Next stop: Halloween

What's unusual about this game — I mean, among my other jam games — is that development continues past the initial version.

And it isn't mere polishing and bug fixing we're talking about (though they are always welcome), but turning it into a "real" game, a mighty indie game with a beginning and an end, with more than a hour of play time, that someone is willing to pay for.

One of the first NPC encountered: a fishing cactus.

The "roadmap" is as follows:

1. Release demo/vertical slice by the end of the month.
2. Think about releasing a full version by Christmas. I think $5 is a good price for 5-6 hours of play time but the mileage may vary.

Ludum Dare ratings end on October 27th, just in time for Halloween! Besides, as a non-horror game it will probably look refreshing (and out of place, but that's in line with its humour I guess?).

This isn't incompatible with Halloween either. You fight the literal Grim Reaper (with a scythe-throwing gun). Skeletons are planned. I hope you will enjoy the custom blend of wackiness and frontier theme with a pinch of chunky pixels that I'm aiming for.

Some new mechanics

• One of the new enemies is the Pony Express rider. He sends envelopes at you, with the anachronic e-mail notification sound for now. If you beat him, his pony can give you some tips. The mail weapon can be used to unlock mailboxes that open gates, and shoot twice the amount of bullets in exchange for precision and speed. The pony also wears a cool hat.
• One of the characters is thirsty and won't let you pass a certain point. Fortunately, you remember seeing an empty glass near the saloon, behind the source of Bheersky (a typical beverage of this town). Your rope can handle a pint and a half of the strongly alcoholic drink. It can restore your life points as a bonus, just be careful of the side effects…
• Some landscapes can give a nice pause to your exploration, like this sunset shown in the cover image. Right in time to breathe before the next boss.

And that's all! Well, no, that's not all, but let's not prematurely spoil the rest of the demo.

I don't have a very comfortable schedule right now but I'll do my best to keep the motivation turning into game elements. Thanks for reading!