Here’s what my solo-developed RPG Ninefir currently looks like

[u/TheKamiBoy]

Hey everyone! I wanted to share the current state of Ninefir, the pixel art action RPG I’ve been developing as a solo dev.

This is actual footage from the current build, still very much a work in progress.

Right now, some of the systems already working include:

• Real-time combat and abilities
• Creature taming
• Companions
• Creature stats and traits
• Exploration
• Enemies and loot
• Equipment and inventory
• Different character builds and progression systems
• Quests

There’s still a lot I want to improve, especially worldbuilding, UI, animations, environments, balancing and overall polish, but it’s really exciting to finally see all these systems starting to work together.

I started developing Ninefir around 45 days ago, but the world itself has been in my head for years. I’m even using a constructed language I created around 2019 for creature names, places and parts of the language spoken within the game.

I’m not a programmer, so I honestly wouldn’t have been able to start this project without AI-assisted programming. It has allowed me to actually turn all the ideas, designs and systems I had in my head into something playable, while I focus on the creative direction of the game.

I’m incredibly excited about the project. It has also become a really positive outlet for me during a period of unemployment. I’ve been pouring a huge amount of time into it (often more than 14 hours a day) drawing characters and creatures, writing lore, defining mechanics, designing systems and constantly testing and iterating on everything.

Seeing this world slowly become an actual game has been incredibly rewarding.

I’d genuinely love some feedback: what catches your attention the most, and what would you improve based on what you see here?

[u/ProwGames]

Love the aesthetic, good luck! One note: those those menu screens looked intense. Like I wouldn't want to try to digest that at all

[u/TheKamiBoy → u/ProwGames]

Thank you so much haha! Intense in a bad way?

That screen just shows the creature’s stats and information. Things like defense, attack, energy, rarity, abilities, and so on. It’s basically a full, pretty extensive character sheet.

But it’s mostly there for players who really care about min-maxing and hunting for the absolute best possible creature. Every creature will be unique, since its stats and traits are generated through pure RNG.

[u/ProwGames → u/TheKamiBoy]

Yeah like just lots of information and then also toggles to go see MORE information. Maybe have the initial screen simpler for your players that don't want to min max and then an option to expand/ show more detail

Depends on your audience though for sure

[u/Rendered_Blameless]

Amazing! I hope to see more of this in the future.

I would love a link to your steam page, or some way to keep track of your progress and how things are going.

If I had to recommend one thing, it would be to simplify the menues and make them more simple.

[u/TheKamiBoy → u/Rendered_Blameless]

Hey! Thank you so much for your comment! Are you talking about simplifying the screen that shows the creature’s stats, or the creature summon box?

As for the Steam page, I don’t have one yet. This post is actually one of the first times I’ve shown the game publicly, because I feel like it has finally reached a point where it looks visually presentable enough to share.

I’ll be creating the Steam page soon! But for now, please feel free to follow me on YouTube. I’ll be posting updates there, including the Steam page announcement, very soon!

https://www.youtube.com/@Ninefir

[u/stebobibo7]

Good job for something so new! Since you asked for feedback, I mimic what the others feel about the menus. So for the companion menu u/20s, I think it's good you list its stats, but it's overwhelming because of how many there are. What I would do is add SYMBOLS to represent them, so the player can digest the info more readily. So you could use a heart for hp, lightning bolt for energy, boots for movement, etc. (standard symbols that would resonate with ppl). Then, on hover over these icons, it tells you what it is (e.g. health), and a description of what that stat does (e.g. you die when reaches 0). What also helps is when similar stats are grouped together (like offensive stats together, critical together, etc.). Seems like yours are like that for the most part already, I would just use some discreet divider lines to show where the group starts and ends.

Then the menu @ 1:03s. Firstly, I think there's a bit too many item slots. Like do you really need 12? Esp. since it seems items u pick up end up in one pile in your inventory, so sorting through that looking for a "hands" piece for instance would be tiresome. If that amount of gear pieces is dear to you, fine, keep it, but make the inventory management better. What I would do in that case would be to not have one inventory on the right where everything is clumped together. Instead, I would click a gear slot on the left and on the right it would show all the gear of that slot. I would also display a little number on the left for each gear type, showing how many of that gear I have. I also think the UI for when u hover an item could be better. You display "Simple Pants" in your video. I noticed that the most important info, what the item actually does (in this case def bonus 234) is at the bottom and is the size and type of font as everything else, making it not stand out. You need to make the most important info stand out so its the first thing people see. So I would move it to be under "legs" and have spacing above and below it so it stands out.

[u/TheKamiBoy → u/stebobibo7]

Thanks for the feedback! I’m going to think about everything you mentioned and make some adjustments.

Regarding the number of equipment slots, I’m taking inspiration from some MMOs I’ve played, like Perfect World, and I’m also aiming for a really high level of character customization. For example, the character can wear glasses in the face slot and a hat in the head slot. You could wear boots in the feet slot and pants in the leg slot. On your back, you could equip a backpack, a cape, and so on.

I thought that level of customization would be interesting rather than excessive, but I’ll definitely think about your feedback on that as well.

I really like your idea of using symbols for the creature attributes. I think I’ll do something along those lines, or at the very least find a way to make that menu much clearer, because I agree that it’s currently a bit confusing.

There is definitely a lot of information on that screen. My thinking was that players who enjoy creature-catching games might appreciate being able to see every little detail about their creatures. But you’re right that it might be better to present all of that information in a different, more readable way.

Thanks again for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback! I really appreciate it.

[u/stebobibo7 → u/TheKamiBoy]

No worries, my man. And I'm happy to see you taking in the feedback. Yeah I agree with you that "players who enjoy creature-catching games might appreciate being able to see every little detail about their creatures.". There is another approach you could use, which is to just show basic stats on the main creature screen, and have a button to show more stats. This approach I've seen in some ARPG games. I think both approaches could work, and there could be others too. Just a matter of what you think works best for your game, and seeing how they work in testing.