Nina_Birb
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ninabirb.bsky.social
Nina_Birb
@ninabirb.bsky.social
77 followers 100 following 240 posts
Trans woman harpy who makes comics and video games.
https://ninabirb.itch.io/
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ninabirb.bsky.social
Nina_Birb @ninabirb.bsky.social · Sep 13
I'm back, and I make puzzle games now
ninabirb.itch.io
NinaBirb
ninabirb.itch.io
ninabirb.bsky.social
If the Steam Machine is affordable, then I might just replace my old pc with it cause fuck Microsoft. I need it replaced anyways cause my old pc wouldn't even run Windows 11 and is eventually going to be obsolete without security updates, and all the things I use my pc for would run on Steam Machine
November 14, 2025 at 4:00 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
I love being girl cause dresses and makeup and boobs
November 14, 2025 at 2:09 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
"Your reign of terror is over Dark Lord!" "Foolish Hero! No man can bring harm to me!" One hits Dark Lord "Why was he so easy to kill?" 10 Years Later "Oh, That's why..."
November 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Nina_Birb
gustavalmstrom.bsky.social
The Picto Kickstarter is Now Live!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/pic...

#IndieGameDev #indiedev #indiegame #indiegames #mobilegame #mobilegames #androidgame #iosgame #mixedreality #mixedmedia
A Camera Game - Picto
Escape into a world greater than your own!
www.kickstarter.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:01 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
it's so pathetic how companies try to make AI the default. For instance, Youtube has AI autodubs automatically on and needs to be turned off manually every video, and Google has a non-optional AI summary for every search. They spent too much money on AI and are trying so badly to make people use it.
November 11, 2025 at 10:25 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
I've uploaded my game Belts and Discoveries to the ThinkyCon Jam. It's pretty janky and experimental, but I enjoyed making it.
Belts and Discoveries by NinaBirb
Janky game about conveyor belts
ninabirb.itch.io
November 10, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Reposted by Nina_Birb
b0tster.yeag.gay
It's Bunlith!!!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/bun...
two characters, one wearing a witch hat and a goth get-up, and the other wearing a brown sweater and jeans, falling towards the camera as their bodies get dissolved into triangles in front of a vibrant digital blue and pink background with yellow circuitry. there is a red and orange logo saying 'ITS BUNLITH THE WITCH UPSTAIRS' on top with green text saying 'SUPPORT US ON KICKSTARTER' on the bottom
November 8, 2025 at 5:30 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Silly lesbian comic
She's so damn pretty, god I wanna kiss her... Hey, do you wanna make out? God, I'm sorry for denying your existance Thank you for this miracle I am now devote catholic
November 9, 2025 at 5:25 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
I finished adding and polishing all the mechanics to my puzzle game, it's going to be a very short and simple game. I still need to add some quality of life, but that's for tomorrow. Would love to hear some guesses on what the game is about based on this image
Almost complete with my game :3
November 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
I'm joining the thinky game jam, and I'm making an experimental puzzle game. It'll have an astonishing count of ZERO puzzles... Wait what?
This is an early screenshot and is subject to change
November 8, 2025 at 2:44 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
also, is it just me, or does time feel wrong. it's like there was some kind of event a few days ago where all the clocks changed, someone should look into this.
November 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
My favorite genre of letsplayers are those who have a specific profession that they integrate into their playthroughs. Psychologist, astrophysicist, biologist, lawyer, animator, writer, etc. they all bring so many interesting perspectives into the games they play.
November 7, 2025 at 12:18 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
I'm taking a short break, I came back home from a terrible 2 weeks of traveling and a family event, and I just need to recharge for a while. So I'm putting a pause on comics and game dev.
November 1, 2025 at 5:39 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Billboard ads on highways are weirdly threatening. Just saw a billboard while leaving a state that said, "You'll be back." and there's a bunch of ads for an unnamed cave that sounds like it's leading into a trap, "Come to the cave." "Children love the cave." "We have ziplines in the cave"
October 28, 2025 at 7:05 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
I love my dad. He was the first family member I came out as trans to, and he immediately accepted me and called me his daughter, and he helped me pick out dresses when I visited him. He also pays attention to games I like and gets me merch from those games on birthdays and christmases.
October 16, 2025 at 11:19 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Watching Youtube shorts of puzzle games is so funny because half of the comments are from people who don't play puzzle games, and they all talk about how there's an easier obvious solution while the person playing did the intended solution to the puzzle, and the "obvious solution" is always wrong.
October 16, 2025 at 6:37 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
I'm bad with horror games. Loud or surprising noises trigger panic attacks. That's why I loved Little Nightmares. It was scary, but it never triggered a panic attack. It's the only horror game I was able to finish. The game also influenced my art style. It's why my art has so much eye imagery.
October 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Nina's Puzzling Comic - The Cycle
When making puzzles, I often repeat 3 main steps over and over. The first step introduce, where I introduce a concept to the player. This can be the base mechanics, a new mechanic, or an interaction of the mechanics. You can see this through many of my games, a small lowering of difficulty where an idea is introduced to the player, either by showing the player immediately, or giving fewer options so the player is more likely to figure out what the idea being taught is. The next step is to iterate, which is to make multiple puzzles that use the mechanic or interaction in different ways and scenarios. If an introductions purpose is to teach, then an iterations purpose is to test understanding. This is where puzzle difficulty usually begins to increase gradually as player understanding increases. Finally I combine, I take past mechanics/interactions, and put them into puzzles with the new mechanic/interaction. This is, in my opinion, the best part of a puzzle game. This is where the player is challenged constantly to broaden their understanding of mechanics and how they work together. However, I need to make sure the mechanics have interactions with each other first, otherwise it would just be mechanics that are used in order, rather than used together, which makes boring puzzles. Once I finish the 3 steps, I start them again, either with a new mechanic, or from the combination phase. This creates a cycle of teaching a mechanic, showing the nuances of the mechanic, and showing how the mechanic combines with other mechanics. This cycle isn't set in stone though, I often break it in many of my games. It's more of an outline to help the puzzle designing process go smoother. Tune in next time where I talk about secondary mechanics.
October 14, 2025 at 3:16 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
This is what it's like trying to make a "simple" puzzle mechanic
"My last puzzles games have been really complex, so I'll just make a simple puzzle game about ladders so I don't need to program too much." 1 Month Later "I need to add 50 lines of code so my ladder can achieve a quantum state properly."
October 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Nina's Puzzling Comic - The First Steps
There are a lot of ways to design puzzles. For the purposes of this comic, I'll be focusing on a gradual difficulty approach. First I like to introduce very simple levels that show the player what the win condition is and how they achieve it. For instance, many if my games have a flag activated by crates and targets, so I start with an easy level where the objective is to just place the crates on the target and then touch the flag. I've observed that tons of games do this, showing the player how to win before they get into the meat of the mechanics. Once I show the player how to win, I get into the main mechanics. I find it best to start with levels that show the very basics of the mechanics. I always have to remind myself that the players aren't me, and things that are obvious about the mechanics to me might not be obvious to them. So starting with easy puzzles where the solution is a basic function of the mechanic is a good way to teach players about the mechanics, and so they understand how they'll be using the mechanics in more complex future puzzles. Something I do to better teach the basics of the mechanic is limiting what the player can do for its introduction. Things like having the player do forced moves, or making it so the only meaningful thing the player can do is interact with the mechanic in a specific way. Limiting the players options helps the player learn what the mechanic does immediately, and keeps them from doing unimportant actions that don't contribute to teaching them. If I didn't do this, the player is likely to get overwhelmed before they even know how to use the mechanic. Once I teach the basic, I'll start making more interesting puzzles. But of course, the teaching process doesn't end after the introduction. Ideally the player will be learning new things throughout the entire game. I'll get more into that in my next comic.
October 11, 2025 at 8:26 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Nina: Oops! I almost started rambling there! Person 2: That's fine! You can ramble! Nina: I'm sorry what did you say? Person 2: I said you can ramble about it! Nina: A-are you sure? I wouldn't want to bother you. Person 2: You wouldn't bother me, I love hearing you ramble about things you like! Nina: SO IT'S A TIME LOOP RPG, AND IT HAS SUCH GOOD WRITING! I LOVED EVERY CHARACTER, AND I CRIED SO MANY TIMES, IT'S MY FAVORITE GAME EVER! THERE WAS THIS ONE PART WHERE...
October 11, 2025 at 5:54 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Made a new puzzle game
tOffse by NinaBirb
Something's weird
ninabirb.itch.io
October 10, 2025 at 12:03 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Nina's Puzzling Comic - Puzzle Game Idea's
I have a few methods I've developed for coming up with puzzle game ideas. The first method is visualizing a vague image in my head. For instance, the concept of Hologram came from the idea of a blocked path being opened because of a camera projecting a hologram of a path on the walls. Or how Reflection came from the idea of a block only appearing in a mirror, and being able to push that block with your reflection. Letting my thoughts wander is what helped me make some of my favorite puzzle games. The second method I use is taking inspiration from other games I played. Lots of my games take inspiration from other games, Phase was based off Dream Crystals from modded Celeste maps, Transition partially was inspired by Braid, and Stamina came to me while managing my stamina in a Zelda game. Video games in general are a cycle of inspiration, taking pieces of each other until what comes out is completely new. I hope some of my games inspire others and continue the cycle as well. Lastly, I use game jams to help me come up with ideas. Sport and Loopholes (Not to be confused with Loophole, which while good, is not my game) were both products of game jams, and both forced me to work outside of how I would normally design puzzle games. I didn't have time to make complex mechanics, and instead had to use simple mechanics and only a handful of levels, and that actually allowed for some interesting games I wouldn't have made otherwise. Also, you don't need to join a jam to use a jam theme. Push > Dead was the product of a jam I never joined. Of course there is no right way of coming up with an idea, these are just my own methods. Once I got the mechanics, I start with designing the puzzles. There is a lot that goes into designing puzzles, so I'll be making multiple comics dedicated to puzzle design and the many methods and nuances that go into it, so stay tuned.
October 9, 2025 at 3:02 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Me when a new platformer or roguelike gets announced
There's too many cakes here. HOLY SHIT! 5,000 CAKES!
October 7, 2025 at 1:21 AM
ninabirb.bsky.social
Me when I watch a review of a game I played and it's an hour of them saying how awful the game is and that it isn't worth anybody's time.
I... I liked it....
October 6, 2025 at 6:36 PM