iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 28/05/2026

I have been rolling over so many ideas for Remember Your Oath over the last year or so. My new job is a combination of satisfying and keeping me busy (a rare privilege I am grateful for) so progress has been slow but I've settled in and work is beginning to progress faster.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 24/05/2026

One (of many) things I will always praise Bulwark Studios (Creators of the 40k Mechancius games, as well as Ixion) is their dialog direction and design. How they not only coax excellent performances, but also distort those voices in such a way to give them a sense of presence. 10/10 sound design.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 11/04/2026

The more I play #CrimsonDesert the more I realize you could, almost frame by frame, reconstruct the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launch trailer in Crimson Desert. I am amazed this hasn't happened yet.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 21/03/2026

You know what #CrimsonDesert kind of feels like? It feels like the older Ultima games. Same kind of light ImSim, Light RPG, Explore this living breathing world vibe and I am here for it.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 15/03/2026

Someone: "I feel like you'd like #CavesofQud." Me: "Okay, I guess I'll give it a try." Sadly the next time the gang would see Matt would be when his face started turning up on milk cartons.

020

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 21/11/2025

The way I work right now I am on three day weekends. The strange structure of my current working conditions mean that I am often mentally exhausted after work. So (at least) one day on my weekend is now devoted to Gamedev. Devday!

020

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 13/11/2025

Building a specialized dice roller for a prototype. The result of this rollers architecture means I can essentially entirely custom-build dice of any size, shape, or non-Euclidean dimension. Roll a D1, for example. #gamedev #indiedev #hobbyist

083

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 12/11/2025

So I have had a lot of stuff going on, but that time has given me a lot of thought-time when it comes to game dev. Life is calmed down now, so I am going to start dedicating one day a week (and of course, any other time I have the motivation) to working on prototypes. #Gamedev

051

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 27/10/2025

This may be the path I wind up taking when I do eventually start work on that part of my army. Great looking model, but cannot justify that price.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 27/10/2025

Dear Games Workshop; Big fan of your Horus Heresy 3.0 game, but you have given my legion (The Iron Warriors) a detachment that is super on brand, that contains slots specifically reserved for an Arquitor Bombard. Can I please have a plastic kit for this tank so I don't spend $230 on a Resin brick?

220

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 18/09/2025

I've got to say, #Borderlands4 has the best inventory management system out of any modern "Looter Shooter" games. Filters, multiple levels of organization, a robust tagging system. Just, please, allow me to set a different default sort order than "Manufacturer".

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 17/09/2025

Savage Beastfly may be a challenge, but it if you can manage the adds it gives you 5 business days between attacks to heal. If it dealt one damage per hit it wouldn't be trivial, it would be a regular enemy.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 17/09/2025

I remember when, early in #Hallowknight, people complained that all the bosses dealt two damage instead of one. I've met the bosses that deal one damage per hit. I get it now. Anyone using that mod that cuts early boss damage to one is in for something I can only describe as a challenge cliff.

100

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 16/09/2025

Randy Pitchford, your team has released a great game. #Borderlands4 is fun, the best in a very long time, I'd argue my favorite since the original. So please, as a fan, who wants the success of this game to speak for itself, I beg of you. Shut the fuck up.

170

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 08/09/2025

Listen, I am not going to spoil anything, but there is a particular moment in Hallow Knight: Silksong, and to the wonderful people at Team Cherry, and I mean this in the most reverent and respectful way possible. Bravo on some incredible misdirection. Also fuck you. If you know you know.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 06/09/2025

Ludonarrative is realizing that the reason that Saturnine Dreadnoughts/Terminators in #Warhammer Horus Heresy don't make it to #Warhammer40k, is that almost every single weapon you can slap on them, including their entire default profiles, has the "Overload" keyword and can therefore blow itself up.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 28/08/2025

So let me get this straight, No Mans Sky appears to have just cribbed Starfield's ship-build system, which has, in effect, entirely invalidated the existence of Starfield. 10/10.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 19/07/2025

Well now I absolutely have to build something out of this.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 19/07/2025

I had a nightmare about Quest 64 last night, which has resulted in me waking up with the deep and intense motivation to rebuild that game's rather unique turn based combat system. #gamedev #solodev #indiedev

1112

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 17/07/2025

After a long string of harrowing life events, it is officially time to get back on the horse. Game updates coming!

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 02/07/2025

Hot Take: #DuneAwakening is just the Division with thirst and a base building mechanic. Please note this is not an insult to Dune Awakening.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 02/07/2025

The decision to use music from the 90s Dune games as music on the radio stations in #DuneAwakening was inspired. It lends a sense of musical coherency that almost rivals that of Fallout's modern radio stations. IMO

030

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 03/06/2025

Nothing is quite so painful as going on a trip for work, arriving at the destination, and realizing I failed to pack a mouse with my laptop. So much for getting some #Blender work in. #Gamedev #Solodev #Indiedev

062

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 23/05/2025

SEAF Soldiers have to be the best addition to #Helldivers2 to come out of this update. They manage to make your average Helldivers 2 squad look like the super-soldiers they are sold as, by being somehow even more comically incompetent then the Helldivers. #Gaming

030

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 20/05/2025

There is still a comment in my CharacterController where I encourage myself to one day, rebuild my entire slope-calculation system from scratch instead of using a charactercontroller. Perhaps one day.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 20/05/2025

There are two goblins in my brain. One demands I code everything by hand as much as possible, IE: Not making use of Unity physics, character controller, etc. The other wants to ship a game inside of my lifetime. They are at a stalemate. #Gamedev #Indiedev #Solodev

162

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 16/05/2025

#RememberYourOath proving ground animation testing is going... Well. This game is now about Yoga. #Gamedev #Indiedev #Solodev #Rigging #Animation #Help

053

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 15/05/2025

Thoughts on how #RememberYourOath is going to handle first person melee combat. -Animation Locks: Commit to an attack and your feet are planted (or tied to the attack, maybe a bit of a forward dash). -Cancellable with a Dodge, you can escape the lock, but only by consuming stamina to dodge.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 13/05/2025

I had this with my main project recently. It helped to break out and make a bunch of random little things or focus on other projects. It’s all learning.

110

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 12/05/2025

Updates on #Gamedev stuff. Been quiet for a week or two, been a difficult May so far. 10/60(90?120? Who knows, lets call it 10/Whenever). games have stalled as I have had a huge amount of motivation regarding #RememberYourOath. Nothing to show yet but soon, a lot of good stuff happening.

041

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 11/05/2025

Even if this isn't a mechanic and I am hallucinating, it goes to show how tightly balanced the dodge/parry mechanic is which is another testament to Expedition 33's near perfect expression of the active-turn based RPG formula. 10/10.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 11/05/2025

I swear there are situations where I have registered parries on what seemed to be a few frames after the attack should have killed me but somehow I parried it. Other times the attack killed me on the visual, but that parry, a split second later then the visual window, caught it before the damage.

110

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 11/05/2025

I swear to god the attacks in #ClairObscurExpedition33 have what I can only describe as "Coyote Frames". IE: When you attempt to parry (or I guess dodge) an attack, there will be a certain number of frames after the attack hits visually, but before it kills you, that lets you register a late parry.

210

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 10/05/2025

After watching the recent Connor Conquer's video on #Rimworld, I have returned to the game after a long time. It is going well. #Gaming #Games #ColonySim #Nearlykickedtodeathbyahorse

050

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 09/05/2025

Also yes I am rebuilding the RYO PlayerController for the fourth time. This is progress dammit, it gets better every time! I've even got some mostly in-built slope detection and sliding happening. It's pretty dope.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 09/05/2025

Specifically I am doing this for things I can imagine being non-player or player and non-player actions. Stuff like camera controls are implicit in the playercontroller component. While if a thing can move under it's own power it's implemented through the interface.

100

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 09/05/2025

Unity Programmers of Bluesky, I have a question on composition. Is it a good or otherwise okay architecture practice to break up entity components through interfaces? See screenshot for examples of how I am doing this. Any pitfalls I should be aware of? #Gamedev #Indiedev #Programming #Unity

143

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 02/05/2025

The newest member of the office, Lord Denning, performing a code review on some refactored character controller code. #gamedev #indiedev #birddev

162

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 01/05/2025

I bought a 128gb SSD in 2014 and installed my OS on it. This is like, the last piece of the Ship of Theseus that is my gaming rig that I have not torn out. I fear that this 128gb SSD is lode bearing.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 01/05/2025

Completing my bi-monthly clean up my main HDD to clear space so I can install NVidia Driver Updates turned up 6.97 gigs... Of Total War Warhammer save games. Dating back to 2016. I might have a problem. #Gaming #TotalWar #Games #AhugenumberofthemwereBelegarIronhammer

110

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 30/04/2025

I can feel my programming skills change as I grow more proficient. Over the past few years, when I didn't really put in the time to learn and understand, I always focused on something I could show off. Now, the show-piece can wait, I need to code a complex system for tracking entities in a level.

020

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 29/04/2025

Better have two full Stamina wheels. Or 13 hearts, depending on which you grab.

110

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 28/04/2025

I realize that the system I outlined earlier for #RememberYourOath is kind of an immersive sim nightmare but fuck it a man can dream. Will RYO look like that? Well I damn hope it will but I am not expecting it to for a long time. #Gamedev #Indiedev #Solodev

062

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 28/04/2025

Also, the support you have given me in that line has filled me with determination.

010

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 28/04/2025

5-2: The player now instead confronts the Ogre by placing the feather from a beloved bird companion of the person laid to rest in the Aviary, instead calming the Ogre, who finally is released from the bonds of vengeance and rage from failing to protect his love.

000

Matthew @theorangehatter.itch.io · 28/04/2025

4-2: Another player connects the Ogre with the Aviary, where they described it as a serene place where someone was laid to rest. The Ogre becomes defensive of this area, doesn't pursue the player, but is far more aggressive when this area is entered.

100