Author Archives: Matt Roszak

EBF5: Mobile Gallery

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Hey guys, here’s some new art thumbnails for the Grand Gallery in EBF5.
Version 2 art didn’t need low-res assets until now.

Android’s app size limit is 150MB, so I’ve had to reduce the resolution on some bitmaps, and compress the music a bit, much like in the web version. I decided that that was preferable to cutting out a few tracks and images. It shouldn’t be too noticeable though, if at all. I’ve heard that iOS has a limit of 200MB, so I guess that version can have slightly less compression. The PC version is around 300MB, for comparison. If Android ever increases the limit, I’ll likely update the game to use less compression.

It’s possible to download more content for an app after installing it, but I’m not going with that approach because:
A) The game isn’t designed to load in extra assets like that.
B) It sucks for the user, since this is an offline game.
C) I was barely over the size limit anyway.
D) Almost no one will bother uninstalling the game if it’s only 150MB.

EBF5: Mobile Update

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Hey guys. On Monday I started writing a blog about why I’ve been so unproductive this year, but it sounded really pathetic, so I immediately got back to work. The interface is almost done for the EBF5 mobile port – I’ve added boxes around all of the buttons to make them clearer for touch controls, everything’s been made larger, and the game is generally totally playable now. I even played around with the vibrate feature during big attacks, but I didn’t like it so I gave up on that.

I’ve started setting up the Google Play Store page for the game, and that’s where things get more complicated. There’s a lot of hoops to jump through to get the app approved, and to add features like ads, in-app purchases, achievements, and mayyyybe even cloud saving. It’s all very technical, but there’s a lot of documentation for me to read, and a lot of services I need to sign up for, and then I still gotta actually program and test the stuff. At least I can re-use the Steam trailer.

Oh, and I’ve only tested the game on my device so far. I’m sure there will be a lot of new problems on other devices.

Overall it’s pretty exciting though.

Indie Bundle for Palestinian Aid

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Hey guys, Bullet Heaven 2 is part of this massive bundle on Itch.io.
For $5 you get hundreds of games, and while not everything in there is a masterpiece, there’s definitely a bunch of great indie games worth picking up. Minit, GNOG, VVVVVV, Nuclear Throne, and Anodyne are some good games that I recognized in there. And well, it’s for charity, so the games aren’t the point.

I’m gonna dig into it today and see if I find any hidden gems.

Lego: Big Chunky Pikachu

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Hey guys, I made a chunky Pikachu, based on one of the game sprites, but with some more colors.
Sorry I don’t have anything more exciting to share. The weather’s been nice, so I’ve not been working lately.

BH2: Works on Mobile

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Hey guys, I wanted to see if a mobile port of Bullet Heaven 2 was feasible, so I spent some time today fiddling with the game.In just 3 hours I got the game to a playable state on my Galaxy Note 8. It works great with a stylus, and even detects my Xbox controller. The framerate is pretty high with the graphics settings turned down, even on Heavenly difficulty.

That’s the fun stuff done, the other 99% would be just polishing off the rough edges. The controls would need to be simplified for touch controls, the memory management would need to be improved to stop the occasional garbage-collector stutters, and I would have to consider adding a vertical aspect ratio as that may make more sense on mobile. Overall, it looks like less work than porting the EBF games.

Anyway, that’s not gonna happen until I finish the EBF5 port and the EBF Collection.

Also, don’t let anyone tell you Flash doesn’t run on mobile. Flash with Starling has incredibly fast performance!