Slogging through the muck

I am working full-force on finishing Super Chibi Knight.

We got some good press coverage here:
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/07/01/super-chibi-kn ight-a-2d-adventure-game-from-dad-and-daughter/
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/07/02/fathe r-and-daughter-super-chibi-knight/

My short-term goal is to get a good beta-quality release out there for people who have signed up for beta testing. It's a tough balance between getting feedback early enough to make changes and including enough content that people get a good taste/vision of what the game will be and get excited about the full version.

I don't know if the Steam Greenlight campaign will be successful or not, it tells me I'm 36% of the way to the top 100, which is quite vague. All I know is I still need a lot more "YES" votes. Epic Battle Fantasy 4 has like 800 comments vs. my 260, so I'm guessing it's faring better. No Time To Explain has over 1,300 comments and it got Greenlit.

In good news, I think the challenge of getting game controllers to work with the final AIR app is solved for PC and Mac, and probably Linux.

I'm considering making a build for the OUYA also, though many people have told me that the OUYA is a waste of time because there aren't enough units out there to really generate any $. Do YOU have any thoughts about OUYA?

Some fans have also requested a Kickstarter campaign, what do YOU think of that? I guess I would pre-sell the game on KS and promise backers they'll get Steam codes or codes for wherever it's released. I'm guessing I'll charge $4.99 for the final game, that's what The Binding of Isaac charged. Your thoughts on pricing?

What does this have to do with Newgrounds? Well, NG was my training ground where I first began scratching my itch to make games. I will still make Flash games and post them here, in fact I have a couple laying around I should post soon. NG is a large part of where I learned what makes games fun and what doesn't work. NG has been a great test bed for experimental ideas I've had and has provided brutally honest feedback on those concepts. NG is the place I've met tons of talented people and worked together with them on projects I'm super proud of. NG has helped me find talented people for positions in my real-world jobs. NG is where I began building a fan base. Now I'm trying to fulfill one of my life-long dreams to get a game I've made out for sale on a console/game-pad device for mass consumption.

NG has helped quite a few of its own make the leap (i-smel, edmund mcmillen, brad bourne, Tom/Dan, and others). I'm really grateful to NG for providing a very talented, supportive, and inspiring community and for illuminating a pathway that shows how people with an idea can work toward commercial success in a very competitive industry.

I hope Super Chibi Knight can make the jump. I've got a lot riding on its success.

Check out some of the latest screenshots and some rockin' "box art" from the one and only Jouste below.

Finally, thank YOU for supporting me in making my dreams come true.

Slogging through the muck

Comments

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crashadams 2013-07-11 16:51:13

Looking great! Love what you and Jouste have put out on it so far.

BoMToons 2013-07-11 16:51:13

Thanks man. Hopefully it plays as well as it looks.

TheMajormel 2013-07-11 16:52:54

good luck man, making a game like zelda 2 must be tough.

BoMToons 2013-07-11 16:52:54

Making any full-sized game is a tough undertaking. I hope it's all worth it :-D

Luis 2013-07-11 16:54:11

I've seen shawn play with his Ouya. The games seem to run well. Controller felt kind of cheap. Beyond that I dont know much about it.

I thought the greenlight process would have changed by now. I thought at first they were doing that whole top 100 % thing was just to get it going and encourage good games but it seems like its been out quite a bit now and its still that weird process where even solid games are in limbo (no not the indie smash hit)

BoMToons 2013-07-11 16:54:11

Yeah, it seems like the Greenlight process is disliked by many, even by the people who made it. Right now, you have to basically guarantee your game will be a big hit AND bring a huge following to Steam to vote on your thing just to get through the hoops.

It needs more curating so they can extend a hand out to games that have potential, but don't have a huge fan base yet. Perhaps like, a "Steam Golden Scepter" that they extend to a promising gem lost in the noise once a quarter or something.

Kenney 2013-07-11 16:58:27

Looks great, good luck with it all man!

BoMToons 2013-07-11 16:58:27

Thanks Kenney Veluegelessleuel! I'm looking forward to your feedback on the beta.

MSGhero 2013-07-11 17:13:09

Good luck! I love the contrast between the box art and the greenlight pic.

BoMToons 2013-07-11 17:13:09

Jouste has updated his style a bit lately. The newer style meshes a bit better with my style, so I'm quite pleased.

TomFulp 2013-07-11 17:37:27

I'm excited to play this, it better make Steam Greenlight! They would be crazy to not accept it.

I haven't tinkered with Ouya yet. It feels like there are a bunch of Android-based game consoles coming out and I assume the same games will be compatible on all of them but I haven't been following all that close enough... So much noise out there nowadays, I gotta read up. Seems like if you make it Android-based you would be able to publish on all Android-based consoles though.

$4.99 sounds like a very fair price, it LOOKS like there will be a decent amount of playtime in there. I just spent $10 on the Monster World series on PSN and this will definitely be way more fun. I was hoping Monster World IV (first time US release) would be kinda awesome but so far it's just kind of a pain.

As for Kickstarter... It's so saturated nowadays... If you do it, just be careful not to offer up rewards that will eat up your profits, like so many people seem to do... Could stick with in-game rewards, like names in the credits, characters based on supporters, design a boss, etc. Also aim low and hope to go over... Too many people come in asking for $15-20k and they'll just never hit it... Could try something like $5k and maybe people will surprise you with $10k... Put in some stretch goals to make people want to go over, but having a lower requirement ensures you get to keep SOME money. I feel bad when I see guys that manage to raise like $7k but they don't get any of it because they didn't hit $10k or whatever.

Also Jouste rules.

BoMToons 2013-07-11 17:37:27

Hooray! Tom is excited about it! YOU HEAR THAT STEAM?!!! *shakes fist*

Did you sign up to beta test?

Re: Android consoles: there's the Game-Stick that's also supposed to be Android, and now rumors of Google making their own gaming box based on Android. Maybe Google will just buy them all up and unify the battlefield. Flash actually makes it super easy to export for Android. Getting the gamepad and Achievement APIs to work with it is another story though.

One of my biggest fears right now is providing enough game-play for it to feel like a "real" game, it's so hard to tell right now because it's 1/2 done and I have all kinds of cheats running to help test. I've been padding the beginning with some side quests and it's finally starting to feel more solid.

Some people have suggested Indiegogo for crowdsourcing cuz you get to keep whatever $ you earn, but I don't know if it really has the following of KS. Low requirement is a good idea, I have to try to keep myself realistic in the face of all the DOUBLE FINES out there.

Thanks for dropping me a note, it's re-assuring to hear that you're looking forward to it :-D

MrDaemon 2013-07-13 14:07:16

OUYA is really struggling to prove it has a place in today's market, it's a definite gamble that will either be a timesink or you'll hit it big. I don't really know too much to offer a solid opinion.

$4.99 pricepoint seems fair and it'll give you some pocket change for all your hard work and perhaps you can upgrade your equipment as a sort of pat yourself on the back move. Stick with it playa!

The Super Chibi Knight artwork is dope man! Gonna check out Jouste's other work. He has a nice cartoon like style that meshes well with a lot of projects people on NG are working on. Wouldnt be surprised to see him creep up in other games/movies

Tom has a good point about kickstarter, set your goals low. In fact he pretty well covered all that needed to be said!

Glad you got some much warranted press.

Good luck, I'm really looking forward to playing it Bomtoons!

BoMToons 2013-07-13 14:07:16

Thanks for the note Elixur! Glad to hear you're looking forward to the game.

Definitely check out Jouste, he's one of the greats here on NG.