Happy Holidays!

January 4th, 2022

What I'm working on:

Nothing! Bee Street is still in development, but I decided to give myself a break for the holidays so that I could rest and relax a bit. Development will resume today.

What I've been playing:

For the past couple of weeks I have been playing Deathstate (Bread Machine, 2015), which is a bullet-hell, Rogue-like game similar to Enter the Gungeon (Dodge Roll, 2016) or The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Nicalis, 2014). If you enjoy either of those games, then I would highly recommend this one. It isn't as difficult as those games (unless you're playing Insane or Endless mode), so I think it is a great game to try if you are looking to get into the genre. While I have some complaints about it, I have put about 60 hours into it so far. It is enjoyable and worth the price tag. Sometimes I get stuck and can't move because I get caught on something. It can be difficult to tell what is the background and what isn't because of the perspective. Also, the shops aren't very good. They don't appear on each level, and when they do, it is rare that there is something worth buying. Most of the time, it has been the "Gamble" option, which is just like the shell game. You can get more money this way, but there isn't any point in having so much money if you don't have anything to spend it on. Besides that, I really enjoy all the enemy and playable character designs, and the gameplay is easy and satisfying. Plus, it was made in Rochester, NY! This game has definitely been overlooked, and deserves some more love. Go play it!!

First Blog Post! Game Announcement: Bee Street!

December 15th, 2021

What I'm working on:

Hello and welcome to my devblog! Here you will be able to read all about my current projects. Now it is time for me to announce the name of my current project. The game I am currently working on is called Bee Street! It is a retro arcade game akin to Frogger (Konami, 1981), and inspired by Bee Movie. While playing Bee Movie Game (Beenox, 2007) with my girlfriend, we came across a minigame called "Freeway" which is just Frogger, but way simpler. I decided it would be easy and fun to recreate it in GB Studio, which is an engine used to make games for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color! So far, it has been fun, but not so easy. The engine is a bit limiting, but so is the Game Boy. My intention isn't to load Bee Street onto a cart and play it on the go (although that would be cool as hell). The game will be playable on PC via the world wide web.

I am nearing the finish line in terms of development. There are a couple of bugs that need to be dealt with (as there always are), and I need to make a song for the game and add a pause menu. Making the song will probably be the part of development that takes the longest, but hopefully I won't overthink it and it will be a breeze. GB Studio 3.0 just came out, and it looks like its going to make it much easier to make music. Also, I would also like to do at least one round of playtesting to get some feedback. Usually, I would do many rounds of playtesting, but this is such a small project and more of a prototype than anything. Plus, I am ready to move onto a new project, which may or may not currently be in pre-production ;-)

Here's what Bee Street currently looks like:

What I've been playing:

Recently, I've been playing Outlast (Red Barrels, 2013). I played the game back in 2014 and it scared the shit out of me. And I loved it. I decided to go back to get the trophies that I missed since I have fallen back into my passion of trophy hunting on PSN. I got all of the trophies for the main game, so I've been playing the Whistleblower DLC which is equally as scary, but much shorter. I like how it adds more details and insight into the events that take place during the base game. My favorite part of Outlast, this is gonna sound so nerdy, is during a chase sequence when there is a tipped over vending machine below a vent you need to crawl through. I love this so so so so much because the level design is *chef's kiss*. Normally, the vending machine would be upright (obviously), but it being tipped over adds some narrative design. It tells you something happened here (as if that isn't already clear this far into the game). Not only that, but the vending machine is also a light source, which guides the player to the vent. I think all of the chase sequences in the game are well designed, but this little part in particular is so creative. Going to try to complete Whistleblower on insane difficulty... wish me luck!

Here is that vending machine I was gushing over:

Isn't it beautiful? -Kyle