Updates and Coming soon

It has been a little more than 2 months since MechCorp is released.  The game wasn't a runaway success like I anticipated, which is annoying. And the 2 or 3 negative reviews that I've got is puzzling, to say the least. At least the rest of positive reviews still make sense to me, but I do expect there's more of them...

Joke aside, I'm happy about the way things have turned out. True, the sale is not what I would have called great but it could have been way worse. Besides, most people do seems to enjoy it. That's is good enough for me. Not going to lie, I braced myself for the worst case scenario before release. And trust me, the fear and anxiety that caused, you don't want to know.

The first month following the release of MechCorp has been very hectic. I spent day and night fixing bugs and making changes based on the feedback I've received. Not going to lie, releasing a game is extremely stressful, exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. But I'm very pleased to say that the game is now almost bug-free and a lot of better than its initial release.

I still have plans for MechCorp. A major update maybe, adding in more game mode. Something like the second wave option in X-Com. But for now. I need to take a break from the project, to clear my mind.

Which bring me to this, a prettified SpecDefense. I've been spending some very enjoyable time building various environment set for the levels. It's very therapeutic to see those simple models and color combination forms a pretty scene. Now that they are almost done, I've decided that I will get it on steam. I've even got the steam page ready at this point - https://store.steampowered.com/app/956210/. So go on and add it to your wish-list. It will be released later this month.

MechCorp has been released on Steam!

After months and months of work, a few years in fact, it has finally come to this. I'm so proud to announce that the little project that I've been working on is now available to the public.

It feels like finally releasing a child into the wild, after having it under your care after a long time. I can only hope it fair well in the harsh harsh world. As I'm waiting for what happen next, it's exciting and excruciating nerve wrecking at the same time. Knowing that it could fall flat on it's face. All those effort in vain. Finger crossed...

I know the work is not done. There's probably bug fixes and update that I need to work on. But it's huge weight off my shoulder. After so many rework and delay, to say that the thought of not being able to finish has never cross my mind would be a lie. But at least I won't ever have to worry about that again. 

Whatever happen now, I'm going to try get some down time, play some game. Gosh I so want a holiday.

If you are interested in funding my holiday - https://store.steampowered.com/app/838180/MechCorp/

Endless Grid Defense

I have receive a lot of feedback since Spec Defense was released, almost a year back. Well when I say feedback I mean I read the reviews. Basically they boil down to these two: the game is shit because it's hard as hell so I gave up on level 2. And boy I wish there's an endless mode because I want more of it. 

Well for group 1, I'm not going to apologize for the nature of the game. I suspect some people doesn't quite grasps the concept of mazing. Or they don't have the patient to play a game that require some planning. I can accept that. This game is not for everyone.

For group 2, boy do I appreciate you wanting to play more or the game. For that reason, I've released an update today, added endless mode to the game! Hooray! The mode is available for all levels, unlocked when the player beat the level once.

There also a bunch of other stuff that comes with the update. Like lots of balance tweak for the towers, UI tooltip that show player the tower function and stats, etc. And bug fix of course.

So that's it for now. Now I need get back to MechCorp.

MechCorp has got a steam page. And trailer!

The steam page for MechCorp is finally up - https://store.steampowered.com/app/838180/MechCorp/. And I've got a trailer to show with it.

This means the game is almost ready. I hope this also explains the fact that I haven't been making any major update or posting for a good few month. I've been concentrating my effort on MechCorp. Spent a great deal of time working on the writing and presentation. Things seem to be coming along nicely. I can almost see the end of the tunnel now.

Also, I've made the trailer above myself! I'm not sure how the public will perceive it but I think it's pretty good for someone who haven't got a clue when it comes to recording and editing. I'm damn proud of it if I'm honest. Please watch it and let me know what you think. I would love to know.

Spec Defense Free!

We all know this is inevitable so here it's, free version of Spec Defense.

 

If you haven't read my previous post, Spec Defense is a little TD game that I've made very recently. It's available for both pc window and android. You can learn more about it in this post. I won't say it's great. But personally I think it's a solid tower defense game. I've had plenty of fun during my play-testing.

Anyway, the free version is pretty much the same game, only that it has got a paywall. The first 6 levels (from a total of 24) are available for free and the player are limited to 8 upgrades. There's no ads, no other in app purchase item except the pay wall alone. It's a demo with option to upgrade to full in a nut-shell. 

Go give it a try if you are reading this. And I hope you have fun playing the game.

I've got a new website!

And boy it's about damn time too. This blogger place-holder site that I've been using as my main website has been long overdue.

So yes I've been busy building a new and more professional looking site to show all my work. It has finally gone live! I'll have you know I've put an awful lot of work into it. Getting the domain setup correctly alone has shorten my life expectancy by a great deal. But ain't the result worth it. I'm loving it and you should definitely give it a look.

www.songgamedev.com

I guess the from now on this site will go back to what it used to be when it first started, a blog. And I certainly hope that I will post more stuff. Oh that's a blog on the new site too so I guess I'll be double posting for now. But I'll gradually phase this one out, probably... we'll see.

Annoucing Spec Defense!

* I have a few android keys for this game to give away. Please pm/email me if you are interested in playing the game. I would love to hear what you think about the game.*

The time has finally come. Ladies and gentleman I'm proud to present you my first solo commercial release. A little tower defense game with a very unimaginative name.

I've been working on this since the completion of TDTK4. The goal is to create a minimalistic but engaging 'classic' tower defense experience. One that allow various tower combination and open level design where the player can complete the level using any mean they see fit. The level design is where the most effort went. And I'm very pleased with how most of the level turn out, as I myself struggle to figure out the optimum way to beat each level during play testing.

As far as other aspect of the game goes, I've tried to keep it as simple as possible so that I wouldn't have to spend ages on this. This is after all just a side project while I get back to working on MechCorp again. I'll probably keep updating for bug-fixes, balance tweak and usability improvement. But depend on the reception I might even add more feature or content.

So this is what the game offer in it's current state. There are 12 towers in total. Each is useful in it's own way but you can only take 6 towers for each level. Completion of each level award stars which is used for upgrading existing tower or unlock new tower (You start with 3). The upgrades and tower unlocking are non-linear so you are free to choose whatever that fit your play style. Rinse and repeat until you beat all the levels (all 24 of them).

The upgrade screen of Grid Defense

Before you ask, yes, all this is based on TDTK4. A slightly modified one of course, to fit various design need. 

So It's currently available for window pc on itch.io and android device on Google play store for a low low price of $3. Check it out!