Hello everyone. Let's just cut to the chase, no sad story or excuses. Ever since I released this game, I haven't done not one ounce of game development. Life just led me down a different path for various reasons. That being said, there has always been this lingering state of discontent with the only game I ever commercially released. That game of course is this one.
I'm discontent for many reasons, but let me point out a few major hitters.
I did not entirely capture what I envisioned. There was more to the story, there were areas I wanted to explore. For example, the broken door in the cave level. That was going to be a secret side story involving Inferno's origin. Instead, I took the lazy way out, and used some bad humor to circumvent that laziness.
The controls in the game suck horribly. This was unintended, I guess I just grew so used to them, and just didn't have enough play testers to tell me otherwise, that they seemed fine originally. Another bad move as I recently played the game for the first time in years and my goodness, they are complete crap.
The character sprites. Alright, I believed they sufficed at the time, but as time went on, I grew to hate the simplicity. I spent so much time on the world art, that I totally screwed the most important part, the characters. Worst part to me? I used the same sprite for all the characters, and just recolored them for individuality! Ugh!
The story. Not so much the actual story, but the way I told it. There was entirely too much text, too much filler for the lack of gameplay. There was no way to advance the text. Some of the text was over the top, corny, and as one person actually reviewed ... "But not even 5 minutes into the gameplay the protagonist made a gratuitously sexist joke. I bought this for my child to play." Shame on me really, this was intended to be a light hearted game that kids could play without that sort of thing.
The pricing. You know, believe it or not, this game took me quite a while to make. For all the copies I have sold, my income from it equates to approximately $3.75 an hour for the time invested. I started selling this game at $4.99. The majority of the sales were at that price and then I slowly started lowering it. It now resides at $1.99. That is where it should have been, and will remain forever. I bet you're thinking I was going to say it should have been higher. No, I basically feel that $1.99 is a reasonable price for this type of game. In all honesty, I'd prefer more people got to play it, then more dollars in my pocket. So why not free then? Well come on now, we all aim to make a few dollars!
So maybe you're thinking ... that's great and all, but why all this, why now? Some might just continue on and leave the game for what it is. However, for all these years, every time I see the moon in real life, I think about this game. It leaves me speechless that I basically walked away without making the game exactly as I intended. It has been well received as is to be honest, but even so, could I not do more, or at least attempt to? You know, these days, too many developers give up on their projects in favor of newer ideas etc. I can't stand that, and yet here I am, a hypocrite.
Let's wrap this up. I've already been updating some of the images here on Steam to account for the new library etc. I have also started the process of porting the game from the GameMaker 1.4 engine to the new GameMaker 2.3 engine. It's been daunting so far, but once I get all the kinks worked out, this game will get a revamp. I can't state a time frame, but I promise this, it will happen. New concepts, new art, new gameplay, less text, and even more music will be coming. I want to make this game as I originally envisioned.
Once I'm ready, I will post more updates, media, etc. Thank you truly wonderful and dedicated players. Thank you for the great reviews, thank you for the bad reviews honestly. They have help me isolate and solidify key areas to work on. I hope I don't let you all down while attempting to fix my very own let downs! Love you guys!
Direct Discount
Hello gamers. Today I have added the Humble Indie Bundle widget to the Moonlight page on my website. This means you can purchase a key for Moonlight on Steam, directly from me. What’s the benefit? How about a permanent discount? The Steam version is $2.99, but you can buy that same version for $2.25 on my site. So that’s just about a 25% discount.
I know it's not much, but I'm trying my best to get the game into more hands. Thank you so much for your support, and time!
Interesting and Intentional Bugs, and Update 1.0.4 Live!
Moonlight update 1.0.4 is live. This update is rather small as it mainly addresses a few bugs and tweaks. It does however have two new music tracks within the jukebox on the main menu, in preparation for something special. So before I get to this update's highlights, let's discuss ... interesting and intentional bugs.
I've made it no secret ... that Moonlight has secrets. There are goofy little signs that don't seem to make sense at first, there are doors that are locked, there is a cryptic message from an alien, and there is even a sign that clearly states the following ...
"The code for this door, is broke you see."
"I meant to fix it, but I really lacked sleep."
"I typed a two, it should have been a three."
"I’m just gonna leave it, please forgive me."
Now, since most of you following the game have most likely completed it, then you would know that this sign was written by the Master. It’s an intentional bug, and the door is indeed broken ... for now! As I was trying to explain above, I never had intentions to leave Moonlight as it is, I put all sorts of hidden stuff in the game. Some players have caught on to some of it, but most of it has probably been given the blind eye of confusion. There is also a character of certain interest and that is Inferno. I've received plenty of emails, and or questions about him. Why is he there, why does he not appear at the end of the game, why is he "The Lumpo of Fire"?
There will be an update to Moonlight within the future, expanding a bit on Inferno. There are some completely new areas, new Lumpos, and even some new mechanics to the game. Now Inferno's story will not be out in the open for everyone. As a matter of fact, this content will be for those players who really want more, and are not afraid to experiment. Most players will complete Moonlight as it is, and I'm ok with that. I mentioned a specific sign above, and it will be the key to this new adventure. So I hope I intrigued you a bit. You're going to want to be looking for update 1.1.0. It's a ways off since it adds quite a bit to the game, but it will be coming. Here is a very early preview, the art is very subject to change, as it's just the rough concept.
Back to this current update! The main highlights of update 1.0.4 are as follows.
The default vertex mode has been changed to normal due to graphical glitches on integrated video cards.
A bug was fixed where you could still pick up nuts for Buko after beginning Lanuno’s quest.
The jukebox now displays the correct input information.
Two new music tracks have been added to the jukebox in preparation for … something.
It's Official
Hey folks! After some deliberation, and some perusing through various reviews, and a couple other sources, I've dropped the price of Moonlight to $2.99. Let's discuss why.
The price drop makes the game more accessible to those that want it on Steam, and that is the main reason I chose to do it. However, the game is also short. I understand if a few folks get pissed off about it, especially those that may have recently purchased the game at $4.99. I'm fully responsible, fire away.
The original price did have intent though. There was a plan to do some sort of expansion within the current game. If you questioned those locked doors, or deciphered the Alien's text, then you may have had suspicions.
Now though, it's time for me to really question what I want to do next. Thank you all so much, for your support, and patience! I'm still very new to this whole Steam game :)
This Costs Too Much Money!
Hello everyone! Maybe you want Moonlight, but feel $4.99 is too much! Maybe you feel that the game should be $1.99? Afterall, how dare I charge that much for an hour or so of entertainment, only the movie business can do that!
Yeah, I've been reading a few negative things that basically all state the same thing which is ... MonkeyMaw, all your hours of work to make this game, is simply not worth that kind of money. Maybe they're right, but I've paid far more, for far less.
My real problem isn't people complaining about the price however. It's more about some of this negativity preventing people from playing the game. So if you want the game, but have read similar things and are holding off, I'd like to help a bit. I just want people to play the game. So while they last, here are some keys. Please, out of respect for what I'm trying to do here, only take one. Thank you, and you all have a wonderful day ːwizupoː ːaneyoː ːbukoː
Moonlight update 1.0.3 is live. You may now collect trading cards, craft badges, and earn rewards! The main highlights of update 1.0.3 are as follows.
There is a new video setting to change the vertex mode that the game uses. This could help with compatibility on some older systems etc.
After profiling the game code, I found numerous problems. Mainly performance issues in regards to the game's logic. The performance of each cycle, has actually been increased by over 30%. I believe this was the source of the "stuttering every few seconds" for some. However, a good chunk of the game's core logic has been altered. This could bring other bugs. I have tested as best as I could, but please report any new problems to me.
The keyboard is now immediately usable, even if a gamepad is detected, making both devices usable at the same time. Please note that the help notification icons while in game, will still default to the gamepad if one is connected. You can still change the intended device within the settings.
The keyboard bindings were not allowing the comma, period, or numpad keys to bind. This has been fixed. Please note, not all keys are bindable.
The dialog and some journal entries had incorrect spelling. This has been fixed. Proof reading for the win?
The mushrooms have had the trajectory physics removed. It was too much of a pain to get a good bounce. Their detection range is also wider now.
Another resurrection or checkpoint, has been added in the caverns. This should help when trying to get Lanuno's wand.
As for the community content, what I have implemented, is as follows.
(5) Trading Cards: Each one representing a zone.
(9) Emoticons: Each one is a little head of the characters, with their hats of course.
(3) Profile Backgrounds: Each one has some arranged elements from the game.
Badges, Trading Cards, and Update 1.0.3
Very soon, like within next week, I'll be releasing a pretty big update to Moonlight, and I'll also be releasing some community content for the game. If you were thinking about purchasing Moonlight, I'd hold off until this update hits as it really sorts out a lot of the issues that have been reported. The main highlights of update 1.0.3 are as follows.
There is a new video setting to change the vertex mode that the game uses. This could help with compatability on some older systems etc.
After profiling the game code, I found numerous problems. Mainly preformance issues in regards to the game's logic. The performance of each cycle, has actually been increased by over 30%. I believe this was the source of the "stuttering every few seconds" for some. However, a good chunk of the game's core logic has been altered. This could bring other bugs. I have tested as best as I could, but please report any new problems to me.
The keyboard is now immediately usable, even if a gamepad is detected, making both devices usable at the same time. Please note that the help notification icons while in game, will still default to the gamepad if one is connected. You can still change the intended device within the settings.
The keyboard bindings were not allowing the comma, period, or numpad keys to bind. This has been fixed. Please note, not all keys are bindable.
The dialog and some journal entries had incorrect spelling. This has been fixed. Proof reading for the win?
The mushrooms have had the trajectory physics removed. It was too much of a pain to get a good bounce. Their detection range is also wider now.
Another resurrection or checkpoint, has been added in the caverns. This should help when trying to get Lanuno's wand.
As for the community content, what I have implemented, is as follows.
(5) Trading Cards: Each one representing a zone.
(9) Emoticons: Each one is a little head of the characters, with their hats of course.
(3) Profile Backgrounds: Each one has some arranged elements from the game.
IndieGala Bundle!
Hello everyone, for this week only, you can purchase Moonlight on the latest IndieGala bundle, along with 6 other games, for a low minimum price of $2.49! Thank you very much for your support!
https://www.indiegala.com/everymonday
My Appreciation
As I mentioned on the Greenlight campaign, I have a small token of appreciation that I would like to give to those that helped me get this on Steam. Anyone who voted for the game during the campaign, either yes or no, and had left a comment, will be recieving a Steam key for Moonlight! I really appreciate everything, you all are the best! I hope you enjoy the game!
Please contact me if you apply, and are still interested! You can friend me, and even un-friend afterwards, or you can email me at jess@monkeymaw.com.
