Exoder - Devlog - LAUNCH PARTY YAAY!

It has come time again to design the Steam store capsule for my game and after being very unhappy with my first game's capsule, I'm determined to get this one right (mostly).

I'm no artist, graphic designer or what have you so I can't really draw some grand epic picture which conveys the game's setting and pacing, so I had to rely on a more minimalist, outside the box approach.

These are some snap shots of the works in progress.

This is the one I have basically landed on.

I know these don't really convey what the game is about, but, they're eye catching are they not? Would you be intrigued if you were on the Steam store page and you saw this pass by? Would you click on one of these?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Been watching your Devlog for quite some time now. Your game is absolutely gorgeous!

I'm currently collecting screens for my Steam store page and these are some of the best ones I've gotten so far.

Note that the score in these screens is kinda nuts and that's because I've completely reversed how the score works from the Demo.

It didn't make a whole lot of sense to get points for hitting or dodging through projectiles in a game about being chased and trying to get to the end of the level as fast as possible. So instead the game starts you out with the highest possible score (ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred ninety-nine billion, nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine) and you have massive numbers get subtracted from your score every time you get hit, and even bigger numbers getting subtracted each time you die, with the penalty growing with each death.

So now instead of racing up your score, the whole game is a race to finish before the score hits zero. Did I mention that your score will be depleting constantly even when you aren't getting hit? Yep, that's another wrinkle.

I thought about having the whole game abruptly end and erase your save file after the score reaches zero but that seemed to be a step too far.

Also I was really dissatisfied with the music I made for level four so I made another song to replace it, one that matches the rest of the soundtrack's pace.

https://soundcloud.com/vincent-guff/exo ... ding-halls

Good news everyone! I've official played Exoder from start to finish, with no breaks! Hooray! Things are speeding up quick toward the release so get hyped! Please get hyped.

All I have to do now (aside from gathering some testers to run through it a bunch) is cut a trailer.

Here are a few more of the screens I've gathered for the Steam page.

Exoder's Steam Page is now open! Huzzah!!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/840980/Exoder/

pleaseclap.gif

... anyway

PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA PSA

Exoder needs some able bodied late stage bug testers to run through the game, spot any bugs, issues etc. and give some general feedback before release.

All you have to do is write a brief report and submit it and you'll be granted the oh so prestigious honour of having your name in Exoder's credit sequence.

If you volunteer you'll be given a steam key which grants you early access to the game.

You get a free game. What more do you want from me!

This is time sensitive so don't hesitate, if you do you might have to add not getting into Exoder's credits onto your long list of life regrets.  

PM me or email me at feverdreamgameworks@gmail.com if you are interested.

Q If I don't beat the game or I'm not very good at it, will my input really matter?

A Yes. Even if you can't beat the game it's very useful to get as many hands and eyes on the game as possible to weed out any lingering issues and bugs. You don't need to be any kind of an expert.

Q But Brookesy, I've never bug tested before, I don't know what I'm doing.

A Neither do I!

Thank you for your cooperation.

Exoder Trailer

https://youtu.be/nNOn9YXt9-U

Just gonna dump a melange of the last gifs I made of Exoder prior to release. Likely the last gifs I ever make for this project as release becomes imminent.

Launch Party!

Exoder is out now!!

Hooray!

Here it is!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/840980/Exoder/

And so we reach the end of this devlog. Thanks for reading!

As a sign off I'd like to share a couple of super early parts of Exoder's development. The first is the very first piece of concept art I made to try to nail down the game's art style.

It's from more than a year ago and was made before any animations or sound had been completed.

The second is a gif from the very first capx made for Exoder, which dates back to January of 2017, before anything, including any art, had been done.

And the final game.

Every journey starts with a first step and all that.

It's interesting to look back on the game as a mere embryo vs. what I wanted it to be vs. what it actually became.

The initial idea was to make one long massive level that went on for hours with no breaks or bosses, just constant threats and weaving paths and painful set backs. The whole thing would be like an arduous mountain climb.

Looking back to the initial idea makes me think there is still potential in a game like that, and maybe I'll try to make it someday(assuming it's technically feasible), but what Exoder is and what it became is something I'm quite proud of, so no regrets on my end.

Once the dust settled and the idea was solid, Exoder ended up coming out nearly identical to how I imagined it, which is a really cool feeling. Early on I imagined the game's climax with the shmup like final boss leading into a beam fight and wondered if I could really pull it off. And I did. And that is pretty gratifying.

And so I am off, to try and make something truly original. Something no one has seen before. Wish me luck.

Via con dios

Congratulations! The game looks so fun!! It's obvious a lot of hard work went into it .