"Sir, is the Super Scaler effect really necessary for a cutscene like this?"

"I coded it, didn't I?"

...let's be honest, I'm a character designer, not a master of hi-res pixel art.

This is supposed to be the backside of a large alien spaceship. It looks too much like a giant escape pod with thrusters. I'm keeping the large tentacles, though.

What's taking me so long? Designing assets for the volcano level. Also, allergies.

Boom boom acka-lacka-lacka boom, boom boom acka-lacka boom boom.

Resistance is futile.

Don't worry, I backed up the other one, but I'm going with this for the alien spacecraft. Part UFO, part retrofuturist rocket, and only three tentacles for the tripod look.

Whoooooa, we're halfway there!

...in terms of cutscenes.

Back in the old days, you could just flash between these two frames to make dynamic lighting, to show something's flashing in front of her.

I'm just gonna use the other frame to indicate the lights are on. No flashing required.

Well, finding glitches was bound to happen.

In this case, with a scrolling boss, the player's trapped on the left side of the screen until there's no solid block there.

I'd better fix that, THEN shrink the gap behind the boss.

...well... This is awkward.

Yes, I CAN make an animated background within a matte, with a shifting color palette. However, I realize this doesn't look like lava, no matter which way you shake it.

...the effect's cool, though.

Still working on it.

There's definitely treasure around here, but it'll still take a while 'til we reach it.