Rowan (Hauntogogue)

I mostly just really wanted an excuse to write some sci-fi genre fiction. But I ended up pulling some vibes from Citizen Sleeper, Subnautica, and SOMA.

Sorry for not being more active on here. I'm sorting my life out. Anyway, I just recently put Fedora on my laptop and I'm really happy with how the quick initial customization session turned out.

Also, this isn't explicit, Bluesky. It's a bald Ken doll lol

This looks absolutely bonkers, but basically it's my first attempt at making my own reference image for an illustration using Daz 3D and Blender (no AI.) If you're an artist and nobody's told you this yet, this is absolutely not cheating. It's pretty standard for pro concept artists.

Of all the game dev projects I worked on last year, I'm still proudest of my visual novel, since it's the most polished of them all. Such a huge win to get a solid demo together. I really like how the character art turned out, though I still see plenty of room for improvement. 👀

A few more screenshots!

I've learned that I really enjoy the process of creating atmosphere as early on in my prototypes as I can, in order to fuel myself to keep working on the project. Though not all of these were projects that I intended to finish completely, but to try out different things and get some small wins.

- Made an action RPG in Unity with the Indie Game Academy Level 2 class
- And lots of little tests and experiments with character and UI design besides.

So what did that full year look like? Honestly, I did a lot!

- Explored making survival horror prototypes in Unreal Engine and Unity
- Made a simple little Galaga clone in Unity
- Finished a 45k word visual novel demo in RenPy for the Summer Novel Festival
- Survived Ludum Dare 56 with a great team

In 2024, I decided that I wanted to learn game dev in earnest. I'd been interested for a long time, but it wasn't what I majored in in college. Starting in on such a deep and vast topic is no easy feat, but it was good to tell myself that I was free to experiment with whatever interested me.

I'm sure I'll come up with something profound later, but my first motion to pass as canon is trans guy Fenris.

EA execs earned $60 million in 2024 despite layoffs and office closures CEO Andrew Wilson received almost half of that total.

Remember this?

www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ea-...

Dragon Age has brought me so much joy and comfort in my darkest times- i could (and might honestly) write so much about it.

That I cant reciprocate that feeling to the people that made it- i get so frustrated.

Any and all DA devs, you matter. Your work matters- they dont know all you did.

"Sorry, your game sold millions of copies but our projections said it should have sold at least fifteen trillion for shareholders to be satisfied, so we're going to have to fire all of you. Now watch the news unquestioningly report that your game was a commercial failure. Probably because of woke."

It's truly transcendent to be a big enough SH fan to spot all the nitpicks and then decide-- y'know actually, it doesn't matter. Because it's fun and the vibes are there. 🫀

a poorly drawn kitten made with black pen in a high textured paper. the tiny kitten is standing with its mouth wide open, screaming about something (probably he wants some treats)

a VERY small kitten standing on a carpeted floor with its mouth wide open as if screaming with all its lungs, its body slightly crouched and front legs extended, with blurred background elements suggesting a room.

screaming in lowercase

How it feels to be a guy playing this game right now, basically lol #InfinityNikki

Some progress on the tiny RPG I'm making in Unity for a class. Character concept art! I ended up going with the yellow hoodie design because it's the most androgynous to my eye. #IndieGameDev

Had a fun time messing with some basic post-processing for this little project I'm working on in Unity. Someone in the class I'm in said it looks like "You need to hurry up and get to the mall before it closes, and then you're confronted by a cosmic SCP monster."

So it seems I nailed the vibe. 😆

YouTube video by Lethallan TV Dragon Age: The Forgotten One -- Fan Made Animation (Silly)

It has big THIS energy
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-21...

I'm in a concept art class to brush up on my skills a bit, and this was what I drew this week. They don't have any particular story tied to them, but they're begging for SOMETHING, I think. 👀

YouTube video by Hauntogogue The Controversial Art Style of Dragon Age: the Veilguard

I made this video essay about Dragon Age the Veilguard's art, as someone who LIKES the art and wanted to unpack why people don't. To try to find a common ground and add something positive to the conversation! Comment something nice to balance out the weirdos pls :P

www.youtube.com/watch?v=azIg...

Here's some of my interests for the algorithm:
- indie horror games
- 3D/ blender artists
- cosplay
- Vampire the Masquerade
- Dragon Age
- FromSoftware games
- J-Fashion
- goth music
- art and fashion history
- media preservation
🦇⚰️🖤

I guess I should make an effort to be active here now that Twitter is becoming utterly unsafe for me as a trans person!
Hi, I'm Rowan. I'm 30 years old. I'm originally from the US, but I live in Germany. I'm an amateur game dev with a BFA in fashion. Nice to meet you. :3