So with where I am in development right now, I can confirm to some extent that a alpha release will be coming out real soon. It will have 3 practice stages to try the mechanics and gameplay. Although until I can find someone to assist with the art and animation, it will still be using the solid color placeholder sprites for the players and enemies. Although the practice stages don't have any issues regarding that since they have a kind of "virtual" theme that was fine to make on my own. The theme of the practice stages will also be in the final game, but of course only for them if that wasn't clear.

I was also able to implement a weapon, although it went in a bit of a different direction. As of now, the starting weapon is a basic gun with the placeholder sprite of an AK-47 intended for a specific stage. Along with this weapon addition is an enemy health system, although it currently lacks any visible health bars unlike the player.

The control style also changed a bit due to these changes, with WASD being used for movement and the mouse used to aim the weapon and fire. Sounds a bit like an FPS, but trust me, it's still a 2D platformer. The controls should also be available to view in the menu, but they can't be changed at the moment.

Anyways, when I feel as if the game alpha is ready to be released, I'll make an update here and have it up to download.

That's all for now.

-v0rtex