UPDATE : What we've been working on this year! (Patreon)

Hey everybody! It has been awhile, but we've finally finished moving into a new place! All of our things made it over, we've unpacked, and now we're back to work! Things are in a much better position, and despite how busy of a process it was moving, we were working hard on getting a game fleshed out and ready!

Our goal was to release a smaller game project that could assist the budget for Tough Bippy (with a shmup and a rhythm-game being presented as the potential concepts). While we had been making progress with the shmup (Pirate Game), there was a lot of discussion about its scope since it was still a somewhat visually demanding project. The process of moving was getting us to think hard about what we could really do to ensure things moving forward no matter what curveballs we'd have thrown our way.

As of January, I personally began noodling with the rhythm game concept off to the side as we figured out moving, and within the span of about half a year here, we now have a rhythm game engine entirely coded and ready to go. What had potentially felt like the more daunting of the two projects actually ended up being very straightforward to arrange and put together, and now it is just a process of finalizing art (and organizing a soundtrack) for the game!

We'll have some early test builds up on here for Patreon backers in the coming months (Silver and Gold Patrons), since it'll be important to ensure that it can run smoothly on all sorts of different machines. Before the game launches we'll also be sending out a form to ask people what name they'd like listed in the credits (for Bronze, Silver, and Gold Patrons).

( Game development streams are back! Watch Julian do art on Tuesday & Thursday nights! )

Julian will be doing art streams for the game's development on Twitch under a new channel - WanWanDev ! Streams are every Tuesday & Thursday at 6 PM (Eastern Time) so be sure to come by if you want to see what we're currently working on for the game! For anyone who missed this month's streams - we'll have VODs for Bronze, Silver, and Gold Patrons next week!

" In the shadowy nexus between waking reality and the infinite unknown, lost souls dance on the precipice of oblivion. Faced with the final end, each of these wanderers must learn the steps to the beat of their own hearts if they have any chance to reach their true destination... "

( Work-in-progress : Concept for the game's UI layered on top of real gameplay footage)

Gameplay uses 7 buttons, with every note in-game having individual samples attached to them. Players will be able to hear individual notes they missed or timed incorrectly, and also have a scale in the middle of the screen telling them if their timing was late or early. The game's engine is very open-ended, with most assets being stored externally in labeled directories. Players are free to modify their game, use custom skins or themes, and even make their own songs. Simply drop your custom files into the game's directory and you should be ready to go. Extensive options for game synchronization, framerate, and optional audio/visual settings are present so the game can be finely tuned to each player's specific setup. Keyboard and gamepad are supported, and players can rebind their keys to whatever would be most comfortable.

The game's art direction is heavily inspired by spiritualism, black light art, and urban vinyl. For the soundtrack we're hoping to offer a decent variety of styles, with each song being represented by a different character. Each character is a different wayward soul, lost and in the process of trying to remember who they were in life, their song being representative of their identity in some way.

( Work-in-progress : Basic mock-up for the story mode stage selection screen would function... )

The game's story mode allows you to pick a character and play through stages as you follow their journey and learn more about them. Each stage will provide a goal (clear the song with over 70,000 points, clear the song with a max combo of 200, etc.) which will unlock the next stage if you're able to pass. Sometimes alternate goals may be offered which can unlock alternate routes and nodes in the path. Characters will converse before a song begins, giving you some dialog between some of the cast. Clearing songs in story mode will unlock them for use in every other mode.

( Work-in-progress : Concept artwork for how the game's song select screen will be structured... )

The game's free mode allows you to scroll through your song list and play songs openly. Songs can be categorized by difficulty level or alphabetically, with your best scores and grades saved per song. Whenever you clear a song, you'll be awarded badges for certain goals you achieved (full combo, getting an A rank, clearing a song with the notes mirrored, etc.) which can then be used for purchasing unlockable content. Badges will hopefully give players a reason to keep trying out more with a song even after clearing it, giving out a big reward for players who can fully master the soundtrack.

( Work-in-progress : Concepts for various badges that can be earned playing songs... )

While the engine for the game is completely coded and ready to go, the next few months are going to be spent finalizing art & music assets before we're ready for launch. Whatever we end up seeing through the rhythm game - all of that will immediately be going towards the budget and development of Tough Bippy.

We've been restructuring how we're approaching Tough Bippy as a project, so we can ensure it moving forward as a game regardless of circumstances we may be faced with. After being hit with so many curveballs, it's important for us to assess realistically what can be done as a small team to keep things moving even if there's an obstacle in our path.

Based on however the rhythm game does after its launch - we'll be reassessing some areas where we could change our approach, so that even in a tight spot we can still push things ahead and make progress. We hope you guys end up enjoying the rhythm game, and if it works out decently enough, we should be able to arrange what we've needed for a team on Tough Bippy.

So hey - SURPRISE!!! You guys are going to have a game to play fairly soon!

While the rhythm game's engine is coded and setup to go, it'll just be a bit here as we finish up art and getting music done for it! We already have some musicians lined up, and you can all check out streams if you're curious about where we're at with the visuals!

It was a long bumpy road finally getting to this point, but we're pretty excited and we hope you guys will enjoy what we have lined up for you! Thank you again for so much patience over all of this time, and it's going to be great finally giving you guys something fun to check out!

Once again, bronze, silver, and gold patrons will have a special post next week featuring VODs from game development streams from August. Silver and gold patrons will be receiving a demo or two before we launch the rhythm game so we can get some last minute feedback before the game goes live. Gold patrons we'll also be writing a post or two for near the game's launch detailing some of the math and what goes into making a rhythm game function. The rhythm game is very open-ended functionality wise, so we hope some players have fun modding and making custom material for it!

If you guys want to check out game development streams you can click here to visit WanWanDev on Twitch every Tuesday & Thursday at 6 PM (Eastern Time)!

Thank you all again for your support over all this time, we cannot stress enough how helpful so many of you have been, and we really do hope you guys will enjoy the game!

~ DD