The Studio
Halloween Sale
So eat some cookies, find the hiding places, try to figure out how to stay one step ahead of the cats, the very hungry cats, the creepy clown of Middletown, and more spooky things.
June Update
There is still a short lived sugar rush burst of energy you get from eating cookies, but you still have to bide your time and strategize how you eat your cookies.
Don't forget you can use the 1-6 keys to dial in higher or lower resolution whenever you want, that may be more suitable for your computer.
Beware the cats. Beware the sugar rush when you are in places you might not want it.
Always beware the cats.
GAMEPLAY GUIDE / HINTS
If you want to play without this then just head back to the game. In recent updates I added a cookie rush to the game. The cookie rush is a short lived burst of energy you get from eating a cookie. I've also added more structures in the game that may impede or help your gameplay depending on how you look at them.
If you just want to learn your way through without any hints then don't go to this place. Just know that the cats get more angry as you eat cookies, and the evil in the game only grows from one level to the next, oh yes and don't forget the creepy clown of Middletown, it haunted my dreams for decades as a kid growing up in New Jersey, now it's here to disturb your waking hours.
http://daevfinnstudio.com/studio-game-gameplay-guide/
Bug Fix
-Daev
BlogUpdate
Studio Update : Collider Fixes, Cleaner Game Start, and Sugar Rush
It was a little overwhelming to have the title, the brief instructions come up and then the image to instantly get slammed with the hot key list. It's still accessible, but I just wanted a cleaner start to the game.
I also have been experimenting with other things in the game in terms of gameplay. I experimented (and programmed) falling damage. I then removed it preferring to keep the simple horror (you die after eaten) philosophy of my game.
I did however add a small reward in the game. After you eat a cookie you get a bonus, what I call a sugar rush from the cookie. You can run really fast for about six seconds. However, as all good things must pass, this will become less time with the more cookies you eat. The message is you should eat better of course... stop relying on a sugar rush from cookies to get you through the cat zombie apocalypse!!!
-Daev
The Studio Update : New Models & Other small things
There are new models I've worked on, my homage to Skyrim. I also just returned from New Jersey where I saw the Creepy Clown of Middletown in person with my sons. It was the first time they had seen it in person, although they're very familiar with it from my game. This is part of the game I brought to the foreground a little more.
SMALL FIXES & LANTERN COOL DOWN
Now there is a slight two second delay before you can create the next lantern, and as before, the lanterns are on a roughly two minute timer so they start to vanish in the order they were created.
Creating the lanterns is pretty addictive for sure. Kids like to just keep hitting that F-key, however it adds to the processing of the game, and at some point especially less powerful systems will start to heat up tracking all those lanterns.
Keep in mind there is some strategy involved in the game. Things start to get fast and furious the more cookies you eat, so you have to pick your path wisely.
If you eat one or two cookies, that just means you are warming up. If you get through four, then things start to cook. If you can get through pumpkin castle after eating five cookies? Well, I may have to create a new achievement for that.
-Daev
The Studio Update : Hide Grass : Pause Key and Shadow improvements
Additionally, I was told there is lagging on some systems. I'm trying to address lagging, but this is a bigger can of worms than I can't address in a quick update.
I have however added a hotkey if you find it lagging. The H key (for hide) will hide or rather toggle the grass on or off in the game. There should be a increase in frame rate from this drop. I'm going to keep finessing the not so quick stuff though to improve gameplay.
Finally, I've added a Pause key as requested. The P-key will Pause and Un-pause game play so you can go eat dinner, or take a pee break, your choice.
As always me and my team will do our best to make game play enjoyable. Okay, I don't really have a "team". It's just me behind the scenes trying to make a game that people may enjoy.
best
Daev
SEND ME YOUR IDEAS!
http://daevfinnstudio.com/games-as-an-exploration-of-time-art-and-the-unconscious/
Then understanding that I'm looking for unusual things to add to my game, and the window is closing soon, tell me something you'd like to see. Is there a monument in your home town made out of matches? Is there an unusual piece of architecture? By taking ideas from you, I add to the depth of the game because I add to the user experience.
Part of what I'm exploring is games as a form of the unconscious, by adding things that might be oddly familiar I'm embedding an experience in game for you. Psychology says that locations hold memories for us, that's why when we visit our home town, we are awash with memories. My goal is to explore how to bring your memories into the game, collective memories by bringing those things alive in game.
My examples from my blog is the Food Circus Clown from Middletown New Jersey. It's often considered a weird and wonderful site along the highway. It's an oddity from bygone days that is still standing sentinel to memories of being creeped out as a kid for generations now.
Do you have weird things? Email me at daev.finn@gmail.com. Try to be specific in where this oddity or scary thing is. What is the town, the address, and what impresses you about it. You don't have to tell me specific memories, just send me the idea and i'll pick at least one to put in game.
-Daev