It's time for me to put out the first news post now that the game is more or less ready for release. I want to go over a number of things regarding the game and why it even exists.
Play With Gilbert
As I mentioned in the store page description, Play with Gilbert started out as a small tiny project. I made a small game for my daughter to play because she loves cats and I wanted to introduce her to gaming in general in a nice way.
Being able to actually make games and after running into a kitten assets I figured, well, I'll take some time and make something for her.
After I implemented the main character and added some other kitties for her to find and let them follow my wife took notice and asked me why not turn this into something more.
I thought about it and I figured why not.
STARDROP
I have to mention my main project, STARDROP in here simply because the two projects are intertwined at certain aspects. For those who are unfamiliar about who I am and what STARDROP is then you can visit the official site here: STARDROP Official Website
Anyway, so after I finished the third chapter I was ready to move onto the next one, or so I though but fatigue settled in. I just felt tired, I basically have been running a marathon right from the start of development and I realized I needed a little bit time off after I've been working on STARDROP for over three years.
Play with Gilbert came just at the right time. I had a blast working on it and it taught me a slew of new techniques and just increased my knowledge of the UE4 engine while testing me on what I've already learned. It was great!
Who is this game for?
Play with Gilbert is meant for kids mainly, however I find myself having fun running around, jumping and dashing and just collecting everything to see the fireworks so I guess it's not just limited to children. Just don't expect an intense story, or deep gameplay. It's not here.
The game is designed for kids to just kill time in a friendly environment where they can roam around and discover small little things in the levels. As I mentioned, the game is not meant to be overly challenging or have deep gameplay elements.
My daughter plays the game everynight now before she goes to sleep and she just does whatever she feels like. Take a boat ride, take a balloon ride, find Mr Cactus, what are the kitties doing, Can I jump on this can I reach that place? And that's what it's meant to do.
Future content?
So, I do want to add some new content in the future. I have a few ideas of what to do with it, some new areas. I want to add some learning stuff in the game but I have to get back to my main project but since my daughter still plays this a ton I already have some new things planned so that she has new stuff to explore and obviously I'll add it into the game.
I will however keep tabs on the community. There are a few things I want to polish here and there which I will at some point. I will listen to any potential bug reports or feature requests if it's within limits.
I hope that kids will enjoy it and even the grown up ones. :) If anyone has any suggestions, complaints or anything feel free to post here on the forums. I always make sure to keep an eye out and I always make time to interact with the community.
So, take care and have fun !