Making an Arcade Roguelike in 48 Hours | Sparkchild Devlog

PLAY THE GAME HERE: phibian.itch.io/sparkchild
JOIN THE DISCORD: / discord
SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: / phibdev
Hello! I'm back with another devlog, this time about my newest game: Sparkchild. This is an arcade roguelike where the player must stay near the warmth in order to shoot, but must leave their comfort zone in order to gather XP and gain upgrades.
This was made for the 2022 Winter MelonJam with the theme "cozy."
Music Used:
---------------------
Super Mario Galaxy 1/2 soundtracks

[@i_am_phibian]

*IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!* Since posting this video, it has been brought to my attention that the Ultimate Sound FX Bundle contains stolen sound effects that could put you in legal jeopardy if you were to use them. There are videos on KZbin about stolen sound effects bundles, so please go educate yourself on how to stay away from these types of stolen bundles. DO NOT USE/BUY THE BUNDLE MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO.

[@omle8492]

bro right after i bought it...

[@Makowako_]

Fucking legend

[@Makowako_]

Axolatol

[@Cryosimorgh]

Pro tip, cut the vid where you mention the name of the bundle

[@OlivierPons]

Very interesting... but how do you know if there are stolen sound effects in such bundles? I bought almost all those music and sound bundles...

[@h.k654]

As a participant in the same jam it scares me to see how good this looks

[@chrisatelementalfitnesslif5345]

Oh hhhhhhhhhhh ] E

[@salmonbamminfish2925]

Man your friends must be the best

[@i_am_phibian]

They're so cool

[@Salune]

If there was an award for the most underrated channel on KZbin you would win it. Honestly with the rate you’re uploading and the quality of the vids I wouldn’t be surprised if you reach 10k in like 2 weeks.

[@i_am_phibian]

Thank you so much for that! I would be shocked.

[@krbse.3578]

The prophecy was not fulfilled.

[@tsb4576]

@@krbse.3578 very sad

[@criminechen]

I thought he had like hundreds of thousands

[@iisduck1811]

This didn't age well, but I totally agree!

[@manuelboca1461]

As a fellow gamedev, I would say you're doing great! I love the thought you put in the design phase, you have something that many devs lack, your games can become successful. You also have lots of skills (programming, art, audio), and it seems you're doing well with marketing too (releasing devlogs that have the power to attract new gamers is awesome). Keep up the good work!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! Things are going pretty well for me, I'm getting very lucky with KZbin. I'm so hyped to see where this channel goes.

[@guywholikescats]

I have had a SPARK of hope for the success of this channel ;;;;;;;(

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! What's with the crying faces?

[@mk-ul5tv]

Did someone say... *ROGUELIKE?* Hell yeah dude, looks awesome

[@i_am_phibian]

Literally me every time I make a game.

[@mk-ul5tv]

@@i_am_phibian bro ever since ive tried enter the gungeon it has been my favorite genre, it was a match made in heaven

[@liljagey]

I worked on my first ever game during this jam!

[@i_am_phibian]

How exciting! It's a great journey to start :)

[@CoryTheSimmons]

Amazing how much talent you have at everything: - game dev - pixel art - ableton - making youtube vids Keep up the good work!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! It's a lot of work but it pays off ☺️

[@levildd]

ableton? .-.

[@HomeSliceGame]

I'm a little jealous :) I can only do game dev and just started getting used to make and posting youtube videos and I'm not too good with pixel art. Just not enough time in the day to do everything unless you can do them well fast!

[@i_am_phibian]

Before all the comments saying that the log enemy is too hard, I already know. I already know you have to git gud.

[@Auricstarlight]

congrats on 1k

[@BronsonBragg]

🤣

[@IMinusWell]

LOL

[@linden2391]

PLEASE make a discord server or smth

[@i_am_phibian]

@@linden2391 Planning on doing so at some point soon.

[@PipoPavan]

I love how you can make very good art in such a short time . Nice job :D

[@i_am_phibian]

Much appreciated!

[@HomeSliceGame]

I want these skills! I am not very good with art lol

[@anawan]

Crazy amount of work in less than 48 hours, you nailed it ! I Love your art style !

[@benjattkk]

this is one of the best dev channels I've watched in a while and I hope you keep uploading

[@MuddyWolf]

This is awesome, Phibian! From the game to the video production! Good job!

[@codecrab6866]

Videos like this really inspire me to pick up game dev again! Also really impressive video quality for the the size of your channel, keep up the good work!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@campbellfenegan]

I love how the videos have so much personality , keep it up :)

[@jakubplocica9882]

Just watched this video and feel incredibly inspired to start working on my own game now! Thank you so much! Seriously impressive!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thank you! That's great to hear, good luck with your game!

[@pispxz3697]

your workflow just incredibly inspired me. Keep what you doing fam

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! Glad you're feeling inspired.

[@SeanStClair-cr9jl]

Loved the editing, this video was a really fun watch! And lmao your friend's wisdoms were fucking hilarious.

[@i_am_phibian]

He needs to get back to the pond because he's a silly goose.

[@dekisenpaitm8156]

Man, I feel that video a lot xD Insane that you made it alone - Very well done m8!

[@stealthymink3325]

I also participated in this jam and had a very similar main concept. Keep up the good work!

[@DeepFriedOreoOffline]

I feel like if everyone had friends like that, friends wouldn't be so underrated, lol.

[@poquso6851]

I am truly in awe of your work and talent. Your creations are one-of-a-kind and truly remarkable. Your vision, originality, and fearlessness in pushing boundaries in your art are evident in every piece you create. Your work is an inspiration to others, and it adds immense beauty and joy to the world. Keep nurturing your talent and exploring new horizons in your art. I wish you continued success in all your future endeavors, and may your art continue to captivate and inspire others. Keep up the amazing work!

[@i_am_phibian]

Wow... That was a really motivational comment! Thanks! Will do sir 🫡

[@felfar197]

it's really cool video, you should continue to do such cool stuff!!

[@VisheshBhaskar]

Due to a game developer syndrome called idiocy is the best joke i have heard this year

[@cancerousnodes7916]

you're going to go places dude

[@i_am_phibian]

Aww I appreciate the faith!

[@DiscoGal.]

the fact that this has under 3M views is crazy, ive seen actual professional youtubers have less quality, keep it up!!!!111!!11!111

[@rargraveentertainment3708]

Amazing videos man keep up the work.

[@i_am_phibian]

Thank you so much!

[@Ragz10]

Subscribed amazing work

[@mappeGameDev]

Great video Phibian, keep it going man!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@AtelicDev]

4:15 got me

[@kububbis]

Great vid bro! Also loved the Nintendo music in the bg lol

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@tullman3craggs102]

Time to do leveling! - *does everything else* - I'm glad it's not just me lol

[@i_am_phibian]

Haha yeah

[@PipoPavan]

Congrats on a 1000 subs . your channel is growing so quickly :)

[@Ndo01]

That's so cool that you can do every role.

[@not_ever]

Today I might have learnt that Billl Gates has an egg farm but I'm not sure. Great game. Looks good and is fun to play.

[@souldatrickster1828]

The quality and progression you shown is so good and entertaining. Definitely gotta give this game a try later tonight!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! To be honest I think the video makes the game look more fun than it actually is, if you want to try a more fun roguelike (imo) check out Fisheye on phibian.itch.io. It's easily my best work.

[@souldatrickster1828]

@@i_am_phibian bet, I’ll check that one as well. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@mignottus]

I must leave a comment to increase as I can your visibility, very good video for channel under 1K subs!

[@AmajjaAnnana]

Your voice is so satisfying to listen to lmao also awsome gameeee

[@kirabey8946]

Your style of videos are weirdly educational for beginners like me. Please make more.

[@i_am_phibian]

Will do!

[@ThomasVenner]

That's funny. I also made a weighted random function, and our implementations are almost exactly the same

[@octog1974]

This video was great! Very entertaining, very worthy of my subscription.

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!

[@bloom945]

goddamn, great video! underrated asf

[@smilebringergames]

Omg there are easter eggs in terraria and stardew valley menu??!! I never noticed! So cool! Nice gamedesign vlog here btw.

[@i_am_phibian]

Yeah they're awesome. Thanks!

[@HomeSliceGame]

Me too! I love these games and I somehow missed that lol

[@MGNashi]

An idea that could have been great in my opinion is to make ennemy drop wood or charcoal , wich the player needs to collect in order to keep the fire alive. The twist is that while collecting those , the player cant shoot because he's out of the campfire range. It makes it so that the player needs to be mindful of choosing wood over xp sometimes even if it inders its progression slightly.

[@i_am_phibian]

Interesting alternative design! Very creative!

[@sandravera8808]

I learned a lot from watching your game dev process, thank you!

[@i_am_phibian]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Cobeyy]

Amazing stuff again!

[@strawsquash]

I feel like it’s bad I have half the amount of subscribers as this guy. His content is way better. You need over 100k for sure. More than that.

[@i_am_phibian]

Aw man, you flatter me. Thank you so much for the support, it's so nice to see my efforts paying off. I hope you're having a fabulous day.

[@strawsquash]

@@i_am_phibian thank you you too 😊

[@soupmasters]

Wow this is really good looking and well made! Keep it up!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@i_am_phibian]

Holy crap! You're the person behind Big Boy Boxing! I've been seeing your development updates on (I think?) r/Unity2D for a while now and I found your work inspiring. The pixel art is absolutely incredible too. Keep up the good work man!

[@BlueGooGames]

Hey Soup! Awesome to see your swedish face here! 😂 @i_am_phibian nice work, really enjoyed the video :) i couldn’t deal with the stress of such a short jam, bern workin on our game for 4 years already 😅

[@arti5769]

This is inspiring. I also just did my very first game jam and ended up with a pretty decent game. I also recorded everything from start to finish. Might consider to also do a video about it. Great work!

[@i_am_phibian]

Go for it! It's so much fun!

[@mela_pela]

Yo I love that you work in the night (writing this at 5.44 am cause I didn't go to sleep yet)

[@i_am_phibian]

True game developer hours

[@paddysdynamicvideos]

this is great. you deserve more than 4k subs

[@i_am_phibian]

Aw thanks!

[@Gi0rdan0]

Good video editing, incredible skills in game development with some refreshing creativity… yep I’m investing early on this one… Good job!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@foxdrago9153]

Your videos are always so good and this one was not an exception and I think that the other ideas were very good and I would love if you some day did them principally the main menu one and the card conversation game

[@i_am_phibian]

Maybe I will... guess we'll just have to wait and see ;)

[@devgilmore]

Liked this video as soon as you opened figma :)

[@akdos4665]

Hello Phibian, first of all i have to give you credit for your game it fucking looks amazing, i didn't get the chance to play it yet but i will look forward to it. Second of all your Video/Devlog was very entertaining, as i myself sometimes have the same struggles with coding that you have xD and i just wanted to tell you to keep up the good work, because it will pay of hopefully.

[@i_am_phibian]

Thank you so much for the kind words :)

[@calebmichael6433]

Completely underated!

[@victrozzz]

man every time i watch your new videos you have 3 times the subscribes i dont know how youre doing it but keep doing what youre doing

[@sudhansubalasahoo]

Great video. Very Cool👍

[@Bambochutafreak]

great game and fantastic video!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thank you!

[@cnstiout5850]

Bravo pour ton jeu tu t'es bien débrouiller en 48 heures ! Hâte de voir ce que tu va faire de nouveau !

[@i_am_phibian]

Merci!

[@play-ws7cj]

great editing!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@sdspecto]

Honestly, I would love a longer form version like you did for the previous game. I also think it would be very interesting if you made a personal background video on how you learned all of the separate skills up to this point.

[@i_am_phibian]

I've been considering a general "4 years of game development" video in the future. I have 2 videos in the making that are coming out soon, so it'll be a little while.

[@DrCrazyEvil]

the algorithm brought me here and I'm not disappointed have another sub

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@arturzokiewski7131]

I consume all videos in one night :) You have done great work! Games are really polish! I wish you all the best in Gem Dev! I have a question where I can lear pixel art like yours :D

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! A great way to start is by watching tutorials made by creators such as MortMort and AdamCYounis. They have great videos about pixel art.

[@NeedToDev]

This... Looks INSANE!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@RockyMulletGamedev]

I love that bouncy boi.

[@octarianmenace]

The conversation card game kind of sounds like the game Signs of the Sojourner! It's really cool and you might want to check it out

[@i_am_phibian]

Oh wow! This game looks incredibly interesting and I love the visual language and art style. Thanks for sharing!

[@zazalol9567]

my new favorite devlog youtuber

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! That means a lot!

[@VARIGONSTUDIOS]

Good Job, I made a game in 48 hours for the GMTK 2022 Jam but it didn't go so well lol. You got a lot done in 48 hours. +1 sub

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@nicolailarsen410]

Great! I loved this

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@notebook_doodle]

I love the bouncy spark child, great game!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@_Egg]

Cool vid. Subbing due to that fact and ur axolotl theme. +Rep

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks Egg!

[@gushy305]

Instead of dropping xp, candles can drop hot wax, which cools off shortly. It could make the player bigger

[@herr0_2zer0_]

please continue making this

[@i_am_phibian]

Sorry but I don't think I'll be continuing development on Sparkchild. It was more meant as a short but fun jam game. However, there's a few other projects in the works, including one that's very similar to Sparkchild, so feel free to join the discord to keep updated on other games I'm working on.

[@criminechen]

Amazing video!👏the color palette is really beautiful and your idea is so creative. 👍When you do it, it looks so easy 😭😂

[@malekelsady]

damn that was a great video

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@yoitolive7515]

Phibian: "Good Morning!" Time: 12:00 PM

[@sethmikapremarathne]

I feel like it would make more sense if the enemies were ice/snow based, but anyway, love the game!

[@rickyyyy]

will you remember me when you’re famous? Your videos are epic and super underrated.

[@i_am_phibian]

If I ever get there, for sure :) Thanks

[@ThisIsSimonK]

I love the art style and your code looks clean. Have you considered open sourcing it? A lot of people could benefit from cleaner software architecture :)

[@i_am_phibian]

I might make it a patreon benefit at some point. To be honest, I'm not sure why so many people want to look at my game jam code. I try to make it clean, but the reality is always the same: games made in 48 hours, or 9 days, or 72 hours are going to have messier code just because at a certain point it's about getting things done; not getting things done in the best way.

[@ThisIsSimonK]

​@@i_am_phibian Yeah gamejam code can be messy, but its also something that people can learn from. Unity is pretty bad when it comes to finding solid resources to learn from. In my eyes your solution could serve as inspiration for game devs aspiring to achieve similar results to yours - for example, how to design and build a roguelike, how to make good looking UI. Also, it's easier to play around with existing solution than to try and build everything on your own from scratch!

[@ThisIsSimonK]

Also, `working` solution always beats `best but unfinished` :D

[@dablues6573]

Very Great, the game is so good and fluid ! inspired me to continue some projects, but I wonder what do you use at 5:44 to note what you need to do and what you did ?

[@i_am_phibian]

That's Trello. It's an amazing project management app. I would recommend it.

[@dablues6573]

@@i_am_phibian thanks for the fast answer :) And again very clean work I wish I could be this good one day :')

[@poimon5607]

Cool!

[@emitenleo]

YO WTF DID YOUR FRIENDS EVEN SAY LMAOO CAN WE GET THAT AS A WHOLE VIDEO

[@i_am_phibian]

Haha, unfortunately I probably can't make a whole video of the random stuff my friends say, but I can assure you there would certainly be enough content.

[@limme2001]

The game came out great! 10:55 what’s the name of this song? It’s extremely nostalgic but I can’t figure out where it’s from

[@limme2001]

And I have to agree with your take on outer wilds. Have been feeling empty searching for new games of the same caliber after finishing it… The only thing you can do is to watch other people play it for the first time ;)

[@i_am_phibian]

@@limme2001 AMEN

[@i_am_phibian]

Super Mario Galaxy OST - Aquatic Race

[@gresh1134]

This really neat!

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@gresh1134]

Forgot the world "is"... well, that's super embarrassing 😅

[@chibiicate1803]

That was awesome. I'm starting my journey too, really love how your work turned out! I'm curious, what program did you use for the sound effects?

[@i_am_phibian]

For most of the sound effects, I used the Ultimate Sound FX Bundle from the Unity asset store. For the rest, I used BFXR to generate them.

[@aarononeale7727]

love the video. please do a tutorial on one upgrade from rogue-like menu so we can have an idea of how it was done. would be much appreciated

[@i_am_phibian]

Maybe I'll do a general roguelike tutorial at some point. What exactly do you want to know?

[@aarononeale7727]

@@i_am_phibian im quite new to unity. only been at it for 5 months now so im curious on how to make a rogue like pop up menu that is linked to your weapons(not sure if you are using scriptable objects). would be cool if you could show how to add weapons to the menu by dragging scriptable objects into a list maybe and using them and it would be awesome if you could show how to do multiple projectiles when shooting( a shotgun type effect) since there are very little straight forward tutorials on how to do that if you are using the mouse position to aim.

[@i_am_phibian]

@@aarononeale7727 For your first question, yes, I am using Scriptable Objects for the upgrades. They're being randomly picked from a temporary list that contains all upgrades, and whenever one is picked, it's removed from the list to prevent duplicates. For your second question, there's some vector math involved. If you think of a normalized Vector2 representing the direction from the player to the mouse cursor as a direction, it has an equivalent angle which can be found using inverse trigonometric functions. Then by modifying that angle and using normal trigonometric functions to convert that angle back into an x and y component (forming a Vector2), you can get other relative vector directions. By randomizing this a bit, you could emulate a shotgun firing.

[@aarononeale7727]

@@i_am_phibian i understand how you did the first thing but the shotgun emulation is a little too complicated for my level. your exploitation mostly flew over my head but i do appreciate the help alot!

[@ramigebriel3427]

dope video

[@i_am_phibian]

Dope viewer

[@Jack_______oh]

Opportunity missed: Baby Spark

[@collincampbell7689]

Very cool

[@maarten1012TTT]

Good morning! - 12:05pm in the corner 😂

[@darknside]

nice video

[@sebastianobelfiore3915]

Beautiful game🔥. This was my first game jam and I failed xD I thought of an impossible game to finish in 48 hours for my skills.

[@i_am_phibian]

We're game devs. There's 1000 failures for every success. :)

[@i_am_phibian]

As long as you learned something you'll do better next jam :)

[@Noah-gz8qm]

yeah nice job :D

[@Pr3tzelz]

Subscribed.

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks!

[@unknownguy2554]

Man I dont get it how you are so good at gamedev. I have been using unity for 3 years now and all my games are garbage. Anyways, super good job and I hope your channel grows even more.

[@i_am_phibian]

Thanks man, it comes eventually and it's so great when it does. Keep at it!

[@MGNashi]

Griftlands has a 50/50 - Battle/Conversation gameplay that both play with cards.

[@i_am_phibian]

Cool!

[@MGNashi]

@@i_am_phibian Its pretty good ! definitely worth a try.

[@vncntjms]

This is awesome! Just curious (I'm a beginner). Why do you use Visual Studio for the script instead of the built-in IDE of Unity?

[@i_am_phibian]

If you're referring to mono develop, I consider visual studio to be a lot better in almost every way. There's just way more functionality honestly.

[@berkeenver6752]

Why are you suddenly drawing graphs at 7:52? I'm new to Unity and I haven't done this kind of process, I'm asking out of curiosity.

[@i_am_phibian]

I wanted to adjust enemy spawns based on an integer input to a function representing the "wave" number. So in order to exponentially increase enemy spawns, I wrote a function in Desmos that gave the proper outputs based on some variables I could adjust. Then I just replicated the function in C# code to use within the game.