Roguelite Devlog: Why We Expanded the Grid to 30×16 and Reworked Boss Battles

Hi, I'm Teku from MIKADO WORKS. Thanks for checking out CARGO CRUSH ZERO!

It's a roguelite grid-action game about pushing cargo containers through a space station, sweeping up enemies, and crushing them against walls. Today, I'd like to share three areas I've been working on in the development build.

1. Up to 30×16: giving cargo room to slide

I previously tried a compact 7×7 grid to make the characters appear larger. It was easier to read, but it also left less room for containers to travel and for players to lure enemies into position.

The grid now starts at 18×16 and expands with each sector, reaching a maximum of 30×16. These dimensions include the outer walls.

On regular floors, movable containers form the walls of the maze. Pushing one can launch an attack and change the routes around you. I want moving a container to raise another question: where will I be able to escape afterward?

2. Boss fights: create an opening, then follow up

I've also reworked the first boss, Prowler.

Hitting it with a container creates a brief opening, a "crush chance." Land another hit during that window to deal HP damage. You can also create an opening by luring its charge into a wall.

When you dodge that charge, will there be a container ready for a counterattack? Planning ahead connects evasion and offense. The two-boss Tandem encounter now uses the same basic rhythm: stop a boss, then follow up.

3. Letting 0117 celebrate—and fall over properly

OHC-0117, the player character, is a slightly round cargo worker in a white work suit. I want that everyday worker's personality to come through in the 64×64-pixel animations.

On clearing a floor, 0117 makes a small jump with both arms raised. On defeat, the character collapses with the weight of the suit.

Turning AI-generated artwork into game sprites has meant aligning body shapes and foot positions across frames, reducing sideways jitter, and fixing cropped hands and helmets. I want that little celebration to convey the relief of surviving another floor.

Still playing, checking, and adjusting

I'm continuing to tune the grid size, boss counterattack windows, and animation timing. Everything shown here is work in progress and may change as development continues.

The goal is to make that core sequence—push, slide, sweep, crush—feel better with every revision.

If that sounds like your kind of game, a wishlist would mean a lot. And let me know in the comments which you'd like to see more of: the grid, the bosses, or 0117's animations.

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Teku / MIKADO WORKS