Stealth mode, deadlines and progress report

Long time no see. I’ve been taking my time, working on Pachinguys quietly for a while. But much progress has been made, and it’s time to start sharing again.

MVP:

After playing around with many possible features, I’ve narrowed down the Minimal Viable Project.

The special / challenge levels have been cut, leaving “only” the base 60 levels and 3 bosses. This reduction in content allowed me to focus on more realistic goals towards a release date. Which leads me to:

Release Date:

Like most people, I have a love hate relationship with deadlines. But I’ve decided it’s time to set a hard deadline for Pachinguys. Since I’ll be turning 30 this March, I set the release date to the end of February (because vanity). And I’m glad to report that the game seems to be on track for that release.

Graphics:

it’s been a long time coming, the circles and squares are (mostly) gone. I’ve upgraded most of the games' art assets myself, using freely available art found online and some GIMP work. For the more complex / interesting assets, I’ve contracted a pixel artist via Fiverr. His page can be found here, I’ve been really happy with his work. I had him design the game logo, Bosses, and the Pachinguys themselves. Do let me know what you think of their new look.

Sound:

There will be no music in the MVP release. I do however have some sound effects (and a mute button). I’ve used freely available sounds. If all goes well with the MVP release, I may add background music later, but it’s not really a priority at this point.

Project management:

I’ve tried many tools, both on and offline, for managing this project. And finally concluded that a good old fashioned excel sheet is still the best way to go (at least, when solo projects are concerned). For me, nothing beats the versatility that a general purpose tool like a spread sheet gives.

Beta testing, Credits and Special Thanks:

Thanks to the ever growing group of you, friends and family, who have helped me by play testing and commenting on the game all this time, it is now very nearly done. One of the things still missing is the content of the credits page. So if you’d like to appear in the credits of Pachinguys, either as a beta tester or under special thanks, please send me your name the way you wish it to be spelled (no, I can’t assume you want to be in the credits and just check facebook for the spelling, this is an opt in kind of thing, deal with it J ).

Thank you for all the support you’ve given me through the years, it would not have been possible without you.