We Added A LOT Since The Reveal : Ball Busters Devblog #1

Heyo! Dai here!

It’s been a while since I posted here, but that changes today.

Welcome to the FIRST Ball Busters Devblog!

I wanted to start these because I’m not sure how many of you follow the game on the Daitomodachi Labs YouTube or TikTok. So I wanted to post updates here too.

If you’re new here, Ball Busters is an action roguelike where you keep a ball in the air for as long as possible. If the ball hits the ground, you lose a try. Lose all your tries? Game over.

For this first Devblog, I’ll talk about what I’ve been working on for the past 4 months and share the roadmap for the game.

Characters

I’ve been focused on finishing the first 3 playable characters: Maki, Dressa, and Hana..

Maki

Her special attacks can randomly become stronger.

For example:

• Her missile attack can sometimes fire 2 missiles instead of 1

• Her flamethrower can randomly burn the ball

But there’s a catch.

Her weapons can also LOCK for the round.

Stronger weapons have a higher chance of locking. Missiles only have a small chance, while stronger moves like the flamethrower lock more often.

The good news? You can lower the lock chance with upgrades.

Maki also has a special crit ability. Sometimes your special attacks will give extra points.

Hana

If you like Dragon Ball games, you’ll probably like Hana since many of her attacks were inspired by anime and fighting games.

For example:

• Her Legando move was inspired by Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird Kick

• Her Pyrodancer move was inspired by Sanji’s Diable Jambe

Most of Hana’s moves are done, but I’m still changing her special ability because playtesters found ways to abuse it too easily.

Dressa

Dressa is the easiest character to play and the favorite character among my playtesters.

She uses lots of large AOE attacks that can hit the ball many times or weaken it.

Her special ability increases your score multiplier depending on how many tries you have left.

The problem?

It was WAY too strong.

So I’ve been balancing it to make it fair. Right now, Dressa is the last character that still needs her full combo system finished.

Gameplay Additions

A lot of people wondered how the combat could stay fun when you’re hitting a ball over and over again.

So I started adding more mechanics to make every round feel different.

Boss Rounds

Boss Rounds work a little like Boss Blinds in Balatro and...

...these rounds give the ball random special powers or add special rules.

For example:

• The ball might get a shield you have to break first

• The ball could freeze you if it lands

• The ball could even steal one of your power-ups

On Easy and Normal Mode, Boss Rounds happen every third round.

On Hard Mode?

EVERY round is a Boss Round.

Right now, I’ve added around 10 Boss Rounds, but I want at least 25 by launch.

Environmental Hits

A new combat feature I've added is Ground Slams.

Every character can slam the ball into the ground.

Normally, hitting the ground would make you lose a try…

…but Slams DON’T waste a try.

Instead, Slams count as an extra hit and launch the ball back into the air.

Steam post image

I’m still trying to add more upgrades that reward Slams without making them overpowered.

Before you ask, wall hits are in the game, but need more time in the oven.

Balls

I’ve also added different ball types to change how runs play.

Steam post image

For example:

• The B20 ball gives random buffs or debuffs.

• Another ball adds a style meter that rewards skillful play.

• A bucket of chicken gives you a random buff but you have to restock it in the rewards screen.

I'm for around 10 different balls in the game by launch.

Roadmap

Here's the current road map for Ball Busters.

I wanted to keep it simple since these dates may or may not change as we continue working on the game.

If you want more updates, follow the Daitomodachi Labs YouTube channel or TikTok.

Hope you have an awesome day or night!See ya!