Starlight Ascendant

What if Galaga had the depth of a modern roguelite? Build your ship in the shop between waves, combine weapons into 55 hybrids, and dodge the diving swarms to survive.

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Entering: Best Game Award and HAMM Award

Inspiration

Three years ago, I got hooked on one question: what if Galaga had the build depth of a roguelite like Brotato? I have polished a design document for it ever since.

What it is

Starlight Ascendant is a roguelite arcade shooter for iPhone. Guns fire on their own, and you shop to customize your build. Enemies fly in formation, dive, and shoot back.

  • Loop: fight a wave, level up, shop, repeat. Twenty waves and a boss, about 20 minutes a run.
  • Builds: any two of the 11 base weapons combine into one of 55 hybrids. Wins and achievements unlock up to 69 weapons, 169 items, and 16 ships.
  • Progress: even a lost run counts toward achievements and Protocols, so no run is wasted time.
  • Art direction: bright, readable silhouettes. Four worlds, each with its own enemies, bosses, and synthwave soundtrack.

Monetization

The game is free and offline. I respect players' attention, so the ads are carefully and purposely placed.

  • Ads: none in your first run. After that, only between waves, at most twice a run, and never after a death.
  • Supporter Pack: a one-time $3.99 purchase that removes ads for good. The shop offers it after an ad, at most once a day.
  • Share card: at the end of a run, you can share a card of your build. A supporter's card carries a badge, and the share screen offers the pack to everyone else. So every shared card also shows the game to friends.
  • RevenueCat: runs the purchase and restore through one entitlement, and tracks ad revenue through its AdMob adapter. No subscriptions, nothing pay-to-win, no tracking.

How I built it

I have been a web developer for 12 years, but I had never made a game or an iOS app. A month ago, I gave my game design document to Claude and GPT-6 and let each build for 36 hours. Claude's version was more fun, so I kept it and have polished it ever since. It's Swift 6, with SpriteKit and SwiftUI. Every table in the design document is an automated test, which keeps 69 weapons and 169 items in balance.

What's next

Polish, polish and more polish. Then a focus on endgame including collectable Mythic Weapons and harder difficulties. Followed by iPad, iPhone Duo, and Mac with keyboard and controller support.

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Updates

posted an update —

Super excited to announce that version 1.2.0 was approved by Apple and is live!!

v1.2.0 is the first big update: more to fight, more to find, and progress that stays with you between runs.

NEW

• Protocols, a new layer of progress that carries from run to run. • Titans, new boss attacks, location weather, and emplacements. • The Magpie, a rare treasure thief that drops a crate. • Legendary Crates now hold a Legendary made for your build. • New enemies, squadron formations, fly-through backdrops, and a synthwave score. • A Stats tab in Records with your lifetime totals. • A new Ship Select, a living star chart for locations, and a tile view of your build. • Tips for your first runs.

BETTER

• Loot beams mark every crate. • The low hull warning comes earlier and is easier to see. • A green edge marker warns of the Supply Convoy. • The shop fits four offers, and a full weapon bar can buy into a hybrid. • Smoother music between menus, runs, and locations. • Fairer Warden and Colossus fights.

FIXED

• A memory leak that could close the game in long runs. • A crash at very low Range. • Better performance in busy waves.

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Submission history