Hey everyone. First I want to say thanks to all those who continue to follow the progress of this game. It is very much appreciated.
New Name
Let's get right to the point. As you probably noticed, 'Just Flip' has a new name:
I fully understand some will hate the new name, some will like it, and some will be indifferent. That is all fine. I just feel this name better fits what the game will be and 'Just Flip' was ultimately too generic. Plus, I think some may be uttering these words under their breath once they start playing. :-)
Along with the rename, I have updated the Steam page with new logos, a new trailer and new screenshots.
Updated Graphics
This isn't super new as I have posted a screen or two in the past, but I continue to try making 'That Flipping Mountain' look better. Graphics are not my strong point so this is one of the more challenging aspects of game development for me. I do think it's starting to look decent, though.
New Mechanic: Diving and Water
Prior to starting development on 'That Flipping Mountain', I was working on a follow-up to an old diving game of mine called 'Diver' and 'Diver 2'. I still plan to make that follow-up someday, but for now I decided to just bring the water system I had created for that game into this one.
I had been thinking about how to do this for quite a while. One of the key components of 'That Flipping Mountain' is that the controls are simple but the game is challenging. I think I finally figured out how to add the water and not break that tenant of the game.
It's actually pretty straightforward. Some waterholes are not really obstacles, they are just something you can fall into. :-) If you do fall in, you can just launch yourself back out of the water.
Other waterholes ARE obstacles. For these, as seen in the GIF below, you will need to do a proper dive into the water. Once you do a proper dive, the swimming mechanic will kick-in and take you where you need to go. You will then need to manage the flip out of the water and stick the landing. (Very similar to how the skiing works.)
No more hand-holding
Until now, 'That Flipping Mountain' incorporated a very subtle assist when sticking a landing. Essentially, when the character got close to the ground, the game would help line things up to make sticking the landing slightly easier.
While this worked most of the time, occasionally it would make things feel "faked". I thought the game would be to difficult without this, but as a test I removed it and played for a while. I didn't notice a difference so I removed it.
This game just takes a bit of practice. Once you get a feel for the inertia of the flip, sticking the landing gets easier. I think the assist is just un-necessary. Physics for the win!
Release Strategy
For me, this game has been the most challenging game to position for release. The market for games has changed so much in recent years. It's difficult to stand out.
I decided to not overthink things too much and just go with my gut. For this reason, I'm going back to my original plan to release 'That Flipping Mountain' into Early Access and use that time to build out the mountain, get feedback, and refine all the things.
That about wraps it up for this post. No that most these changes are behind me, I plan do concentrate more on building out the actual mountain. I'll try to post more often to keep everyone up to date on my progress.