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[KaleidoGames]

Update #18
Adding leaderboards
We've been very busy but here they are our cool leadeboards.

We took as reference our Vortex Attack style to later adept it to the needs of Beekyr Reloaded.

Vortex Attack (2015)

Then it was moment to improve it, only 15 positions was no good for this. We wanted to show top 10, your score and near scores, and all time hi-scores in the élite mode (old madness).


We wanted to display the players country (or at least a flag) and that not be automatic, some people like to represent the country they don't live in.
We also wanted to display the date, level and played difficulty.


Also we wanted to add an extra field, played ship, they are all secret except the basic one, this will make people look for them. Or at least that's what we think it should happen.

Once we fixed they layout it looked like this:
Beekyr Reloaded Leaderboards

We're happy with it

[KaleidoGames]

Update #19
Updating languages screen

We decided to add flags to the language selection, it looks far more professional.


As an example, I added the screenshot in Spanish, still anyone can use this one right?
I think it means that it works.

This week is SALE : 30% OFF . Grab the game cheap!!!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/484930

[Fat Pug Studio]

Was the Apydia inspiration for this one? 

[KaleidoGames]

Not really but I got that question so many times that I have added something very related to that game. Sorry I can't say more, it's an easter egg / achievement.

[KaleidoGames]

Update #20
Adding achievements

We decided to add easier achievements than Vortex Attack, where it was forcing you to play hundreds of games. Most of Beekyr achievements can be accomplished with a few games.

first We added this assets but I didn't feel they were 100% correct.


We updated them to this.


I think they look nicer. What do you think?
Also, do you spot anything that rings a bell in there?

[KaleidoGames]

Update #21
Enhancing / redrawing all graphics #1

There was an artist asking for a quick test, he said he could improve the graphics... Here is the test. (Current in-game screenshot!)


Beekyr Reloaded (WIP: 2016)


Beekyr Reloaded (WIP: 2017)


All background elements are being drawn again, the result is just outstanding. There is so much lifeness in the new style.
After having versions side by side I only can take my hat off to the artist.

He will be redrawing ALL elements for a few months.
After he is done with that, we will try updating the insects: some of them look far too digitalized...

The game will remain EA for a while then.

[KaleidoGames]

Update #22
Enhancing / redrawing all graphics #2
Here is an example of how nice it is looking the forest stage right now, Background will also change but you can get an idea of what is being done here.
It was like this.

Beekyr 2013


Beekyr Reloaded 2016


Beekyr Reloaded 2017



It is not only what the static images show. The enhancement is more about the liveness that it has now. Dozens of leaves are smoothly floating in the background and foreground while falling trough rocks, grass and sunrays.
It looks like simple details but it adds a really heavy feeling of being there.

Also, we have added some depth into the actual gameplay, you get inside the trees. And it appears to be very clear now. As opposed as before, players didn't even know that was a fallen trunk and they kept crashing into its edges.


Notice this is still WIP, and it will get better.

[KaleidoGames]

I have been compiling some images to show you how much the game has evolved since we started.

Check them out. The game in some areas has changed too much that the locations are not there anymore, but I've placed the nearest to get the best idea!


Praying mantis attack:

Click it!


Beginning of the game:

Click it!


Hollow log passage:

Click it!


I hope you like the evolution!

I hope we can bring next week more images!

[KaleidoGames]

Update #24
Enhancing GUI
We have had that basic messy GUI in 2013, but it has been improved in 3 steps:

-Fonts have been cleaned up to something more readable.
-Bombs were aded to the game
-Current bullet power was added to be displayed the game, before it wasn't displayed.
-a 2P Bullet power was added
-Current Lives were trying to imitate a hive but it was hard to identify so they have been straighten.

Beekyr 2013




Beekyr Reloaded 2016




Beekyr Reloaded 2017

[KaleidoGames]

Update #25
Enhancing the player character
Bee was created by me (@JaimeDominguez just a developer with little illustration skills), in early 2013. Then when the illustrator @Diego_Gangl joined the team (mid 2013), and it was greatly improved.

In 2016, I was aware of the childish look the bee. In Beekyr reloaded I was avoiding that so I tried to upgrade it by myself unsucessfully.
Since Diego, the original artist, was working on something else, another artist (@Urza2) offered himself to improve the cover which looked too childish. The bee changed completelly, and I tried to adapt the in-game bee to the cover's aspect.

In 2017, there was another artist @DanySnowyMan 'nagging' me to upgrade ALL GRAPHICS. So he created first new prototype, to end up using the current version, which looks just like I wanted: not too childish and not for adults only.

Beekyr Reloaded's - Main character's evolution

Now , there are more characters but I will not display them here. {No spoilers here!}

[KaleidoGames]

Update #26
Creating and improving tutorial
Game has been out there since 2013, but in fairs I noticed not everybody knew how to play these kind of games (shmups, shoot'em ups).
There were some kinds pressing all buttons, not undersanding what was going on. Some of them kept crashing the scenary and getting insta-killed, they assumed the game was broken and left the stand.

Some day in 2017 it occured to me that I should explain the players how to play. I created this image, notice this happened before the graphics upgrade by Dany:


It was pretty nice but I had to go further. I created a short playable tutorial (~1.45 min).
This is the first version I made (with old graphics, in Spanish):




After some iterations, I was able to remove some time in between steps added some steps showing how the bomb works. All Steps included nice images to help tutorial was enterelly understood:

[KaleidoGames]

Update #27
Enhancing praying Mantis boss
This mantis was initially created by me in summer 2013, then @Diego_Gangl (the initial artist from 2013) made some cool enhancements. Then I (@JaimeDominguez) took 3 days to animate it using Flash's "bones system" to later export it as sprite sheet in PNG.


Then for Beekyr Reloaded I changed the size, colours and added some details here and there to make it look a bit more aggressive:


Finally with the final overhauls, @DanySnowyman redraw it: Thats how cool it looks now.

[KaleidoGames]

Update #28
Adding more variety (Queens + boss attacks)
Intially every queen has been loaded with about 12 moving/shooting patterns to make them very verstatile and fun. They still had nothing special, so I ended-up adding special shooting bullets.
Adding up, special bullets:
- Queen 1: Supermachine gun (big fat bullets chain)
- Queen 2: Big slow bullets that will darken the screen temporarily.
- Queen 3: Flying cockroaches flying directly to the player.
- Queen 4: Shockwave (pushes the player back)
- Queen 4: Scenario Rocks that kill the player.

- Scorpion: Parabolic poisoned stings
- Praying mantis: Shockwave (slows the player down).
- Praying mantis: Dash + Fly (not bullets but still special attacks)
- Fishes: Parabolic bubbles

Here is an example of one boss... (Note this is still WIP!)




There are even more that I had to finally erase from the list: I don't want to spoil the whole game

[KaleidoGames]

Update #29
Adding bombs to the game
Intially the game didn't have bombs as it was designed for touch screens. I just didnt want to add any buttons to the gameplay. The vertical levels had bombs and they could be triggered by swipping up the screen, it was a safe movement as the Y position was restricted to allow small movement on the lower part of the screen. With horizontal levels swipping was not possible because it would move the bee to the other side of the screen and it would kill the player pretty easily.

I added a new powerup item "B" that would follow the blue colour code. I added it to the gui that allowed already 5 slots that were drawn and never used:

See there are no bombs here!

The format of the bomb would be very different to a classic bomb system: pressing bomb button would throw all bombs at once. This works like Golden Axe: the more bombs you have, the stronger the effect would have.




This bomb is made of bees,it's called beeSquad that would defend the player for a short period of time, for then to be thrown forward hitting everything on their way until their HP are gone or they fly out the screen.
It was nice but players didn't feel they had mouch control over it. I finally added one extra step to make it more controllable: Pressing BOMB button will launch the bees to protect you, and stay this way for a couple of seconds or when you remove the BOMB button. Then they will make the attack.  Complicated? Not so much, it's very nice to controll the flock like that, specially in boss battles.

[KaleidoGames]

Update #30
Improving scenery liveness
Since the beginning the game has been very colorful very pleasant to look at. The game is based in real scenarios...


And real flying bugs.


From those pictures we started first draft,
Beekyr [WIP] - 2013:


Beekyr: Eco Shoot'em up - 2014


Beekyr Reloaded [WIP] - 2016

Beekyr Reloaded [WIP] - 2017

When we got to this point, because the really good graphics, I decided to make the trees and the grass move with the wind. That made the game a lot more alive.

Then in level 5, something was missing, graphics were really good but not enough. I decided to create a storm mode for that stage. It would show lightnings, rain really hard, and display a lot of wind in the trees making the leaves fall from branches. This would affect the player moving the character down and back (because the rain and strong wind gusts). This made the stage a lot more alive... It was incredible how much changed from the first to the latest version.
This can only be shown with a video, enjoy!