Intro
Now that the demo is out (try it out with your friends, if you haven't already, it will help understand the announcement as well) with the game's core mechanics showcased, I've reviewed my goal for the next year. This is not set in stone, so raise your voice if you think the direction can be adjusted for the game. Discussions are always welcome.
2025 Spring
The following mini games are expected by the end of the Spring: Follow, Don't look up
Mini games
Follow
Each payer gets turns, on the given player's turn, they move around on the screen for 5 seconds, and then the other players have to follow the same line. The player who follows all other players' lines the best wins.
The game is straight forward, we'll need to test if the core game is fun on it's own, and/or it can be fun with added spices.
I don't have the spices for this game, but I'm thinking about players pushing other players, slowing spices, speeding up spices. Spice placement will also be an important aspect. How do we make the spices optional, without the player potentially loosing their score due to the diversion of path? I will provide an update how these were designed when it's released.
Don't look up
The players are put in a zone and meteors are falling down on the ground. Players need to dodge the increasing amount of meteors, and the player to survive the longest wins.
Here spice selection could be much easier. Safe zones can be added, player size or speed modifications. The meteor can also be modified: damage, size, speed modifications.
Spice system: quests
This is one of the mechanics I'm most interested to see in the game. Currently spices are all fair, meaning if you choose a spice, it will be available on all rounds for players with the same role. I've also thought about a quest system, where you need to complete challenges to gain some edge over your opponents. For example: win 3 rounds in a row, gain 1 star. Loose 3 rounds in a row, gain 2 stars.
These quests should introduce some meta game, and would allow users to strategise in-between rounds.
Character personalities
Currently the game feel is conveyed by the upbeat music, which can be disturbing when talking with friends, or at least it does not help the player's feeling of threat of loosing.
I'm thinking about introducing some characters, that have unique personalities, looks, and sound. For example I love Bomberman's character personalities. They don't add a lot to the gameplay, but I love winning and expecting my character to say "Ahhh, I'm sleepy".
Art and sound updates
The art and sound were all made by me with 0 prior experience in both of them. Luckily some of my friends are stepping in (hopefully), who are much more talented than me so expect to see some sensory update on the game!
2025 Summer
For the summer, we should expect 2 more mini games, that please cooperative enjoyer players. Under the working names: Trojan Horse, A"Maze"ing
Mini Games
Trojan Horse
Similarly to Tug Of War (available on the demo), the players are inside a big player. Picture this with the following differences:
- The big player is not an actual player, just a Bully, that can be pushed around
- The small (player controlled) players are hidden behind this big player
The players need to pick up coins on the map by cooperating to move the Big Bully.. but there's a twist: there are 2 Big Bullies, and players are separated into groups of 2. They need to work together, without knowing which Big Bully they are under, or who their partner is.
Cooperate to get more coins and obstruct the way of the other team.
Spices can be interesting here as well. My favourite idea I'm pondering about is that players can periodically switch Big Bullies, or teammates. This could result in some mayhem. Other ideas may include: letting players see their character under the Big Bully, for more efficient cooperation, Big Bully size, speed changes, bouncy mechanics, if the 2 teams touch each other.
A"MAZE"ing
This is more of a 2v2 puzzle game, there players need to work together to get out of the maze, represented by a grid. The twist is the following: 2 players on the same team don't have the same "jump" distance. If player A can move 3 to the left, player B will be able to move 5 to the left. The goal is to get out of the maze sooner than the enemy team.
Possible spices: cooldown on movement (thinking ahead is needed), mind control: swap team controls, you are now controlling the enemy, get them in a spot, where it's harder for them to get out from.
Mini game previews
Previews give you a sandbox environment to understand the mini game before jumping into the live action.
I'd like to introduce mini game previews before the number of mini games becomes hard for new players to get accustomed to. This should help players try out the mechanics, understand the goal and the scoring of the game.
Custom game loop prototype
Custom game loops are something I'm at least as interested in, as quests. Some party games give you the option to play a table top game, and mini games influence the table top game as well. Currently the only game loop added to this game is the "Winner's choice" after each mini game, and I'm looking to extend or replace this.
I think this is a great idea to keep everyone engaged, but from balancing perspective it's an important decision which one is dominant: is it more important to win the mini games to win the game, and the board game is only there to help, or is it more important to progress in the board game and mini game wins help with this?
To be honest.. I don't know, but this feature lets the players find it out.
This will only be in prototype stage, meaning only some board game mechanics will be implemented, like traps for other players, extra dice, map/path changes when some players move past it.
Board dominant games
The players need to win the game, by collecting lucky spices on the board. Taking the lucky spice over the start zone increases the change of winning the game. Each mini game victory gives you an extra dice roll. The one who is elected wins the game. Election can be based on who has the max number of lucky spices, or it can be chance based depending on the number of lucky spices you have.
Mini game dominant games
You play the board game to strategically pick up the in-game spices you need to achieve victory. Stars may be dropped on the board, but the main source of it will be from winning games. The first to reach X number of spices and passes through the Start zone, wins.
2025 Fall
With this best case scenario roadmap, I'm expecting the game to be shaping up by fall. I've only planned one mini game here, for some breathing room in case some previous items are not finished by the time. Let's take a look.
Mini Game: King of the hill
This game idea is based on an old WarCraft 3 custom map I really loved, called "Warlock". The game consists of a round island, that shrinks. If the player is standing outside he's taking damage. The player to survive the longest wins. Players need to push each other out of the island.
Spices for the game: spices would be weapons or defensive tools for the users.
Meet the Bully King!
Until this point there is no lore, or universe for the game. This release is expected to introduce the Bully King, the orchestrator of the tournament where Bullies have an option to compete against each other. He will be the orchestrator of the tournament, making notes of the tournament's standings to entertain the audience.
Welcome screen
By this time, some helper scenes can also be added to the game, to provide the user with some information needed to get started, and help them feel welcome in the game.
Base achievements
Now that the game is taking shape, some additional challenges can be introduced to the players. The actual achievements are not planned for now, but I'd like to add some that will help the players explore the possibilities of the game (for example: run a custom game with only 2v2 games, play a pick the same spice 3 times in a row, etc...)
2025 Winter
As seen on the roadmap, Winter items are not set. By that time I'm expecting either some active user engagement, or some delay in shipping items from previous periods. At any case, a lot of interesting items will have been tried and tested by then, so planning with feedback in mind would be crucial. That's why winter items will be decided at the end of Summer, and will be aligned to the expectation of the release in 2026.
Considerations
There are some items, that I'm considering in this release. For example the game loop prototype may be extended during the winter, with additional "events" that can happen on the board, and/or with workshop support so maps can be customised to any friend group's needs.
I will definitely want to look at multiplayer aspects to the game, where players can play with friends online, not only through remote play together, and also a tournament system can be added to the "Winner chooses" game loop game, so 16, 32, or 64 players can queue up in an elimination based multiplayer lobby, and each time a player wins, they will queue up against 3 other winners, and all 4 of them will bring the spices they picked from the previous win.
What will be decided as the main scope of the Winter season is the future's tale, as seen above there are a mix of high effort and medium effort items considered. Everything will depend on what will be the best for the game and the community.
If you've read this far..
Thank you for listening to the plans for this year. Hopefully you read it because you are interested in the game and it's future. If that is the case, please feel free to comment and have a discussion here, or on the discord server.
Bye Bullies.