Fortunately for us, developers are constantly documenting highlights from the game-making process under the hashtag #ScreenshotSaturday. These contributions – which can be in the form of GIFs, screenshots, and video clips – allow fans to enjoy the characters and worlds long before the games are released. So we’ve rounded up some of the coolest work-in-progress we’ve seen thanks to #ScreenshotSaturday to give you a sneak peek at all the fun things that get us excited.
This week’s list has a chunky and pixelated podracing game inspired by war of stars: The Phantom Menace. Another post also showed the early stages of a fan-made 3D version of Earthbound.
For completely original concepts, animal-themed games are still a popular choice of developers. There are frogs and alligators and foxes, oh my! So without further ado, here is the full list of the interesting and notable WIPs we’ve seen this week.
Podracing stuns with low poly style
Developer Johan Peitz describes himself as “a small modeler for small models”. Peitz creates picoCAD, a program that simplifies the creation of low igamesnews 3D models. This GIF shows what it can do in the form of a podracing game inspired by Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. And this isn’t the only impressive GIF the developer has posted. Previously, he has shown a Low poly recreation of sailing in The legend of Zelda
An adorable 3D frog platformer
Chunky pixels are all the rage right now, and this water lily platformer shows how playful and bright they can look with the right concept. Made by Raúl “Molegato” Martínez, Frogun follows a cartoon explorer who use a frog grappling gun to navigate their surroundings. In the trailer, we see the character using the gun to pull himself over gaps and dragging objects to solve puzzles. The game doesn’t have a release date yet, but you can start the development process on it. follow Developer’s Twitter.
A wobbling alligator wins my heart
Remember the adorable bite-sized adventure game A short hike? Well, this game called Lil Gator game, is like a smooth, enlarged version of it. In the game, we can see the alligator walking around with a paintbrush and palette. This video shows the figure in motion while we hear the clatter of its feet. If we see it jumping, it’s a limp little guy! Lil Gator game
mother 2 returns
I would be remiss if I didn’t share this reinvented 3D version of share EarthBound (also known as Mother 2). The video shows the beginning of the game after Ness hears a huge noise outside his house and does some research. This clip doesn’t reveal too much, but the game has such a rich color scheme that it neatly captures the original look of the Super NES version, and I couldn’t resist sharing it. The project is part of an ongoing fan-made project called Earthbound dimensions that probably won’t make it public for a long time, considering how early it is in the development process.
Share the ocean with ease
Ever wanted a video game mechanic that mimics the antics of the Old Testament? Well you are in luck. Soaring Pixels Games showed a clip of Breakwater this shows one of its core mechanics in action: sharing water as if you were Moses himself. As it stands, moving the water allows you to do more than just walk instead of swimming. In this clip we see how the main character uses this skill to collect fish. The Steam page says the game will be out in 2021.
A relaxing round on social media
Melatonin is a world that drips in delicate pastel pinks and yellows. It offers a simple, yet stylized, line-drawing-inspired look. In this clip we see a character jumping between platforms that happen to be smartphones. Every time the character leaves an app like YouTube, Twitter or Instagram, we see metrics like the number of likes on the phone. It is a rhythm game and is developed by David Huynh, who makes games under the studio name Half Asleep. Melatonin is still under development and should appear in autumn 2021.
Romp through the forest like a fox
This post shares a finished shader for the stream in the game Fuchsinsel. The clip shows the player who controls a fox that romps through a beautiful, misty forest. From this short clip alone, the game looks calm and beautiful. The game being developed by Gamingyourway is already out in Early Access.
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