Gem Worlds v1.2.1 ships today (demo and full version), which a bevvy of gamepad-related improvements and bugfixes. This should significantly improve the player experience if you use a gamepad, or if you play on Deck. If you're on a gamepad and past the tutorial, you can always start a new game to see the tutorial dialog again. If not, the controls are pretty simple:

• d-pad to move
• bottom button (A in XBox controllers) to skip a turn
• right button (B in XBox controllers) to cancel selection
• trigger/shoulder buttons to switch between items and skills
• start to get to options
• R3 to toggle the UI

The full list of changes include:

• The ability to pass turns via the gamepad
• The tutorial level tells you gamepad controls if it detects a gamepad
• Gamepad buttons can be rebound

The full list of bug-fixes includes:

• Fix: you can now skip dialog with the gamepad
• Fix: skill upgrade/navigation breaks with a gamepad
• Fix: inconsistent navigation of items and skills via gamepad shoulder/trigger buttons
• Fix: overwriting a save dialog works with gamepad
• Fix: you can toggle the message console on/off with gamepad or with ~ (keyboard)
• Fix: space/pass-turn is now rebindable
• Fix: quitting during tutorial/dialogs no longer shows dialogs in the titlescreen
• Fix: pausing during skill selection breaks the game

Special thanks to 3akev for his tireless and amazing, high-quality work to get all these fixes and changes pushed out (and in a matter of two days!)

[ 2023-03-12 04:10:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear gamers, At ten reviews, Steam no longer flags the game as shovelware/asset-flip, and opens the floodgates of traffic. This usually results in more sales, more happy players, and a bigger game community. Gem Worlds reached seven reviews today, which is an amazing milestone for me. We're three reviews short. If you played the game for any duration at all, please leave a review, and let others know about the game! Feel free to be honest about your likes and dislikes. If you want to reach me, I'm around on the forums, Discord, Twitter, etc. as usual. P.S. please let me know how the experience is if you play Gem Worlds on Steam Deck; I don't own a Deck, so I can't test it myself.

[ 2023-02-21 02:53:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Gem Worlds v1.2.0 ships later today (both the full game and the demo). This version includes gamepad and keyboard support everywhere - in game, options, and menus - as well as some fixes:

• Fix: in rare cases, a room-based level may have inaccessible areas
• Fix: level selection menu correctly appears post-game

Please note that the controls rebinding menu shows all controls (keyboard and gamepad), but rebinding gamepad controls currently doesn't work (and I can't figure out why). If this is an issue for you, please contact me and let me know.

[ 2023-02-13 15:02:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

I released Gem Worlds v1.1.0 today (both the full game and the demo). This patch includes a few important changes:

• (Full game only) Fixes Steam achievements not triggering. For the world completion achievements, you can complete any level to collect the old ones (e.g. completing W3L1 will collect the World 1 and World 2 achievements)
• I revamped the options menu completely; it now includes sections, and more importantly, is fully usable by keyboard and gamepad (with some minor visual bugs).
• Fixed a bug where, in a rare case in World 3, the bottom-right corner of the map appears dark gray.

Gamepad support is still a work-in-progress, and I intend to get back to it next month (after my break from game development).

[ 2023-01-20 03:13:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

As announced in December last year, Gem Worlds ships on January 16, 2023 (in just three days). This version matches the corresponding v1.0.1 demo, which includes a number of bug-fixes. Unfortunately, adding gamepad (and full keyboard) support took a lot longer than anticipated. While I made major strides in updating and modernizing the main menu, I didn't fully finish the changes, and it's buggy enough that I'm going to hold off on releasing an update. The plan for the next release, v1.1.0, still includes full gamepad, keyboard, and mouse support for the entire game. I'm quite burned out from working on the game for 18 months, but I'll see how much farther I can go with it. Thanks for your support, and see you at release!

[ 2023-01-14 03:33:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

v1.0.1 of the demo ships today. This build primarily includes bug-fixes, including:

• Fixed a rare case where you spawn under a lock
• Fixed a rare case where boulders slide over a one-tile gap
• Newly-learned skills sometimes appear as level 2
• Light crystals run out of turns but light doesn't dim
• A few UI bugs related to skills

If you enjoy the game, please subscribe to my newsletter to get updates. Finally, due to an unexpected issue with Steam, the game will ship on January 16, 2023.

[ 2022-12-19 04:43:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

v1.0 includes a major change in how skills work. Instead of saving up gems across multiple levels and buying skills from the shop, you now learn a new skill every other level. You get to pick between upgrading two previously learned skills, or learning one new skill. You also get to change your equipped skills. I hope this will encourage more experimentation with skills. This version also includes several smaller changes;

• You can choose between multiple save slots. All your existing progress is placed in the first slot.
• You have unlimited lives and no longer can get game over
• Each world generates only two types of levels
• Removed background music and options
• Options scroll vertically
• (Accessibility) you can disable the gradient shader for tiles, which makes it much easier to see what's going on

This release also includes a slew of bug fixes. The most important ones are listed below.

• Fixed a soft lock when you push a boulder into the exit
• Fixed a soft lock when you push a mine into an explosion
• Pressing space rapidly while next to a monster no longer makes other monsters move erratically.
• Moving non-stop no longer causes some boulders to defy gravity and dance up and down
• Clicking on skill buttons correctly activates skills
• Pushing a tipped boulder upward into a teleporter no longer causes it to dance up and down
• Fixed janky monster movement if you hit a monster and immediately move

[ 2022-11-12 02:18:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

When I prototyped Gem Worlds in August of 2021, I thought it would take me maybe another month or two (at most) to finish the game. Here we are, after 15 months of evenings and weekends, with the end in sight! I finished all the content for Gem Worlds as of a few minutes ago; all that remains is to play the game through and fix any bugs that show up. There are probably a lot. Here's what you can expect for the next few weeks (in order):

• An updated v1.0 version of the demo
• The full game release
• Critical bugs that inevitably appear in the days after the release
• Some new features: Steam cloud save, and new accessibility options

Above all, I hope the game picks up a strong user base, so that I can get actual feedback to further improve the game. I hope you will give the game a shot, and let me know what you genuinely think of it!

[ 2022-11-01 11:00:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

In this patch:

• The exit portal no longer appears immediately after the level starts
• The title screen correctly states the game version as v0.7.1

[ 2022-08-25 03:19:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today, I released Gem Worlds v0.7.0 (demo). This version includes:

• The ability to rebind any and all in-game controls. The tutorial also mentions the correct keys.
• Some new sound-effects (e.g. player melee sound, Nana's shop sounds)
• Chests now visually show what you got from inside
• The tutorial now suggests keyboard keys for skills
• All items more clearly state what effect they have when used
• Buffed light crystals (brighter, longer duration, brightness and duration both stack)
• You now get a tutorial/hint when you first hit 150 gems, that you can buy some skills from Nana's shop.
• Fixes for around 15 bugs

[ 2022-08-24 02:32:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today marks the release of the v0.6.0 demo version of Gem Worlds. This version includes one major change: everything (including you) now moves at the same time. This resulted in many subtle changes, including:

• Monsters no longer attack you when you move next to them; they do when you're adjacent to them, and then move away
• One-heart monsters are generally not able to hurt you significantly
• Lots and lots (and lots) of timing (race-condition) bugs no longer exist, since everything moves at the same time

I think these changes make the game more interesting, and more forgiving of bad moves; plus, you can plan your reaction better. I made a significant change to how the game looks:
Overall, it looks more stylish, but individual elements "pop" less. If you have any trouble distinguishing important elements, let me know, so I can make adjustments. Some other small changes:

• You can trigger skills with the keyboard (Z, X, C, V keys)
• Fixed a bug where you couldn't equip skills on a new game
• Added a full-screen option in the options menu
• Keys act more like gems (you move onto their tile when collecting them)
• Fixed lots of bugs

[ 2022-08-04 03:37:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey all, just shipped a small patched version of Gem Worlds (v0.5.1) with a minor fix. In the tenth level, you are much more likely to get a "good" generated level (with keys far from the lock and the player start position). While you may still end up appearing close to the keys, which might also be close to the exit, the prevalence of this is much, much less now in the v0.5.1 patch. Enjoy!

[ 2022-07-17 03:07:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, I released a new version of the Gem Worlds demo today. This includes a couple of major changes, namely, terrain. Every level includes: - Teleporters! - Light Stars: they eat dirt and move in a pattern) - Receding walls that spring up once you walk over them, blocking things, and then reset after a few turns My hope is that these few elements will add more interesting interactions between things in-game. Also, the fifth and tenth level now include locks and keys. While the exit is immediately available without collecting any gems, you need to find 1 or 3 keys to unlock the exit. Finally, I fixed a ton of bugs, including some nasty performance bugs that caused ~10 frames to drop every time you move. As always, let me know if you have any feedback! I made these changes in direct response to player feedback, and I hope they are fun; let me know what you think.

[ 2022-07-17 03:03:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, I released a new version of the Gem Worlds demo a few minutes ago. This includes a few changes:

• The MacOS version now launches correctly
• You can pause or quit the game to the skill shop at any time, then resume from the same level. I hope this change will encourage more players to buy and try different skills.
• Fixed a crash in the options menu
• Made it clearer what area explosions affect
• Fixed a bug where picking up an item wouldn't show it in your inventory, if you already had that item, but used up all of it from your inventory.
• Space out treasure chests a bit farther from each other
• Prevent freezing on level generation if there's no space for treasure chests
• Fix: item audio doesn't play when you use the last one from your inventory
• Fix: in some cases, you can see multiple buttons for the same item

Please let me know your feedback, especially around the skills changes; did you try others? Why or why not? Which ones did you like?

[ 2022-05-14 03:35:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today marks the release of the v0.3.1 version of the demo. The previous version was 0.3.0 (incorrectly labelled as 0.1.0). Changes include lots of quality-of-life improvements, as well as a crash fix:

• Fix: the game crashed for some players
• Fix: players with corrupt save games now have the hammer skill
• Fix: the right side of buttons on the title-screen weren't clickable
• Fix: tooltips/hints for skill buttons and items now correctly appear again
• Fixed several bugs around changing skills (e.g. click hammer, then fireball, then something else) incorrectly showing aimer arrows
• Added the keyboard binding to tooltips for skills and items
• Rebound skills to ZXCVB and items to 1234; this is also one-handed friendly (accessibility)
• Nerfed fireballs. They're now shorter-range (more dangerous to use), have a longer cooldown, and no longer destroy destructible walls
• Skill buttons now appear disabled/grey while cooling down
• Smaller binary sizes going forward (this update is around 500kb)

As usual, if you have any feedback, please reach out via the Steam discussion forums, Twitter, or Discord. I really appreciate all the feedback I got so far (which made up most of the changes in this build).

[ 2022-05-07 17:10:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today, as part of the Roguelike festival on Steam, you can try out the Gem Worlds demo. It contains an entire slice of the game: one biome with ten levels, three monsters, five skills, and mines. If you have any feedback on the game, or if you would like to report bugs, the best way to reach me is to post something in the demo discussion forum on Steam, or to reach out on the Deen Games Discord. I'm really excited to hear what you think!

[ 2022-05-03 03:11:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

Seems like Gem Worlds reached the interesting point where I can leverage existing systems, and quickly hammer out new stuff. Pixel art aside (since thats unique and very, very hard), I completed lots of stuff this week alhamdulillah:

• Redid all the tiles, it looks very giant-tree-like now
• Made all the monster sprite: one-eyed apple creature, teleporting tree pixie, and poisonous mushroom
• The unique obstacle here is beehives, which spawn (non-attacking, cute) bees that clutter stuff up. If killed, more bees spawn.

You can check out a video of it here (including me dying twice: [previewyoutube=xEfzhZbWVms;leftthumb][/previewyoutube] It looks like the game needs some rebalancing (or maybe I need to think more?) - Im particularly proud of the poisonous mushrooms. Particles aside (those are little green skulls hovering around), the actual mushroom cloud itself is an entity, and interacts with others automatically. Without writing a line of code, I get mushrooms that hurt players, destroy obstacles, and hurt other monsters; and particles that react to skills like fireballs. Pretty cool, as far as emergent game design. And now, excitingly enough, on to the fifth and final world: the mechanical world.

[ 2022-01-30 17:30:09 CET ] [ Original post ]