uncertainkey

What do you think? As a rough prototype for a trailer intro. Any feedback welcomed. #indiedev #gamedev

@YasumiMatsuno @Michael_S_Ander There was a Hitchcock quote about the difference between suspense and surprise -- focusing on the example of a bomb beneath a table. What the audience knows that the characters do not, can generate tension. Somehow this "overheard" technique remind me of this quote deeply.

@YasumiMatsuno @Michael_S_Ander One of my favorite touches was "one character overheard an important conversation". You masterfully employ this technique in Vagrant Story, but I believe it first appears in FFT. (Sorry if mistaken) Was this element also inspired by a movie? Or perhaps it was the new 3D camera?

今日はいつもにも増して目が痒い････

Honestly, if game devs knew what people wanted to play, it would just be a matter of execution. Still, so many issues: 1. Players themselves may not know what they want to play, until they actually have it in their own hands. (e.g. Slay the Spire launch was not stellar) 2. Sometimes, people may not want to play the thing until it's nearly complete and polished (no desire to play greybox Civilization prototype or Hollow Knight alpha) 3. Sometimes polish is critical, othertimes it's not necessary at all and could even be detrimental. (No desire to play greybox Civilization prototype or Hollow Knight alpha.) 4. If your game has a fun / strange / new fantasy that you fulfill, there's still a chance that another game weeks / months before announcement or release, hits a similar fantasy. Some fantasies are sort of "1-off" fantasies imo. Even though I love evolution games, I don't think I'll want another cat breeding game after Mewgenics, for example. As a result, I can't help but feel it's sometimes best to work in ignorance. In the warmth of the illusion that your 'completed' game could be interesting to people. And in line with localthunk's approach, to treat it as a project for yourself. Taking pride in your own creation, even when no one's there to observe. Sculpting it into existence one line of code at a time. But I think this loneliness and uncertainty is probably still the biggest challenge. I think it's partly also why we see indie devs err toward short and fast games, or often leave projects on the side midway. I don't think it's really the complexity of the project that kills it, or the difficulty in promotion, or funding (for indie projects).

@jantonsson2 Learning about what other people want to play. Early validation works for some projects / genres, but probably not others. In some cases, social media is sufficient indicator. But in other cases, you get games with 1+ million views that can translate to maybe 2000 copies?

What is the single biggest challenge today when it comes to developing indie games and bringing them to market? Serious question.

@JonasTyroller Two possibilities get me excited: 1. HUGE scale so you chip away at the puzzle for days on end. 2. Intense meta-progression with a strong fantasy attached. Basically "build a kingdom / farm by playing this puzzle game". Puzzle Quest (the old match3 RPG hybrid) for example.

People who don't typically enjoy puzzle games, what would it take for you to enjoy one?

@NigiriGames I think it looks great! Thanks for letting me know! You could try a very light shader on the playing board with transparent arrows / lighting if you wanted to further highlight it, but it might get visually cluttered. The current version has a nice visual look.

Oh, I almost forgot. @uncertainkey, we're testing the lane selection you mentioned last time. Due to video speed it can barely be seen, but is there😅

Welcome to another #screenshotsaturday! This time, Tutorial part 2, when the enemy strikes and how to heal some of that precious HP❤ #gamedev #indiedev

Looks like you are cooking something spectacular. Only one piece of advice I'd give is for the current lane selection to have a bit more feedback. Three ideas: 1. Lane tiles blink or highlight slightly (the tiles or the lines). 2. A slightly transparent version of the orb you hold appears where you are going to throw it 3. An arrow appears on the first tile in front of the character. Personally I prefer #2, because I can keep my focus on the game board and less on the character at the bottom. At the moment, my eyes would have to constantly go between the board and the character. And while looking at the game board I would have to keep the color of the orb in mind. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact there are only 3 colors. Personally I don't know if you need a score counter in the top right anymore. It's a puzzle game, but because you have combat, the monster health is the real score, I think. Still if it's used for some sort of currency, or you think it's an important component of the play experience, okay. But otherwise you could remove it or display a different piece of important information there. It seems the dice roll determines when the "wave" comes down? With a 1 = "wave comes down after this throw"? That's nice too imo. I also enjoy the orb "delete" animation where you use the orb's icon (blue orbs combine and release the water icon, etc), it's a nice touch. The board falling down, with the shadow, the jiggle when the tutorial character talks, the UI focus transitions, there's a ton of polish and care given to this. I'm personally looking forward to it.

A new #screenshotsaturday has arrived! So... tutorials, how do our #gamedev colleagues handle them? #indiedev

@YasumiMatsuno I heard if you carve the Blood-Sin on the back, it can draw power from the wellspring.

久しぶりに（というかン十年ぶりに）ベイグラをプレイしてみようかと思い、PSPポータブルを引っ張り出したのだが、電源ケーブルとAV出力ケーブルが見つからない💦 捨てるわけないので何処かにあるはずなんだが、何処や？💦 #ベイグラントストーリー

@CcrawlerArt If you get a chance, give Matsuno's Crimson Shroud a try. Although the Cinematography was "fixed angles", it's still excellent. It shows how much you can communicate from the shot angle alone.

A big reason for this is the cinematography; it has a finesse I have yet to see again. Even during dialogue scenes, every shot feels deliberately directed. It’s never just two characters going back and forth, cycling through 3 idles, as most games tend to fall into these days

@DeadMoneyDevs Just saw you guys signed with @HoodedHorseInc, congratulations! Looking forward to hearing how things go.

@DeadMoneyDevs Was just thinking about you guys, hope you didn't get disheartened by initial social media reception. You've got fire in your hands. It's just not the type that goes instantly viral despite being gorgeous. Though once you have emergent behaviors, imo it could go viral.

⛰️⛏️ #madewithunity #indiegame #indiedev #handdrawn #art #isometric #indieart #gameart #videogame #fantasy #cave

@YasumiMatsuno @caporione Yay yay yay! If it had 1 million in under 3 months, it might hit 2 million by 2027? Then... 50 Years War prequel?! 🤤🙏

@caporione I underestimated the sales figures by too much.😂😂😂

Yasumi Matsuno told us in this tweet that they were planning to sell between 800000 and 1 million copies of FFT over 3 yrs. It has now reached 1 million in just 3 months, which clearly exceeds expectations. Would that be enough for SE to finance the prequel, “The 50 Years’ War”?

@YasumiMatsuno Thank you for your considerate reply! I was recently trying Ghost of Tsushima on Steam Deck but will check out Ghost of Yotei on PS5 soon. Thank you! I hope you have a bright and wonderful 2026!

@uncertainkey I haven't finished playing it yet, but “Ghost of Yotei” was a good game.

2025年も残すところあと2時間…

@TylerGlaiel Brilliant way to debug localization. Any string not being localized properly will be immediately noticed visually. Thanks for sharing, I'll implement this method too.

@Knoebelbroet I know it's a long shot as perhaps their design processes might be incompatible, but I've always wondered what @KeitaTakahacy and @YasumiMatsuno could create together... 💪

Keita Takahashi said 'To a T' didn't sell well enough. He moved back to Japan with his family, unsure if he will stay in the industry. store.steampowered.com/app/1875320/to… gamesradar.com/games/adventur…

@YasumiMatsuno Congratulations! 🎊🎉 I am glad the hardwork of the team and you were able to be acknowledged. In addition, I can't help but feel the core game remains, 25+ years later, the defining masterpiece of the genre. Such longevity is almost unprecedented, but deserved.

おお！！ #ファイナルファンタジータクティクス #FinalFantasyTactics

@famitsu Congratulations to @SquareEnix and @YasumiMatsuno! Glad to hear this timeless masterpiece was recognized at the game awards. Final Fantasy Tactics remains a pillar of the genre it helped establish, and the quality of life changes are generally excellent.

“The Game Awards 2025”、Best Sim/Strategy Game（ベストシム／ストラテジー）部門は『ファイナルファンタジータクティクス - イヴァリース クロニクルズ』が獲得！ TGA2025受賞まとめはこちら（随時更新中） famitsu.com/article/202512… #TheGameAwards #ゲームアワード

@MimyrGames Killer art, love the UI for cards arrayed on the left.

If I had only 10 seconds to show my combat, it would be this. aka turn-based combat, but make it fast and flashy

@YasumiMatsuno @susumutaira I think there are universities in Japan who would perhaps be interested in cataloging and archiving your collection? Your contributions to society are significant, I believe future scholars may wish to study your inspirations, notes, reflections, and so on.

@susumutaira 現在の住居に引っ越した際、かなりの枚数のLDとDVD、書籍にゲームを処分したのです。ですが、引っ越しから15年。モノが溢れてしまい…🤣🤣🤣 LDにいたっては、すでにハードも故障して視聴不可なので、すべてを処分してもいいはずなんですけどね。これがいざ棄てるとなると、なかなかできない……🥲

松野さんが持っていたものってだけで欲しがる人はたくさんいそう。僕も欲しい。