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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out!

@shootem.biz

We're making an arcade-inspired puzzle-platform-shooter for 1-4 players. LITERALLY level the playing field. WISHLIST: shootem.biz Business inquiries: ryan@defnotreal.com

Posts Replies Media

Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 19/09/2026

And now, a word from Shootem's lead developer.

What's up, party people.

SAGE 2026 ended as of last night, and my one and only patch for the event is now out in the wild, so I just wanted to take a minute to do a little post-mortem, I guess you could call it.

This demo, needless to say, was vastly different from what SAGE had in the past. I mentioned it a little going into the new year, but what you played was quite literally the work of moving what I had in GameMaker to Godot, then taking a chainsaw to it and completely uprooting the gameplay, UX, etc., and I did it all in roughly six months. As someone who has almost no real game development or design chops, I personally think everything I did in that frankly short timeframe was pretty goddamn impressive, and I'm VERY happy with what you got to play. Obviously, it's still a little rough around the edges, but this demo truly is as representative of what the final game should be as it ever has been. In what's been a good yet tumultuous year for me so far, especially filled with a super healthy dose of gamedev impostor syndrome, I'm glad this mostly went super well.

I obviously can't take all the credit, though. I need to give huge props to my friends in PA for helping make my move go as smoothly as possible, as well as all of the friends I've made through SAGE that I've been able to truly rely on for making Shootem as good as it can get, and in turn entrusting me to do the same for their games. I also want to, like always, extend an especially great thanks to my amazing team for working as hard as they have to bring the game to life. We unfortunately didn't have time for quite a few things in this demo, even some things that I was super excited to have ready for SAGE that I think people would've lost their minds over, but at the end of the day, it's nothing to stress over too much.

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Though, I want to really give one person in particular their flowers, something I think doesn't happen nearly enough. If it wasn't for Mr. Freaks, even with all of his works-in-progress, stepping up to the plate, doing a shitton of art, guiding me through development by helping with time management/workload stuff, and so many different things that I can't name off here just to respect your time, I am absolutely CERTAIN that this demo would not have made it out on time. For that, he's without a doubt the MVP of this game's development, from now until well after the full game comes out. And now, not only has he gotten me in on boilerplate work for Strato Freaks DX, an amazing project that I've fawned over even since murmurs of its existence started cropping up, we're about to take that game to fucking MAGFest, an opportunity I never thought I'd be able to partake in this early in my journey as an actual gamedev. Needless to say, I've enjoyed every second of working with you, hanging out, just about everything. I honestly feel like we're fantastic business partners in the making.

With that said, I'm sure you could've gathered from the booth, but yes, this is the last time you're gonna see Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! at SAGE. I think I'm in a position now where the whole rest of the game just gets built on top of what's already here, so it's time to get serious with this project, put a bigger and even better demo up on Steam, and get this true Ship of Theseus of mine finally out to the people after almost 10 years. Will I return to SAGE? Probably, but it's gonna be a little while, I think.

Whether you've been following that silly Mr. Shootem since my old prototypes from back in high school, or are just now hopping on after SAGE 2026, I thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you're just as excited for this as I am.

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I hope this SAGE was a good one for you, whether as a player or a developer, because there were a lot of heavy hitters this year, and it's not just about my game. If you haven't checked out the list yet, I highly recommend taking a few hours to comb through and see what you might like. I'll give a list of recommendations in the next image.

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

- Ryan / defnotreal_

Crudely drawn image of Mr. Shootem giving a thumbs up, next to "Thanks for playing!!"

Check out these games at SAGE this year!

Artius: Pure Imagination
Blocks for Babies
Fox Stamps
The Galactic PAC-MAN Brothers
HEX POP
Pomeraider
Prototype N
Slashbang
Strato Freaks DX
Total Destruction 2Dee
Witchfall: Secrets of Emotica
Y O U

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 27/08/2026

Scary. #gamedev #godotengine

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 20/08/2026

A parody of the “Winners Don’t Do Drugs” screen found in arcade games from the 90’s to early 2000’s. Dude Duddson is standing inside a pinhole with a coffee mug and pointing his finger towards the viewer.

“Winners Drink Dude’s Coffee”
Dude Duddson

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 17/08/2026

While the demo is mainly focused on refining our existing characters, we were still able to get at least one new addition to the roster! Home Runna is a cocky Little League prodigy who can use his trusty bat in the heat of the moment to send the ball FLYING towards bricks and/or his mortal enemies.

Home Runna, a young baseball player, running to the side with his bat and a ball in hand, in front of a slanted brick background.

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 16/08/2026

#gamedev #godotengine

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 30/07/2026

We’re getting there! #gamedev #godotengine

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 01/06/2026

That time again

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 25/04/2026

LITERALLY LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD. MR. SHOOTEM BREAKS OUT! STEAM PAGE LAUNCHING VERY SOON UPDATED THREE-WORLD DEMO COMING 2026 TO STEAM, ITCH.IO, AND @sagexpo.org

Five characters striking various poses on pillars of colorful bricks, in the middle of a city intersection.

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 03/04/2026

Some spring cleaning is currently underway across some of the socials as we get ready to start showing off what we have in store for you later this year! What was available of the OST is now delisted from YouTube and Bandcamp, but pinky promise that it will be back eventually!

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 28/12/2025

Merry belated Shootemas, folks! Plans for 2026 will be available for EVERYONE on Patreon very soon.

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 04/05/2025

We have an update to share on a previously announced playable character.

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 05/02/2025

Let's get to work...

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 29/01/2025

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 09/12/2024

SHOOTEAM doing palette ideas

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 06/12/2024

Thoughts and prayers, please 🙏💔

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 05/12/2024

Big happenings in our Discord server this morning

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 24/11/2024

Pirate Software, what's the name of the coffee guy from Mr. Shootem? Pirate Software:

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 20/11/2024

I hate pop-ups.

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 17/11/2024

We're starting work on a brand new world for the game tonight on Shootem Sunday! We hope you can make it!

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 12/11/2024

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 27/10/2024

Sunday has become Shootem Sunday! I'll be streaming dev work on the game on Sundays, and will also play random games on Friday. Hopefully you can join in on some streams!

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 17/10/2024

This is what it would sound like if Mr. Shootem was evil and scary

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 04/10/2024

Man are you joking

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 03/10/2024

We're hosting two events this month on our Discord server! Race the clock in the Demo Speedrun Contest, and grab a partner to climb the ladder of Air Hockey greatness in our Air Hockey Open! FREE COPIES OF THE FULL GAME ARE UP FOR GRABS! Join us today and get involved! discord.gg/CPUJtN25zX

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 28/09/2024

Pray for her

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 19/09/2024

Never mess with a CHOWDAHEAD! The archenemy of the Super Freaks, Kranion, has arrived as one of our two bonus characters as part of our Kickstarter's stretch goals! @superfreaksdev.bsky.social Help us SMASH his goal to play as Kranion as soon as the game launches!

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 19/09/2024

When did Mr. Shootem get so... OLD??

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 19/09/2024

Air Hockey shenanigans...

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Mr. Shootem Breaks Out! @shootem.biz · 13/09/2024

Hello, Bluesky! 👋 We're a group of friends making Mr. Shootem Breaks Out!, a puzzle-platform-shooter for 1-4 players about ANNIHILATING levels of bricks with a ball and pure firepower! You can play our demo NOW at play.shootem.biz, and our Kickstarter launches next week! Thanks for stopping by!

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