You're an inspiration.

lol

I still can't upload a palette with Vivaldi. I get a window to select and open, but nothing happens when I do. It doesn't bother me, I'm just letting you know. I'm taking a break from video games and concentrating on board games. Thanks for all your help.

I also don't want to be the 1st person to post a speedrun of my own game. I made it. I make it look easy.

Each room has a certain way to pass through. Posting action would be a spoiler. Did you not download the game because you thought the animation might be terrible?

I play a lot of platformers from itch. Are you saying I'm in a minority, and the silent majority is passing up my game because I don't have unique mechanisms? If so, I definitely don't belong here. I crafted the game to meet my desires.

I don't think the game needs a gif. It's a platformer. I would be stating the obvious with a distracting display that some players might consider a spoiler.

If my work doesn't serve others, it's not worthwhile. I've been an entertainer most my life. I need people to experience enjoyment from what I like to do. I think I could make a game based on trends that would do well, but I would be miserable in the process. I've been singing and playing a curated set of old pop songs on classical guitar. I've been enjoying the work. In the warmer weather, I will find out if others enjoy my work. If not, I'll try something else.

My game page has gotten more views since I posted this thread, but no downloads. If you have looked at the game page without downloading, why were you not interested in the game?

It's occurred to me since I posted that I'm expecting camaraderie  from this video game endeavor. I'm being made to understand that doesn't happen in the indie dev community in a big way. I've been thinking about running Heroscape games in public. I've determined that my main goal in life has been to find friends. I'll keep trying different things to facilitate that.

I don't download games that have graphics or mechanics I don't enjoy, so I don't discuss them. I'm interested in why people look at my game and then don't download it. I assume some are interested in platformers, as that's what it says on the box.

I appreciate the text in the tiling dropdown. I can't get a palette to upload in Vivaldi.

I used to try to enjoy all forms and genres of entertainment. I've had many varied experiences. However,  my taste in all things has recently  become very narrow. I've been interested in what is most important to me. That leaves me out of discussions I may have been willing to contribute to in the past.

Thank you.

It seems an anomaly that people don't want to converse with me. I've been involved in long discussions on forums about things other than video games. However, I've encountered some hostility in those discussions. If others here have as well, that may explain their reluctance to communicate.

I had a dream last night that was telling me I'm wasting time somewhere in my life. I'm wondering if the dream was about my recently acquired hobby of video game making. My game gets a lot of views, a few downloads, and no comments. I can't get people to engage with me about my work here or on Discord. I assume it's my graphics or genre choice.

I can reproduce any style, but I like my low rez straight forward graphics. I can make a game in any genre as well, but I like platformers, SHMUPS, and pinball because they challenge me without a huge investment of my time and mind. I have hobbies other than making video games. If my video game work isn't pleasing to players, I'll invest my time more wisely. Would you have any interest in a SHMUP or pinball game in these styles?

I recently got into SHMUPs through Pico-8.

I started playing pinball in the 70's. When arcades became a thing, I would play pinball machines. I could play a long time for a quarter. I didn't find the video games very interesting.

I think room 5 is perplexing, but the game is simply a platformer.

I use the open source Pixelorama to save time making pixel graphics. It has  a couple of intermittent issues. However, I'm rarely inconvenienced, and I get the feeling a big update is coming. I especially appreciate the feature to define keyboard shortcuts.

My GF seemed a little shocked the 1st time she saw me playing my game with visible collision shapes.

Please change the name under my picture. Thank you.

In arcades, people would pump money into brutal games.  Mega Man upped the difficulty. As the internet slowly revealed the strangeness that goes on around our planet, people wanted to escape rather than think. Infantilism became popular.

Growing up, I played Atari 2600 and pinball. As an adult, I bought a used N64 to entertain. I got bored with the N64 and sold it. I got more into video gaming right before George Floyd's murder by buying indie bundles and seeing what I liked. I learned about itch through Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. I tried a bunch of those games and more. I discovered that I really like 2D pixel graphics. I learned I like 2D platformers and SHMUPs. They are virtual toys to me. I like to discover indie gems and give them 5 star ratings. I get bogged down in world affairs, so I play video games a few minutes a day to both clear and challenge my mind.

Nice vehicle. I think you should clean it up. I understand that you work quickly and conceptually, but I'd like to see you take your sci/fi vehicles seriously.

The sprite sheet is arranged haphazardly. A 4 frame walk cycle looks jerky. The character looks like a bobblehead with bread loaves for appendages. The character sheet returns 75 colors. However, each image of the character has a count around 38, so some color cleanup is needed. I use at most 32 colors for an entire project.

There are a ton of free character animations on itch. You'll have to be outstanding to make money from assets. I'm in a similar position. My game with original assets is free, and nobody wants it.

Made some changes.

I'm trying to achieve an arcade look that SHMUP fans find acceptable.

Here are some before and after images. The last ship is random. Also, I changed the weapon tips on the grey ship to red. Which do you prefer?

The last 3 are random. Do you prefer this resolution or saturation?

I used Kenny's Ship Mixer and the Cheerful 24 palette.

https://itch.io/games/top-sellers shows a variety, but Night of the Consumers is near the top. lol At least consumers will be in for an interesting ride when they get past the front page.

I'll check it out when you add 360 control. I'm looking forward to playing.

https://itch.io/games/newest shows a variety of games, but that's not a good page for consumers. The front page is handpicked, so it attracts the general consumer.

If I check the popular games page on itch, I'm presented with a wall of horror interspersed with racy anime. My guess is itch.io can scare off consumers. A consumer I introduced to this site called the situation "sick".

The page views on my game are way more than the downloads. I've received very little feedback, and I had to fish for it among indie devs. 2 people told me it was too hard. 1 person told me it was easy and couldn't be bothered to finish it. I have a hard time commenting on games in which I find very little to like. When people ask for honest feedback on a train wreck, I don't know how to tell them. Also, I don't play a game if it's a genre I don't enjoy. I've been wondering where there is middle ground among consumers and developers. On what games can we all agree? I'm wondering if there are ways we can get together without compromise. Can we indie devs, without selling out, make games for people who have been trained to shell out for a commercial experience?

I understand the frustration of having to rework part of a game. I had to rework the animation in my game. In my case, I realized I was just continuing to develop the game. I hadn't set myself back. I was just building on what I had already done.

While making my 1st game, I was told it resembles 2D Duke Nukem. I wasn't into computer gaming at that time and thought Duke Nukem was only 3D. I find it interesting that my game resembles something I hadn't seen. I figure the artists were using a similar construction logic as I. I've learned that making graphics at low resolution and with a limited pallet is like building with blocks. Rules and patterns emerge. Rules and patterns are part of nature, so similarities are common in general.

I've been through a lot of music software over the years. If you tell me what is your current workflow and how you feel about it, I may be able to help you get to where you want to be.

This game is mesmerizingly beautiful.

The quickness at which the shark appears is hilarious. I played it with frame 17 repeating after frame 18 to give a transition, but it gives the shark's approach away. I find this set inspirational and feel like I've been to a museum. Thank you.

The D Pad doesn't work. The analog stick is hard to use precisely. I think the power bar should increase from left to right. Neither Esc nor Q got me out of this fullscreen game. I used the Windows key.

This is the pause menu I get.

I like mini golf. However, I can't play this. 1st, I'm no good at keyboard control. I need an Xbox controller or a 2600 joystick. 2nd, that aiming arrow moves several degrees at once. I need tight control.

I like that computerized board games can take the tedium out of upkeep, like Through the Dalia. King of Veggies would be very difficult to update IRL. I know that some board games divide the shuffle and then complete the cut. If that's what's going on here, it doesn't seem like part of the game. It seems to just shut down the party. I'd rather have a shuffle system that would let me play for days if I'm able to keep up with the logic.

I'd like it better if the deck wasn't stacked. I try to plan ahead for those big cards at the bottom of the deck, but by that time I can't clear all the 1's away from the big numbers on the board. I assume there's something I'm missing.

It would make wall jumping easier. However, wall jumping is fluid if it's timed right. I'm fine with the challenge.

I encountered no issues. The game is smooth and enjoyable. Flying is nice.