Devlog #1: From Sketches to Pixels — The Birth of Haunted Lands
Hey everyone, my name is Alexey Goryachev, and I’m the solo developer behind Haunted Lands. Today, I want to share how a childhood dream turned into a project that will soon be in your hands.
It all started with simple doodles. I used to design new monsters and levels for my favorite games - creating imaginary worlds that are now coming to life in Haunted Lands. Over time, this hobby grew into something more: I studied animation, learned how to use graphic editors, and even worked as an artist in small indie teams. But when one of those projects fell apart due to lack of motivation among team members, I realized - if you want to create your dream game, you have to do it yourself.
the very first prototype level, where I tested game objects
That’s how my solo developer journey began. My experience with visuals and the amount of material I had already created helped a lot in the early stages - I simply didn’t want to let my work go to waste. Funny enough, Haunted Lands was born while I was working on a completely different game - a colorful, turn-based puzzle. I wanted to take a break and try something different for variety’s sake - a small game inspired by my childhood favorite. The plan was to finish it in just a couple of months. But once I created that small game, I kept coming back to it again and again. The first prototype of Haunted Lands was warmly received on itch.io, which motivated me even more.
the first version of the Graveyard level from the public Burial Grounds build
the current version of the Graveyard level, which has evolved both visually and structurally, featuring new enemies
Many players have correctly guessed that my biggest inspiration for Haunted Lands was Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion. Initially, my project started as an unofficial sequel - a small fan game with new mechanics. But over time, it grew into something much bigger. Other key inspirations include Doom, Contra Hard Corps, and the Diablo series (mostly Diablo 1 and 2). These classics taught me how to blend a dark atmosphere with dynamic gameplay.
toxic biome
Haunted Lands is not just another retro platformer. At first, it was a small tribute to Dangerous Dave, but the more I worked on it, the more I realized its potential. That’s how I came up with the idea of character classes - Gunners, Mages, and Beasts, each with unique abilities. Mages teleport through walls, Beasts have the 'Dash' ability, allowing them to climb higher, while Gunners use a roll to squeeze into tight spaces.. Some areas of the levels are only accessible to specific classes. To add even more depth, I introduced artifacts that enhance characters, allowing for different playstyles even within the same class.
the 'construction' level
The game now includes 20 levels, dozens of regular enemies, along with their elite versions, 8 bosses, 5 playable characters, each with a selection of more than 20 artifacts.
But the journey wasn’t easy. I deliberately set strict retro-style rules: Haunted Lands is inspired by DOS-era games from the late '80s and early '90s, which means limited screen resolution, a 16-color palette, and tiny sprites. Sometimes, it drove me crazy - how do you fit complex animations into a 32x32-pixel space? But these restrictions also sparked creativity. For instance, small sprites should theoretically mean less work, but in reality, making them look good is a challenge. A limited color palette forced me to find unexpected combinations that worked.
the first public version of the Construction level
There were also technical challenges that required some unconventional solutions. For example, GameMaker didn’t handle deaths correctly after loading a save file, so I had to create an external file that manually updated the necessary parameters. Solving these issues felt like assembling a puzzle - finding the right "corner pieces" and finally seeing the full picture come together was incredibly rewarding (even if, in some cases, I was just duct-taping the problem with a clever workaround).
Right now, Haunted Lands is in its content expansion phase - I’m adding new levels and testing artifacts. Every day, the game evolves, and I can't wait to share it with you. Stay tuned for more devlogs where I'll dive even deeper into the development process. Feel free to drop a comment about what you'd like to hear more about!
P.S. If you have any questions, ask away in the comments. And yes, if you’re a Dangerous Dave fan - this game is definitely for you! :)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2980900/Haunted_Lands/
It all started with simple doodles. I used to design new monsters and levels for my favorite games - creating imaginary worlds that are now coming to life in Haunted Lands. Over time, this hobby grew into something more: I studied animation, learned how to use graphic editors, and even worked as an artist in small indie teams. But when one of those projects fell apart due to lack of motivation among team members, I realized - if you want to create your dream game, you have to do it yourself.
the very first prototype level, where I tested game objectsThat’s how my solo developer journey began. My experience with visuals and the amount of material I had already created helped a lot in the early stages - I simply didn’t want to let my work go to waste. Funny enough, Haunted Lands was born while I was working on a completely different game - a colorful, turn-based puzzle. I wanted to take a break and try something different for variety’s sake - a small game inspired by my childhood favorite. The plan was to finish it in just a couple of months. But once I created that small game, I kept coming back to it again and again. The first prototype of Haunted Lands was warmly received on itch.io, which motivated me even more.
the first version of the Graveyard level from the public Burial Grounds build
the current version of the Graveyard level, which has evolved both visually and structurally, featuring new enemiesMany players have correctly guessed that my biggest inspiration for Haunted Lands was Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion. Initially, my project started as an unofficial sequel - a small fan game with new mechanics. But over time, it grew into something much bigger. Other key inspirations include Doom, Contra Hard Corps, and the Diablo series (mostly Diablo 1 and 2). These classics taught me how to blend a dark atmosphere with dynamic gameplay.
toxic biomeHaunted Lands is not just another retro platformer. At first, it was a small tribute to Dangerous Dave, but the more I worked on it, the more I realized its potential. That’s how I came up with the idea of character classes - Gunners, Mages, and Beasts, each with unique abilities. Mages teleport through walls, Beasts have the 'Dash' ability, allowing them to climb higher, while Gunners use a roll to squeeze into tight spaces.. Some areas of the levels are only accessible to specific classes. To add even more depth, I introduced artifacts that enhance characters, allowing for different playstyles even within the same class.
the 'construction' levelThe game now includes 20 levels, dozens of regular enemies, along with their elite versions, 8 bosses, 5 playable characters, each with a selection of more than 20 artifacts.
But the journey wasn’t easy. I deliberately set strict retro-style rules: Haunted Lands is inspired by DOS-era games from the late '80s and early '90s, which means limited screen resolution, a 16-color palette, and tiny sprites. Sometimes, it drove me crazy - how do you fit complex animations into a 32x32-pixel space? But these restrictions also sparked creativity. For instance, small sprites should theoretically mean less work, but in reality, making them look good is a challenge. A limited color palette forced me to find unexpected combinations that worked.
the first public version of the Construction levelThere were also technical challenges that required some unconventional solutions. For example, GameMaker didn’t handle deaths correctly after loading a save file, so I had to create an external file that manually updated the necessary parameters. Solving these issues felt like assembling a puzzle - finding the right "corner pieces" and finally seeing the full picture come together was incredibly rewarding (even if, in some cases, I was just duct-taping the problem with a clever workaround).
Right now, Haunted Lands is in its content expansion phase - I’m adding new levels and testing artifacts. Every day, the game evolves, and I can't wait to share it with you. Stay tuned for more devlogs where I'll dive even deeper into the development process. Feel free to drop a comment about what you'd like to hear more about!
P.S. If you have any questions, ask away in the comments. And yes, if you’re a Dangerous Dave fan - this game is definitely for you! :)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2980900/Haunted_Lands/