Console Work and Other Affairs

Hello friends!

We've decided to change these development blog posts from weekly to monthly, as we've realized we don't have that much to say when we're not allowed to talk about the new stuff being worked on.

Console work is moving along, and we've recently taken a step away from the consoles to finish up the new feature that we're saving for console launch. What's left to do on consoles is to implement the social features (signing into PSN and other networks) and some console-specific features which we haven't created yet. Then, we go through the list of requirements for each console and make sure the game handles everything correctly before sending our game to official certification with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.

As we work on the console ports and the new feature and as we continue to receive bug reports, we've been making smaller changes that should help the online stability and make for a smoother play experience. This includes a bug that we recently pinpointed that wouldn't allow players to join lobbies properly sometimes, and as we keep working we keep finding new things to fix (such is the life of game development).

There's also been some slightly more boring and slightly less game-related news. We've been preparing for localizing (translating) the new content into different languages, setting up for worldwide ratings (there are many different systems in different countries that require different application forms and documentation), and we've gotten a company insurance plan so that we can all be healthy and keep making great games forever (hence the picture of fruit, cause we eat that, cause we're healthy... or something).

Apart from that, everything is going great with our new artist Fabio, and despite the fact that it's been raining non-stop every day for the last month, our spirits are high and we're pushing forward toward console launch with confidence and with excitement about what's to come next for both PC and console users.

Short Update on Development

Hi everyone! Short update this week since we're not allowed to talk about the new content that we're making. I mean... what? What new content?

Things are going well as we approach our console launch, slated for this summer. The Switch was giving us the most difficulty as we were getting weird crashes without any information in the output. Well, we got some information, sometimes, but it was often in Japanese and didn't help much even with Google Translate. In the last few weeks though, we've gotten major Switch functionality, and it's almost on par with the other consoles. We're waiting on some plugins from external partners to be updated so that we can hook up the online play and move forward with the social stuff.

Apart from that, we're working on new content that we'll announce at some point in the coming months. In a world of games press, it's important not to divulge all of the information immediately, as press doesn't like to cover stuff that's been "public" already, even if that's just on our site. It's exciting though, you'll see! 

Our new artist, Fabio, has been working out wonderfully (not like working out at the gym, though maybe he does that too) and we've been super impressed with his quality and speed of his work. We're really happy to have him on board and it'll help make the future of the game more full of cool stuff.

That's pretty much all we have to update you on today, but we'll be back next week with... something! 

A Thank You Speech... even though we didn't win

Hello friends!

Someone who I respect (but can't quite remember who) told me that even if we don't win the IGF Design Award for which we were nominated at GDC this year, we should still say thank you to the people who have helped out along the way. I think it's important because those people still deserve the thanks to help us get to where we are now, including a nomination for an award like this. So, here goes... our thank you speech that we had semi-prepared in case we won.

Thanks to all of our players. From our earliest fans at Mont Royal game society, our Kickstarter backers, to the people who are still playing today. All of your feedback and suggestions have made the game what it is. Its been a collaborative effort.

Thanks to our audio team, Vibe Avenue, for great music and sound.

Thanks to all of our families for so much support in so many ways: financial, emotional, accounting and legal help. Kyler would like to say a special thanks to thank his wife Jackie for all of her help, support and love to make this game and this company possible. 

Thank to all the people in the world who have YouTubed or streamed the game on Twitch and other streaming sites; your interest has spread the hilarious antics of this game around the world and in so many different languages, it's truly amazing.

Lastly, it's so cool to be up here (or not up there, as t'were) with such amazing developers. We'd like to thank all of the game companies we've befriended on the way, and thank our shared office called the Gameplay Space in Montreal for being such a great community.

Keep being awesome, keep making great games and thinking outside the box, and keep helping each other by sharing tips and tricks and information, and keep paying forward the lessons you learn, it helps us all to strengthen our industry.

That concludes our thanks, but we really want to emphasize the fact that we couldn't have done what we did and what we're doing without the support of these people. If nothing else, it's a good reminder to be thankful for what we've had and the people who surround us.

:)