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Like, I get that it's open source and that's great, but some of the features godot DOES have are crazy, yet.. super niche. While more useful features just are not there

Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · Jul 9

Godot..
Paint vertex colours? NOPE
Replace selected placeholder meshes in scene? NOPE
Separate random X and Y scale for particles? NOPE
Rotate particles on X or Z axis? NOPE
Bake vertex lighting? NOPE

Every little thing I try to do.. 😩

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · Jul 8

Finally got some energy to work on something :')

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Reposted by Ryan / Autumn Pioneer

Henry Stockdale @henrystockdale.com · May 13

The post got removed so I'm sharing the screenshots here for reference

Hi, everyone! Here are some unpleasant insights into inKONBINI's development. Please, read the full thread and save these notes before they're gone. It's time some things were said. @IGN @Polygon @Kotaku @PCGamer @RockPaperShot @GameSpot @Eurogamer @jasonschreier @patrickklepek

To be clear, this thread isn't intended to harm the developers, who are mostly victims of the situation themselves. The only person this calls out is Nagai Industries' Studio Head: Dima Kluev, aka Dima Shen.

The public persona Dima projects — that of a passionate developer and die-hard Shenmue fan couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is far more toxic and disturbing.

Having seen him operate up close over the years, I feel obligated to expose him as a ruthless opportunist with a Machiavellian mindset and a toxic leadership style.

Harsh management isn't new to the games industry. But there's a common hope that indie studios avoid the worst of what plagues AAA development.

Indie teams are often viewed as havens of creativity, collaboration, and flat hierarchies. That might be true elsewhere, but not at Nagai Industries.

For years, this small team of around a dozen developers has endured a deeply dysfunctional workplace that mirrors some of AAA's worst
practices.

From needlessly long meetings (only recently
scrapped), to extreme bureaucracy,
micromanagement, public humiliation, and verbal
abuse all coming from one person at the top.

It's also worth noting that employees at the studio don't receive any share of the game's profits — something many would expect from a smaller indie team. Most are significantly underpaid, with average monthly salaries around $1,250.

On multiple occasions, Dima Shen (whose chosen alias coincidentally translates to "God") dismissed others' input entirely. He frequently declared his own opinion as superior in ways that were both arrogant and demeaning.

This wasn't just strict management. It was blatant mistreatment. You don't expect to be devalued in let alone in an indie studio meant
any workplace
to foster support.

He never walked back his language or tone. No apologies. No self-reflection. A typical response to feedback: "That's how I talk. You don't like it? That's not my problem." That's what people heard — in private and in public.

He also had no hesitation in cutting people loose- whether they were burnt out, disagreed with him, or both. Many of you admire the visual style of the game, which has arguably been one of its main draws so far.

What you may not know is that the original artist and creative director was removed from the project shortly after the visual foundation was completed. Shen dismissed her without offering credit,
residuals, or any future involvement. She's refused contact with him ever since.

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

Thank you! It'll take time but there's no rush for now! Hopefully other devs don't do the same mistakes I did haha

Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

Something like it starting as a 3 month solo university project then developed into a full game over a further 3 years (had a break of around 6-8 months in the middle iirc)

Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

I'm sure there were many other mistakes I forgot! 😅
Anyway, after just over a year, it reached 500 Steam reviews at 94% positive, so you can probably consider Shashingo a success! I do!
Now, I'm just incredibly burnt out..!
(Sorry for the grifter style post! 😂)

Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

🎮 Didn't do multi platform launch!

Many Kickstarter backers wanted a Switch key, but I couldn't meet the same release date as I was spread too thin and did the porting by myself. It took half a year and eventually launched on the eShop, but didn't show up for a few days in EU..

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

🗣️Launched with no localisation!

For a game about language learning, you'd expect multi-language support, but Shashingo launched with only English -> Japanese. This meant that potential customers were narrowed down to English speakers only!
(More coming in the next update!)

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

🐛A key feature was broken at launch!

Even though I had massive help from a few particular beta testers, the "pop up translations" broke right before launch; I was literally uploading test builds every few minutes before launch, but it had to be disabled until fixed 2 days later

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

🗨️ Didn't notify press or content creators!

Because I lacked a trailer (and hours), I wasn't able to send it to gaming news outlets or content creators. Luckily a contact at Wholesome Games did manage to slip me into a newsletter though, and I had Kickstarter backers to notify.

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

📺 Launched without a trailer!

I prioritized getting the game as ready as I could, and this meant that I actually didn't have a full, polished build to record the gameplay with until it was release day. I created the trailer hastily over the next few days and put it on YT.

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

I launched Shashingo on February 27th 2024, because I mentally could not take working on the game through another birthday. This meant I crunched a LOT in the final months and inevitably I didn't have time to do everything properly.. or at all.

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · May 3

It's really difficult being an indie game developer.

Shashingo was my first own game launch and I messed up in many ways.

Here's how I failed: 🧵

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Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · Apr 14

I don't get many impressions here anyway but, my new name is Ryan Winters. That's all. Thank you!

Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · Feb 12

I wonder if its talking about product placement ads within the content?

Ryan / Autumn Pioneer @autumnpioneer.bsky.social · Feb 12

It's come to my attention that some people still haven't heard about Shashingo..?! 😱

You literally learn Japanese by taking photographs in a condensed Tokyo-inspired city! Out on PC & Switch!

A flash card for word "Flower" in Japanese

A screenshot showing the environment of Shashingo

A screenshot of the game Shashingo showing the photo album

A screenshot of Shashingo showing the camera mechanic aiming at a dog.

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