It's been a while!
I've been busy lately. As usual I have a lot of side projects going on. This is mostly because I have many interests and I always like to be creating things.

So What's New Then?
Well, it has been two years, so lots! My last post was about the release of my indie iOS, Android and now web game OddBalls. From there, I started a new job as the Lead Developer of a new game studio in town called TinyMob Games. We made and released the mobile RTS game Tiny Realms. We are also working on a new unannounced prototype for Steam that is shaping up nicely!

Meanwhile, I've also joined a meet up group of board game designers and have been developing some board games. One of those games, Video Game Studio - the board game, is a game I designed and developed with my friend Ben Hesketh. As the title suggests, it's a board game about running a video game studio. It's a Euro style game about managing company resources (employees, work, business deals) and trying to make more successful video games than your opponents. It has many meta jokes about the industry and has turned out to be really fun. It's also been nominated as a finalist in the Canadian Game Design Awards (the winner will be announced at FallCon in October - Update: we won). We hope to release the game publicly in the future. So that's cool.

I have also been working on a new indie video game codenamed Elemancy. It is an action adventure game mixed with a card game. Think of it like a mix of Zelda (top down action) and Triple Triad (a card game). Essentially you are attending a magical university learning to control the elements. There are different elemental factions that each identify with a colour (so the blue faction focuses on the elements of air and water, and red focuses on earth and fire, etc). As you explore this world you will need to battle enemies and this is done on the "elemental plane". In battle the game becomes a strategy card game about using the elements and alchemy. You will start the game as a blue elementalist, but you'll also learn to use the powers of the other three main colours. As it sounds, this game is pretty hefty to make and I am still in the early stages of development during my spare time - but it's going quite well!

What else? In the last two years I've also done some travelling and visited New York, Mexico, France, Spain, Boston, Seattle, San Fransisco, the Okanagan and a few other places. I've been busy :).

What's Next?
There will be more updates coming about the development of my game Elemancy. There may also be updates about the board games I am making (like my press-your-luck deck building dungeon crawling card game called King's Hero). And there will be some other updates about things going on in my life. For instance, next weekend I am hosting Victoria's premier 48 hour game jam OrcaJam for the 3rd year in a row. If you are interested in making video games I highly recommend you come out and meet a bunch of like-minded folks and make some games with us!

Until next time ~

The day is finally here, OddBalls is officially released in the iOS App Store! It's been a long road to get here. I'm afraid to count the exact number of days, but it's definitely taken a few years of work to reach this point. Of course, this was all done in my spare time outside of my day job, which is partly why it took so long (the other reason is just that game development takes a lot of work). My weekends, evenings, and even lunch hours have been filled with OddBalls development for so long now that it's hard to believe it's actually released, but it is! :)

And now that OddBalls is released to the world, what is next? Well, more OddBalls of course, at least to begin with. I have plans to port it to Android mobile first of all, and with that I also intend to make an Ouya port of the game too. Then I will be doing one or more updates to the game with various tweaks and additions as I get more player feedback (including bug fixes as well). The work is never done! If the game does alright commercially, I may also create a level pack and release that as an add-on. After that, I have a long list of game design ideas I'll be looking at for my next game. But for now, it's strictly OddBalls :)

If you've been following along with the development of OddBalls, thank you! I encourage you to purchase and try out the game now that it is finally released. And keep checking back here for more updates and information as things progress. The OddBalls journey has just begun! :D

OddBalls has its first fan art in the form of nail art! Lindsay Windecker, one of the game's many play testers, has created some amazing nail art in celebration of the upcoming OddBalls release.



OddBalls will be available in the iOS App Store on Wednesday May 8th. If you'd like to write some press about the game please check out my press kit and feel free to get in contact with me for a free promo code to get a review copy. Are you getting excited for the release? I sure am! :D

It's been a long time coming, but OddBalls is finally ready for release! I submitted the game to Apple for approval last week, and today they officially approved it. The release date is set, and OddBalls will be available in the App Store on Wednesday, May 8th 2013!

I've been setting up various media and press kit information in preparation for this release. There is a new Facebook page for Velvety Couch Games that you can check out and like to receive news and updates about OddBalls. I've also setup an IndieDB profile for OddBalls that includes an HD version of the trailer, and the game has already received some press for the upcoming release. If you would like to post anything about OddBalls to a media outlet, please feel free to check out my press kit for screenshots, a trailer and information about the game.

I'll be spending the next week sending out more press release material and spreading the word. So let everyone know that OddBalls is coming on May 8th! :D

Well it's time for another Screenshot Saturday but today I have something different. Today I have the first game trailer of Oddballs to show instead!

I spent the last week recording and editing this video in preparation for the game's release next month. Now it's time to get back to finalizing the game sound effects, filling out tax info with Apple, and making press kits. Wee! :D

OddBalls #screenshotsaturday #33

Hello again! It's been a few weeks since my last update, but I'm back with a new Screenshot Saturday for OddBalls! The first thing you might have noticed is that the name of the game is now "OddBalls" with an "s". This is because I've officially registered the name with Apple now and "OddBall" without an "s" was already taken. This slight name change is actually a good thing though, because I think it sounds even more funny :). Plus, since there are 3 OddBalls in the game it makes more sense!

So, my last update was at the beginning of February and since then I've made a lot of changes and polish to the game. For one, I've had more testers try it out on various iOS devices. I now have it working on every iOS device past the iPhone 3, with all the different aspect ratios and retina displays. I also showed the game at the Games without Frontiers event at UVIC last week which was a lot of fun. After seeing even more gamers play OddBalls, I left with some great feedback for more tweaks.

Some of the new changes include:
•  The aiming has be re-designed: you now tap on the screen to aim
•  The "fire!" button has been re-designed
•  There is now an official app icon
•  The game now has music
•  The options menu is implemented for sound on/off
•  The scoring is tweaked to add more bonuses and an overall score
•  All 3 game endings are implemented
•  The OddBall eyes rotate with the balls and show various emotions
•  All graphics are done and tweaked
•  The intro levels now introduce each OddBall one at a time
•  Probably a lot more I'm now forgetting

So, what is left to complete? Almost nothing. The sound effects need finalizing. And I'm going through the tedious tax/banking setup with Apple. That is it! This means the release is getting very close indeed. I have a tentative release date scheduled for May 2013. Provided nothing major comes up during the Apple certification process, that's when OddBalls will be released! I'm both excited and terrified.

It will be great to finally get the game out there. I could continue tweaking it forever, but at some point you just have to release it. I want people to play it! However, it's also scary releasing something that you've spent years working on. The game has been a major part of my life for so long and I want people to enjoy it. I want it to do well, but success in the App Store is very difficult. Being a one man team I've touched every detail of this game a hundred times over and it's been a lot of work. A lot of work. It's not perfect, but how could it ever be? At a certain point you just need to accept that it's close enough to your overall vision and let it loose. My expectations for its success are realistic, but that doesn't mean I'm not apprehensive about the whole thing :).

Overall though, I'm very excited. Once OddBalls is released, I have potential plans to make level packs for the game (if it does well enough to warrant it). Alternatively, I have designed out my next game on paper and I'm ready to start working on something new. So one way or another I'm ready to move forward, and I'm thrilled to finally have a release date in my sights :D.

OddBalls #screenshotsaturday #32

Here's the next Screenshot Saturday for OddBalls. This week I started (and finished) the options menu for the game. I also started making the final cutscenes for when you beat the game. There are 3 different scenarios, depending on how you beat the game.

One of these scenarios results in the OddBall facility getting destroyed, as you can see above. This week I will be tweaking these ending cutscenes to get the timing of all the events right. Then I will be off to Mexico for 2 weeks so I will likely be off the grid for that time. My goal is still to release the game in March. When I return from my Mexican vacation I will be implementing all the music and sounds I've gathered for the game. After that, it's up to Apple to approve it and I'm in business! :)

OddBalls #screenshotsaturday #31

This is Screenshot Saturday number thirty for OddBall. I spent this weekend at UVIC with fellow Global Game Jammers working on my game. I finished the animated Energy Charges that are scattered across all of the levels, which is one of the last graphical pieces left for the game.

The new animated Energy Charge is built from a 64 frame sprite sheet that shows it rotating clock-wise. Code wise, every Energy Charge is controlled by a single manager object so that they only take 1 draw call in a level. After I created the system, I had to go back to all 80+ levels and add it in, which was a bit tedious. But it works splendidly so it was worth it :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #30

Here's Screenshot Saturday number twenty-nine for OddBall. I've been working on the start screen, as well as some mid-game cutscene levels. You can see the current version of the start screen above.

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #29

Here's Screenshot Saturday number twenty-eight for OddBall. The past few weeks have been busy, not just with holiday stuff, but with OddBall development. I spent a good part of my 8 days off working on the final battle levels for OddBall. This includes new background graphics, coding and modelling some new game objects, and creating a series of linked actions that need to take place seamlessly as you battle through the last few levels.

As I've mentioned before, the final battle levels take place after various details of the OddBall facility are revealed. At this point the player must make a decision by choosing one of two sides. As a result, there are three different endings depending on how you handle those choices. Today's screenshot shows the first battle level where the player learns what they must do in these end battles. There is a red rocket launcher moving back and forth infront of two windows.

The player must use their OddBall tactics to access and activate the red buttons in these last few levels. Activating the red buttons will pause the moving rocket launcher and fire a rocket out the window at your target. Or, if you choose the side that is not to fire at the target, you need to protect yourself from incoming rockets by firing at the yellow and black window braces instead. Doing this will close the window shields and protect the player.

So one way or another you will be firing rockets in these last levels as you try to defend yourself. I won't be revealing what the potential target is outside of the window (you're going to have to play the game to find that out). There are 6 of final battle levels, and they get progressively more difficult and intricate until the end. They'll have you using all of the OddBall tricks you learn throughout the game in order to complete them. :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #28

Today I'm showing a few images for Screenshot Saturday number twenty-seven of OddBall. I've been working on the last few levels of OddBall that encompass a final battle where you must pick a side based on the story that has developed. You see, while OddBall is mostly just a puzzle game, there is still a back story that you learn about as you play.

One of my main goals with OddBall is to make a game that is both easy to pickup for a short 5 minute play session (ideal for many iOS games), but that also has some depth and a bit of a story. Balancing these two things has been an ongoing process. Early on I decided to use an in-game console to display text to the player at the start of every level. But I've always been conscious of the potential to add too much text and bore players uninterested in the story.

Initially I designed the console to support up to 4 "pages" of text that the player can skip through before each level. However, I found that was too much and I knew most players would be annoyed by it. Even though each page could only contain enough text for a couple of sentences, skipping through 4 of these before a level proved tedious. Eventually I decided to cut that down to only 1 page per level (although a few levels still have 2 pages). So as it is now, most levels start with a quick single screen of text that is typed out by your trainer. This can also be skipped of course, with the simple click of a button.

Your trainer is a bit of a character. At first he simply helps you learn how to play the game as you progress. But soon his personality starts to show and you get hints of a deeper story behind the history of the facility (where the game takes place) and the OddBalls. While he continuously nags you to collect Energy Points (the goal of every level is to score all 3 OddBalls in the target, but also to collect as much Energy in the process), he also starts alluding to the details of what's really going on.

Eventually the whole story is uncovered, but as with most stories there are two sides. And at the end of the game you must make a choice and pick a side. Yes, this means there are (at least) two different endings to the game. And it will be easy enough to replay through the last 10 or so levels and see all the endings.

For the last few weeks I've been writing, rewriting and rewriting again all of the story text. Trying to unveil a story that is somewhat interesting, but that is also split across single pages only capable of displaying as much text as a tweet is not easy. How can you convey interesting depth in short 150 character snippets? My experience using Twitter has surely helped with this, but it is still difficult. The last few levels leading up to the final battles are especially difficult because a lot of the story is revealed at this point, and I also need to explain to the player how they must choose a side. On top of that I must explain what that means in terms of how to play the final battle levels. Cramming meaning, story and gameplay explanations into such small snippets has required a lot of tweaks.

While I continue to tweak this in the coming weeks, I will also be working on some of the final pieces of art and of course working on the sound and music engine (the final piece of the puzzle). It's going to be a fun but busy final few weeks :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #27

Here's Screenshot Saturday number twenty-six for OddBall! I've been continuing to work on the last few levels for OddBall. All the main levels are now complete and I am currently working on the last few "final battle" puzzles.

Today's screenshot shows a level with a magnet attached to a moving platform. The magnet attracts the metal OddBall, so you need to move the platform into various positions in order to score the metal OddBall.

My goal this month is to finish the "final battle" levels and start work on the animated sprite graphic for the Energy Charges. It's going to be a busy month with the holidays but I'm hoping that doesn't slow me down too much :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #26

It's time for Screenshot Saturday number twenty-five of OddBall! This past week I've veen continuing to work on new levels. I'm nearing the last collection of puzzles in the game, and these include the latest new object: rotating platforms.

Today's screenshot shows a level with two of these rotating platforms. These metal seesaws are easily moved (rotated) with the force of heavier objects such as the metal OddBall, crates and anvils. But you also need to plan how to get all of the OddBalls past them. These last few levels include more physics-based interactions that will challenge the player to have mastered control of the OddBalls.

This week I'll be continuing work on the last levels and tweaking designs for the final battle puzzles :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #25

Woo here's Screenshot Saturday number twenty-four for my OddBall game! I've been hard at work creating new levels that use the new magnet object. Some of my originally designed magnet levels didn't turn out to work how I desired, so I needed to redesign a few. After a couple of frustrating days knocking my head against walls, it turns out a nice long walk in the cold air gave me some new ideas. Now I may have too many magnet levels :)

Today's screenshot show's a new level that combines magnets and fans. You can see the metal OddBall has just activated the Umbrella Powerup in order to be affected by a fan. Between the fan's wind and the nearby magnet, the metal OddBall should get sucked into the crate and push it onto the button.

This week I'll be working on finishing more levels as I get closer to the final few. Things are moving along nicely now :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #24

It's time for Screenshot Saturday number twenty-three for my OddBall game! This week I've been working on various tweaks all over the place, but mostly I've been working on adding the magnet object to the game. The code for this has long been done, but I needed to create the model, texture, and animated "absorb" sprite for it. Today I'm happy with the current state of the magnet and the screenshot above gives you an idea of how it looks.

As you would expect, the magnet affects only the metal OddBall. It actually opens up some interesting and fun game abilities like bending your shots around magnets and changing the direction of the metal OddBall midair. It's a lot of fun shooting a metal OddBall through a series of magnets and seeing how it reacts.

I've also been tweaking some of the physics properties of various material types (concrete, metal and wood) so that they all behave slightly differently. This requires lots of testing and experimentation, and making sure all my currently completed levels (62) still work as intended with the changes. Once that is complete I will be working on more new levels featuring the magnet :)

OddBall #screenshotsaturday #23