I have finally been able to reach my goal of having 48 different kinds of weapons in the game.

Actually, I should probably explain somethings before diving into the details of this dev log update.

I was fortunate to have a group of testers take BBG’s second demo for a spin. They hadn’t heard of the game before and they were completely randomly approached.

It was a nerve-racking experience as a dev to have people play your game for the sole purpose of “poking holes” at it. But thankfully, most of the feedback was very objective and constructive. Shout out to the guys that even went a step ahead and showed love :) (You da real MVP).

This feedback was really eye opening and so it gave me reason to re-work a lot of ideas and keep the game a lot more exciting.

I was planning to end with just demo 2 but I am working on publishing demo 3 which will be the final demo that will have gameplay almost exactly as the final release.

I have created an XP system that allows you to purchase unlocked stuff from the Shop (see the image above).

I have also worked on a Nulcear Throne-ish Binding Of Isaac-ish “where you are” system when you start a level.

Your primary weapon now doesn’t run out of ammo. And has been changed a bit.

The death screen now gives a sort of summary of your “run”

And so much more features.

I felt like the levels were a little too familiar so I created a script that randomly selects layouts of a particular level. Pre-designed. No procedural generation. This took me forever.

I added in spikes and just a few strange environmental hazards.

Then worked on more bosses, secret levels… and other things here and there. I completely appreciate the feedback from YTubers and GJs community as well. It has helped me make important adjustments to the game that I couldn’t have thought of or realized on my own.

You test and play a game so many times a day, you are just bound to forget that those new to it aren’t going to be pros on first try.

I’m learning a lot working on this game.

Speaking of learning, if you are interested in getting into GameMaker yourself or know someone is… I put together a book on getting started. There is a preview that that goes as far as helping you create the first game. https://kidando.itch.io/gmstudio-book

Anyway, shameless plug aside, here is one more GIF of the Missile Summoner…. not really the boss’ name… but… yeah.