Radiant Sword @radiantsword.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Hey! Thanks for hosting #TurnBasedThursday. I'm Elly, and I'm developing Radiant Sword, a story-driven, turn-based tactics RPG inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics and Xenogears. I've been making FX for abilities recently, and they look like this! #jrpg #tacticsrpg #indiedev

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