Development log for Micro-Management
29/05/2023
Oh boy, it sure has been a while! Turns out, when you migrate from super simple one scene games to more complex multi-puzzle extravaganzas, development time increases exponentially.
That being said, I was still not expecting the two year hiatus from any updates or significant progress, and for that, I appologise.
The big news is, Micro-Management is now somewhat presentable, with all of the first world's map and puzzles created, and all mvp functionality implimented. Big things on the horizon are a tutorial and hint screen to help players solve some of the harder puzzles.
Micro-Management has ended up being so much larger than I anticipated when I decided to overhaul the game from the admitidly terrible little management game to the much more interesting puzzle game it now exists as, however, I must confess not all my time has been spent hard at work.
I've ended up taking a big break from development to focus on my day job, but now feel like I'm ready to get back into the swing of things, which has all started with Octobear 2.0, the new website page which now features a slideshow of my game concept art to keep visitors interested.
This has been a very long winded way of saying OctobearStudios is back with new projects hopefully being detailed and released more frequently than once every 3 years, but no promises. I've experimented with 3D games, mobile games and even some collaborative projects during my hiatus, but now I want to get back to focussing on the things I find most interesting, namely, my small indie projects like Micro-Management.
In other related news, I'd love to make some sort of blog post or video about the journey of revisting and overhauling my first game from something pretty terrible to something I think is at the very least a big step up, and how doing so has really helped me see how much I've progressed since my first ever games made in Scratch when I was a kid to projects I could at least call "pretty much video games". So if that sounds interesting to you, stick around to see if I end up getting that done before I release Micro-Mangement.
My current goal is to get Micro-Management released fully before the end of 2023. Ideally before the end of Q3 2023.
Thanks for checking out my devlog and development updates. Head on over to my Projects page to take a look at some of the new concept art from both released and unreleased games!
Development log for Spirit Herder
27/10/2021
After 48 hours of frantic development, Spirit Herder is out now!
Get the Ghosts out of your Graveyard before the timer runs out!
Octobear studios held a quick 48 internal Jam and Spirit Herder is what I managed to make in that time! While it isn't the most polished, game jam games do have a certain charm I've always liked and hope you will too!
Now, this is not the only thing in the works at Octobear Studios. A new mobile game is currently in development with hopes of a release date within the next few months.
This is our largest project yet and we have hopes to bring an Artist and Game Designer on board to take the game to the next level!
While you wait for more news about our new Mobile game, I hope you'll enjoy this quick Game Jam project!
Check back to see more information about our new games and head on over to Itch.io to download and play Spirit Herder, it'll only take a few minutes!
Thanks for checking out my Devlog and Development Updates. Head on over to my projects page to download Spirit Herder! Hope to see you again soon!
Development log for Slime Sorcerer
10/10/2021
It's finally here, Slime Sorcerer is out now!
Kill Slimes, Earn Souls, Buy Upgrades. How many souls will you earn?
This game has been in the works for a while, with a few delays and secret projects trying to worm their way into the active development it has taken longer than I expected, but it is finally here!
With Slime Sorcerer finally released, i'm already looking ahead to the next games I want to make.
Check back to see more information about my new games and head on over to Itch.io to download and play Slime Sorcerer yourself!
Thanks for checking out my Devlog and Development Updates. Head on over to my projects page to download Slime Sorcerer, I hope you enjoy playing as much as I enjoyed making it! Hope to see you again soon!
Development log for Slime Sorcerer
23/07/2021
After some development and much deliberating when to announce my next project, I'm proud to announce Slime Sorcerer
A game all about perfecting the destruction of slimes. I did say this series of games were experimental!
With the use of a cute art style and a visually pleasing colour pallet, trust me, it's not as depressing as it sounds, it's even quite relaxing!
There is still plenty I want to do with the game and figure about before a Demo or a full game release so i'm not sure when the game will release, but keep checking back to see if I release any more details or do another surprise release like I did for AstroTec.
Thanks for checking out my Devlog and Development Updates. Head on over to my projects page to take a look at Slime Sorcerer! Hope to see you again soon!
Development log for AstroTec
28/05/2021
I'm proud to announce that AstroTec is now out!
AstroTec is the infinite runner about an asteroid miner who forgot to put on his landing brake.
Well, after a few more weeks of development, I feel like it's ready for release! I've never released one of my projects before so this is pretty new and exciting for me!
If you want to go and play it for yourself, head over to my Projects page to download it!
I've already got an interesting idea for my next project though it is likely to take longer to develop so not sure if I can class it as a Micro project. I do want to do a video devlog with it however, so if that's something you would be interested in
then stick around and check back soon as I plan to start work on this new project soon!
Thanks for checking out my Devlog for AstroTec, head on over to my projects page to download it and give it a play. Hope to see you again soon!
Development log for AstroTec
09/05/2021
After a few weeks of development, I'm finally ready to announce AstroTec!
AstroTec is the first in the series I mentioned in my last update, Micro-Projects! It's a little infinite runner about an asteroid miner who forgot to put on his landing brake. The timeline for development is going great right now!
I'd say I'm a little further than half way through, and being about half way through the two months I assumed it would take me, I think I'm on track!
I've got a lot of small things to add, and some noodling I want to do to make the best game possible, however, actually deciding to release this game soon means that I have a nice timeline to work to and that seems to be speeding development and my interest for it back up.
I'll be releasing this game for free on Itch.io and will be using their integration to allow you to download it from my website too!
This game, despite being fairly small, has taught me a lot about developing a project for release, which makes me more optomistic that I'll get around to releasing the other games I have on my site one day too.
With the end of this project in sight, I'm already looking to the next project. While I haven't nailed down the exact game I will be making, I've decided to make a Video Devlog to acompany the games development. Writing DevLogs here has been a great way to keep track of my progress
as a Game Developer and my hope is that a Video Devlog would help me to even more clearly see myself improve. As much as I enjoy this written format,
I feel like I would be able to see my process better in video format.
If you're interested in watching any of my new video devlogs when I start making them, stick around, I'll embed the videos on a seperate tab on my website so that people can find them easily.
Thanks for sticking around and Checking in! Check back soon for more updates surrounding the Development of this game and all my other Projects.
Development Updates
18/04/2021
Development on all projects hasn't been moving forward recently, so I thought I'd give a quick update as to why, and what the next steps are.
I haven't had time for development recently. I just started a new job and have been finishing my degree on the side. These two commitments made game development impossible to pursue for the past couple of months.
However, I have not stopped wanting to make games, simply taken a few months off and re-evaluated what projects I want to be working on. Which brings me nicely onto the more interesting update:
Micro Projects!
Different from MicroManagement, Micro Projects are what I am calling the next batch of games I will be releaseing.
As of yet, I haven't released any of my Games to the public. MicroManagement is actually ready to be released. There is plenty more that I want to do with that concept in the future but what I am calling the Demo is ready for release now.
Chess tactics is much further off from release, and I will be postponing development on it for now while I focus on the Micro Projects idea I have, which I should probably explain.
Micro Projects are going to be small experimental games I will be developing and releasing. I'll be aiming for one game every two months, but that will remain to be seen.
The Main concept is, a small game that I can make after work over a few months. They'll be short, but fully finished and polished.
I'll be aiming for the style of games you tend to get from Game Jams and if I participate in any Jams, those games will be released under the same Micro Projects heading.
My main goal is to continue development alongside my new job and personal life. This idea of making small but polished games on a constant release cycle appeals to me so much as it will allow me to continue making games!
I'll be updating the website from time to time with layout changes and will very soon be adding a page dedicated to my Micro projects with the download links for them. I want to build up my abilities as a Game Developer so I can eventually start work on my first commercial release.
I hope that you stick around and check back from time to time to give these games a play. Game development is incredibly complex so any experience I can get, I will be taking.
Check back soon for more updates surrounding the Development of my projects.
Development log for Chess Tactics
20/01/2021
Development of Chess Tactics is going smoothly. Currently, 5 Puzzles have been built for the app and the puzzle creating process is currently being streamlined to allow for faster puzzle creation.
Art, sound, and UI still needs an overhall, but everything important is already in the game. Potential future features include:
Hints for Puzzles
Seeing the last move of the oposite colour
Better puzzle creation Tools
A survival mode/lives system to see how many consecutive puzzles you can solve in a row
And lots more Puzzles of Varying dificulty, from Easy to Hard.
Check back soon for more updates surrounding the Development of this game and all my other Projects.