Bellerophon - A First Look

Hey Folks, Welcome to the Bellerophon Devlog series. Here I'm going to be discussing what Bellerophon is, where the project is at, and the direction I'm taking it.

What is Bellerophon?

Gameplay wise, Bellerophon  seeks to combine the fast-paced and randomized gameplay elements of the roguelike genre with the wave-based fighting, side-scrolling movement, and score-attack gameplay elements of the shoot-em-up genre. Story-wise, the game is part of a planned series of games that take place in a fictional setting I call "Mythos", which combines tales from Greek mythology and retells them through a cyberpunk lens. Of course, this is a shoot-em-up first and foremost, so the story itself is going to take a backseat, only used for set-up and conclusions. I aim to make the game rather short, but easily replayable; about 20-30 minutes tops for a single full run.

What state is project in now?

Currently, the project is well underway, most gameplay loop features have had their structure fleshed out and completed. One could, in theory, load up the game and play it, but the numbers still need to be tweaked, enemies need to be added, bosses need to be designed and added, upgrades need to be designed and implemented, and so on. But, here's how it looks right now, in all its mostly-place-holder asset filled glory:

What can we expect to see in future updates?

Currently I'm going to be focusing on getting the current enemy sprite completed and away from the googly-eyed placeholder. From there my work focus is going to be on making and adding new features one at a time, this may be an enemy type, or a boss, or an upgrade, but I'll be making them in their entirety so I can show it off when it's ready. Expect small feature updates as time goes on.