The Lords Are Back in Town

Hey everyone, 

It probably comes as no surprise that these first few months of development have been focused on laying the groundwork necessary to, you know, make the game. There’s still some work to be done in that regard, but we’ve also reached a point where we can begin to allocate more of our focus towards the very important task of making the art! Because of this, we’re hoping to share more and more art and assets from the game moving forward. To kick off that initiative, we want to show you the final boss of Spookyland. Feast your eyes: 

These owls are not what you’d call honorable. And to make matters worse, their nocturnal nature makes it so that all court activities must take place in the dead of night. I’m really trying to avoid making a Night Court joke here. 

I should probably also mention that these owls are currently in what you’d call a “t-pose”, meaning they won’t have their arms awkwardly raised like that when you encounter them in the game. Rather, they'll probably be doing something menacing like banging their gavel or hurling their wigs at you.

Let us know what you think of these f'owl beasts!

- Mike

Decisions, Decisions...

Hello everyone!  The Mounty has doth returned to striketh … cooperation, hope, and love in all your hearts.  

In case your brain muscle is still whirling from my last post, let me refresh your memory on who I am: I am a programmer.  I write code, make tech decisions, and try not to yell uncontrollably at too many people.  

Over the past few years the industry has undergone some massive changes. No, I’m not talking about underwear, I’m talking about accessibility of game creation.  In years past, studios either had to license an established game engine for big buckaroos, or, as was more often the case, create their own engine and continually evolve it as projects changed.  This latter option is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult.

So, we entered Runner3 facing a tough decision: do we use a trusted internal engine built on our own blood, sweat, and tears, or do we write a new one?  Or, and this is the amazing part, do we use one of these new engines that are capable of amazing things right out of the box?  

Since I know the suspense is killing you, I’ll just come right out and say it: we chose option 3 and went with Unity.  Almost anyone can use it to create some sort of game experience, but in the hands of lightly seasoned game developer steaks such as ourselves, the upsides are almost too many to count.  In just a few short months we have almost an entire world built, amazing new gameplay being introduced, an entire cast of characters created from scratch, and art that will cause your eyeball spheres to bulge ever-so-slightly more out of your cranium.  

We are so excited to show you what this new game is capable of.  In the meantime, have any of you spent time learning what these game engines can offer?  If so, what sorts of projects have you done?  Lastly, are you excited to think of us as seasoned steaks?  

- Mike (Roska)

Introducing Sadbot

Hey everyone! As those of you who subscribe to Nintendo Force may have heard, we’ve announced a new playable character! 

Feast your eyes on Sadbot: 

Sadbot is a new character, and I think it’s pretty obvious where it got its name from.* There’s plenty to be said about this mysterious creature, but we think we’ll wait until closer to the game's release before delving into that.

In the meantime, I would like to reiterate that Runner3 will feature faces both old and new. If you fear change, stay tuned! We’ll be talking more about some familiar faces in the near future…

*If you were made up of empty cans and other scraps, you’d be sad, too. 

End-of-Year Tidings for YOU

Get your bodies ready, because we’re about to zap some holiday wishes directly into your faces at the end of this trying year.

No matter who you are, what you believe in, what gender you identify as, or how you voted, we believe that there’s common ground with room enough for all of us to stand upon. 

That common ground is a passion for having fun. 

We make games because we understand and enjoy the mammalian need for amusement and joy. What a wonderful thing to be able to peddle and make your living doing. At our offices, we try to have fun as we make fun. 

Fun for you to enjoy. 

In fact, if you recall, in an earlier post, we shared one of our pillars of development with you. Here it is, in case you need your memory refreshed:

"Runner3 needs to be a joyous experience in every moment--both in the game, and during its creation.”

Our holiday wish to you is that you can carry the core of that pillar into your 2017. If all of us bring a little joy with us wherever we go, the world will be a richer place. 

Recently, we had the rare opportunity to have our whole team together in the same place; sort of for the holidays, but also to help finish off a milestone. 

Here’re some shots of the team that will soon bring you an utterly fantastic, silly, ridiculous, beautiful, and fun game. 

Runner3 will be riding the smiles of the above lovely individuals directly into your funglands next year.

See you on the flippy-poo-poo…

-Alex and Mike

You'd be hard-pressed to find anything festive about this creepy chair

The holiday season is well underway, which means it's probably time for us to share something fun and festive with you! Unfortunately, when I asked around, I was told we didn't have anything with sugar plums, mistletoe, reindeer, or even a tin filled with stale popcorn. This is why I've decided to post this creepy chair instead:

There’s probably something festive about this image, but I just can’t see what. Do you have any ideas? Better yet, do you have any guesses as to what this image says about Spookyland? Let us know!

Oh, and happy holidays!