Shard / Halfwheel Games (DEADBEAT out on Steam!)
@mkfshard.bsky.social
Joseph Hartman (he/they) - Writer of upcoming fantasy novel Dragon Descent, and developer of soulslike RPG Deadbeat!
https://linktr.ee/jahartman
https://linktr.ee/jahartman
She *thinks* she wants this, until she gets drawn from the front and looks like a mildly baffled eagle.
November 9, 2025 at 6:45 PM
She *thinks* she wants this, until she gets drawn from the front and looks like a mildly baffled eagle.
Recently finished the Realm of the Elderlings series! Really fantastic books, with some of the best characterization I've ever read.
Some of the most hateable villains, and lovable heroes that you want to strangle for their bad-yet-inevitable choices.
A non-flashy magic system with lots of depth!
Some of the most hateable villains, and lovable heroes that you want to strangle for their bad-yet-inevitable choices.
A non-flashy magic system with lots of depth!
October 27, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Recently finished the Realm of the Elderlings series! Really fantastic books, with some of the best characterization I've ever read.
Some of the most hateable villains, and lovable heroes that you want to strangle for their bad-yet-inevitable choices.
A non-flashy magic system with lots of depth!
Some of the most hateable villains, and lovable heroes that you want to strangle for their bad-yet-inevitable choices.
A non-flashy magic system with lots of depth!
#indiegame #indiedev #gamedev
The lost places of the world are where the foundations of reality have eroded, and horrific entities bubble through the cracks.
They do not kill you. In this game, you cannot die.
You can only fall into a worse world.
And there is always further to fall.
The lost places of the world are where the foundations of reality have eroded, and horrific entities bubble through the cracks.
They do not kill you. In this game, you cannot die.
You can only fall into a worse world.
And there is always further to fall.
October 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
#indiegame #indiedev #gamedev
The lost places of the world are where the foundations of reality have eroded, and horrific entities bubble through the cracks.
They do not kill you. In this game, you cannot die.
You can only fall into a worse world.
And there is always further to fall.
The lost places of the world are where the foundations of reality have eroded, and horrific entities bubble through the cracks.
They do not kill you. In this game, you cannot die.
You can only fall into a worse world.
And there is always further to fall.
#LateNightWrite Funnily enough, I actually got character art appropriate for this very idea once!
Art by @altermentality.bsky.social!
Art by @altermentality.bsky.social!
October 26, 2025 at 3:11 AM
#LateNightWrite Funnily enough, I actually got character art appropriate for this very idea once!
Art by @altermentality.bsky.social!
Art by @altermentality.bsky.social!
I think it should remain
October 15, 2025 at 9:37 PM
I think it should remain
#gamedev #indiegame
In the Lost Places of the world, it's advisable to scout ahead when you think you may not be alone.
(More progress on Endless Descent! Working on basic gameplay loop before I get lost in the fun weeds of fleshing it all out.)
In the Lost Places of the world, it's advisable to scout ahead when you think you may not be alone.
(More progress on Endless Descent! Working on basic gameplay loop before I get lost in the fun weeds of fleshing it all out.)
October 13, 2025 at 8:25 AM
#gamedev #indiegame
In the Lost Places of the world, it's advisable to scout ahead when you think you may not be alone.
(More progress on Endless Descent! Working on basic gameplay loop before I get lost in the fun weeds of fleshing it all out.)
In the Lost Places of the world, it's advisable to scout ahead when you think you may not be alone.
(More progress on Endless Descent! Working on basic gameplay loop before I get lost in the fun weeds of fleshing it all out.)
For my next #gamedev project, I'm revisiting an old idea I had for a horror roguelike dungeon crawler!
It's called Endless Descent, and you play as an urban explorer investigating the 'Lost Places' of the world to record the ways in which reality is gradually and irrevocably decaying.
It's called Endless Descent, and you play as an urban explorer investigating the 'Lost Places' of the world to record the ways in which reality is gradually and irrevocably decaying.
September 28, 2025 at 7:41 PM
For my next #gamedev project, I'm revisiting an old idea I had for a horror roguelike dungeon crawler!
It's called Endless Descent, and you play as an urban explorer investigating the 'Lost Places' of the world to record the ways in which reality is gradually and irrevocably decaying.
It's called Endless Descent, and you play as an urban explorer investigating the 'Lost Places' of the world to record the ways in which reality is gradually and irrevocably decaying.
I'm so happy to see this! Animorphs was a huge inspiration to me growing up, and in my own writing (of which I've gotten art below, by @altermentality.bsky.social)!
I hope these dynamic covers help them reach a brand new set of people :D
I hope these dynamic covers help them reach a brand new set of people :D
September 21, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I'm so happy to see this! Animorphs was a huge inspiration to me growing up, and in my own writing (of which I've gotten art below, by @altermentality.bsky.social)!
I hope these dynamic covers help them reach a brand new set of people :D
I hope these dynamic covers help them reach a brand new set of people :D
The formatting is done! :D Shortly I'll be poking all the people who've beta'd for me before to see if they'd be up for this version, but I'm also interested in expanding that pool!
If you're interested in a story with this elevator pitch, feel free to let me know!
If you're interested in a story with this elevator pitch, feel free to let me know!
September 20, 2025 at 1:46 AM
The formatting is done! :D Shortly I'll be poking all the people who've beta'd for me before to see if they'd be up for this version, but I'm also interested in expanding that pool!
If you're interested in a story with this elevator pitch, feel free to let me know!
If you're interested in a story with this elevator pitch, feel free to let me know!
#LateNightWrite The main character of my story is transformed into a humanoid dragon called a Drake, and the color scheme I decided for his new form is vaguely reminiscent of a character from a webcomic I've liked for years!
Bonus points you can figure out which one!
(Art by Gooseworx!)
Bonus points you can figure out which one!
(Art by Gooseworx!)
August 31, 2025 at 3:25 AM
#LateNightWrite The main character of my story is transformed into a humanoid dragon called a Drake, and the color scheme I decided for his new form is vaguely reminiscent of a character from a webcomic I've liked for years!
Bonus points you can figure out which one!
(Art by Gooseworx!)
Bonus points you can figure out which one!
(Art by Gooseworx!)
It's hard to overstate how important Undertale is to me! Without it, I don't know if I ever would've started to use GameMaker in earnest, convinced that making a game was beyond my abilities.
July 26, 2025 at 4:07 AM
It's hard to overstate how important Undertale is to me! Without it, I don't know if I ever would've started to use GameMaker in earnest, convinced that making a game was beyond my abilities.
June 10, 2025 at 6:33 AM
If you see this, post a dragon
May 30, 2025 at 7:11 PM
If you see this, post a dragon
It's easy to forget!
May 25, 2025 at 11:17 PM
It's easy to forget!
Hope it stays down! :D And I'm not sure if it still counts as recent, buuuuut...
My game Deadbeat is a fast-paced soulslike with a lot of existential afterlife lore!
store.steampowered.com/app/2067430/...
My game Deadbeat is a fast-paced soulslike with a lot of existential afterlife lore!
store.steampowered.com/app/2067430/...
May 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Hope it stays down! :D And I'm not sure if it still counts as recent, buuuuut...
My game Deadbeat is a fast-paced soulslike with a lot of existential afterlife lore!
store.steampowered.com/app/2067430/...
My game Deadbeat is a fast-paced soulslike with a lot of existential afterlife lore!
store.steampowered.com/app/2067430/...
After all these years, my debut novel Dragon Descent is finally READY FOR QUERYING! :D
The difficult part is over. Now comes the difficult part!
The difficult part is over. Now comes the difficult part!
April 8, 2025 at 4:09 AM
After all these years, my debut novel Dragon Descent is finally READY FOR QUERYING! :D
The difficult part is over. Now comes the difficult part!
The difficult part is over. Now comes the difficult part!
(Repost cause the GIF didn't work!) I'm reading my fourth draft and scouring it for anything I might want to change or cut before I start seriously querying it out! After beta reading and so many revisions, I think I'm soon reaching the point where editing further will just be twiddling my thumbs :D
March 30, 2025 at 8:59 PM
(Repost cause the GIF didn't work!) I'm reading my fourth draft and scouring it for anything I might want to change or cut before I start seriously querying it out! After beta reading and so many revisions, I think I'm soon reaching the point where editing further will just be twiddling my thumbs :D
Forgive me, but this is the first thing that came to mind.
March 14, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Forgive me, but this is the first thing that came to mind.
the hives...
March 3, 2025 at 7:21 AM
the hives...
When you said snake guy, I was expecting something more like the right then the left :y That's no snake, that's one of the blue people from Avatar!
February 24, 2025 at 3:47 PM
When you said snake guy, I was expecting something more like the right then the left :y That's no snake, that's one of the blue people from Avatar!
To clarify, do you mean this website? I'm interested in trying out alternate forms of doing game design, but I see 'AI' and immediately shy away from using any part of this for serious work.
February 18, 2025 at 7:47 PM
To clarify, do you mean this website? I'm interested in trying out alternate forms of doing game design, but I see 'AI' and immediately shy away from using any part of this for serious work.
We should never forget that the 'They' in the original poem and here is not a force of nature, but conservatives making the constant, conscious decision to be ignorant and horrible.
Every supposed principle is a smokescreen over their core: 'My comfort is all that matters. Everyone else can die.'
Every supposed principle is a smokescreen over their core: 'My comfort is all that matters. Everyone else can die.'
February 9, 2025 at 2:58 AM
We should never forget that the 'They' in the original poem and here is not a force of nature, but conservatives making the constant, conscious decision to be ignorant and horrible.
Every supposed principle is a smokescreen over their core: 'My comfort is all that matters. Everyone else can die.'
Every supposed principle is a smokescreen over their core: 'My comfort is all that matters. Everyone else can die.'
Saw this on Tumblr and it reminded me of the most obvious flaw in the standard 'but companies would raise prices!!!' thing against UBI.
February 6, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Saw this on Tumblr and it reminded me of the most obvious flaw in the standard 'but companies would raise prices!!!' thing against UBI.
