Now that 2022 is over, it's a good time to update everyone on the status of Markerboard Jungle Frogs! It has now been 9 months since we launched the game under Steam's Early Access program, and we've made a great deal of progress towards our goals for this game.
Our frog main character can dash jump, high jump, swim, crawl slowly, call out with a croak, and can even catch food with a long-ranged tongue attack! His many new skills will help him move through coming game levels in future updates.
The educational side has more content as well. As you play the game you learn about what frogs can do and what they encounter in the natural world. Scrolling "frog facts" and "tadpole facts" trivia have also been added. Another special feature is an area to learn about the Earth and changing seasons, by playing with a fully functional Earth globe, with dozens of settings to try.
And our level design has new game mechanics added in 2022. We have moving platforms, "the floor is lava" hazards to avoid, insects to eat scattered around the board, and flags that raise as you capture checkpoints. And beginning with the Western USA map (now available in the current version), there are world maps that act as places to explore, and to launch levels to play.
And we're excited for what's in store this year in 2023! First up in development is to add more levels, beyond our current "Froggy Boot Camp" tutorial levels. So look our for these to arrive soon starting in the next update.
After this we'll be adding dangerous enemies, more types of food to hunt and eat, and a progression system that should keep the story moving forward at a good pace as you play. And later in 2023 we'll be exploring regions beyond the Western USA, to eventually tour the globe and see what frogs are like in different parts of the world.
Happy New Year 2023!
December 1st Update
v1.00.12.2022.12.01a
New build bringing the following changes:
Long-ranged tongue attack!
Moving river logs to hop across
Capture the waving flags to progress
New physics for movement. Be careful near cliffs!
Players can be masculine or feminine (in audio settings)
Camera zoom has a larger range
New map designs to prepare for future features
September 17th Update
v1.00.09.2022.09.17c
New build bringing the following changes:
Game now begins with the tadpole stage
New frog tutorial levels
New voice lines and cutscene animations
Score screens added after levels
And a preview of frogs in development!
September 6th Update
v1.00.09.2022.09.06b
First build after summer break, bringing the following changes:
Art direction rework
New objectives (rescue friends)
New board layouts for Tutorial 01 and 02
Camera zoom
Prepartions for more levels and features
Many more additions are on the way soon!
May 22nd beta testing update
v1.00.09.2022.05.22b
A beta build is now available with fixes for the following bugs:
Very slow level loading bars on some computers
Camera rotation was too slow on some computers
Camera movement was too slow on some computers
Save games were sometimes overwriting the wrong player when replaying the polliwog tutorial
Steam Deck optimizations
To play a Beta build:
Find Markerboard Jungle: Frogs in your list of games on the left side
Right click the game name
Select Properties at the bottom of the list
Select the BETAS tab on the right side
Choose a build to test from the dropdown list
The game should now update to your selected Beta Test
This beta is only testing these bug fixes. Content additions to the gameplay will be featured in our next official live build!
May 1st Update
v1.00.09.2022.05.01a
This update brings the following changes:
Dash jump vs. High jump
Lots of 2D marker animations
Full XBOX controller support
Marker trails option
3D fire and smoke
3D outlines when hidden
Improved tutorial levels
120+ bug fixes
Tadpoles and Trivia Update
v1.00.09.2022.03.31a v1.00.09.2022.04.07a
These two updates bring the following changes:
Polliwog mode begins
Frog Facts and Tadpole Trivia
Rewind time (Polliwog intro)
Story dialogue changes
Tutorial improvements
More bug repairs
News about our next update
In our next update:
A polliwog
Transmogs into a frog
Frog facts
Tutorial improvements
More bug repairs
The next version of Markerboard Jungle: Frogs will add our #1 most requested feature, the Polliwog!
This update will be available for download before the end of March, with much more content on the way.
A special Thank You to our Early Access players for your continued interest and support!
