// devlog — latest posts
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Shmup Design · June 7, 2026
Power-Up Systems in Shmups: Risk, Reward, and Weapon Feel
Power-ups create the weapon progression arc that gives a run its shape. A look at stacking versus switching models, drop rate tuning, the design of power loss on death, and making each upgrade feel like a tangible gain.
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Game Programming · May 31, 2026
Screen Scrolling Techniques in 2D Shmups: Parallax, Speed, and Direction
Scrolling determines how fast threat arrives and how large the world feels. A technical and design overview of vertical versus horizontal scrolling, variable scroll speed, multi-layer parallax, and forced versus free-scroll tradeoffs.
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Shmup Design · May 24, 2026
Hitbox Design in Shmups: Making Unfair Situations Feel Fair
The difference between a bullet-hell that feels brutal-but-fair and one that feels cheap often comes down to a few pixels. A design breakdown of small player hitboxes, grace periods, grazing mechanics, and invincibility frames.
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Shmup Design · May 17, 2026
Enemy Movement Patterns in Shmups: From Formations to Flocking
Enemy movement is half the game in a shoot-em-up. Bullets get the attention, but it is the motion of the enemies themselves that sets rhythm and pressure. A breakdown of scripted paths, sine weaves, homing logic, and formation cohesion.
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Game Dev · February 22, 2026
Playtesting Your Indie Game: Methods That Actually Work
Watching someone else play your game for the first time is humbling and invaluable. Playtesting is not QA — it is design research. Here is how to structure sessions, what to observe, and what to do with what you learn.
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Tools · March 1, 2026
Free and Open-Source Tools for 2D Game Development
You do not need a commercial engine or paid tools to build a 2D shmup. From Godot to LibreSprite, the open-source toolchain is more complete than it has ever been. A curated overview of what is worth your time.
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Game Dev · March 8, 2026
Game Audio for Indie Developers: Sound on a Small Budget
Audio does more work in a shmup than players realise — hit feedback, music intensity, and UI sounds are all part of the game feel. A guide to sourcing, editing, and implementing audio without a dedicated sound team.
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Open Source · March 15, 2026
How to Contribute to an Open-Source Game Project
Contributing code to an open-source game is different from contributing to a library. Art pipelines, asset licensing, and playtesting all come into play. A practical guide to making your first meaningful contribution.
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Game Dev · March 22, 2026
Level Editors in Games: Why Built-In Tools Change Everything
Flukz shipped with a built-in level editor from its first public release. That decision shaped the community around it. A look at why editor-first design matters for small open-source projects and how to build one that people actually use.
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Shmup Design · March 29, 2026
Designing Difficulty Curves That Feel Fair
A game that kills you repeatedly is not automatically hard — it may just be poorly balanced. Difficulty curves should teach, then challenge, then reward. Here is how to design a progression that respects the player.
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Game Programming · April 5, 2026
Sprites and Collision Detection: The Shmup Foundation
Shmup gameplay lives or dies on collision detection. AABB, circle overlap, pixel-perfect — each approach has tradeoffs. A guide to choosing the right method for a 2D shoot-em-up and implementing it without bugs.
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Game Programming · April 12, 2026
Building a Simple Game Loop for a 2D Shmup
Every game runs on a loop: read input, update state, render, repeat. Getting that loop right is more subtle than it looks. Here is a practical breakdown, with code sketches, for a basic shoot-em-up architecture.
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Open Source · April 19, 2026
GPL Licensing for Games: What It Means in Practice
Releasing a game under the GPL is not the same as releasing a library under it. Art assets, music, and engine code create overlapping licensing questions. A plain-language guide to what the GPL actually requires for a game project.
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Genre History · April 26, 2026
A Brief History of Shoot-'Em-Ups: From Space Invaders to Touhou
Shmups have a richer history than their reputation as quarter-munchers suggests. From fixed shooters through scrolling space games to the bullet-hell wave, the genre has been in constant technical and artistic evolution.
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Shmup Design · May 10, 2026
Bullet-Hell Patterns Explained: Rings, Fans, and Spirals
Bullet-hell games are not random chaos. They use a small vocabulary of geometric patterns to create readable, learnable challenges. A breakdown of the most common formations and the design logic behind them.
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Shmup Design · May 3, 2026
What Makes a Great Shoot-'Em-Up
Great shmups share a few non-negotiable qualities: responsive controls, readable bullet patterns, and feedback loops that reward skilled play. Here is what separates the memorable from the merely competent.