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D.N. Sampson

A game by D.N. Sampson

Big Rock Energy

Neon space-rock chaos. Dash, level up, send the rocks to the shadow realm.

In playtestingNeon arcade roguelite · Godot 4

Coming to Android · iOS · Windows on Steam (planned).

Before The Purple Blight was a novel, it was a game I was trying to build. Big Rock Energy is the first game I’ve actually finished building: a fast, funny, very online take on the classic rock-blasting arcade shooter.

Every run is a route through three sectors (fights, shops, meme events, bosses), and every run pays out Stardust for new ships, skins and cards. I wrote the soundtrack too.

It’s free on phones with light ads you can switch off once, forever, and it’ll be a one-price game on Steam.

Screenshots

  • Mid-run combat: the player's ship in a swarm of neon space rocks and pickups, with a “Double kill” callout and a 4× combo
  • Level-up screen offering three buff cards: Touch Grass, No Look Shot and Thicc Bullets
  • Boss fight against The Algorithm, which sweeps a pink laser beam across the screen
  • Boss fight against The Main Character, firing glowing red shots through a field of rocks
  • Boss fight against The Final Patch Note, which fires rows of cyan bullets
  • The branching run map for Sector 1, The Feed, with fight, rest, shop, mystery, elite and boss nodes
  • The shop, selling upgrades such as Speedrun Strats, Rapid Fire, XP Magnet and the Lag Switch relic for scrap
  • A meme event, Sponsored Post: a billboard drone offers a brand deal, with options to sign without reading, negotiate or report as spam
  • “Boss deleted” reward screen: pick one of three relics, Sigma Grindset, Lag Switch or Hustle Culture
  • The Hangar's ship screen showing the Dart's stats, with Glass Cannon, Tank and Drone Mom to unlock with Stardust
  • The Hangar's skin shop for the Dart, including the legendary Unspoken Rizz skin
  • All six Dart skins side by side, from common to legendary

What’s in it

Runs
Three sectors on a branching map: fights, elites, shops, meme events, rest stops and a boss per sector.
Endless mode
How long can you last? Global leaderboards on Game Center and Google Play Games.
Builds
Level-up cards and relics that stack, with synergies worth chasing.
The Hangar
Every run earns Stardust for four ships that play differently (Dart, Glass Cannon, Tank, Drone Mom), plus skins, thrust trails, kill effects, callout packs and new cards.
Milestones
Beat bosses, hit a 50 combo, survive ten minutes: each one unlocks new cards.
Comfort
Restrained neon tuned for eye comfort, and a Reduce motion setting.
Controls
Touch (virtual stick with auto-fire), keyboard and gamepad.

Original soundtrack

Composed by D.N. Sampson. Have a listen; the menu theme is the one you’ll hear most.

  1. 01Unsaved Progress· Menu theme

  2. 02Below the Iron Floor

  3. 03Beyond the Outer Rim

  4. 04Gravity Well Ascent

Fair play

  • Mobile: free, with light ads only at the end of a run, a one-time “Remove Ads” purchase, and optional cosmetic skin packs.
  • Steam: one price. No ads, no in-app purchases.
  • Gameplay is never sold, and there’s no paid currency.

Platforms: Android · iOS · Windows on Steam (planned).

Support

Questions, bugs or ideas: hello@dnsampson.com

Purchases can be restored from the in-game Settings → Restore Purchases.

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