Thanks for your feedback! I've been considering a completely separate tutorial for a lot of the reasons you mentioned, I'll move it up my todo so it'll be in the next build. The auto-pause messages were definitely never going to stick around

The desktop version uses left click instead of S, and right click instead of D, plus they're customizable so you can use whatever you want. Clicking controls were removed from the web version since there's no cursor lock and it was super easy to click on other windows, links, etc. I'll change the web version controls to P for pause and Z/X for boost and burst or something like that.

Updated the demo to version 0.1.3, this is pretty much the final version of the game's engine. Scarlet Pirouette is essentially finished and the Green and Blue enemies are well under way so I bumped the progress meter up to 30.

All the positive feedback has been really encouraging, I wasn't expecting the kind of responses I've been getting since I started posting the web version places. There should be another major update to the demo by the end of the week.

Haha wow, that was easy. I just assumed they had something in place to prevent that kind of thing. Anyway the links in the opening post have been updated but here it is again:

Lightningbug Web Demo

Glad to hear it, must have just been a build error I missed or something with the compression. I tweaked the bullet animations in that update as well.

Finished the web version too, now I just need to find a decent place to host it.

Game looks good but the Mac demo wouldn't start on a 2009 macbook pro with OSX 10.6.8. And rar is a very uncommon format for mac, zip is default (also the one OSX offers).

I didn't have a mac on hand to test that particular build but it should be OSX universal, and the one before that worked fine. I recompiled them and updated the links in the op, so give that a shot (also it's in a .zip this time).

I've been told that before so I cut the time it takes to get into the actual game to about a third of what it was. I'll update the download links every couple days as I finish what I'm currently working on.

 - flashier animations for bullets, spawner transformations, etc.
 - light shot effects replaced with lightning arc animation
 - dynamic background animations based on progress
 - joystick controls
 - mouse sensitivity options
 - faster menu navigation
 - sound effects
 - seamless looping for background music


Also I should have an in-browser version hosted very soon, and I'll be posting screenshots of the other stages as those near completion. A link to the browser version has been added to the opening post.

[Pirouette]

I’ve been working on this project for quite some time. The main engine and first stage are essentially complete, mechanically speaking, so I thought I'd post a demo build here. This is my first time sharing a game, so any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated!

About Lightningbug:

Lightningbug is a unique curtain fire game that eschews many of the genre’s traditional elements in favor of a more involved environment. If you try to play it like your run-of-the-mill bullet hell shmup, you won't get very far.

Instead of a spray and pray shoot button for you to hold down 24/7, Lightningbug approaches things from a more defensive angle. A bullet-blocking mechanic allows spawning patterns to grow incredibly dense and intricate, simultaneously encouraging a high risk, high reward style of play.

Stage progression utilizes a flow-oriented approach to difficulty, quickly moving you up or down based on your current level of skill. This keeps Lightningbug challenging without resorting to a game-over screen. The game's visuals and music advance in this fashion as well.

The stage in the demo, Pirouette, is the most complete of several enemies you will chase across the spectrum in the finished version of Lightningbug. Intended to be the easiest in the game, it spawns only two simple varieties of bullets and the transitions it goes through as you advance are relatively straightforward. You can get a basic idea of them in the screenshots, or just try it for yourself by playing it here.

Screenshots:

Blocked bullets by the bug's tail turn into light and are collected by the bug.


Collect enough light and the enemy changes colors, each color represents a new stage.


Every time you reach a new color, the bug gains a new skill and its tail grows permanently.


The Flash skill immediately blocks all bullets very close, but takes a few seconds to recharge.


The Super Flash skill takes longer to charge, but it leaves lots of space to maneuver in its aftermath.


Let the bug's core get hit and you'll lose a shield and half your progress in the current color.


Don't get too comfortable in any color, your survival strategies for one may not work so well in the next.


The enemy's final stage spawns bullets so rapidly there's almost no room to squeeze through the streams.


The enemy can be defeated with the bug's ultimate skill, the Final Flash, although it takes some time to charge.

[here]

Lightningbug is a unique curtain fire game currently in development. You can read more about it in the DevLog topic here. There's also a demo of the first level you can download or play online:

Web | Windows | Mac

My first game was supposed to be a simple bullet hell shmup that I'd finish or abandon in less than a month as a way to teach myself programming before moving on to more ambitious projects. It quickly mutated into an actually original concept and somehow I'm still working on it three years later.

:\

You don't really know if an idea is good or bad until you've actually tried it out.

This.

If none of those feel like something worth actually working on to you, break them down further first. Find out what you like the most about each, scrap which bits are the reason you think they're shite, and see if what remains can be recombined into a new idea you find adequate.

Atmosphere enhances design: focusing on the aesthetics first would be my advice. Once you figure out how you want it to look and implement at least a semblance of that appearance, the tracks you thought weren't level-worthy might feel a lot more complete.

I had several "mock-up" levels for a recent game, but once I got the game's visuals closer to their final appearance those mock-ups became actual levels after just a tiny bit of tweaking.