The new version of Hunt the Muglump is now live. In addition to a number of bug fixes, optimizations, and minor improvements, this update adds some significant new features.
- The look of the Muglumps has been updated.
- The UI Color Scheme was adapted to a friendlier contrast ratio
- Several new Badges and Steam Achievements have been added.
- There is a new Muglump type called the Silverback Muglump. This is an 'alpha' type of Muglump that is twice as large as the others. They will hunt you relentlessly just like the Blue Muglumps, however they require two arrows to eliminate unlike their blue brethren. Unfortunately, due to their thick skin and aggressive nature, they will shrug off your first arrow and simply take the opportunity to jump you and turn you into their dinner. So if we use arrows to eliminate Muglumps, but shooting the Silverback with an arrow just causes him to jump you, what are we to do? There are a number of ways to deal with this new threat. Foremost of these are the new Bear Traps that can be found throughout the dungeon. A bear trap may be set in any room. When a moving Muglump (such as a Blue, Silverback, or Black Muglump) steps on the trap, they will be stuck in place and unable to continue moving or hunting (they are still dangerous, however, at this point should you happen to enter their space). You may then finish them off with the arrows of your choice. Alternatives to dealing with Silverback Muglumps include utilizing Net Arrows or that smelly green goo known as Eau du Muglump to throw them off your trail. Silverback Muglumps and Bear Traps are also available in the Custom Mode menu so that you can experiment with them in your own scenario.
Now, on to other things. At the time of this writing I have applied to Steam to lower the price of Hunt the Muglump to $.99. Honestly, I wanted to go even lower but $.99 is apparently the bottom that Steam will allow without going free. And yes, I did consider making the game completely free but opted to stay with the $.99 price point for now. And honestly, as I'm about to discuss, I'm under no illusions that this game will ever be some kind of hit, so if you read this and would like to try the game and don't want to pay $.99 just message me and I will gladly send you a Steam Code. I'm far more interested in connecting with a few likeminded gamers so that we can build even a small community and start a conversation about what can come next than I am in the pennies I will earn from Steam for this particular game.
I'm going to say what need not be said but this past year has been a challenging one on a few levels. Between career changes, being stuck at home for 99% of the time, etc, my stress levels have been a little high to say the least and I'm sure many others can concur. Hunt the Muglump was released a year and two months ago and since that time it has gone through at least 2 significant revisions (including this one) as well as some other significant updates. During that time I have also spent quite a bit of time playing other games that are near and dear. I played a lot of Final Fantasy VII Remake, Dragon Quest, and many many indie titles developed by small and large teams. Having gone through a process of creating a game myself and learning some ins and outs of Unity, I have a fresh perspective and appreciation for many smaller details of a game that I never previously considered. This year+ has given me some time to reflect and learn from this experience. One thing I have learned is that it's not good enough to have a game that is just kind of cool, it needs to really have that... "pop" if you will that makes you say "I must try this", and once you try it, "I must play more." On top of that, I was playing Super Meat Boy the other day and I started thinking about how much hustle those guys put in to make that game. I had to do a little self reflection and come to the conclusion that I have yet to come even close to that level of work and commitment. Do I think I implemented some cool features in Hunt the Muglump? Yes. Is it the project I am ready to rest my laurels on? Not even remotely close. So, while I had some great ideas for additional features in Hunt the Muglump, we're going to table those for now and go dark for a bit. I want to take everything I have learned and combine that with everything I love and use that to produce something that you (yes, you!) will feel an irresistible urge to play. That means way more polish, more time spent on attention to details, and a much more robust gameplay system. The Muglumps will return, but they will be hopefully much more to look at in the future. This process has also taught me that going it alone is almost impossible for a polished, marketable product. A lucky person possesses perhaps one or two of the skills required to successfully create and market a game. A very lucky person may possess 3 or 4 such skills. An exceptionally rare unicorn will have everything they need to produce a top tier game on their own with little to no outside support. I'm a very lucky person but I am unfortunately no unicorn. So I will be enlisting the assistance of a partner for the work that is to come next that can complement my strengths and weaknesses. So for the foreseeable future, Hunt the Muglump is being laid to rest and I am starting work on a new project that will likely not see the light of day for a few years. However it will see the light of day, and you will love it :-D I am determined to prove to myself and frankly others in my shoes that it is still possible to be successful in this day without licking the boot of the big corporations, and I aim to do it. So for those who have come along with me on this ride, I appreciate your support, feedback, well wishes, etc. I spent a little took long mistaking this for a goal post rather than just another step on a much longer journey, but I am now ready to proceed on the next step in that journey. If you happen upon this game and opt to try it, know that I am not actively developing new features however I do want to record feedback and suggestions so if you have any, I will take them.
If you read all of that you are a true friend and I thank you :-) See you soon.
Peace