It’s been a long time since I made a new sidekick weapon. Though I was able to make three new SuperWeapons, sidekick weapons are harder to design because they’re simpler. Because they’re intended to be used alongside a more distinctive main weapon, it’s harder to come up with a new design.
It’s important to me that most of the weapons in the game have their own niche. Apart from a few rare exceptions, weapons are designed around an idea for new gameplay, not just a theme. I don’t want a weapon to be different only in appearance or power with no real design difference. That would make creating new weapons much easier for me, but also make the game less fun for players!
For a long time, I’ve been toying with the idea of a new weapon that has projectiles that decelerate. I was also tempted by the idea of a sidekick with a fire theme. With the Fireball, Inferno and Flamethrower already being main weapons that shot fire, it just made sense to add a fire-sidekick to the game and let players match them up.
This week it all came together in the design for the new sidekick, the Cinder. The waving shots evoke a candle and resemble the Flamethrower. The way it shoots from alternating sides is a bit like the Inferno, and the projectiles look like mini fireballs. Most importantly, I’ve found it fun to have shooting in the background while I aim my main weapon!
That now gives Super Space Galaxy 8 different sidekicks to find. I must admit I wasn’t sure I could even think of that many before, but here we are!
It’s now possible to match your main weapon with a sidekick that shoots bullets, bombs, bursts of lightning and, of course, the new fire-shots.
I always wanted Super Space Galaxy to be a game about player choice, and that extends to the weapon choices available too. Maybe some players are going to be delighted when they find the Cinder and get to complete their fire-based weapon set.
Thanks for reading,
Kenneth Dunlop
Kenneth Dunlop's Game Dev Blog 