Dan Salvato
@dansalva.to
Creator of Doki Doki Literature Club. Founder and developer @ Team Salvato, @frankerfacez.com, and more. Currently working on various new projects.
https://dansalva.to
Reach out: [email protected]
https://dansalva.to
Reach out: [email protected]
Pinned
Dan Salvato
@dansalva.to
· Dec 20
If you'd like to reach out, please tag me in a new post instead of replying to an unrelated thread of mine. I want to engage and answer questions but I get uncomfortable when my posts are used as a mechanism to reach me about something unrelated. Also, you're always welcome to email me. Thank you! 🙌🏻
Age verification?
All your base are belong to us
All your base are belong to us
Age verification?
I made collect calls.
I made collect calls.
Age verification?
I printed Pokemon Snap photos at Blockbuster
I printed Pokemon Snap photos at Blockbuster
February 10, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Age verification?
All your base are belong to us
All your base are belong to us
Here are the kinds of sketches I'm giving to my sprite animator for Magicore on a regular basis. Using phrases like "Whiplash her spine like a noodle" and "that downwards power pose chibi magical girls do" and "0-10-50-90-100 motion curve". Really a language that only humans can actually understand
February 7, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Here are the kinds of sketches I'm giving to my sprite animator for Magicore on a regular basis. Using phrases like "Whiplash her spine like a noodle" and "that downwards power pose chibi magical girls do" and "0-10-50-90-100 motion curve". Really a language that only humans can actually understand
Very vague memories, but I remember there being "Bound" maps which were like dexterity challenges to get a unit through a survival obstacle course, and a Risk map that was some kind of tactical strategy game. At least 11-year-old me thought those were some cool ones.
February 6, 2026 at 3:08 AM
Very vague memories, but I remember there being "Bound" maps which were like dexterity challenges to get a unit through a survival obstacle course, and a Risk map that was some kind of tactical strategy game. At least 11-year-old me thought those were some cool ones.
Eh, I think they're going to follow it up to ride the momentum of the movie. IMO, the Wonder DLC is their "out in time for the movie" project (for those inspired to play Mario after watching the movie), but they'll ride the movie marketing wave straight into some big news to capitalize on visibility
February 4, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Eh, I think they're going to follow it up to ride the momentum of the movie. IMO, the Wonder DLC is their "out in time for the movie" project (for those inspired to play Mario after watching the movie), but they'll ride the movie marketing wave straight into some big news to capitalize on visibility
I think Mario Maker 3 will be announced during some upcoming "Mario 40th Anniversary Direct", probably as we approach the premiere of the Galaxy movie, so unironically it could be upon us yet
February 4, 2026 at 4:43 PM
I think Mario Maker 3 will be announced during some upcoming "Mario 40th Anniversary Direct", probably as we approach the premiere of the Galaxy movie, so unironically it could be upon us yet
Thanks for playing, it was a fun watch and I'm really glad you guys had a good time with it!
January 31, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Thanks for playing, it was a fun watch and I'm really glad you guys had a good time with it!
I have another theory about the SNES eject button. As you know, NES front-loader cartridge slot was a common point of failure due to bending, so the SNES eject button ensures a gentle lift w/ no lateral bending force.
Now, the handle on the GameCube—completely useless, but it just has to be there.
Now, the handle on the GameCube—completely useless, but it just has to be there.
January 18, 2026 at 10:29 PM
I have another theory about the SNES eject button. As you know, NES front-loader cartridge slot was a common point of failure due to bending, so the SNES eject button ensures a gentle lift w/ no lateral bending force.
Now, the handle on the GameCube—completely useless, but it just has to be there.
Now, the handle on the GameCube—completely useless, but it just has to be there.
Steam SDK does have "stats" for devs to track that info internally. IMO it can be fun for players to see some of that data with public achievements. The problem again lies in implementation, where devs can't really choose which achievements "deserve" a fanfare over others, without lots of extra work
January 18, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Steam SDK does have "stats" for devs to track that info internally. IMO it can be fun for players to see some of that data with public achievements. The problem again lies in implementation, where devs can't really choose which achievements "deserve" a fanfare over others, without lots of extra work
IMO, the problem is that third-party API (e.g. achievements) is a late, obligatory step in game development, so the goal is to get it working, not to craft player experience around it. It'd fall on Valve to help inform when and how achievements should be triggered. But expectedly, they're agnostic.
January 18, 2026 at 6:52 PM
IMO, the problem is that third-party API (e.g. achievements) is a late, obligatory step in game development, so the goal is to get it working, not to craft player experience around it. It'd fall on Valve to help inform when and how achievements should be triggered. But expectedly, they're agnostic.
I like achievements, but I'm not a fan of the expected implementation for them. Getting a pop-up e.g. the exact instant I get the final hit on a boss takes me out of the moment. I know I can just disable the notifications, but I still don't like how it's become the default experience in gaming.
January 18, 2026 at 6:49 PM
I like achievements, but I'm not a fan of the expected implementation for them. Getting a pop-up e.g. the exact instant I get the final hit on a boss takes me out of the moment. I know I can just disable the notifications, but I still don't like how it's become the default experience in gaming.
This is interesting to think about. Gunpei Yokoi made Game & Watch after supposedly seeing a bored person passing time by pressing buttons on a calculator. Unbelievably, G&W games have responsive action and satisfying feedback. They make it fun to press buttons.
January 18, 2026 at 5:49 PM
This is interesting to think about. Gunpei Yokoi made Game & Watch after supposedly seeing a bored person passing time by pressing buttons on a calculator. Unbelievably, G&W games have responsive action and satisfying feedback. They make it fun to press buttons.
"Luigi, we need your approval on this scented deodorant. Here, I'll put a little drop on your finger, let us know what you think of the scent"
Luigi:
Luigi:
January 16, 2026 at 8:41 PM
"Luigi, we need your approval on this scented deodorant. Here, I'll put a little drop on your finger, let us know what you think of the scent"
Luigi:
Luigi:
In Melee you can cancel aerial endlag by sliding off the edge of a platform while landing. I've always wanted to see other games do that, it's so situational but so sick when you find a use for it. The closer you cut it, the more frames you save but the more you risk missing the edge entirely
January 14, 2026 at 8:25 PM
In Melee you can cancel aerial endlag by sliding off the edge of a platform while landing. I've always wanted to see other games do that, it's so situational but so sick when you find a use for it. The closer you cut it, the more frames you save but the more you risk missing the edge entirely
Playtesting has recently taught me that there is a very fine line between "too precise for anyone but the designer's movement habits" and "too lenient causing players to tunnel-vision on the unintended solution that's 10x harder". And you teeter between the two by moving obstacles 2 pixels at a time
January 14, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Playtesting has recently taught me that there is a very fine line between "too precise for anyone but the designer's movement habits" and "too lenient causing players to tunnel-vision on the unintended solution that's 10x harder". And you teeter between the two by moving obstacles 2 pixels at a time
Reposted by Dan Salvato
Got to do a couple runbacks of Dan Salvato’s newest game demo at AGDQ. Got the deathless and found some cool speed strats too! I’m real excited for the full release
January 10, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Got to do a couple runbacks of Dan Salvato’s newest game demo at AGDQ. Got the deathless and found some cool speed strats too! I’m real excited for the full release
If you're at #AGDQ, I have a brand new Magicore demo up and running in the practice room. It'll be here all week. I worked incredibly hard to get this demo done in time for the event, so I hope you take the time to check it out!
January 5, 2026 at 2:53 AM
If you're at #AGDQ, I have a brand new Magicore demo up and running in the practice room. It'll be here all week. I worked incredibly hard to get this demo done in time for the event, so I hope you take the time to check it out!
You can always tell whether Gen Z is on desktop or mobile because on desktop they're like sjdfsfsdlkjsdf but on mobile they're like skxkdksnskxk
January 1, 2026 at 4:48 PM
You can always tell whether Gen Z is on desktop or mobile because on desktop they're like sjdfsfsdlkjsdf but on mobile they're like skxkdksnskxk
Reposted by Dan Salvato
December 30, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Sure thing, feel free to send me an email with your username and we'll take a look.
December 25, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Sure thing, feel free to send me an email with your username and we'll take a look.
Interestingly, when a Patreon is like "VIP club with access to exclusive content" then I sometimes feel less inclined. I enjoy their free content and look for a low-friction way to support them without having to "commit" to being a community member. Supporting small creators is its own reward
December 12, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Interestingly, when a Patreon is like "VIP club with access to exclusive content" then I sometimes feel less inclined. I enjoy their free content and look for a low-friction way to support them without having to "commit" to being a community member. Supporting small creators is its own reward
I bet a lot of people would be down to throw you $5 or $10/month as-is, even if those tiers don't come with additional benefits over the current $1/month tier you offer. I know a manual amount can be entered during checkout, but at least for me, the tiers do make a positive psychological difference.
December 12, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I bet a lot of people would be down to throw you $5 or $10/month as-is, even if those tiers don't come with additional benefits over the current $1/month tier you offer. I know a manual amount can be entered during checkout, but at least for me, the tiers do make a positive psychological difference.
Matchmaking was fixed in Kirby Air Riders! Getting consistent 16-player games with no CPU padding in ranked City Trial now
December 12, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Matchmaking was fixed in Kirby Air Riders! Getting consistent 16-player games with no CPU padding in ranked City Trial now
New blog post detailing the release of DDLC on mobile platforms: teamsalvato.com/news/ddlc-is...
DDLC is now available on iOS and Android!
teamsalvato.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:46 PM
New blog post detailing the release of DDLC on mobile platforms: teamsalvato.com/news/ddlc-is...
If this happened because you deleted a file before starting a new game for the first time, we've submitted a fix for that and it will be available in an update within the next day or so. In the meantime, you can delete the app's data in your phone settings (or reinstall) to get out of this state.
December 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
If this happened because you deleted a file before starting a new game for the first time, we've submitted a fix for that and it will be available in an update within the next day or so. In the meantime, you can delete the app's data in your phone settings (or reinstall) to get out of this state.