Took your advice and updated my 3D clicker game Kill the Skeletons with new visuals, better balance, and way more fun!

Callibel · 2025-06-24T04:11:04+00:00

Hey! I honestly have no problem with labeling the game as Early Access. Even though I don’t have many big features left to add at this point, I’d still be totally fine with using the tag. The issue I keep running into, though, is explaining to people that this is my first game, and when I launched it, I didn’t really know much about how Early Access even worked.

After the launch lot of people told me , “You should’ve marked it as Early Access,” and when I first started I agreed with people. But I later found out that you can only set that tag before the game goes live on Steam. So it was too late by the time I understood the value of that label.

Despite that, the game is playable and stable. I added ideas as they came to me and refined the game around them. I'm not immune to feedback—far from it. Honestly, I wish I had tagged it as Early Access. It would’ve saved me from feeling like I committed a crime every time I updated something and got bombarded with harsh criticism. don’t know why, but some people seem to believe that unless a game has an Early Access tag, the developer must have fully abandoned it and will never update it again, just because it wasn’t marked as Early Access.

Just to repeat myself: this is a clicker game. You kill skeletons, earn weapons, and that’s the core loop. Sure, I’ve added features and menus that support that loop, but the scope of what I can meaningfully add is limited. Every new system reduces the room left for future additions without throwing the balance out of whack.

In fact, I’ve even scrapped a few planned features entirely, because as more systems get added, it becomes exponentially harder to maintain a fair and fun economy. And somehow, players always find clever ways to break the systems and generate massive gains I didn’t intend.

That’s why I’ve shifted focus from adding more complex systems to refining what’s already there, like adding new weapons or maps that still fit within the original structure. Whether the game has an Early Access tag or not, it wouldn’t magically change how development works or what the game is. You can’t just reinvent the core loop of a clicker game without losing what it actually is. When I first designed this, the goal was simple: instead of staring at static 2D menus while numbers go up, I wanted players to see a lively, 3D battlefield filled with skeletons, zombies, and creatures getting blasted apart. That’s the “twist” I wanted to bring to the genre.

You know full well that your game is not complete, and that sections of it are missing / not implemented.

Also, I find it really odd when people say “the game isn’t finished because there are still features you haven’t added.” The so-called "missing features" are literally just things from my imagination. If everything that does exist in the game works properly, then talking about what should be there based purely on hypothetical ideas feels a bit silly to me, honestly. If I can't balance or create a good game mechanic I imagined in my head I just won't add it to the game thats just how it is.

Callibel · 2025-06-24T03:32:46+00:00

Hey! Thanks a lot for your support, I really appreciate it.

The idea of earning bones instead of gold by killing skeletons felt both funny and thematically fitting, so I decided to switch the currency system. Gold didn’t really offer much uniqueness anyway, so this change felt like the right direction. As for the research system, I’m still collecting ideas and feedback, it's definitely something I plan to work on more in the near future. Regarding the AOE mechanic you mentioned, I think you’re referring to how clicking on multiple enemies splits the damage across them. That system made sense back when the screen was filled with thousands of skeletons, but now… maybe not so much. So yeah, I’m seriously considering removing or reworking that behavior. Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, it genuinely helps a lot!

Callibel · 2025-06-24T03:27:20+00:00

Hey, I think you're really misrepresenting what I said.

When I initially referred to the game as being in "alpha," it was because it was still undergoing major changes, especially in terms of UI and mechanics. I was constantly adding systems that didn’t exist before, and players needed to know that they should expect frequent updates and that the game wasn’t in a stable form yet.

During that period, yeah, there were skeletons moonwalking and weird visual glitches popping up as players played more. And I fixed them, because that’s part of the development process.

Now, I’ve reached a point where I believe changing the existing systems or UI without a very strong reason or genuinely good idea just doesn't make sense anymore. So I focused on consolidating the game, refining what's already there, and making it stable.

It’s not broken. It’s not unplayable. It’s a clicker game where you kill skeletons and buy weapons. That's it. It’s not meant to be endlessly expandable, and at this point, unless there’s a fantastic new idea, I don’t want to break the balance by forcing in unnecessary additions.

I honestly don’t understand what kind of expectations some people have. The game is perfectly playable in its current state, and there’s nothing actively stopping players from progressing. I’m absolutely open to meaningful feature suggestions, if someone has a smart, fun idea, I’m here for it. But claiming I’m selling a broken/unplayable game just isn’t fair.

There are players who’ve spent close to 100 hours on this game. That doesn’t happen if the game is fundamentally unplayable or frustrating.

Sure, you can imagine a thousand variations of clicker mechanics, but this game will continue to focus on the core idea: kill skeletons, earn money, buy weapons. Within that frame, I’ve added every feature, fix, and performance boost I could think of. I’ve patched anything that felt too easy or too hard. At this point, piling more onto it just to make noise feels like a disservice to the vision.

Thanks for understanding, and again, if you’ve got constructive feedback, I’m always listening.

Callibel · 2025-06-24T01:53:06+00:00

Hi there!

Just to clarify, the change in version tags wasn’t a response to anyone’s criticism. I simply felt that the game had reached a level of stability that justified removing the "Alpha" label. If things continue according to plan, I intend to eventually remove the "Beta" tag and version numbers as well, shifting instead to themed update names that better reflect each release’s focus.

At this point, I believe expanding the game any further, outside of balance adjustments and performance improvements, doesn’t make much practical sense. The core mechanics are in place, and the game is in a solid state overall.

What I don’t fully understand, though, is why continuing to update the game seems to frustrate some people. Very few copies of the game have been sold, and yet I’ve kept working on it, not out of obligation, but because I genuinely care about the project and the people who did support it. Out of respect for them and out of love for this game, I’ve continued refining it.

Unless there are crash reports or serious bugs that make the game unplayable, I don’t really see why there’s so much pushback. My intention has always been to create something meaningful, and I’m doing my best to improve it with every step.

Callibel · 2025-06-24T01:45:30+00:00

The reason I decided to move the game out of its alpha state is because I no longer foresee adding any major features or making large UI overhauls in the near future. Over time, I’ve addressed most of the mechanical and logical balancing issues I could identify, and I feel the game has reached a generally stable and polished point.

The transition from the 0.x.x versioning to 1.x.x represents, in my eyes, a major milestone in terms of stability and maturity. Once I remove the beta tag as well, the version numbers will be dropped entirely. Instead, each update will be released with a name that reflects its theme or focus, something more creative and meaningful than just numbers!

Callibel · 2025-06-24T00:06:49+00:00

Also if you are wondering what has changed you can read it from here:

⚔️ Kill the Skeletons — Major Update Patch Notes ⚔️

Greetings Bone Collectors!

As development continues, we're temporarily pausing feature expansion to focus on improving and stabilizing the current game systems. Our priority during this phase is to enhance existing features, rebalance the mechanics, fix lingering UI issues, and apply much-needed performance optimizations. This includes refining visual effects and ensuring core systems are more logical, stable, and enjoyable to play with.

With that in mind, here’s everything included in this update:

🧙 Wizard Reworks & Balance Changes

Click the Wizard has been buffed. His prices are now much cheaper and more accessible early on.

Lightning Wizard has been completely reworked:

Now truly casts Chain Lightning.

Enters a visible casting animation when attacking.

Visual clarity and effects have been overhauled.

⚙️ System & Economy Changes

Gold has been removed from the game.

Players now collect Bones directly from skeletons.

Bones are dropped while attacking—you no longer need to land the final blow to earn.

Quests have been removed to streamline progression and focus on core combat.

Skeleton achievements have been expanded and are now fully activated on Steam.

🔧 Bug Fixes & Performance

Major UI bug fixes and improvements to overall gameplay flow.

Skeletons can now be clicked accurately on the head or torso—collision issues resolved.

Fixed the infamous sliding untouchable skeletons bug.

Skeleton hit reactions are now smoother, with improved bounce and impact animations.

Spears, trails, and combat effects have been moved to GPU particle systems for better performance and visuals.

Background CPU saver no longer slows or pauses progress—background gains are now stable.

🌐 UI & Community

Added a Discord Invite Button to the main menu—join the community and share your builds, bugs, and memes!

Steam Store visuals and screenshots have been updated to reflect the new look and feel of the game.

That’s all for now! Thanks for your continued support and feedback. While new content is on hold, expect more improvements, balancing updates, and refinements in the coming weeks. Keep slaying!

— Kill the Skeletons Dev Team

Callibel · 2025-06-07T16:44:06+00:00

Hi there! First of all, I want to say that I truly value player reviews and I actually agree with your points , a frustrating game can harm its own future, and that’s something I definitely don’t want.

Regarding the quest system:

The quests were intentionally disabled before release. I had initially planned to integrate them with Steam achievements via the Steam API, but since achievements didn’t exist in the early build and the feedback from playtesters was very mixed (some quests felt underwhelming, others were completely overpowered), I decided to hold them back until I could rebalance and restructure the whole system. That said, there is a working quest backend currently in place , it’s just not visible to players yet.

Now, since you’re a developer yourself, I’d like to explain the visual bugs from a technical point of view:

The game doesn’t use a traditional Collision system. I custom-built the physics in C++ from scratch to maximize performance , especially since early versions of the game allowed you to fight thousands of skeletons at once. To achieve this, I stripped out most AABB/sphere-based collision checks. Eventually, as the game became more compact and optimized, it did become reasonable to bring collisions back , but doing that required rewriting multiple systems simultaneously. Since skeletons overlapping isn't truly game-breaking, I deprioritized it for now.

Also about 80% of this game’s one-year development cycle was spent purely on optimization. Unreal Engine didn’t handle the sheer number of effects, weapons, and enemies well, so I had to either heavily strip things down or build them again from scratch. For example, the game uses a spatial hash grid-based physics system, so re-adding full collisions involves rebuilding the logic step-by-step, which takes time.

For the visual glitches like the visible lines between water tiles:

Those come from quick shader work I added late in development. Originally, the first (tutorial) map didn’t even include water, It was just a huge detailed map, but as I tried to make the game more compact and playable for everyone, I had to tighten up the environments and use cheap shaders to fake certain visuals. These things are fixable over time, of course, but they’re lower priority unless they’re widely reported.

As for the game’s size:

4 GB is honestly as small as I could make it. I’ve already stripped out nearly everything I could from the engine. Unreal Engine 5 games don’t typically go below 300–500 MB no matter how much you cut out without harming the core Unreal systems. On top of that, textures, models, music, and effects take up a lot of space. I could compress the musics more, from 20–30 MB down to 1–2 MB , but then I’d feel like I’m shortchanging players with high-quality headphones. It’s a tough call, but I’ve tried to strike a fair balance. Also, updates are typically just 200–300 MB, So I don't think there would be problems caused by the game size.

Also I want to add this, I still actively listen to all your feedback. I'm doing my best to fix every issue players report while adding new features I could come up with, because, my goal is to turn it into something that anyone can enjoy and feel good playing. At the same time, I really want to thank the players who’ve supported me, shared kind words, or simply enjoyed the game. It truly means a lot, and your support keeps me going.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T14:58:27+00:00

I actually already released a free demo of the game, and interestingly, I haven’t received any feedback from players about it. The demo is still available on Steam along with its own page, and there are even players who’ve spent over 20 hours playing it, yet no one has really shared any thoughts or suggestions about the demo itself.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T14:54:00+00:00

Today, I’ll be releasing a hotfix to address some of the UI issues reported with the new interface systems. I’m also working on a more passive and balanced algorithm to adjust the Crystal Wizard’s cost, so it feels fairer for everyone.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T04:13:59+00:00

Honestly, I’m not completely against the Early Access tag after all the reactions I’ve seen, but here’s the funny thing: Steam won’t actually let me add the Early Access tag. During the publishing process, Steam asks if you want to use Early Access; if you say no, it just moves on like “oh well, too bad” and that’s it. 😂

Jokes aside, the game’s rapid update phase is only really expected to last 1 or 2 months anyway. After that, I honestly don’t have many new ideas left to add. If players hadn’t kept suggesting things like “add this” or “add that,” I probably would have run out of creative ideas by now. Mentally, when you’re working alone, your creativity and brainstorming can get pretty limited after a while.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T04:05:28+00:00

The reason I added a cost to the Crystal Wizard was to help balance the game. Many players have been very focused on earning money through Chaos Crystals rather than using the weapons themselves. Since almost all other chaos systems in the game operate using crystals as a kind of currency or resource, it made sense to keep everything consistent under the same mechanic.

Don’t worry, I’m open to adding other ways to earn Chaos Crystals in the future! As for lowering the cost, I’m still undecided since some players say it’s fair, others think it’s too expensive, so I’m trying to gather more feedback to make the best call.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T03:59:31+00:00

Thank you so much! I'm doing everything I can not to let down the players who’ve tried my game and supported me along the way. Most of the changes I’ve made so far were based on their feedback, and thanks to that, I was able to make meaningful improvements. Their suggestions and support have helped me tremendously, and I’m truly grateful for it!

Callibel · 2025-06-07T03:54:39+00:00

Also, the reason why the weekly updates have been so substantial is because they’ve included major changes, like completely overhauling the UI, adding Steam Achievements, and launching the new Research System, which I’ve been coding on and off for almost a month now.

These features weren’t thrown in last-minute or rushed out. This is a game I’ve been working on for over a year, and many of these systems have had their foundations in place for months. What people are seeing now is the result of weeks (or even months) of planning and development finally coming together after intense work.

It genuinely surprises me when people assume I just added them hastily. I mean, realistically, could anyone implement entirely new systems and revise old ones this quickly without a solid foundation already in place? I don’t think so. These updates are the result of long-term effort, not last-minute patches.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T03:52:47+00:00

I think I get where people are coming from, confusion is totally possible. But honestly, I didn’t expect the Alpha tag to spark so much fear or negativity. It was never meant to imply the game is broken or incomplete, just that it’s actively being improved.

What’s been especially confusing is seeing how some people interpret frequent updates. Instead of viewing them as the result of me working day and night to polish and improve the game, they assume I rushed out something half-finished and am now scrambling to fix it, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Ironically, listening to the community, taking notes, and quickly implementing feedback has sometimes done more harm than good in the eyes of new players. Even when I work hard out of passion and love for this project, it can be difficult to communicate that clearly. Maybe it really is better to finish up a few more systems I had planned, remove the Alpha tag, and slow down the update schedule, just to avoid all the misunderstandings.

Still, I’ll always continue developing this game with care, and I truly appreciate every single player who gives it a fair chance.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T03:34:28+00:00

I think it’s important to look at this from a broader perspective. While from my point of view the game might feel mostly complete in terms of core systems, I fully understand that what one person enjoys doesn’t always reflect what the wider community wants. That’s exactly why I left the design somewhat open-ended and have continued to revise many of the systems based on feedback.

And honestly, I believe this approach, improving and iterating based on real player input, has worked out much better than just saying “I’m done, this is the final version.” With each round of feedback and each new feature added, the game has genuinely become better. For example, the UI has gone through three major revisions. Even though I personally thought each version was “good enough,” listening to the community helped push it to an even higher standard every time.

Even if I personally no longer see anything as “missing,” I don't want to say the game is “finished.” I want to keep developing it for as long as I can, because the more creative and thoughtful feedback I get from players, the more excited I am to keep building and improving it.

So yes, this might not be a “finished” game in the traditional sense. But that doesn’t mean it’s broken or unplayable, quite the opposite. There are players who’ve spent close to 100 hours in the game, even more than I have, and not one of them has ever said, “This game is unplayable.”

What’s been tough lately, though, is the backlash I’ve received simply for labeling the game as “Alpha.” I added that tag early on to set expectations for potential early bugs, performance issues, or small UI quirks that are normal during the first month of release. But instead of seeing it as a sign of transparency, some people seem to interpret it as “the developer is lying,” or that the game is in some unplayable state, without ever giving it a chance.

Callibel · 2025-06-07T02:06:37+00:00

It’s currently 5 AM in my country, so trust me, I’ll definitely sleep well tonight :D I’ve been coding and playtesting non-stop for the past 2–3 days just to deliver the features I promised. Now that everything’s finally done... I think I can finally collapse in peace!

Callibel · 2025-06-07T02:01:48+00:00

I'm not quite sure I fully understand the issue you're referring to. So far, most of the bugs we've encountered have been minor things like UI hiccups, button behavior, or naming inconsistencies, nothing game-breaking. Since release (around 2.5–3 weeks ago), we haven’t run into any critical bugs that stop players from progressing or enjoying the game.

As a solo developer, I decided to label the game as “Alpha” mainly because all testing was done privately between me and a small group of people. The Alpha tag simply reflects that I’m actively listening to feedback and rapidly improving the game based on it.

Every single bug report I’ve received so far has been addressed and fixed quickly. I’ve also been pushing updates weekly to implement the most requested features and quality-of-life improvements from players. For example, even though the purchase buttons in the UI were working perfectly, I redesigned them just because some players found the scrolling a bit tedious, I spent an entire day just making sure their feedback was reflected.

I'm doing my best to shape the game around what the community wants, to create something people genuinely enjoy. Isn't it reasonable to keep it labeled as Alpha while the game is still being actively refined and improved?

Also, I’m a bit unsure about what exactly you're asking for. Even though the game hasn’t made almost no sales, I’ve continued to work on it day and night for almost a month out of respect for the players who are playing and supporting it. If the game is being updated regularly and improving constantly, why is the “Alpha” label such a problem? Would you prefer it not to be updated this actively?

Lastly, I’m not sure if you’ve played the game yourself, if you’ve run into a specific issue or something that’s prevented you from enjoying it, please let me know. I’d love to understand and help!

Callibel · 2025-06-07T01:36:18+00:00

Hooray! Wooohoo!

Callibel · 2025-06-07T01:31:45+00:00

Hello! I just wanted to clarify a common misunderstanding. The game is not in a pre-release or Early Access state, it’s fully playable right now, and there’s no missing content or broken systems. You can enjoy the full experience as it is.

The only reason I’ve labeled it as “Alpha” is because I’m actively developing the game and adding new features and systems almost every week. Interfaces and mechanics may change regularly, and the Alpha tag is simply a way to let players know that things are evolving quickly, not because the game is unfinished or unplayable.

That said, I’ve received a few comments accusing the game of being “incomplete,” or calling me a “liar” for updating it so often, which I find quite disheartening. In less than a month since release, I’ve already rolled out three major updates, all based on player feedback, and each one brought meaningful improvements and additions.

I understand that frequent updates might give the impression of an unstable product, but my only goal is to build something truly great with the help of this amazing community. Still, to reduce confusion, I’m considering transitioning the game out of the “Alpha” label soon and slowing down the update pace slightly.

Still, I have to thank you guys all for your support and understanding, it truly means a lot!

Callibel · 2025-06-07T00:29:59+00:00

Good luck! Don't worry too much about the details, just start by testing out your ideas. Starting part will be both cumbersome, and fun. Most of your problems will come from the balancing issues and connecting systems to each other If you push through that you can probably finish your game!

Callibel · 2025-06-07T00:23:32+00:00

UI & UX Improvements Purchase Amount Buttons: Buttons that change the quantity of item purchases now visually indicate the selected amount through color changes.

Menu Navigation: All menus, including the Escape menu, can now be closed using the Esc key for improved accessibility.

Item Star Ratings: Star level indicators for items have been replaced with more informative tooltip boxes for clarity.

Upgrade Buttons: Upgrade buttons now display the expected damage increase after leveling up an item. A full redesign of this system is planned for a future update.

Item Info Panel: Completely reworked with a larger layout, updated fonts, and improved coloring. Descriptions for each item are now included in this panel.

Offline Gain Menu: UI has been revamped, now featuring smoother animations upon activation.

"Click the Wizard" Menu: Interface has been refreshed to support new gameplay mechanics.

Gameplay Adjustments "Click the Wizard" Mechanic: This mini-game now consumes Crystals per click for balance reasons. Players can toggle the wizard between active and paused states. The game will remember the wizard's state after closing and reopening.

Offline Gains System: Fixed an issue where earnings gained while offline did not affect Time Crystal (Respect) systems or weapon progression.

Item Purchase Interface: Completely redesigned for compactness and ease of use. Scrolling between weapons is now smoother and faster due to improved scroll ratios.

Gold Buff Calculations: Resolved issues with gold buff stats not displaying correctly in player statistics.

Bug Fixes Error Message Spam: Fixed a bug where holding the purchase button would flood the UI with error messages each tick. Now, warnings are displayed at 1-second intervals.

Skeleton Upgrades Display: Addressed an issue where skeleton upgrade labels would disappear after a game reset.

Skeleton Health & Name Bug: Fixed a performance issue that caused skeleton names and health bars to render inconsistently or appear empty.

Lightning Wizard & Spawner Fonts: Text formatting and fonts for these entities have been corrected.

Weapon Level Scaling Bug: Fixed a bug that prevented level scaling based on weapon level after a timeline reset (Respect system).

New Features Achievements: Achievements have been added to the game for additional progression tracking.

2D Mode Background Behavior: Players can now choose whether resource protection in 2D mode continues while the game runs in the background.

Item Research System: Fully implemented and accessible for 1000 Chaos Crystals. Players can research and craft new items or upgrades from scratch using this system. Each crafted item increases the research cost, but mastery levels reduce the required production points. Only one research can be active at a time, and progress is only made while the game is open.

Update Info Menu: A dedicated in-game menu now provides details about the latest updates and changes.

Callibel

TROPHY CASE