Visualization of the effective potential in a 3-body system (1 large planet, 2 smaller moons). Real-time shader in #unity.

Working on hit effects for the player's laser. #picotron #shmup

I got a question on Discord about how the collision works for the magnetic fields - here's a visualization. Plasma inside the white squares is deflected. Smaller plasma balls are deflected more. I use simple bounding-box checks for all collisions in this game to keep it fast. #picotron #shmup

A shmup needs shooting, so I added a gun. The effect is heavily inspired by the Amiga game Another World. I always loved the look of its laser. I haven't designed any enemies yet 😅 but the idea is the player can either shoot, or deflect with magnetic fields, but not both. #picotron #shmup #pixelart

Progress on my #picotron twin-stick #shmup.
The plasma trail visual effect relies upon retaining the screen image and distorting it between frames, so I can't have a conventional scrolling background. To convey a sense of speed I've added random lines in the background and 're-entry' particles.

I used #picotron 's color-table system to create semi-transparent magnetic field lines. The blending is similar to multiply, but with a hue-rotation. Color-tables are really interesting. Because you define every color combination manually, you can create unusual/novel blend effects.

I'm trying to get the plasma to form in ribbons, as if you're flying through coronal mass ejections on the surface of the sun. I'm not sure how I'll do a scrolling background to create the feeling of speed. #picotron

Hot, charged plasma. The dissolve effect is based on @werxzy.itch.io 's tutorial here: werxzy.itch.io/infinimoes/d...
#picotron

Positive charges (pink) turn right in the magnetic field, negative charges turn left. I think I'll make this an 'escort' mission game, where you have to protect something.
#picotron

Made a quick prototype for a game idea. It's a twin-stick shmup, but instead of shooting, the player projects a magnetic field, which can be used to manipulate and deflect incoming charged particles. I've just mocked-up the magnetic field visuals so far. #picotron #shmup #gamedev

Tetris Attack (called Panel De Pon in Japan) has a great scoring system, but it's a very fast game that requires a lot of dexterity. So I took the parts I liked from Tetris Attack and put them into Puzstel Storm, making it turn based. Tiles break after 5 swaps, giving you time to plan ahead. #pico8

I love the idea of "demakes" where you take an existing game and remake it to a lower specification. My first Pico 8 game was ChuChu Pico, a demake of Sega's ChuChu Rocket for the Dreamcast. It's one of my favorite multiplayer games and since Sega won't re-release it, I made it for myself. #pico8

First post going out to the ether with zero followers! 😅
Try my new game Ghost Wave. It's free, it's made with Pico-8 and it runs in the browser or on pretty much any device.
monorail.itch.io/ghost-wave
#shmup #pico8 #indiegames