Blog, Game Development, Products

Jet Dancer Soon to be RELEASED!

Posted by Jonathan on

You read that correctly. Jet Dancer is done. I bounced back and forth entirely too much. Spent ten years developing a game that should logically have only taken one or two at most. Struggled with indecision. Jumped around and did other things that held it back.

But now I can say with total honesty that I finally finished. Development on the Jet Dancer game is complete and I’m just waiting for the day I can officially put it up for sale. The build has been totally approved by Valve. The game functions perfectly on desktop (at least on my PC, which is hardly a powerhouse) and on Steam Deck.

I want to curb expectations. Jet Dancer is not my first game, but before that, I made a simple endless flyer in the spirit of Flappy Bird, so I don’t really count that. This is my first real game. It has over 30 layouts (19 stages and eleven boss fights). There are cutscenes, in-game achievements (I unfortunately couldn’t get Steam’s Achievement system to work) and a tutorial.

However, this is not a lengthy game. Jet Dancer is not a Metroidvania. It’s a linear, straightforward action game like one would find on the classic SNES or Game Boy Advance. It won’t be terribly expensive, and it won’t take that long to beat. My average is about 2.5 hours as the developer, knowing everything about the game. A fresh player might take more time to master the challenges and get to the ending. (I’m told the difficulty is brutal in places, but the entire game is beatable and fair, I think.)

But it’s mine. I made it on my own with very little outside aid (much of the music comes from royalty-free providers who are given proper credit). I’m proud of my work and I’m only looking to grow from here.

Again, the link to the Steam page is https://store.steampowered.com/app/2084470/Jet_Dancer/ Steam account holders can wishlist the game right now!

I’ll be announcing when Jet Dancer goes on sale. But of course, my mind is roiling with ideas about what I want to do next. I’m already plotting game ideas, making character sprites, writing down gameplay concepts and scenarios. I just can’t stop creating.

I’m ready for a break from Jet Dancer, the character and the game. I will of course do all I can to promote the work, to sell it, to patch issues and errors that will undoubtedly come up. But I so want to get back to making something new.

I can’t wait for the next phase!