For most, weekends means two days off work with some much-needed R&R. But for game developers, it’s also a time during which they get to show off what they’ve been working on. I am of course referring to Screenshot Saturday, which involves tweeting screenshots with the #ScreenshotSaturday hashtag. Screenshots which I will be critiquing some of every single Tuesday, in Speculating Screenshots.
Different screenshots from different developers, all working on different games. Some are very much a WIP, while other are from titles rapidly approaching release. These tweets do all have one thing they in common though, which is that they feature actual screenshots (or at the very least, mockups), animated or stills. So without further ado…
https://twitter.com/josemwarrior/status/602987661415030784
Untitled (@josemwarrior)
“Who knows…”, indeed. I mean, crazy Another World vibe much?
Zarvot's beautifully destructible levels. #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/32S5SVm38w
— sam eng (@bysameng) May 23, 2015
Zarvot (@SnowHydra)
I do love me some destruction, even if there’s not much else in this particular screenshot. But hey, DESTRUCTION!
Bats everywhere !! #screenshotsaturday #indiegamedev #gamedev #pixelart pic.twitter.com/9HLHdpaDo9
— Erdem Sen (@aGametery) May 23, 2015
Untitled (@aGametery)
Is anyone really surprised by that though? I mean, caves are known for being inhabited by bats, ya know? That said, this bunch does look particularly nasty, on top of being nicely pixellated…
Needs more cowbell #screenshotsaturday #indiedev #gamedev #parafractum pic.twitter.com/lYlJ4yQZf7
— Bernoulli Games (@BernoulliGames) May 23, 2015
Untitled (@BernoulliGames)
ROCK AND ROLL! Actually… wait, no, I take it back. Why is there a banjo player in there? A BANJO? Nope. No rock, and definitely no roll.
When in doubt, fuse together pieces of existing enemies! #gamedev #digitalart #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/EbfrhWVd6k
— Matthew Holtzem ? (@mjholtzem) May 23, 2015
Untitled (@mjholtzem)
Well, keep your enemies close and all that, right? Also, those freaky wings!
Another shot of the Bomber dealing with some bad dudes (Note: It's all WIP!) #gamedev #shmup #screenshotsaturday #stg pic.twitter.com/oFZsWewdsA
— Virtual Dropkick (@VDKOfficial) May 23, 2015
Untitled (@VDKOfficial)
So… many… bullets. I’ll never understand how some are so good at this particular genre. Never. Game does look kinda flashy though, I’ll give it that much.
Vote for Tennis in the Face in #Steam Greenlight: http://t.co/5Fp3Gtx9Yw #screenshotsaturday #indiedev #indiegame pic.twitter.com/Q0wDuJRiay
— 10tons (@10tonsLtd) May 23, 2015
Tennis in the Face (@10tonsLtd)
Show of hands, who hasn’t at some point felt a strong desire to smash a cop with a tennis ball? No one, I should hope! Nonetheless, that seems to be the exact kind of mayhem portrayed here. Madness.
Here you go, a screenshot with collision boxes being rendered, debugging away! #indiedev #gamedev #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/rtam0r202G
— Ivo Duarte (@duarteivopt) May 23, 2015
Untitled (@duarteivopt)
Oho! Naval warfare! And by the looks of those buildings in the background, I’d wager the game’s set the east. Go ahead, take a look.
Happy #screenshotsaturday! No cheating looking up this reference either! To be fair, Zed was kind of a jerk. #gamedev pic.twitter.com/aAE8Ne0Pck
— SWDTech Games (@SWDTechGames) May 23, 2015
Untitled (@SWDTechGames)
Yup, Zed is indeed dead. Hang on, who the heck is Zed and who killed him? Bet ya it was that smug-looking biker!
Environment concept art for our project! #indiedev #slothdev #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/12xkeqMVp5
— 2ndborne (@2ndBorne) May 23, 2015
Untitled (@2ndBorne)
Concept or not, that’s some darn fancy art right there…