2025: A Year in Review. 🚀

​It was a year of two halves: refining the old and discovering the new.

​Phase 1: The Release 📲

Focused on supporting SENTINEL 519. The goal: launch on mobile & ship the "Sentinel Invaders" update. A massive lesson in persistence.

#indiegamedev #retrospective

The Enemy AI is now evolving:

See Player
Draw Weapon
Read Player State
React (with a % chance of success to keep it fair)

You can see the brain working in the debug text above their head.

#indiegamedev #ai #artstyle #progress

I know the last video was leaning towards "Full Noir," but... who doesn't love a bit of colour? 🎨

I tweaked the Post Processing Asset again, and I think this "Coloured Comic" look hits the sweet spot.

But I didn't just procrastinate! There's more about the video in the next post! 👇

#indiegamedev

I even grabbed some comic hit-effect assets to match the theme. Sometimes you just have to chase the "What If" and see where it goes.

Here is a vertical close-up for the mobile users!

Digging the style, or is it too much? 🐻

#indiegamedev #gamedev #unity #gameart #prototyping

I failed to stick to the roadmap this weekend. 😅

I was meant to be working on the AI, but I got side-tracked testing a new Post Processing Effect Asset.

So, here is Project IS0L8T3D... as a Noir Comic Book? 🕵️‍♂️

#indiegamedev

Behind the scenes on IS0L8T3D: Fixing the "Swarm."

Originally, enemies followed the player directly. The result? They bunched up or formed a line.

To fix this, I added invisible "Markers" around the player. Enemies hunt for an open marker rather than the player's centre point.

#indiegamedev

I think I'm inching closer to that "Combat Feel" with every iteration.

Added hit effects, camera shake, and launching enemies into a Ragdoll state.

Love this. Even though the models are placeholders, this is easily my favourite part of the prototyping phase! 🐻

#IS0L8T3D #prototyping #indiegamedev

Back in the prototyping lab for IS0L8T3D after the SENTINEL INVADERS launch!

My design goal is simple: Replace "Fast and floaty" with "Heavy and visceral".

Here is a test of a 7-hit combo chain. I want the player to feel the inertia of the weapon dragging the character forward.

#indiegamedev

The SENTINEL INVADERS update is now LIVE!

So, let's have a look at the chaos.

* Shields up.
* Hydro-Cannons loaded.
* Leaderboards open.

This is a Free Content Update available now for owners of the game on Android (iOS version TBD).

📲 Play here: play.google.com/store/apps/d...

#indiegamedev

Onboarding is always a tricky balance. 🤷‍♂️

Since SENTINEL INVADERS is much faster than the main story, I added a tutorial to highlight the new HUD, weapon decay, and Dashing logic.

Hopefully, this helps players master the mechanics before hitting the Leaderboards! 🚀

#gamedev #indiegamedev #solodev

Current status: Heavy Iteration 🛠️

This includes adding visual timers to pickups and tweaking UI.

It’s the kind of work I could get hooked on indefinitely (the trap of endless polish), but I know I have to stop and ship eventually.

The game is getting better, one step at a time. 🐻

#indiegamedev

Update on the new "SENTINEL INVADERS" mini-game mode. 🛠️

Today's focus: The Hydro-Cannon

Wanted an ice weapon that respected physics (mostly). It ejects water which violently boils in the vacuum of space, freezing and condensing into a devastating ice projectile.

See it in action. 👇

#indiegamedev

Jumping back to prototyping! Space is fun... really fun! But what about when a character needs to move on land?

Here we've plucked the protagonist from the void of space and onto solid ground. It's a more low-key update, but progress is progress!

#indiegamedev #wip #movement #madewithunity

Though it would have been awesome to wait to build a whole game around this mechanic, it was too fun to keep locked away for a long period of time.

To that end, look forward to this mechanic making its way in a NEW shooter mini-game update for SENTINEL 519: SAGA - GENESIS instead!

#indiegamedev

Soooo, a random thought occurred to me. What if I ran a bit with this concept, added some indestructible drones, and let the player swing that sword in space?

...Well, here is that random thought come to life on an iPhone 12 mini!

#newconcept #indiegamedev #wip #madewithunity #appybearstudio #ios

A quick "work-in-progress" update. Here's an early look at some new gameplay mechanics being prototyped for the next concept.

It's always a great feeling when an idea starts to take shape.

#gamedev #indiegamedev #prototyping #wip #appybearstudio

How do you add multiplayer to an offline game? 🤔

With Apple Game Center Challenges!

Challenge your friends directly to beat your high score on the leaderboards!

1️⃣ Select Your Game Center profile
2️⃣ Tap "Play Together"
3️⃣ Setup the Challenge & invite!

apps.apple.com/us/app/senti...

#indiegamedev