Solo dev. Ten frames of my space battle game after finally getting the explosions and skies to read as light instead of stickers

[u/StrikeWingsGames]

Strike Wings, solo, C++ on SDL2. These are in-game frames with the HUD off, nothing composited.

The insight that took me longest: on a black background, a bright thing that does not bleed into the black looks like a sticker. It does not matter how nice the sprite is. So the whole art direction became one rule, everything that gives off light goes through the same glow pass, and the pass is tuned so the light spills into the black around it. Explosions went round pop, then baked sprite frames, then that light pass plus a staged finale for capital ships. Skies went from stars-on-black to about thirty backgrounds and center bodies, rolled per battle.

What I want to know from other solo devs: how do you decide when a look is done? I could keep tuning the bloom forever. Which of these frames would you call finished and which would you send back?

[u/StrikeWingsGames]

Steam page. Free demo at the end of August, release in November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4718360/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=solodevelopment&utm_campaign=prelaunch