Just launched Typing Bullets on Steam

[cip]

Hi,

I just released Typing Bullets on Steam yesterday. Typing Bullets is an arcade typing roguelite game, and I had a lot of fun making the game. You move by typing on the word your are sitting on, and you also have to fight all sorts of enemies (all based on keyboard keys). Each time you step on a new word, you get a short definition of that specific word, and this will come in handy when you are overwhelmed by your enemies, because when your health reaches zero you get a quick quiz (with the word definitions you have found), and if you answer it correctly you get to continue your run. So it's a game, but also a learning tool.

You can equip all sorts of different weapons, activate Slow Motion, but also collect Upgrade Points, which you can use to upgrade your character. + there are customization options as well.

What was most fun for me was designing the enemies: the Shift enemies will create a swirl shader effect on the point of impact and will make the platforms rotate around, making it difficult to see what letter you have to press next in order to continue; the Ctrl enemy shoots bullets at you; Arrow enemy which, after a short charge period, will shoot towards you; and many other enemies, each with their unique effects. There are 13 enemies in total.

Working with LÖVE has been a blast, and I think I got closer to the answer, "which game engine/framework should you use"? The answer is (and I think it always was): whatever fits your own unique preferences. What usually is difficult when it comes to these sorts of questions is the fact that we think that there is a correct way to answer it, when in reality the only thing you can do is to find the answer for yourself. There is no good or bad decision, just whatever feels right and comfortable to you. I think it's most definitely a case of, "you'll know it when you see/experience it". Of course, if you want to make 3D games, maybe LÖVE isn't your best option, but it may not be the best option even if you want to make 2D games. You just have to try it out. For me, LÖVE was the correct choice. Being able to release Typing Bullets on Steam makes me confident in that assertion.

For code snippets and structure, I used DevJeeper's YouTube tutorial series (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 7kmbLf4P5O) to help me wrap my head around classes, and also the comprehensive and great BYTEPATH tutorial (https://github.com/a327ex/blog/issues/30) (not sure what happened to the user who made this tutorial, as they posted on the forum for quite some time, and after a bit they haven't posted anything at all - I hope they are ok.) Of course, I also used lots and lots of libraries (HUMP, Moses, bitser, lume, worldfield, utf8, etc).

Anyways, if you have any questions please let me know, and if Typing Bullets sounds like a game you would be interested in, you can check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429 ... g_Bullets/

At the moment, it is 15% off.

Thank you to this community and to the LÖVE devs! Have a great day/night

[ivan]

Congratulations on releasing your game! To be honest, Steam is NOT a good place to publish your games nowadays. Without going into the political side of the issue, Valve is one of the few American companies that continues to do business with Russia whereas most other major players like Google Play have left that market.
I asked several Valve employees if it is possible to exclude your own games from the Russian region (Valve already tracks customers based on country and accepts rubles). Several Valve employees stated that they do not plan to support such a feature because it would "significantly reduce their profits".
I do not want to hijack this topic and you should be proud that you released your first game - regardless of your nationality or country of residence. At the same time, I have to recommend moving your games onto other, more respectable platforms.

[GVovkiv]

Congratulations on releasing your game! To be honest, Steam is NOT a good place to publish your games nowadays. Without going into the political side of the issue, Valve is one of the few American companies that continues to do business with Russia whereas most other major players like Google Play have left that market.
I asked several Valve employees if it is possible to exclude your own games from the Russian region (Valve already tracks customers based on country and accepts rubles). Several Valve employees stated that they do not plan to support such a feature because it would "significantly reduce their profits".

While I myself don't like russians (You know, they attacking my country) but what exactly wrong with selling games there and then spend money from russian region on, for example, supporting AFU or humanitarian help?
I think it would be much smarter then simply banning, but that's just me.

[ivan]

No it is not smart in the long term.

In order for Valve to operate within Russia they need datacenters in that region, localization, support, etc.
Valve pays out royalties to Russian devs, allows trading game cards between users, provides Steam keys, etc. In short, the money flows both ways. Valve cares only about the money, so do not overestimate their business decisions.

[ivan]

what exactly wrong with selling games there and then spend money from russian region

I forgot to mention the elephant in the room: to sell digital products in most countries you have to register with the local government as a tax entity and pay tax. So yes, Valve is probably paying tax to the Russian government.

[GVovkiv]

I forgot to mention the elephant in the room: to sell digital products in most countries you have to register with the local government as a tax entity and pay tax. So yes, Valve is probably paying tax to the Russian government.

That's sucks

[togFox]

Wow - looked at the vid on Steam - you've certainly built up some skills! It looks like chaotic fun!

Grats on the steam release. I hope one day I'll have a steam/ epic / ubisoft release !

[ivan]

Wow - looked at the vid on Steam - you've certainly built up some skills! It looks like chaotic fun!

Grats on the steam release. I hope one day I'll have a steam/ epic / ubisoft release !

I don't want to take away anything from cip because completing and releasing a game is an important accomplishment.
Having said that, publishing your game on Steam is not what it used to be. Back in the day, the games on Steam were either hand picked or Greenlit by the community. Nowadays anybody can publish on the Steam store upon paying the Steam Direct fee.

[marclurr]

Wow - looked at the vid on Steam - you've certainly built up some skills! It looks like chaotic fun!

Grats on the steam release. I hope one day I'll have a steam/ epic / ubisoft release !

I don't want to take away anything from cip because completing and releasing a game is an important accomplishment.
Having said that, publishing your game on Steam is not what it used to be. Back in the day, the games on Steam were either hand picked or Greenlit by the community. Nowadays anybody can publish on the Steam store upon paying the Steam Direct fee.

Please get off your high horse, it's boring seeing you spew the same crap every time someone mentions Steam. I understand you haven't had a good time with the Valve and have removed your titles from it and that's your business, but for most people it's still where they aspire to publish their games. A self righteous tirade doesn't make people think you have a valid point, it makes them annoyed that you hijacked their post.

[ivan]

Sorry about hijacking this post, but this is not about me at all. Most people in the US don't realize what Valve is doing so it is important to bring awareness to Valve's involvement with Russia. Don't get mad at me, I am here to help. I don't know where you are from, but nobody that I know aspires to sell their games in Russia.