And to the dev: I wish there was a bit more satisfying final boss/ending content. Hope the November update fixes that!

Thanks for your playing and thanks for your support!

In the new version, the final boss will be more challenging and there is (at least) one more optional ending. Some of the bosses have cool new special attacks too. I hope that you like it!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Void Pyramid is now on Steam Greenlight. The game has been available on itch.io, GameJolt, and Google Play for almost a year now. The user response has been incredibly positive so now I'm trying to get it Greenlight. If you've tried the game and want to support it, vote it up on Steam Greenlight.

If you have no idea what Void Pyramid is, it's an RPG set in an Egyptian pyramid, in space, full of mutants. Check it out on GameJolt.

The official blurb:

Void Pyramid is a post-apocalyptic RPG set in the spacefaring Egyptian empire.

In the far future, the maniacal Prime Pharaoh rules the wastelands of Earth. Any who oppose him are exiled to the Void Pyramid. This outer space prison is populated by criminals, beasts, and mutants. No one has ever escaped, but you must try...

*Choose to be a soldier, slave, or scribe. Overcome challenges with your unique skills.

*Explore the intricately designed pyramid. Each chamber is packed with foes, puzzles, traps, treasures, and things to interact with.

*Develop your character however you want with an unusual but intuitive advancement system.

*Use your brawn, wits, and agility stats to kick down doors, bend bars, hack computers, haggle with merchants, dodge traps, scale walls, and more.

*Find numerous solutions to every problem. Explore multiple paths through the pyramid. Experience alternate endings. Fight optional bosses. Discover hidden treasures.

*Experience a unique vision of the future. In the spacefaring future, the Egyptian empire has risen again. The Prime Pharaoh’s mutant armies oppress mankind.

Void Pyramid is currently available for free on PC, Mac, and Android at www.voidpyramid.com. The game will be receiving another major update in November 2016 with more bosses, treasures, items, and secrets.

Void Pyramid will remain free after its Steam release.

Mechanically, rRootage takes 4 popular bullet-hell mechanics (Lasers + Bombs, Ikaruga, Bullet "grazing (a close dodge)" to build up super meter") & one more..  and gives you dozens of levels in each mechanic. http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/games/

rRootage does offer a TON of variety with its different play modes. However, I love Noiz2sa from the same developer. Instead of geometric patterns of bullets, the enemies unleash a chaotic storm of bullets. The game gets slower and slower the more bullets are on screen. When you destroy an enemy, it clears all the bullets around them, which is frequently necessary considering how many bullets are on screen.

Just a heads up for futures plays:
If you want to skip intro, at the moment the best way is to press <ESC> once.

Haha awesome, well honestly a lot of the things you mentioned are just lack of easy instructions xD (making it hard for the player to understand how to play)

The melee weapon: The Mystic Blades, a mysterious set of twin blades hidden somewhere in the Abyss (that means you have to find them xD)

The structures that give off ammo: you can just click/press space next to them, and they will fully recover you.

Variety in gameplay: great suggestion, will see if I can do anything to help that

At the moment I'm working on the boss, making his AI, as soon as I finish that, I will polish the game, and release it. Though after reading all your feedback, some sort of tutorial would probably come in handy ^.^'

Sucks that you had to stand around the soul fountains for so long XD, but anyway, thanks a lot for the feedback, really appreciated! 

I played this a once more last night and I had a couple of other thoughts.

*What do the colors in your cross hair mean? It changes from white to black. As I experimented with it, I thought it might represent your ammo, but if it does, it is hard to understand because the graphic is small.

*Some of the enemies' bullets (and some of the enemies themselves) are blue. It might be nice is these where a different color from the back ground and from the energy orbs.

I might take another crack at this over the weekend now that you told me how to play.

Sure:
https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=56233.0

It's quite short, and a quick download. Not sure if it's your type of game though, it's more action and explosives than anything! xD

I gave this a shot and posted my impressions in that thread.

I gave this game a try. I played about 30 minutes. Here are some impressions. I hope you find them useful.

*The game's intro sequence is very slow and does not seem to be able to skipped.

*It took me about 10 minutes to figure out how the aiming modes worked. The character should always aim wherever you point the mouse. There is no need for the second aiming mode.

*I tried all the guns, but I liked the shotgun-like one the best. With this weapon, the primary challenge is not running out of ammo. However, this encourages boring behavior like standing on the tiles that give off energy and waiting while your ammo slowly recharges.

*There needs to be more variety in the gameplay. You can do this in lots of ways! More enemy types, power-ups, RPG stats, quests, traps, etc. etc. etc.

*Is there a melee weapon? The instructions indicate that there is, but I never really figure out how to make it work.

*Essentially, this game feels like a very basic prototype of a overhead shooter. It needs a lot of more flesh to really make it a game.

Keep working! I don't think you should throw the whole thing out, but you've got a long way to go.

What parts of the game are you working on right now?

Void Pyramid is a post-apocalyptic RPG set in the space-faring Egyptian empire.

That description got my attention.  And all in all, I think the game is pretty good.  I didn't play long enough to get the complete experience, however.  Only about 10 minutes so far, and only to the 2nd level / room.  But I had a few battles, lost / gained some life and skills, and solved a puzzle in the second room.

The game is very reminiscent of the old Zork text adventures -- except with visuals and sounds.  And the sounds and music were excellent, by the way.  Sort of Egyptian drums meet jazz be-bop.

It may not appeal to gamers who want gameplay that relies on action and player reflexes.  But I think adventure gamers will enjoy it.  Nice job on this.

Thanks for playing!

This is a good observation. Void Pyramid is not the most mechanically deep RPG, but it has a detailed setting and the environments are full of things to interact with. There is lots of text to read, but I'm trying to make sure that the player does not feel overwhelmed.

Played it around the time it got on RPS. Liked it very much.
I play as Scribe and got stuck before Sekhmet. I got my wits and agility to >20 but my brawn is 11 or something. Theres nothing left for me other than grind and trying to fight the boss may punish me with stat lose.

What does RPS stand for?

Thanks for giving me an update on your progress! As you may have discovered, yours Wits, Agility, and Brawn do not affect your ability to kill monsters (that is all Attack, Defense, and Life). Sekhmet should not be too hard to beat. Is she killing you in one hit or something?

What are your Attack, Defense, and Life stats?

Have you figured out what all of the items (weapons, drugs, radar, warp) do yet?

How many minutes have you played?

Have you been dying often?

I guess my feedback is limited, because the game isn't something I'd spend much time on, it didn't really hook me in or anything. But anyway, hope this helps =)

Thank for you for spending your time to play my game. I'll happily return the favor if you would like.

Thanks for trying it!

How far did you get?
Which class did you choose?
How many times did you die?
How many treasures did you find?
Did you read the instructions? If not, did the uses of the various stats make sense to you?

I think the radar ability is a bit weird to be called radar, because it's really just a detection device, some people might want to use it to find enemies instead of avoid them, and making it an avoiding device is just kinda odd.

That makes sense. Perhaps it could be called "cloak", like a cloaking device that makes the player invisible.

The saves are a bit annoying, wish you could just set a save as yours, and it will always save to it without having to do the replacing every time, but that's just a preference so whatever..

The only problem with your suggestion is that the player does not have the option of making multiple save files then. I'm not sure if that matters (I rarely do it), but some people might like the option. I need to think about this.

The health at the top is a bit confusing, because you're looking at the enemy, when you're looking at them and there's a healthbar on top of them, it's kinda confusing if that healthbar is actually YOUR healthbar, lol..

That's a good point.

Some of the enemies are hard, but give litterally nothing, like I killed the snake, and got 1 deben. I would think you'd get higher rewards for killing a tougher enemy, but again if that's the game design it's just a meh, preference, whatever..

The rewards are random. The likelihood of getting a reward increases based on your character's Wits stat. You can earn additional money and stats after a battle (although not if you are way too powerful for the enemy). Sometimes an enemy gives you nothing, sometimes you get something cool. The battle rewards system actually works really well and is very balanced currently. I am hesitant to tamper with it.

One of the things which I found quite interesting and probably unintended, is when you're fighting, if the enemy's next blow will kill you, and you make a move, but they move after you choose your move, before you actually perform it, it can be quite confusing.

I chose a serum because I had 2 life, but before I actually used it the enemy just destroyed me, and ran away!

At the beginning of each battle turn, you select your option (attack or use an item). Then the turn is resolved. The enemy will act first if he is faster than you. I can see why this might seem counter-intuitive to you. I could possibly change it so that you select your action and then immediately execute it. I could also explain the current system better. I'm not sure which is the right answer right now.

Void Pyramid is a post-apocalyptic RPG set in the space-faring Egyptian empire.

I have been developing Void Pyramid for about 2 years. It is complete and is currently available on PC/Mac/Android. I am looking for new feedback as I prepare for the next big update.

You can get Void Pyramid on PC/Mac at itch.io or you can get the Android version on Google Play. You can also check out screenshots, videos, and other info on my blog.

In the far future, the maniacal Prime Pharaoh rules the wastelands of Earth. Any who oppose him are exiled to the Void Pyramid. This outer space prison is populated by criminals, beasts, and mutants. No one has ever escaped, but you must try.

Features:

*Choose to be a soldier, slave, or scribe. Overcome challenges with your unique skills.

*Explore the intricately designed pyramid. Each chamber is packed with foes, puzzles, traps, treasures, and other interesting stuff.

*Develop your character however you want with an unusual but intuitive advancement system.

*Use your brawn, wits, and agility stats to kick down doors, bend bars, hack computers, haggle with merchants, dodge traps, scale walls, and more.

*Find numerous solutions to every problem. Explore multiple paths through the pyramid. Experience alternate endings. Fight optional bosses. Discover hidden treasures.

*Experience a unique vision of the future. In the space-faring future, the Egyptian empire has risen again. The Prime Pharaoh’s mutant armies oppress mankind.

---

Void Pyramid is a complete game that is between 4 and 8 hours long. Please try it and let me know what you think. If you could make a complete video of your play through (with or without commentary), I would LOVE it. Here is the sort of feedback I am looking for.

*Tell me the details of your play through. What character did you choose? How far did you get? How long did it take? How often did you die? How many treasures did you find? What special items did you find?

*Tell me if about any part of the game's mechanics that you find confusing or counter intuitive as a new player.

*Tell me about any cool ideas you have for new features (puzzles, NPCs, items, or anything else).

*Tell me what you think works really well. Tell me what you wish was different.

*Tell me about any bugs or typographical errors.

---

If you try Void Pyramid and give me some feedback, I would be happy to try your game as well. Thanks so much!

Since your story takes place on Mars, one facet you could explore is the way that the harsh environment would affect Martian civilizations.

Present day Mars is quite cold and dry, but in the planet's early geologic history, it likely had vast polar oceans, perhaps enough atmosphere to trap greenhouse gases, warm the planet, and allow for complex plant life.

Maybe ages past, the Martians lived on the surface, even built a Stonehenge-esque temple on Olympus Mons, but as the oceans dried up, they were forced to move underground for warmth. You say you want the race to be technologically primitive, so maybe bioluminescence or the presence of geothermal vents eliminated the imperative to discover fire, keeping the culture scientifically idle in spite of a racial intelligence comparable to that of Homo habilis.  This makes it easy for religion to play a large cultural role...Were the Martian nations separated by geography, with tribes having emerged independent of one another, or was their some other cause for a cultural divide, say a struggle for power or resources, or a disagreement over whose god is the real creator of life, the universe, and everything...

Hope some of this helped, best of luck with the game!

You've got some good ideas there. Mars current and past environment will definitely inform the game world.

I also appreciate the idea that Martian's have never mastered fire.

As you suggested, it is helpful to consider why the tribes might be split apart from one another.

Decide what you are trying to say, and how you want to say it.  Do you want the setting to be mysterious or detailed and clear?  Do you want it to feel strange or dangerous or safe or oppressive?  There can be areas or factions that carry these concepts further than others; maybe the tunnels have safer, more organized places but large areas of chaos and terror. Knowns and unknowns.

Indeed. It is important to determine themes ahead of time. I typically start with a set of themes for any game or project. Now I come up with themes so intuitively, I barely think about how to communicate them (which I should do more of). Potential themes in my setting might be: Conflict between nations, tribes, etc. / Struggle for survival in a hostile environment. / Wilderness exploration. / Biological and ethnic diversity between different fantasy races and cultures.

You also need to have an idea of what you want to avoid.  Do you want to avoid cute things, because they make things seem less serious?  Do you want to avoid fully functional AIs because they undermine all the symbolism you want about humanity's power to decide and fate?

This is also pretty insightful. I have some pretty big limitations here, which have been devised to make the setting easier to write in. I want to avoid technological speculation. Despite being set on another planet (Mars), the setting is technologically primitive. I also want to avoid "magic" and "divine intervention".

Thanks! This has been really helpful so far. I already had sort of thought of these things, but never really articulated them.

I'm in the process of creating a fantasy/sci-fi setting that I can use with any number of role-playing games, video games, or stories. It's set in the subterranean tunnels of Mars and will have an epic fantasy sort of feel.

In any case, I have a lot of ideas and I am looking to start recording them into a document. I'm imagining this will act like the "setting" section of a role-playing rule book (and may even be used in a role-playing book later).

My thought was to start detailing the various races and cultures of the world and that would lead into a lot of other details of the setting (i.e. religion, technology, geography, etc.).

Has anyone else undergone a world building exercise of this type? How did you start? What was your process?

I'm a pretty experienced writer, but usually I let worlds build themselves more organically as a write games or stories in them. I wondered how some other writers have handled this monumental task.

mage knight has competitive and co-op modes, but really shines as a solo game, especially with the expansion.

Cool! It's a fairly impressive feat to design a board game that plays well competitively, cooperatively, and solo. I can't think of another example of that. I need to check this game out.

btw, sorry if my tone was a bit aggressive before. i was kinda having a bad day the other day.  

No harm. No foul.

I see. It sounds like we feel the same way about this!

I definitely agree that player vs. system is probably better than player vs. dice AI. Maybe compelling dice AI could be created, but I think actually playing within it would be pretty tedious. For it to be complex enough, lots of dice rolls would have to be made.

As an aside: Certainly Pandemic is not the most complex (or most fun to play) example of a player vs. system game. I've heard of Mage Knight, but I didn't realize until now that it could be played solo.

Let me try and explain. Let’s use Pandemic for instance. It’s been about 12 months since I’ve played it, so forgive me if I get the game’s terminology wrong.

Once the game gets underway, the primary decisions of the players are whether to work toward a cure or to try to treat the disease at various cities to prevent an outbreak. This is an interesting choice.

However, if the player chooses to treat the disease, there are really only ever a couple viable choices on where the player should treat (based on their board position). Also, since the city cards and shuffled and placed on top of the draw deck, the player can calculate the probability that the city card will come up and an outbreak will happen. Therefore, an intelligent player can easily make the decision based on a few factors: How likely is it that the city card will be drawn? How many disease cubes are on the city? How close am I (or another player) to that city?

Pandemic does get a little more interesting when that player is forced to decide whether to prevent an outbreak, or instead work toward a cure.

In any case, what I’m trying to say is this: Board games must be simple enough that they are easy to learn and do not take an excessive amount of bookkeeping to play (i.e. tracking lots of resources). However, in order for that to work, they tend to have a limited number of variables. When a board game is played against another player, they tend to be more complex because the of that interaction. But when one or more players cooperate against the board game, there is a simple system of rules but without the complexity of two human minds working at odds with each other.

Did I explain that well?

I'll revive this thread.

My idea is simple like mythic GM

This is unrelated to the rest of your post, but I recently started using Mythic GM for solo role-playing. It's a really cool system and a really different way to look at role-playing (and gaming in general).

Instead of playing a game against yourself, you are really writing a story with yourself. Essentially, the player uses randomness, logic, and interpretation of certain keywords. It's too complex to explain here, but I think lots of game designers (of any type) could benefit from reading the Mythic GME rules. More video games could stand to take an approach like this where the player is creating content for themselves to explore and interact with. This is different from many creation-focused games, where the player is creating something to show to others (i.e. an awesome looking Minecraft house).

I hope I explained that well.

The trick to designing a solo/co-op board game is to have the player(s) playing against the mechanics themselves, not against a simulated opponent (tho a few games do the dice AI thing well, like race for the galaxy) and keep the amount of bookkeeping to a minimum. Popular example of this would be Pandemic: You only have a simple semi-predictable RNG in the form of card draws to distribute the disease cubes. The game then consists of using the resources you have available to puzzle out the situations the RNG throws at you. The limited pool of infection cards you end up drawing from ensures that each game feels somewhat different.

These types of board game are always a little unsatisfying. In order to make the game work, the player must (obviously) be familiar with the rules. However, once the player understands those rules, then he quickly realizes the correct answer to any decision based on probability. It's why these cooperative games so often involve one player telling everyone else how to play. If you understand probability, and you understand the game's possible outcomes, there is only usually one best choice (best on probability) in any situation.

This is true in a lot of video games too. However, the difference is that these mechanics are hidden in many video games. The player does not necessarily know an enemy's AI routine until they have played the game for many hours. With the board game, the player is forced to learn how the game behaves on their very first game.

Cave are the most prolific and influencial studio (personal favourite: Dodonpachi Dai-ou-jou)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/catalog/company-cave.htm

Raizing didn't make a large number of shmups but ones they did were very creative in boss and stage design. (Personally I'd single out Armed Police Batrider for it's creativity with characters and a huge amount of secrets)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/catalog/company-raizing.htm

I've been a big shmup fan for a decade so I thought I would weigh in here.

The bullet hell genre most likely started in 1993 with Batsugun, which is a Japanese arcade game developed by Toaplan. Closely following that were DonPachi developed in 1995 by Cave, and its sequel DoDonPachi developed in 1997.

Cave is the Japanese developed who is most credited with popularizing this genre and DoDonPachi is a good place to start to get some history (and it plays great). Another poster (ZQF) mentioned Raizing. In my opinion, their games are not as pure of a bullet hell experience as Cave's. However Armed Police Batrider by Raizing is INCREDIBLE! It's maybe the best shmup ever in terms of variety and depth.

...

Also:

While I hate to derail this thread to trash Enter the Gungeon, but it’s a game I’ve been quite dissatisfied with recently. It’s almost great, but not quite!

I don’t have a problem with Enter the Gungeon’s dodge roll (although altering the direction might be nice), but I am constantly annoyed by how underpowered I feel. The weapons in the game all seem weak. The enemies have too many HP, but that is only part of the problem. Until the 3rd area, it is not common to get a weapon that is good at quickly dispatching groups of enemies. As a result, the gameplay frequently involves peaking out of cover or rolling around, dispatching one enemy at a time. It’s very slow and methodical and feels tedious. When I get hit, I always feel its because I wasn’t paying attention (out of boredom).

I played for about 15 minutes. My best score was 36m and $66. Here are my thoughts...

Like everyone else, I'm not satisfied with the controls. Horizontal movement seems way too sensitive. Also, I'm not sure why the movement is pixel-based since the level is tile-based. I think each step should snap the player to the next tile, and it should be impossible to stand in between them.

The buttons conceal the locations of the rockets several lines down from you. This seems annoying, since spotting and avoiding the rockets is the core challenge of the game.

One time the game started and the screen was entirely black except for my character. I feel through many layers before the graphics loaded seconds later, but I was promptly killed by a rocket. I tried to duplicate the bug but I was unable.

I didn't really enjoy the mechanics of the game that much. Instead of being fast-paced and action-packed, a very methodical approach is required to win. You must look forward to spot all the upcoming rockets and then plot a path to the next safe spot. Planning is way more important than quick reflexes. Ideally, I feel that the game would be more fun if each were equally important. Perhaps the player and rockets could be slowed down, allowing people to be more daring and try dodging rockets more.

In any case, that's my two cents. Keep working!