Author Archives: Montoli
Player-tuned SHMUPS or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
I’ve been thinking a bit about the role of bombs in SHMUPS, and why they are always there. While I have never been a fan of doing things “because all the other games do them”, the more I have thought about the bombs, the more I have realized just how many problems they solve [...]
Posted in Game Design
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What are the haps, my peeps?
So right about now, a reasonable question might be “So what ever happened to Boss Rush?”
It HAS been about two and a half months since the last official word. And at the time, the word was “any moment now, for real!”
So where is it at?
Well, happy news! While there have been a few delays, it [...]
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Yet more press!
Getting some nice mentions!
First off, the fine folks at Level Forty-Two got to see a prerelease copy, and have a review up. They seem to like it! Yay!
Also, getting some mentions in blogs!
A writeup at Teal City Industries.
Another at Albotas!
Very cool!
Posted in Boss Rush
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Game Set Watch this space…
Nice! Got a very nice mention on Game Set Watch! It’s dated last Tuesday, so apparently I completely missed it in the thanksgiving buildup. Nice! They were even nice enough to link to my trailer!
Update: IndieGames.com has also given me some ink. Double-nice!
Justin, on Music
[Justin Mullens, the man behind the fine, fine music in Boss Rush, has graciously offered write down some of the thoughts he had while he was composing. For anyone interested in how the music came to be, it's a fun read, and offers a fascinating glimpse into what his creative process looks like. He clearly [...]
Posted in Boss Rush, Dev Log, Music
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Music for Bossing to!
Justin Mullens, Sound Designer and Composer Extraordinaire, is the brain behind the excellent music in Boss Rush. He has thoughtfully sent over some of the music, in long-format MP3 files designed for listening. (As opposed to, say, looping in-game.)
What’s neat about this is that the actual game only contained TWO pieces of music. The other [...]
Posted in Boss Rush, Music
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Delays!
Bah! Am all poised to start releasing and sending emails and trying to make this thing go, when BAM, tool problems. In this case, with SecureSWF. Which worked fine about a month ago, but since updating to their most recent version, seems to be hanging when I try to use it on [...]
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Submit!
And… It’s over.
Whew.
The game that I have slaved over for several months is now off in the hands of the IGF, and I can finally think about something else.
I’m very happy with how it ended up! I didn’t finish everything I wanted – I still have at least 5-10 more ideas that would make [...]
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Still here!
Busy weeks!
Not a whole lot to say here, but progress on Boss Rush continues well. At this point, the game is basically nailed down and probably a good 90% complete. Most of the work at this point is down to playtesting and polish, and occasionally adding a new level or two if I think of [...]
Posted in Boss Rush, Dev Log, Playtests
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Imperishable Lessons – What I learned from Touhou
I had the chance recently to sit down with Tim and Hal of Final Form Games, and talk shop on shmups. I mentioned that there were at least a couple of good lessons that I felt I head learned from playing Touhou games, and Hal asked what some of those might be. While I was [...]
Posted in Game Design, Other Peoples' Games
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