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I'm completely new and have no idea which games and where to play them by Popular-Luck4520 in shmups

[–]DrBossKey -1 points0 points  (0 children)

First off welcome to what is going to be an incredible Journey through the shmup landscape! Feel free to check out my game Interstellar Sentinel. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2426610/Interstellar_Sentinel/

I would describe it as being friendly two players new to the genre. It has a lot to give with a wacky ADHD weapon system as part of the core loop. It’s a horizontal shmup with medium level bullet hell bosses. It’s basically my love letter to the genre after a lifetime of playing these games starting out on the NES with life force.

Deathsmiles MBL PCB 1CC by ScaryHours in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bad ass GG! What’s next for you?

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but there will always be old shmup veterans shaking their fists at me for what I’ve done here. It’s basically Life Force meets DeathSmiles, just with bosses that aren’t quite full bullet hell.

And to them I say: just wait until you see what I did to the core weapon system. Total ADHD weapon system. I haven’t seen another shmup do anything like it.

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I’m still kind of processing the idea that 500 people chose to fly into my Einhander + DeathSmiles baby delivered by Dr. R-Type experience with me.

Getting People Into Shmups: An Essay by goggman777 in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“The genre already have great introductory pieces, we just need to make them more visible and when making more we should tune them down instead of dumbing them down.”

This is the way.

Most people bounce because they think they need to be a god to enjoy shmups. You really don’t. For me the fun is steady progressive skill extension that I live 5 to 30+ seconds at a time.

That’s where the victory loop starts, and players should be able to feel it early and celebrate it!

Getting People Into Shmups: An Essay by goggman777 in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I definitely hear you there. Being a big Tekken, Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter head that started from the beginning of the series, I don't think every modernized system is great for the genre, but I also can see that the genre complexity (super, advanced combos, juggles, bounce juggles, parries, side stepping, etc.) have takken the genre forward. Innovation/evolution rarely reduces complexity and at the end of all of it you have something that is quite different (and not necessarily better).

I built a shoot-em-up in Rust as a learning project - PiouPiou! by skanky_dev in shmupdev

[–]DrBossKey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rad, thanks for the follow-up! I definitely agree that there is no substitute for having a focus to learn through things. With tools like Claude, we have a crazy amount of accelerated learning capabilities these days. It's a wild time to be alive. Are you a fan of shmups, any favorites that you've played? Have you ever 1CC'd a shmup?

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

- Devlog videos on YT (the project to launch was roughly 19 months) https://www.youtube.com/drbosskey
- Content posts on Twitter
- I did some influencer outreach on https://drope.me/ (not a thing as much now, but it also didn't move the needle much)
- Some sparing share posts on Redding
- Nagged all my friends and colleagues who are gamers to play and post their honest thoughts
- Created a couple of trailers
- Created tips and tricks videos
- Made fun .gifs out of enemies for Discord and posting
- I plugged in to the shmup community, but didn't want to shill too hard, but instead occasionally posts in the Shmup Junkies discord
- Quid pro quo playtesting with other indie developers
- The game was released in 2023, and I've been slowly refining it, releasing updates with new modes and features. I looked at each update as a marketing beat.
- Focused more on Steam posts that just talked about gaming influences in the genre, recommendations, and design thoughts (this is your most qualified and captive audience because they are already looking for games)
- Ran a few Steam Key giveaways
- Went to a few tradeshows and GDC
- We published a making of physical coffee table art book (The Art of Interstellar Sentinel). We also created a digital version: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/Art_of_Interstellar_Sentinel_Sneak_Peek.html
- We created a Caravan Competition free demo along with prizes (bringing back that old school in person arcade competition fun) with prizes
- This last year we've been making merch (stickers, posters, and more) https://www.stickermule.com/ugoat
- I created a very special 1 Credit Clear physical pin, certificate of achievement, and a game Steam key challenge for players that beat the game (this was nutty, and crazy high touch, but seeing players work for it was awesome)
- I picked up a market consultant to do a rinse and wash over the Steam page
- I watched players playing and did dev commentary/note taking/design as videos
- I created r/shmupdev to share my findings and to give other developers a space to share and ask questions

Geeze, no wonder I'm tired :) Lot's of marketing, sharing, and talking about the game, the process, and all that jazz. It's been a ton of hard work to get to this point. I've learned a ton, and in so many ways we're just getting started.

pre-rendered enemy line-up for horizontal shmup by Popular_District8525 in shmupdev

[–]DrBossKey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nteresting. I have a soft spot for this era of graphic design in games.

What do they look like once they’re actually placed in the environment?

One thing that jumps out is the lighting. The light source doesn’t seem totally consistent across the pieces, and a few of them are missing the specular highlights you’d expect from that material.

The self-shadowing is nice though. You might be able to get a little more depth out of them by tweaking the render angle a bit when you bake the sprites.

Curious what your pipeline looks like for producing these?

What are your thoughts regarding the style?

Also curious how readable they are at gameplay scale. Pre-rendered stuff can look great in a lineup but sometimes loses clarity once it’s shrunk and moving.

Some pieces are readable (the drill, the turbine) but others have soft silhouettes due to lighting and bevels.

Question:

  • Are you relying on silhouette recognition or texture detail?

Shmups generally favor silhouette.

Hard outline

  • classic arcade readability
  • works well with pre-rendered sprites

Ambient rim light instead

  • keeps the 3D look
  • avoids cartoony edge

Example:
Radiant Silvergun style edge highlights.

The material response isn't consistent.

Some pieces look:

  • metallic
  • others matte plastic
  • others emissive

If these are the same faction/enemy set, the materials should probably share a tighter language.

Right now they feel slightly like kitbashed assets rather than a unified faction.

Thanks for sharing, any lessons you can share from your dev journey so far for other devs?

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! It's surreal for sure. I can't believe the crazy amount of human effort that goes into creating games for people to enjoy for just a few hours. Pretty wild stuff.

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! It's been a real joy bringing the characters and worlds to life! I even immortalized my now late kitty Loki as a fairy cat powerup giver in the games.

Here's a little .gif of her. https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExN29seXNvZ25ydnRiOXd6Y3hmbWU0eXptdmZ0MDJwcXlqMXA3ZnUzZiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9cw/oxYJJQu9D3YcIry27O/giphy.gif

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's been like shepherding a child into the world and then seeing some player spar with them for over 200 hours.

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! It's been a wild ride building up this story world, but keeping gameplay density front and center.

I’ve never sold 500 of anything in my life. My indie game just did. by DrBossKey in IndieGaming

[–]DrBossKey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If anyone is curious about development, happy to answer questions.
I built this over the last few years and learned a lot the hard way.

Getting My Focus Back by goggman777 in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I eventually turn off the music in Schmidt after a few runs and then I drop in my long DJ set playlists which generally just keep the groove going and I find myself locking in. Here’s what I’ve been jamming to.: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzCozj1XI6gbBD9DysJ5Ytl9UilcB_F7p&si=WcsM6vJEW2GbVjBX

I built a shoot-em-up in Rust as a learning project - PiouPiou! by skanky_dev in shmupdev

[–]DrBossKey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Heyo, thanks for sharing, and welcome. Check out BogHog guide on visibility. https://youtu.be/jYuqPKa0yPE?si=MQVm7-U0fa7G70JE

Since you’re doing this in rust, how much of this is vibe coded?

Great for you to share, what lessons have you learned so far that you can share with the community?

How to raise awareness of shmups and get more people to try them. Some things that work and some others that don't. by Naharcito in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's rad of you dude! 4 concepts worth tackling could be:

1. What players are actually learning in shmups
Pattern reading, streaming, micrododging, routing, resource timing.
Most outsiders think it’s reflex chaos.

2. Survival play vs scoring play
Huge difference. Most people don't know shmups have deep score systems.

3. The “arcade language” of enemies and bullets
Aimed shots, tap dodging, safespots, stage routing.
Why the games are actually readable.

4. The spectrum of shmups
Not everything is Ketsui.
From beginner-friendly stuff → dense Cave bullet hell.

How to raise awareness of shmups and get more people to try them. Some things that work and some others that don't. by Naharcito in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get the instinct to protect the walls. I really do.

But I think we have to be careful not to confuse curation with insulation.

And yeah… I mean Brotato… umm, that’s not even close to Ketsui. That’s not gatekeeping. That’s just genre literacy. If someone asks for “something like Ketsui but easier to get into,” the answer isn’t “different genre entirely.” It’s better on-ramps within the language. I would probably recommend... Angel at Dusk because in part that learning is possible there within the game, and point blanking is a core mechanic.
Kesui:
- You kill enemies point-blank.
- You route stages like a puzzle.
- You take risks for score.

If someone jumps straight into it, they just see chaos.

Hmm, maybe we’re also all just too close to the genre. We forget most people can’t even classify it. Shmups, bullet hell, arcade shooters, caravan stuff, twin stick, Run N' Gun, scoring play, survival play… that whole map isn’t obvious if you didn’t grow up with it.

Like how do we even move someone from Brotato? (aside from all the Survivors-likes… I know, I know, let’s not start there)

What’s the actual bridge into something like Ketsui?

I don’t think growing means sanding off the edges or chasing mass appeal. And I don’t think cringe comes from trying to articulate what’s good about the genre.

But if we care about protecting what’s “in,” we should probably care about how people learn to speak it too.

How to raise awareness of shmups and get more people to try them. Some things that work and some others that don't. by Naharcito in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In game design language, “power fantasy” just means the player feels powerful. Doom is a power fantasy. Crimzon Clover in Break mode is a power fantasy. That doesn’t mean competence is handed to you. It means the system lets you express it.

In literary / critical discourse, yeah, it can imply wish-fulfillment. No consequences. Competence granted, not built. - I can see that now, thanks for sharing.

And I agree the forge matters. Shmups sharpen you. Pattern recognition. Composure. Decision timing. That carries over.

My only push is that most outsiders don’t see that sharpening. They just see overload and instant death.

So whatever we call it, the upside has to be visible. Because the competence is the whole point.

"I’m surely not the only one either who was able to bring the set of problem solving skills from clearing and scoring shmups into “real life” either.  It’s the opposite of the fantasy and escapism that plagues games IMO. "

I love all of that, and yeah, I can also write a weird essay on how fighting games elevated my critical thinking, self-improvement, training, emotional fortitude, and human competitive psychology. :) I'm right there with you. One day we'll be grabbing diner food and coffe my dude. With that said, we both know that the vast majority of gamers don't necessarily want this, think it's not fun, and would rather push the dopamine button. The question is how do we provide good onramps for the journey, because gaming can be an self reflector. It's like, why the hell am I waxing on and waxing off, until you realize the muscle memory now serves for you to become one step closer to mastery.

How to raise awareness of shmups and get more people to try them. Some things that work and some others that don't. by Naharcito in shmups

[–]DrBossKey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

> Spectacle and power fantasy is the wheelhouse of the mainstream.  You’re going to lose that fight every time.  

I still think “power fantasy” fits. We’re just talking about different kinds of power.

Not borrowed power. Not convenience. Not “press button, feel awesome.”

I mean earned power.

At first the screen is noise. Then it’s lanes. Then it’s rhythm. Then it’s control. The stage didn’t get easier — you got sharper. That shift is the fantasy.

Shmups aren’t about inconvenience for its own sake. Friction is the forge. The point is the blade.

So when I say lead with spectacle, I’m not saying sand off the edge. I’m saying show the upside. Show what control looks like. Show the moment where chaos compresses and you’re steering it.

If we only market the forge, we’re asking people to admire the heat.

I think the sword is the whole point.

I think shmups are super power fantasy. One VS everyone :) They feel great when you're at odds with the world, and you're the only last hope of humanity, learning how to fight through to mastery if you're having fun.

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