Hello guys, I'd like to present my shmup, Bit Wing: http://gamejolt.com/games/bit-wing/82538
From my understanding, second only to fun, the most important thing a shmup should have is something that makes it stand out. This seems like the best community to ask for ideas and suggestions. The game is in an early alpha, so there are one or two placeholder graphics, but I would like to keep the current general art style.
I want to add much, much more weapons, and my biggest goal would be procedurally-generated bosses (the current one is eh). My goal would be to eventually get this on Steam, even if it's only as a learning experience. With that in mind, I'd like to ask you guys: What would make you want to pay for a shmup, and what are your preferred price ranges.
Any and all criticism is appreciated
~Enjoy
Bit Wing (Alpha)
Re: Bit Wing (Alpha)
Hello there and welcome to the world of shmup development.
The game seems so far passable for an early alpha prototype. However there are some problems. Player and bullet hitboxes feel somewhat wonky, it's hard to make precise dodges. Assigning space button as a fire button isn't a good idea, especially with a game without auto-fire
Changing weapons is quite troublesome as well for such a simple game. Maybe you could assign two buttons for cycling through weapons if you plan to have more variety down the line. PC shmups usually go for Z/X/C layout, although having configurable controls is the most optimal way of doing things because of the differences on keyboards.
Now the actual gameplay is obviously very early but from what I can gather, you seem to be going for more procedural stage/boss design? I didn't really notice much of a distinctive stage design between levels besides the increasing number of enemies and quickly lost interest. It should be probably noted that tastes of this particular forum tend to steer towards finely tuned arcade like experiences, with heavy emphasis on mastering nuanced mechanics coupled with deep scoring system. Stray too far from these basics and you'll more likely fade away in obscurity around here.
I'd advice you worry less about the game's possible price range and focus all your efforts on the basics and polishing the underlying gameplay mechanics down to a T. Do your best and the quality will follow eventually.
The game seems so far passable for an early alpha prototype. However there are some problems. Player and bullet hitboxes feel somewhat wonky, it's hard to make precise dodges. Assigning space button as a fire button isn't a good idea, especially with a game without auto-fire
Changing weapons is quite troublesome as well for such a simple game. Maybe you could assign two buttons for cycling through weapons if you plan to have more variety down the line. PC shmups usually go for Z/X/C layout, although having configurable controls is the most optimal way of doing things because of the differences on keyboards. Now the actual gameplay is obviously very early but from what I can gather, you seem to be going for more procedural stage/boss design? I didn't really notice much of a distinctive stage design between levels besides the increasing number of enemies and quickly lost interest. It should be probably noted that tastes of this particular forum tend to steer towards finely tuned arcade like experiences, with heavy emphasis on mastering nuanced mechanics coupled with deep scoring system. Stray too far from these basics and you'll more likely fade away in obscurity around here.
I'd advice you worry less about the game's possible price range and focus all your efforts on the basics and polishing the underlying gameplay mechanics down to a T. Do your best and the quality will follow eventually.
Re: Bit Wing (Alpha)
I'll work on the controls- it should be simple enough to fix. As for hitboxes, every enemy and laser has a hitbox that is exactly its size, but the player's hitbox is one pixel in the center of the window.
What do you think of the current difficulty curve?
What do you think of the current difficulty curve?
Re: Bit Wing (Alpha)
I couldn't play because there is no Mac build (am I the only person on here that develops on a Mac?) but I watched your demo video and liked it. A few specifics:
I really liked the explosion style. It reminds me of my favorite iOS shmup, Shooty Skies.
I don't care for the way you get little reports on your HUD when you destroy enemies. Maybe thats only for your debugging/testing purposes, but it looks messy, especially when the text from multiple enemies overlaps. I could be convinced otherwise, but I don't see the merit of that at all.
Finally, I'll throw out the possibility that you might reconsider your aspect ratio. The widescreen/landscape format doesn't typically lend itself to vertical shooters, and this is especially true for Bit Wing given the relatively slow speed at which the player ship moves. I noticed, especially towards the end of the video, that you are spending an inordinate amount of time sweeping all the way across the screen. I feel like you could save yourself a lot of difficulty with pacing and such by just halving the width of the play space.
Good luck!
I really liked the explosion style. It reminds me of my favorite iOS shmup, Shooty Skies.
I don't care for the way you get little reports on your HUD when you destroy enemies. Maybe thats only for your debugging/testing purposes, but it looks messy, especially when the text from multiple enemies overlaps. I could be convinced otherwise, but I don't see the merit of that at all.
Finally, I'll throw out the possibility that you might reconsider your aspect ratio. The widescreen/landscape format doesn't typically lend itself to vertical shooters, and this is especially true for Bit Wing given the relatively slow speed at which the player ship moves. I noticed, especially towards the end of the video, that you are spending an inordinate amount of time sweeping all the way across the screen. I feel like you could save yourself a lot of difficulty with pacing and such by just halving the width of the play space.
Good luck!
Re: Bit Wing (Alpha)
Legendre:
I have a couple different options for the text when you kill enemies, including just replacing it with a HUD. For debugging, it does server its purpose Lol.
I found your comments on the aspect ratio interesting. I started off with a much smaller width, but received complaints. I might settle on making it shorter length wise but taller vertically.
Thanks for your interest/suggestions!
I have a couple different options for the text when you kill enemies, including just replacing it with a HUD. For debugging, it does server its purpose Lol.
I found your comments on the aspect ratio interesting. I started off with a much smaller width, but received complaints. I might settle on making it shorter length wise but taller vertically.
Thanks for your interest/suggestions!