New Feature Sneak Peek!

As you may or may not know, we've been working on a new feature for Ultimate Chicken Horse here at Clever Endeavour Games. This is a feature that people have been asking for for a while, and we think that it might help bring the community engagement to the next level.

As you can see in the gif above, we show a player placing several blocks at once. But what does this all mean??? Well, it means that we're working on a free play mode where you can build as much as you'd like, play around, attach stuff, blow stuff up, and generally make the wacky creations you've always dreamed of making. 

In free play, one or more players can move between running and placing at their own pace, without game rules or scores or restrictions. We've already seen people make some crazy stuff (like the pic below, from Kenshi9000) even though the tools were really not there for it... we're hoping that these new tools will bring the game to a point where it encourages this creativity and allows friends to enjoy the full ultimateness of the creation side of Ultimate Chicken Horse. 

The Importance of Cash Flow & Projections in Games

You don't have to be an accountant to look at your cash flow. In fact, you don't even need to have an accountant to look at your cash flow. The business / financing / accounting side of things is an aspect that many indie game development studios struggle with. This isn't surprising, as usually these teams don't have a person dedicated to this kind of stuff. 

But I wanted to discuss cash flow today in conjunction with projections. I'm not a magician, and I can't tell you how much your game, our game, or any game will sell. What I can say, however, especially now that our game has launched, is about how many months we can survive if a) sales stopped today, if b) sales go worse than expected, or if c) sales go well. This is important! This is very important.

Someone on your team, even if you don't have a "business guy", is going to have to know when to start approaching publishers for funding your next game, when to look for investors or government funds, or when to stop working on a feature of a game that "just hasn't taken off yet but it will soon... soon!". Without a crystal ball, you should still know how much money you're spending per month, how much you'll need to be spending in 6 months, and how much revenue you're going to be earning to offset that cost.

If you're working on a passion project, a hobby project, etc. and not expecting to make a business out of it, that's one thing. But, if you're looking to build a sustainable business with revenue and employees, you're going to need to be able to make tough decisions, project-altering decisions even, based on financial constrains (or, let's hope, newfound financial liberties $$$). 

Beyond the balance sheet and the profit / loss report, you should really have a cash flow document. We've only done a proper one recently, and we're a bit late, but it helps us clarify how much time we have to work on features and prepare for the future. Even if it's not 100% set in stone... projections are often way off, but that's okay! It's better to have it and be way off than not to have it at all, because the internet exists and you can now alter documents without having to put them on punch-cards.

Online is out of Beta, Twitch Votes and New Content!

Hi UCHers! This week's update comes in the form of a video, which will help describe all of the new things we've tweaked and added to Ultimate Chicken Horse. To make sure you have the newest stuff, make sure you Verify your Game Cache the next time you play. Take a look at the new things:

Grab the 4-pack of UCH (on sale until September 26th!) and play online with friends or join the vibrant community; there are always several matches available online for you to join, and the new updated lobby shows you the best matches possible based on skill, connection quality, and other factors.

We've also added Twitch integration, where Twitch streamers can have their audience vote on which blocks will appear in the Party Box. Once the chosen platform is placed, the names of the people who voted will pop out of it.

Next up is a new level, the Pier!

This level features a giant wave that the players need to run away from... don't get caught underneath! The level makes for an interesting dynamic when players have to place obstacles on the path with the added pressure of constantly needing to move forward quickly.

Our newest block added to the game is a punching plant which gets angry when you come near it, then punches out in a fit of flowery rage a second later. If you get caught in its range, you may regret it.

We're pretty excited to have these updates out, and we're still working hard on the game. Next up is a big new feature, please follow us on your favourite social media site to stay informed!

What are you most excited about? What would you like to see next? Be sure to Tweet at us and let us know :) We're going to start working on Sandbox mode shortly, which we'll talk more about in future updates. Stay posted!

For the full list of changes in this newest update, you can see the patch notes here.