Something BIG Is About To Happen

About a year ago I bought a Nintendo Switch at the request of my daughter. While I'm more of a PC gamer, I don't mind playing on consoles even if just for the exclusives. My history with consoles started with the Nintendo Family Computer (NES for you guys in the west), and I owned at least one console from each generation since then.

The Switch is a brilliant console; you can play it on the big screen and you can bring it with you when you go outside. The joy-cons are also an interesting concept. While it has its shortcomings, the fact that you get basically 2 controllers in one purchase is very favorable to consumers. Each Switch is a multiplayer console from the get-go.

The Switch e-shop catalog is very diverse. Triple A's, indies, obvious mobile ports, games for kids and adults alike. The system has been welcoming to both hardcore and casual games and seems to blur the lines between mobile and console gaming.

So why am I talking about the Switch all of a sudden? Well it's because Gnome More War is coming to the Switch console!

I have Keybol Games to thank for this, for graciously accepting my proposal to have the game ported to the Switch so that they can publish it. Making a game for consoles has been one of my lifelong dreams.

Porting a game from mobile to the Switch isn't unheard of. After all, I've seen dozens of games on the e-shop that I could have sworn were games for iPads and Android tablets. I felt encouraged by the fact that those types of games made it through and are accepted as console games. However, I wanted to do more than just adding joy-con support for the game. I went back to the drawing table and laid out the features that I think would make the game less of a mobile port to more like a game that would be at home for the switch. The first feature I thought of was adding multiplayer.

Character Select Menu

Every Switch comes with a pair of joy-cons that you can either use paired or separately. I wanted to take advantage of this and it just so happens that the control mappings for the game fits a sideways joy-con perfectly. The next thing I had to do was come up with a couple of new characters, with more possibly added in the future. After a few weeks of coding, I have implemented a co-op mode that is not possible in the mobile version. Of course, it would take a few weeks more to polish it up. After all, simply adding another player doesn't end with plopping another sprite on the screen.

Co-op Mode

The next feature I wanted to add was basically more content. A game that will be sold at a price should feel significantly different (in a good way) than a game that is free to download. I wanted more maps, more enemy types, and to overhaul existing maps. I've always thought of adding some sort of platforms and obstacles and various means to force the player to keep moving.

I don't want to make a very long post, so if you don't mind I will stretch this out across multiple articles. I will talk about the other notable differences between the mobile version and the Switch version in my upcoming blog posts!

For now, let me just treat you with a few screenshots:

Switch Version

Mobile Version

Nintendo Switch Trailer

Gnome More war will be available for the Nintendo Switch on October 26. Pre-orders will be available on October 19. Until then please enjoy these articles I will be posting as some sort of preview.

Haven't heard of the game? Well, you wouldn't be the first! You can download the mobile version of the game for free. Just head over to the Play Store

-- LJ

To contact the author, just send your e-mail to hobbigames@gmail.com

Gnome More War Update 1.0.5

In my previous blog post I talked about my plans for the June update. Truth is, I had planned for a late June or early July release for update 1.0.5. I was so optimistic that I thought I'd be able to set aside 2-3 hours everyday to work on the update. How foolish of me.

Excuses won't get me anywhere, and I guess all that matters now is that I pulled through and the update is out now on the Google play store!

So let's break down what's included in update 1.0.5.

Analytics

While the game is continually getting downloads (especially from Vietnam, of all countries), I've always wondered why the game only got 8 ratings so far, and only 4 reviews. Looking at the leaderboards, I could tell players have gone as far as the second map, which is kinda cool. At least there's a number out there who didn't just download the game and uninstalled after a few minutes of play.

I want to know how the players approach the game. I believe that if I can identify the parts of the game that makes the players drop it, I will be able to work on them, and hopefully improve the game's retention rate. Fortunately Unity has built-in features for analytics so it didn't take much to add one to the game.

Special thanks to my wife, Jacq Gutierrez for implementing Unity Analytics. You are awesome!

Squirrel Gnome

The game is lacking variety on flying creatures, I had always thought. I had always planned on slowly adding more and more enemy types post-launch. I always wanted to add an enemy that would glide across the screen and would occasionally spit out bullets at the player. This should force the player to move around and try to dodge the incoming bullets. Say hello to the Squirrel Gnome.





Lemur Gnome

Later on in the map, Squirrel Gnomes will start calling their more dangerous and annoying cousins: Lemur Gnomes. They basically do the same amount of damage and can easily be dispatched with a single hit. The only problem is that they are faster and moves around quite a lot.






Gnome Chieftain

This one definitely took the most hours to implement. The game has no existing boss encounter, so I had to do a lot of additional coding on top of new artwork and some code refactoring. It was a lot of fun though!

Chieftain appears on waves 10, 20, and 30. For his first two appearances, the player won't be able to kill him as he will escape when his life gets very low. He also have multiple sets of attacks and has changing attack patterns depending on his life force level. I won't spoil it to the players...it's best you find out for yourself!

Eagrett Cart Skin

Defeating the Gnome Chieftain will award the player with a brand new cart skin: Eagrett. It's more of an eagrett inspired cart made of wood than an actual eagrett mount.

Aside from the highlighted features, I also updated the loot collection animation-- enemy drops are actually being shown to be collected by the player, accompanied by a sweet "collect" sound effect. The player is also now rewarded with power ups, an upgrade card, and a free cart skin up to the 20th wave. I hope it incentivises the player to keep going and explore power ups and upgrades. 

You can download the game from the Google play store.

-- LJ

To contact the author, just send your e-mail to hobbigames@gmail.com

Gnome More War Android Official Trailer

A brand new trailer of Gnome More War is out now! The game is now available worldwide for Android devices and can be downloaded from the Google Play store. I have plans to port it to iOS, but no concrete time frame yet.

Game Description:

Gnomes have been stealing from your farm, and you must stop them! Together with your goblin friends, fend off the pesky thieving gnomes and protect your farm at all cost. Experience the classic arcade castle defense game play with loads of twists. You have an arsenal of power-ups at your disposal, and a selection of 30+ upgrades to choose from. This is war!

❖ Features ❖

➤ Defeat waves of enemies in this action-packed shooter/castle defense game across multiple maps!
➤ Unlock tons of cool power-ups to help your quest!
➤ Unlock tons of upgrades and fill your deck with various combinations for a more effective offense/defense!
➤ Simple, intuitive, and customizable touch controls! (Gamepad support still in development)
➤ Vibrant hand drawn visuals combined with retro pixel character sprites!
➤ Customize your character with unlockable car skins!

The game makes use of Google Play achievements and leaderboards. It's FREE to download from the Play Store. Download it now!

Gnome More War (Google Play)

Of course, development for the game doesn't here. I still plan to add more car skins, maps, enemy types, and even boss fights. But I will have to ask for your patience, as I only have so much spare time to work on this game. Hopefully someday I can work on making games full time.

-- LJ

To contact the author, just send your e-mail to hobbigames@gmail.com

Hobbi Games at ESGS 2014

After experiencing game conventions for the first time at PGF 2014, I kept wanting more. A little over a month has passed, and here we are at another gaming event. This time it's the E-Sports and Gaming Summit. For those who have yet to hear about this, the event's main draw are about e-sports tournaments. Aside from these tournaments, however, they also gave the indie developers a chance to showcase their games for the visitors to play. IGDA Manila was given a booth and Hobbi Games was a very honored recipient of an invitation to be one of the exhibitors. For the first time, we are attending an event as as an exhibitor!

IGDA Manila exhibitors

IGDA's lineup consists of Warrior Defense, Barber Hero, Caves & Chasms, Project CQB, Super Tiny Monkey, and Fizz + Hummer. I gotta say, aside from our own game, the lineup amazed me. The quality and fun factor of the games in our booth has transcended the image and appeal of local indie games, at least in my mind.

Sponsors and showcases. Can you spot the STM logo?

From time to time I sneak out of our booth and let my partner do the work, because I wanted to check out all the other games. It would have been such a waste if I didn't get to try them out, no?

Quickfire Games was here, and just like with PGF, they're showcasing Wild Season and Hayaku Ninja. Finally, I had the chance to play both games. Playing Wild Season immediately reminded me of the Harvest Moon days, what with a farm, a mayor, and a bunch of single girls that I'm sure you're bound to have a relationship with. The game is still in alpha, so it would be too early to make judgment calls on anything. While Wild Season has a relaxed pace, Hayaku Ninja is the opposite. It's got a frantic "catch falling stuff" (in it's case it's falling mochi) gameplay, and a boss battle to boot.

As I wander around I also took pictures of other booths and their on-going events.

Other games that I was also able to try were Super Awesome Quest by Boomzap, Nightfall by Zeenoh Games, Limbones by St.Benilde, Kaloka by Pepe Berba, and Jumping Jean by Javi Almirante. I wanted to try more games, but as an exhibitor myself, I have to get back to work!

St.Benilde booth. I remember when I was making DOS games in college...

Boomzap booth. I got reconnected with an old colleague here

Zeenoh games with their horror game Nightfall

"Kaloka" is a must try. The title is very apt.

Jumping Jean. I enjoyed playing this.

Going back to the IGDA Manila booth, people are just pouring in. Maybe it's because we're showcasing good games, or was it because we're next to the snack station?

Some media reps also came in to try our games. I felt especially nervous around them, because I don't know how to be a salesman! I built my career around software engineering, and selling my own product is a first for me. Getting interviewed is also a first for me.

Haogamers was here

TooMuchGaming was also here

The event went for 2 days, and considering the drive from and back to Bulacan, manning the booth, standing and walking around for an entire day, it was exhausting to say the least; but it all paid off when I think about the great experience I had talking to fellow developers, industry veterans, and the players themselves. Hearing their feedback on how they enjoy the game is such a fine feeling that just wipes all the exhaustion away. On the other hand, listening to their comments, suggestions, and advice made me so happy, because it proves that they are interested in what I offer. I may have been making games for more than 10 years, but it was primarily  just a hobby, and I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to designing commercial games. I also don't have a full understanding of the market yet.Their words gave me direction and motivation. You guys are simply awesome!

Mr.Evan Spytma, Regional Country Manager for Unity Singapore

Me talking to Mr. Nimit Panpalia of POKKT. We had a very insightful conversation about market standards and business sense. I was so lucky to have met him. Also in the frame is Mr. Evan Spytma playing Project CQB

To celebrate each day of the event, we at Hobbi Games went out to dinner.

A special shout out goes to the 4 winners of the Super Tiny Monkey t-shirt!

Jose Rafael Dimatera

Jan Michael Lim

Jerome Delos Santos

Rafael San Antoni [sic]

-- LJ

To contact the author, just send your e-mail to hobbigames@gmail.com