Flying Home

In this game, you became a lost pigeon, flying through different lands trying to get home. Along the way, you'll face obstacles and all different kinds of enemies. The game builds on the lore of my earlier 2D pixel art project, The Flying Machine, where the pigeon was the enemy players had to shoot down. This time, the story is told from the pigeon’s point of view, giving players a new perspective and turning the former enemy into the protagonist.

My main goal was to create a satisfying flight mechanics that felt smooth and responsive. Inspired by the flying mode in Geometry Dash, I experimented with multiple implementations of the hold to lift, release to drop mechanic, until the loop felt natural and fun. To keep players engaged, I designed a progression system inspired by Junimo Kart from Stardew Valley, adding levels and a score system for replayability. I also introduced a stamina mechanic, where players must collect fruit mid level to regain energy, adding tension and encouraging risk taking.

One of the biggest challenges during development was finding the right balance. I spent a long time adjusting the frequency of fruit spawns, high frequency looses the purpose of the stamina feature, while low frequency means they cannot miss a single fruit. I also spent time experimenting with different enemy movement patterns, slowly increasing difficulty as they progressed.

Bird Enemies created by bluecarrot16, commissioned by castelonia

Background from CraftPix