SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 20hBorough changes with the seasons. Plants change growth states, resident routines can shift, weather evolves, and holidays appear throughout the year. The goal: make your borough feel like a place you live in, not just a city you decorate. Which season would you play first? 000
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Working on Borough’s UI. Even small things like weather icons use the game’s loose, hand-drawn visual language. I want the interface to feel like another part of the world rather than a clean digital layer sitting on top of it. 051
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Meet Nimbus — better known as Nimby. He’s Borough’s last longtime resident, keeper of its history, and your loudest opponent whenever you try to rebuild the island. You can earn his trust over time. Historical preservation helps. So do pastries. 020
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Welcome to Borough. A solo-developed life sim + city builder about rebuilding an abandoned island community. Plan it. Build it. Meet the neighbours. Navigate local politics. I’ll be sharing the development of Borough here as the island comes back to life. 031
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Ooo I’m starting to prototype… mostly grey boxes right now. I’ll post some visuals once it gets interesting. 000
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Let’s see how I far I get with this first😅 010
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Sorry I’ve been quiet the past little while… I’m trying to be a good dev and create a game design document. 130
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Officially in Montreal! Just getting set up, but hopefully I can get back to game dev soon!! 010
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Thank you very much! On to a new exciting adventure! 000
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Haven’t been able to touch Borough a lot since we’re in the middle of getting to move to Montreal. Just a little street car action. #gaming #indiegames #gamedev 1104
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Refining the borough map and defining those outside boundaries. #gaming #indiegames #gamedev 061
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 02/06/2026Working on grid materials 📏 #gamedev #gaming #indiegames 0124
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 02/06/2026Looks so good! It’s amazing how far it’s come!!! 110
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 01/06/2026Playing paralives right now is research right??? Yeah research…. #indiegaming 020
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Fans out on each individual. I have them set to different timers so they’re not doing it all at the same time. Nothing is set to query every tick. 110
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Oh that’s a good idea! Thank you. I’ll give it a whirl and let you know how it works out. 110
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 29/05/2026From a proposed spawn point from the EQS. That way it’s only tracing once and not competing with other Grass spawners. 100
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Right now they do. I’m working in solutions to make sure they don’t. Maybe a limit on how many times they spawn? Still working through that problem. 100
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Hey! I was thinking of creating a starter pack for indie city builder devs. Would anyone be interested in being added to it? #indiegamedev #citybuilder 061
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Then I have the child grasses do the same. Also I run a line trace to make sure they don’t spawn on existing Grass. 110
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Honestly I’m running an EQS before spawning. The workflow as is follows: 1. Grow Plant Mesh until full size on timer 2. Run an EQS for the spawn point (it scores based on distance from it’s “mother” and other factors (buildings, roads, etc) 3. After full size have it spawn another ungrown Grass. 200
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 28/05/2026Grass growth! (obvs sped up) #grass #foliage #gaming #indiegamedev #gamedev #unrealengine #indiegame 1135
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 28/05/2026Grass growth! (obvs sped up) #grass #foliage #gaming #indiegamedev #gamedev #unrealengine #indiegame 1135
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Hey devs! At what point in the game dev process would you set up your steam page? Poot Patrol was mobile only so this will be my first time releasing on Steam. #indiedev #steam #gamedev #marketing 3185
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Figuring out tree growth mechanics. 🌳🌲🌴 #tree #gaming #indiegaming #indiedev #solodev #unrealengine 0120
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/05/2026That part I figured out! You have to sign up for steam works which is the dev portal of steam. 040
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Oh this is so informative! Lots of marketing videos I need to look at today. Thank you so much! 120
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Oh that’s good to know! Okay I’m a big nobody. So early would be better than latter! Thank you so much! 010
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Thank you! Going to start working on it! 💪 110
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Hey devs! At what point in the game dev process would you set up your steam page? Poot Patrol was mobile only so this will be my first time releasing on Steam. #indiedev #steam #gamedev #marketing 3185
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 22/05/2026More dynamic environmental shader stuff. Being Canadian snow is a big part of life. ❄️ Made the landscape shader gain snow as it snows and melts when it warms up. #unrealengine #indiedev #gamedev #gaming 1123
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Awww thank you so much! Going for the indie graphic novel vibe! Can’t wait to start sharing the other characters as well! 010
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 22/05/2026More dynamic environmental shader stuff. Being Canadian snow is a big part of life. ❄️ Made the landscape shader gain snow as it snows and melts when it warms up. #unrealengine #indiedev #gamedev #gaming 1123
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Finally something flashy I can show. Got my water shader with water reaction trails working. It uses canvas render targets to project a mask for the waves. #unrealengine #indiegamedev #gamedev #shaders 0175
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Finally something flashy I can show. Got my water shader with water reaction trails working. It uses canvas render targets to project a mask for the waves. #unrealengine #indiegamedev #gamedev #shaders 0175
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 15/05/2026I’ve been quietly been working on the core structure systems for Borough. Nothing is fancy yet, but I’ve been making good progress! Save system ✅ Time/Speed System ✅ Season System ✅ Weather System ✅ Build Tool ✅ Terrain Tool✅ Road Tool ✅ Destroy Tool ✅ Basic NPC Nav ✅ Scheduling ✅ #indiedev 092
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 15/05/2026I’ve been quietly been working on the core structure systems for Borough. Nothing is fancy yet, but I’ve been making good progress! Save system ✅ Time/Speed System ✅ Season System ✅ Weather System ✅ Build Tool ✅ Terrain Tool✅ Road Tool ✅ Destroy Tool ✅ Basic NPC Nav ✅ Scheduling ✅ #indiedev 092
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 04/05/2026Working out the basics of the terrain system. #unrealengine #indiedev #solodev 091
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Working on the building tool for Borough. Having some fun with the bugs. #indiegame #solodev #gamedev #unrealengine 0102
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Researching UI for Borough today. Found this little gem of a website in my search. #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev www.gameuidatabase.com/index.php?&t...gameuidatabase.comGame UI DatabaseThe ultimate tool for Game UI and Interface designers. Explore over 1,300 games and 55,000 UI screenshots. Browse and filter by category, animation, colour, material, layout, game genre, and more. 0135
Reposted by SL Black Studiosdreamin' @dreaminerryday.bsky.social · 06/04/2026cancel your adobe subs asap and use non adobe products if you haven't already 134122462
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Doing some art direction stuff today. Working out the swatch options for customization. Borough had a very distinct style so I’m selecting swatches that will fit the world. #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #soloddev #swatch #colors 093
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Doing some art direction stuff today. Working out the swatch options for customization. Borough had a very distinct style so I’m selecting swatches that will fit the world. #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #soloddev #swatch #colors 093
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 11/03/2026New Dev Log! I’ve been trying to find a way to marry traditional collage and drawing with new Ai tools to speed up work flows. I’ve been experimenting with Krita and feel like it is a happy medium. The process will change as Ai tech evolves but it’s a start. bit.ly/4b3Vawuslblackstudios.comArt Exploration & Tech Integration — SL Black StudiosA look at art style exploration AI work processes for Borough. 001
Reposted by SL Black StudiosSL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 11/03/2026New profile BG. Been working on style exploration for Borough. I think I have the artistic direction almost nailed down. 🤞 I’ll make a dev log post about the style direction exploration and process soonish? #indiegames #cozygames #gamedev #indiedev #krita 0134
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 11/03/2026New Dev Log! I’ve been trying to find a way to marry traditional collage and drawing with new Ai tools to speed up work flows. I’ve been experimenting with Krita and feel like it is a happy medium. The process will change as Ai tech evolves but it’s a start. bit.ly/4b3Vawuslblackstudios.comArt Exploration & Tech Integration — SL Black StudiosA look at art style exploration AI work processes for Borough. 001
SL Black Studios @slblackstudios.bsky.social · 11/03/2026New profile BG. Been working on style exploration for Borough. I think I have the artistic direction almost nailed down. 🤞 I’ll make a dev log post about the style direction exploration and process soonish? #indiegames #cozygames #gamedev #indiedev #krita 0134