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Congrats to the winners!! Also congrats to everyone for making great games!! Looking forward to the next Jam!

Thanks FreakZone!! The feedback has been so valuable, I've learned so much! I'm glad you think I'll go far, that's really encouraging to hear. I still feel like I have a long way to go. The game is undergoing a lot of changes and it's evolving a lot. I've made a very long list of changes/additions I need to make. I'm hoping I could have something cool to show within a month, but you know how these things tend to go. If I think it's one month, it could end up being two months xD I'm going to be workin extra hard to make it happen

Thanks so much, there's some really good points here! I noticed that input thing after I uploaded the game, it bugged me a lot. I'm not sure how I didn't notice while I was developing xD It's definitely on the list of things to fix along with including better input options in general, better in-game instructions are coming too. I might be able to include upward/downward shooting, I'll definitely be thinking about it and experimenting. I could always change the input for reload to make it possible. Imagine shooting downward while hovering, that would be wild! As for the whip, I definitely want to include more moves. I have some ideas, but I think it will take a lot of experimenting. I'll keep the invincibility frames in mind when I get back to the vampire. For now I'm working toward making an official demo that will be the beginning of the game up to the first boss (who is something other than the vampire, but keeping it a secret for now ;D). The vampire will be picked up on later, and I plan to change him up a lot. I've never heard of coyote jumps before, I looked into it and that is a really great idea! I'll definitely be trying out coyote jumps and buffer jumps to see how that feels in the game, thank you for bringing that to my attention. As for lore, there is definitely lore in the works. I got the basic story planned out, and some really good ideas for the world. During the game jam I just threw in anything and everything I could think of (the sunflowers come to mind lol). But as I continue I'm thinking the world will take on more of a futuristic gothic horror vibe. Thanks again for all the great feedback!

Thanks so much for the feedback! Nothing is more fun to me in game dev than making the game more difficult. I love difficult games, but I try to restrain myself a little because I get so many people telling me that the games I make are too difficult xD So hearing you say it's too easy gets me excited to make hard mode more difficult or make more difficult modes in the future. I'll definitely work on finding new ways to make the pistol more useful in the future. My goal is to make it as useful as the whip, but each useful in different situations and encounters.

I wanted to thank everyone who left a thoughtful comment after playing Moon Risen.  

All the feedback has been incredibly helpful. You are all amazing!!

Many of you wanted sound, I added sound effects and 2 new music track.

Many of you said it was too hard, so I made it easier.

Some of you said it was too easy, so I added HARD MODE!!

There's many other little changes and big changes, if you try it out be sure to left me know what you think!! I'm still looking for feedback and criticisms so I can continue to improve as a developer.

https://moonrisen.itch.io/moon-risen

Here's how to beat the devil out of my miserable vampire on hard mode.. 

(make sure the quality is 720p60 so you don't lose frames)

I just played through the whole update. Zentaisen is looking amazing!! I love your artistic style. The 2nd level is looking beautiful so far, can't wait to see more! And the shop music, I can listen to that all day. Also I like the visual changes when you get upgrades, the speed upgrade motion blur rainbow is really cool!!

Thank you for playing!! You're right, the palette needs a lot of work. I didn't have time to be picky with colors during the jam, but in a future version expect big changes. I'll have to think of a creative way to teach the hover combat, maybe a switch that it over a pit of spikes or something might do the trick. I've been working on a post jam version where I readjusted the health and made a "normal mode" and "hard mode", because a lot of people were saying it's either too easy or too hard. Almost all of the health/ammo are all cleaned up now, the enemies drop them sometimes. In the jam version I just wanted people to be able to get through so they could see everything, so I tried to make it easy with all the items everywhere. I went overboard with the worms and vampire though xD

I'm glad you had fun!! Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!

Thank you so much for playing!!! I'm glad you like it :D

Thank you for playing!! Sorry about my cats, they tend to be very impolite to guests xD

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you like my enemies and art style. I hope to only make it better in the future :D

Thank you so much for playing! I've been working hard on a post-jam update. The game is a billion times better with sound!! I've also rebalanced the enemies among other additions/changes. Can't wait to finally get it out! The feedback I've been getting has been super helpful, so I really appreciate it :D

Ah that makes sense xD Thank you so much to you both!

Absolutely, I'm always willing to help a fellow game dev. I just followed you on here and twitter :D

I'm glad you were able to learn from the enemies, that means I'm doing something right with the design :D I may have made them a little too difficult for this game jam though. Some people had a really hard time with the worms and the vampire.

I made the music using LMMS (which is a digital audio workstation, like FL Studios but free), and within LMMS I used a free plugin called NES VST. If you've never used LMMS or FL Studios, they are pretty easy to learn. There's plenty of tutorials online. Many plugins are convoluted, but I really like the NES VST plugin for it's simplicity. I made the entire song using only that one plugin, so it's pretty nifty.

Here's a link to the NES VST plugin: https://www.mattmontag.com/projects-page/nintendo-vst

(Which reminds me, I need to shoutout Matt Montag on twitter for using his amazing plugin)

Thank you for playing and leaving a comment, I appreciate it!!!!

I'm glad you enjoyed the combat!! I'm thinking of including more gun options and upgrades in the future. I think I planned a bit too much content for this jam, I was so close to finishing everything I had planned but had to cut some things last minute. I'm glad you think it's well polished, I think I might be able to clean it up a bit and make it even better :D I'm sorry the sandworms got you!! I think I went a bit overboard with them, but they will be more reasonable in the next version. I've always wanted to make a roguelike, but making good randomization is a challenge. I probably will someday though!

Thank you for playing, Xand!! I'm glad you liked it!!

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you like the attacks and animations, I worked hard to get them just right. I think you may have commented before, but two comments are so much better than one xD I remember your game was the super chill deep sea submarine game, I liked that one!!

Thank you again, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!

Thank you so much, ak1r4, I'm glad you like my art and animations!! I try my best to make the enemy actions as readable as possible so everything feels fair. FreakZone Games mentioned the camera issue too, I think that is some of the best advice I've gotten so far. In the next version I made a "vertical camera window" so that you have to hit a certain height before the camera will push up. It feels a lot better so far, the player's jump height isn't high enough to push the camera upward now. I was also considering implementing a "horizontal dual forward focus view" which positions the camera a little ahead of the player in the direction he is facing, but I'm not entirely sure if it is necessary for this project yet.

Thank you for playing and giving some useful feedback, I greatly appreciate it!!

Thanks, Pixel-Team!! I'm glad you liked my art and animations, I worked hard on them so it means a lot that you notice :D I'm also glad you like the main character. I like him too, but I was thinking of giving him a redesign to look less like Samus in a cowboy costume and give him a more original look. It might be a couple updates before the new main character look is in the game, but I'm excited to see what people think. The sound effects got cut for the game jam submission, I unfortunately ran out of time. I got too ambitious with everything else, and it was my first official jam so I need to get better at time management. 

Thank you for playing and sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it!!!

Thanks, HAHA!! I'm glad you like the bats. They are kind of adorable, I hate to kill them. I had fun animating them vomiting xD I'm glad you like my sprites, it means a lot!!

Thanks so much for playing!!

WOW!! Thanks for the compliment, I'm glad I could make the game fun for you!! That's awesome you liked the animations, I worked really hard on them. Especially the cat's face when it spits the green projectile, I was so picky about it. I hope I could make it better. I would like to give the vampire's cape some movement later on too, it's currently static.

Thank you so much for playing, I'm glad you enjoyed it!!! :D

Thank you for playing, Cmski!! I wanted to include a calmer ambient music track in the first cave area, but ran out of time so that section is eerily silent. But yeaah, that was totally the idea to have the music ramp up in the 2nd room, glad you notice :D

I'll definitely see what I can do to include analog controls in the next version, thank you for the idea!

Woah I, Robot is wild! Surprised I've never seen it before. That giant eyeball xD

The only suggestion I have is a small one. A few times I lost a plug behind the hedge and it was hard to pick up, but when that happened I just dragged the other side so I could grab it again so it wasn't much of a problem. You might be able to make it so when you are hovering your mouse over a cable it shows where it is behind the hedge kinda translucent like (or outlined). They say that with game development the criticisms are usually right, but the suggested solutions are almost always wrong. So you might be able to come up with a better idea than my suggestion xD The game is really good though, it's one of my favorites of the jam for sure!

Oh yeah, the particle system in GMS2 can be a little tricky. You did a great job!

I noticed spacebar would sometimes scroll the page and that's when I would lose control and had to refresh. Maybe it lost control right before I clicked spacebar though.

Thanks for the feedback, it's greatly appreciated! I put a checkpoint system in the post-jam update of the game I am working on. It should be ready soon :D

Woah, you beat him first try!!! You must be really good, I a lot people struggle. Nice job!!

It might've been a little too hard for me. I felt like I had to get it really spot on for the clients approval. I don't have a steady enough hand, haha! It's fun though, you did great!!

I had to play it when I saw the title. Best game name in the jam xD It is exactly what it is called, "Space Shooty McBoom". I love the all the colorful ships and sounds, made me feel like a kid again playing those old space shooters. I really enjoyed this, well done!

I like the gameplay, it's simple and fun!! It's cool you included different game modes and customization options. Also the level up system, I love that kind of stuff. I'll probably end up coming back when I need something relaxing to play to unwind.

I really like this!! All the powers were great! The best one was the shopping carts, I had a good laugh at that! You are a genius, Fantastic Jam!!!

Very nice!! I like how your game feels to control while flying through the hoops. I did have trouble with the turning, I was probably doing something wrong. I like it though, it's addicting and fun!!

Wow this is mesmerizing!! Very pretty graphics! The perspective is cool, I've never played anything like it before. Well done!!

The visuals are really nice!! I can tell you put a lot of work into the scenery, and it looks fantastic!! Well done!!

This is really fun!!  I got stuck in some impossible situations, but I think I'm just not planning ahead well enough.  I need to figure out the strategy.  Really well done though, I love the idea!! I may come back and try to get a higher score :D

The graphics are really pretty!! The setting has nice atmosphere too! I was a little confused at first on what to do, but I was able to figure it out. Really cool game!!

I'm not very good at this job, haha!! I tripped over so many rats xD Really neat game!! The graphics are really cute!! Well done!!

This is great!!! I love the movement. It's simplistic, but really fun to play. I got stuck in the room with the narrow spike passage to jump through. I almost made it a few time, I was so close!! The effects are really cool too, like the death effect and the screen shake. Fantastic game!!!

Nice shooter!! I'm not very good, but it's fun and well made!! Well done!