Welcome Back!

This is the 5th Weekly Update of Ryu’s Revenge, where I share the progress I’ve made over the last week.

But it’s actually not Ryu’s Revenge Weekly Update anymore. It’s now more general and personal, so it’s the first entry of Musta̶c̶h̶e Dev Weekly Update and the fifth Weekly Update overall.

(By the way, you can suggest a better name in the comments below.)

GMTK Jam 2024

As you may know, the GMTK Jam of this year (2024) was last week, but this time they extended the jam period to 4 days instead of 2.

Just like last year, I joined the jam. When I woke up on Saturday, I had breakfast and then started brainstorming with a goal to keep the idea ridiculously simple.

The theme was “Built To Scale.” So, I came up with the idea of squares that the player scales in order to fill a big square.

I initially thought the idea was simple, and that was my goal. But as I started making it, things got complicated and overwhelming. I thought I would finish the game quickly and then have plenty of time to polish it, but time was running out. Day after day, I struggled to get something playable.

When submissions were closed, I barely had completed the scaling mechanic and procedural generation; I hadn’t even implemented the win condition.

I felt bad for not finishing on time. The idea I thought would be simple turned out to be complicated, and I couldn’t complete it as planned. However, this doesn’t mean I failed. At least I gained some experience because things don’t always go as planned.

But does that mean I’ll throw the game in the “Abandoned Projects Graveyard”?

Hell No!

Look, I fell in love with that game, so I’m not willing to bury it (yet). I will explore the idea further and soon put out a beta on my itch page. Then I’ll see what to do next.

Of course, this doesn’t mean I’ll stop working on Ryu’s Revenge. Don’t worry—the free demo will be available for you, someday… hopefully soon.

By the way, here’s how the game looks right now:

Lessons Learned

1. Game jam projects can always be extended to something better.
2. Failing at something doesn’t mean you’re a failure; you just have to learn from failure.
3. Add Ryu’s Revenge to your collection now!

“I have not failed. I’ve simply discovered ten thousand ways that don’t work.”

— Thomas Edison

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

Who Am I?

I’m Mohamed, known as Mustache Dev. For the last 4 years (since 2021), I’ve been making games solo using only my mobile phone.

I’m now working on Ryu’s Revenge, my biggest project so far. It’s a 2D action platformer about a ninja slime named Ryu seeking revenge for his family and his entire clan after a brutal betrayal.

If you add Ryu’s Revenge to your collection, you’ll be notified when the free demo is out, and also when the full game is released.

Adding Ryu’s Revenge to your collection is the best way to support me. Thanks ❤️