Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

D. Piskorowski

@pd-cgt.bsky.social

760 followers 300 following 1.5K posts

Solo gamedev - CCH5, SomnaBuster, and Disaster Arms Do it wrong, not at all, or do it right

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · Aug 13

My boss rush game Disaster Arms is finished - I'm working on finalizing everything for Steam. We're releasing in October for $9.99!⭐

For fans of GUNSTAR HEROES - MEGAMAN - KINGDOM HEARTS

RT & Wishlist's appreciated!

Play the demo @ : store.steampowered.com/app/3462730/...

6 92 160

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 9h

this chapter's been really good

Mareg from Grandia 2 talking.

Yes, perhaps this will be the most expedient path to understanding. From this moent forth, seek to become your own master.

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 11h

-> circumstance, though I'm sure there's ways I could've introduced the generals early on and built up to their encounters. Elle is the only one I really did this with, now that I think about it

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 11h

yeah definitely, you make a very good point, create anticipation through the setting and passive elements

much to consider - i think it might've been hard to do the same for disaster arms because the whole game is in one centralized setting and the characters are all small actors in a larger ->

1 1

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 15h

though this does pose the interesting design question "how do give each boss more narrative attention without taking away from the arcade gameloop"

I don't have a good answer myself yet

2 1 9

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 15h

this is one of my favorite disaster arms reviews so far, i really appreciate it when ppl bring in my past works and other genre works as a frame of reference, comparing what does and doesn't work

in this case yeah, there's definitely an argument to be made Somna's artstyle clashes w/ the genre

Fun Alien Soldier clone. The ignition dash mechanic is the highlight here, it's fun to do exploding dashes back to back and deal massive damage while cancelling bullets.

The game seems well tuned for score and time attack play. Easy/normal mode with stage select and infinite continues is already worth the money for most players. Having to learn fights & experience the game by redoing it from the start repeatedly isn't for everyone.

Getting a hang of the fine details of your controls was pretty satisfying, as the control scheme is abnormal but still responsive. If you get the fundamentals down it's not punishing to take hits fairly often even on the highest difficulty.

The visual style and narrative are similar to SomnaBuster which I really liked but these somehow didn't click as strongly here. It might be due to the game being in a genre I have more specific expectations for (& as such maybe get less surprised), more limited color palette and being less story centric. Bosses kind of appear out of the blue and you immediately fight them so it's hard to grow any connection to an individual enemy appearing on the screen outside of repeatedly playing the game (this is very much like Alien Soldier of course).

As a nitpick the players guns look very similar to eachother visually and in terms of control, having the same colors and so on. If I wasn't actively thinking of videogamey concepts like point blanking with a spreadshot the weapons kind of lack impact. Simplification of controls compared to Alien Soldier may play a part in them blending together.
Funnily enough if you have autofire on a weapon swap button you can accomplish a kind of supershot and not think about switching weapons, which is pretty comfy to use but not that great on bosses.

The remaining review can be read here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/3462730/reviews/?browsefilter=mostrecent&snr=1_5_100010_&p=1

2 6 25

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 22h

they updated the steamworks website in a way that neither benefits nor inconveniences me. it is my duty to be bothered by it anyway, because change in any capacity discomforts me and makes me retreat to my dr seuss books and beanie babies

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 1d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

400 9.2K 24K

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

sebmal @mrdo.pro · Sep 9

#crisisposting

2 160 340

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

Ephemeral Enigmas @ephemeralenigmas.bsky.social · Jul 28

Buddy, you gotta make up your mind

In Bomberman Generation, Professor Ein contacts Bomberman in stage 1-5 and tells him to "Reach the top by climbing the cliff!"

In a third call higher up, Ein says "Just keep climbing!"

At some point, he'll call to tell you that "Falling down can be good!"

1 3 24

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 1d

part of what's made grandia 2 so good so far is the DNA it shares with bomberman generation, which i only learned in adulthood was also programmed by gamearts

the sound effects, the isometric camera with shoulder button rotation, the way enemies shrink and spin around when you defeat them

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 1d

ooooooooo you want to give him a fresh cut of lemon pepper pork sooooooo bad

a teddy bear is dancing in front of a yellow sign that says 11.12

Alt: a teddy bear is dancing in front of a yellow sign that says 11.12

media.tenor.com

1 1

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

🪓Fridayman13🪓 @waltmann13.bsky.social · Feb 27

7 540 1.2K

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 1d

read the caption before the pic loaded and was mentally preparing for the darius edit

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 1d

I used to know a man who lived next to the woods and would leave food out for deer and they'd come and say hi to him

1 1

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 1d

i think i need to just take a day trip into the woods or something i wanna plow full steam ahead on work but i have so so so much burnout

2 12

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 1d

go soak your head

Bitmap Books @bitmapbooks.com · 2d

Monday 6th October 2025

Dear supporters of Bitmap Books,

Although I stand by the fact that Moses’ comments were ill-advised and insensitive, the whole thing blew up and was made much bigger than it needed to be. Moses has publicly apologised for any offence caused, as has the original poster of the comments who did not intend to cause this much trouble. I do not feel that this warrants an author losing his livelihood and ruining years of hard work to produce the book.

Despite multiple accusations to the contrary, Moses freely agreed to donate his royalties to charity. There was no coercion from me, however we both recognise that due to an increasingly stressful situation that decisions were rushed on both sides. I’m pleased to say that Moses and I have spoken again today, we stand together, and have agreed that he will receive 100% of his royalties.

Maybe I was hasty in my response, and I’m happy to admit to that. At the time I sincerely thought I was doing the right thing to diffuse an increasingly difficult situation. I will commit to donating all company profits from this first print run to the charity, Special Effect.

The bottom line is that is that Moses has apologised for his original comments, and will now be paid the royalties that are rightfully his.

Moses and myself have received a large amount of personal abuse and threats over the past few days. We hope that this statement will bring some closure to what has happened.

Sam Dyer, founder of Bitmap Books

1 12

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

Boghog @boghogstg.bsky.social · 2d

More writing/vids/etc. on game design should be treated as a piece of a convo rather than being seen as the final word or being seen as worthless & wrong. Feels like ppl only respond to stuff when it makes them mad, and no ideas get built on

11 41 200

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

Eternal Skies @eternalskiestcg.bsky.social · 2d

As I have always said to other indie game devs, it's the weirdos that will make your game succeed if it does. Cater to the weirdos, not the general population of gamers that don't give a shit.

wwxwashere.bsky.social @wwxwashere.bsky.social · 3d

it’s always a lovely day when people realize weirdos are the backbone of any fandom and trying to make everyone “normal” kills everything enjoyable about it. fandom wouldn’t exist if people could be normal about things.

2 17 59

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 3d

this graphic made me think 'man, amy should incorporate green into her wardrobe again'

Sonic the Hedgehog @sonic-official.bsky.social · 3d

We're going for the gold.

We're excited to announce our upcoming "Olympic Rings" licensing collaboration with the International Olympic Committee celebrating the Olympic Brand and Sonic the Hedgehog!

Stay tuned for more info in 2026!

Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Amy, and Knuckles with the text, "Olympic Dream"

Sonic speeds to the left in Olympic colors with the text, "Going for gold"

A silhouetted Sonic snowboards with a trail of Olympic colors behind him

2 17

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

WOKE Gaster, the royal scientist (Halloween Hack) @tsunamicat108.bsky.social · 3d

9 800 2.3K

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 3d

that's what i was afraid of :/ oh well, kega fusion fast-forward is p reliable

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

lucasq @luquestions.bsky.social · 3d

1 4 30

Reposted by D. Piskorowski

Ian Coldwater 👻🌿 @lookitup.baby · 3d

Bless

Raphal de la Ghetto @ilovesmick

All these white people mad about Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance... I hope next year they get Bad Bunny performing the whole set in Spanish.

5:32 PM • 2/11/25 • 6.7M Views

4 59 640

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 3d

ZeroRanger is one of my favorite games - it's rare a game is as honorary as that with its parodies and homages, still uses them in the larger context of its narrative themes, while bringing so many new ideas to the table

1 1

D. Piskorowski @pd-cgt.bsky.social · 3d

Dude a 1CC on Impact already???? It's been only a few days - congratulations!!

1 1