@NovaSquirrel@chitter.xyz
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NovaSquirrel

@NovaSquirrel@chitter.xyz

I'm a hobbyist game developer who mostly focuses on old Nintendo consoles, but I've done projects on PC too.

I'm a furry and I like to make cute characters and also make games about them! Check out my Toyhouse to see my characters: https://toyhou.se/NovaSquirrel

I'd like to meet other people who like to do lighthearted, story-driven roleplay.

I post NSFW sometimes but I tag it, so please be 18+ if you follow.

Feel free to reach out if you have common interests and wanna be friends! [she/her]

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

NovaSquirrel, to random
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I tried revisiting the idea of Maffi as a cute necklace for Rosy in some more art.

Art by https://dandelionlamb.carrd.co/

NovaSquirrel, to random
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I'd like to make Tilemap Town ( https://novasquirrel.com/town/ ) more discoverable because I think it has a lot of potential to be used as a MUCK, but there's not enough users.

There's directories for MUs, but I don't think there's directories for things that are only heavily MU-like but that require their own clients, like Furcadia.

NovaSquirrel, to Furry
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Trying to spread awareness again for Tilemap Town, my visual MU* and hangout: https://novasquirrel.com/town/

It's open source and has a documented protocol, and is designed around the idea of collaboratively designing 2D maps with other players. You can use custom graphics for map tiles, and custom player graphics (if you can make a 32x32 doodle of a character, you can play as them!)

I've been working on it since 2017 so the software has had a lot of time to mature, but I've had a hard time helping it find its audience. If anyone knows how to reach people interested in lighthearted SFW furry I'd really like to know. I'm also hoping to specifically establish fantasy themes if possible!

A mouse standing on a bridge between multiple small islands with buildings on them
A blue bunicorn standing outside some sort of library
A blue bunicorn standing near some buildings and some roads. There are some windows open showing an inventory, build tools, and mail.

NovaSquirrel,
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@kit That would be because it's a modern reimagining of an old BYOND genre; there used to be tons of games like this with varying levels of polish

NovaSquirrel, to random
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I wanna see more homebrew games that are cute and colorful and lighthearted, but also available as a ROM

NovaSquirrel, to Tamagotchi
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I got Pyonkotchi! I cheated them in at one point and now I actually have them legit.

NovaSquirrel, to gamedev
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Finally had the opportunity to do something in my main project (Nova the Squirrel 2) that wasn't just drawing yet more stuff: I added a line to the fishing rod ability. I had a realization of an easy way to implement it last night and put it in.

I just took the difference between the rod and the hook, divided it by 8, and added the divided distance several times to get each circle's position. Also the circles are just the hook drawing itself additional times, temporarily changing its position.

Gameplay of a squirrel character catching enemies on a fishing rod hook and knocking them around

NovaSquirrel, to random
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Tried one of my commissions as a test picture to see how it looks on the e-paper screen, and I'm surprised at how much you can do with dithering!

NovaSquirrel, to random
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Here's some Maffi art by https://twitter.com/luvporbol where she's trying out a different outfit

NovaSquirrel, to gamedev
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I'm exploring adding more polish to the mode 7 levels in my SNES game. I made it so that the player zooms out a bit when the camera does, in order to make it make more sense visually. I also adjusted the camera so it doesn't zoom out quite as far, because when I had the player scale with it how it was she got really tiny and it looked super silly.

I've been exploring trying to figure out how to make it look visual sense that you can't jump over walls even though they're flat, which has been tricky. Ultimately it might just be fine anyway because people will have to take into account that it's a SNES game and I'm dealing with a lot of technical limitations.

I am definitely getting the impression that polygonal 3D is probably a lot easier to deal with than this sort of thing haha. Eventually I'll play with Godot and try to do this kind of gameplay with polygons...

Gameplay footage of an anthropomorphic running around and jumping in a "mode 7" 3D world

NovaSquirrel, to random
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Tried to figure out a list of some of my favorite licensed games earlier for no particular reason, and came up with:

  • SMB3
  • Kirby's Adventure
  • Wario's Woods
  • M.C. Kids
  • Little Nemo
  • Cocoron
  • Hatris
  • Tetris 2 + Bombliss
  • Pipe Dream
  • Rampart
  • Bomberman II

Which tells me I'm really into platformers and puzzle games, and extra RAM is also pretty common among games I like (8 out of 11 of those) even if it's uncommon across the library as a whole.

I haven't explored the library a whole bunch though, so maybe there are games that'd become favorites if I tried them!

NovaSquirrel, to Tamagotchi
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Unfortunately not all egg shaped objects fit in trays meant for storing real eggs, but it would be really funny and silly if this worked. It DOES work pretty well for the nanos!!
Not pictured: my two because those will definitely not fit.

NovaSquirrel, to random
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@scout drew a really cute picture of what I think Maffi would look like as a familiar.

She's like a tiny, flying version of Care Bear Cousin Maffi, and she'd do similar magic to the bigger version, making art that becomes real like Paint Roller from Kirby, but from a cute magical girl companion kind of angle.

NovaSquirrel, to random
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Here's some pooltoy art I've gotten of some of my characters from https://medisour.carrd.co/

I really like how the shininess and artificial-ness comes across here!

Gray mouse with purple ears and a SNES controller cord for a tail, wearing a green dress. She's made of a smooth shiny material, with seams.
Pink anthropomorphic fox with wings and a heart symbol on her tummy. She's made of a smooth shiny material.
A blue rabbit character with a gold horn and a green bow. She's made of a smooth shiny material and has handles on her hips.

NovaSquirrel, to gamedev
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It turns out that doing a 3D platformer on the SNES works better when the control scheme is oriented around strafing and rotation instead of using tank controls. I moved camera rotation up to the shoulder buttons and made it a bit faster.

I'll want to do an animation of some sort for moving to the side.

Gameplay of a mouse moving in a 3D "mode 7" environment running around and collecting hearts

NovaSquirrel, to random
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Here's a Rosy Sky picture I commissioned from a friend, https://cupoftealeaf.carrd.co/

NovaSquirrel, to random
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It's annoying when people who aren't furry or autistic or queer insist that making local friends is as easy as just going outside. Sure it might be when the world is made for you.

NovaSquirrel, to random
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I made an improved version of my old Mario Paint error video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebZVAJAFFQg

I figured I could make a much better video by actually showing how to reproduce it pretty easily just by using the tools available in the game, and as a bonus the footage wouldn't be in 240p. I also used a capture card and a real SNES, though S-Video is actually really high quality so it's tricky to tell.

NovaSquirrel, to random
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I want to make game dev into a more social thing, but it's hard to find people wanting to talk about engine design and algorithms outside of an NES-specific context. Also a lot of people are very secretive anyway.

NovaSquirrel,
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@slembcke It's a lot easier to just say I'm not using a game engine than to try to change what people think of when they hear "game engine"

If it now normally means a huge complicated codebase meant to support every kind of game, then my games definitely do not use one of those, and I definitely do not make those

NovaSquirrel, to random
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Here's some art I got today of Maffi as a toy, but also a Care Bear. It's part of an attempt to explore trying to find a form that's really euphoric but not erotic.

Art by https://x.com/luvporbol

NovaSquirrel, to random
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I really want to see new mascot-focused media that's NOT horror. It really sucks to have the thing I'm most passionate about wrapped up in something uncomfortable more often than not.

NovaSquirrel,
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Platformers are probably where I'm going to find the actually good sincere stuff, especially with the long history of platformer mascots that people still continue with sincerity, though it would be cool to see other genres too and things that aren't necessarily games

NovaSquirrel, to random
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It's very cool that there's been My Little Pony roleplay on Second Life recently, but I wish it would stop getting scheduled in a way that overlaps major downtown events so I don't have to leave them early

Or the next one looks like it'll overlap some holiday related family stuff, which is less ideal (maybe I'll be able to hop on my laptop? mystery)

Maybe I should just ask if we can start having events that aren't consistently at 3 PM on Sunday

NovaSquirrel,
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Okay the scheduling is specifically to make sure it's accessible to Europeans, which I can appreciate. I've been to lots of roleplay stuff where I felt like I couldn't properly participate because I'm in the Eastern time zone and I can't stay up to 3 AM when I've got work the next day.

NovaSquirrel, to random
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My little siblings got a TI-83+ for actual math school stuff, so obviously tomorrow I'm going to fill it up with games

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