iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

🙏 Finally, this lil guy is starting to feel like a real character Every body part has its own collision! 💡 Lighting reacts to each limb 👕 And now, we can finally move on to equipment! Does the depth sell it, or does anything still look off? 👀 #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

✨ We finally crossed a milestone I've been looking forward to! Ever wonder if a 2D sprite actually makes sense in 3D space? Now we can test it! 🦴 Bones animate in real time 🎬 Motion is easier to evaluate What tool changed your dev process the most? #indiegame #indiedev #animation #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

😊 I'm honestly surprised how much a simple arm swap changes the character! Our new bones system let us create this guarded stance using the same animation. Bonus points for the natural arm shadows XD Does this read as "guarded" to you, or would you tweak something? #indiegame #pixelart #indiedev

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

🥹 It's finally starting to feel real. Every body part now has its own keyframes and attach points, and seeing the animation move together in 3D was one of those "heart jump" moments for me! What was the first moment your project finally felt real? #pixelart #indiedev #indiegame #gamedev

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

This might be the most time-consuming system we've built ☠️ Every body part is created separately so equipment, animations, and even different body types can be swapped later. More work now, less work forever. Any sprite-masters out there think this complexity is worth it? #gamedev #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

4 years of indie dev in 3 minutes ☠️ Funny how I remember swearing to myself I'd finish the game in a year 😭 #pixelart #indiedev #ingiegame #gamedev #TacticsRPG

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

🌙 Night feels colder when the lights stay warm Testing atmospheric color shifts against smaller non-celestial light sources. 🌌 Blue tint sets the nighttime mood 🔥 Warm lights push back locally 👀 Contrast helps readability Smash or pass on the contrast? #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

⚠️ EXPERIMENTAL Testing diff effects for shadows/clouds/lighting to see what feels good as pixel art. 🏔️ Height-aware penumbra tests ☁️ Dynamic overcast coverage 💡 Bounce lighting + day/night next How much HD effects is too much for pixel art? #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #TacticsRPG

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

🎥 If you think it, you can build it! A small phone sketch became a full stage in the room editor, something you'll be able to do as well XD 🧱 Build a stage.. 💔 Fight with/against friends in it! Curious what assets people would want in a tactical arena builder :3 #pixelart #indiegame #tactics

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

🔺 Plotting tiny points :3 My weekend isn't flashy - I'm triangulating a 2D tileset into real 3D geometry. 📐 Point-by-point topology 🧩 2D sprite → 3D form ⚙️ Lighting + normals It looks boring. It builds everything XD Curious what others dev first, fun features or foundations! #pixelart #indiedev

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

🎆 Happy New Year from the climb 🌌 A quiet nighttime ascent through a winding labyrinth town, with small lights guiding the path like stars. ✨ Night climb with layered elevation 🏮 Town lights marking the ascent Here’s to steady climbs and brighter horizons. #pixelart #indiegame #gamedev #gameart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

🪨 Pick Up. Carry. Throw. This clip shows the player grabbing a pot, moving with it, and hurling it on demand! 💪 Objects are fully interactive 🎯 Aim/prediction matters 🔥 Almost everything is throwable! Give players tools -- they’ll invent the mayhem! 😆 #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

🚀 High-elevation descent update! Jumping down from way up top -- now smoother, faster, and way more readable on the way down ⛰️ Still squashing a few edge-case glitches… Next up 👉 multi-light support 💡✨ #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

🏔️ High elevation hits different Jumping from way up high all the way down to ground level now feels wild 😤 ✨ Full dynamic shadows are in 🌀 Movement/visibility still getting tuned 🐞 A few glitches left Already a blast, and this system's only getting better! #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

🏔️ Elevation experiment.. First pass at a high-elevation depth FOV parallax effect! 📈 Objects far below subtly scale and shift, giving real vertical depth without breaking the top-down view. Still tuning it, but the sense of height already feels good! 😆 #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

🌊 First pass at our underwater effect! As your character’s eyes dip below the surface, the world distorts and shifts 🌫️ Cross back above the waterline and the view snaps to normal! Still early, but the transition feels decent! 🎵 Secret of The Forest ゾの園 Remix #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

🧱 What’s a diffuse map? Since our game uses an under-the-hood 3D engine, this comes up a lot 👇 🎨 The diffuse map = the pixels you actually see 📦 It includes all sides of a model, even hidden ones ➡️ Shows how it reads in-game from a top-down view! #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame #3DArt

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

🔦 Light vs Shadow Our cave and over/under system ties directly into the darkness mechanic! ✨ Dynamic lighting 🌀 Layered over/under traversal 👁️ Visibility shifting in real time Details like this turn simple movement into strategy! 🎵 FF13 "Dust to Dust" #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

✨ Cozy desert living gets an upgrade! Our rich residential district just got a huge visual pass - 🏜️ Warm colors 🍔 Layered spaces 👾 TONS of tiny details! Massive thanks to @lanawanderwood.bsky.social for helping bring this area to life! 🌿🏠 #pixelart #indiedev #gamedev #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

🌱 It's the little things. Sometimes gamedev isn’t glamorous -- 🔍 Zooming in 800 percent, fixing tiny model glitches, and nudging pixels no one will 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 consciously notice lol It's tedious... but it's also love ❤️ #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

🌟🎥 Mechanics showcase! Time to whip out that popcorn 🍿 👈 Save/replay your fights as a cutscene like this one! 👉 Shows our over/under + cave depth magic 🌌✨ Every new system is making the world feel more alive! 😄❤️‍🔥 #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

🎥 Replay Mode will look like this! 🍿 Save/watch your fights as seamless, cinematic cutscenes! ⏸▶️ Pause & play 👀 Switch player views 🧠 Study tactics & movement 🎮 Perfect for breakdowns, content, and bragging rights! Can't wait to see your craziest battles 😆 #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

⚡ Smooth movement glow-up! New animations let your character pivot on a dime, and chain multi-dodges like a true arena fighter. 🔄 Direction-switch transition 💨 Rapid-fire dodges Excited to finally see these in motion! 😄 #indiedev #gamedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

👀 Old-school stealth showcase! Imagine Metal Gear-style peeking, letting you 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 and shift your line of sight like you're actually standing there! Perfect for planning sneaky routes… or jump-diving into houses like this 😆🥷💨 #indiedev #gamedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

🌊✨ Our waterfall scene is finally legit.. pixel-perfect tile + asset synergy! 🙌 Seeking approval from senpai #seaofstars 😅🙏 Maybe someday we'll craft something even a 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 as beautiful! 💧🍄⭐ #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

🌿 Growth update! We can now add grass directly into rooms -- and even change its color! 💚✨ Every blade reflects perfectly in the main game, tying the world together in real time 🌎 Feels amazing seeing the world come alive piece by piece! #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

🌀 Fluid motion test! Our latest animations mimic the slick backflip and sideways somersaults from Naruto: Ninja Storm 👀 💥 Backflip dodge ⚡ Sideways roll transition 🔥 Testing smooth combo continuity It's feeling so dynamic already! #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

👀 Another behind the scenes peek! Everything starts inside our custom Room Builder tool 🛠️ 🪄 This is how we test how tiles, lighting, and effects blend before going in-game. ✨ Players will get access to this same tool in the 2nd game of the trilogy! #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

🌊 Waterfall scene update! Now with rock tiles and terrain on the left half! 🪨 Adds realism to the layout 🧱 Tests environment interaction ✨ No more "floating" waterfall! Loving how it's coming together 😆 #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

🌵 Desert Dreams Coming Alive! @lanawanderwood.bsky.social has been absolutely crushing it on the desert village! Every new tile and structure adds so much warmth and character to Aerenia's dunes. Can’t wait for players to walk these streets someday! 🏜️ #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

🎥 Behind the curtains.. Here's a peek at our in-engine room editor 👀 ✨ Toggle between 2D/3D views 🔄 Pan the camera 360° even from behind 🗺️ Visualize height + normal maps in real time We plan to give players access to this in Game #2. Build your own arena! ⚔️ #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

✨ From wireframes to world-building! It's WILD looking back at how far we've come since these prototype screens in Figma! What started as boxes and arrows has evolved into a living, breathing adventure! ⚔️ btw highly recommend Figma, it's THE BOMB! ❤️ #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

🎬 Animation blitz! 🧪 Chugging potions mid-battle 🏹 Nocking and firing arrows ⚔️ Sword parries on point 🔱 Twirling spear strike for the win! Every motion is starting to feel crisp and satisfying -- little steps toward making combat feel 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦! #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

🧺 Inventory magic in motion! Players can pick up, rearrange, equip… or even 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 items! 💥 🍾 In this clip, a healing potion's being tossed to an ally for a quick mid-battle heal -- Teamwork at its finest! ⚔️ #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

🕒✨ Level up your socials! I made an Excel "post timing" sheet to see when my followers are most active -- helped me nail my #gamedev launch windows! Don’t gatekeep your wins! Build, share, and grow together! 🗓️🚀 #pixelart #indiedev #indiegame #community

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

⚔️💨 Advanced actions incoming! These special moves blend movement and attack into a single, fluid strike.. BUT they'll burn through a bit more of your resources 🔥 Just like basics, you can chain them back-to-back for stylish combos! 💥 #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

🪨🧩 Debug time! We're smoothing out a few rocky glitches, like this tiny rebel rock that refuses to be cut by the cliff it lives in 😅 Every pixel counts when you're sculpting a world one stone at a time! ⛏️✨ #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

🌤️ Choose your moment of battle! This is our take on day cycle icons. Choose the time of day for each stage, from dawn to midnight! ☀️ Lighting and 🌧️ weather shifts the feel and mechanics of combat, letting you customize your ideal arena! #gamedev #pixelart #indiedev #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

⚔️ Basic attack actions rundown part 1! 💥 Slash: A vertical strike that hits 1 tile but deals extra damage 🔪 Slice: Sweeps multiple tiles based on weapon size 🔗 Chain them for fluid 2-move combos that feel so good in motion! 😎 #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

🦇 Again the bitter black, winds begin to howl. 🖤😈 #indiedev #gamedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Maaaaan, if I could show you how difficult it was to build levels back when we were using GameMaker's default room builder, to have a fraction of the things we're doing now ☠️ Actually, here is a visual of what one of our rooms used to look like, not even sure how many layers lol

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

🧩 Tiles can now smoosh into other tiles! Still interesting glitches (WIP 😅) but it's working and opening up so many new possibilities for the world! 🌍 Can’t wait to push this further! 💡 #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

✂️ Tile cutting is live! Now tiles play nicely with object assets so we can smush them together for some wild combos 🤩 Next step: smushing tiles into 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴! Can’t wait to break… I mean, 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥… new worlds with this! 🔥 #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

🕹️ Who else misses old-school LAN parties? Gonna bring that energy back with Manifest Destiny Online -- multiplayer made for real-life and virtual co-op! 🎮 Don’t know how we’ll do it (modern consoles don’t make it easy), but we're gonna do it! 🚀💾 #indiedev #LANparty #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

📢 For those wanting a little more in depth detail on the sprite > blender > asset process we're using... 📽️ Here is a short video that explains it a bit better! #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

🛠️ For those curious, here's our workflow pipeline! From 🖼️2D sprites.. 🔺Triangle map ➡️ 🌐Blender build ➡ ⚡Back into our engine! Custom logic creates normal maps & perspective shifts to bring it all together for top-down magic ✨ #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart

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Walter | MDO Studio @ss1shadow.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

🙏 Huge thanks to @lanawanderwood.bsky.social for bringing our first desert village to life! This 1st pixel art building fits into the layout 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮, like the world of Aerenia is breathing on its own 🏜️✨ Couldn’t be happier with how this is shaping up! #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame

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