An Update about an Update!
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Jun 27, 2022 at 04:14:18 AM

Apologies if the communication has been a little light, but we've been hard at work preparing today's patch! The patch will affect the demo version of the game. Here's what it includes:

• Shadows, spotlights, animation! Get ready for a whole new level of immersion with our improved lighting system!
•  Improved translations for various languages, traditional and simplified Chinese, Korean, Russian, and German -- these are all still ongoing development!
• Fans of the Rogue rejoice! New abilities have been added.
• Improved tutorialization and usability: Don't forget to check the help menu for references to poker hands and basic rules
• Bug Fixes and Balance: Found a bug or want to suggest a change in the balance of an ability? Let us know on Discord!
• Additional Artwork: Including new adventure, enemy, and ability images

And speaking of artwork, our next update will focus on all the talented artists that are helping bring the world of Aces and Adventures to life!

For other games you might like, this time I gave Kandria a shot, an action RPG set in a post apocalyptic future. 

Explore a ruined open world of caverns, settlements, and puzzle-platform challenges. Hack and slash your way through missions: patrol borders, repair machines, scavenge supplies - choose your quests and dialogue. Or go fishing, forage mushrooms, and race the clock! The old world is gone - the future is up to you. Check out their Kickstarter! 

The gameplay is lots of fun. You can watch me explore the beginning of the demo here:

A very big thank you!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 01:41:16 PM

We've reached our goal in just under a week thanks to all of you! This will give us enough funds to finish off the game and deliver it to you as soon as possible. Now it's time we set our sights on that first, and perhaps biggest of stretch goals at $20k, the procedural campaign! It's going to add a ton of longevity to the game, but we want to do the mode justice, so help us keep spreading the word! And in case you hadn't seen it, here's a video covering all of our stretch goals:

In the meantime, our work on the improved lighting system continues. We hope to have that patched into the demo by the end of the week. And we'll definitely have it ready for you by the time we deliver your full keys at the end of the project.

Thanks again for keeping us going! I hope that Aces and Adventures can live up to your expectations!

And for other projects we love, we're going to pixelated feudal Japan in this Metroidvania-meets-Ninja-Gaiden indie platformer: Chronicle of 2 Heroes. You can play as Kensei the samurai or Ayame the kunoichi, each with unique skills you will need to master to survive!

Watch me take on the demo and get outright destroyed by the ninja's traditional enemy... birds.

Improved Lighting
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 08:33:12 AM

First off, thanks to everyone helping make this campaign a success! It looks like we’ll be reaching our goal soon, and hopefully pushing on towards our Stretch Goals!

In today’s update, I’d like to share what we’ve been working on: an upgraded lighting system. Its main features are animated spotlights and “cookies,” which are basically like stencils you put in front of a light to generate complex shadows. The system can blend between two set ups. Let’s see it in action:

As you can see, the new lighting adds a lot of atmosphere and immersiveness to the game. It’s capable of doing a lot of fun effects, so you can look forward to a few surprises! We're hoping to have it fully incorporated into the game before this campaign is done.

As a three-time creator on Kickstarter, I know how hard it is to get eyes on a project. So we’d like to select just a handful of other games to highlight. One that caught my eye is Twisted Tale.

From Zork to King’s Quest, my wife and I love playing point-and-click adventures together, taking turns pushing the mouse around! There’s a lot to love about Twisted Tale, from the fetching cartoon artwork to the extensive voice over work, all delivered with a heaping-helping of humor that pays homage to the classic tongue-in-cheek style of the genre. Give it a look!

Speedrun!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Jun 17, 2022 at 10:02:01 AM

Thanks to everyone for your generous support! We're well on track to hitting our goal and beyond. 

Today's update is a fun one: a Speedrun! Once you get the hang of Aces and Adventures, it can be lots of fun to play it fast! Here's me enjoying a few minutes of glory as I set the World Record for the first few campaigns. 

Can you beat my time? Post a video on our Discord of your run, and I will hand over the championship belt. Good luck!

What We're Working On Now

We're taking in as much feedback as we can handle and hitting all the fixes and improvements we can. Our main goal is to improve usability and intuitiveness, but we will be adding a few more messages and tutorial tips to ease entry into the game.

Balance is another ongoing goal. You'll see changes coming hot and fast to cards and characters, responding to your feedback. 

And thanks to everyone helping improve our translations! We've got a system that makes it easy to contribute, but we still need your help. If you're multilingual and would like to get involved, please reach out Paul on Discord! 

Thanks again, and stay tuned for more news and development!

-Enrique

Over Halfway There!
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 01:43:07 PM

A huge thanks to everyone who's helped us get this project off to a running start. 

After just one day, we're already halfway towards reaching our goal! We also really appreciate your feedback. If you've got any questions or suggestions, let us know on Discord!

Or you could join us on stream today! We will be streaming on Steam for a couple of hours, starting at 1pm Central time! But in case you miss that, this video is the next best thing:

You can help us keep the momentum going by spreading the project around. If you use Twitter, please give us a retweet. With your help, we'll reach our goal and beyond! 

I'm very excited about the procedural campaigns that will add a ton of life and content to the game, but we want to do them right, with plenty of meaningful choices and variety -- more on them in a future update!

Lots of thanks from the whole family!

- Enrique