Update 220306
- New: Combos. Successive killing enemies without taking damage ticks the combo count on the top right, and every 50 combo increases the score multiplier by 1. e.g. at 0 combo, the score multiplier is 1, but at 120 combo the multiplier is 3. Since all non-boss enemies have default score of 1, this effectively becomes the score per enemy.
- New: High scores. The previous versions didn't need it because of the limited number of enemies with no multiplier, which set a ceiling for how high the score can get and pretty much every successful run would give score in the ballpark range between 1200-1300. Since that's not the case anymore, a high-score system is added. The score will be red when you're over the current high-score, and you'll see the current high score for each character on the title screen.
- New: Progress percentage on the bottom right. It shows how close you're to finishing the game, which I think would be helpful as there's no stage division and little visual change as the game progresses.
I didn't set a cap for the score. The combo is capped at 999, and you'd need to kill 1,608 enemies with the max combo multiplier of 20 to reach 32167 and there aren't enough enemies to do so, making the overflow extremely unlikely.
This still isn't the kind of game for the high-score competition in the traditional sense due to the randomized nature which would affect the end result, but it could still be an incentive of sort to make an effort to dodge bullets. At least I know I didn't bother dodging boss bullets when I was sitting on 50+ shields.
Update 220214
Quickfix
Added 3 sec delay to the game over screen
About
Witch on a broomstick going kaboom. It's not the most original formula but not as cliché as a dude with a sword, so why not one more.
The game should be on the simpler side for the seasoned shmup players since most of the patterns are either just flying straight to left or right, or targets the player position at the time of firing. There can be quite a lot at once, but your hit box is a single blinking pixel on the character. (Might be hard to see on the gif)
There are two playable characters, Dona (the black one) and Nari (the white one). Hold X to rapid fire, but button O does different things depending on who you're playing as.
The stars will normally follow the character around, but Dona can lock them with O and make them move according to the directional input. Since the stars can block the enemy fire, this can be used defensively. Dona's secondary missiles fire diagonally both front and back, and Dona's stars will fire in the direction opposite to her movement, resetting to firing right when no movement input is given.
Nari is trickier, and she can be unlocked after finishing the game once with Dona. Nari's secondary missiles only fire either left or right, and the angles are narrower so they don't cover as much screen. Her stars will also always fire in the direction Nari is facing. Tapping O will make her turn back, which becomes necessary as the enemies will appear from both directions. If that's not enough, when you play as Nari the game starts at a higher rank with faster and more frequent enemy bullets.
Defeated enemies will sometimes leave green items behind. This increases the "shield" on top, which is basically your HP. There's no "max shield" and you can stock them as much as you can, but you can lose a lot at once if you're caught between enemy crossfire. This idea is taken Dariusburst, which inspired a few other things in the game. (Like, Dona's fire pattern is pretty similar to one of the Dariusburst ships.)
There's no other power ups. Earlier versions had it but I felt the gradual buildup doesn't make a lot of sense given the game's runtime. The enemy patterns are randomized, but some patterns only appear in the latter half of the game. There are boss fights, and the game should last about 10 mins, maybe a little less.
Oh a charming sweet little witch. How are you ?
"I'm going to rip them apart and make them regret they're born."
o.O
Alrightee then, @katiusza ... Good shooter in all, bullet-hell is a bit extreme for such a starting level. Might have big time explosion for player instead of just suddenly exiting to main menu.
@dw817 Not sure if starting straight into bullet hell is any more extreme than, say, precision platformers that won't let you get past the first screen.
The game pauses with game over message when you die, I guess you had the button pressed and skipped right back to the title. I'll put something there
Nice! I'm gonna have to keep trying on this one ... I'm not very good at bullet hell.
Very stylish, I like the particle effects. The two girl's different secondary styles added a lot for me. The dialogue was great, especially "Its hard to remember people when all of your classes are online", on the Nari route. Too relatable :') I guess even witches feel the effects of the pandemic!
@TrueCube4134 Ah, now to think about it, that line will immediately make the game look dated as soon as the pandemic's over... :)
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