Hey Ian, not to fear! It should appear at the bottom of the downloads page. To access it, click on the "Download" button at the top of this page, then scroll down and you should see it under "Claim Steam key". I hope this helps - Please let me know if you're still searching. Enjoy!
I love this game! Definitely my favorite game of the year so far!
The story is good and cute, pretty simple but that's not a problem at all. Something about the little Rogue Sentry just makes me smile.
But boy, this game gets mad difficult near the end! There is one specific fight I died at least 40 times on... and I'm ashamed to admit that 30 of those deaths were well within 10 seconds of the fight starting.
It's all good though, once I got over my frustration I found that the fight was entirely doable. Actually, everything in this game that would be frustrating is entirely fair. There's not a moment in this game where I felt that my death wasn't my fault. I'm sure the previous reviewer, Nontimetis, was talking about the same fight. It really is a "What the hell am I supposed to do?" moment.
Stick through it all, dear reader, if you have any doubts about your ability to beat this game! I've only played a few shoot-em-ups (hoping to change that!) and I was able to make it through this one. I'm also excited to see the game has some well thought out replayability features. Always the mark of a great game.
Multiple endings, multiple game modes, multiple ways to go about beating this game... all in all, this game is phenomenal. Thanks for the piece of art, and I can't wait to keep playing to see all the endings and unlock all the extra stuff!
Hey StrangeHero, wow! I really appreciate your message.
I aimed for a hard-but-fair, challenging-but-rewarding game, so I'm glad that you thought that. 30 deaths in the first 10 seconds is completely normal, given the nature of the challenge in that fight! That said, I'm looking at ways to smooth out the difficulty curve in the next game while keeping an optional high ceiling.
Speaking of Nontimetis, if you get stuck with the extra stuff, he should have you covered with his YouTube vids. Also, feel free to redeem your included Steam key if the extra achievements interest you.
Gratz on the game, from one twinstick low-res saving-humans-from-killer-robots game dev to another! I really love the innovative mechanic of "the people you're rescuing are your power up", and how alive you're able to make the backgrounds look with just two bits of colour!
One of my favorite games of the year up to this point.
Has that classic 8-bit home computer game vibe with great controls and cool music.
Can be super tough at times, but it is fair real difficulty with a hint of rng thrown in to spice things up. One boss battle especially surprised me with it's design that made me thing "how on earth am I supposed to do this" for the first few tries, but later the solution became quite obvious, if still hard to pull off.
Also really fun game to speedrun, with well thought out built in tools and mechanics.
Hey Nontimetis, thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it. I'm glad you made it past that boss and went on to speedrun the game. I've enjoyed watching your videos on YouTube. Thanks for playing :)
Hey Samuel, thanks for your interest. At this stage, porting to Mac just isn't feasible, unfortunately. I underestimated the process and don't have the tools or resources for it. I'm sorry to report that I'm focusing on Windows only for now
Hey, I've learned that the issue is actually my fault, and I can't guarantee a solution, so I've refunded your purchase and taken down the macOS build for now. I got a little too excited to release a macOS build and didn't do enough testing! I'm sorry about that. Hopefully I can get to the bottom of it, but I can't make any promises at this stage. Thanks for understanding.
Interesting question - It's difficult to say. I can't answer for your circumstance, but it took me just over 2 years, working on and off in my spare time, and a lot more seriously over the last year. If I did it again with what I know now, the answer would change.
But also, don't let size cloud your judgement - You can code physics and build out a playable world with some enemies in 1-3 months... Maybe even a week or a weekend with some game jam experience.
However, detailing it with funky graphics, making a soundtrack, sound effects, writing dialogue, making cutscenes for multiple endings, making satisfying boss fights, making a menu system with settings and file management incl. an extras menu with achievements, making alternate game modes, secrets, actioning lists of suggestions from playtesting feedback, learning how to do things you haven't done before (like writing a shader for brightness/contrast), unexpected time required to mentally adjust between different types of tasks, getting your game to a place that you genuinely think is worth the money you're asking for, etc... Well, that all takes time. It really depends what you want to put into your game of this size. If you haven't made a game before, let's not forget failing projects until your scope aligns with your capabilities, as well! But, the more experience you have, the more the time will shrink. I constantly underestimated how long things would take with Rogue Sentry, though.
Had a lot of fun clearing all the rooms and collecting the human allies. The humans really helped me with clearing some of the more difficult generators. Love the art style and story!
Really superb twin stick shooter. Evokes the feel of some classic Amiga games. I'm a fan of bullet hell shooters so some of the screens really scratched that itch for me, but there is plenty of variety for any shooter fan I think. Great soundtrack too if you're a fan of chiptunes.
If you put Cybernoid / robotron / and a few other shooters into a pot and mixed them, it would look something like this.
Wow, thanks for that! I definitely tried to materialise a variety of influences, and the odd bullet hell was amongst them. I'm glad that that's evident. Thanks for checking out my game. :)
Really fun and polished! I am not particularly great at it though, have been stuck at the first boss(?) about 30 screens in. Love the mood/graphics/music, a really enjoyable game!
Thanks, Kyle! I appreciate your message. Hint: Generators can be tackled in any order - If the first one you've found is too difficult, chances are that there is an easier generator elsewhere. :)
Aah will definitely seek out a different one then first, thank you!
Edit: Beat the game! Took me just under 3 hours. Turns out the first generator I found was the hardest one lol. Was a lot more manageable after looking elsewhere first. Great game!
Very nice work. I played about half the game and was going to quit for the night when one of the generators was giving me a little trouble but I couldn't resist opening it back up and finishing it.
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where do you get the Steam Key? I can't find it
Hey Ian, not to fear! It should appear at the bottom of the downloads page. To access it, click on the "Download" button at the top of this page, then scroll down and you should see it under "Claim Steam key". I hope this helps - Please let me know if you're still searching. Enjoy!
ohh ok! thanks!
I think the steam keys need to be updated!
On it! Sorry for the delay, these should be available again in the next 24-48h.
no problem man, can't wait to play the game!
New keys dropped - Enjoy :)
no steam keys available when i tried
Hey Matt, my apologies - This should be fixed in the next 24-48h. Edit: Keys available now!
Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that keys have been exhausted. Thanks in advance.
Heya, thanks for the heads up. I apologise for the hitch. New keys are on their way! Please check back in 24-48h.
Keys are up again!
Thank you so much for letting me know and being so quick!
Kinda reminds me of Chip's Challenge for the Atari Lynx.
I love this game! Definitely my favorite game of the year so far!
The story is good and cute, pretty simple but that's not a problem at all. Something about the little Rogue Sentry just makes me smile.
But boy, this game gets mad difficult near the end! There is one specific fight I died at least 40 times on... and I'm ashamed to admit that 30 of those deaths were well within 10 seconds of the fight starting.
It's all good though, once I got over my frustration I found that the fight was entirely doable. Actually, everything in this game that would be frustrating is entirely fair. There's not a moment in this game where I felt that my death wasn't my fault. I'm sure the previous reviewer, Nontimetis, was talking about the same fight. It really is a "What the hell am I supposed to do?" moment.
Stick through it all, dear reader, if you have any doubts about your ability to beat this game! I've only played a few shoot-em-ups (hoping to change that!) and I was able to make it through this one. I'm also excited to see the game has some well thought out replayability features. Always the mark of a great game.
Multiple endings, multiple game modes, multiple ways to go about beating this game... all in all, this game is phenomenal. Thanks for the piece of art, and I can't wait to keep playing to see all the endings and unlock all the extra stuff!
Hey StrangeHero, wow! I really appreciate your message.
I aimed for a hard-but-fair, challenging-but-rewarding game, so I'm glad that you thought that. 30 deaths in the first 10 seconds is completely normal, given the nature of the challenge in that fight! That said, I'm looking at ways to smooth out the difficulty curve in the next game while keeping an optional high ceiling.
Speaking of Nontimetis, if you get stuck with the extra stuff, he should have you covered with his YouTube vids. Also, feel free to redeem your included Steam key if the extra achievements interest you.
Thanks for playing and sharing your experience :)
- Josh
Gratz on the game, from one twinstick low-res saving-humans-from-killer-robots game dev to another! I really love the innovative mechanic of "the people you're rescuing are your power up", and how alive you're able to make the backgrounds look with just two bits of colour!
Thanks, and congrats on your game as well :)
One of my favorite games of the year up to this point.
Has that classic 8-bit home computer game vibe with great controls and cool music.
Can be super tough at times, but it is fair real difficulty with a hint of rng thrown in to spice things up. One boss battle especially surprised me with it's design that made me thing "how on earth am I supposed to do this" for the first few tries, but later the solution became quite obvious, if still hard to pull off.
Also really fun game to speedrun, with well thought out built in tools and mechanics.
Highly recommended.
Hey Nontimetis, thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it. I'm glad you made it past that boss and went on to speedrun the game. I've enjoyed watching your videos on YouTube. Thanks for playing :)
Reminds me of Hero Core, and that's definitely a good thing. This one's on my to-play list.
There are some obvious similarities to Hero Core, but it also has it's own unique style as well. I definitely recommend it.
this looks absolutely beautiful. i’m using an M1 mac…is the game ready for it yet (willing to test).
Hey Samuel, thanks for your interest. At this stage, porting to Mac just isn't feasible, unfortunately. I underestimated the process and don't have the tools or resources for it. I'm sorry to report that I'm focusing on Windows only for now
couldn't get it to work on M1 mac :(
Oh no... :( Have you tried running it through Rosetta?
(Control-click → Get Info → Open using Rosetta.)
Hey, I've learned that the issue is actually my fault, and I can't guarantee a solution, so I've refunded your purchase and taken down the macOS build for now. I got a little too excited to release a macOS build and didn't do enough testing! I'm sorry about that. Hopefully I can get to the bottom of it, but I can't make any promises at this stage. Thanks for understanding.
Just curious, what game engine did you use?
GameMaker Studio :)
And now this must be ported to the Playdate
oooo this looks like hero core vibes. i would love to give this a play but im only on mac...
I'm looking into it :)
How long does a game of this size take to make just curious?
Interesting question - It's difficult to say. I can't answer for your circumstance, but it took me just over 2 years, working on and off in my spare time, and a lot more seriously over the last year. If I did it again with what I know now, the answer would change.
But also, don't let size cloud your judgement - You can code physics and build out a playable world with some enemies in 1-3 months... Maybe even a week or a weekend with some game jam experience.
However, detailing it with funky graphics, making a soundtrack, sound effects, writing dialogue, making cutscenes for multiple endings, making satisfying boss fights, making a menu system with settings and file management incl. an extras menu with achievements, making alternate game modes, secrets, actioning lists of suggestions from playtesting feedback, learning how to do things you haven't done before (like writing a shader for brightness/contrast), unexpected time required to mentally adjust between different types of tasks, getting your game to a place that you genuinely think is worth the money you're asking for, etc... Well, that all takes time. It really depends what you want to put into your game of this size. If you haven't made a game before, let's not forget failing projects until your scope aligns with your capabilities, as well! But, the more experience you have, the more the time will shrink. I constantly underestimated how long things would take with Rogue Sentry, though.
I hope this provides a little bit of insight. :)
Such a great, valuable answer -- a perfect way to summarize the beginning of the game dev journey. This is gold <3
How did you get testers?
Mostly friends and people I know. I also got some good feedback at a local game dev meetup
Great game, really challenging and rewarding!
Had a lot of fun clearing all the rooms and collecting the human allies. The humans really helped me with clearing some of the more difficult generators. Love the art style and story!
Hey, thanks for the kind message! I'm glad that humans are useful after all - in a similar scenario, we'll need all the help we can get!
Really superb twin stick shooter. Evokes the feel of some classic Amiga games. I'm a fan of bullet hell shooters so some of the screens really scratched that itch for me, but there is plenty of variety for any shooter fan I think. Great soundtrack too if you're a fan of chiptunes.
If you put Cybernoid / robotron / and a few other shooters into a pot and mixed them, it would look something like this.
Without a doubt worth the asking price!
Wow, thanks for that! I definitely tried to materialise a variety of influences, and the odd bullet hell was amongst them. I'm glad that that's evident. Thanks for checking out my game. :)
Really fun and polished! I am not particularly great at it though, have been stuck at the first boss(?) about 30 screens in. Love the mood/graphics/music, a really enjoyable game!
Thanks, Kyle! I appreciate your message. Hint: Generators can be tackled in any order - If the first one you've found is too difficult, chances are that there is an easier generator elsewhere. :)
Aah will definitely seek out a different one then first, thank you!
Edit: Beat the game! Took me just under 3 hours. Turns out the first generator I found was the hardest one lol. Was a lot more manageable after looking elsewhere first. Great game!
Very nice work. I played about half the game and was going to quit for the night when one of the generators was giving me a little trouble but I couldn't resist opening it back up and finishing it.
Thanks for the nice message! That means a lot to me. Humanity is now one step closer to avoiding an AI takeover scenario.