I'm working on a new update for Darkhouse, and I thought I'd post about it since it might take a little while.

This will be version 0.3, and the first thing it will have is updated graphics for the tiles and backgrounds. I've gotten some reviews that say the level themes are weird, especially the color schemes, and it can make enemies hard to see in later levels. I'm aiming at having the enemies and bullets bright and colorful like they are now, and making the tiles and backgrounds darker and duller, with bright colors in fewer places, as well as a wider variety of colors. This would make a contrast between enemies and tiles that hopefully make the enemies easier to see, while still keeping the theme.

I'm also going to add and change difficulty modes. I got some requests to make checkpoints a little more frequent, and I agree that it's a good idea. So I'm adding an Easy mode that will have checkpoints after the locked rooms, which are in the middle of every level. Normal mode will stay the way it is now, with checkpoints only at the beginning of levels and before a boss. Arcade mode, which is the mode that doesn't save checkpoints after a game over, will be renamed to Hard mode.

Also, I didn't intend the medals for defeating enemies, deflecting bullets, and achieving score to be obtainable in the practice minigames. It seems a little too easy to get them that way, and it interferes with the intended purpose for the minigames, so I'm going to make them obtainable only in the main game. If you had already gotten the medal before this update, you should still be able to keep it.

I'm hoping this update (and future updates) will make Darkhouse easier to play, and more fair, while still remaining a challenge. I can fix it up to the best of my ability, but my inexperience is why I call this Version 0. It like a beta of some kind, for a game that I'm still learning to create. So thank you for all your suggestions, because they help me to make a better game.