ULT devlog ep 01: the Mountains Are High

Play it here: https://builtinaday.itch.io/ult

ULT is a 2D action horde game with a heavy emphasis on fluid, powerful combat and a rewarding sense of roguelite progression. You control a plasma orb called ULT and must battle your way out of a remote research facility, becoming the ultimate weapon along the way…

Or that’s what it will be like, someday, not yet tho. Hey man, it’s only been two weeks of development. Playing the final product is like watching one of those time-lapse videos of flowers blooming, but right now is the part where the flower is blooming. Except we can’t speed up time, or slow it down to enjoy each moment more, so let’s just keep the flower watered and well-tended.

I’ve been trying to make games for seven years and finally feel like I have the skills to do it, which is good timing because I think this project has tons of potential. Whether it gets fully realized or not remains to be seen, but sometimes you have to dream to imagine a better tomorrow, even if you’re dealing with the false hope of potential. Sure, everything I’ve done lately has been a heartbreaking disaster that’s left me bitter and alone, but maybe this project can save me.

Despite all that, I also acknowledge that it’s a cynical cash grab because of the genre’s popularity and, honest as that might be, it’s also loser talk. Do I really have to admit something when it’s blatantly obvious? My last game was a genre-less shooter that sold less than 20 copies, so I feel pretty immune to charges of being an attention-seeking, clout-chasing phony.

The only reason I’ve ever made any game was because it was a game I wanted to play. That logic $till applie$ here haha.

Also, because I’m relatively old I do not understand certain things, keeping up with the young go-hards is really not my thing. So I’m not interested in any recent fads, like what genres are popular or perfidious, blatant scam-artist bullshit like NFTs. More like No Fucking Thanks pal, I’m all good.

The goal with my first commercial game release, Lonza the Bounty Hunter, wasn’t to be “successful” in terms of being “profitable”. If a game represents years of learning and hard work, how can you ever really be fully compensated? Again, more loser-talk. But making money wasn’t the point, it was to learn how Steam works behind the scenes and what the whole process entails.

The point of this project is to reach a larger audience. How can you do that as a one-person team with no budget and no influence? But this is a story I’ve seen a couple dozen times already, so I want these to be about gameplay ideas and also be a weird, uncomfortable emotional release.

So far these are the main highlights:

=the player movement feels pretty snappy and the dash ability is nicely implemented

=the player weapons feel punchy and powerful

=enemy pathfinding using the a-star system (seeking player, RVO, local avoidance, random patrols)

Here’s a few important things I haven’t done yet:

=implement Rewired asset: full release should offer full controller support, also allows players to easily remap controls

=multiplayer co-op: ideally I want both local and online co-op; local support will depend on finding a satisfying solution to the camera (zoom in/out dynamically to keep both on-screen? horizontal/vertical splitscreen?); never attempted this before but it is worth learning how to do

=upgrades, skill-trees: the plan is to have long-term upgrades/skill-trees available between runs and short-term buffs/perks available when leveling up during a run

-this way the xp feels useful during the run and when you die: if the player has a really satisfying run and dies with a high score they won’t feel as bad about losing, they can spend the pain away at the upgrade shop

-xp collection is automatic: I want the player to keep moving because of enemy placement/generation, collecting xp would put you in the path of oncoming mobs

As a wise man once said, the mountains are high but so is my spirit and the valleys are deep but nothing is deeper than my hatred. In this case we can swap out hatred, for the most part haha, in place of oh I don’t know passion? commitment? Or whatever virtue a normal person might choose.

Dedication. That’s the right answer.

Play ULT here: https://builtinaday.itch.io/ult

Check out my other game here: https://builtinaday.itch.io/lonza

or here: store.steampowered.com/app/1513240