Off The Books

Making games and tools in off hours. Inspired by the #IndieDev and #GameDev communities, and #Nintendo, the #NES and #SNES in particular. Learning I was wrong about something every day.

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npub1pga3f6w7cgdrgrmmnl6k3t3y52c3xqn0r3etjrykt0vguxjk4fns8ece88

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OffTheBooks@mastodon-gamedev-place.mostr.pub

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nprofile1qqsq5wc5a80vyx35paaelatg4cj29vgnqfh3cu4epjt9hkywrft25ecpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds4pyp6y

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relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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npub1pga3f6w7cgdrgrmmnl6k3t3y52c3xqn0r3etjrykt0vguxjk4fns8ece88

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Last Notes

2026-03-26 22:15:14 UTC

I’ve learned a lot about my teammates at work based on which ones have told me how impressed they are with any of the AI code assistants.

2026-03-25 20:40:38 UTC

Nothing about the first Pokopia announcement grabbed me at all, but as I realized what it is, I became intrigued. I’ve been binging it, and having a lot of fun.
I haven’t played a lot of online multiplayer anything lately, maybe a Pokemon TCG Pocket battle here and there. I’m constantly interrupted having little-ish kids, so I can’t commit to dedicated time. But the asynchronous nature of the cloud islands seems like a great fit for that. Anyone playing with cloud islands?

2026-03-08 16:11:57 UTC

Badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger

2026-03-05 04:31:02 UTC

I was fully convinced Nintendo was bringing back POGs when I first saw this.
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/116/174/687/967/578/193/original/83ef28f435e185d1.png

2026-03-04 15:39:10 UTC

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@nprofile…9hjn I would frame it as you’re firing your voice teacher. You hardly seem like a quitter.

2026-02-28 18:49:43 UTC

#Weirdness and evil and twisted and sick and perverse and deplorable and sickening and…
#pixel_dailies @nprofile…z3f9
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/116/149/752/860/735/936/original/f312286d9f81fe9a.png

2026-02-28 18:20:16 UTC

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If you understand this reference without looking it up, we are friends now.

2026-02-28 18:18:39 UTC

Has anyone found the reset button for the United States? We forgot to recruit Mog, so we need to start over.

2026-01-31 20:59:59 UTC

If I’m quiet here, it has felt important to be engaged with the current situation in the US, and I’ve been spending a bit of time doing that on other accounts in various places.
It is beyond insane that there are “sides” to this situation, and so many people continue to accept and push willful ignorance.
If you’re outside the US, we overwhelmingly hate this, but our greatest national legacy seems to be loud idiots. We appreciate your attention, care, and support.
#MinnesotaStrong #AbolishICE

2026-01-24 16:50:10 UTC

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@nprofile…3q9y I’ve been speaking Minnesotan for a week now off and on in solidarity. It’s gosh dang cold out there doncha know.

2026-01-24 16:42:19 UTC

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@nprofile…j9gp @nprofile…ht4r Suspended for standing up for a black woman is a pretty great way to go out tbh.

2026-01-21 07:22:37 UTC

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@nprofile…40t9 “dither your skybox” sounds like a euphemism.

2026-01-17 18:16:23 UTC

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@nprofile…vkr8 Is this a metaphor for ICE agents?

2026-01-11 23:32:37 UTC

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@nprofile…25zk This is an insanely beautiful and consistent collection of work.

2026-01-11 22:17:50 UTC

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@nprofile…77ev ☺️ TY

2025-12-29 15:46:21 UTC

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@nprofile…468s @nprofile…rtt8 To be fair though, as a sci-fi ship, it’s just as likely modeled after a kitchen gadget or something.

2025-12-27 17:20:04 UTC

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@nprofile…nuqs I expected this to be the poster for Idiocracy at first, but then I realized that’s really more of a present day narrative.

2025-12-27 16:00:36 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e Perfect. Game.

2025-12-25 21:55:56 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e @nprofile…f4xf I usually give an absurd name to things, like uppy-downy-pipe-ramp or whatever, and try to keep moving. Shorthand for something can often come about naturally as you work with it.

2025-12-25 19:37:33 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e @nprofile…vjvs Although, if this is partly responsible for current prices, the situation could reverse if there were half a million (no idea) Analogue 3Ds opened as gifts today.

2025-12-25 19:34:59 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e I think it’s a literal supply/demand situation. A game costs a reseller money as long as it takes up space on a shelf. And if they’re seeing a lot of games coming in, they’ll naturally make them easier to go out.

2025-12-25 19:32:35 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e @nprofile…vjvs Especially with this handheld emulation device boom, this is probably recently happening more than ever.
And N64 emulators notoriously have had issues, but that situation has improved a lot in the last ten years.

2025-12-25 19:23:42 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e @nprofile…vjvs I think emulation has had an impact on resale prices here. A lot of people who were holding on to carts might be more inclined to part with them if they can still access their nostalgia another way.

2025-12-19 14:47:30 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e All emotions are okay.

2025-12-14 23:11:17 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e I did even worse. I spent all day on a blog post draft.

2025-12-14 19:07:08 UTC

Finally bought the extraordinarily reasonable ($5 USD) iOS version of FamiStudio.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/famistudio/id6741355257
Honestly, pretty incredible how workable it is on a phone. Between this and Crispnes, there’s a lot of creative work for Churro that I can tackle away from my ‘computer’.
#GameDev #IndieDev #ChipTunes

2025-12-08 19:32:14 UTC

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@nprofile…7whq @nprofile…uuyy 🤩

2025-12-04 03:39:10 UTC

Metroid Prime 4 has a… umm… ‘motif.’

2025-12-02 14:55:36 UTC

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@nprofile…687c I thought it looked like a graduation cap for years.

2025-12-02 04:48:44 UTC

Hey #designodon and all other opinionated sentient beings. Ignoring that I’m crazy for making 8x8, 3-color icons for my app, the paint bucket was one of my earlier ones. I recently became unsatisfied with it, and gave it another try.
Is the right one unambiguously better than the left? Do you have other thoughts or comments?
If you need more context: https://offthebooks.games/crispnes
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/648/162/681/200/890/original/9a87b564bcbffe47.jpeg

2025-11-29 04:09:13 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e over here tapping out 3-bit sprites, pixel by pixel. I know what you mean. It hit me hard in the N64 era that even though 3D was clearly the future, it didn’t necessarily mean more fun. Nintendo kept me onboard by making it clear that fun always their priority when making games.

2025-11-29 03:54:04 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e Have you seen the person who is making the Mario game with their optimized Mario 64 engine? It was even more advanced in some ways than we knew at the time.

2025-11-28 17:58:49 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e But does Goldeneye run faster than 15 fps?

2025-11-27 17:43:18 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e Isn’t it better in the original Greek anyways?

2025-11-27 16:36:50 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e Super Nintendo Chalmers

2025-11-23 15:45:33 UTC

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@nprofile…4m8e clean code at the beginning of a game is a good idea. But clean code towards the end of a project feels like a signal that priorities were wrong.

2025-11-19 22:19:36 UTC

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@nprofile…zfjp Many of my roadblocks have gotten design solutions rather than technical ones. And I’ve found that going back to design to work around something has pushed me to find an even more fun solution at times.

2025-11-16 15:32:09 UTC

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@nprofile…zfjp when you’re worried about something like this, it’s a signal that you have the right awareness to avoid it. You’ve got this!

2025-11-13 21:31:55 UTC

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@nprofile…9rkh Could work, but does that sound like I’m going to be selling it at some point? My plan is for this to be a forever-free situation.

2025-11-13 21:17:33 UTC

I’ve tagged Crispnes as “alpha” software a few times, but I just realized how much I hate the other associations that word has.
My main hope is to communicate that people should screenshot/record any work they do, because bugs will certainly exist. Is there a better way to signal that?
#PixelArt #WebDev #GameDev

2025-11-08 18:48:41 UTC

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Regarding my zero dependency plan, I’m wondering what people think about TypeScript. I haven’t built a vanilla JavaScript app of this size lately, and I’m hitting a lot of slowdown with small mistakes that I feel could be avoided with type checking.
I’ve been trying to avoid external dependencies, but TypeScript is strictly a build dependency. And there is hope that type definitions get pulled into ES eventually. Should I go for it with TypeScript or stay the course?
#pixelart #gamedev #webdev

2025-11-08 17:50:02 UTC

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@nprofile…9ake right now this looks like it’s heavily weighted towards geometry count, but not necessarily fille rate which can be a bottle neck too.

2025-10-31 18:24:31 UTC

The downside of setting up your web project for offline use… The number of times I’ve had to ask myself why my changes aren’t showing when I test, and it’s because I never started the local server.

2025-10-29 00:29:03 UTC

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It’s serializing all major app state, and there’s actually quite a bit of groundwork for new features, editable palettes, animations, etc. Just waiting for me to work through some UI ideas for them.

2025-10-29 00:28:15 UTC

#Crispnes now maintains progress, so you can keep working on something between sessions. Just don’t do whatever your browser uses to clear IndexedDB data.
https://offthebooks.games/crispnes

2025-10-18 20:42:00 UTC

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@nprofile…m7wu Delicious!

2025-10-18 18:46:39 UTC

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I would LOVE to see if you make something, even if you think it’s dumb. Please mention me or use #crispnes, and I can see all the tiny creations!
#pixelart #gamedev

2025-10-18 18:39:16 UTC

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Aside from the aforementioned, things to expect you will *never* see in https://offthebooks.games/crispnes:
- cookies
- tracking
- external code dependencies
- ai
- bigotry
Beyond these, I can’t make a ton of guarantees. 😅
#pixelart #gamedev #webdev

2025-10-18 18:29:46 UTC

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Planned features for https://offthebooks.games/crispnes:
- configurable palettes
- configurable sprite size
- multiple sprites/animations
- multilevel undo/redo
- save progress with web storage
- project format for backup
- multiple export options
- progressive web app offline support
- phone and tablet w/ stylus support
There’s a lot to undertake here, and it could take years to check most of these boxes in my spare time. I wanted to start getting builds out as I’m already having fun with it.
#pixelart

2025-10-18 17:39:06 UTC

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For instance, sitting through my kiddos fencing 🤺 class this morning. Recreated this artwork from @nprofile…r3x6 in #pixelart. Happy protesting today everyone!
#NoKings
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/396/387/159/357/198/original/5d3e5713548fa983.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/396/387/688/884/448/original/f1d561adbfc947d3.png

2025-10-18 15:39:10 UTC

It’s full of broken or unimplemented things, but I really like tapping out pixels on the go. It feels more productive than filling my random moments with doomscrolling.
If you try it, make sure to screenshot or save your work. It’s not saving between sessions yet.
https://offthebooks.games/crispnes/
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/395/915/377/714/777/original/514346f65d5d4f6b.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/395/916/036/704/295/original/1be8617f89743bb7.png
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/395/916/324/772/647/original/7dc90d5e25b74315.png

2025-10-02 17:15:03 UTC

It is insane that the models from the 480p game looks like they could have been made for a 4K game last week in the #SuperMarioGalaxy 1 + 2 Switch release. The textures have been updated, but the geometry is the same (don't ask how I know). And it's kind of crazy how good it still looks today.
Makes me wonder whether when they were making the original they weren't sure if the Wii would support HD or not, so they made high fidelity models just in case.

2025-08-18 19:50:46 UTC

Been a bit since sharing something for Churro’s game. This is an early glimpse at the tundra level tilesets, ice physics, and a new enemy “Gruffin.”
The art and especially the enemy mechanics art not finalized.
#IndieDev #Godot
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/115/051/504/306/863/241/original/b93dfa5176d9c0b2.mp4

2025-06-20 16:14:06 UTC

Haven’t experienced it myself, but I’ve now heard of one first-hand and a few second-hand experiences of drift on the Switch 2 joycon from friends.
Now I can’t understand how my original-launch-day-1996 N64 controller has a working analog stick. Like the first ever mass-market thumb stick controller—likely from one of the earliest production runs—that I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing with for nearly 30 years is now slightly wobbly, but otherwise works great.
How did they not address this?

2025-03-06 15:48:13 UTC

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@nprofile…0kgd TBH, I think you have a really solid look already for the fog/atmosphere. I think the additional background elements in RingFit just help dial it in better.

2025-02-22 00:38:55 UTC

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@nprofile…0kgd this looks so good!

2025-02-10 21:32:16 UTC

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@nprofile…xlhv @nprofile…syrc Just deleted my post... I somehow had missed that you can't trade from Space-time Smackdown packs yet. 🙈
I have a few 3/4 diamond cards missing still from Genetic Apex. I might send those over in a bit to see if there are any trades that would work out.

2025-02-10 20:48:05 UTC

If you’re playing #PokemonTCGPocket, I have some extra 1/2 diamond trades from the new Space-Time packs to propose.
Please reply with your Player Name if you send a friend request.
Friend ID:
0062-5001-4555-0715
#Pokemon #PokemonTCG
https://cdn.masto.host/mastodongamedevplace/media_attachments/files/113/981/553/499/374/264/original/8dcb78aff1c8120e.png

2025-02-10 16:12:15 UTC

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@nprofile…0kgd Okay then, maybe things haven’t changed all that much. 😅

2025-02-10 16:08:13 UTC

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@nprofile…0kgd I worked on an Unreal 3 project in 2006, and the “incremental” PS3 build took 45 minutes. I think silicon has yielded many more improvements than the engine code has since then.

2025-02-09 01:23:23 UTC

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@nprofile…0kgd I also haven’t seen anything in your screenshots and thought “that would look better if…”. I think the models you have look excellent at the likely scales they’ll appear in the game.

2025-02-09 00:33:59 UTC

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@nprofile…0kgd Do you have an example of something you’d like to look better? The answer is likely more geometry. Having no textures definitely saves complexity which can offset more geometry.
It really depends how many objects you’re allowing to be placed, and what baseline system/perf you’re shooting for.
Would higher fidelity be worth halving the object cap for example? Might be hard to decide until you’ve settled into a few hard limits to balance against.

2025-02-08 23:40:01 UTC

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@nprofile…0kgd I’m sure there are things you could do, but usually stuff like this works best on terrain. There is some really great work on the edges of the terrain on the Great Sky Islands in TotK. But the edges take up so much more real estate, and are on screen much more compared to the corners.
Much of what you can do would break down for most objects where the whole silhouettes are more prominent and critical.

2024-10-09 17:00:39 UTC

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@npub12ze…hunm It occurred to me too the stories this is moving past. Haven't jumped much on the discourse yet, but a blog post is being drafted about my own brushes with piracy. I’ve existed simultaneously on both sides of the arguments.
Briefly, they've largely targeted emulators for systems that they're still actively earning/releasing on. You can still Google “NES ROM Collection,” and download the entirety of the NES library from archive.org to play any NES game on any computer in a few minutes.

2024-10-09 16:42:17 UTC

Nobody is talking about Nintendo’s marketing genius here…
LOOK HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY HAVE TALKING ABOUT A FREAKING ALARM CLOCK!!!
Timing is everything.

2024-05-12 04:11:55 UTC

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@npub1wkl…zaex Love this game. Sadly one of a number of games I lost in a break-in many years ago. Such fun and interesting mechanics, in what was starting to be considered a dead genre at the time.

2024-04-05 13:36:26 UTC

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@npub1nhw…g2sy Didn’t you pretty much just describe mastodon.gamedev.place? I think you’re already living the dream!