Gunlocked News

[p]After years of email requests for the OST, we worked it out and put it up! [/p][p][/p][p]It includes all 14 mp3 tracks spread across 4 zone themes, and all for less than $2(this week)! [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]You can also get an extra little discount if you grab the Gunlocked Complete bundle, alongside the newly released Gunlocked 2 (which is still on sale for 22 more hours!)[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks again for all the support over the years! Gunlocked 2 wouldn't have been possible without all of you![/p]

[p]Gunlocked 2 launches in Early Access on Steam in August 2025. Wishlist on Steam today! [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]After years of feedback on the original Gunlocked, a successful Kickstarter, and many sleepless nights, it's time to head back into the void and take on the Swarm![/p][p][/p][p]Deeper boss fights, plenty of customization options, and more unique pilots than ever before are just a few of the improvements.[/p][p]The launch build features:[/p]

• [p]11 Pilots[/p]
• [p]20 unlockable augments[/p]
• [p]16 weapons[/p]
• [p]80 utilities[/p]
• [p]4 unique enemy factions and bosses[/p]
• [p]16 anomalies to customize the difficulty[/p]
• [p]23 achievements[/p]
• [p]Save and resume from where you left off![/p]
• [p]Gorgeous pixel art with thousands more frames of animation than the original![/p]
• [p]Fully analog 360 degree movement, and new "phase shift" dodge and "air brake" abilities[/p]

[p][/p][p]There's a lot more to come, and I'd love for you to join me once again on a whirlwind Early Access adventure! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the symbionics ;)[/p][p][/p]

[p]Gunlocked 2 launches in Early Access on Steam in August 2025. Wishlist on Steam today! [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Last update I talked about the challenge of balancing between fresh and familiar. In it, I showed an updated version of the warp menu. The warp system is probably the first change I envisioned when an idea for a sequel finally started to coalesce. Removing the old level select, and instead creating a more visceral light speed jump from section to section was immediately appealing for two reasons:[/p][p]First, it was just a cool visual. Something to say, "Hey, it's Gunlocked, but not like before. How cool is this?" The second, and (maaaybe...) more importantly, was replayability via player choice. Having different options, destinations, and battles to choose from felt like just the hook the game needed to stand out from the original. But as I mentioned before, simply adding more of something (in this case, choice and variety) isn't a guaranteed solution.[/p][p]Initially, the warp menus were cluttered with too many icons, indicating all kinds of different variables, including (but not limited to) a complete breakdown of each individual item reward you'd get. In practice, I found this actually killed the momentum of the game. Information overload, choice paralysis, and other two-word catastrophes stopped the game in its tracks. And something I, and many others, loved about Gunlocked was the breezy pacing.[/p][p]I had to figure out how to implement this new system in a way that provided meaningful choice, but quickly. In the current version, the solution is to convey important information in broad strokes, using only 4 icons: Threat, Primary Faction, Zone Type, and Reward.[/p][p]Threats are your standard combat zones, elite zones, and boss battles. Elite zones immediately tell you that the fight will be harder, and the rewards will be better. Elite zones can have a number of environmental hazards, and other challenges to make it a risk vs reward proposition. In some cases both zone choices might be elites, but more often there will be an easier, but less rewarding alternative.[/p][p]Faction tells you about the kind of enemies and challenges you'll face. Each faction of enemy has their own style, with some overlap, that might be stronger or weaker to your current build. This is never so important that you can't win with certain builds, but it might increase the risk enough if your health is low. You can still face enemies from other factions in any given zone, but the primary faction will appear the most. It also determines which bosses you can face, and that in turn changes what upgrades you'll be offered at the end of the battle. Each boss now has a unique loot table to draw from, so learning the bosses and their possible rewards will provide more mastery over the game.[/p][p]Zone Type ties heavily into the new item drop system. In every zone, there will be opportunities to collect items like reroll tokens, hull repairs, and data disks. Some zone types will offer you a chance to collect more items, or more gems, and some will allow you to spend your data disks in unique exchanges that can offer even more items that can't be found anywhere else.[/p][p]Reward tells you the kind of beacon that will appear. Data Beacons in the original Gunlocked, were a way to get a free, random upgrade without needing to level up. They showed up a few times per game. In Gunlocked 2, they appear in every zone, as an important way to earn upgrades regularly, and they aren't random. You'll be able to choose from beacons that make copies of upgrades you already have, or beacons that drop a specific weapon or elemental type, and at various different rarities.[/p][p]With this system in place, experienced players will be able to quickly assess the danger each choice presents from the Threat and Faction icons, and the benefits from the Zone and Reward icons. Ultimately, you're still going to be getting classic Gunlocked gameplay at warp speed, but with enough choice and variety to prevent you from going on auto-pilot.[/p][p]You'll get to find out for yourselves, soon enough, as Gunlocked 2 has a planned Early Access launch date of August 21st.[/p][p][/p]

[p]Gunlocked 2 launches in Early Access on Steam in August 2025. Wishlist on Steam today! [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]When a hit new band releases their followup album people tend to fall into two camps: the people that just wanted more of the first album, and the people that wanted to hear what else the band could do. One of these groups is almost inevitably going to be disappointed.[/p][p]There is no right way to make a sequel. Every choice is the wrong choice for someone. Some might argue not to “fix what isn’t broken.” While others might argue that we already have that version and it will keep existing, so the sequel should do new things. And while it might seem the most reasonable to split the difference and simply expand the breadth and depth of every existing system in interesting ways, sometimes there really is too much of a good thing. Sometimes the only difference between a great game and an okay game is that one has too many stats, collectibles, menus, systems, etc.. For Millennials, It’s the difference between Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64. For younger gamers, take any game ever and then imagine the version Ubisoftːsteammockingː would make. You get the idea.[/p][p]In Boons & Burdens, my roguelite followup to the original Gunlocked, I took every left turn where previously I took a right one. Gunlocked had a forced scrolling camera, so B&B had a camera that followed the player. Gunlocked didn’t require you to aim or use active abilities, so B&B did. Upgrades happened between rounds, not on leveling up like in Gunlocked. And on and on. It wasn’t as successful as Gunlocked, but B&B gave me another data point at the other end of the spectrum. And while scientists might argue that two data points isn’t enough for an informed conclusion, the colloquialism “third time’s the charm” (or “third time lucky” in metric) definitively proves otherwise.[/p][p]Pictured: An early mock-up of Gunlocked 2 with an interface closer to the original[/p][p]Since I initially began conceptualizing Gunlocked 2, the game has gone through various expansion and contraction phases much like the universe (here come the scientists to argue again). The goal, at every step has been to see how far I can push the Gunlocked formula before it doesn’t feel like Gunlocked, and then reign it back in until it does. Along the way, I’ve discovered the formula is actually pretty fragile. It doesn’t take a lot of change to make it start to feel like an entirely different experience. But as I’ve written about in previous devlogs, there were clearly many aspects that needed improvements. So the question becomes, much like in my previous Heaven Meets Hell blog, how to balance the two opposing needs.[/p][p]Pictured: Sprite comparisons between Gunlocked 1 and 2[/p][p]The goal was to identify improvements that wouldn’t change the formula, such as analog 360-degree movement versus digital 8-direction movement, or more detailed and colorful sprites,  and then where changes can’t be so objectively positive, focus on implementing them in a way that doesn’t negate something good from the original game. An example of the latter is the “Warp Gate” system. Gates allowed me to make a longer game with more level variety (common requests in the original), while also maintaining the ability for players to have short pick-up-and-play sessions (commonly praised in the original). Play for 2 minutes or 20, it’s your choice.[/p][p]Pictured: Selecting and inspecting a warp gate. One of the biggest structural changes to Gunlocked 2. Also featured is the much more minimalist user interface that opened the playing area up considerably.[/p][p]Choice, in fact, is the concept that most informs the changes in Gunlocked 2. More ways to customize your experience before you even begin, and then to choose your next destination/boss fight/rewards once you have. More upgrades to choose from, and more opportunities to increase your choices. And when choice became such a major focus, I decided (from a community suggestion) to give players the tools to make more informed choices with the new Simulator game mode.[/p][p]Pictured: The Simulator. Test out strategies, practice against bosses, or just break the game... It's your choice.[/p][p]Pictured: Once you have your preferred Simulator settings and loadout, test your mettle against a variety of enemies and bosses.[/p][p]In the Simulator, players will have access to most of my own debug tools, in a free-form sandbox mode that will allow them to combine any number of upgrades they’ve previously equipped, in any quantity, and then test them against any boss they’ve previously fought. Additional tools like damage pop-ups, dps meters, invulnerability, and more create an environment perfect for experimentation. You’ll even be able to save your loadouts at the end of a run in the normal game, and import them into the Simulator to make tweaks, so you know how to make better decisions the next time. So while I personally think 2 data points is enough, you can create as many as you’d like.[/p][p]Pictured: Work-in-progress of the post-game menu. Check your stats, save your loadout, test and adjust in the Simulator, then get better stats next time.[/p][p]As I head toward the August Early Access launch for Gunlocked 2, I’ve zeroed in on a lot of the areas where I can make improvements and expansions like those mentioned above, and pulled back where changes threatened the winning formula of the original. But the changes won’t end there. Early Access will be a place for all you game scientists to argue about what went right or wrong, and help me make Gunlocked 2 the best it can be.[/p]

[p]Gunlocked 2 launches in Early Access on Steam in August 2025. Wishlist on Steam today! [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]First, let’s take a moment to define some terms in the context of this feature. “Bullet Hell” is a type of shoot ‘em up (shmup) where the focus is primarily on dodging large amounts of screen-filling projectiles. “Bullet Heaven” is a genre that flips this paradigm and has the player creating all of the bullets, while hordes of mostly harmless enemies become their fodder. So what if Heaven meets Hell?[/p][p]You might think that would mean a moderate amount of bullets coming from the enemies and the player simultaneously, which just sounds a lot like a traditional shmup. Hardly revolutionary. Beyond the rudimentary definitions laid out before you, each genre also has a number of other key elements that define their experiences, in ways that can’t be measured in bullets (or bananas, giraffes, football fields, and/or any other imperial system). In fact, there are many more differences from camera movement to controls, but for this article, I’m focusing on difficulty and power curves.[/p][p]Bullet Hells focus on dexterity and pattern recognition. Your power level remains relatively consistent, so you improve (hopefully) through practice and muscle memory. Bullet Heavens focus on combining abilities synergistically. Your reflexes are (largely) irrelevant to success, but your power increases exponentially with smart (again, hopefully) decision making, and a little luck. The power fantasy of Hell is in navigating the impossible, and the power fantasy of Heaven is in not needing to. So how much skill could I introduce to Heavens without making them too hard, and how much synergy building could I introduce to Hells without rendering them too easy?[/p][p]Gunlocked 1 was my answer. Unfortunately, everyone else had their own answer. I won’t pretend Gunlocked is the only game to try to balance these two extremes of the shmup genre, but each game that has attempted this has its own unique proprietary blend. Gunlocked’s blend was successful in entertaining many fans of both genres, but each group also had unique grievances. Players had differing ideas of where the game was too easy or hard, and often in contradictory ways. In combining genres that targeted gamers of vastly different skill-sets and interests, I created a difficulty paradox.[/p][p]I received countless messages about how players didn’t “get it” or “click with it” at first, but once they did, they fell in love. These messages came from fans of both genres, so I knew there was a universally appealing core to the game. But I also knew that for every message like this, there were probably 10 people that never stuck around long enough for it to click. When so many games are competing for gamers’ attention, I can’t blame them. Games need to click fast because it’s easier to pick another game and try it for 15 minutes than play one game for 3 hours and hope. I needed to deliver Gunlocked’s unique mix of skill and synergies sooner, without overwhelming the player later.[/p][p]I believe Gary Gygax said a good dungeon master makes his players feel like they have a 70% chance of failure, and 30% chance of success, when the reality is just the opposite. The solution to Gunlocked’s difficulty paradox then was as much about balance as it was about perception. The goal is to deliver the intensity and thrills of a Bullet Hell to give the perception of difficulty, but ensure that players of many skill levels have a high chance of early success without eliminating long-term challenge.[/p][p]I've previously discussed changes coming to weapons and early game challenge, so today I'll focus on Bosses and their improved role in the balance of Heaven and Hell. When Gunlocked 1 first came out, bosses weren’t really a feature of the Bullet Heaven genre except as larger units with larger health pools. So simply having them at all was a novelty. “Simply” being the key word. Their abilities were rudimentary and limited by the player’s lack of a reliable dodge and/or defensive options. In fact, the proprietary blend of genres skewed so heavily in favor of heaven over hell that many might suggest it has no hell at all (but believe me, I got plenty of angry messages about it being a bullet hell). So in Gunlocked 2, bosses have been expanded and refined, as have the player’s abilities.[/p][p](Pictured: The player practices against the new and improved Sting King in the brand new Simulator game mode of Gunlocked 2. Still a few bugs to work out ːsteammockingː)[/p][p]The arenas in which you fight Bosses are far more tightly controlled and choreographed, with less randomized elements, unrelated to the boss, causing visual clutter. This allows me to focus on making the combat look more spectacular (the perception part). While most of the game is about cutting a swath through helpless swarms, I get to flip the script and let bosses shine a bit more and throw more outrageous attacks at you in place of these enemies (though some bosses do still call for reinforcements).[/p][p][/p][p]On the other hand, the new timed “phase shift” dodge ability every pilot has allows boss attacks to be more aggressive, and not just look more impressive. Where previously I had to leave the player safe openings they could always reach, now I can do all sorts of unimaginably devious things, with the knowledge that if players manage their dodge well (the balance part), they can always make their own way out.[/p][p][/p][p]And “making your own way” is really the core of Gunlocked 2. Every system in the game has been adjusted to give the player more choice and freedom to manage the more varied and intense combat. This in turn has freed me up to tackle this unique combination of Heaven and Hell in ways I never could have in the original.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]