Dev update – October 2020

What’s the deal this time?

Hello,

Time for another update. We’ve done some progress since last time, both regarding the game and the business as well!

Here’s what I’ll cover:

• Concept Art of our first level.

• Ragdolling on command, because it’s hilarious.

• Beyond Beta – what that’s all about?

Back in August, I showed some of our initial 3D outblocking of the first level. That was mostly preliminary – to see how big the level should be, and how we ought to tackle the level design. Now that we have a better grasp on the logistics of the level, we still need to agree on a visual look, feel, and aesthetic. To help the team be aligned in their work, Emil, a visual artist of ours, quickly sketched out these concept artworks.

As is the case with concept art, it’s not set in stone. But pieces like these help everyone have the same mental pictures as they build the level together.

We’re still debating what to call the region, town, and park of Project Tumble. Summerdale Park? Leafberry Town? Springfield? Oh, wait, that’s the Simpsons one…!

Take a look at the gif below. Even when janky, ragdolling is still silly fun at its best.

The gif above is from one of our internal tests of ragdolling and making sure it works online as well. What started out as a fun suggestion has evolved into a ‘need-to-have’ feature.

Of course, in a game like Project Tumble – that is so focused on having social fun – you need to be able to do silly things too. Ragdolling yourself is a great reaction to basically everything.

But it might just have a strategic element to it as well!

When you’re ragdolled, you’ll be laying on the ground. This way, you can hide in bushes or behind rocks. Great for hide’n’seek games!

When self-ragdolling, you’ll also be pushed a bit in the direction you’re facing. Such a slight push might just be the thing you need to get across a chasm or make the all-too-important jump across the finish line in a race!

Out of more than 300 applicants, only 32 startup companies were chosen to participate in Accelerace’s first execution of the program ‘Beyond Beta’. And we are one of them!

This is a great honor – because it means that the internal judges have read our application (value proposition, beachhead, commercial viability, etc.) and decided that we are able to grow from a startup to a scaleup. Business-wise, that is a mark of approval for our company and our prospects with games such as Project Tumble.

The program started last week (20th of October, 2020) and will last around 5 months. In this period, we’ll be sparring with a business mentor, network with the other startups, and improve our chances at success greatly.

We’re very excited about this opportunity and are grateful for the feedback we’ve received already. For any other upcoming startups out there – look out for next years Beyond Beta. Just the application process and its demands on your ability to communicate your idea can be very enlightening!

It’s a short one this month. But that’s mostly because we’re busy developing, attending Beyond Beta, and generally trying to keep things short and sweet overall. Thank you for reading and showing interest in our progress. We’ll soon be able to show off some really cool stuff  

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