Cx6

Cx6 is a game I started at the beginning of January 2023. My goal was to complete it by the end of the month, excluding distribution steps like integrating Steamworks API, etc. It is currently January 29 and I am just about there! This is my very first game that will be publicly released. I hope to publish it on Steam, however it sounds like the approval and release process is going to take at least a month.


Cx6 is a bullet hell, arcade-style game where the only objective is to survive and rack up high scores. Bullets launch across the field in predictable patterns from every direction and the player must deflect off any of the four walls to avoid them. The player can graze bullets without actually touching them to score extra points and fill the buffer. Grazing multiple bullets in a row will increment the player’s streak. Earn a high streak and something special might happen!

The buffer will burst once its capacity is reached, releasing small jewels which can be collected for a considerable amount of points!

Assists will occasionally spawn somewhere on the field. Collecting one of these will activate its ability, which is always some helpful tool for survival. For example, the Path Predict assist will show the exact path bullets will take.

Modifiers will forcefully apply themselves at regular intervals. These can make survival more difficult, especially if they come at an already hectic time. For example, the Bullet Train modifier causes bullets to launch with extremely high speeds!

Death happens quickly and frequently! If the field becomes too hectic to manage, you might slip up and run into a bullet.

Practice makes perfect. The best way to improve is to learn the finite set of bullet patterns, maneuver the field utilizing the four walls, and find ways to use those pesky modifiers to your advantage. Remember, earning a high score is not just about survival time!

Twenty achievements are available to unlock, each ranked into four levels of difficulty. For some perspective, I’ve sunk about four or five hours into the game so far and have yet to unlock the last six!

Three original music tracks are included, composed by my younger brother and his friend. The player can toggle between two of them in the options menu to customize their gameplay experience, choosing between classic chiptune or a more modern sound.

The game offers global and friends-only leaderboards powered by PlayFab so friends can compete for best survival time, highest score, and highest graze streak.


It has been non-stop work over the past month with my day job then spending several hours every night on making this as simple, stable, and fun as possible. It’s a great learning experience to not only make the bulk of a game, but also to spend that seemingly endless amount of time polishing the little details, thinking through optimizations, and struggling through deployment to Steam.

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Woah! Looks like a fun game! I look forward to playing it and reading about the development process.

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Well done on the amazingly quick turnaround. Am I right in guessing that this is a learning endeavour to get a grasp of the intricacies of shipping a game? If that’s the case then I applaud a very good initiative, I think that will serve you very well.

If you have questions about releasing on Steam then I’m happy to help.

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Well done on the amazingly quick turnaround.

Thanks. By turnaround, do you mean development time?

Am I right in guessing that this is a learning endeavour to get a grasp of the intricacies of shipping a game?

That is the biggest learning component, but the game isn’t being made solely as an exercise in shipping. It’s a game that I’ve wanted to play but doesn’t exist, and I’d really like to experience loading up my own game on Steam, see others enjoying something I made, and just be able to say that I actually released a full game!

If you have questions about releasing on Steam then I’m happy to help.

Thanks, I might do that. I just became a Steamworks partner and the amount of effort required for this thing is shocking.

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Yep!

That’s brilliant. A first significant release that is quick and you want to work on it. Perfect combination!

I’m well aware, which is why I offered. It can be a labyrinth at the best of times.

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Cx6 is now available to Wishlist on Steam!

Store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2302410/Cx6/

The trailer is short and sweet, available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qp3G3jl6Vys

Thank you to the users here on the forums and extension developers. I am happy to see this shaping into a finalized product. Being able to sit down with friends or family and launch my own game on Steam, see others enjoying it, and just be able to say “Hey, that’s my game!” was a bucket list item for many years.

Please wishlist the game if you’re interested! It will fully release on March 10 at noon.

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Wishlisted!

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Looks awesome!

Did you experiment with a different shape or color for the jewels? Thinking it might become difficult differentiation between the jewels and the bullets?

My 2 year old applauded your trailer. Surely a good sign.

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The game is available now: Save 10% on Cx6 on Steam

Please let me know if you run into issues. I am available to support this weekend and would like everything to be running smoothly. Thank you!

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Giving it a whirl now. Pleased to report that I hate you!

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Left a review! Congrats on the launch and good luck on the race to 10 reviews. If anyone else here gets the game, leaving a review is the best way to support @WhiteBoxDev .

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Made me laugh, thank you! :laughing:

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Farewell, productive weekend image.

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Bought and tried it! Oh my is it hard, I think my average time spent alive was about a second the first 30 min of play time. After that it probably became 4 seconds :sweat_smile:

The circle of dooms difficulty to get past was infinity harder than any of the others. I only managed to get past it a couple of times…

I think the game would be a bit nicer if for the first 10 seconds only a single bullet would be spawned at a random position along any of the four sides. That way you get a bit of a warm up and might get to one of the powerups which would be a “oh wow so cool” moment for people.

I also don’t think the “circle of doom” should be able to spawn to frequent or at all within the first 10 seconds.

In short, the pattern are picked randomly but I think they shouldn’t be random for at least the first 10 seconds so that during that time the game would be easier.

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So far, so good!

It’s an infinite game :heart:

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Hint is to follow the circle as it moves. Stay in the eye of the hurricane or just outside it, so to speak.

I think the game would be a bit nicer if for the first 10 seconds only a single bullet would be spawned at a random position along any of the four sides.

This was mentioned by some others as well. The first possible speed change could occur at start + 10 seconds, so yes I think that would be a good addition.

I also don’t think the “circle of doom” should be able to spawn to frequent or at all within the first 10 seconds.

Once you learn to handle it, it becomes one of the easier patterns to avoid. :slight_smile:

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