When I began working on Sector Six, I didn't knew that it would become this big.
I didn't knew that Sector Six is going to be in Steam, I didn't knew that it will get so much positive feedback, I didn't knew that one day I will write 50th development blog a.k.a. echo about it.But it all happened and it's amazing!So, how did it began?In 2014, after finishing my first game, I immediately began working on Sector Seven. I had the idea of allowing player to build spaceships out of destructible blocks. Two months later Sector Seven was finished. It was weird, clunky, pretentious shoot 'em up with light RPG elements and many, many problems.But I glad I made it, because without out it, there would be no Sector Six. I promised myself that I would make Sector Seven sequel. Later I have decided not to, but then…One quiet summer morning I woke up with weird images in my mind. It was epic black spaceship silhouettes and I knew they were built out many blocks.I created new project file, called Shadow Sector the same day. Later I decided to call it Sector Six.In the beginning, I didn't worked on Sector Six much, I was focusing on my other game, Lur. Just like Sector Seven, it wasn't a good game, but while making it, I got experience, that I needed to make Sector Six.I have finished Lur on January 2015, redirected my focus on Sector Six and intense development began.Back then Sector Six was similar to Sector Seven. There was no inventory, blocks were simply bought for currency. Those blocks didn't had any stats and they were destroyed on hit. Lose all blocks and game is over.Back then I was playing Path of Exile and Torchlight. So another idea hit me. What if blocks had random stats and you could get them by killing enemies? I already knew how to make inventory and generate random loot from Lur, so I decided to give it a try. And it worked!Oldest Sector Six screenshot I have
When I finally made Sector Six playable, I have uploaded first alpha version. After Sector Seven and Lur I didn't expect anything, so I was surprised when Sector Six received good comments and ratings. I knew that I can improve the game, so positive feedback about the alpha version made me really excited about the future of Sector Six. And I began working on Sector Six like crazy!Months started flying by. Interface overhaul, combat overhaul, Steam release, graphical overhaul…It was awesome and I think it will continue being awesome!I said this before, but again, thanks for playing and supporting my game! And for reading this echo!For those who are interested in seeing what was Sector Six like in the very beginning, I have uploaded old Sector Six version on Itch.ioSector Seven can also be found there.Now a bit about future!Last week I have successfully implemented modified enemies!Modifications
There's just four modifications yet, but there should be more in future.Modification 1: Fires missiles at your locationModification 2: Double armourModification 3: Drops swarmlings when destroyedModification 4: Drains etherWith modified enemies in, I can work on modular difficulty system! It should take me one, maybe two weeks to finish and then I'll update the game, hopefully it will happen this month!After modular difficulty system… Well, there was massive interface update, massive combat update, massive graphical update… Now it's time for massive story update! After modular difficulty system I will be working on story missions. A lot of them!So, that was the 50th echo, until next time!Modified scion swarmModified tankModified veteranOld Colowis backgroundPink screen of deathCombat overhaul in developmentInvasion core and the glitch of the thousand suns
I log in this morning to see that there's only 10 Steam reviews instead of 25. *heart attack*
I have strange luck with negative reviews. First negative review was so down voted that author deleted it. Later I got another one, next day Steam update changes stuff and it doesn't affect my game's score anymore.I'm mad at myself for not playing more of this game. I'll put it on my list to play, maybe get around to it tonight.
I'm really really happy for you that you have it on Steam. Want to talk more about how that went? That is the route I'm planning for my current project.Getting into Steam wasn't difficult.
1. Pay 100$ fee for Greenlight.2. Pass Greenlight, it took me 12 days if I remember right. (Could be done faster with proper marketing)3. Make partnership contract thing with Steam. (Requires some sort of tax registration)4. Upload game files, screenshots, description, achievements, cards, etc. and release the game on Steam.If you'll have any specific questions, just ask.Keep in mind that the question is "Would you buy this game if it were available in Steam?" not "Does this game deserve to be in Steam?"
Yeah, it's like approaching someone on the street, showing picture of game and then asking them "Do you want to spent your money on it?". It's actually pretty cool that 58% said "Yes" =D