Inside a Star-filled Sky

Overview

Inside a Star-filled Sky is a procedurally-generated shooter created by Jason Rohrer. Almost everything in the game, including levels, enemies, power-ups, and even the music, is generated on the fly.

Gameplay

The basic goal of Inside a Star-filled Sky is fairly simple: Go up. In each level you play as a...thing who has to fight through hoards of enemies, collect power-ups, and find the green up arrow to proceed to the next level. The power-ups you collect don't take effect until you get to the next level, essentially you're buffing your next creature's bullet combo and health. It goes much deeper than that though. By holding shift and mousing over enemies, power-ups, or even yourself, you can enter them. Inside you will find levels like any other, except the power-ups you pick up here will change the properties of the thing you entered. For example, you could change a power-up type completely, give an enemy less health, and/or a worse bullet combo. It does not stop there however, you can continue going down levels, into yourself, power-ups, and creatures indefinitely. Just remember, the end goal is up. The penalty for death is fairly lax as it will happen a lot. When your creature's health reaches zero, it will be pushed inside itself and have it's power-ups decreased.

Flags

The first time you start the game, you are asked to create an flag. Throughout the game you will find permanent and temporary flag anchors that show other players flags. You can place your flag by moving over a temporary or empty permanent anchor. Temporary anchors show the flag of the last player to cross it. Placing your flag on a permanent anchor will make it visible to all future players that visit that level.

PC System Requirements

• • OS: Windows XP
  • Processor: 900 MHz
  • Memory: 40 MB
  • Hard Disk Space: 10 MB
  • Video Card: Onboard Graphics
  • Sound: Standard Audio

Mac System Requirements

• • OS: OS X version Leopard 10.5.8, Snow Leopard 10.6.3, or later.
  • Processor: 900MHz Intel
  • Memory: 40 MB
  • Hard Disk Space: 10 MB
  • Video Card: Onboard Graphics
  • Sound: Standard Audio