Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · 3d

oops here's the less distorted version

Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · 3d

Happy #ScreenshotSaturday! Let's play a round of "Guess what this icon means"! The winner gets a very cool sticker (next time you go to an event I print stickers for).

#roguelike #autobattle #pixelart #gamedev

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · 14d

Greetings, #PitchYaRogue. Would you like to defend your planet from megacorp bots?

⚙️Combine 20+ (or 80+?) varied upgrades to make a busted build
⚔️Fight through 25 #roguelike levels
🤖Be a #robot or a 🦊 #foxperson or a 🪨 #lithoid

Wishlist SOLARFLARE now! store.steampowered.com/app/3941030/...

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · 18d

I'm playing around with an #autobattle version of SOLARFLARE, and I guess this is why Backpack Battles has Fatigue.

#roguelike #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · 24d

Showing SOLARFLARE off at #CIGS2025 was validating and all, but the collective effort of 100 playtesters have generated, let's see, about 10000 Trello cards.

Thanks anyways! See you guys at #CIGS2026, and maybe also #CIGS2027 and #CIGS2028, probably.

Two people at a table, playing SOLARFLARE. A sign between them says "CO-OP | TURN-BASED | ROGUELIKE".

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Sep 5

Bubblegum generously volunteered to be featured on a sticker. Drop by our booth at #CIGS2025 tomorrow, play one run, and take them home with you!

Oh, but Bubblegum says not buy more than 2 ranks of Sniper, that's a rookie mistake.

#axolotl #roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #gamedev

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 30

One more week until #CIGS2025! Look, we have a beautiful sign now.

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 24

Sure, happy to be added!

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 23

Mm, yep, voice over by teammates is a solid idea; the trailer for store.steampowered.com/app/3011520/... is a great example of this.

I think it'll also help to put player names above the characters' heads.

Escape from Slumberland on Steam

Escape from Slumberland is an online co-op horror game with up to 4 players. Explore deadly dream worlds, collect valuable moonbeams and escape before the nightmares claim you. Meanwhile the monster i...

store.steampowered.com

Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 23

It was a long, long checklist, but we're on Steam now!

store.steampowered.com/app/3941030/...

If, like me, you enjoy most #coop #turnbased #roguelikes, I suspect you'll enjoy this too. Wishlist today, and find out!

#pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 17

If you're wondering why I'm editing a trailer, it's because SOLARFLARE will have a booth at Chicago Indie Game Showcase (CIGS), hosted by @indiecitygames.org, on 9/6!

Stop by, fight robots with a friend, and tell me which character is your favorite (it's Bubblegum) and why (they're an #axolotl).

Flyer for Chicago Indie Game Showcase, listing all the games and sponsors.

Bubblegum the axolotl is only murderous when they need to be, which is frequently.

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 17

It's tricky to convey "this game is #co-op" visually, especially when it's #turnbased. I have a white outline that moves to the current player, but think we also need to display the player name above their character's head.

Any other suggestions?

#roguelike #pixelart #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 9

This is Fox (no relation). He made equipment for the big armory corp, until SOLARFLARE raided it and he left with them. He likes talking about philosophy, even though his team stopped listening about an hour ago.

#foxes #roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

Pixel art fox with wrench and goggles, standing on a shore

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Aug 2

This is . She was a subject of the big bioengineering corp, until SOLARFLARE shut the lab down. She is very shy, but knows a lot of jokes.

#golem #roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jul 26

This is Ed. It was created by the big #robot corp, but they left a security vulnerability in its code that it exploited (oops!), so it left. It sometimes stares at people for a long time, with its massive unblinking iris.

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

A robot with yellow gloves and a long red scarf, standing on a hex grid.

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jul 19

It's time for SOLARFLARE's July update! I hope you enjoy characters, lore, and detailed statblocks.

Details here: swarmforge.itch.io/solarflare-p...

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

A character sheet with a bunch of different abilities and stats.

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jul 12

Goggles make it tough to convey expression! We were aiming for 😱 on the Tech-Fox but this (pic #1) looks a bit like 😀. Do sweat-drops (#2) or dizzy-eyes (#3) help?

#conceptart by www.instagram.com/maeribee/

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

A fox wearing overalls and goggles, looking excited

A fox wearing overalls and goggles, looking anxious(?)

A fox wearing overalls and goggles, looking dizzy(?)

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jul 5

Working on UI clarity this week! I needed a white outline to indicate whose turn it is, which surprisingly required #shaders, so... I kinda learned HLSL.

There's an unannounced art asset that snuck in, oh well, don't tell anyone.

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jun 29

OK, I guess you guys really liked this little guy's #conceptart, so here they are in RESPLENDENT COLOR #pixelart, courtesy of @wurmfud.itch.io.

Any suggestions for their name? Currently thinking Bubblegum, for um obvious reasons.

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #axolotl #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

Pink axolotl with goggles faces off against robots on a grid, in pixel art.

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jun 23

A teeny-tiny fragment of www.instagram.com/maeribee 's #concept-art for SolarFlare's key art. Here, we witness an annoyed lithoid demonstrating the business end of their plasma sword to a very mean #robot.

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday

An annoyed lithoid demonstrates the business end of their plasma sword to a very mean robot with wheels.

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jun 15

This cutie didn't make it in as one of the starter characters... but they'll be unlockable.

#axolotl #conceptart by www.instagram.com/maeribee

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday #OrIsItSunday?

Axolotl wearing a scifi headband, concept art

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jun 6

Hi #PitchYaGame! Would you like to defend your planet from megacorp bots?

⚙️Combine 20+ (or 80+?) varied upgrades to make a busted build
⚔️Fight through 25 #roguelike levels
👥 #coop with your friends (or not)
🤖Be a #robot or a 🦊 #foxperson or a 🪨 #lithoid

Follow swarmforge.itch.io/solarflare-p...!

A cyber-fox protected by a swarm of cute drones, protecting him from a spider-bot

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jun 3

June update is here! New upgrades, new metaprogression, new #devlog!

Demo: swarmforge.itch.io/solarflare-p...
Devlog: swarmforge.itch.io/solarflare-p...

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #robots #pixelart #gamedev

June '25: Metaprogression, and lots of Upgrades

Two big updates this month. I'll go into a bit more detail about my decision-making; let me know if that's interesting to you. Upgrade Recipe System Some upgrades are special snowflakes, unlike any ot...

swarmforge.itch.io

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · Jun 2

More #conceptart for #screenshotsaturday, by the inestimable www.instagram.com/maeribee. It's surprisingly hard to make #robots look like protagonists, without making them humanoid!

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #gamedev #indiedev

Sketches of two robots: one like a caterpillar and another bipedal.

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Swarmforge @swarmforge.bsky.social · May 24

Some aliens are made out of rocks, and that's ok.

This concept art brought to you by the magnificent www.instagram.com/maeribee, for #screenshotsaturday !

#roguelike #turnbased #coop #golem #gamedev #indiedev

Concept art of three different alien species (or golems?) made out of rocks

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