Yam of Endor Completed

This is a small turn-based space-game. I wanted to remove the reaction-time requirements but still capture the feel of Asteroids or cave-flyer games: that momentum and sense of inevitability and need to plan ahead, and the tension between wanting to point this way to shoot the enemies but that way to slow down before you crash into the wall. I think it succeeds at that. It's entertaining to watch new players make all the same mistakes as they do in real-time space games: going way too fast and crashing, frantically overcontrolling when they get in trouble instead of staying calm and thinking their way out of it, and so on.

I built the core game in about 20 hours of work in early March for the 2018 seven-day roguelike challenge, but it was pretty rough. Seven months and probably 70 hours of work later, I'm calling it complete. I've done several rounds of playtesting and tweaking the level generation, UI, and controls (including adding gamepad support). In the classic roguelike tradition, it's still quite difficult, but I think I've polished off most of the rough edges and left only the challenges inherent in the mechanics.

You have to collect food through five procedurally-generated levels. The first is a small, open practice area where you can pick up a shield and afterburner fuel, and choose between the long-range single-shot weapon or a short-range spread-fire gun. The second level introduces acid jellies, which amble towards you, are deadly to the touch, and split in two when shot. The third level pits you against stationary turrets which shoot at you periodically, while the final two levels have both enemy types and increasingly difficult spaces to navigate. They also introduce the bounce shield which allows you to bounce off walls but not from enemies and the extremely long-range and dangerous ricochet gun.  At the bottom you will find the Yam of Endor, a giant stash of food. Once you have stocked up, you must work your way back up to the surface to feed your starving space colony.