itch.io

Hello everyone,

I’ve recently completed Star Mage, a small project I developed over the course of about a week using MonoGame. The main goal was to challenge myself by building something concise while experimenting with procedural systems and retro-inspired constraints.

About the Game

Star Mage is a 2D side-scrolling platformer with shoot ’em up elements. The game features procedurally generated levels, multiple enemy types, and boss fights at the end of each world. The experience is designed to be fast-paced and moderately challenging, with a focus on mechanical consistency and replayability.

One of the core aspects of the project was replicating NES-like limitations, including restricted color palettes, pixel-perfect positioning using integer values, and a low native resolution (256×244), all scaled for modern displays.

You can play or download the game for free here: https://starciad.itch.io/star-mage

Gameplay Preview

Feedback is appreciated, especially regarding gameplay feel, difficulty balancing, and overall design decisions.

Hello, everyone! I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: Stardust Sandbox is now officially available on Steam! This is a special moment for the project and, honestly, very meaningful for me as well.

When it all started, there were no grand plans. It was just another experiment among many others I had done before. But you know how it goes? Life is full of surprises. Seeing this project grow, develop its own identity, and become something tangible is simply incredible.

If you’d like to learn more about Stardust Sandbox — its history, concepts, and much more — I recommend checking out the official launch announcement on Steam. There I share more details about everything:

• Stardust Sandbox: Official Launch (Steam)

Special thanks to everyone who followed this journey — from those who tested earlier versions and provided valuable feedback, to those who simply took time to explore this universe. I hope you have fun creating, exploring, and building your own stories in Stardust Sandbox.

Want to support the project? The best way is by purchasing the game on Steam. And if you’re enjoying the experience, a positive review helps tremendously!

Thank you all. See you around!

Hey everyone, I’d like to list all the songs that make up Volume 1 of the Original and Official Soundtrack for Stardust Sandbox! Feel free to listen to them and share them with your friends!

• Track 01 - Canvas of Silence:

• Track 02 - Endless Rebirth:

• Track 03 - Lonely Heart:

• Track 04 - Building Something for You:

• Track 05 - Thoughts from a Distant Place:

• Track 06 - The Desire for a Better Future:

Hello everyone, it is with great joy that I announce the long-awaited release of version 2.* of the game. This update was aimed at adding extra content and fixing some important aspects of the project. It was quite an adventure and an intense development rush, but after all the work, the version is finally available for download and can be played for free by anyone.

If you are interested in checking the recent additions in more detail, I recommend reading the devlogs listed below:

• v2.0.0.0: https://starciad.itch.io/stardust-sandbox/devlog/1189049/official-release-of-version-2000
• v2.1.0.0: https://starciad.itch.io/stardust-sandbox/devlog/1200446/stardust-sandbox-v2100-hotfixes
• v2.1.1.0: https://starciad.itch.io/stardust-sandbox/devlog/1200560/stardust-sandbox-v2110-hotfixes

That said, this is not the end. More additions and fixes will be released in the future as incremental updates for version 2. Further down the line, if the game receives more substantial content or undergoes a major redesign, an eventual version 3.* release may happen.

At the moment, I am making the most of my vacation time to develop and bring new features to the project. However, as the year progresses and my studies resume, the project may enter another short pause. Even so, I will continue publishing blogs and devlogs to report on the project’s progress and any new plans.

If you are interested, feel free to check the planning board on GitHub for a clearer overview of what is being planned for the game:

https://github.com/users/Starciad/projects/4

Finally, thank you very much to everyone who plays and supports Stardust Sandbox. Working on a project like this is truly rewarding. 😁

Every world you create and save in Stardust Sandbox is stored locally on your device as a special file with the .sf extension.

This file contains all the data required for the game to load your world later.

These files are located inside the worlds/ directory, whose path may vary depending on the platform you are using.

Quick access through the game (recommended)

The easiest way to access your saved worlds is directly through the game:

Step 1: Open Stardust Sandbox:

Step 2: Click Play:

Step 3: Go to Worlds:

Step 4: Click the folder icon in the top-right corner:

Step 5: The directory will open automatically, displaying your .sf world files:

If the folder is empty, it means no worlds have been saved yet.

Backup and Sharing

You can copy the .sf files and store them anywhere you like, such as cloud storage or external devices, for backup purposes.

These files can also be shared with other players, allowing them to load your worlds in their own game.

Manual Directory Access

If you prefer to access the files manually, use the paths below according to your platform:

• Windows: C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Roaming\stardust_sandbox\worlds\
• Linux: /home/{user}/.config/stardust_sandbox/worlds

Note 1: The images in the step-by-step guide are for illustration purposes only and may differ from current game versions.

Note 2: the stardust_sandbox directory will only be created on your computer when you open the game for the first time. Otherwise, it will not be present on your device.

Ohw, thank you so much for playing! Sometimes they are positioned in such a tricky way that even I fall for the tricks 🤣

It’s all good! It’s a great idea, I’ll try to implement a small save system later, I see that it could be something very useful, considering that some games can last quite a long time.

Acho que esse é um dos sentimentos mais legais de uma Game Jam; mesmo com um tema e limitações igual a todos, um monte de gente faz cada obra interessante e divertida… alguns fazem jogos tão fora da caixa que viram quase um marco. Muito obrigado por ter jogado o meu jogo :), fiquei um pouco garrado essa semana, mas eu voltei pra dar uma olhadinha no seu projeto e tentar passar algumas músicas… Sou uma negação em jogo de ritmo, mas percebo o quão bem-feito ficou, parabéns também! XD

A little late now… But thanks for the review! Later I will make a post explaining and detailing more about the generation and other making off stuff. Thank you very much for the positive comment! I ended up getting inspiration from several different places and the dig-dug was also on the list. 🤣

About the intro, in the next update I’ll add the ability to skip and fix some other things… And wow, a colossal hit? Hahaha, thanks a lot for playing, I’m glad you enjoyed it :)

I’d say the best way to summarize this is that it’s truly a poetic experience. I don’t have much to add since others have already captured the essence of the game perfectly. Really interesting—congrats on creating such an immersive atmosphere!

I’m still wondering how not everyone got to experience this game. It really is a lot of fun! Some parts are actually a bit challenging. I’m still having a bit of trouble, but that just motivates me to play more and more.

What a great game! Once you get the hang of the fighting, things really get interesting. It’s all so solid. If you decide to work on this project again, it would be great if it had items or mechanics similar to the old Link games, like A Link to the Past. Congrats on the result!

What an incredible level of polish! This is definitely a game that was worth all the effort because the result turned out really great. Congrats on the project!

Congrats on the project! In a way, it reminded me of the fly-swatting minigame from Super Mario Paint on the SNES. It’s really a fun game to pass the time, and I appreciate that. As some other comments pointed out, if the difficulty increased more noticeably, it would probably be even more fun. I didn’t find the game boring at all and believe it has great potential — this version feels pretty solid to me! If you ever decide to work on it again in the future, you could add things like faster flies or maybe ones that… shoot projectiles? I don’t know, just some ideas hahaha. The animations are great—congrats again! :)

You did a great job here! I love arcade-style games, and thanks to the simplicity of understanding how things work, it’s easy to dive into this little universe. The mechanics are so cohesive, and the game can really get challenging later on. I’ll probably keep coming back to play from time to time. The details and particle effects also help to enhance the experience. Very well done!

Getting the hang of the balancing system is really interesting — at least for me, it was quite tricky at first 😂. Really cool, the mechanics were very well designed to keep everything balanced. The only thing that happened to me a few times was that bombs would appear too close to the holes, and I’d end up hitting them when jumping. But overall, a great game!

I share this feeling too, but I believe it should be fun for those who have a notion, the game seems to be very well built too

A really cool game! I loved seeing the work put into mixing the classic snake game with the given theme. You really made it fun, especially with the upgrades! The gameplay feels really smooth, and the easy-to-learn mechanics add that addictive aspect.

Really very creative mechanics. I really liked the project, congratulations!

Wow, thank you so much! It means a lot to know that you’re having fun. It gives me peace of mind to know that even with this complexity, you gave the project a chance. 🤠

Thank you so much! I’m really glad you had fun! Hope you enjoy it even more when you come back to play at your own pace.

Thank you so much for playing! And oh, you got this! Just a little patience, and everything will work out. As for that feeling of always wanting to explore, let’s just say it’s one of the powers of procedural generation haha

A funny story about the intro is that I actually had it implemented, but I only found out near the end of the jam that it was causing some really weird issues haha. Now that the rush is over, I might give it another shot and improve the experience. But overall, I really appreciate your comment!

I’m honestly speechless… Just a huge thank you! I’m really happy you enjoyed the game. If I ever revisit this project, I’ll definitely keep your feedback in mind. The music can really get repetitive lol, and I originally planned to add a bomb but had to cut it due to time constraints… Well, I guess it’s part of the job.

Thank you so much!

Como é legal ver mais um BR por aqui, muito obrigado pelo comentário e por ter testado o jogo, meu chapa :)

The game’s animations were really excellent.

Oh yes, thanks for the help! I’ll download and test the project now :)

What a funny game, very entertaining. At first I was a bit lost with the controls, but then it got so tense! Lovely 🤣

It was interesting to follow the evolution of this project on discord. It really turned out to be a really cool little game.

I tried to run the .exe, however, an error message appears saying that the dlls “love.dll”, “lua51.dll” and “SDL2.dll” are missing.

It was a really fun experience, a calm game with some interesting challenges. I loved the level selector, it reminded me a bit of Kirby’s Adventures on the NES.

Thanks for the feedback! And yeah… Maybe in a next update the goal will be to regulate where these things appear haha

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your comment! Unfortunately, I ended up forgetting the number pad a bit during the development of the game… But I can see about adding it in the future, this week was so busy 😁

Very challenging. As things get faster and faster, I have trouble controlling my reflexes… Great game! Very fun :)

I imagine that grind in this case is related to the effort of raising the pet

I see… Thanks for replying! :)

This game is really fun, the battle system is very engaging.

About publishing the game… Is it a rule to publish the project to run directly through the browser? Is there a problem if I only make the executable available for download?