My first video game! Coded entirely on PICO-8 in May 2024, while restlessly tuning into the Lazy Devs Shmup PICO-8 Tutorial.
This was also my first PICO-8 project, and it won't be my last.
I originally envisioned Astro X to let you choose "Heaven" or "Hell" with each version giving the player a different experience - each version would deliver different enemies, wave layouts, Blessing abilities, and a different final boss.
The pros? Two games in one!
The cons? I have to make two games.
Since this was my first project, I decided to simplify things and keep the code as close to the Lazy Devs tutorial as I could. My goal was to make a game, not design one. Still, you will see that the Blessing system and much of the visual design survived the cut.
All coding, SFX, and graphics done by me, Billy Cross.
Check it out on itch.io as well! https://ohjiohji.itch.io/astrox
Krystman and his Lazy Devs Academy for the tutorials and resources! https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?uid=16423
Robby Duguay for the wonderfully composed Final Boss music, "Out of Control" https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?uid=11038
AchieGameDev for additional tutorials. https://www.youtube.com/@achie_game_dev
Nerdy Teachers for EVEN MORE resources and tutorials (and just a cute website) https://nerdyteachers.com/PICO-8/
And, of course, zep and his PICO-8 philosophy for making this entirely possible.