It’s been three weeks since Prism Indigo launched. In that time, it’s been played over 8,000 times across Newgrounds and itch.io, gotten me my first Daily Top 3, and narrowly missed out on my first Monthly Top 5. I’ve gotten dozens of new followers, some amazing reviews, and even a couple of gameplay streams! I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has played the game so far: you help give me the motivation to keep doing this.

Without further ado, I’d like to carry out a post-mortem of Prism Indigo, as I have for my previous Ludum Dare entries. I’ll be reflecting on what went well during development, what didn’t go so well, and what lessons I’ve learned for the future – as well as a little glimpse of what that future may be.

What Went Well

• Aside from a couple of show-stoppers (which I’ll get to later), Prism Indigo launched with very few bugs to speak of. This is by far the largest and most complex game I’ve ever made, my previous released have been notoriously buggy, and I didn’t conduct any beta testing, so getting it out the door with as few bugs as it had is something I consider a real achievement. I took my time to make sure every aspect of the game was working as well as I could get it, and that effort really paid off.
• While the music has received mixed reviews – some people love it, others think it’s too shrill or repetitive – I’m personally proud of the fact that I was able to compose half-an-hour of music for the game, considering I’d composed maybe two minutes of music in my entire life before that point. I’m even more proud of how (from my perspective, at least) the music manages to convey the personality and theme of each boss.
• Just the sheer amount of stuff I was able to pack into this in the time I gave myself! The DX-exclusive Prism Hunter and Hardcore game modes, the Compendium, the tutorial, and a couple of the options were all outside my initial scope, but I ended up so far ahead of schedule that I was able to fit them all in without compromising the game’s planned May release date. I’m still only using 20% of the TIC-80’s code storage, so I’m confident that future games can pack in even more content.

What Went Badly

• In the process of splitting the game into the free version and the DX version, I introduced a bug that caused the free version to softlock and prevented you from progressing past the first level. For all my previous diligence with testing, I did not test the free version, assumed it worked the same as the DX version, and uploaded it.

I have to give credit to Tom Fulp for not only alerting me to the bug within 10 minutes of me hitting “upload”, but also frontpaging the game in spite of such a serious issue. I’m glad he enjoyed the game that much, but even so, when the owner of your distribution platform has to point out to you that your game is broken, that’s a really bad look for you!

There was also a serious bug that made the tutorial unwinnable, and a bug in the game’s score calculation that I couldn’t fix because it would invalidate everyone’s existing high scores. As proud as I am of the game’s stability, I’m extremely embarrassed that I let three such obvious, show-stopping glitches make it into the initial release.

• The game’s difficulty was all over the place, with some stages being too easy, some stages being too hard, and some stages just being tedious. The V1.2.0a update eases those issues, but I’m not sure it fixes them entirely. This is something I need to gain more experience with.
• At various times, I found myself butting against the technical limitations of the TIC-80. The small sprite sizes left me struggling to think of a way to differentiate the bullets and the Cores until a reviewer gave me an idea, which I implemented in V1.2.0a. The limited number of sound channels meant I had two options – have the sound effects override the music, or have the sound effects override each other – and going for the second option meant the sound effects are constantly getting cut off and lack any punch. I love the TIC-80, and I intend to keep using it, but I need to be more aware of its limitations and find better ways to work around them.

What Comes Next

With activity on the game winding down, I currently have only one more update planned. The V1.3 update will overhaul the game’s visual effects, replacing the current sprite-based effects with particle effects similar to my Ludum Dare 50 entry, The Flower of Marasca. I avoided implementing those at first as I feared they would be too distracting, but several reviews have encouraged me to juice up the game’s visuals, so I’ll be doing just that. I may consider more updates down the line if the game turns out to have a long tail like my scene creators do.

Beyond that, I can confirm that I intend to develop a sequel to Prism Indigo, taking into account the feedback I’ve received as well as my own personal observations, in order to create an even bigger and better bullet hell experience. The sequel will enter development later this year, and should be released sometime in 2023. There will be more announcements in the future, of course, so stay tuned for those.

To help ensure that the sequel launches with no game-breaking bugs and a smoother difficulty curve, I will be conducting a closed beta test at some stage prior to its release. Again, there will be more information about this closer to the time.

Thanks once again for playing Prism Indigo, and I hope you'll look forward to seeing more of the Prism Warriors in future!

Prism Indigo has been updated to v.1.2.0a. This update mainly focuses on addressing the game's difficulty, as reviewers felt that some parts were too easy, some parts were too hard, and some parts were too tedious. I've updated the first two stages with that in mind, as well as the fifth boss. There are plenty of other changes as well, the biggest being that bullets now flash, making it more obvious what will kill you and what won't.

The next update will have further difficulty adjustments, and I will also try to replace the current, underwhelming effects system with a new particle-based system that should give the game a lot more punch.

V1.2.0a Update Notes

Boss Phase Changes

• Prism Chartreuse’s second pattern no longer has a safe zone. It should be easier for those who didn’t know about the safe zone, and harder for those who did.
• Prism Chartreuse’s third pattern can no longer be cheesed
• Prism Amber’s first pattern times out five seconds faster
• Prism Amber’s second pattern can no longer be cheesed, but is also slightly easier
• Increased the rate at which the phase timer depletes when shooting Prism Amber’s shield
• Shooting Prism Amber’s shield now increases your speed bonus
• Prism Aqua’s second, third, and fourth phases have been made more difficult

Other Changes

• All bullets now flash to make them distinguishable (can be turned off for those who suffer from photosensitive epilepsy)
• Made Stages 1 and 2 a little more difficult and a little less tedious in places
• Added a miniboss to Stage 1
• Bosses now slow to a stop after you run out of lives
• Removed some code related to DX-exclusive game modes from the free version
• Adjusted the UI of the summary screen

Bug Fixes

• Fixed visual glitch if you died on Stage 6

Prism Indigo has been updated to v1.1. The main change this update brings is that you can now restart from the beginning of the current level if you run out of lives, although doing so will incur a score penalty. This has been the most commonly requested feature since the game's release, and its inclusion should make things less frustrating.

My next target is to adjust the game's difficulty, making certain boss phases easier or harder, and squash down any remaining bugs.

v1.1 Patch Notes

Additions

• You can now continue from the start of the current level if you lose all your lives, at the cost of 20% of your score
• Two new Compendium entries, with information on the game’s more advanced mechanics

Changes

• You can now Life Burst when losing your last life
• Stage 4 enemies now fire red bullets so they’re easier to tell apart from Cores
• Minor code refactoring

Bug Fixes

• Fixed misaligned text on the Compendium

Misc

• There is a bug that causes your score multiplier to be 0.5x higher than it should be. I felt it would be unfair to fix it, as it would prevent you from beating your existing high-scores, so I’ve left it in.

First of all, a massive thanks to everyone who's played and reviewed Prism Indigo so far! I've gotten my first-ever Daily Top 3, made the frontpage again, and received so much fantastic feedback. Over the coming weeks and months, I'll be gradually polishing the game based on that feedback, and hopefully making it the best it can be.

I've already released the first patch, bringing the game up to v1.0.2. This fixes an issue that made the tutorial unwinnable, as well as a couple of incorrect option descriptions. More updates and patches will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

After nine months of hard work, Prism Indigo is finally out! This is my first full-sized game, and I'm so excited to finally share it with you all.

Prism Indigo is free to play here on Newgrounds, but if you head on over to itch.io, you can buy the DX version for just $5. The DX version lets you play offline, adds two new game modes and achievements, and comes with a copy of the game's soundtrack.

I hope you'll all enjoy playing it as much as I enjoyed making it! I plan to provide bug fixes and balancing tweaks for the foreseeable future, so constructive criticism is very much appreciated. And finally, thanks to all my fans here on Newgrounds for the support you've given me over the years. I never would have gotten this far without you.

Madness Scene Creator 5 has been updated to V2.01. This adds Sanford's hook - you can't have Sanford without his signature weapon! - and fixes a bug where one of Hank's heads couldn't be layered properly.

I'm currently gearing up for the release of Prism Indigo, on May 20th. I hope you'll look forward to it, even if it's not Madness-related.

My Ludum Dare 50 entry, The Flower of Marasca, has been updated to V1.1. This is the post-jam update, incorporating a number of things I ran out of time to include originally, and addressing several issues that were raised in people's reviews.

If you haven't rated it yet, you have 24 hours left to do so, so go rate it here.

The full changelog is as follows:

Additions

• Tooltips showing what to do at various points
• Sound effects when activating a checkpoint or landing
• Fireballs and bombs now destroy background decorations

Changes

• Each power pickup gives you more of that power, to reduce the chance of running out and getting softlocked
• The chamber with the Flower has been redesigned for extra grandeur
• You cannot scroll to a power you don’t have yet
• Tweaked a couple of enemies' move paths to prevent you from falling straight onto them
• Made the music a little less grating
• The intro/ending text now scrolls at variable speeds
• Altered sound effect when collecting a power

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the ability to fall through ceilings
• Fixed the ability to consume the Flower, which made the game unwinnable

My Ludum Dare 50 entry, The Flower of Marasca, is now finished. Give it a go, and then head on over to its rating page to give it some ratings and feedback.

In the meantime, I'm gonna go get some rest.

The 10th Anniversary Update to Madness Scene Creator 5 is now LIVE! This fixes the various problems that have been mentioned over the years, and adds a bunch of new content as well. Once again, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has continued to play and enjoy MSC5 even after all this time. I never imagined, when I made my first scene creator in 2007, that people would still be playing them in 2022.

Here are the full patch notes:

• [FIXED] The mute button now works
• [FIXED] The layering system now works. Clicking on an object will move it in front of everything else in the scene.
• [FIXED] Objects now scale proportionately
• [FIXED] Certain objects did not rotate correctly
• [ADDED] All wounds and blood splats come in both normal and ATP versions. Hold B and click to toggle between them.
• [ADDED] All four hand types (normal, zombie, gloved, Auditor) now share the same poses
• [ADDED] Tricky's stop sign
• [ADDED] Muzzle flashes
• [CHANGED] The game now uses the Ruffle emulator by default, so you no longer have to manually switch to the emulated version
• [CHANGED] The UI is cleaner, clearer, and more consistent
• [CHANGED] Had to replace one of the gibbed heads as it was bugged and wouldn't let me create an ATP version of it

Known issues:

• When an object's blood colour is changed, it will sometimes change back immediately

Depending on feedback, there may be further updates, particularly in September when MMSC celebrates its 15th anniversary.

Enjoy!

With just a few hours left of 2021, I'd like to share my plans for 2022 with you, as it's set to be a big year for me.

2022 marks 10 years since the release of Katawa Shoujo, a game that changed my life in numerous ways (and which I found through a fan work here on Newgrounds). It marks 10 years since I underwent multiple surgeries to correct my severe scoliosis. But most importantly, it marks 10 years since I released Madness Scene Creator 5 - and 15 years since I released MMSC1.

As you may be aware, over the past few years, I've tried to leave the Madness scene creators behind and and move on to bigger and better things. Which brings me on to the first part of my plans for next year: Prism Indigo.

Prism Indigo is a magical girl-themed bullet hell shooter inspired by the Touhou Project series. It'll be my first full-sized video game, and as such, it's a project I'm extremely excited about. The 17-year-old me that created MSC5 couldn't have dreamed of being able to build something this complex, but here it is.

There's already a playable demo on GameJolt and itch.io, and I've just released the first of its boss themes. The full game will be released here on NG, for free, sometime around April. I hope you'll give it a try once it's released, as it's the product of 15 years of learning and practice, and I've been pouring my heart and soul into it.

But it's probably not what you're here for, is it?

As much as I've tried to move on from my Madness scene creators, I've never forgotten them, and I will forever be grateful to all the people who continue to play them and make such amazing scenes, even after all this time. And over the past year or so, it's become apparent that I'll never be able to move on from them completely.

Thanks to Friday Night Funkin and Madness: Project Nexus, Madness Combat has exploded in popularity, and my scene creators have too. I'm getting new fans and new reviews on a daily basis, and that amount of attention is hard to ignore. And with such a big anniversary coming up, I'd like to do something to show my gratitude to you all.

I'm therefore glad to announce that Madness Scene Creator 5 will be receiving TWO updates in 2022. The first will drop on February 28th, its 10th anniversary, and the second will drop on Madness Day 2022. These update will mainly focus on bug-fixes and quality-of-life improvements - in particular, I hope to finally fix the broken mute button and properly implement layering - but I'll also throw in some new items as well.

This won't be as easy as it sounds. I haven't used Flash in nearly a decade, I barely knew any ActionScript even at the time, and trying to find ActionScript documentation in 2022, when Flash hasn't been relevant for years, is going to be fun. But I'm going to try and do as much as I can. I feel I owe it to you guys, after all the support you've given me these past 15 years.

Finally, 2022 also marks the 50th anniversary of the first arcade game (Pong) and the first game console (the Magnavox Odyssey). I therefore intend to release a multi-part podcast detailing the history of the video gaming industry, from Pong and the Odyssey through to the modern era of microtransactions and lootboxes. I'm aiming to start this in September, releasing it in weekly instalments.

So as you can tell, I have plenty planned for 2022, and I hope you'll all continue to follow me as I continue my game dev journey.