MUDBIRD's february progress!

I built and released a demo (for the first time!), hired a composer and someone to help with marketing, and added a few cool things!

the demo (feb 1st to 9th)

was really good! it was my first ever demo release of a non-jam project, which was tough. I crunched a lot before, but having a strict deadline made me more successful I think. I learned that the puzzle-y aspects of the game are the most fun part, and I also had to publish a next-day build to fix some keybinds. 1600 people viewed it, and almost 600 people played the demo! that's a lot of people!

short vacation (feb 12th to 19th)

in February, I made a lot of progress. after some serious work for the demo, I took a break from the 12th to the 19th. Over this time I found the extremely talented Cameron Ginex, (you might know him from his work composing the soundtrack for Arctic Eggs. I also hired Lewis, our social media manager- you can find him posting on our new tiktok, youtube, and instagram! I spent two weeks wrangling my way through the Steam partner program, but luckily I am on the other side of that, and the steam page will be up soon!

development (feb 20th to 28th)

once i got home, I started work on refactoring some of the code, like for the camera and the ui. They worked enough for the demo but not enough for a whole game so i changed them up a lot. I also zoomed in the entire game. i think it was 480x480 before but now it's 340x200. i think this adds a lot to the sense of adventure within the game, i'm really happy with the change.

After that, i started adding some new content.  This included ferns and mushrooms and dandelions, three decorative plants. i also ma mushrooms are edible alongside fish and cooked fish with the new hunger system. I experimented with a few hunger icons but I ultimately settled on tomatoes. I thought they fit the game best. 

I added a lot of ambient effects, like footprints, waves in the ocean, and a sunset (the sunset still needs some polishing)

I also added a scythe, for cutting down ferns and vines, as well as an oar, for rowing the new canoe. I'm excited about these new tools and especially the canoe, I think it paves the way for a lot of new things. just the other day (technically March but i'll tell you anyways) I added some sparrows, which just add some life and fly away when you get too close.

I also added a secret area! but i can't tell you about it, because then it wouldn't be a secret.

future plans

In March, you can expect to see the MUDBIRD Steam Page released (keep your eye out and tell your friends!) I'm expecting to add the first bits of music, after testing some more demos out with Cam. In terms of game additions, i'm going to add some new islands, npcs to talk to, some cool rare events, a few more secrets, and a bunch more items and tools and plants.  

that's all i got for you today! if you'd like to see more frequent progress, find us @mudbirdgame on all socials!

best,

samantha