Ruxar
Dev Blog
Indie game dev, platformer deep-dives, and the story behind iZBOT.
Why Difficult Games Make Us Want One More Try
Five research papers on mastery, persistence, frustration, and skills, and what they can tell us about precision platformers.
Read more →Steam Game Completion Rates: Six Achievement Milestones
What Steam achievement percentages reveal about reaching a game's major milestone, with source links and clear limitations.
Read more →10 Games Like Celeste – What to Play Next
Finished Celeste and need that feeling again? Here are 10 precision platformers that come closest to matching it.
Read more →iZBOT Indie Game Postmortem
A sourced January 2017 case study: reported costs, revenue, development time, and what deep discounts meant for the list price.
Read more →10 Best Precision Platformers on Steam Right Now
From brutal pixel-perfect jumps to satisfying speedruns — the best the genre has to offer in 2025.
Read more →Why Hard Platformer Games Are Actually Good For You
The science and satisfaction behind mastering the games that refuse to let you win easily.
Read more →5 Lessons From Shipping an Indie Platformer on Steam
What making iZBOT taught me about solo dev, marketing, pricing, and release day strategy.
Read more →iZBOT 2 Review – Is the Sequel Worth It?
The developer's honest take on what iZBOT 2 gets right, what changed, and who it's made for.
Read more →iZBOT vs iZBOT 2 – Which Should You Play First?
Comparing both games so you know exactly where to start — and whether you need to play them in order.
Read more →How Long Does It Take to Beat iZBOT?
A breakdown of playtime by skill level — for casual players, experienced platformer fans, and speedrunners.
Read more →iZBOT Review – Is It Worth It?
An honest review from the developer. What the game does well, where it's hard, and who it's actually made for.
Read more →Best Cheap Platformers on Steam Under $10
The best platformers on Steam at a low price — including precision platformers, indie classics, and hidden gems.
Read more →iZBOT Speedrun Guide – Tips, Routes & Tricks
How to go fast in iZBOT. Movement tech, routing principles, and the mindset behind consistent speedruns.
Read more →GameMaker Pricing: Free vs Paid, and Is It Worth It?
Made two games in GameMaker. Here's the real answer on pricing, strengths, limits, and who it's actually for.
Read more →GameMaker Sequences – A Practical Guide
What GameMaker Sequences are, how to use them, and when they beat manual GML animation — from an indie dev who used them in iZBOT.
Read more →Making Your Game Appealing to Let's Players
Practical advice on making games that streamers want to cover — from an indie dev who's been through a Steam launch.
Read more →How to Commission Game Art as an Indie Dev
Where to find artists, how to write a brief, what to pay, and how to avoid common mistakes when commissioning art for your game.
Read more →What's in a Name? Choosing Your Indie Game Title
Practical principles, common mistakes, and the naming stories behind iZBOT and the Ruxar studio name.
Read more →AI Art Tools for Game Dev – An Honest Assessment
What AI art tools are actually useful for in indie game development, where they fall short, and a frank take on the controversy.
Read more →How to Make Animated GIFs from Your Game
Tools, methods, and optimisation tips for creating animated GIFs for Steam, social media, and press coverage.
Read more →Articles from the creator of iZBOT — a precision platformer on Steam.
Play iZBOT on Steam