Gloopalaxy Demo updates #2

It’s been a while since I wrote a recap, as I’ve been very busy… But now that i’m finally free from the chains of employment, I have more time to devote to my projects—yay!

I wish I could have written about this project in smaller, more incremental steps, because we went through sooo many iterations on so many aspects that it would have been interesting to see how each part of the game evolved, but it is what it is and maybe I’ll write a post with before-and-after photos someday!

Anyway, we’ve decided to release the game this year—we’re finally nearing the finish line! So I wanted to list the main changes made recently here:

Re-re-improving the scene

We still weren’t happy with how the ship looked in the game, as it clashed too much with the creatures’ style, but we were completely stuck (i.e., it was the first time in our lives we’d ever done art direction), so we pulled out the ultimate trump card: asking our artist friends for advice! Thanks again, Valentin and Jérémie, we couldn’t have done it without you 💛

Ship Concept Art Ship Concept Art by Valentin Seiche

Research Station Overview The finale version of the ship (truly this time!)

The encyclopedia

The game finally has its own encyclopedia, which compiles the data you’ve collected on each creature, along with a full description once you’ve unlocked all the information about it!

Encyclopedia menu Encyclopedia menu

Mutations

Making a creature collector game with a limited budget means finding the best way to get more creatures without overspending! And what could be better than adding “shiny” creatures, or in our case, “mutations”.

This adds quite a few creatures by changing the colors of certain layers and making small adjustments (which is pretty cheap to do), but it also adds that “rarity” effect that players love, myself included.

However, we also wanted to make sure there was gameplay value and that it wasn’t just a visual change. Mutations have different needs than their original counterparts, and therefore entirely different descriptions! So they need to be studied just like the others.

Mutation 2 Rosermits, including one mutant, in a tank

Fishing zones

The fishing menu looked a bit dull, so we added parallax backgrounds for the different fishing spots on the planets. We also added the ability to preview the available loot so players can choose where to cast their line.

Fishing zones screen Fishing zones screen

Fishing mini game

Overall, it’s very simple and not stressful. You have to bring the line back up to the top of the gauge by tapping at the right moment; if you don’t do anything, the line goes down, that’s all. But we’ve added a tiny bit of a “challenge”: if the player doesn’t tap at the right moment, it removes one item from their loot, so it’s possible to end up with nothing.

Fishing mini game screen Fishing mini game screen

Secrets!!

Since the game is short and has a very simple loop, we wanted to add a little “depth” by hiding little secrets here and there for players to discover. I love writing these little bits of lore!

Misc.

What’s next?

We’re currently working on the game trailer! This involves creating a storyboard, putting together a rough cut to match the music’s rhythm, and finally replacing the rough cuts with the final footage.

The hardest part is behind us, now it’s mostly a matter of fixing minor bugs and adding/writing content for the game’s three missions. We’ll be releasing one final update to the demo in June because we’re participating in Steam Next Fest! And then we need to pick a release date 👀