Demo Launch Devlog!

So. Video games!

Apparently, ZUN made the first Touhou Project games partially as a way to promote his music, and partially just to make the kind of game that he actually likes. Both of these I resonate with, and were inspirations in my own path to being a gamedev.

In particular, I wanted to see a game that had a sole focus on bosses and strict, tough battles. Nothing more, nothing less. It was the result of games like Titan Souls, Tiny Rogues, Project Arrhythmia (whose community loves making custom boss battles), or the insanely over-the-top modded Empress of Light battle in Terraria - you know the one. (and if you don't...)

In general, I think the bullet hell genre has been on a good trend lately with people taking more liberties with it, but I wanted to try to combine certain elements - in particular, I want to give flair to the patterns and giving them a reason to feel personal to a boss, while still keeping the vanilla elements of bullet hell - that being, you have no shield, no dodge-roll, no nothing.

(a bit of a hot take, but while I do like the innovation of bullet hell, that always irked me. bullet hell is not when you go around the pattern, it's not when you cancel the pattern, it's when you go THROUGH the pattern, even when it's hard. The feeling of understanding and nailing a pattern is super rewarding, I promise!)

The game started out as just a test of bullet hell in Godot, to see if I could make larger projects with the basic idea, but over time it developed its own unique identity. It's probably a really good thing, too, because I didn't know anything about Godot then and I'm still learning tons now - and I wouldn't want to make a half-hearted game of my dreams with little knowledge of the engine!

And learning & using Godot is genuinely, truly fun - it might be the first time I've actually been addicted to creating something in ages! It feels less like a drag and more of a puzzle. "It's not a matter of if I can make it, it's a matter of how", things like that. Maybe that makes Godot a puzzle game? It is written using its own engine, so I guess the engine itself is a game?

Regardless: Future Plans!

Next up, I'm working on:

• 2-star boss WARMONGER
• Balancing for Tutorial Pt. 2

Down the line, I'll work on:

• 3-star boss ANDROMEDA
• More bosses for each tier! (I have plans, you just can't see them)
• A secret boss?
• Menu/UI Polishing

If all goes well, I hope to have the full game out before the end of the year (here's hoping...)

I hope you enjoy the demo and stick around for whatever I have planned next!