index.md (3179B)
1 title: shimmers in the stars 2 tags: project 3 commits: https://bitbucket.org/Koushien/shimmers-in-the-stars/commits/all 4 description: A canceled vertically scrolling versus shooter. 5 ---- 6 7 # A competitive shmup for you, me and [Yumemi](http://store.steampowered.com/app/316720/) 8 9 {{ template "proseheader" .ModTime }} 10 11 {alt="The player's spaceship faces off against a squadron of enemies."} 12 13 Shimmers in the Stars was the production name of a game I was making with LÖVE[(0)][0] at 14 the start of 2016. SITS aimed to provide a networked versus shooter experience in the 15 vein of _Twinkle Star Sprites_[(1)][1][(2)][2] and Team Shanghai Alice's _Phantasmagoria_ 16 games[(3)][3][(4)][4]. Given the recent rise of small shop shoot'em ups and "bullet 17 curtain"-inspired titles, it was frankly surprising no one else was trying to fill this 18 niche. 19 20 Since then I've learned of Rival Megagun, announced in 2015 as Rival Star Hero and 21 released late 2018[(10)][10][(11)][11], which blends elements of Change Air 22 Blade[(12)][12] and the games mentioned above. It's exciting that there are others still 23 interested in this space. 24 25 ## Development 26 27 You can view my kanban board[(5)][5] and my design documents[(6)][6]. Submit issues and 28 feature requests to the BitBucket repository[(7)][7]. 29 30 This project was the result of wanting to implement the gamedev literature I had consumed 31 ever since a graphics artist approached me with the idea of a collaboration at a party 32 earlier that year. It was a learning experience for me but I currently have no plans to 33 resume development. I still believe there is room out there for a successor in this 34 subgenre. 35 36 Please feel free to study the source[(8)][8] and the resources posted on the kanban 37 board[(5)][5]. The team behind Blue Revolver[(9)][9] (released October 2016) used LÖVE 38 as well, proving its capability. However, years have passed since then and I encourage 39 you to research technologies that may be a better fit for your needs. 40 41 ## Play 42 43 Finally, here is a recent (relative to Master) [testing build](./releases). If 44 you have LÖVE installed, you can run the .love; it was compiled in 0.10.1-2. Otherwise, on 45 Windows, you can get the appropriate executable for your architecture. Inform me if you 46 run into any problems. 47 48 _Controls_ 49 50 Arrow keys to move 51 52 Z for rapid fire 53 54 X to slow movement and charge weapons 55 56 C to bomb 57 58 [0]: https://love2d.org/ 59 [1]: https://youtu.be/a78rkenILCA?t=1h50m20s 60 [2]: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/twinklestar/twinklestar.htm 61 [3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P71FMPIcD9c 62 [4]: https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Phantasmagoria_of_Flower_View 63 [5]: https://trello.com/b/EMbpFiVl/shimmers-in-the-stars 64 [6]: https://bitbucket.org/Koushien/shimmers-in-the-stars/wiki/Home 65 [7]: https://bitbucket.org/Koushien/shimmers-in-the-stars/issues 66 [8]: https://bitbucket.org/Koushien/shimmers-in-the-stars/src/master/ 67 [9]: http://bluerevolvergame.com/ 68 [10]: https://rivalmegagun.com/ 69 [11]: https://blog.spacewavesoftware.com/rival%20star%20hero/2015-9-21-rival-star-hero/ 70 [12]: http://www.shmups.com/reviews/changeairblade/index.html