Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. (@romainmacre.bsky.social)

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Making a retro fixed shooter Alexus 2040 (demo on Steam) Works at Nitrome, lead programmer of Shovel Knight Dig. I'll talk about game dev, game design, side projects...

2.7K followers 1.5K following2K posts

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Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

27 Aug

Alexus 2040 is coming soon to Steam: - Unique power-ups to stack in ever changing combinations - 4 Bosses - 6 ships with their own power-ups - 'Simple' or 'Classic' score system - Paint your own ship Wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... #shmup #gamedev #indiegame #indiedev

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

16h

About half of the players who tried my demo during Next Fest have completed it. It could have been more, but I think it's not too bad. I reckon the length of the demo (which I thought was a bit on the short side) was right for the game.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

16h

store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/...

store.steampowered.comAlexus 2040 on SteamRelive that pure arcade thrill that you haven't experienced... in a long time! Load up on unique power-ups to create deadly combinations, unlock new ships with unique abilities, and defeat numerous bo...

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Next Fest is almost over, so it's time to declare the winner: Number 1 is MAR!!! (however it is). I (ROM) take the 7th place. You can still try the demo on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... #shmup #indiedev #indiegame

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Something I've learned about marketing your game is that the genre is very important (if it's not important for you, it is important for your potential audience). #gamedev #indiegames

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

If you make a game with a characteristic such as pixel art... it means pretty much nothing. There might be art communities around this, but as far as games are concerned it's pretty irrelevant, it's incidental. Same for 'retro', 'indie game'. People want to play a game before all.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I had way more success targeting my marketing at communities around the genre 'shoot 'em up'/'shmup' (despite my initial hesitation), than anything that sounds nice on the surface like 'indie games', 'pixel art', but that say very little about the game.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Mega Knockdown

@megaknockdown.com

RT if you don't use AI for coding

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I added the darker background feature a long time ago, but never really played with it. I think it looks pretty cool. You can play the demo on Steam. Wishlist is very welcome! store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... #screenshotsaturday #shmup #indiedev #indiegame #arcade

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Looks great

Jammigans@jammigans.bsky.social

Demons and boxes 👹🧊 #screenshotsaturday #pico8

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Listen to this man of good taste. Try the demo, it's good.

Thomas Leroy 🍣🐈‍⬛@gamrok.bsky.social

I just played the Alexus 2040 demo. It's a shoot 'em up with a great arcade feel and plenty of cool little ideas 🚀 🌌 👾 ➡️ Demo: store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... And it's perfect for quick play sessions! #Alexus2040 #Shootemup #Shmup #Arcade #IndieGame #SteamNextFest @romainmacre.bsky.social

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I heard it for real, from a full-on GenAI game enthusiast about AI and pixel art: "Soon pixel art will be a solved problem". Well I haven't solved pixel art in my game, but I certainly did my best. 100% human made. #shmup #pixelart

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.@romainmacre.bsky.social

It's #WishlistWednesday. Wishlisting is free, so if you love shoot 'em ups that look like they were made in the 80's, wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/...

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

See that subtle animation on the arms? This is part of the small improvements that I did lately on the first 3 bosses (see previous one in post in reply). You can play the demo on Steam, and wishlist is always important! store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... #shmup #indiedev #indiegame #arcade

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

bsky.app/profile/roma...

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.@romainmacre.bsky.social

This boss has been done for so long, but it dawned on me that I could give it more personality with very small changes: - The eyes are more evil, generally better - I added an anticipation frame before shooting + shooting frame #screenshotsaturday #shmup #indiedev #indiegame

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

It's #WishlistWednesday. Wishlisting is free, so if you love shoot 'em ups that look like they were made in the 80's, wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/...

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

My game is super low-key, and very very niche. Yet it's made by a person: every single pixel is there for a reason, every lille nuance in the gameplay is intentional. I don't expect much visibility or sales on Steam. But seeing the flood of AI games in Next Fest is disheartening. #gamedev #nextfest

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

My partner in the early 2000's wrote on her CV: "Great internet search skills". She meant it (and she had and still has great internet search skills). Yet It didn't take long before it became a joke between us.

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Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Giant corporations have stolen the knowledge and skills from the people and transferred it into their hands. They make you pay for doing what you used to do, now with AI in the name of productivity. And many people are ok with it.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Not only people's skills have become useless, but whatever they may still try to create has been completely devalued (whether it is AI or human made). It is a very sad state of affairs.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

What about "Great LLM prompting skills"? If you're software engineer, you're fooling yourself if you think you're adapting to the job ("the job is evolving, adapt or be left behind")... It's not a job.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Gameplay footage of my retro shoot 'em up Alexus 2040. Fighting the 3rd boss and failing. I should have kept firing those big lasers at him, instead of wasting half of them. Demo available on Steam for Next Fest, which is happening now! #shmup #indiedev #indiegame

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

If you like the game, don't forget to wishlist. You know it helps the developer. Thanks! store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/...

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

The Alexus 2040 demo is live for the #SteamNextFest ! - 3 ships to unlock with the unique power-ups - 1 boss to defeat, reach the 2nd boss - Global leaderboard: enter your 3-letter name - Paint your own ship store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... #shmup #indiedev #indiegame

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Alan - Fool’s Metal

@alanpickled.bsky.social

Tried to take a week off working on the game. Instead, I made some new mega silly boulder death animations. #gamemaker #gamedev #indiegames

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Owl New Worlds 🔢 Wishlist NOKOMA on Steam!

@owlnewworlds.games

Working on some beep - bloop stuff and new cleaner and simpler transitions between scenes for my #puzzlegame #NOKOMA Yes - it's #ScreenshotSaturday and I uploaded a video 😅

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

For reference, this is how the eyes use to be:

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

If I was teleported into my own self any time between my early 20's and now, just walking down the street I wouldn't be able to feel the difference. You feel the same physically. I can still run, jump, it feels the same... until you really push yourself and then you start hitting the limit.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

The Legend of Chalkvania 💀

@legendofchalkvania.bsky.social

The Chalkvania demo trailer is out! 🎃 it's 2 minutes of being the local monster hunter, exploring, fishing, cooking and other cute dark-fantasy nonsense. Demo coming this month! #IndieGame #IndieDev #PixelArt #IndieGames #GameDev

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Enoch 🚀Wishlist Now! (Bio🔗)

@evilpuggames.bsky.social

#ScreenshotSaturday. A few corners of Cylinder B. Someone's always in trouble. #pixelart #indiegame #scifi #pointandclick

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Matt Hackett

@richtaur.bsky.social

🎉 IT'S OUT 🎉 My silly little power washing game Pixel Washer just launched into Steam Early Access. Please help me spread the word and pick up a copy if it looks fun to you: store.steampowered.com/app/2572060/... 🏡🫧🔫🐷🎮❤️

store.steampowered.comSave 15% on Pixel Washer on SteamGrab your power washer and scrub pixelated worlds squeaky clean! Play as an adorable piggy, blast away grime, upgrade your gear, and restore a grubby town to its former glory in this cozy, almost zen-...

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

There's this software, PaintShop Pro, that for some reason just popped into my head. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a loooong time.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

A Sister's Journey - Out Now! ✨

@asistersjourney.bsky.social

A Sister's Journey is launching in less than a week! 🔥 We are super excited and can't wait for you to explore the world and discover all the hidden things, like this secret treasure vault! ✨ #pixelart #gamedev #indiegame #metroidvania

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Please do not fall for the "AI is empowering people" bullshit. AI corporations are taking knowledge and skills from the people and transferring it into their own hands.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

AI might be a technological leap, but it can only operate on such a scale with the help of governments, which are acting outside of any approval in a democratic manner (governments which btw are supposed to be at the service of their people).

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

The adoption of AI in all areas of our life is a political project before all, and the question of whether it is beneficial to the people or not is not being asked.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

What can you expect from the demo of Alexus 2040? Mode Novice or Original, 3 ships to unlock, 1 boss to defeat, global leaderboard with your 3-letter name or bad word of your choice. Play and wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... Thanks! #wishlistwednesday #indiedev #shmup

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I can't believe that in some very old C# code of mine I wrote function names starting in lowercase.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

You know what? I've noticed I have 2.7K followers. Not 2.6K anymore, you see, 2.7K.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I never had that many followers in any social media. It's not really me, somehow I think by a combination of circumstances, Bluesky makes it possible.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I could have much more mind you.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Helm

@helmll.bsky.social

my best artwork ever

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Jamie D

@uk-resistant.bsky.social

Rejoice, for low effort, AI video game tripe regularly gets 0% funding on Kickstarter

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

clay-zulAHHH

@clayzulah.bsky.social

What's with these phantoms foiling my fall, why do they gotta front 🍅👻 #screenshotsaturday #pixelart #gamedev #indiegame

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

David Walters

@hiddenasbestos.bsky.social

Thunder Helix is ON SALE for one more day - and this new, and very serious, scenario mission is coming soon !! store.steampowered.com/app/1906230/... #lowpoly #flightsim #gamedev #steam 🚁 🐪

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam. reposted

Matt Hackett

@richtaur.bsky.social

Yoooo my little pixel game Pixel Washer launches into Steam Early Access THIS MONTH! 🐷 Here's a podcast, YouTube video, and links to all the things: www.valadria.com/pixel-washer... #IndieGameDev

valadria.com🐷 Pixel Washer Launches October 15 Into Early AccessPixel Washer Launches October 15 Into Early Access! Let's chat about the game and how/why games take so long to make.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I'm VIC. Who the hell is PTG? Demo now available on Steam. Enjoy! store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... #screenshotsaturday #shmup #indiedev

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.@romainmacre.bsky.social

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

Alexus 2040 demo is out on Steam! Play and wishlist here: store.steampowered.com/app/3584730/... Thanks! #shmup #indiedev #indiegame #arcade

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.@romainmacre.bsky.social

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I don't generally gravitate around card/deck builder, or turn-based games, because I'm old school and have this ingrained idea that video games are skill based. The computer computes and tests you in a way that couldn't be done without. But I can get into those games. It's just my initial reaction.

Romain Macré - Alexus 2040 Demo on Steam.

@romainmacre.bsky.social

I also feel that way (to a lesser extent) about RPG's and stats (they could be written on paper, so I don't feel very excited about it, it's not what I ask from a computer).