The show has begun I'm sure you'll be thrilled with the experience (or at least, my viewers will be, which is most important)...
RELAX!
Enjoy the calm, soft and bouncy nature of The Pit, an area in which you and other willing contestants will prepare for the performance of your lives!
EXPLORE!
Scurry across the skyline and get that sweet $$$ for my little piggy bank! Oh, and don’t worry about being lonely, my lovely green friends (and past Contestants) will keep you company, I promise!
THINK!
Of course, this show can’t just be all about physical brawn! Viewers want to see those brains, literally and figuratively. There’s a few puzzles you’ll need to solve on your way to my piggy bank!
ENERGISE!
Don’t worry! We know some of you Contestants nowadays can’t go 10 minutes without an energy drink in your hand, so I’ve made sure to leave some vending machines around to quench your thirst! I've also snuck in some fun little gizmos for your appeasement.
SMILE!
You’re stuck here, so you should smile for the camera!
Experience an all-new feel to running above the newly-renovated Uh-Oh City, battling my friends and solving my puzzles! I've also added ziplines for all you adrenaline junkies out there!
After my brilliant viewers sent in their feedback, I’ve managed to implement my state-of-the-art revival booths to bring your weaker friends back from the brink!
Finally I’ve unlocked a way out, much to my displeasure. Build up enough cash and the way out shall reveal itself, not that anyone ever wants to leave anyway….
This demo will be available for the duration of the project and will receive bug fix updates and occasional content updates.
Technical Changes:
Plethora of New & Revised Sounds
New Loading Screen
Difficulty Options
Weapons Made, Revised & Rebalanced
Improved Controller Support
The Pit Improvements
Bug Fixing
Gameplay Optimisation
------------------------------------------------------------ Coming in Future Updates:
Splitscreen
Prologue (Tutorial Level)
Animation Polishing
New and Exhilarating Levels
Plus much more!
Bugs, Glitches and Technical Support
While we’ve tried to make the gameplay as bug-free and polished as possible, there may be occasions that you encounter bugs or glitches that aren’t meant to be part of the game...
If you find any issues with bugs, glitches or something that doesn't feel 'right' then please feel free to submit a report at contact@headtiltgames.com or hit the team up on Discord!
All support helps us astronomically and we wouldn't be able to do this without you.
We've been making tons of changes within the first part of the year. Read on to learn about our spectacular progress!
Slappy Socials
To begin with, we've had to revitalise our social media campaign and take it to higher level of quality. We're still figuring some things out, and we're by no means perfect but we're hoping this improvement will demonstrate our passion for Slap-It Together and our community!
The Pit has had several iterations so far. Hopefully, this is the final one. This hub area is perhaps the most important aspect of the game and provides the utmost significance to the gameplay flow; allowing players to beat the game and roll the credits. As such, we took extensive time to get this functioning to a high quality.
BEFORE
AFTER
All empty spaces within this area will be filled to the brim with fun activities and additional geometry. Stay tuned for more updates on this!
Upgraded UI
Additionally, our HUD/UI has had a complete rework. Integrating the game's branding and playfulness, we needed to create it all from scratch. We're so happy with this result and cannot wait to show off the additional updates we make to this!
BEFORE
AFTER
Thank You
We're excited to show off the new Rooftops area, enemy improvements and the new customisation system. But you'll have to wait until next month for more details on that!
So... a year of development has passed and we're onto the next chapter. Let's go back in time and take a look at how far we've come as well as some behind the scenes looks that are usually only available via our Discord Server.
Start of the Year
We started off with very minimal direction. An idea, a ton of passion and a fractional vertical slice.
Our goal was to rival the zombie game genre and create a brand-new and engaging experience for almost anyone to play. A glaring issue was the lack of entry for new gamers and the general flow of getting into a game with your friends was not as easy as it could be.
Insomnia 68 & 69
We decided to apply for Insomnia 68, a national gaming event in the UK. We had no idea how people would perceive the title and really, this was a major turning point for us. If nobody liked the game in it's prototype-y state, we were going to pursue a different project.
A lot was riding on this...
Luckily, to our bewilderment, we were met with smiles, laughter and curiosity. Whilst I was fixing the major multiplayer bugs in the corner, you guys were slapping, throwing and whacking your way to victory (although, at this point, there was no way to win!)
Our team welcomed a brand new member, Liam, who visited the stand and was keen to work with us to help with production. His influence has helped to build up our business backbone and develop an effective production plan.
A2Z Interactive approached us shortly after and proposed a co-dev deal, allowing us to elevate the game to where it now stands today.
Steam Next Fest
Using what we'd learnt from Insomnia 69, we decided to show our game to a wider audience. Whilst the game was nowhere near as polished as it should have been, we were met with wonderful critique, and lovely words of encouragement.
In particular, we'd like to take this time to express our gratitude towards Mattathon and PastNirvana for streaming our game!
Thank you to those of you who took a look at the game throughout the event, it has really helped to shape our game for the better.
Recreating Major POIs
That (roughly) brings us nicely to where we are now.
Over the last few months, we've been working hard to rebalance, recreate and revamp the core systems and areas.
The Pit is the most crucial area of the game. Lore-wise, it's where contestants live and breathe. Whilst it's covered up to look homely and comfortable, the gameshow host will shortly plant you in front of an expansive audience that are yearning for any form of entertainment. Gameplay-wise, players can customise their character, play minigames and reach the end-game. As a result of these motives, we needed to once again recreate The Pit area to be readily explorable and exciting. (The following images are not final).
The Rooftops (the first level) is also receiving a much-needed recreation. I won't go into details of this yet. Stay tuned on here for further details in the coming months!
Thank You
From the bottom of our slappy hearts, we're extremely grateful to have provided you with a whacky escape to a hand-crafted, love-filled world. Regardless of where this game goes, we couldn't have asked for a more loving community. Thank you.
Taking a Short Break
This next year is going to be MASSIVE. We're rethinking our social media campaign, investigating publishing deals and looking to expand to the masses.
A week ago, we started our Christmas break. We will be returning to work at the start of January. You can expect our social media to have a lot of changes by mid-January - including a Discord redesign, general improvements to Slap-It's image and much much more.
I'll be keeping you all posted much more regularly from February so stay tuned for even more plentiful progress.
Have a wonderful break, and if you celebrate it, a fantastic Christmas! - Matt, Game Director
LIVE-STREAMING WITH MATTATHON
Watch Matt and Mattathon livestreaming with questions answered, shenanigans had and chaos ensued!
This is a replay stream from October 5th
You can check him out over on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mattathon/
Steam Next Fest and What To Expect in Future!
Hello contestants!
It's been another busy month (and a half) of churning out pure slaptastic goodness!
I wanted to talk you all through expectations you should have going into Steam Next Fest whether this is Your First Time Playing or if you're Coming from Insomnia 69.
What the heck is this game?
Slap-It Together is a pure labour of love from our team of internationally-based close-knit individuals. Coming straight out of education and into the field of game design!
To put it simply... Zombie fighting game where you are tossed into a game show and your only weapons are set pieces
With a strong focus on casual gameplay and a less serious take on the zombie genre, our game aims to lend enjoyment to anyone looking for a chaotic, ridiculous experience with friends and family.
We've taken the best elements of Call of Duty Zombies & Left 4 Dead to mould a truly unique, down-to-earth experience like no other. Meanwhile taking the playful inspiration of Plants Vs Zombies and the quick-game nature of Fall Guys.
Whether you're playing alone or with friends, Slap-It Together will provide each player with a differently rewarding experience. Within the gameplay, you will notice the game become easier as you perform worse -- this is an optional feature if you pick hard mode...
Important Things to Note
Our title is roughly halfway through production with changes and modifications being made on a daily basis. With that being said, this demo does not represent the final product in it's entirety and love-filled changes will be implemented with suggestions from you being at the forefront.
We strongly recommend joining our Discord to get the best support; and we'll be holding several events to celebrate this momentous occasion!
3 More Levels with plans to introduce more post-1.0 release
Further lore integration
More accessibility options
Known Issues:
Clothing Clipping
Controller support within Menus may be slightly crooked
Ragdoll Inconsistency on Clients/Players
Levers sometimes do not function despite all being switched
Currently Fixing: The following issues are currently in the process of being patched. An update will be with you shortly.
Joining in-progress game crashes player
Money does not reset upon retrying
Lever indicator lights are incorrect for clients
Money Pot Target is not synced
Coming from Insomnia?
You may have seen our game at Insomnia 69!
So, what has changed in that time?
New Customisation System (FULLY MODULAR!)
UI Improvements
Sound Cues on Each Enemy Defeat
Fixed several pathing issues
Closest spawners (to the player) are the only ones used
Green > Blue Stamina Cans
Planks are now a weapon as well as a buildable object
Various Rooftops tweaks including a puzzle reconstruction to accommodate further accessibility
Vending machine interaction with consumables has now been improved
It is now clearer on how to start the game
The game is, on average, more difficult
3 Difficulty options
Face rigging (blinking!)
Better weapon throwing and general handling
Weapon balancing improvements
You can now see players through walls
Thank you!
Thank you for reading this blog post! I really hope that you adore this game as much as we do. Many many hours have gone into making the possible and I cannot wait to see what our future holds.
If you don't happen to enjoy it, please let us know why! We're always keen to hear from the community to help shape the game's future and hopefully pave the way to it's success!
It's been a while since we previously posted a devlog. Reason being, we've had an incredibly busy few months ironing out bugs, adding new features and adapting to a new workflow!
Firmer Art Direction
Throughout our prototype's development, we had used a screen-space shader to outline all objects. We didn't have much control over this behaviour and it wasn't adding anything to the game's art style.
Lighting was another big issue for us, and we knew something had to be done to solve the lacklustre art direction.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Now that we had solved this glaring issue, we needed to revamp our hub area (AKA 'The Pit')
Revamped:
Our goal with this was to really hammer home on the lore of the game. The Pit is supposed to feel like a super-happy place with an underlying evil. To do this, we believed that making the players feel watched would communicate this to a degree.
Rooftop Drones
Whilst still in active development, we've been implementing a new addition that'll further enforce the gameshow feel. Drones will float around the levels and watch you intently..
Build Zones
A massive issue with our Insomnia 68 demo was that progression was dull. Whilst still not perfect, we've implemented 'Build Zones'. These zones require certain items in order to complete which results in any change us developers wish. For example, building a wooden bridge will allow players to walk over to another location. Or allow zombies to walk over to you!
Thanks for reading!
There's much more to come and we look forward to sharing more info on the game's development next month!
In these, I will be walking you through what changes we've made since the previous post (aiming to do one of these monthly).
New Zombies
You may have noticed in the cover image a small tease of the new zombie model we've implemented... Take a look at the work-in-progress shots here!
Head shot
Body shot
Comparison (before/after respectively):
With these new zombies, we've also changed their animations. Enoch is currently working on more clothing options for them before moving onto a secret new model (stay tuned!).
Introducing Traps!
Now that we had new zombies, we needed more ways to defeat them!
Mines can be placed down and they're primed after half a second. After that... well, just watch your enemies fly away!
Obviously the model is less than ideal and the user feedback is very very minimal but we're hoping to sort this when we finish traps off next month!
Code Refactoring
I know, I know, 'boring' stuff ːsteamboredː but for those of you interested in a tech-y behind the scenes...
[expand] Alongside all the fun and juicy stuff, we've also reworked some of the networking code-base. While it doesn't inherently affect performance, it will allow us to test the game with more ease as developers.
Previously, our Network Manager (what handles the multiplayer functionality) used Steamworks (Steam API) in a hard-coded manner. This meant that it'd make porting to other platforms a lot harder in future as we progressed development (i.e. Itch.io, Epic Games, or even consoles). These new changes allow us to support any platform provided we have the Transport required for it (provided by Mirror, the open-source multiplayer networking solution we use).
We've also made some alterations for implementing new types of pickups. This was increasingly important with the introduction of traps and healthkits (found in airdrops). This new method will provide the infrastructure for future items we may develop. [/expand]
I'm Matt, the Game Director of Head Tilt Games. We're a fully remote team based internationally, representing many cultures and personalities! (UK, US, Canada, China etc.)
I will be writing most of these posts going forward so if you have any questions about anything that has been written then please contact me at mbull@headtiltgames.com
About Slap-It Together
Gameplay
"Set in a game show that only cares for the numbers; you and up to 3 online friends slap, throw and whack your way through hordes of enemies and hand-painted environments in this comedic zombie wave-based fighter."
Players (the contestants) are tasked with lasting as long as possible in a humourous horde-based survival. With the ability to pick-up a wide variety of objects around the levels, contestants can arm themselves with wacky weaponry (Baseball Bat, Guitar). Alternatively, they're free to go bare-handed and slap their opponents.
Story
The first time anyone heard of the Slap-It Games was on a globally broadcasted ad. It showed off a brand new game show, where four random (kidnapped) contestants are dropped into a prepared location, and must escape. All while fighting off wave after wave of zombies with nothing but their bare hands and anything they could find lying around.
Contestants are placed into a homey living space. Cameras are placed throughout the lounge, watching down on them. Once the contestants are prepared for their next trial, they can jump into The Pit (ball pit), and begin their fights.
Doctor Sir Rio Rascal [Game Show Host] is brilliant, charismatic, filthy rich and bonkers. He started the Slap-It Games because he loves watching others fail miserably, and gets upset when they don’t. He rigs the games to appease his ego.
To counter his mischief, contestants may receive Contestant Sponsors that have been smuggled in secretly. Alternatively, contestants may receive Game Sponsors who praise Dr. Sir Rio Rascal for his work, hindering the contestants' experience.
Playstyle Support
Slap-It Together is prominently an online co-op focused game. However, players will be able to play alone or locally (WIP) with up to 4 players. Furthermore, if you don't fancy teaming up and would much rather join the wonderful world of sabotage then players can be... less supportive.
Next week, we'll be showing off some gameplay videos!
