Hello,
I finally got around to making a proper My Owl Software website! It can be found here:
www.myowlsoftware.com
As you can see, it's nothing special, but it gives information on the games and includes links to Twitter and this blog, which should do well enough.
PS. Unity is weird. Being a complete game engine, it takes many of the tasks you would normally have to write code for, such as displaying textures, hit detection, physics etc. and implements them as options in a menu. It's also quite 'bitty' in that everything has its own parameter menu and you have to connect the different 'bits' (textures, sprites, sounds, scripts and so on) together or nest them inside each other in order to create a complete program.
This clashes somewhat with the way I usually program, which is to have a single, central list of code that runs everything. You can probably do something like this in Unity if you want, but it doesn't seem to be designed that way.
Oh well. It's easy to forget that XNA was unfamiliar and daunting when I first started messing around with it, and Unity is probably more user-friendly.
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Friday, 10 January 2014
Price cut and other stuff
Hello!
It's been a while since my last post since there hasn't been a lot to report of late; I'm currently getting to grips with Unity (XNA RIP) and will begin programming the new game shortly. It's pretty well planned out now and shouldn't require too much fancy coding, although I'll likely hire a proper artist this time since nice graphics make all the difference.
In the meantime why not buy Apple Jack 1&2 on PC?
What's that?
Because it's too expensive?
Nonsense! As of today you can buy both games on Desura for a paltry £2, half what it was previously! Non UK prices have also been similarly slashed. What are you waiting for?
Click the button below for 160 levels of instant pleasure!
It's been a while since my last post since there hasn't been a lot to report of late; I'm currently getting to grips with Unity (XNA RIP) and will begin programming the new game shortly. It's pretty well planned out now and shouldn't require too much fancy coding, although I'll likely hire a proper artist this time since nice graphics make all the difference.
In the meantime why not buy Apple Jack 1&2 on PC?
What's that?
Because it's too expensive?
Nonsense! As of today you can buy both games on Desura for a paltry £2, half what it was previously! Non UK prices have also been similarly slashed. What are you waiting for?
Click the button below for 160 levels of instant pleasure!
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Apple Jack 1&2 now available on Desura
Hello again,
Just a little message to say that Apple Jack 1&2 is now available on Desura:
Just a little message to say that Apple Jack 1&2 is now available on Desura:
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
Apple Jack 1&2 in Indie Royale bundle.
Hello!
If you mosey on over to the latest Indie Royale bundle situated here:
http://www.indieroyale.com/
you will find none other than the PC versions of Apple Jack 1&2! See!
Needless to say, the more of these bundles that are sold, the more money I get from them, so if you haven't already got them on Xbox now will be a perfect time to pick them up! You even get four other games absolutely free. I actually don't know very much about them but I'll have a guess based on their names:
Thunder Wolves - a game where you play as a pack of wolves caught in a thunder storm.
Stellar Impact - a game set in 2008 where you play as Stellar McCartney whacking Heather Mills over the head with one of her false legs.
DIVO - a rhythm action game starring operatic pop vocal group Il Divo.
100% Orange Juice - a game where you play as the quality control manager for Tropicana as he tests batches of orange juice to ensure that they comply fully with the trades description act.
And all of that for the price of a good-quality frozen pizza!
PS - Apple Jack 1&2 have also been accepted by Desura and should be available there very shortly. If I have promised you a code for the game they will be sent as soon as it is up.
If you mosey on over to the latest Indie Royale bundle situated here:
http://www.indieroyale.com/
you will find none other than the PC versions of Apple Jack 1&2! See!
Needless to say, the more of these bundles that are sold, the more money I get from them, so if you haven't already got them on Xbox now will be a perfect time to pick them up! You even get four other games absolutely free. I actually don't know very much about them but I'll have a guess based on their names:
Thunder Wolves - a game where you play as a pack of wolves caught in a thunder storm.
Stellar Impact - a game set in 2008 where you play as Stellar McCartney whacking Heather Mills over the head with one of her false legs.
DIVO - a rhythm action game starring operatic pop vocal group Il Divo.
100% Orange Juice - a game where you play as the quality control manager for Tropicana as he tests batches of orange juice to ensure that they comply fully with the trades description act.
And all of that for the price of a good-quality frozen pizza!
PS - Apple Jack 1&2 have also been accepted by Desura and should be available there very shortly. If I have promised you a code for the game they will be sent as soon as it is up.
Saturday, 17 August 2013
Apple Jack 1&2 on Steam Greenlight
Hello!
The PC release is now on Steam Greenlight, so please vote for it:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=170273921
Frankly, I've put it up more as a cheap way to advertise the game ahead of its release than in any expectation of it getting greenlit, but I certainly wouldn't complain if it did make it on to Steam proper. You never know, stranger things have happened (like when it rained frogs that time in Brazil).
Anyway, if all goes to plan you should be able to buy it somewhere else sometime in the beginning of September. There may even be more than one way to get hold of it at release...
The PC release is now on Steam Greenlight, so please vote for it:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=170273921
Frankly, I've put it up more as a cheap way to advertise the game ahead of its release than in any expectation of it getting greenlit, but I certainly wouldn't complain if it did make it on to Steam proper. You never know, stranger things have happened (like when it rained frogs that time in Brazil).
Anyway, if all goes to plan you should be able to buy it somewhere else sometime in the beginning of September. There may even be more than one way to get hold of it at release...
Friday, 2 August 2013
Apple Jack 1&2 demo
Hello!
I've stuck Apple Jack 1&2 info on IndieDB and uploaded 8 level demos of both games.Get them here:
http://www.indiedb.com/games/apple-jack-12
All that's left is to email various game distribution services to see if they are interested.
Wish me luck!
PS. I forgot to add the names of all the testers who helped out with the games last year to the 'credits' menu. Rest assured I will fix that for the release and send out download codes for all testers when the full games are up.
I've stuck Apple Jack 1&2 info on IndieDB and uploaded 8 level demos of both games.Get them here:
http://www.indiedb.com/games/apple-jack-12
All that's left is to email various game distribution services to see if they are interested.
Wish me luck!
PS. I forgot to add the names of all the testers who helped out with the games last year to the 'credits' menu. Rest assured I will fix that for the release and send out download codes for all testers when the full games are up.
Friday, 26 July 2013
Apple Jack 1&2 Advert/poster
I did a quick advertisment / poster mock up for the PC releases. Not sure if I'll get much use out of it but I was reminded of the old game ads you used to see in magazines in the 90s, where a piece of original artwork (in this case by Kate Willaert) is superimposed with a number of little screenshots.
I should probably redo it with Jack himself as the central image but then I wouldn't be able to use the 'lumbering' pun, so bugger that.
PS. That release date is only a guess, but hopefully an accurate one.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Apple Jack PC news
Righty then,
Apple Jack 2 on PC is basically finished now, with just a bit of testing to be done on it by the excellent folks at Tofu Testing, who helped with the original XBLIG release.
Once that's done I will need to copy across many of the PC alterations to Apple Jack 1, which I'd LIKE to say won't take very long at all, but given my track record at estimating these things will probably take three years or something.
Then I'll look to stick both games on as many PC distribution services as will have it. Clearly Steam is where the bulk of the audience is but the chances of these two UK-centric 2D platformers getting anywhere on their crappy crowd-sourced Greenlight system are roughly zero. It might still be worth submitting to it for publicity reasons, but otherwise I'll have to look elsewhere.
For several reasons I'm tempted to try and port the games to Ouya too:
i) It's a console (of sorts) and consoles are what I like best
ii) It'll be a nice way of learning Monogame, which looks to be a good successor to XNA
iii) It'll give me an excuse to buy an Ouya, to replace the original Xbox which I still use as an emulation console.
iv) Ouya is fun to say. Oooya! Oooooya!
A 3DS or Vita version of AJ2 would be great too, but I'm probably too smalltime to be allowed on those, even with the great reviews it got.
Apple Jack 2 on PC is basically finished now, with just a bit of testing to be done on it by the excellent folks at Tofu Testing, who helped with the original XBLIG release.
Once that's done I will need to copy across many of the PC alterations to Apple Jack 1, which I'd LIKE to say won't take very long at all, but given my track record at estimating these things will probably take three years or something.
Then I'll look to stick both games on as many PC distribution services as will have it. Clearly Steam is where the bulk of the audience is but the chances of these two UK-centric 2D platformers getting anywhere on their crappy crowd-sourced Greenlight system are roughly zero. It might still be worth submitting to it for publicity reasons, but otherwise I'll have to look elsewhere.
For several reasons I'm tempted to try and port the games to Ouya too:
i) It's a console (of sorts) and consoles are what I like best
ii) It'll be a nice way of learning Monogame, which looks to be a good successor to XNA
iii) It'll give me an excuse to buy an Ouya, to replace the original Xbox which I still use as an emulation console.
iv) Ouya is fun to say. Oooya! Oooooya!
A 3DS or Vita version of AJ2 would be great too, but I'm probably too smalltime to be allowed on those, even with the great reviews it got.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Seven months later...
Hello!
It's been an absurd amount of time since I posted an update on here, during which not a lot of progress has been made on the PC versions of AJ1&2, or indeed much else programming-wise.
This is mostly due to my poor, abused back, which has spent several years propping up my arms and head while I tap away at the computer, with no back rest to support it. Turns out that this is VERY BAD, and the final stretch Apple Jack 2 pretty much knackered it completely, to the point where I had to lay off the computer work until I could make it stop bloody hurting all the time.
Thankfully, after getting a proper chair and doing stretches for several months it's finally back to normal and I can get on with finishing the conversions. No more testing is required at this stage, but thanks to everyone who has continued to offer help in that area.
Once THAT'S done, I can finally start to work on a new game! There are dozens of ideas ready to go, from the simple to the absurdly ambitious. The one I really want to do is a very peculiar shoot'em up, which would involve hooking up with a decent artist (due to the amount of drawing required), and an actor to play the part of a giant space orange. Brian Blessed would be the perfect man for the job, but he's a bit expensive and there's a lot of dialogue.
Other ideas include a stealth game, a one-button platformer, a 3D platformer, a body-hell beat'em up and a puzzle game. I've also got the set-up and plot of Apple Jack 3 nailed down, but I really want to work on something else first.
Progress should be swift on the PC conversions, so keep your scanners peeled for more updates.
P.S. To Futil1ty in the comments section of the previous entry - there isn't really a trick to completing 5-13, you just have to be good at wall jumping. It was actually even harder when the game was first released, but so many people got stuck I had to patch it. Think yourself lucky!
It's been an absurd amount of time since I posted an update on here, during which not a lot of progress has been made on the PC versions of AJ1&2, or indeed much else programming-wise.
This is mostly due to my poor, abused back, which has spent several years propping up my arms and head while I tap away at the computer, with no back rest to support it. Turns out that this is VERY BAD, and the final stretch Apple Jack 2 pretty much knackered it completely, to the point where I had to lay off the computer work until I could make it stop bloody hurting all the time.
Thankfully, after getting a proper chair and doing stretches for several months it's finally back to normal and I can get on with finishing the conversions. No more testing is required at this stage, but thanks to everyone who has continued to offer help in that area.
Once THAT'S done, I can finally start to work on a new game! There are dozens of ideas ready to go, from the simple to the absurdly ambitious. The one I really want to do is a very peculiar shoot'em up, which would involve hooking up with a decent artist (due to the amount of drawing required), and an actor to play the part of a giant space orange. Brian Blessed would be the perfect man for the job, but he's a bit expensive and there's a lot of dialogue.
Other ideas include a stealth game, a one-button platformer, a 3D platformer, a body-hell beat'em up and a puzzle game. I've also got the set-up and plot of Apple Jack 3 nailed down, but I really want to work on something else first.
Progress should be swift on the PC conversions, so keep your scanners peeled for more updates.
P.S. To Futil1ty in the comments section of the previous entry - there isn't really a trick to completing 5-13, you just have to be good at wall jumping. It was actually even harder when the game was first released, but so many people got stuck I had to patch it. Think yourself lucky!
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Hello!
Just a quick post to say that the 10 or so testers that kindly gave up their time to put Apple Jack through it's IBM compatible paces have done an excellent job, and left me with a long list of things to do before I can finally release it.
The first attempt was a bit of a non-starter, since it failed to install properly on all but one computer.
The second version ran properly for the most part but generated the aforementioned list of shame, which I shall work through over the coming weeks.
No more testing is needed now. Thanks to everyone who helped out or offered help once I already had enough helpers; names will be added to the credits menu before release and I'll send the finished games to you once I know better where they are going to end up.
Just a quick post to say that the 10 or so testers that kindly gave up their time to put Apple Jack through it's IBM compatible paces have done an excellent job, and left me with a long list of things to do before I can finally release it.
The first attempt was a bit of a non-starter, since it failed to install properly on all but one computer.
The second version ran properly for the most part but generated the aforementioned list of shame, which I shall work through over the coming weeks.
No more testing is needed now. Thanks to everyone who helped out or offered help once I already had enough helpers; names will be added to the credits menu before release and I'll send the finished games to you once I know better where they are going to end up.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Testers needed!
Hello!
The PC versions of both Apple Jack games are now basically done, and they both run well on MY computer.
But PCs are a varied bunch, and I'd like to see how they work (in fact, if they work at all) on as many different computers as possible. Would you like to help test the two games? Simply seeing if they install and run would be a great help, regardless of whether you actually play them or not.
Also the keyboard and mouse controls need a good test, and I'd like to see how smooth the games are on lower spec systems.
Testers will get the full versions of both games when they are released, and also I'll put their name in the credits section (buried right on the last page, but still).
If you're interested, please email me at the my_owl email address on the top right, and I'll get back to you.
The PC versions of both Apple Jack games are now basically done, and they both run well on MY computer.
But PCs are a varied bunch, and I'd like to see how they work (in fact, if they work at all) on as many different computers as possible. Would you like to help test the two games? Simply seeing if they install and run would be a great help, regardless of whether you actually play them or not.
Also the keyboard and mouse controls need a good test, and I'd like to see how smooth the games are on lower spec systems.
Testers will get the full versions of both games when they are released, and also I'll put their name in the credits section (buried right on the last page, but still).
If you're interested, please email me at the my_owl email address on the top right, and I'll get back to you.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Hello!
Since I last, er, blogged, I've been s-l-o-w-l-y working on converting the two Apple Jack games to PC. Not a difficult task, you might think, given that they were developed on a PC in the first place, but you reckon without three important factors:
1) I was a bit burned out after the year+ working on AJ2 and haven't been motivated to do much programming.
2) While the games runs perfectly with a controller on PC, keyboard & mouse controls are a different story and 'aim mode' has been a pain to implement. The best I could come up with is a system which uses the keyboard to move and the mouse to jump, pick-up and throw. By holding the throw button the aim arrow appears which you can then move around with the mouse. Takes a bit of getting used to but it works.
3) Reprogramming all the menus has been a proper pain in the arse. It's almost as if I didn't plan ahead when I did them initially and made things ten times harder for myself!
That said, most of the work has been done now, and after a bit more polishing up they'll be ready for testing.
Since I last, er, blogged, I've been s-l-o-w-l-y working on converting the two Apple Jack games to PC. Not a difficult task, you might think, given that they were developed on a PC in the first place, but you reckon without three important factors:
1) I was a bit burned out after the year+ working on AJ2 and haven't been motivated to do much programming.
2) While the games runs perfectly with a controller on PC, keyboard & mouse controls are a different story and 'aim mode' has been a pain to implement. The best I could come up with is a system which uses the keyboard to move and the mouse to jump, pick-up and throw. By holding the throw button the aim arrow appears which you can then move around with the mouse. Takes a bit of getting used to but it works.
3) Reprogramming all the menus has been a proper pain in the arse. It's almost as if I didn't plan ahead when I did them initially and made things ten times harder for myself!
That said, most of the work has been done now, and after a bit more polishing up they'll be ready for testing.
Monday, 23 July 2012
Stuck? Youtube has you covered!
I think we can all agree now that Apple Jack 2 is the best game ever made. A Gameranking of 83.33% is proof enough of that.
However, it HAS received criticism from some quarters for its high degree of difficulty, and while I'd never dream of making it any easier (man up, pussies), a chap called hwogrillo on youtube has helpfully decided to play through the whole game level by level, which may help you out a bit if you're stuck.
Here's his video showing him completing level 30 : Stacking, and one of the more problematic puzzles in the game:
Very useful!
If you need help on another level or just want to watch the ending credits (he uploaded them too) his channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/hwogrillo?feature=watch
I assume it's a him.
However, it HAS received criticism from some quarters for its high degree of difficulty, and while I'd never dream of making it any easier (man up, pussies), a chap called hwogrillo on youtube has helpfully decided to play through the whole game level by level, which may help you out a bit if you're stuck.
Here's his video showing him completing level 30 : Stacking, and one of the more problematic puzzles in the game:
Very useful!
If you need help on another level or just want to watch the ending credits (he uploaded them too) his channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/hwogrillo?feature=watch
I assume it's a him.
Monday, 9 July 2012
Review Roundup Vol.2
Apple Jack 2 has had several more reviews since that post a couple of weeks ago, and here they are:
First up, the pleasingly named CHUD.COM do an indie round up every week and their reviewer Robert Ottone was very fond of the game, calling it 'an absolute masterpiece' and placing it alongside Botanicula as one of his favourite indie games of the year. Read it here.
Wesley Copeland at VideoGamesInteractive starts his review with ' Apple Jack 2 is: Zany, funny, beautiful, weird, pulse-racing and most importantly fun!, and continues to rave about the game throughout the rest of the review. And I didn't have to pay him a penny! Read it here
Long term Apple Jack supporters Armless Octopus weren't quite do effusive in their praise, raising concerns about the game's difficulty and hit detection. That said, they still call AJ2 one of the best games in it's genre and award it four stars, which will do me just fine. Read it here.
TheXBLIG had similar concerns about the game's difficulty, although their reviewer Tim Hurley felt that the rewind feature helped in softening it slightly. He then goes on to call the soundtrack 'Coldplay-esque', which I'm not so sure about. Does it sound like Coldplay? I don't immediately want to punch someone when I'm listening to it, so on balance probably not. Read it here.
Lastly, Keza MacDonald gave the game a full, front page review at IGN, calling it 'One of the loveliest things on the Xbox' and awarding it 8/10. Apparently my personality shines through 'in every piece of artwork or puzzle setpiece' so it's almost as if she awarded ME 8/10. I'll take that, frankly! Read it here.
EDIT: Since I posted these reviews, both Eurogamer and Edge have reviewed the game:
Eurogamer loved it, giving it 9/10 and comparing the variety and invention of the levels to Bangai-O, which pleased me greatly (I love Bangai-O). Read it here.
I hope the Edge review ends up in the magazine like the first one, but I can hardly turn my nose up at an online review that calls it 'every bit as inventive and challenging as the original'. 8/10! Read it here
Good eh! A ton of positive reviews overall, including three from major gaming sites. Special thanks to intro artist and professional copywriter Neil W for preparing the press releases.
First up, the pleasingly named CHUD.COM do an indie round up every week and their reviewer Robert Ottone was very fond of the game, calling it 'an absolute masterpiece' and placing it alongside Botanicula as one of his favourite indie games of the year. Read it here.
Wesley Copeland at VideoGamesInteractive starts his review with ' Apple Jack 2 is: Zany, funny, beautiful, weird, pulse-racing and most importantly fun!, and continues to rave about the game throughout the rest of the review. And I didn't have to pay him a penny! Read it here
Long term Apple Jack supporters Armless Octopus weren't quite do effusive in their praise, raising concerns about the game's difficulty and hit detection. That said, they still call AJ2 one of the best games in it's genre and award it four stars, which will do me just fine. Read it here.
TheXBLIG had similar concerns about the game's difficulty, although their reviewer Tim Hurley felt that the rewind feature helped in softening it slightly. He then goes on to call the soundtrack 'Coldplay-esque', which I'm not so sure about. Does it sound like Coldplay? I don't immediately want to punch someone when I'm listening to it, so on balance probably not. Read it here.
Lastly, Keza MacDonald gave the game a full, front page review at IGN, calling it 'One of the loveliest things on the Xbox' and awarding it 8/10. Apparently my personality shines through 'in every piece of artwork or puzzle setpiece' so it's almost as if she awarded ME 8/10. I'll take that, frankly! Read it here.
EDIT: Since I posted these reviews, both Eurogamer and Edge have reviewed the game:
Eurogamer loved it, giving it 9/10 and comparing the variety and invention of the levels to Bangai-O, which pleased me greatly (I love Bangai-O). Read it here.
I hope the Edge review ends up in the magazine like the first one, but I can hardly turn my nose up at an online review that calls it 'every bit as inventive and challenging as the original'. 8/10! Read it here
Good eh! A ton of positive reviews overall, including three from major gaming sites. Special thanks to intro artist and professional copywriter Neil W for preparing the press releases.
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Patch notes
Hello!
Are you enjoying / have you enjoyed Apple Jack 2? It seems to have gone down well, all in all, but one or two issues have cropped up for people playing the game. To that end I've released a patch which makes it more stable and fair to play:
- Fixed crash bug that sometimes occurred when sliding down a hole.
- Adjusted level 2 to work better for people with manky controllers.
- Also adjusted levels 8, 24, 50 & 51 for various reasons..
- Made the saw blade hit-circle more forgiving.
- Stopped the slight stuttering just before a new song plays.
- Added coin, combo and death stats to the pause menu.
- Made spikes speed up during rewind (purely cosmetic).
- Fixed bug that zoomed in to intro art on second viewing.
Nothing earth shattering, but the crash bug especially was annoying. You'll be prompted to download the patch when you next play the game and all your old save data will still work fine. Enjoy!
Are you enjoying / have you enjoyed Apple Jack 2? It seems to have gone down well, all in all, but one or two issues have cropped up for people playing the game. To that end I've released a patch which makes it more stable and fair to play:
- Fixed crash bug that sometimes occurred when sliding down a hole.
- Adjusted level 2 to work better for people with manky controllers.
- Also adjusted levels 8, 24, 50 & 51 for various reasons..
- Made the saw blade hit-circle more forgiving.
- Stopped the slight stuttering just before a new song plays.
- Added coin, combo and death stats to the pause menu.
- Made spikes speed up during rewind (purely cosmetic).
- Fixed bug that zoomed in to intro art on second viewing.
Nothing earth shattering, but the crash bug especially was annoying. You'll be prompted to download the patch when you next play the game and all your old save data will still work fine. Enjoy!
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Apple Jack 2 soundtrack available now!
As excellent and life-affirming as Apple Jack 2 is, you can't play it all the time.
Sometimes you need to go to the toilet.
Sometimes you need to go to work.
Sometimes you have to heave your body upstairs to have laboured, joyless sex with your boyfriend / girlfriend / wife / husband.
None of these things will ever be as good as playing Apple Jack 2, clearly. But with the new Apple Jack 2 soundtrack album, courtesy of This Eden, you can enjoy the acclaimed music of the game at any time, day or night!
What's more, you only have to pay what you think it's worth! Get it here:
http://thiseden.bandcamp.com/album/apple-jack-2-ost
They also have a self-titled proper album available, so buy that too while you're at it.
Sometimes you need to go to the toilet.
Sometimes you need to go to work.
Sometimes you have to heave your body upstairs to have laboured, joyless sex with your boyfriend / girlfriend / wife / husband.
None of these things will ever be as good as playing Apple Jack 2, clearly. But with the new Apple Jack 2 soundtrack album, courtesy of This Eden, you can enjoy the acclaimed music of the game at any time, day or night!
What's more, you only have to pay what you think it's worth! Get it here:
http://thiseden.bandcamp.com/album/apple-jack-2-ost
They also have a self-titled proper album available, so buy that too while you're at it.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Apple Jack 2 responses
Hello!
I've had lots of positive (and one negative) reaction to the game so far, so I thought I'd use this post drop a few links on yo' asses.
First, Indiegames.com found the intro very funny and used words such as 'interesting' and 'creative' to describe the game itself. It should probably be pointed out that they only played the demo though, the cheap sods. Read it here
Adam Pettifer writes for a group of websites under the Your Local Guardian banner, and liked it a great deal, saying "I don’t remember enjoying any 2D platformer quite this much, not Sonic 1 or 2, not Super Mario World on the SNES, nothing.". Slightly over the top possibly, but it's great to read something like that! Read it here
Indie Gamer Chick wasn't a fan of Apple Jack 1, so I wasn't expecting a great deal of gushing praise from her this time around. And so it proved to be. She preferred it to the first game, but ultimately she doesn't much like difficult platform games, and didn't think the adddition of a rewind mechanic helped enough to ease the pain. Read it here
Critical Hit start their review with a disclaimer stating that one of their staff, Kate Willaert, did the cover art for the game (which is true - see a few posts back). This doesn't take the gloss off of a very positive review though, which praises the graphics, the music and the level design, and awards a score of 20/20 Read it here
Will Porter at Hookshotinc said that the game 'stapled a smile onto the front-side of my fizzog', which is as good a place as any for it, I suppose. 'Highly, highly recommended', he goes on to say, and uses the term 'pluck-n-chuck' to describe the gameplay, which is too good not to steal and claim as my own. Read it here
I think there was another one but I can't find it at the moment.
There should be some more reviews coming soon if my inbox is to be believed, but in the meantime you could always take a look at the official Apple Jack 2 threads at Neogaf and Rllmuk. They were both started by the excellent Matt, who goes by the name of toythatkills.
I'll be getting a patch ready for the game soon, and many of the bugs and issues mentioned in the above threads will be addressed. A couple of crash bugs in particular are high on my list.
Finally, Gamers Dissent did this playthrough of the first few levels, complete with commentary, which I enjoyed greatly:
I've had lots of positive (and one negative) reaction to the game so far, so I thought I'd use this post drop a few links on yo' asses.
First, Indiegames.com found the intro very funny and used words such as 'interesting' and 'creative' to describe the game itself. It should probably be pointed out that they only played the demo though, the cheap sods. Read it here
Adam Pettifer writes for a group of websites under the Your Local Guardian banner, and liked it a great deal, saying "I don’t remember enjoying any 2D platformer quite this much, not Sonic 1 or 2, not Super Mario World on the SNES, nothing.". Slightly over the top possibly, but it's great to read something like that! Read it here
Indie Gamer Chick wasn't a fan of Apple Jack 1, so I wasn't expecting a great deal of gushing praise from her this time around. And so it proved to be. She preferred it to the first game, but ultimately she doesn't much like difficult platform games, and didn't think the adddition of a rewind mechanic helped enough to ease the pain. Read it here
Critical Hit start their review with a disclaimer stating that one of their staff, Kate Willaert, did the cover art for the game (which is true - see a few posts back). This doesn't take the gloss off of a very positive review though, which praises the graphics, the music and the level design, and awards a score of 20/20 Read it here
Will Porter at Hookshotinc said that the game 'stapled a smile onto the front-side of my fizzog', which is as good a place as any for it, I suppose. 'Highly, highly recommended', he goes on to say, and uses the term 'pluck-n-chuck' to describe the gameplay, which is too good not to steal and claim as my own. Read it here
I think there was another one but I can't find it at the moment.
There should be some more reviews coming soon if my inbox is to be believed, but in the meantime you could always take a look at the official Apple Jack 2 threads at Neogaf and Rllmuk. They were both started by the excellent Matt, who goes by the name of toythatkills.
I'll be getting a patch ready for the game soon, and many of the bugs and issues mentioned in the above threads will be addressed. A couple of crash bugs in particular are high on my list.
Finally, Gamers Dissent did this playthrough of the first few levels, complete with commentary, which I enjoyed greatly:
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Apple Jack 2 is out!
Get it here: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Apple-Jack-2/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550b4d
..And once you've given it a go, don't forget to give it an honest rating on the dashboard!
..And once you've given it a go, don't forget to give it an honest rating on the dashboard!
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Apple Jack 2 released June 14th!
Nine months late but entirely on budget (£0.00), Apple Jack 2 will be released next thursday, the 14th of June...
...For a paltry 80 MICROSOFT POINTS!
That's cheaper than a big bag of crisps, even before you factor in the expense of driving to the shop to pick them up. My Owl Software's commitment to the environment means that Apple Jack 2 will be delivered digitally, direct to your Xbox, absolutely free of charge!
Anyway, does this bag of crisps contain OVER 60 LEVELS of deep-fried platform-puzzle mayhem, with a seasoning of giant monsters, huge fruit-multiplying combos and head scrambling puzzles?
No. It just contains some crisps.
To conclude: you'd have to be an idiot NOT to buy Apple Jack 2 next thursday, from the Xbox Indie games channel!
Thankyou.
PS. If I promised you a download code for the game, I'll email them off once I get them, probably on thursday.
...For a paltry 80 MICROSOFT POINTS!
That's cheaper than a big bag of crisps, even before you factor in the expense of driving to the shop to pick them up. My Owl Software's commitment to the environment means that Apple Jack 2 will be delivered digitally, direct to your Xbox, absolutely free of charge!
Anyway, does this bag of crisps contain OVER 60 LEVELS of deep-fried platform-puzzle mayhem, with a seasoning of giant monsters, huge fruit-multiplying combos and head scrambling puzzles?
No. It just contains some crisps.
To conclude: you'd have to be an idiot NOT to buy Apple Jack 2 next thursday, from the Xbox Indie games channel!
Thankyou.
PS. If I promised you a download code for the game, I'll email them off once I get them, probably on thursday.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
We apologise for the delay...
Thanks to a change I made right before submitting the Apple Jack 2, a bug was found in the game and I had to pull it from peer review early. Since the rules state that you have to wait a week before resubmitting a game, it'll be saturday before I can put it back up. It'll then take several days or longer to (hopefully) pass.
Sigh.
Oh well, at least I've used this extra time to make a few improvements to the game, namely:
-The daytime sky is now a slightly nicer blue.
-The shadow on Jack's head moves a bit when he runs.
-Songs 2 and 3 are swapped around.
-A barely noticable graphical glitch when Jack runs off of a moving block has been fixed.
Exciting stuff, I'm sure you'll agree.
In other news, the Dream Build Play contest will soon be ready for entrants to upload their games. This is the first one that's come around at the right time for me to take part, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well AJ2 does. Hopefully the time I've spent polishing it will count in its favour.
Sigh.
Oh well, at least I've used this extra time to make a few improvements to the game, namely:
-The daytime sky is now a slightly nicer blue.
-The shadow on Jack's head moves a bit when he runs.
-Songs 2 and 3 are swapped around.
-A barely noticable graphical glitch when Jack runs off of a moving block has been fixed.
Exciting stuff, I'm sure you'll agree.
In other news, the Dream Build Play contest will soon be ready for entrants to upload their games. This is the first one that's come around at the right time for me to take part, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well AJ2 does. Hopefully the time I've spent polishing it will count in its favour.
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