​​Prism Indigo​ has been updated to v.1.3.3. This fixes a major game-breaking bug that I accidentally introduced all the way back in the v1.3 update. I can't believe it's taken me this long to realise it was there.

​v1.3.3 Patch Notes

Bug Fixes

• ​Fixed a game-breaking bug where the effects weren't being instantiated

Prism Warriors, the sequel to Prism Indigo, is now in active development! I don't have much to show off at the moment - even the logo you see above is subject to change - but there will be more substantial reveals coming soon!

If you want to stay up-to-date, then you can follow me on Twitter, as I tend to post development updates there more frequently.

Prism Indigo has been updated to v1.3.2. This is a minor patch that just improves Prism Violet's final pattern, as I wasn't really happy with how it came out. I want to improve her second pattern as well, but I'm still working on ideas for how to do that.

V1.3.2 Patch Notes

Changes

• Improved Prism Violet's final pattern

Prism Indigo has been updated to v1.3.1. I've gone through and heavily refactored the game's UI system, making it much tidier, which will help me when I reuse the game's engine in the future. In the process, I've also fixed several issues with the "Sky" UI theme.

v1.3.1 Patch Notes

Changes:

• Refactored the UI theme system
• Improved the "Sky" UI theme
• The boss position indicator is now blue

Prism Indigo has been updated to v1.3. This update removes most of the sprite-based visual effects, which were fairly underwhelming, and replaces them with particle effects. Together with the flashing bullets adding in v1.2, this should give the game a lot more visual flair. I've also fixed several bugs of varying severity.

I have no further updates planned for Prism Indigo, though this might change depending on future feedback. My plan for now is to turn my attention to the sequel, which will expand on Prism Indigo's gameplay and incorporate a number of new features and improvement. Stay tuned for further information and announcements.

V1.3 Patch Notes

Additions

• Core Bombs now visibly detonate on impact
• Minibosses now have unique particle effects when killed

Changes

• Replaced most sprite-based visual effects with particle effects
• Minor code refactoring

Bug Fixes

• Fixed missing dialogue prompts when the Sky UI theme is selected
• Fixed Prism Violet’s sprite appearing in the wrong place after you defeat her
• Fixed “Show Hitbox” and “Bullet Flash” settings not being displayed correctly
• Fixed potential crash if an enemy is killed while in the process of firing

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.