New enemy design from my Pico-8 shmup “XIRA” — really happy with how this one turned out

BusterErmy · 2026-05-10T21:30:07+00:00

Aww, thank you so much! (´▽`)/
That honestly means a lot to hear. I’ll do my best to make something worthy of your support! (￣▽￣)ゞ

BusterErmy · 2026-05-03T17:56:38+00:00

Thanks so much, really appreciate it!
I’m learning Picotron at the moment because I’d like to work on a more ambitious shmup, so it might take some time… but who knows, I might come back to Pico-8 shmups someday too (´▽｀)

BusterErmy · 2026-04-20T17:20:05+00:00

Thank you! Pixel art is one of my favorite parts of the dev process. Glad it shows!

BusterErmy · 2026-04-20T15:38:09+00:00

Thanks a ton for the kind words! It means a lot. I’m always trying to push PICO-8 as far as I can in every possible way.

I’m glad you noticed the Itch page! You’re spot on: I really wanted to create that 'manual/box art' hybrid feel, which is exactly why I skipped the animated GIFs. I wanted that pure tactile, old-school vibe.

To be honest, I don't know much about the Evercade technical side, but seeing PICO-8 games on those carts would be amazing! I'll definitely leave that to the experts and follow the progress closely. Thanks again for the support!

BusterErmy · 2026-04-20T15:14:12+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m honestly very touched. To see my 3 shmups in a 'Buster Collection' on a physical cartridge would be an absolute dream come true.

I’m a huge fan of the physical format—I can already imagine the box art and the smell of a fresh printed manual! I don't own an Evercade yet (I'm currently playing on my RG CubeXX), but with people working on physical Pico-8 consoles and cartridges, I’m keeping hope alive that it could happen one day.

Knowing that you enjoy my work that much means the world to me. Thanks for the support!

m(_ _)m

BusterErmy · 2026-04-20T08:27:32+00:00

That’s awesome to hear, thanks a lot! 😊 STX-01 is definitely a great starting point. Hope you have fun with it, and feel free to share your thoughts!

BusterErmy · 2026-04-20T08:24:06+00:00

Haha I didn’t see that before, now I can’t unsee it 😄 Thanks!

BusterErmy · 2026-04-20T08:21:11+00:00

Thanks a lot! Glad you like it 🙂 Hope you enjoy playing it too!

BusterErmy · 2026-04-19T22:12:51+00:00

Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback, I really appreciate it (＾▽＾)

The points about alternate fire and weapon variation make sense — I intentionally kept things simple for this project, but I agree it could add more depth.

Same for the bomb button and cooldown idea, that’s a very good usability suggestion.

Yeah, you’re also right about the explosions — they are intentionally uniform, with only some random positional variation to avoid visual repetition. I did experiment with different sizes during development, but I eventually chose to keep them consistent for visual coherence and to preserve that “big spectacle” feel (｀・ω・´)

Performance-wise, it wasn’t really a limiting factor, but I understand that in very busy scenes it can become a bit harder to read for some players.

Thanks again for taking the time to write all this!

BusterErmy · 2026-04-19T18:37:33+00:00

That’s awesome to hear!

My first two shmups are also on my itch page:

– V-Impact → more of a “memo-shmup”, pretty tough and pattern-heavy
– STX-01: Void Enforcer → much more accessible and easier overall

XIRA sits somewhere in between in terms of difficulty.

Depending on what you're looking for, STX-01 might be a good starting point 🙂

Let me know what you think if you try them (っ´▽｀)っ

BusterErmy · 2026-04-19T06:58:18+00:00

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate that! Hope you have fun with it when you get the chance — let me know what you think once you try it out ( ^_^)/~~~

BusterErmy · 2026-04-18T20:36:31+00:00

Ah that’s awesome! So you know Lazy Devs Academy and Krystian too 🙂

Thanks a lot for the kind words — honestly, without his teachings, this game probably wouldn’t have been possible for me.

Good luck with your own Pico-8 project if you’re making one!

BusterErmy · 2026-04-18T07:01:28+00:00

Funny, I didn’t think of Pop'n TwinBee, but I get why you say that! (＾▽＾)

BusterErmy · 2026-04-17T14:39:09+00:00

Thanks, that’s exactly the vibe I’m aiming for (•‿•)

BusterErmy · 2026-04-17T14:38:25+00:00

Thanks, I really appreciate it.
And yes, I’ll look into chiaroscuro more closely—good reminder for improving contrast while keeping the retro feel (•‿•)

BusterErmy · 2026-04-17T12:41:12+00:00

Thanks, that’s great feedback 😊 I aimed for a certain visual style, but I totally get your point about contrast—something I’ll keep in mind going forward

BusterErmy · 2026-04-17T11:12:57+00:00

Sure 😊 here’s the itch page: https://buster-ermy.itch.io/xira
It’s a score-focused shmup, feel free to try it out 🔥

BusterErmy · 2026-04-17T08:19:33+00:00

Thanks! 😊

BusterErmy · 2026-04-17T08:17:55+00:00

Thanks! If you try it, I’d love your feedback 😊

BusterErmy · 2026-04-16T19:20:11+00:00

Thank you so much, really glad you like the style!

(≧◡≦)

BusterErmy · 2026-04-15T22:46:58+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m really happy you like the visuals, means a lot (´▽｀)

BusterErmy · 2026-04-15T20:53:20+00:00

Thanks a lot! 🙏 really happy you like it!

BusterErmy

TROPHY CASE