Origin
I started working on Cosmic Zephyr's engine in 2010, after completing A Starspangled Zephyr with my old friend Travis. ASZ was a very psychedelic, experimental jaunt. I wanted to follow it up with something more accessible and adrenaline-fueled. Travis wanted something more like Star Fox, which I had never played before then.
I was more influenced by some N64 and PS1 era classics – Jet Moto, Extreme-G, Wave Race 64, Aerogauge, etc. Older games like Gradius were inspirations – I initially wanted a weapon upgrade system like Gradius. I was also inspired by Burnout 3: Takedown for PS2 (which I’ve put almost 300 hours into).
While ASZ was built on Travis’ prototype, I produced the main engine for Cosmic Zephyr. At that point, Travis gave me his blessing and I developed the game on my own. I released the first available prototype in March 2011 for feedback amongst our small community of friends.
Back then it was titled “Demon’s Tail”. I had completely forgotten about this early prototype until recently finding it mentioned on an old blog. So I don’t think I have a copy of that version.
Initial 2013 Release
In 2013, one member of 64digits tried organizing some kind of bundle for some of our best games. I took the initiative to hustle and finish the game in the best form I could manifest at the time. I released several prototypes through July-August, before finally releasing the game on August 9, 2013.
The working title for the game was “Maiko Fuse”, which was a play on words. The source code then was called “maikofuse” – which I sometimes read as “Make of Use”. It was basically a subliminal message to myself to keep working, even when I felt like giving up.
I would ultimately rebrand it as "Cosmic Zephyr" for the 1.3 update on September 30, 2014. I used the name “Devil Rush” at some point in between.
I was terribly indecisive about the name, but I think Cosmic Zephyr was the best choice I could make. With all the stress I was going though at the time, I had completely forgotten about the original A Starspangled Zephyr. Then I rediscovered it at some point, and figured I should use “Zephyr” as the franchise name.
The bundle on 64digits never materialized, which was really disappointing. I did update the game in 2014 with the official name and some tweaks to the gameplay. But then it kinda went on the backburner while I focused on other projects.
I remember running an indiegogo to get on Steam in late 2014, but it essentially got trolled by lowlifes from the small community Travis and I were a part of. That left me really depressed and angry. Though looking back I still appreciate the ones who did support me.
With Steam out of reach, I decided to use Cosmic Zephyr for a few other experiments throughout the 2010s...
Experiments Pt 1, Android version
In December 2015, I debuted the Android version of Cosmic Zephyr. But that in itself was an experiment to see how it felt to make a game for smartphones.
I learned some interesting things in the process. Android games can’t draw vectors, so I had to rasterize the tunnel. I also had to drop most of the soundtrack to get the game to an acceptably small size.
I found the game runs fine on smartphone, but the gameplay was too fast for me to recommend for that system. I dislike touchscreens for how easily they cause repetitive strain injury, so I haven’t updated Cosmic Zephyr for Android since a final update on September 7, 2016.
Nonetheless it was a useful experiment that armed me with good information, should I ever have to tackle another Android port.
Experiments Pt 2, Localization
One of the most interesting developments was seeing my game pirated on several Chinese websites in 2014-2015. These sites were giving away the version I was selling on itch.io, and logically I should’ve been angry about that. But the comment sections were so glowingly positive that I was encouraged about its future.
I had gotten a lot of positive feedback while developing the game, but once I released it in August 2013, the hype quickly died down and my peers seemed to lose interest.
So when the Polyglot excel started floating around in 2015 or so, I figured I should seize the opportunity to localize my game into as many languages as feasible.
One harsh lesson I’ve learned from localizing a game – it’s very treacherous to try adding new features once you’ve localized a game into other languages (particularly Asian languages, because of the way Game Maker Studio handles kanji).
I couldn’t get kanji to work the first time I localized the game, though it was all in the code. I released 1.5.3 with European languages on May 2, 2016. I was really happy with it because I felt this version had some finality to it.
Between 2013 and 2020, the year 2017 was the only year where I did not release an update to Cosmic Zephyr.
I returned to release 1.6 with more polished gameplay on August 22, 2018 – five years after the initial release. Shortly after, I figured out how to efficiently add kanji to the game. So I got Chinese, Korean, and Japanese working and released Cosmic Zephyr 1.7 on Febuary 12, 2019.
Conclusions
I’ve noticed my game is unanimously enjoyed by Chinese / Japanese / Korean reviewers and gamers, but the Western reaction to Cosmic Zephyr is lukewarm or outright hostile. Seeing this dynamic play out has been intriguing. I think it points to a certain snobbish attitude Western gamers have towards indie games, or preference to “AAA games”.
So, was translating my game to other languages worth it? Absolutely. The issues of localization and translation may be less of a headache than dealing with Western gamers.
Now the question is whether to pursue another project with that capability, or some project that innately limits itself to English readers. If I can translate my game/simulation/software into other languages smoothly, that is clearly the preferred goal.
Lessons
Community
- Establish a cadre of trusted playtesters. One-on-one interactions with playtesters is more beneficial than asking a community of strangers what they think.
- Working on a game with friends is better than working alone.
- If possible, build a community around your game before putting it on a saturated marketplace like Steam.
- Get motivation wherever you find it - even if you're transmutating destructive forces into creative energy.
Toxicity
- Avoid toxic spaces on the internet in general when sharing your game.
- Don't waste time on people who gossip about you and/or make backhanded compliments. Avoid people who give bad faith advice.
- Be prepared to drop any community that becomes toxic or unbearable to you.
Technical
- If you're porting a game from computer to smartphone, make sure the gameplay suits the medium.
- Follow your own ethos, not the zeitgeist. Personally, I don't want to design anything that encourages people to be on a smartphone.
- Don't localize your game and expect to easily add new features after that. Translating your game into other languages should be one of the last major things you do.
[ The development of this game is inextricably tangled with complicated events from my personal life, which I've chosen to leave out. As a result, this is a heavily redacted version - about 50% - of the full article. ]
Originally published: July 17, 2020
Revised and updated: September 9, 2024
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