A really cool update for Alexus 2040 is going to be published on 5th June 2025.
Paint your spaceships in seconds with this very easy-to-use integrated pixel art tool.
How did this idea come about? It certainly wasn’t planned a long time in advance, it’s just an idea that popped up and that for some reason I didn’t put aside, that I felt was realistic to envision for being self-contained, and that would make a nice unexpected feature, without affecting any other area of the game.
Then it started to question myself: Am I doing a kid’s app? Is that what I’m doing now? I’ve got kids, I think it’s worth doing something that your kids will want to use. But it’s not exactly what Alexus 2040 is about. It’s a shoot ’em up, it’s a tough game, it’s serious business. Well is it really? I already added an Easy mode in the last update (as part of the Accessibility settings). There isn’t a norm to follow for the genre. The game already includes a number of power-ups that are cool and creative but of the more abstract kind, that would belong as much in a breakout/Arkanoid game than in a space shooter. That’s what being a solo dev allows you to do – anything that you fancy doing. The game is for everyone who wants to play, challenge themselves, and see some improvement, whatever their skills.
Ultimately the tool does appeal to kids in a way that isn’t that surprising (and I’ve seen first hand how a child being able to create a very good looking design in a matter of minutes or less is extremely satisfying to them), but it also appeals to anyone who likes and plays the game, fans of the genre. Every single one of them responded very positively to the idea, and it even exceeded their expectations once they saw it in action. There was no more hesitation then.
Time to get creative (soon)!