The Chill Mode is what this whole bug-killing adventure started from.
The original idea was to make a simple bug-squashing game with not much challenge, just keeping the room clean from bugs. So I came up with these short goals: kill a number of bugs within a specific time period. And it was fun, at least for some people, but unfortunately, it has to be removed now.
Why Remove the Chill Mode?
When I got the first feedback for the game, I realized that not many people actually enjoy games like this. I was asked to add some challenge. So I started thinking about how to make the game more fun and engaging, without breaking what was already built. That’s how the Auction Mode emerged.
This one was not chill anymore. The bugs became aggressive, and now you had an item to protect - the Banana. And then came the random upgrade system, which brought builds into the game. A perfect recipe to make it an actual roguelike. But is it really a roguelike if only one game mode is?
The game became much more than it was intended to be. But at the same time, the Chill and Auction modes became so different that the same players wouldn’t enjoy them both. To be honest, I already felt that adding a second mode added confusion, and I didn't want to do it just because of that.
But now that both modes are here, the difference has become too obvious. Roguelike players will never waste their time on something like Chill Mode, and people who might enjoy the Chill Mode will find the Auction Mode too challenging. The time has come to make a hard decision... one must go so the other can thrive.
So is it gone forever now?
Well, the decision was hard. And though I was thinking about it from the very beginning of Auction Mode development, I wasn’t brave enough to take Chill Mode down forever.
But everything changed when I realized I could use the removal of Chill Mode to my advantage. You see, after learning about Steam marketing challenges, I decided to skip the June 2025 Next Fest for "Who Let The Bugs Out?" until I’m confident I can get as many wishlists as possible from it. The game should be super polished and already have a solid wishlist count (showing the game is good enough) before participating in a Next Fest.
But I’ve never done a Next Fest before. And I need that experience, how to prepare the game, the page, and myself for it. The only way to gain that experience is to actually participate in one. But wait, I said I'm not participating with "Who Let The Bugs Out?"...
I decided to make Chill Mode into its own game, and this one will participate in the June 2025 Next Fest, if I can complete all the requirements. This way, I can remove Chill Mode from the game with no hard feelings, and even gain something in return.
Welcome the new game – Bug Off!
So here’s the new game – Bug Off!. Take a look.
As you can see, it's already there, and even the demo is available, long before the Next Fest starts. And it looks and feels different too, even though it’s still the same old Chill Mode. Everything you see is a direct result of splitting the original game into two.
When it was just a game mode, it was always at the bottom of my development priority list, while I was focused on Auction Mode. And even Auction Mode development wasn’t smooth, since both modes shared the same code base, and I had to ensure nothing broke. Now that the modes have separate code bases and separate priority lists, I can iterate much faster.
Bug Off is no longer a "useless game mode", it can compete with the original title now. Check out all the visual improvements: there's slow-mo now, you can stomp with a specific foot, and even jump. The movement and camera have also gotten major upgrades.
All of this became possible because of the split. And now, it won't bother roguelike players anymore, it can be discovered by its own audience. And there's more to come! With the right audience, the game can now collect the right kind of feedback and grow in the right direction.
What about "Who Let The Bugs Out?"
The only downside of this split is that the original title will get less attention until Bug Off is released.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Because all the improvements Bug Off gets will eventually make their way into the original game, and they'll already be battle-tested and polished. Just with a bit of delay. I prefer to think of that delay as a period of learning and preparation, one that will help make the game even better than before.
So yeah, no Next Fest for "Who Let The Bugs Out?" for now. No new features or updates until June 2025. But more progress and fewer obstacles after that.
And remember what I started with: this whole split is made to make "Who Let The Bugs Out?" a better game.
What’s Next?
"Who Let The Bugs Out?" stays as-is until the June 2025 Next Fest and will not participate.
"Bug Off!" gets all my attention until then, so it goes into the Next Fest as good as it can be at this point.
Don't forget to wishlist Bug Off! and Who Let The Bugs Out?, this is the only metric I use to decide which one is worth working on.
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Some quotes:
“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” — Pablo Picasso
“Sometimes you have to let go of the good to make room for the great.” — John C. Maxwell