No, this project is not dead!

See ya – hopefully in less than 10 months!

That’s how I ended my last devlog, 42 months ago.

I’ve been pretty busy with real life so this project was evolving very, very slowly. Then I found myself with more time in my hands and the wish to try a programming language I never used before. And so I decided to see what it would be like to write Down the Rabid Hole in this language. I know, I know, this is not how one finishes a game, but this was just a side-experiment, right?

Sure, except that I loved the experience too much, and ended up rewriting almost everything I had before, with a good deal of more polishing. I am not making a new release until this new version has all the features of the previous one, but here’s a round up of how things are looking now.

First off, I’m now using pixel art for the graphics. I love pixel art, but it would not be my first choice for this game. But this is a one-man project, and realistically I cannot make any half-decent graphics in a reasonable amount of time in any other style.

I added proper animations and visual effects for events like your drilling rig Armadillo exploding or drilling down to the next level.

The Loadout Screen was vastly improved. This is the screen that allow you to heal, buy upgrades, and equip items between levels. The original version of this screen was a horrible, borderline unusable mess. Huge improvement here!

Finally, you can’t see this in the screenshots, but we now have in-game music. And this is not only for your aural pleasure! In Down the Rabid Hole, you need to return to Armadillo before it finishes drilling to the next level, otherwise you miss your ride! As a cue that the time of departure is getting close, the music will fade to a faster version.

And that’s it! A quick update after a very long hiatus!

See ya – hopefully in less than 42 months!