Rob Stenzinger Games

Rob Stenzinger Games

@robstenzinger.bsky.social

Game and UX designer, teaching artist. Games: Word Turtle Island, Lexilotl, Guitar Fretter. Workshops: Paper Prototyping Game Design, UX for All, Game Construction Kit. Links to blog, games, contact at https://linktr.ee/robstenzinger

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Google Play has a couple of my games on the must-update soon deadline, which isn't my favorite way to prioritize but I've been leaning into it as a catalyst to push on with porting two more of my games to Godot 4. Guitar Fretter and This Panda Needs You are for sure coming do Godot 4. #indiegames

Rob Stenzinger Games reposted

Pushing #godot to its limits, and my crappy little laptop. Imagine making this awesome chain of 100 enemies at a time defending against thousands of aliens in Mining Mike. #indiedev #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

New Polytechnicast! With special guest Josh Anthony, indie game developer who created Dice Gun Commando. We talk about picking up skills to make games, learning from failure as data, finding what good-enough means and what that unlocks for learning systemically from what you're making.

interactive-storyteller.comPolytechnicast - Making Solo Indie Games with guest Josh Anthony — Blog of an Interactive StorytellerHave you been curious about making your own video game or perhaps already jumped in? This episode of the Polytechnicast I'm joined by Josh Anthony, indie game developer who created Dice Gun Commando…

What's a question you have for someone who codes, makes visual art, music, and wraps it all together in an entertaining interactive experience? Recording a new Polytechnicast tomorrow evening with a special guest! #indiegames #gamedeveloper #behindthescenes

Rebuilding two of my older games: Guitar Fretter and This Panda Needs You. Porting them to Godot 4 to make them easier to keep up to date in places like Google Play, but also there's been a few things I've wanted to add to both for so long now. #indiegames #gamedeveloper #workinprogress

Cavern of Ghosts and Skulls Pinball. Sketched this pinball machine concept as a playful exercise. Been watching pinball and classic arcade videos lately and this follows naturally. #illustration #pinball #sketch

1st part: Moving from Godot 3 to 4 from porting my core game systems, then Lexilotl, then challenges I had getting Steam Input working on Lexilotl, probably much of that having to do with my learning style. 2nd part: Doctor Baer Video Game To Be Named (official name announcement coming soon).

Lexilotl dev blog: another 9 day sprint and now it's live on Steam! Creative coding dev log: a tale of two very different feeling 9 day sprints. The first was so affirming, the second was an extra tough slog. Each had great outcomes I'm proud of. #indiegames #gamedeveloper #steam #godot #wordgames

One of those is very fresh news: Lexilotl: Crossword Puzzle Run is now published to Steam! Works with a variety of controllers, including Steam Deck. That second 9 day sprint was all about getting Steam Input to work.

store.steampowered.comLexilotl: Crossword Puzzle Run on SteamLexilotl is a crossword puzzle run with letter and word guessing. A cozy intellectual word game. Finish the puzzle with at least one chance left and you move on to the next puzzle. Being a great…

Unless any new ones pop up, this year's tabling events wrapped up for me now that 2D Con 2026 is done. That was the biggest setup so far with 5 games and two as arcade cabinets. Two recent releases, two past releases, and one early prototype. In each case there's a lot to learn and all together

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new arcade cabinet evolutions, and entirely new games. The games in this video in order seen: 1. Word Turtle Island: The Great Library Rescue 2. Guitar Fretter 3. Doctor Baer Video Game To-Be-Named 4. This Panda Needs You 5. Lexilotl Crossword Puzzle Run.

Unless any new ones pop up, this year's tabling events wrapped up for me now that 2D Con 2026 is done. That was the biggest setup so far with 5 games and two as arcade cabinets. Two recent releases, two past releases, and one early prototype. In each case there's a lot to learn and all together

they tell a story that clearly I love to make all ages games that are educational mixed with action and puzzles. 6 events this year. Showed games and in some cases did interactive learning activities: VGM Con, STEM Fest, Minnebar, Midwest Gaming Classic, 2D Con Mall of America Popup, ...

and the official 2D Con. Each event gives great moments of fun learning when I get to see folks play. What a fortunate thing to witness and a joy to create. The challenge that sticks with me long after an event: the side effect of fueling more creative ambition. Ideas for new game features, ...

This is the rebuilt early prototype and art test for the Doctor Baer Video Game To-Be-Named. Showed this on my table at 2D Con and folks were excited about Jerzy Drozd's artwork, the magical cuteness of the characters and intrigued to see more. #indiegames #doctorbaer #webcomics #2DCon

Indie Island at 2D Con has a very special meaning to me, it's an event all about gaming, in my home town, and each time I come back it's a milestone of growth both for me and the indie other indie creators. #indiegames #2DCon #gamedeveloper

Porting my games to Godot 4, first by laying a foundation, then Lexilotl and the Doctor Baer game-to-be-named prototype. Chose to use tiny sticky notes and foam board to visualize and manage the to do list. First board is what's todo, second one is what's done.

If you're new the story and world of Doctor Baer by Jerzy Drozd, this pull quote from the first book is a great description: "THE INSCRUTABLE DOCTOR BAER AND THE CASE OF THE TWO-FACED STATUE is like THE THREE MUSKETEERS meets RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK" -- Jeff Smith, author of Bone.

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Do you like fun and creative science activities? This year Rob Stenzinger Games is bringing three to STEMFest 2026: game design exploration via arcade cabinets, human centered design w/Doodle Creatures Have Needs + a new hands on making a custom two-button keyboard. #stem #stemfest #artsintegration

Do you like fun and creative science activities? This year Rob Stenzinger Games is bringing three to STEMFest 2026: game design exploration via arcade cabinets, human centered design w/Doodle Creatures Have Needs + a new hands on making a custom two-button keyboard. #stem #stemfest #artsintegration

Setup to play at Protospiel day 2, played inventive games day 1 like Pirate Puzzle, Blocknomials. Also played the compelling Shape Up by the folks who make REMIX, recently funded on Kickstarter. Testing Doodle Creatures Have Needs: card, drawing, creativity, collaboration. #protospiel #cardgames

New video game collaboration news! Me and my friend Jerzy Drozd are making a game featuring Doctor Baer, the Wisps, and Jerzy's amazing art, story, and world of spooky adventure as seen in the awesome comics The Case of the Two-Faced Statue and The Case of the Mummy Express. #webcomics #indiegames

Played Claim: Mine Rush! this weekend and we loved it. Elements of Carcassonne, building the mine, surprise events and trying your luck when you find a gold vein. Met this games's creator Ryan Juel at VGM Con, played it there and bought a copy from Speed Robo Games! #indiegames #vgmcon #protospiel

Rob Stenzinger Games reposted

Rob Stenzinger Games reposted

As a tiny Indy publisher I think I made the right call to do more small Saturday events in my state. They’re a lot less stressful and I make way more when I’m at events that aren’t so niche. I’ve done one a month so far and I’ve made more profit with lower table costs while growing local awareness.

The official trailer for Lexilotl, the new word puzzle game by Rob Stenzinger Games is here! Lexilotl is a letter guessing crossword puzzle where you see how many you can solve before three mistakes end your run. #indiegames #wordgames #crossword #axolotl

Here's part 2 of me making 2 arcade cabinets, one for each of my recent indie games. Last year I made a prototype cabinet and fell further in love with making a physical game experience from my own indie game digital creations. #indiegames #arcade #wordgame #roguelite #rpg

youtube.comMade 2 Arcade Cabinets for My Indie Games - Part 2Here's part 2 of me making 2 arcade cabinets, one for each of my recent indie games. Last year I made a prototype cabinet and fell further in love with making a physical game experience from my own…

In Part 2 I'm installing the artwork, t-molding, ... discovering I need to make a more sturdy yet thin bezel (monitor frame) which I do that off camera and it shows up at the end. The control surface has 32 buttons and a joystick, you see me get all that installed.

Then wiring it all to 2 raspberry pi picos to be the brains of the input controls. I'll be showing the cabinets this weekend at VGM Con and next weekend at Midwest Gaming Classic! Also I encourage you to check out both games on Steam, Apple, and Google Play.

Quick demo of how I recorded sound effects for my game Lexilotl. The ingredients: a microphone, ruler, box of letter tiles, and big measuring cup half full of water. Recording while playing around with those elements, looking for interesting sounds. #indiegames #wordgame #behindthescenes #journal

youtube.comHow I made sound effects for LexilotlQuick demo of how I recorded sound effects for my game Lexilotl. The ingredients: a microphone, ruler, box of letter tiles, and big measuring cup half full of water. Recording while playing around…
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Quick demo of how I recorded sound effects for my game Lexilotl. The ingredients: a microphone, ruler, box of letter tiles, and big measuring cup half full of water. Recording while playing around with those elements, looking for interesting sounds. #indiegames #wordgame #behindthescenes #journal

youtube.comHow I made sound effects for LexilotlQuick demo of how I recorded sound effects for my game Lexilotl. The ingredients: a microphone, ruler, box of letter tiles, and big measuring cup half full of water. Recording while playing around…

After recording I edited and added sound effects to the raw sounds via Apple Logic. At the end I show a how they sound in the game Lexilotl which is a crossword run that visually uses letter tiles and has watery visuals to go with the theme of amphibious axolotls which informed my sound choices.