Hey everyone! It’s now been two years since I’ve started Against the Wall, back during Ludum Dare #20. Here’s a check in on what I’ve been doing relative to the project.
EuroGamer
Rick Lane of EuroGamer did an article featuring Against the Wall recently. The main focus of the article is climbing games in general, mine closing out the article with a first-person example. It was a fun interview, check it out.
QA and Summer Development
I’ve been doing live playtests every week and fixing the bugs that have cropped up in the most recent builds. Progress has been relatively slow, but at least I’m meeting people on a regular basis and interacting with them about the game. Starting the 17th and going through the Summer, I’ll be concentrating my efforts on the narrative content of Against the Wall. As I mentioned in December, I plan on working with one of my friends from the Game Center MFA program, Shoshana Kessock, on this narrative angle. I need the outside input, and someone to share my wilder ideas with. Also, I’ve started a survey as a prep for this Summer crunch. I’ve been looking for feedback on the game’s design, mostly in the area of measuring player expectations. Or, you know, just send me an email via the site’s contact form, that would also be cool.
Redlight Greenlight
I am hesitant to promise any specific dates for the future, including release dates. Greenlight is still an ongoing project. I’m still at around 90% of the way to the top 100, and have been hovering there since January. I’d appreciate any help that I can get with this one, since it has been a steep climb.
What I’m Playing
Who has time to play games? During commutes, I’ve been sticking my nose into Fire Emblem: Awakening. I’m at the halfway point, and have discovered the breeding… I mean marriage mechanic, where you pair up your characters. This game really rewards plodding gameplay, to the point where grinding random encounters is highly necessary, and new encounters only pop up a few times per real-world day. Luigi’s Mansion has occupied a bit of my time, but the incessant tutorial/narrative framework is getting on my nerves. Egad.
I’ve played some Metroid Prime, spent an hour with BioShock: Infinite, in part to check on the game feel and control schemes of each. Research. Seems as though most of the things that I play are in the context of AtW. Also, I envy BioShock’s cloud system like crazy. I’ve spent enough time on the current sky, so I’m checking it off the list. Prime’s scanning feature is so damn neat and makes exploration very enjoyable. Doesn’t fit with my game, but it is something to remark on.