Kalikan
Kalikan is a vertically scrolling bullet hell 'shmup inspired by Dodonpachi- pushing the limits of ~virtual~ hardware . Control one of 3 1 ship(s) featuring two varied attack modes . Maintain your chain to compete for the highest scores
NOTE: Kalikan is a work in progress . Things are subject to change- and your feedback is incredibly welcome . If you enjoy Kalikan and have something you watch added , edited , changed , or removed , let me know on Twitter if the site still exists
Controls
- Use the arrow keys to move
- Use the X key to shoot
- Use the Z key to bomb
Scoring
Kalikan features GPS ( get point system ) scoring , for maximum points you will need to combo enemy kills together into long chains which increase your score multiplier exponentially !
Additionally , medals can be chained together to multiply their value !
Timeline
Will be taking a break from this project for a bit , but will likely come back eventually . In the meantime please direct any feedback to me on twitter for as long as that site remains in existence .
I currently have the .p8 file available alongside a $5 donation . The source is minified but readable , please consider supporting this project as I do this for the love of it and would love to be able to work on things as often as possible . It's been a tough year ! Thank you regardless , hope you're having a generally good time !
Thanks for your support <3 - Louie
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Kalikan Update V1.02Jul 09, 2023
- Kalikan Update V1.01bJul 06, 2023
- Kalikan Update V1.01Jul 03, 2023
- Kalikan.p8 is now available !Jul 03, 2023
- Kalikan: Stage 1Jul 02, 2023
Comments
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Is this the same game that you can get here for free: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=53315 ?
The level design is good, but I don't like how I have to start over from the very beginning of the game each time I lose; it becomes tedious to redo what I've already beaten just for another chance at what killed me. I'd appreciate the option to restart from checkpoints, even if it means taking fewer hits (or even just one hit) before being sent back. Would you be willing to add that option to your game?
I bought this but I have a device which only takes .p8.png files and I didn't find one in kalikan.zip... can't I play this on my device then?
Hi! We played your game on stream and really enjoyed it!
I'm so bad in these types of games :D
But it's great nonetheless!
I have an RGB30, but game don't start.
How i can do?
Hmmm , it's not a device that I own- so I'm not quite sure sorry :( I wish I could offer some more help , but I have no idea how that device works xD
we use ArkOS for our RGB30, and we put the whole kalikan folder into the cards folder of the pico8 folder and started the menu card from it.
been a bit obsessed with this game for the past few days. great stuff
That's a cracking score , wow !
Is it endless or ends in a boss, if is endless until dead im willing to buy the game, thanks!!
Just ends in a boss ! No need to buy it though , the full thing is available online <3
I'm working on a separate version for a larger release though- although it's ages away from being finished
wow. Great game. I love this kind of shmup game type. The bullet hell aspects were something i didnโt like at first, case i suck at bullet hells, but really actually enjoyed it. Didnโt get past the second boss though. Also would like some form of level up, like in galaga. Maybe like upgrading the shipโs weapons to shoot faster or deal more damage. Donโt know if you have the tokens though. How long is the game? Past the second boss?
The second boss is the final boss for now ! Thank you so much for your kind words , I'm so glad you enjoyed it <3
Maybe Kalikan can be your gateway into Dodonpachi >:) - re: levelups- I considered it , but honestly not super fond of those systems in shmups- I prefer the super stripped back ones with no power creeping , just happens to save on tokens too xDD
I usually suck at Bullet Hells and this game is no exception, but I'm loving it. And it is without a doubt one of the best Pico-8 games out there. Since Steam is my main launcher, I created some artwork for it that I'd like to share:
https://imgur.com/a/Bc5vvIh
By the way, are you planning to add the 3rd currently unavailable plane?
I'd love to see what it looks like inside the actual launcher itself- I'm considering an eventual move over onto steam anyway
I'll add the third ship eventually , haven't got around to making it yet xD
You can easily add a non-Steam game to the Steam launcher and then assign the artworks to the empty placeholders.
It will look like this then:
https://imgur.com/a/fINFyOj
(unfortunately, Steam doesn't record the playtime of non-Steam games)
I think your game would be a great addition to the Steam Shmup library.
Hope to see more from you in the future!
great game :)
Thank you ~! :):)
Very good game! :)
oh this is really fun to play - and the music is a blast too =D
I bought this thinking it was a full game lol
It was impressive and fun though. I look forward to its future development.
Does the p8 file work on Fake-08? I was hoping to buy it and play it on my Miyoo Mini handheld emulator.
I haven't tested it personally , but I've heard pretty mixed reports . So I'd probably say it doesn't , just to save you getting let down :(
Did you ever give this a try with Fake-08? Curious if it works as well.
Doesn't seem to work with fake-08 as far as I'm aware :(
1,722,870 :) hi lol i got invested
Nice score !
thanks for playing :))
Hey @Louie I need baby mode. :P
:')
The baby mode is practise !
does anyone know how to unlock the type C aircraft? if you know please tell me
its not in the game yet
thank's
hello i'm the player SSS, this game is amazing, I'm a developer too
using tap or hold to choose between shots and move speed simultaneously is brilliant. the length is also perfect for someone like me, who isn't exactly good at shmups, but knows enough about them that this one seems "doable" haha.
Thank you ! I definitely didn't invent the system haha- just stealing from those clever-er than me from a time before XD
I quite enjoy the single level scoring tbh ! Makes it fun to try for high scores when its only a 3-4 minute commitment ! I'm glad you enjoyed it ! :):)
Made a video
Thank you ! What a fun watch XD
are these randomly generated scores?
Even after I refresh the page they stay. Does this use memory at 0X5E00 - 0X5EFF? But that only works if I download the game, which I have not done here
High scores are stored in persistent memory !
I didn't know persistent memory worked on the browser version
Pretty sure its using `dset` but there are other was this can be done. as for the storage pico-8 I think it uses local storage in the browser.
They're generated on first launch ! They're just the nicknames of my friends- and people who helped me make Kalikan :)
They're pretty low scores that are meant to be overtaken though
Oh
got my best score without knowing about alt fire or bombs, never got close to it again even when using those
10/10 loved every second of it
HAHAHA , means there's some room for high scoring XD
Good score ! Nice work <3
Really like the game, probably one of the best PICO-8 and schmup projects I've played in a bit. Love the designs of the ships and enemies, as well as the backdrop. I really like the variety of attacks and the simple controls. Backing up what Marty_DYR said, the yellow enemy fire can be hard to notice amongst the fire from the player so that may be something you may want to change?
Also did you make the music or did someone else, and do you know of any other music they have made?
I made the music myself ! I'm not a musician by any means , but I made all of the music in all my games so far XD
For the next levels I think I'll see if I can recruit someone though haha
Hi Louie - Bought it, played it, love it, photo-ed it.
One suggestion, if I may - the yellow enemy fire becomes a bit tricky to trace when amongst the player fire (in particular when they are the radial starburst patterns).
Potentially change colour or differentiate in another way to make those shots just a bit more visible?
Thanks again for this amazing game. :3
Thank you Marty ! That's something I'll have to really tweak around with because of the pico8 16 colours limit :( Currently the enemy shots flash and go much darker than the player shots which are always bright . But you're the second person with this complaint- so I'll definitely have to tweak something !
Thanks for the insta post ! Super appreciated <3
Here's another person with the same feedback ;)
Awesome game, keep it up!
Just a beautiful pico-8 shmup!
I'm exiting to see where this project is going
Thank you ! :)
Honestly, one of the best pico-8 games I've played in a while. ๐๐๐๐๐
wow , thank you :')
incredible...
Thank you !
i love it!!. as a begginer. how hard is it to make a pico8 game like this?...
This has been one of the most complex pico8 projects I've made , there's a lot of token tricks in here to squeeze it all into just two carts . However , the actual gameplay itself is all pretty simple when you break it down into sections .
I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the beginner and advanced shmup tutorials by Krystian from the Lazy Devs Academy
2nded for Lazy Devs Academy Tutorials, Krystian is amazing.
Thankkks for the advice.
the only thing keeping me from trying out with pico8 is how i must code everything from scratch... Collision detection, Particle systems, lightning systems. aaaargh.
It seems tough at first , but these things are fairly simple on their own ! Also those same tutorials cover pretty much everything you'd want to know :P
<3
Exceptional Cave style action packed into Pico 8. The art is really well done, and the color choices make gameplay readable. I managed to get a clear on my last life as I fumbled through the second leg. Satisfying bosses. Great game, excited to see where it goes.
Me too ! Thank you for playing <3
Nice score too !
This is dope! Love it!
Thank you !
Looks awesome. Any chance you could add the pico-8 cart to the downloads?
Yup ! I'll get that done later today <3
Phenomenal work!
Thank you ::)
Incredible! Well done, Louie. Another one of those "I can't believe this is Pico-8"-games
Oh stop it Krystian :')
Thank you <3 :::))
Splendid! ๐๐๐๐๐
<3
Really great little shmup. Love how you have to choose between a concentrated beam that does more damage to a single enemy, or you do a multiple shot
I really wanted to have that decision space ! I'm super glad you found it interesting :)
The power surge that comes from shooting that many bullets!!
It is a great game!
<3
wow, this is a great game ๐๐๐
Pico8 ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Thank you for playing Josรฉ ! Appreciated :):):)