Jam Results and Incorporating Feedback

The results are finally in for Github's annual jam, so let's see how Blitzkraft did and finally drop an update. During these several weeks of ratings, I've been poring over every comment I received about the game. I've taken the best of the feedback I received and am dropping the game's first big patch now to smooth out issues that bugged players the most.

Patch Notes:

• Dashing! Instead of running, now you Dash! This commonly suggested idea was one I wanted to do originally but simplified it for time. But now it's in! Press Shift for a powerful burst of speed to get yourself out of a tight spot.
• Customize game settings to your liking with the all-new Pause Screen (Press P to Pause)
  • A Field of View Slider, easily the game's most requested feature, is now in the game's settings
  • You can adjust the Volume, including lowering specifically the music, sound effects, or ambient effects
  • You can also adjust the Input Sensitivity
• Blitzkraft now features Xbox Controller Support!
  • Left Joystick: Move
  • Left Trigger: Zoom
  • Right Trigger: Shoot
  • Left Bumper Dash
  • X to Upgrade
  • A to Jump
  • Start to Pause
  • Hot tip: the default Input Sensitivity is probably a bit high for most controller setups. Press P and adjust it to your liking.
• Blitzkraft now runs on Steam Deck! I suggest using Proton 8.0-4 in Gaming Mode for best performance if you'd like to give it a go on the go
• Mouse clicks should now recapture more reliably if window focus is lost
• AI has received some tweaking, leading to more surprising tactics and spreading out of enemies
• Enemies now burst into flame when near death
• If you get hit, the sound is now directionally located in 3D space. If you're in headphones or have a decent sound setup, you should be able to locate your attacker fairly intuitively
• The last weapon you equipped now carries over to the next level. This should ensure a more diverse experience of your arsenal
• Weapons can no longer awkwardly clip into walls, obstacles, enemies, or other objects
• Slick transitions now transport you between rooms
• Text-typing sound effects now punctuate the Taunt Screens
• Performance: Occlusion culling no longer renders objects behind other objects
• Performance: Object Pooling for more objects
• Performance: Several Shaders are now pre-loaded, meaning a slightly longer initial load time, but a smoother experience overall
• Bug fix: Big Bots now always deal out the pain you so richly deserve
• Bug fix: Some automatic doors which could get stuck can't get stuck anymore

As for the Jam Results, I'm very pleased to report that out of 620 entries, I cracked the top 5% of entries for both the Gameplay and Audio categories, and made it into the top 10% for the Overall category. Considering my focus for this project was Game Feel, I'm more than satisfied with these results.

Now comes the most difficult question. Do I continue developing Blitzkraft? I am very fond of this project, and it's fun to work on. I can imagine more weapons to discover, with more diverse customizations to craft from the parts of more enemy robot types. I can hear the sinister AI overseeing your struggle, improving her robots in response to your siege strategies, shuffling dozens of room layouts and throwing hundreds of robots at each of your attempts to breach her lair. If that sounds compelling to you, please speak up and let me know I should make that game.

There's always other software projects and learnings beckoning me as well, of course. We'll see what comes next. Thank you for your interest in Blitzkraft! See you soon.