As always, if you haven't played the demo, here are the links!
We're getting closer and closer to the Kickstarter (March 24th!) so I'm starting to send out press releases and things like that, but word of mouth is also hugely helpful. Being on Kongregate has helped a lot, but every time someone becomes a Watcher or posts a link to the game on a forum they like, it gives the game another little boost in visibility. So thank you all for your help so far and continue to spread the word! Let's plays are seriously the most helpful thing because people love watching videos and hearing reactions!
Here's the latest one I've seen:
It's seriously great for me to see this kind of thing happening. Want your Let's Play or Review featured here or on the Tumblr or facebook page? Then hit me up and let me know where I can find it! Thanks!
As for the Kickstarter campaign itself, here is a look at just one of the rewards I'll be offering for backers:
Depending on how much you donate, you'll be able to grab one of these pins - a limited number of them will even be signed and numbered! One lucky backer may even wind up with a gold pin!
There will be more photos to come in the days leading to the launch, so stay tuned!
Finally I want to give an update on the demo. The game continues to receive a lot of very positive and thoughtful feedback and I'm very grateful for that. It means that I'm on exactly the right track. I'm working on putting out version 2.0 and I thought I'd let you in on an important way the game is going to change.
In the previous demos, players seem to be confused by how to trigger the running boost. Here's how it works: Every token you pick up will slowly increase Roku's speed - getting hit obviously slows her down. If the player can grab 10 tokens in a row, the boost will occur. The boost ALSO makes Roku invincible for a short period of time (meaning she can run right through the fists). Players have found this confusing. Here is how I'll be clearing that up in the next demo:
The Boost Token!
The Boost token will automatically give players the invincibility/speed boost. These will be placed so that you get the boost at the right time to get through the fist walls (as I call them) and should make that part of the game feel better. Will you still get the boost from 10 tokens in a row? Yes! Will this extra boost token make the game slightly easier? Definitely! BUT you will still need to grab these special tokens if you don't have enough for the boost yet. Without them you'll get punched right in the face as usual but at least now you'll know WHY you suck, right? ;)
Obviously with such a game changing element being added to the game, I'm going to have to rework the levels a bit for it to flow better - which should be nice too! And of course, eventually the number of boost tokens available will be less and less - After all, this demo is the beginning of the game, by the end you should be a master at grabbing tokens!
I'm still working on improving Sam's dialogue, varying it, and speeding it up for those of you who just want to skip it. I'm also still working on adding that "instant reload" function from within the level (it's already in for the stat screen!) and hopefully there will still be a few more surprises for the next demo.
Thanks for reading, tell your friends, and I'll see you in a few days!
Your friendly neighborhood,
Shadow64
I start to save money.