itch.io

Greetings, I’d like to tell you about my game: The Escape Masters. It’s an Android game (still in development, currently at 90%), a tactical escape puzzle on a 9x9 board where every move counts and the narrative mechanics change depending on the story (there are 5 stories).

The goal of the game is to reach and open the exit door. To achieve this, you’ll need to collect keys and items, avoid NPCs, and use special mechanics (starting from level 17):

• Explosives to break walls
• Magnet to collect keys from a distance
• Remote Shot to eliminate NPCs

Each campaign has a narrative theme: Pirates, Mafia, Archaeology, Cybersecurity, and Galactic Prison.

I developed this game with a mix of classic puzzle design and dynamic narrative mechanics. Levels are randomized with arrows and walls generated differently each time. Each theme offers unique rules that change the gameplay. Every story/campaign contains 40 levels.

You can watch a gameplay video here:

Está bien, además eso es lo bueno del juegoq ue te reta a exprimirte el cerebro al máximo. En qué lo programaste, ren'Py? Yo también he desarrollado para Android

Hola, se ve super bien el gráfico, y muy buena la narrativa

Hello, I’ve already had this conversation in this same post with others, so you can read my replies and you’ll know my position on the matter. Thank you for writing to me.

I’m an Android game programmer—that’s what I enjoy doing, and it’s the platform I know how to program for right now. I use AI to generate the images for my games (since I don’t have artistic skills or the money to pay an artist), and with this approach I can make my projects a reality. I code the old-school way, with Java using the Android Studio IDE, and in my opinion the results are good. The concepts of my games are original, and I’d even say fun; they’re usually puzzle-based because I really enjoy thinking and making others think, without giving anything away to the player.

Right now I’m finishing a new game, The Escape Masters. It’s a turn-based strategy game. I’m sharing some images here and I hope you can give me your opinion on what you see. I describe it like this: a turn-based strategy game where, to move the player’s character, you must use arrows and change their direction by tapping on them. The player’s character will first move to the selected arrow, and then to the square the arrow points to. The NPCs move in the same way, trying to catch the player’s character before they can reach the exit door.

There are five different stories, each with its own literary narration and cinematic. The gameplay mechanics are different in each level and adapt to the theme. For example, in the pirate story, the wind is a factor in the mechanics because it affects movement. In the archaeologist’s story, the board lights up according to the player’s position (three squares around), as if carrying a lantern and only able to see what is illuminated. And so, each story introduces a different mechanic.

Hello, thank you very much for your message and your advice... for now I only program for Android (I use Java and the Android Studio IDE), but I’ve just started writing the narrative for a visual novel using Ren’Py (which exports to Windows). Let’s see how it goes for me.

Thank you for your analysis of this situation. I consulted a friend who programs video games for a studio that makes Android games (Viva Games Studios), and he told me bluntly that if I don’t pay for advertising, it’s very difficult for my games to be downloaded. That’s how this studio does it. He worked on this game (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Naolito.SaveTheCat), and on the first day it was released it reached 500 downloads, in a week it already had 8,000 downloads, and now it’s at 50,000.

Yes, my game may be on the list (one of my games—why do they only talk about that one?) in 16th place, but it doesn’t make up for it, because there are no comments, neither positive nor negative. There’s a phrase that says: I don’t care about those who speak badly, nor those who speak well of me (in this case, of my games); I care about those who say nothing, because for them, I don’t exist. Thank you for taking the time to write to me.

I’ll leave this link here, it’s in Spanish (if you don’t know the language, you can translate it with Google), where the former director of such a serious studio with successful titles like Square Enix shares these considerations (as always I provide evidence, NOT ideas or dogmas):

https://vandal.elespanol.com/noticia/1350785154/pese-a-las-criticas-a-la-ia-gene...

Pop Shop Packs, it won’t let me reply to your post, I don’t know why or what you did, but to your question: Are you using A.I. to write your responses? My answer is: Don’t you know? I thought you were an expert at detecting that kind of thing, given the way you talk about it.

On that point you are right, many players still don’t look beyond where they should or want to (because everyone has their own tastes and preferences), but my reflection goes as follows: And I’ll use myself as an example—if my game uses a single AI-generated image, and it’s only for the presentation of the game, while the gameplay mechanics, the idea of the game, and everything else as a whole is developed by a human, what relevance for or against does that image really have? Isn’t it logical to ask: why discard something you haven’t even seen or played, simply because it has an AI-generated image? (or because you think it was generated by AI, since no one can be 100% sure unless I confirm it). That’s where my doubt lies, and my reflection on the matter.

As for the installation barrier, I don’t believe it (unless you’re talking about itch.io users), because as I already said, otherwise Google Play wouldn’t exist, and games wouldn’t have millions of downloads (mine are also on Google Play). That’s why I don’t understand your statement: “Add to that the barrier of installing a casual game that should have been a browser game.” My game is for Android—I would never make it for browser, because that’s not my goal. Once again, I believe itch.io doesn’t have an audience for Android games.

It’s interesting what you’re sharing. I’m starting to write a graphic novel (with images generated by AI and then edited), and for that I’m using Twine-2.11.1, which is a tool similar to articy:draft X (which I didn’t know about). But undeniably, the storyboard really helps with the overall vision of the narrative, mainly because you have the whole story at hand, and the branching arrows (in my case) show me where there’s a dead end. I hope you can finish yours soon so I can enjoy it.

That’s right, the shots are aimed at those of us who use generative AI for small things—in my case (once again, to clarify), only to generate images (and in my game LinguaSerpens, it’s just a single one), which of course I then have to edit with Photoshop (or PhotoPea) so the result is exactly what I want. But I’ll repeat your words: “unfounded, generalizing rants about stupidity and desperation only make you look dogmatic and uninformed.”

There are no AI resources without the developer’s reasoning or ideas behind them. For me, AI is like having a team of experts to ask questions or to entrust with specialized work that, due to my background, I wouldn’t be able to do myself. Thank you for your message.

Thank you for writing me a message. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing—I’ve already uploaded a gameplay video to YouTube and TikTok, as well as shown and talked about the game in Facebook groups, but still nothing. One of them has only been up for about a month, or almost a month, while the other one, Perfect Order Puzzle, has already been around for about 5 months (on Google Play and here). Many thanks for your suggestions, and I’ll keep at it.

First: I don’t have dogma, I have a brain and I use logic. Here some have spoken against using AI (or did you skip that part of the messages?). Besides, you yourself are against AI when you say: “The only things I see calling for change are Big Tech, who benefit monetarily from pushing AI trash.” You just called it “AI trash” (by the way, the one I use doesn’t charge me anything, so they’re not making money off me, at least not directly).

Second: I’ll assume you’re referring to other people and not to me. But if that were the case, and not to miss the opportunity… let me clarify (and I apologize if you weren’t referring to me, but the message is directed at me, so…) You’d be the stupid one—it’s disrespectful and rude—that without knowing me, without knowing anything about me, you say I want to “compensate for my stupidity.” Once again, it’s you who is stupid, since you don’t think—you only have a brain to repeat like a parrot, without thinking logically or considering results.

My skills are technical; I’ve been a Computer Engineer for more than 30 years, but I’m not a Graphic Artist. AI should not turn me into something I already am: an Applications and Video Games Developer—not just now, but since 2001, when I began programming with knowledge. I speak of realities with evidence, with practical examples, not of ideas, mental blindness, or fanaticism, which I do not share.

But I won’t continue, because I’ll follow Mark Twain’s words: “Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

"I believe these games stand out compared to what’s already on the market (they’re free)". What I meant is that I haven’t seen a game with the same gameplay mechanics as the way I programmed it, and that’s why it stands out—because it’s unique (two games in one). The snake graphic, which is the only thing made with AI, is for the game’s start screen, and I think it’s very good and necessary to have it there.

Regarding the installation issue, that’s something that makes me doubt—otherwise Google Play wouldn’t exist (unless you’re referring strictly to itch.io users). Either way, one thing is clear to me: this is not the place for Android games. As for: ‘If it makes you feel better, your game is currently ranked #16 out of 82,’ well, that doesn’t make me feel better. I would feel better if people downloaded it and installed it on their Android devices (as I imagine Android users do with every app and game they install from Google Play, where my games are also available). And then, after playing it, they could tell me, just as I started this post: ‘I liked it’ with reasons, ‘I didn’t like it’ with reasons, ‘Remove this, it’s useless,’ and above all, explain their arguments.

About writing the description with AI—of course! If it can describe my game better than I can (actually, my games, because I see people have only talked about one of them), then why not use it? What does that text, generated from an argument I gave the AI about my game, say that isn’t understandable or logical?

You ask me: ‘How many casual games with AI graphics have you installed on your phone lately? For fun, and not to check the competition?’ Well, I’ve searched, and honestly I’ve found very few, but I’d like to see more. I keep searching daily, because I focus on the fun it can give me—I don’t care whether it uses AI or not. I always give these two examples: The new game Arc Raider uses AI in its graphics and in several parts of its code, according to its developers, and because of that—does it make the game less fun or affect the user experience in any way? (In fact, as I said, it might even be the GOTY of 2025). Another example: If you suffered from idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease, and a healthcare professional using AI found a cure or something to improve your condition, wouldn’t you use it just because it was discovered with AI? And here’s proof: A machine learning tool managed to save the life of a patient with idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease, a rare condition with low survival rates and few treatment options. https://www.agenciasinc.es/Noticias/IA-y-enfermedades-raras-un-paso-revolucionar...

In the end, in my opinion, I simply started something at a time when many people are not yet ready for it. Maybe in a few years we’ll have this conversation again, and maybe then I won’t have to explain the obvious. (This has already happened in the past with EVERYTHING THAT CALLS FOR CHANGE). Thank you for your message, I’m glad to know your opinion.

Pop Shop Packs, 

I imagine that as an artist you have every reason in the world not to be a supporter of AI-generated images, that’s obvious. But in my case, thanks to AI I’ve been able to fulfill my dreams: Android games that I always had in mind, but without proper graphics those dreams were kept away for years, until today. I am in favor of it, just like AI-generated music, because for those of us who are from the technical side (only programmers), having this artistic solution at hand opens many doors. And in some way, it will gradually impose itself and be accepted, just like Photoshop was in its time, and digital photo editing, until today it’s almost the norm. I’m grateful that you took the time to write me a message, and I have all my respect for you artists. One thing is certain: humanity will never be replaced by AI.

The AI in my game is present in the graphics (because I’m not good at designing images), that’s where I always use AI. But the programming and the game mechanics are 100% made by me, and in my opinion, as long as the game is fun, I don’t care whether AI was used or not. I don’t know, I think Arc Raider uses AI, and they’re nominating it for GOTY

Thank you for writing me a message, the opinion you give me is very convincing, based on the statistics (only 90,000 for Android). I also have my games on Google Play, but still, they don’t get downloads. And that’s why I always ask myself… Why?

I understand your reasoning, and once again I thank you for taking the time to write on my post.

Thank you for the message, I really appreciate it. So in your opinion the problem is that it’s harder to install on Android? In this case, my games are designed to work on Android 7 or higher, and they don’t require any permissions, since they’re not necessary. I always develop them aiming for compatibility with mobile devices that have 2GB of RAM or more, regardless of the graphics card or processor, so they can be played on many more devices.

Games Here: https://raysrolh.itch.io/

I have two Android games already developed and published here on itch.io, but they haven’t had many downloads. Both are casual puzzle-type games—you need to think, and also have skill and dexterity (at least in the second one I published). I believe these games stand out compared to what’s already on the market (they’re free), but I don’t understand why people don’t even download them, try them, and leave comments like: “I liked it” with reasons, “I didn’t like it” with reasons, “Remove this, it’s useless” and above all, explain their arguments.

I don’t mind whether the feedback is positive or not; if it isn’t, that would actually help me even more. For the games I’m currently developing, I could take those opinions into account and fix anything that players might not enjoy… but if they don’t play them, they won’t know whether they like them or not.

Finally, I want to ask you to try my games and give me your honest opinion—it will always be welcome. Thank you all, and let’s support indie games.

Me parece bien, el gráfico es muy de autor, pero esperaba más interacción desde el principio, es mucho leer y poco actuar

Hola, pues hoy lo he descargado, y la verdad se me hizo muy corto, está bien, los sonidos y la música aportan mucho, aunque hay poca interacción, pero tiene potencial para una historia más completa, tal vez el mismo personaje en otro velorio.

Saludos, he probado el demo, pero es literalmente una VN, no tiene interacción.

It took me some time to define how I could develop a game that combined two well-known mechanics and blended them perfectly. That’s how LinguaSerpens was born, combining the snake game (its movement and touch) with the word-guessing game (hangman). At first, I wanted to make a simple, casual game—and to some extent it still is—but now I’ve added more complexity, with different game modes, an offline shop to customize the experience, and the biggest surprise: during testing, the game turned out to be a very useful tool for elderly people and those with cognitive difficulties. In my opinion, that’s the greatest achievement—being able to help people improve, even regain motor functions (in one specific case, a 78-year-old person in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease). The entire game is programmed in Java. https://raysrolh.itch.io/linguaserpens

I want to proudly announce… wait… Have you ever thought about combining two games into one? Well, I have, and that’s why I developed LinguaSerpens for Android, merging the classic snake game (not exactly the same, but at least it moves and you have to tap it) with the word‑guessing game (hangman). This is the result, and I hope I can count on your feedback. Here’s the link: https://raysrolh.itch.io/linguaserpens

Ok, sorry, Thank you

 Hello community! 👋

I’m a solo indie developer and I just launched "Perfect Order Puzzle" for Android. It’s a game where you have to find the exact number assigned to an image, based on Higher or Lower clues.

Why you might be interested:

    Unique mechanic (not another "match-3")

    Levels with progressive difficulty and themed graphics (new ones added frequently)

    Minimalist and relaxing design

    Completely free

I’m looking for honest feedback:

    Is the gameplay mechanic interesting?

    Are the Novice, Advanced, and Expert game modes well balanced?

    Is the interface clear?

https://raysrolh.itch.io/perfect-order-puzzle

Thanks for your time! I welcome all constructive criticism 🧩 

Perfect Order Puzzle arrives with a new update, featuring added animations. Now, besides challenging your intelligence, this game also gives you a much livelier visual experience. Do you want to be part of the perfect order?

First, I want to thank the players who have downloaded and played Perfect Order Puzzle, and especially those who have shared their achievements on social media. It’s true that the Expert mode of the game is super difficult, but what’s more exciting than an unprecedented challenge that few will be able to conquer? However, if you just want to have fun, the Novice mode (haha) only has 6 numbers to find.

Now, a new themed level has been released: The Menu. I hope players enjoy these themed graphics, and that newcomers discover a game where they can proudly show off how clever they are by sharing their achievements with friends on social media.

I look forward to hearing your experiences, critiques, and opinions, and even new ideas for the game. Thank you all!

Download: https://raysrolh.itch.io/perfect-order-puzzle

New adventure in Perfect Order: The Menu. The best chefs have gathered at a convention to showcase their culinary innovations. The best dishes will be chosen to form The Menu, which will be presented at the tribute to astronauts around the world. This Monday you will be able to download this adventure—be among the first to play Perfect Order with these graphics, and share your achievements on Facebook and X.

With the Perfect Order Puzzle Game, a new chapter is beginning for Rays&Rolh Developer, and that's why we want you to join us as a guide. How? Well, your feedback on our first game is something we will always value, and it will help us improve this and future games we develop (we’re already working on them). This Sunday, we’ll be releasing a new adventure—there will be four to play! Oh, and something important: you can create your own adventures to publish in the game’s adventure list. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Thank you, don't forget to share your achievements on social media

Ok, thank you

I am happy to announce that the game Perfect Order Puzzle is now available. It’s a logic game that challenges players to discover the correct position of images within a limited time, with mechanics that keep the tension and fun in every round. Every week, there’s a new level with themed graphics to keep the visuals fresh (zombie hunt, old west bank heist, my wedding, dinosaurs, etc.). And finally, show off on social media: share the challenges you’ve achieved automatically on Facebook and X (Twitter). I hope you’ll go download it: https://raysrolh.itch.io/perfect-order-puzzle