Somewhere in this neighborhood, something is always happening. Look closer.
A kid sells lemonade, a couple naps on the roof, and a dragon minds its own business. Summer afternoon.
How many did you catch?
u/pixnchips — 2 days ago
▲ 23 r/aseprite
WIP — a volumetric light plugin for Aseprite (Lumen by Pix), releasing in a few weeks
Hey everyone! Art director and pixel artist here. Honestly, I just got completely burnt out on hand-painting every single light glow, dither gradient, and flicker frame by frame, so I decided to build something to fix it.
Lumen is an Aseprite Lua plugin where you just paint a shape, like a window, a torch, or whatever you need, pick your light type (radial, directional, god rays, cast shadow, glow, or a noise-driven option for fog, water, or fire), and it renders the light live right on your canvas as you tweak it.
It's not quite out yet, still putting the final polish on it and aiming for a release in the next few weeks. Thought I'd share a peek at the progress since I figured a few of you might find it useful.
Drop any questions about how it works below, and I'm totally open to feature requests while I'm wrapping things up. I'll post another update as soon as it's live!
u/pixnchips — 7 days ago
▲ 10 r/metroidbrainia
[Playtesters wanted] Open Sourcerer — a platformer where magic is code | first area, ~30 min, Wednesday
Hey! We're a small studio testing the first area of Open Sourcerer and looking for fresh players who haven't seen it before — that's exactly the feedback we need right now.
What it is: an action-platformer with a metroidvania world, built on one twist — magic is programming. You write spells in a coding language to beat enemies, explore, and solve puzzles. Combat, exploration, and puzzles all run through the same idea.
What we most want to learn: whether the "code as magic" hook clicks on its own — so the less you know going in, the more useful you are.
What I need: ~30 minutes on Wednesday, playing over a Discord screen-share while I watch quietly. I won't jump in when you're stuck — getting stuck is the useful part. A few quick questions after.
Time slots (Wednesday): I'm in GMT-6, running sessions 11 AM–5 PM GMT-6 (≈ 12–6 PM Eastern / 9 AM–3 PM Pacific / 5–11 PM UK). Tell me what works and I'll book you in.
Who's ideal: anyone who enjoys platformers, metroidvanias, or puzzle games. No coding experience needed — whether you code or you've never touched it, you're exactly who we want to watch (both tell us different things).
What you get: early access, a spot in the playtest credits, and my real thanks.
Adults only for this round. Comment or DM if you're in — looking for ~5 players across the afternoon.
Thanks! 🙏
u/pixnchips — 23 days ago
▲ 2 r/playtesters
[Playtesters wanted] Open Sourcerer — a platformer where magic is code | first area, ~30 min, Wednesday
Hey! We're a small studio testing the first area of Open Sourcerer and looking for fresh players who haven't seen it before — that's exactly the feedback we need right now.
What it is: an action-platformer with a metroidvania world, built on one twist — magic is programming. You write spells in a coding language to beat enemies, explore, and solve puzzles. Combat, exploration, and puzzles all run through the same idea.
What we most want to learn: whether the "code as magic" hook clicks on its own — so the less you know going in, the more useful you are.
What I need: ~30 minutes on Wednesday, playing over a Discord screen-share while I watch quietly. I won't jump in when you're stuck — getting stuck is the useful part. A few quick questions after.
Time slots (Wednesday): I'm in GMT-6, running sessions 11 AM–5 PM GMT-6 (≈ 12–6 PM Eastern / 9 AM–3 PM Pacific / 5–11 PM UK). Tell me what works and I'll book you in.
Who's ideal: anyone who enjoys platformers, metroidvanias, or puzzle games. No coding experience needed — whether you code or you've never touched it, you're exactly who we want to watch (both tell us different things).
What you get: early access, a spot in the playtest credits, and my real thanks.
Adults only for this round. Comment or DM if you're in — looking for ~5 players across the afternoon.
Thanks! 🙏
u/pixnchips — 24 days ago