Sharing content with you, the audience, is a tricky subject. We have already reached a point in development where we need to start thinking about what content we share and what we should keep secret. In fact, if you read last week’s blog post we had fun withholding some info about a new character.

Jokes aside, the team is split on how we should approach sharing more “sensitive” content like later levels, endgame bosses, secret unlocks, and more. We fall into two camps: one that says “share everything; test everything,” and one that says “hold back content; don’t ruin the surprise.”

Sharing for Gameplay’s Sake

If you have been following our Twitter, you would know that every week we attend GLITCH’s Play/Test event where you can present your game for testing and feedback. Play/Test has been invaluable in the development of Fingeance: we get to talk to players, see what they do, and how they react to changes in the game. So many changes and improvements have been made because of this event and the ability to play test the game with the public.

So why would we want to hinder this process?

We are a small team working on a small budget, but we have big dreams. We want to make sure that all of our content polished and balanced before we release the game. Limiting the amount of content that we are going to show means that we can’t test that content with the public. We don’t have the means of hiring out a company to test out the game and we certainly aren’t looking to have everyone that attends Play/Test sign NDAs before they can play the game. Sure, there are some things that we probably shouldn’t show, but if it affects gameplay we should think about showing it.

It makes sense put gameplay above all else.

Right?

Savoring the Experience

Spoilers suck. If you were really looking forward to experiencing a story, spoilers  can suck the wind from your sails. That first time you find a surprise or discover a secret is electric and precious. When we show off new content — and see players’ faces light up with joy and wonder — we get a huge kick. It’s inspiring, and a big part of why we do this.

So why would we want to ruin this for them?

Discovering new content in a game is a driving force to continue playing. “What’s around the corner?” “What other discoveries lay ahead?” Stillalive Studios, and their game Son of Nor, had this same problem. Throughout their process of developing the game, they were documenting it through development vlogs and blog posts bringing their followers along for the three-year journey. But, towards the end of development, they made the conscious decision to not show some content. This was to not spoil the game for those that have been there since day one, those that actively seek out their updates, those that care the most about their game. Yeah, this approach meant that this content isn’t nearly as well-tested as the other content, but there are other ways to test without showing all the content to everyone. We should be more confident in our ability to craft our game and only show certain content to a select few.

It makes sense to value the experience of the player above all else.

Right?

What do you think?

These are two approaches to the problem of sharing content. The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. But what about you?

Do you want to see everything? Do you want to have surprises?

We are extremely interested in what you have to say so drop us a line here, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about some major changes we’ve made to the shop. I left Lane a nice present in the form of new Bubbles equipment before we left on our trip to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. That’s not the only character we’ve been fiddling with however! Finn’s got a few new tricks in his ship too.

Meet the Leader

The new Finn weapon set has been designed from the ground up to emphasize the leadership role he plays within the group. In order to do that, Finn’s been equipped with extremely powerful abilities that can change the course of a fight drastically. These abilities allow him to organize a strategy around the activation of his gadgets. It’s important for Finn to choose wisely though! His gadgets have long cooldowns, so they’ll need to be used at opportune moments. His playstyle is built with the idea of creating high moments of huge impact at the expense of higher vulnerability when they are down.

Finn’s cannon fires four bullets: two in the center, and two angled upwards and downwards from the center. The cannon deals pretty solid damage when all the bullets connect with a target, so expert play will involve positioning closer to enemies when possible to deal the maximum damage.

Turret Training

Finn’s first gadget, activated using the left trigger, deploys a fast-firing turret directly in front of his ship. This turret lasts a maximum of 3 seconds, but its time active is decreased when it takes damage from enemy collisions or projectiles. Finn’s turret has a wealth of possibilities, both offensive and defensive.

Finn can use the turret to tank enemy bullets for him, creating a wall of safety for a short time. It can be placed in more dangerous parts of a level to continue to deal damage while the team attacks from a more protected area. The turret can fiercely destroy grouped enemies, clearing a path for ships to slip through. Or, you can just use it to deal more damage. Hey, you’re the leader; you call the shots!

Finn’s Rally Cry

This idea of Finn giving the orders becomes even more literal with his second gadget. This flexible part inspires his team with powerful buffs, turning the underwater tides of any fight when used well. Finn’s got a couple shouts pre-installed in his mobilizing megaphone:

Increases the team’s rate of fire significantly for a short time.

Decreases damage taken by team over a short duration.

Obviously, these buffs can be used in a variety of ways. See the Biggest Baddest Turret’s weakpoint is open? Rally your team for extra damage. Huge line of missiles coming your way? Command a defensive stance from your team. Communication with your fellow teammates make this gadget even more powerful. For example, you could coordinate with a tank to have him/her protect the team temporarily when a Laser Grunt fires, and mount a quick counteroffensive with an offensive shout to deal with it when it’s vulnerable.

Rally Cry works with the Turret Deploy as well!

Both of these gadgets can be changed in impactful ways in between levels by buying augments in the shop, ranging from new shouts for the Rally Cry to a larger, tankier turret.

How do you feel about the Finn changes? Miss aspects of his older kit? Let us know what you think in the comments on this blog, tweeting at us on our Twitter, or commenting on our Facebook page!

Escape Industries has been hard at work to bring you new content, as we’ve shown for the past few weeks. One new feature we haven’t shown yet is a new shop, updated for the coming changes to Fingeance. This new shop should look fairly familiar to veterans of more recent builds, but there are some neat features we’ve added to help players easily buy the part they’re looking for.

The blueprints of each shop item have been simplified, resulting in a far cleaner appearance. The new shop also features small descriptions of each part, so players can take in and analyze their options quickly. The small and poorly-explained icons that once plagued the screen have been removed. Players new and old should find the new shop far more user-friendly.

Keen-eyed readers might note that there aren’t any cannons or gadgets in the new shop. Rightly so: we’ve drastically changed our approach to buyable items. No cannons. No gadgets. You can upgrade what you start with, but at the end of the game Gil will still have a laser turret, and Spike will still be able to get huge.

Why the change? On the positive side, we want to cut through the confusing, fiddly parts of Fingeance. Ever since we introduced Augments — passive upgrades to existing gear — these parts have been more attractive than top-shelf bait. With them in the shop, people felt it wasn’t worth the scrap to buy new Cannons or Gadgets (replacing and obsoleting their previous part). We decided to go with the flow and make as many clever, strategic Augments as we can. More practically, these enhancements are easier to understand, letting people get to the action quickly, if they desire.

Now, players will be able to buy augments that enhance your chosen character’s abilities in some way, possibly giving players new possibilities when bought. Each character has been rebuilt to support this change as well. We’ll be going over each character’s new loadouts in the upcoming weeks.

How do you feel about the new shop? We’d love to hear your feedback! You can comment here on our blog, or on our Facebook page or our Twitter.

Woah! A new video! Wait, 2 of them!

That’s right! We have a new updated video available to watch. This video is showcasing all of the new environments that we have worked on since our last video. There’s a lot more action packed combat featured than before as well!

But wait… didn’t I say that there are 2 videos? Yeah there is!

This is the first ever uncut gameplay footage of Fingeance that we have shared. It highlights Spike, a new character that was introduced since the last video. Like I mentioned before, this is uncut and unedited footage of a full level of Fingeance! So you can follow Spike as he battles his way against a torrent of enemies.

Let us know what you think about these videos and please like and share the videos to help spread the news of Fingenace! We are seriously proud of what we have accomplished so far. And I would like to extend that gratitude to you all! We couldn’t have come this far without your feedback and comments. Thanks for your help!

So remember to drop us a line here or over on Twitter or Facebook and let us know what you think!

Last week, we showed you some of the bosses you’ll be fighting in Fingeance, but what about the regular enemies? The smaller grunts may be weaker than their larger counterparts, but there is strength in numbers. We’ve created many new enemies over our recent push to pack each level with fresh challenges.

Ghasts

You’ll find the persistent Ghast in the Deep Sea Cave. Ghasts constantly follow the nearest player. This behavior doesn’t sound very interesting for normal enemies, until you come across a large group of them!

Area of effect gadgets, such as the Bomb Launcher, are very useful to take these enemies out quickly. Quick movement is key to avoiding their contact explosions. A player with a strong emphasis on debuffing could slow Ghasts down as well, making them easy fodder for your team.

Crab

The mechanical Crab makes its first appearance in the Coral Reef. If you’ve ever seen the Sony E3 press conference in 2006, you may be familiar with this kind of enemy. The Crab constantly peppers the screen with large bullets from its two claws, but its belly is left open to assault. Staying true to its character, it takes massive damage when you attack its weak point. If you can slip between each Crab’s firing pattern, you can make short work of these contemptible crustaceans.

Doom Jellies

Doom Jellies, corrupted by the Kelp Forest, are toxic in more ways than one. If a ship comes into contact with one of these dangerous creatures, the Doom Jelly will explode in an acidic cloud, slowing and damaging anything – friend or foe – that moves through it. Worse yet, Doom Jellies also release toxins when killed.

Crafty players can, on occasion, use these explosions to their advantage. Sometimes, when there’s a flotilla of oncoming guppy darters and you position the toxic explosion just right…

 Laser Grunt

The massive Laser Grunts carry giant cannons on their stomachs, and are some of the first responders if you manage to reach the Dolphin City. After a short charge up period, the laser cannon fires, dealing deadly damage to anyone caught in the blast. If you can defeat these enemies before they fire their cannon, they won’t be much of a threat. Otherwise, you can try to lead them into a less threatening position before they fire. Their lasers cut off access of the field significantly, so they need to be dealt with quickly!

As you can see, regular enemies can be a big threat when they coordinate. Have any battle stories to share? Let us know what you think in the comments here on our blog, by tweeting at us on our Twitter, or leaving a comment on our Facebook page.

One of the most intense encounters in the game of Fingeance are the boss battles. The Dolphin Empire has trained, manufactured, and bioengineered these big baddies to prevent your team from reaching the heart of the their territory. You and your crack team of fishes will need all the help you can get to defeat them. Luckily, the Escape Industries development team is on your side. Here’s a breakdown of a few of the boss fights you’ll encounter.

The Jellyfish Queen

We’ve talked about her a bit before, but the queen of the jellyfish is no slouch. Armed to the tentacles in jelly servants, this regal rival won’t allow you to shoot her easily. The trick is to avoid her minions as long as possible, and focus her rather weak body. Solo ships are going to have to alternate between shooting the boss and the subordinates, but in a team it’s helpful to have a ship or two on cleanup duty. Make sure not to get overwhelmed either: the Jellyfish Queen’s minions will continue to chase you until they run into your hull, then explode in a freezing blast, making you an easier target for the queen’s bullets. A tankier teammate may consider this a good thing, and can use their increased durability to clear through them quickly (though you lose out on the scrap they would drop).

Devastator Sub

Partly responsible for the mutated and corrupted Kelp Forest, this monstrous machine is piloted by a ruthless dolphin. This boss has been equipped with a huge assortment of ammunition, and needs to be dealt with carefully to ensure your ship’s survival throughout the fight. A tank is very powerful here: the sub fires several different types of bullets, but many are fairly weak damage wise. A damage sponge can create safety zones for squishier teammate to hide behind. A tank however will not protect you from some of the more deadly attacks. The Devastator Sub can fire toxic missiles that leave clouds of eroding gas, slowing and constantly damaging ships foolish enough to pilot through them. When low on health, the sub will fire a giant laser, truly devastating everything in its path.

You don’t want to be in front of this.

Look for the glowing windows! That’s when the sub is charging the laser.

Darkbomb

This is a big bad bomb boss found in the depths of the Deep Sea Cave. This boss fight is somewhat of a test of endurance: regular damage output won’t affect this boss at all. Instead, buttons have been placed around the battlefield. Firing at them moves the tumbler around the giant bomb, and when it reaches the very top, a giant laser will fire at the bomb, damaging it for a third of its total health. Your goal in this fight is to activate that laser by firing at the buttons and moving the tumblers into the top position. The Darkbomb has a few tricks though: it fires bullets timed with its clicks, and can summon other enemies to prevent you from finishing it off. Be quick though! The Darkbomb has a timer (indicated by the red ring around it) and when it ends, it will continue to fire burning and exploding bullets until it is destroy or you are!

Hopefully you can use these tips to give you a fighting edge against the boss encounters found in Fingeance. If you have any tips to fight the Fingeance foes, you can comment about them here on our blog, tweet at us on out Twitter, or comment on our Facebook page.

Phew!

As we said last week, we’ve finished up a HUGE push. It was pretty intense; we spent a lot of time working on new content for the game. We worked on new enemies, bosses, and environments (like the Kelp Forest). I wanted to take this time to reflect on the experience, talk about what we are doing now, and what is to come.

Push for More Content

The main reason why we were doing this push was to add a ton of content to the game. For the last year, we have really only been polishing up gameplay mechanics and 3 levels (really 2, but I digress). We have reached a point where we needed to figure out what an entire playthrough of our game would look like, how that would feel, and how players actually progress as you play through the game.

So we geared up for a huge push for content in a month’s time; working 14 hour days, almost every day. It was grueling, challenging work, but it was still a blast to work on. Seeing all of the new environments come together, the new bosses taking shape, and the new enemies introduced during this huge push was a humongous morale booster.

I am extremely proud to say that we succeeded reaching our goal. It is now possible to play a full campaign from start to finish (That is SO great to say). It isn’t by any means balanced or final, but it is playable.

But where do we go from here?

Loading…

The most immediate area that I have been working on personally is adding in a loading screen. It really is starting to show that we need some sort of indicator saying, “Hey, the game didn’t freeze, it is just loading right now!” as many times while we play test the game people wonder if the game crashed.

It is still in its early stages of development but this new loading screen should do a few things:

1. Tell the player the game didn’t crash.
2. Make going from one part of the game to another part a lot more seamless.
3. Give you a status update on your progress in the campaign.

I am pretty excited about adding this in because what I have so far already make the game feel more cohesive and smooth rather than a jarring transition between one part to another (and you know how much I love transitions!).

Here are some designs to the loading screen that we are trying out, which do you think is the best so far? Leave a comment below or message us on Twitter or Facebook!

Shopping in Progress

The longer term area that we have been working on is the shopping experience. We previously mentioned how much of a pain it was before we revamped the design before, but it still is a place that players are the most confused and least engaged. Don’t get us wrong; this redesign is WAY better than the last design, but it still isn’t fulfilling what we want the experience to be. We are figuring out what the best way to present the shop and we are even looking at the three different categories of Cannons, Gadgets, and Augments that are being presented. So there is a lot of work in front of us on that end of the spectrum that we are going to be tackling for the next couple of weeks.

Catching Our Breath

We have been easing up on the pedal bit this past week after this push to look at where we need to go next and also to catch our breath. We worked hard these past weeks and we do need a bit of a rest. One way that we are doing that is we are going to be participating in the Global Game Jam 2016 this weekend! Global Game Jam is an event where you make a game within 48 hours based around a theme (or not, you don’t have to follow it). We are going to be at the GameCraft Jam site here in Minnesota so if you are going we hope to see you there! Working on other projects helps reinvigorate our drive to making Fingeance. If you want more information about what the Global Game Jam is check out their website!

This is actually only our second time participating in the event. You can check out our last game we made What Do Oujia Do Now?

First things first: we did it! As of 11:59pm on January 19th, we have a full-length game on our hands.

Our plan was as ludicrous as it was ambitious. It took us just under 18 months to make the previous two levels, and we challenged ourselves to make the next six in just three weeks. We ended up cutting a few corners (you won’t see new bosses previewed here for a while, for example, because we don’t have finished art), but we now have a fun, full-length Fingeance adventure to explore. If you’re in the Twin Cities area, we’ll be demoing it for the first time ever at Glitch Headquarters this Friday at 5pm. Join us!

In weeks to come, we’ll be talking about the new content, and discuss some upcoming changes to player progression. Today, we’ll be showcasing another new backdrop for your adventuring pleasure. We present…

Dolphin City

At last.

From the moment four friends were dumped, quite literally breathless, out into the far reaches of the coral reef, they’ve been waiting for this moment. Now, they watch nervously as enormous dark structures loom larger and larger in the distance.

The dolphins know why you’ve come, and they’re armed to the teeth to stop you. As you seek vengeance, you’ll find out what the empire is truly capable of.

Finding your Way in the Darkness

We won’t say much about the fish’s intentions here, beyond saying that the dolphins do not like them. In Dolphin City levels, you’ll encounter increasingly desperate waves of an army bent on stopping you at any cost. Destruction will be ubiquitous. Danger, profound.

Let’s be clear about something: dolphins in this universe are malevolent, yes, but their intelligence hasn’t changed. They’re still the smartest things in the ocean. When you fight against dolphins, expect canny creatures with a broad suite of tactics and devastating firepower. They’re highly social, and have a penchant for forcing lackeys to do their bidding. Against a dolphin formation, your greatest ally is maneuverability: often all it takes to crack an invincible army is being at the right place at the right time.

As a case in point, consider the Controller. This is a new type of enemy that hangs back and sends forth drones to terrorize your party. Against Controllers, raw aggression accomplishes little: drones are excellent at protecting their masters. Instead, you’ll need to position strategically. Abandon pummeling the front lines just long enough to sneak a shot at the eggheads giving orders. Word to the wise: the Teleporter is magic here.

Making the Dolphin City

So much of the Dolphin City just clicked. By the time we worked on this biome, we’d discovered a handful of tricks to making enemies fun without being overwhelming:

• Novel enemies reward adaptive thinking. They produce extra challenge without us needing to put more bullets on the screen.
• Aggressive enemies — ones that hunt players down — stress players, but in a good way. They might only fire three bullets, but they’re all headed right for you and you need to move!
• Interacting enemies — those that cover each-others weaknesses — change the battlefield, even in small numbers.

So, we found that smart, ferocious, and social enemies are the most fun to play against. This made us incredibly happy, since that’s Dolphin-kind in a nutshell. Making the levels in this biome went faster than any other, mainly because everything we tried here just worked. We couldn’t be more excited to playtest it this Friday.

Before I sign off, I’ve got to give a tip of the hat to Stephen. He made one of the major bosses here in a day. That’s insane. Compare to the “One Tough Puffer” boss, which I’ve sunk almost forty hours into. I can’t go into what the boss is or does, but I can begrudgingly salute Stephen for making something so fun in such a short amount of time. Bravo, sir!

Can’t wait to see what waits in the Dolphin City? Join us this Friday at 5pm, right here! Can’t make it? Feel free to comment here on our blog, or on our Facebook and Twitter.

Escape Industries has been working hard over the holidays to bring you new content (who needs sleep anyways?). This includes new enemies, bosses, parts and, most importantly, biomes. Without further ado, we bring you the next area of Finn and friends’ journey, the Kelp Forest.

The Kelp Forest sleeps just beyond the Coral Reef, and is one path you can choose to reach the heart of the Dolphin empire. Of these paths, the Kelp Forest has the advantage of being relatively uninhabited by dolphins. This was not always the case, however. Deep within the murk, you’ll pick out traces of long-abandoned dolphin buildings and machinery. Once, this must have been a mighty bastion of dolphin-kind.

So why did they abandon it?

One clue comes from the forest’s current inhabitants. Enemies in the Kelp Forest are teeming, overgrown, and wild. If there was a battle here between nature and technology, nature won. And it was a massacre.

But questions remain. How did things get this way? How were the dolphins involved, and why did they leave? As you explore, keep an eye out for answers and discover the truth.

The Kelp Forest features a plethora of new enemies, most of which are more organic than those of the Coral Reef. Floods of enemies can invade your screen quickly and aggressively. If you enter this biome, have a teammate ready to dish out area-of-effect damage, and someone able to patch up the team once the frenzy subsides.

Visually, this biome distinguishes itself by its lush and overgrown feel. The backgrounds are filled with giant kelp stalks and leaves, which we’ll use to embellish its themes of ancient mystery and wild monstrosity.

With a new biome comes a new song! Check out this preview of the Kelp Forest theme.

Charles McGregor, the composer, had this to say about the Kelp Forest theme: “For the song, I wanted a much more mellow tone throughout the track compared to the Coral Reef. To help give the lush feel to the environment I emphasized the pads chord progression on all of the instruments and made the pads have longer chords that are more drawn out.”

So, how do you feel about the Kelp Forest? You can comment here on our blog, or on our Facebook and Twitter.

Hey folks, long time no see! I’m sure those following us have wondered where we’ve been, as we’ve been fairly silent since our recent demo at Gamer’s Rhapsody. We’re still here, working tirelessly to provide you with the underwater mayhem you crave. Unfortunately, real life can get in the way. Recent events (finals week, weather, etc.) have slowed down production, and article production has suffered. That isn’t to say we don’t have anything for you though; we’ve recently posted a new narrative featuring our newest character Spike.

So, I’m here to tell you about the future of Fingeance, and what to look forward to in the coming months. After the holidays, we’ll be ramping up our rate of creation. This means new parts, enemies, bosses, and characters to look forward to! However, even game developers need a break, so we’ll be taking the next few weeks off from posting articles here on the blog to get some much needed R&R. Articles will be returning January 6th, and will definitely be coming with some exciting new developments regarding Fingeance. We’ll be previewing future plans for the game, as well as display some of the work we’ve got to share.

You can continue to follow this blog for any future news regarding Fingeance. We’ll also be updating our Facebook and Twitter as well, so you can follow us through those too.