Here’s the companion video for Monday’s Freshly Squeezed Progress Report: House Background Art “Finished”:
Enjoy! And let me know what you think by replying below!
Last week, I reported that I was focused on other priorities and didn’t get too much done in The Dungeon Under My House, my second Freshly Squeezed Entertainment project.
I set out to finish the background art this week.
Sprint 46: Pre-production and initialization
Planned and complete:
- Create location art
I didn’t spend as much time on game development as I wanted this week either, but it was definitely more substantial work.
I think the bathroom has become my favorite room, partly because I was getting the hang of using Gimp’s Perspective Tool to ensure the perspective of the art was more or less correct.
All that remained was the basement. I created a secret entryway from the main room, which leads to a secret second room with a ladder.
Now, you might have noticed that one image shows in-game footage and the other does not.
That’s because the doorway isn’t always present, and I still need to make the intro script and programming changes to allow the player to go from not knowing about the secret entrance to discovering the secret entrance.
Part of my work is turning that background image of a doorway into a separate set of sprites that I can overlay onto the actual background art.
Anyway, these rooms were the last things to do for this pass of the art work. I anticipate that I might want to change things or revisit, and there is always more I could do to improve the art, but let’s say that it is finished enough for now.
Meanwhile, we’re at the beginning of the December now, which is usually one of my least productive months, partly because I like to use some of my time to prepare for the coming year.
But I also want to take stock of the project and figure out more precisely what the remaining scope is. Despite putting in about a year of development, I feel very, very far away from a concrete version of my vision for this game, which included multiple characters with their own agendas and desires, a sprawling underground dungeon, a player-editable map, items and inventories, and a time system among others.
It’s a lot, and while I already anticipated slimming the scope down, I am worried that I need to do even more scope cutting, and I’d like to make sure I keep the essence of the planned game as well as get a better idea of how much work is left to do.
Thanks for reading!
—
Want to learn when I release The Dungeon Under My House, or about future Freshly Squeezed games I am creating? Sign up for the GBGames Curiosities newsletter, and download the full color Player’s Guides to my existing and future games for free!
Here’s the companion video for Monday’s Freshly Squeezed Progress Report: Not Much Progress This Week:
Enjoy! And let me know what you think by replying below!
The reverse sale for my leaf-raking business simulation game, Toytles: Leaf Raking, is now over.
Which means that instead of paying 50% more, you can get the game at its normal price.
It is kinda like a somewhat permanent sale, right?
And even though the sale is over, you can still get Toy Factory Fixer for free, or pay what you want at itch.io.
Right now, for less than the cost of most streaming services, you can buy my family-friendly, leaf-raking business simulation game Toytles: Leaf Raking, and you get to keep the game forever.
You can even pay what you want for my family-friendly, toy factory worker management game Toy Factory Fixer:
Now, you’ve probably been aware, but many of the video streaming services seem to be deleting their catalog of shows and movies, which means their value is getting worse, and of course, after a month, you have to pay to continue getting access to their now worse offerings.
Meanwhile, I cannot foresee any reason to make my games worse for the people who want to play them. If you buy the game today, you get to keep it forever, and you get any future updates or feature additions for free.
So, I ask you, which is the better value?
Getting only a month of temporary access to ever worsening video libraries of major billion dollar companies, companies who have shown a desire to avoid paying the creative people who actually create whatever value they do offer in the first place?
Or keeping forever my hand-crafted, artisanal indie games about a leaf-raking turtle learning about entrepreneurship and about a toy factory with a quality control problem that needs addressing?
I’ll let you decide. But the correct answer is here and here.
In last week’s report, I continued updating the background art of the house in The Dungeon Under My House, my second Freshly Squeezed Entertainment project.
My plan was to finish the background art this week.
Sprint 45: Pre-production and initialization
Planned and incomplete:
- Create location art
I basically had the bathroom and the second, secret basement room to finish.
But I didn’t spend much time on game development this week in favor of promoting my Black Friday sale at itch.io for both of my previous games, Toytles: Leaf Raking and Toy Factory Fixer.
Today is the last day of the sale, so please check them out!
Anyway, I’d like to think that if I had more hours to dedicate to my business that I could handle both promotion and game development, but sometimes I need to make choices. The Black Friday sale was urgent and important, so I focused on it, and I put in a token amount of game development work, but there really isn’t much to show for it.
So come back next week, when I expect to have more to show.
Thanks for reading!
—
Want to learn when I release The Dungeon Under My House, or about future Freshly Squeezed games I am creating? Sign up for the GBGames Curiosities newsletter, and download the full color Player’s Guides to my existing and future games for free!
For the next day, my educational, family-friendly leaf raking business simulation Toytles: Leaf Raking continues to be on reverse sale:
Remember: when you purchase the game, it is yours to keep forever. Even with the temporarily increased price, that’s a lot of value compared to a cup of coffee you drink once or only a month of a streaming service.
And you can still name your price for my family-friendly game Toy Factory Fixer:
$0 is a perfectly valid price for the game, too. Seriously!
For both games, have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that there are no ads, no in-app purchases, and no invasions of your privacy.
The itch.io Black Friday Creator Day is over, but the Black Friday sale continues until November 28th.
So you can still name your price for my family-friendly game Toy Factory Fixer:
And the educational, family-friendly leaf raking business simulation Toytles: Leaf Raking is still on reverse sale:
itch.io is a very indie-friendly platform, featuring a “collection of some of the most unique, interesting, and independent creations you’ll find on the web.”
Today is itch.io’s 2023 Black Friday Creator Day, which kicks off their Black Friday sale this weekend.
It’s not the first Creator Day they had this year, but each time they hold one, it’s a helpful boost to the indie game developers who sell their games on the site since itch.io will take no cut of all sales for 24 hours.
That extra cash translates into more support towards the indie game developers. Unlike major game publishers and developers, indie game developers are usually not flush with cash, and taking home just a bit more on each sale is significant for the indie.
It could mean as much as allowing that indie game developer to have a better chance at a sustainable business, and also as much as perhaps just paying for some of their groceries this week.
Personally, as an indie game developer myself, I am definitely not flush with cash nor am I making a sustainable living with my game development efforts, but itch.io’s Creator Day sales do give me an opportunity to talk about the games I sell on there, and so far most of my very few sales this year have come from Creator Day sales on their platform.
Here’s my shameless plug for my own games:
Here’s Toytles: Leaf Raking, which is on reverse sale:
And you can name your own price for Toy Factory Fixer:
And I would strongly encourage you to check out other games, too.
So if you are planning on getting any games, either for yourself or your loved ones, get them today at itch.io. You can find some very unique games and make a major difference in the lives of those who make them.
It’s Black Friday, the indie-friendly platform itch.io is having a Creator Day sale, and if you want to find family-friendly indie games, let me recommend some to you!
Here are five games you can get today:
Toytles: Leaf Raking
Yes, this is my own game. Inspired by games such as Lemonade Stand and The Oregon Trail, Toytles: Leaf Raking puts you in the role of a young turtle who wants to earn enough money to get The Ultimate Item(tm).
You’ll run your own leaf-raking business, and during the 90 days before winter, you’ll:
- Seek out neighbors who need your services and turn them into paying clients.
- Make key purchasing decisions, such as which types of rakes to buy and how many yard bags to keep in your inventory.
- Balance your energy and your time as you seek to keep your clients happy without overextending yourself.
- Visit the kitchen to ask your parents for their advice and wisdom.
- Learn about personal responsibility and the importance of keeping your promises.
It features NO ADS, NO IN-APP PURCHASES, AND NO VIOLENCE, so you can have peace of mind with an ad-free, safe game.
Get it at https://gbgamesllc.itch.io/toytles-leaf-raking.
Hidden Folks
If you’re familiar with the Where’s Waldo? series of books, this is a much richer, interactive experience in the same vein.
Search for hidden folks in hand-drawn, interactive, miniature landscapes. Unfurl tent flaps, cut through bushes, slam doors, and poke some crocodiles! Rooooaaaarrrr!!!!!
A strip of targets shows you what to look for. Click on a target for a hint, and find enough to unlock the next area.
It features:
– 32 hand-drawn areas.
– 300+ targets to find.
– 2000+ mouth-originated sound effects.
– 500+ unique interactions.
– 3 color modes: normal, sepia, and night mode.
– 22 languages (translated by the community).
– supports mouse and keyboard, controller, and touch input.
Get it at https://adriaan.itch.io/hidden-folks.
Round Ogre
If you like puzzle games, Round Ogre is here for you. It has simple controls, yet fiendishly challenging puzzles to solve.
500 puzzles across 31 worlds will entertain you for hours!
Start of a new world? A brand new mechanic to explore! This makes the game easy to learn, yet varied and challenging.
Solving a complete world grants you an optional bonus world, with the toughest testing puzzles.
Guide her to the cave exit to reunite her with Square Ogre. But to do so, you’ll have to think creatively and always see all the possibilities …
Get it at https://pandaqi.itch.io/round-ogre.
Toy Factory Fixer
The toy factory had an accident after one of the worker elves tried to automate the assembly of toys.
Now all of the toys are put together wrong, and you need to put the toys together correctly in time for the delivery deadline!
This is another of my own games. For this Black Friday sale, you can pay what you want, name your own price, and get this toy factory worker management game for yourself or a loved one.
Features:
- 4 levels, each with an easy work shift and a challenging work shift, for 8 total levels.
- The option to set a hard deadline for an added challenge
- 3 worker types, each with unique abilities, requiring you to think strategically to make the most of them
- 2 toy types in 2 sizes, Small and Large, that can come down the conveyor belt in multiple potentially large production runs and require your good judgment to handle them
- Turn-based game play, allowing for more thinking and not quick-reflexes, including Stop and Go buttons that allow you to play at your own speed
Plus:
- In-game how-to that describes how to play the game in case you need help or some tips
- The ability to toggle music and sound effects on or off, allowing you flexibility to listen to your own music or podcast or just enjoy the silence
Get it at https://gbgamesllc.itch.io/toy-factory-fixer.
Mountain
This calm and surreal simulation puts you in the role of a mountain floating in space.
You don’t really seem to have any agency, but there is something soothing about the music, the visuals, and the periodic messages that seem to be meditative in nature.
Time passes, and things crash into you from space. Many of these things are bizarre.
It’s quite the experience.
Get it at https://davidoreilly.itch.io/mountain.
Do any of these games catch your eye? What game are you looking forward to playing? Or who do you plan on gifting a game to this holiday season? Let me know by commenting below.