White Beach Escapade

After a five months since release, we finally have half of the next Act done for Super Tiny Monkey!

First of all, sorry about the pacing. You know how this goes; I have a full time job and I'm only left with so much time to devote on this project, with my wife lending a hand when it comes to testing and back end development. This upcoming game update is the result of five weeks worth of work spread across five months.

So, what's new with STM? What does this long overdue update bring?

First on the list is the removal of the dreaded "death on fall" mechanic. No longer will you instantly die when you miss your jump and fall to the ground. Instead of dying, your character will just continue jumping on the ground. We've been getting feedback about how the fall death makes the game much more difficult, and leans the game towards un-fun than challenging. That being said though, don't get too comfortable just watching your character leap across the ground-- we added ground traps that will appear from time to time, to keep players on their toes. Also, there's that poacher chasing you who will easily catch you if you stay too low.

Be careful of these spiky plants!

Next, and this is a big one, is the brand new map called White Beach. Our hero manages to flee from Rico the poacher and get out of the forest, only to end up in a beach filled with territorial monkeys, inexplicably aggressive sea gulls, and falling coconut fruits. It is here where Goggles will continue his adventure into the unknown world, and continue his escape from Dr.Zoo.

The new map isn't just a copy of the first map. While it retains the core gameplay of jumping from one platform to the next while avoiding obstacles, we added a new game mode: the "Ride" mode.

A few seconds at the beginning of the map, you will encounter a new friend.

I'm a fan of SHMUPS, and Gradius is on of my childhood favorites. Obviously, I'd be inspired to make at least a mini-game based on it. At some point in your adventure, you will meet a new character, Beaks the Hornbill, who will introduce the player to the Ride mode. All you have to do is catch up to him and you'll be taken up in the sky.

Ride mode

As with Gradius, you control Beaks directly by swiping you finger on the screen. Beaks will keep following the touched area. Your usual power up buttons will be relocated to the right side of the screen, but the other two power ups (Shield and Power Dash) will be removed, with only the Spitoon remaining. An Eject button is also provided if you wish to prematurely get out of this mode. While in this mode, you can collect golden bugs not found on land, either avoid or shoot enemies that come at you. Shooting enemies has the incentive of spawning more golden bugs. When you do get hit, you will automatically eject from Ride mode, but don't worry, Beaks will reappear after some time.

It is important to note that while in Ride mode, your Score will not increase. You will play Ride mode ideally when you're looking to collecting golden bugs.

Now let's go back to land. White Beach maps introduced new obstacles the player must deal with. Aside from the staple poacher that keeps chasing our hero, there are now actual monkeys in the game! Unfortunately these monkeys are territorial and unfriendly. They don't like it when you step on their trees. You can either avoid them or bring them down with your Spitoon or Power Dash.

There three types of territorial monkeys, each with their own behaviors. It's better to get to know them yourself, so I wont spoil them for you.

There are also sea gulls on land, so always be on alert!

You think those coconuts are harmless? Look again.

The update also added 30 quests to the game, and unlocked the next level of power upgrades (when you reach level 18).

The White Beach map is available to all players, with the minimum level requirement of 16. True to the STM design, each act is composed of two maps. This map will be the first half of the act, with the Boss map currently in development. You can follow our updates from our website, Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter. Follow us!

Here's a sneak peak of what we have so far on the Boss map:

Get the updated game from Google Play.


-- LJ

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

Super Tiny Monkey: Act 2 Screenshots

A new batch of screenshots for Super Tiny Monkey: Act 2, fresh out of the oven. Enjoy!

More details coming soon! Just give us some time to put in all the new enemies and obstacles.

-- LJ

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

Super Tiny Monkey Out Now!

After months of hard work, labor, and skipping lots of weekend nights-out, we're excited and proud to announce that Super Tiny Monkey is finally out now on Android and IOS devices.

You play as Goggles, the experimental tarsier who managed to escape from Dr. Zoo’s laboratory and your goal is to run away from his poachers and minions who are sent to capture you. You must leap, glide, dash, or dive from one platform to the next to get as far away as possible. The crux of the gameplay revolves around avoiding obstacles. You will begin with the most basic of control, which is simply tapping on the screen as you pass platforms by-- not unlike a rythm game. As you progress and your character levels up you will open up more control options such as gliding, diving, dashing, and at higher levels you gain access to super powers that will help you conquer the increasing difficulty of the game. There are two game modes: the endless platformer (adventure) mode and the unlockable boss battle mode. Megaman has been such a huge inspiration for me, still one of my all time favorite games to date, and hopefully this shows on the boss battle experience.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who helped us along the way. Thank you for testing the game and giving us feedback. The game wouldn't be as awesome as it is today if not for your help, and while it's finally out for everyone to enjoy, our work isn't over yet! There's still four acts to expect and we've actually began working on Act Two.

The game is FREE to download and play, and is available on both Android and IOS platforms (iPhone, iPad, tablets). Here are the download links:

https://itunes.apple.com/app/super-tiny-monkey/id919522710?ls=1&mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hobbigames.tinymonkey
You can also simply search for "Super Tiny Monkey" in the App Store or the Play Store.

To get in touch with us, or to follow further development of the game, you can bookmark our website:

http://www.hobbigames.com

So what are you waiting for? Download the game now and start leaping, gliding, and diving for your survival!

-- LJ

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

STM: December Status Update

Despite the long December holidays, we're still hard at work on Super Tiny Monkey. I really don't know myself how, but we managed to put in quite a number of new features in time for our target release date. I'm personally excited to tell you all about these latest additions to the game.

Here's the video that shows all the new features of the game:

In case you couldn't watch the above video, don't worry. Just read on and don't hesitate to drop a few comments afterwards.

Acts and Storytelling

If you've been following the game development from the start, you'll recall my previous article about the game's plot. We want to put this backstory in the game itself, and we've decided that the most feasible way is to present it using comic strips.

The comic strips come in full color. While they don't have speech bubbles, we try to make each panel come alive by adding sound effects and contextual animations. These strips tell the story for every Act in the game, and acts as the prologue for their respective maps. We believe that by adding these fluff pieces gives the game more depth and personality.

Unlocking Boss Maps

I mentioned in a previous video that the Razor Wings map will be available to players at level 15. Some people felt that it will make the game a little too grindy. After some reevaluation, we decided to lower this requirement to level 11. We adjusted the player's progression and by level 10, you would have learned all the abilities at their basic level. All that will be left for your character's improvement will be upgrading these abilities.

Future boss maps will have the option of purchasing them to be unlocked. For Act one however, it is not possible to unlock the Razor Wings map by purchasing it, as we don't want the players to bypass the crucial learning levels.

Spitoon Super Power

The third and final super power our hero can learn is the Spitoon. It's basically a bullet fired by the player that travels in a straight horizontal direction. This gives the player a long range offensive option, and while it's much cheaper than power dash, it's also weaker.

Just like the power dash, it can bring down enemies (eagles, and boss, at the moment) but not poacher Rico, or the poacher hanging by the trees. Future maps will feature more of these enemies that can be brought down using offensive powers.

New Side Quests

As with the Forest Edge map, the boss map will also have its own set of quests. They're also entirely optional, although I'm sure players will inevitably complete them as they play.

Game Assistant

One thing we observed from the players during a public demo is that when they die twice or thrice too early into the game, they give up, stop playing, and move on. While it is our goal to make the game challenging, we don't want to discourage new players. Instead, we want them to feel welcome into the game. This is how we came up with the game assistant.

The game assistant is basically a tutorial system, only we didn't make a separate tutorial map. The assistant will appear from time to time, usually at the beginning of a run, in order to teach the player the basic controls, and of any new abilities that have been unlocked.

Your assistant is more that just a tutorial. He's an actual game character with a personality of his own. His name is Paru, the rainbow butterfly. Aside from teaching you how to play the game he also give his accounts of the events and experiences of our hero. We want to design a cute, lovable, yet witty side character in Paru.

We're almost ready for release with Act One; we're just polishing some stuff here and there, so hopefully all will be ready for release this month. To keep yourself updated of any news and announcements, all you have to do is subscribe. As usual, you can follow us from the links below:

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Website: http://hobbigames.com/

-- LJ

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

Razor Wings

We're formally announcing boss battles for Super Tiny Monkey. There is a planned total of 5 bosses for the game, and we'll reveal them one at a time. We'd like to introduce you all to the game's first boss: Razor Wings.

Razor Wings is an eagle experimented upon by Dr. Zoo. Continuous experimentation brough about the discoloration of his feathers and turned red-maroon. He's larger than ordinary eagles, which can also be attributed to the experiments done to him. He has the laboratory tag BZ-1497, and one of the five favorite creations of Dr. Zoo. He is also very loyal to his master. He will be the first minion to be dispatched by Dr. Zoo in an attempt to recover the escaped experiment BZ-1538, A.K.A. Goggles -- our Super Tiny Monkey.

The following images are actual in-game shots. Because the game is still in development, these images are not representative of the final product. 

True to his name, Razor Wings can harden his feather that can cut like a sharpened blade. It's even more dangerous when he throws them towards a target. He can throw these feather blades in any direction, and with varying velocity. Fortunately for our hero, he can use the shield to deflect these blades and send them back to Razor Wings.

Red featherblades can be deflected using shield

White featherblades cannot be deflected!

Aside from his feather blades, Razor Wings can also use his wings to send a powerful gale force towards his target. Unlike his feather blades though, he takes a little more time building up the wind around him. The whirlwind he projects cannot be deflected, and is stronger than his feather blades. These whirldwinds will bounce around the screen and simply die out eventually. They can also hit Razor Wings.

Aside from projectiles, sometimes he will also resort to melee attacks. He will use his powerful claws to damage his target. This attack is his strongest, but also poses a high risk for him as he becomes very vulnerable to Goggles' power dash.

Power Dash at the right moment

Finally he has the "Raining Blade" ability. He will fly up the sky, far from our hero's reach, and his feather blades would start raining down. While it's not his most powerful move, it poses no risk for him, and it's quite difficult for the player to dodge it.

The "Raining Blade" is his ultimate attack

The screenshots shown are not final. Scoring will be different from the normal "Adventure" mode in that the number of platforms you pass by are not counted at all. Instead, you will be scored based on the number of combos you were able to perform while dealing some damage to the boss. Your damage per hit is also part of the calculation, as well as your remaining life.

The release of this boss will have completed "Act 1" of the game. I will talk more about our plans regarding the episodic nature of Super Tiny Monkey on future articles. Until then, please stay tuned and bookmark us to keep yourself updated on our progress.

-- LJ

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

Super Tiny Monkey 0.2 is LIVE

Version 0.2 of the new runner/ platformer hybrid from Hobbi Games is now ready for download. For those who already have a copy, update your game now! If you're reading this and still doesn't have a copy, what are you waiting for? You can download and play the game for free right now! Just click on the image below to go to the Play Store page.

So what's new in this update? You can read the detailed changeset from our past blog entry. Click this link.

And please be reminded that the game is still relatively far from completion, and what we're distributing is a DEMO version. Your feedback, comments, and criticism of the game is highly valued and we really would like to hear from you.

We're working on the IOS version and real soon we'll be able to run a closed public test for iPhones and iPads.

-- LJ

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