Just a quick update to let you know I'm still working on 'Just Flip' everyday and making slow but steady progress. As I've mentioned in other posts, I make games in my spare time so things don't always move as fast as I'd like them to.
I did recently shift some of my time over to my previous game, Just Ski, in order to put out a major update, but now I'm back to Just Flip and will be until it's released.
UPDATES
Auto Jumping
In my last post, I mentioned I was considering a big change to the game play for Just Flip. I was thinking about making the game auto jump rather than having the player pull-back, aim, and release.
After some play-testing, I decided against this and instead will just add auto-jump sections to the game. This way there will be a mix of auto-jumping and manual jumping.
Visuals
When I updated Just Ski, I made some major improvements to the visuals. I took what I learned from doing that update and applied it, with improvements, to Just Flip.
Here is a quick view of how things are looking right now.
Editor Tools and Tweaks
The other thing I've been working on a lot is editor tools for building out the mountain. The mountain in this game is going to be quite large so I need to have some tools in place to make it easier/quicker to build. More on that in future posts.
I'm working steadily to get the game to a point where building out the content is all that remains. You should see more frequent posts and updates once I get to that point,
Thanks for reading!
-Jeff
Something I'm Considering
Hey everyone.
A while back I created something for Just Flip that I call "Parkour Stones". They are very similar to the springs, but slightly quicker.
They turned out to be a whole lot of fun. So much so that I'm considering pivoting the game-play for 'Just Flip' to utilize the idea more heavily.
My thought process has gone something like this:
The launch mechanic where you pull-back, aim, and then jump, doesn't seem to add a lot to the game. It's not the challenging part of the game and it isn't really the fun part. Jumping is the fun part.
So, what if I ditched the entire pull-back, aim, jump mechanic and just let the little guy go nuts, parkour-style.
This change would actually make 'Just Flip' a ONE BUTTON, still very challenging, physics game.
Here is what that would look like. I would love to hear your thoughts.
https://youtu.be/s7uw49P9ABs
-Jeff
Steam Game Festival Demo and Quick Pitch
About the Game
Just Flip is physics driven flipping and skiing game inspired by "Getting Over It". Flip yourself over a massive mountain of stuff! Fall down, rage, get up, keep flipping!
About the Demo
The Just Flip Demo will have you flipping and skiing up the 1st 1/6th or so of the mountain. Expect to fall a lot at the beginning as you get used to the easy to learn but tough to master controls.
It'll take you anywhere from 20 minutes to and hour to complete the demo. Mostly because you'll be doing a lot of this:
About the Dev
My name is Jeff Weber. I've been making quirky physics games in my spare time for the last 10 to 15 years. My other games include: Diver, Diver 2, Krashlander, and Just Ski.
Dev Blog 6: Good News/Bad News - Rethinking the Release Strategy.
Hello everyone.
As I've been working slowly but surely toward an early access release, I've come to the decision to change my release strategy for Just Flip.
I think this is both good news and bad news.
What is changing?
Instead of releasing to Early Access, I will be using demos and beta testing to get feedback for the game.
Bad News First
Since I'm not releasing to Early Access, I'll need a bit more time to build out the "Mountain", gather feedback, and prepare for a full, conventional release. My new guess is that Just Flip's full release will be in Early 2021. I really, really wanted a 2020 release, but I'm a realist and I always want to be up-front with where things are.
The Good News
A new, much more representative demo is coming soon... to Steam this time. This demo will be part of Steam's Autumn Festival.
The Autumn Festival is set to run from Oct. 7th to Oct. 13th, but for those reading this, a little tip:
The Just Flip demo will actually be released on Sept 23rd, a couple weeks ahead of the festival. You'll be able to grab it directly from the Just Flip Steam page and get a head start on the flipping.
Why The Change?
The biggest reason for the change is I just don't think Early Access is the best fit for this style of game or my one-man, spare-time development "team". I'm not sure I'd be able to keep up with the required release pace and user feedback. I hear it can become a bit overwhelming.
I think getting feedback via demos and beta releases will be a better fit. I'll have a call for beta testers later this year and I don't plan to be to stringent on who can join.
I hope everyone understands and as always feedback and comments are welcome.
-Jeff
Dev Blog 5: Simple Controls
With Just Flip, I really tried to make the controls as simple as possible without losing any of the fun. Here is how they work:
Pull back and launch with the mouse.
Left mouse button when in the air to control the flip.
For those that prefer a Controller, I'm currently working on that as well.
Hit the "Discuss" button below and let me know what you think!
-Jeff
Dev Blog: Journey to Early Access Update 4
Hey everyone.
Been a while since my last post. Like my previous posts, just want to let everyone know things are still moving. I continue to work on 'Just Flip' everyday.
I'm currently building out the mountain. I'm trying to get enough "mountain" to keep early access players engaged while I continue building the rest of the mountain.
I've got enough feedback from these demos to move toward release. Still some work to do, but I'm getting there.
Dev Blog: Early Access Update 2
I'm pounding away on 'Just Flip' trying to get things ready for Early Access launch. In the interest of getting some pre-Steam feedback I decided to throw a small demo of 'Just Flip' on Itch.
Good news: Got some great feedback from players.
Bad news: I need to make a few tweaks to address some of the feedback.
Hey everyone as I work toward the 'Just Flip' launch to Early Access I thought I'd try to give periodic updates for those interested.
One of the primary things I've worked on lately is a re-do of the 1st 10 minutes or so of the game. I had designed the beginning of the game prior to adding support for the spring jumps and skiing so none of that existed at the beginning of the game.
After playing with the springs and skiing for a while now, I've come to the conclusion that they really are the "star" of the game. Therefore, it makes sense not to hold them until later in the game.
Here is what one section near the beginning of the game used to look like (ignore the color):
Here is what that section looks like now (Ignore the red developer tools):
I think it's a good change and gets to the fun much quicker.
Let me know what you think.
-Jeff
Early Access Coming Soon!
I know it's been quiet here the last few months, but that will soon be changing.
I have made the decision to release Just Flip to Early Access so those interested can get in, give it a go, and hopefully provide some great feedback as I build out the rest of the game world.
I've been making physics games in my spare time for well over 10 years and I always fall short when it comes to getting pre-release feedback. I think some aspects of my previous games have suffered because of this.
This time I have decided to do the opposite of what I've done in the past and instead build out the game world with the help of a community.
I resisted this for a while because I didn't think it would be possible given my game dev time is pretty limited: Family, day job, life. However, I think I found a way to do it.
I've spent the last several months working to get all the important underlying game systems developed and solid. This should leave mostly world building, the fun stuff, for Early Access.
With the underlying systems in place, I think I can keep a steady flow of content for the Early Access players.
My ultimate goal is to end up with 1 MASSIVE, continuous mountain world for players to jump, flip, and ski through. I plan to get there by building smaller sections of the world and releasing them at regular intervals.
I have a lot of ideas for the world, but I'm really excited to get input and ideas from others. This is my number one reason for releasing to Early Access.
I don't have any actual release date yet, but I'm getting close.
Stay Tuned and please let me know what you think of the refreshed steam page!
