Rob Stenzinger

Up next are a lot more refinements, artwork, sounds and fun gameplay twists to make it something more quirky and special.

Are you into word puzzle games? Check out this prototype word game I'm making. It's getting to the point where the basic things like input and layout and succeeding or failing at solving the puzzle… Are you into word puzzle games? Check out this prototype!

Are you into word puzzle games? Check out this prototype word game I'm making. It's getting to the point where the basic things like input and layout and succeeding or failing at solving the puzzle are all in place.

youtube.com/shorts/AaICV...

#gamedeveloper
#indiegames
#wordpuzzle
#wordgame

Then when you wish you can unlock battles, go there, and when you do you get to choose the difficulty you face. Sort of a risk reward trade off but at any level you do get some reward and can eventually solve the game even if you play on low difficulty.

Designed a second one to remind me how I'd like the library home base aka the book sanctuary to flow.

The book sanctuary is a place to help books and readers and get rewarded to level up your character and loot. In a way you farm bookshelves and grow from it.

What helps you focus when you're building a game feature that takes a while to create? Sometimes I'll make posters to be around that remind me of key ideas and details. These are examples I made for Word Turtle Island.

One poster I made for how I'd like the battle encounters to flow.

Made these two posters to guide level design in my game Word Turtle Island. What helps you focus when you're building a game feature that takes a while to create? Sometimes I'll make posters to be… Made posters to guide level design in my game Word Turtle Island

Made these two posters to guide level design in my game Word Turtle Island.

youtube.com/shorts/6194P...

#indiegames
#gamedeveloper
#gamedesign
#journal
#posters
#creativity

Here are three posters I designed, each featuring robot(s)/mecha creatures. One of my designs I keep refining and need to make some prints of someday.

#posters
#lineart
#mecha
#scifi
#robots
#illustration

Word puzzle game prototype progress! It's a bit backwards but also kind of fun to make the words hide instead of showing. Maybe that will be in the game on purpose as I evolve the prototype and land on my design goals for this game.

#gamedeveloper
#devjournal
#wordgame
#prototyping
#creativecoding

The land of conceptual can be so fun and creative a place to visit, I'm glad when I feel ready to make a prototype so I don't get stuck in all the secondary research, planning, ideas exploring expressed only as concept. A prototype makes it more real not just for people to try but for me as well.

Any and all of those can get help with my game concept on paper.

Any project I work on I do like to make some sort of prototype as soon as it feels right. Then I can to move out of the debate cycle of ideas and concepts into something more tangible.

#gamedeveloper
#productstrategy
#prototyping

How to choose what game to make next? Market driven? Your own instinct? What kind of game should I make? How should I or what can I use to help to choose what kind of game to make next? Market… How to choose what game to make next? Market driven? Your own instinct?

How to choose what game to make next? Market driven? Your own instinct? youtube.com/shorts/ZYbq7...

Market driven works for some folks, choosing something based on what's selling. Instinct and rolling with things works too. Or going with your own taste and inspirations at the moment.

#indiegames

If this helps anyone, I am grateful for it so others avoid missing out on Next Fest. Word Turtle Island is the game I'm talking about. It's out on 4 platforms now and I'm working on getting better at how to get the word out. linktr.ee/robstenzinger

#steam
#selfpublishing
#learning
#wordturtleisland

What seems like a better plan that I'll be sure to do next time: first start with the game's page and promote it. Then publish a demo. Which then lets you join Next Fest. Then later as it fits your update schedule, publish the full game. All along the way doing promotion in any manner that works4u.

More or less I published the game's store page, right away in early access, and with the full game at an early access supporter price. That's the recipe I don't recommend as it prevented me from joining the Steam Next Fest.

Sharing this to help other indie game creators hopefully not repeat my Steam publishing mistakes. From what I can tell so far I did it all in the wrong order. More or less I published the game's… Things I learned publishing my game to Steam in the perfectly wrong order of steps

Sharing this to help other indie game creators hopefully not repeat my Steam publishing mistakes. From what I can tell so far I did it all in the wrong order.

youtube.com/shorts/C1oh5...

#indiegames
#gamedeveloper

And what are you doing to promote your game? I'd love to hear your ideas, experiments, anything you're learning so far.

#gamedeveloper
#steam
#selfpublishing
#learning
#wordturtleisland

Things I'm trying to market my game Word Turtle Island. And what kinds of things are you doing to market your indie game? In the spirit of we're all contributing to this industry and I wish to see… What kinds of things are you doing to market your indie game?

Things I'm trying to market my game Word Turtle Island. And what kinds of things are you doing to market your indie game? In the spirit of we're all contributing to this industry and I wish to see us all to succeed in not only creating our games but also as creative business endeavors.

#indiegames

A Godzilla-like force-of-nature mystery. Hope we meet again at another indie video game event in the near future!

Thankful that often during the 2D Con, there was a few folks in line playing the arcade machine of Word Turtle Island. One moment the red dinosaur from Dino-Might was there, the next, was off to other adventures.
#indiegames
#gamedeveloper
#2dcon
#wordturtleisland
#dinomight

Food for thought for video game making, especially as an indie.

If you can imagine that then you can invite people into what you made by giving it that context. Quirky art style, abstract, could be your title screen, banner art, introduction slides that set up the player to jump into the world of your prototype.

Ever see an Atari 2600 game vs its cover art? Imagine and invite game players into your prototype. What is a reason to make sense of the interactions? What could give it a little touch of narrative… Like Atari 2600 game vs its cover art - Imagine and invite game players into your prototype

Ever see an Atari 2600 game vs its cover art? Imagine and invite game
players into your prototype. What is a reason to make sense of the interactions? What could give it a little touch of narrative or drama?

www.youtube.com/shorts/4L3qh...

#indiegames
#gamedeveloper
#prototyping
#gamedesign

Polytechnicast - Word Turtle Island 1.0 and Winning an Award at 2D Con — Blog of an Interactive Storyteller Word Turtle Island - Word action, Gentle Rogue-lite - NOW AVAILABLE iOS, Android, Steam

Listen in your favorite pod catcher or here: www.interactive-storyteller.com/polytechnica... #podcast
#journal
#indiegames
#gamedeveloper
#wordturtleisland

New art/game dev journal posted. Polytechnicast - Word Turtle Island 1.0 and Winning an Award at 2D Con. I share what it's like now with it officially the full version, things I would and wouldn't recommend doing again looking back at the development path of WTI, and about my next game prototype.

Word Turtle Island is on the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Steam: linktr.ee/robstenzinger.

Gallery (photo dump) of tabling at 2D Con for my game Word Turtle Island. Photo dump isn't my favorite term, but I do think it's a widely known way to say "here's a bunch of images from an event". Includes Indie Island room, the Indie Q and A Panel, closing ceremony
#indiegames
#gamedeveloper
#2Dcon

What a wild fun surprise and I really appreciate it, thank you 2D Con community! Word Turtle Island won an award, voted by attendees of 2D Con. The Indie Island developer showcase art direction award (digital category)! 😍 🏆 🎮 #indiegames
#2dcon #gamedeveloper #wordturtleisland

For a few years I partially set aside making games and focused on visual storytelling via comics. Art Geek Zoo was my main project, a story about a talented penguin guitarist named Pick who had major challenges with stage fright and his grumpy mystic guitar friend named Crunchy.

Word Turtle Island a few weeks into development vs what it looks like now. From placeholder art to my own art, from only typing action to now word action whether you type, use a game controller, touch screen or mouse. From no story to a narrative about saving the most awesome library in the galaxy

Word Turtle Island a few weeks into development vs what it looks like now. From placeholder art to my own art, from only typing action to now word action whether you type, use a game controller, touch screen or mouse. From no story to a narrative about saving the most awesome library in the galaxy