Mega Video Update!

This week we've got a blog in the form of a super mega video with a bunch of updates. If you've been following the blog closely, you've seen some of the stuff already, but if not, this video will catch you up on everything you may have missed since our Kickstarter campaign in May 2015. 

So that's what we've been working on for the past little while, and we're still planning to launch at the end of February / beginning of March. Things are going slower than we anticipated, especially since online multiplayer is much longer than expected, but we're still hoping to get everything done on time. 

So what's left to do to transform this game into the final, polished product we want to see? Here's what's on the menu:

• Make online multiplayer fully functional
• Make a few more blocks
• Finish 3 more levels
• Finish the lobby and lobby expansion system, which expands as you unlock new levels and characters
• Localize the game (translating into 13 languages)
• Set up the Steam back-end for achievements
• Set up a saving system that recognizes what you've unlocked or not
• Finish all character outfits (much longer than you might think!)
• Rework the menus so it's easy to access the online stuff or the local games
• Fix up some of the UI (user interface) stuff that has been giving us issues
• Test, test, and test again. Then, test another time or two.

Game development isn't always as straightforward as one might think, there's a lot that can and does go wrong, and we need to make sure that you'll have the best experience possible playing the game when it's out. 

Again, thanks for your continued support! Put the game on your Steam Wishlist if you haven't already, or to be notified when the game comes out, put your email below!

+1 Artist! Welcoming Louis Sciannamblo

Quick development update from the team here at Clever Endeavour; we've been working to get Ultimate Chicken Horse done and decided it was time we had a little help. We've hired Louis Sciannamblo (of SpaceBro Justice Rocket fame) for the month of January to help us with some art.

As you can see, he's hard at work and focused :)

He's going to be helping us with character customization outfits, with some level art, and potentially with some promotional material for the game. Seeing as he's a great artist, we're also trying to pick his brain for ideas regarding the game trailer, art style, marketing, etc.

Here's a WIP (work in progress) of the Chameleon with its cape, jumping and landing. These animations are really not simple, as every frame of animation is done by hand. This ends up being about 90 frames per character... and for each outfit, the piece needs to be drawn by hand... 90 times. If we plan seven characters with two pieces each, that makes 1,260 frames of animation.

Beyond that, he'll be helping out with the level backgrounds; right now there are not many elements in the backgrounds of levels, but if we can add some subtle things in the background it might help the feel and overall look of the game. 

I have no doubt that his work will be impeccable, as it always has been! See below for an awesome digital painting Louis did (for his own game, Poltergus):

That's all we've got for this week, there will be a nice video update coming soon that will give you some detail about how far we've come in the last few months. Stay tuned! 

Clever Endeavour's New Year Resolutions

We're entering the home stretch, the crunch time, the stress-inducing last month-and-a-half of production and we've got a lot to get done. Every day the game is becoming more complete, and every day we're closer to the product we want to deliver when we launch mid-to-late February.

We decided for this blog entry to write our New Year's resolutions as a company.

1. Finish Ultimate Chicken Horse, launch it, get as many people as possible to play it.

2. Be open to every opportunity that comes our way.

3. Establish the Clever Endeavour brand beyond Ultimate Chicken Horse.

4. Expand!  (Slightly)

5. Be responsible and plan for the future!

6. Make the #UltimateChickenHorse hashtag trend worldwide!

7. Prototype and find funding for our next project.

As you may or may not know, our team works in two week sprints (à la Agile Management). This sprint (which started Monday) will involve some localization work, level creation, character outfit creation, and hopefully finishing up online multiplayer.

Not too much to update just yet as we were off on vacation for a couple of weeks, but we're working hard!