Hello there, Kabloop here! Thanks for joining me for another blog post. This month Im sharing some exciting news: DIGGERGUN has been nominated for the BIG Impact: Social Matters award at the gamescom latam BIG Festival!
Gamescom latam is one of the most important events in Latan America, with its award ceremony, gamescom latam BIG Festival, celebrating the best of the global games market. Its such a huge honour that DIGGERGUN has been nominated for this award. Over 922 games were submitted to the BIG Festival from 74 countries and I couldnt be happier to see DIGGERGUN listed beside some of the other exceptional nominees. As DIGGERGUN is about inequality and the cost-of-living crisis, I hope that DIGGERGUN contributes to a wider conversation about our duty of care to each other. Gamescom latam takes place at the So Paulo Expo in Brazil, from 26-30 June, with the awards ceremonies held on Friday, 28th June and Sunday, 30th June. Good luck to all of the finalists! During the gamescom latam, you can play a demo of DIGGERGUN at the So Paulo Expo. If youre not there, a demo will be available to play via the gamescom latam website. No matter where you are, youll be able to play DIGGERGUN! Until then check out the new Steam trailer for DIGGERGUN if you haven't already: [previewyoutube=jFCCq1HZpCY;full][/previewyoutube] ~ Kabloop

[ 2024-06-18 15:39:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello there, Kabloop here! Today Im talking about upgrades, and what players can expect in terms of character progression when they get their hands on DIGGERGUN later this year. In DIGGERGUN there are two ways to improve your character: increasing their stats and obtaining DIGGERGUN abilities. Both of these have been implemented in such a way as to encourage player choice, either when deciding which stat to invest your points in, or which DIGGERGUN ability to use in moment-to-moment gameplay. After all, what choices we make and how we make them, is a key theme of DIGGERGUN. Lets look at character stats first. Your character, Alex, will gain experience points as you do things in the mines. This can be anything from collecting resources, to defeating enemies or depositing lithium. After earning a certain amount of experience points Alex will level up, gaining a stat point. Your stat points can be put into any four of the following categories: Aim: Improves Alexs aim when using the DIGGERGUN. Increases damage dealt by your DIGGERGUN. Strength: Enables Alex to carry more lithium. At certain thresholds, Alex will be able to carry more food in their inventory. Energy: Increases the total amount of energy Alex has. Luck: Increases Alexs luck, allowing them to find more lithium, rare materials as well as a few other things.
A maximum of ten points can be applied to each stat, with the effects of these stats being passive. Due to the way DIGGERGUN has been designed, increasing a stat by just one point can make a huge difference to gameplay. For example, at the beginning of DIGGERGUN, Alex can only carry five lithium. However, theyll be required to deposit eight pieces of lithium a day to get paid. If the player invests one stat point into Strength, Alex will be able to carry eight pieces of lithium. This means the player wont have to make return trips to the lithium deposit to meet their quota. DIGGERGUN isnt a mechanically demanding game (its not Elden Ring!), however, it has been designed to be oppressive. And making use of your stats points will help you even the odds especially considering time is money. Lets move on to DIGGERGUN abilities. This is quite different from the levelling system outlined above. Whilst stat increases are passive and can be done in any order, upgrading Alexs DIGGERGUN is done linearly by progressing the Traders storyline. To do so, Alex will have to give the trader various resources. Upon gaining a DIGGERGUN upgrade, Alex will be able to use a new DIGGERGUN ability when in the mines. Each of these abilities is unique and is designed to help in a variety of situations. Here are just a few of the DIGGERGUN abilities you can obtain: Beam: Fires a laser beam, which blasts through multiple enemies until it collides with a solid object. Shotgun: Fires multiple bullets at once, in a variety of different directions. Block: Creates a solid block in front of Alex, allowing them to jump on top of it. Can also be used to block enemies. Using a DIGGERGUN ability costs energy, with each abilitys energy costs being unique. The beam, for example, costs two energy, whilst the shotgun only costs one.
These upgrades have been designed in such a way as to provide interesting moment-to-moment gameplay choices to the player, especially as they dig deeper into the mines and encounter tougher scenarios. A good example of this is the fly enemies. These little buggers periodically spawn from plants. They are small and difficult to hit with a standard bullet. They are, however, easy to hit with a well-aimed shot whilst using the shotgun ability. On the flip side, the Laser upgrade is great for clearing a path, but its energy cost is high. This means the player has to choose wisely when to use it. It's important to note that if Alex's energy drops to zero they will collapse, losing half their money. How much players will be able to use these upgrades will depend on the stats they invest in. If the player upgrades Alexs energy stat a lot, then they will be able to use the beam ability a lot more frequently than someone who hasnt done so. Thats it when it comes to upgrades or at least, those that are of use in the mines. One very important aspect of DIGGERGUN is the various character storylines. The choices players make during these storylines will determine the outcome of Alexs story. But they also provide a variety of rewards which can help Alex. Some of these items are small, such as an umbrella which stops the player from losing energy when walking in the rain, while others are exceptionally useful such as lithium storage.
The intention isnt for players to min-max the storylines to get rewards (although Im certain some players most certainly will), but being a good person can pay off. Sometimes. Thats all for today! Thanks for reading! Hopefully, now you have a better idea of what gameplay choices youll be expected to make when DIGGERGUN launches later this year. Until next time! - Kabloop

[ 2024-04-30 16:20:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello there, Kabloop here with a new blog post about DIGGERGUN!

Today Im answering a question I get asked quite a lot: What is a DIGGERGUN? DIGGERGUNs are tools used by the miners on Bal Island in the world of DIGGERGUN. They are high-powered guns which fire out small drills that break soft Earth on impact. They are exceptionally powerful tools but they have a very short range. This is primarily due to how the device was designed but also acts as a safety measure.
DIGGERGUNs are expensive pieces of tech, meaning that employees have to pay to lease them. This is deducted from their daily paycheque. If someone loses their DIGGERGUN then it will be replaced, but miners will be expected to pay out a lump sum to cover the cost of the lost tool. The miners on Bal Island arent treated very well, this is a running theme in DIGGERGUN, so there are a variety of security measures in place to stop DIGGERGUNs from being used as weapons in a rebellion. For one, DIGGERGUNs can only be used in the mines. They are tracked using a variety of sensors on the island. Once the user reaches the surface, their DIGGERGUN is unusable and useless. Not only does this tracking technology control whether the tools can be used or not, but its also used to track individuals around the mines. This enables the Cornwall Mining Corporation to keep tabs on miners at all times.
Whilst continuous surveillance can come in handy if a miner collapses due to exhaustion (though this service will cost you), the constant scrutiny that miners face is overbearing. DIGGERGUNs are standardised pieces of kit, with nothing in the way of additions to improve their proficiency. However, this hasn't stopped unscrupulous types from finding a way to modify them, unlocking their true potential. Interested miners will have to pay for such power. For miners who wish to get more out of their DIGGERGUN whilst in the mines, improving their Aim stat is key, as it will allow miners to deal more damage by enabling them to identify and shoot weak points.
So, why name the game DIGGERGUN? Well, my hope is that the name is memorable! But also, given that DIGGERGUNs are such important tools in the games world, and with them being the key gameplay mechanic, I felt like it was a good name for the game. Also, I feel like theres something self-explanatory about the word: after all, in DIGGERGUN players do dig and they do shoot things with a gun! Thanks for reading, I cant wait to share more information about DIGGERGUN in the future! For now, Im going to go lie down as I think Ive typed the word DIGGERGUN far too much in the last hour. DIGGERGUN. ~ Kabloop

[ 2024-03-30 18:42:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone, Kabloop here!

I know its been a year since my last update on DIGGERGUN, but what a year its been! I wanted to write this blog to give an update on the games progress and whats been happening behind the scenes. Firstly, on a slightly sour note, 2023 was a rocky year for me. Unfortunately, a few months in, I had some serious issues with my eyes and, on doctor's orders, I wasnt able to work for two months. I was exceptionally fortunate that the issues didn't get worse. After recovering, my development speed slowed down a bit as I tried to be careful and look after myself more. In an attempt to catch up, for the remainder of 2023, I focused on completing as much work on DIGGERGUN as possible. Unfortunately, this meant that things like community outreach fell by the wayside. This is something I am hoping to fix in 2024.
Despite all this, I did manage to end 2023 on a high! At the end of 2023, I finished programming the critical path, meaning that DIGGERGUN can be played from start to end credits! This is a huge moment for the game and brings it much closer to launch. Now my focus is on finishing the remainder of the side quests and tying up any loose ends. This is no small feat, as some of the side content is just as expressive as the main storyline, but considering Ive already done quite a lot of work on the games side content, Im confident progress will be swift and smooth. Whilst I will be concentrating on finalising DIGGERGUN, especially in the first half of the year, I will be making more of an effort to keep fans up-to-date. Expect more Steam blogs sharing characters, enemies, development information and more! There are a ton of cool things in DIGGERGUN which I cant wait to share.
This all leads to my last point, DIGGERGUN will be released in 2024! I know I said that last year too but, providing there are no surprise health issues, Im fully expecting to release DIGGERGUN this year. Were still working out the release date, and I suspect it wont be finalised until the game is completed in the first half of the year but Im super excited that players will be able to get their hands on DIGGERGUN soon! Additionally, there are still plans for a demo to be launched before then, but more about that a bit later.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported DIGGERGUN and me over the last year or so. Im exceedingly thankful for all of the love, care and assistance Ive received, and I hope that DIGGERGUN will prove to be worth the wait. Here's to 2024! I hope everyone has an amazing year! - Kabloop

[ 2024-01-12 17:20:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to another DIGGERGUN blog post! Today Im writing to give an update on the status of development, as well as whats to come in 2023! But first up I want to announce some news: Eagle-eyed fans might have noticed this already, but for those who havent: DIGGERGUN will be published by Grab The Games on Steam! Not only that but thanks to Grab The Games support, DIGGERGUN will be coming to PS4/5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch in various languages! This is massive news for the game and we couldnt be more excited to bring DIGGERGUN to a wider audience. Thanks to Grab The Games support, Ive been working on DIGGERGUN full-time. Recently I hit a major game development milestone by finishing the games Alpha build and I want to share some of the changes and new features that were introduced for the Alpha.
The focus for the Alpha build was on finishing up the remaining systems for DIGGERGUN, before adding more story content during the Beta. I also wanted to apply changes to some of the core elements of the gameplay loop. All of these adjustments are based on the feedback I received from the demo that was released in 2022. So thank you to everyone for playing it and giving me your thoughts! The biggest of these changes was to how players get paid. In the Pre-Alpha/Demo, players would get paid every Sunday. Now, you get paid at the end of the everyday. If you work through the night, then youll get paid the next time you go to sleep. Players still get taxed to the UK taxation rates, including the National Insurance tax, as well as have money taken from their paycheck for rent and bills. The main aim of this change was to get to the point of DIGGERGUNs key hook as quickly as possible (the payment and taxation system) as well as giving the player more immediate feedback on how theyre performing.
Talking about performance, another big change is that there is now a minimum amount of lithium the player has to collect and deposit every working day. This is clearly shown when depositing lithium at the entrance to the mines. If you dont deposit the minimum, then you wont get paid. Its that simple! The hope is that this change will make the gameplay less obtuse as well as ensure the player has clear, short-term goals.
Theres also an additional element to this system. The game now tracks how much lithium you deposit, whether its over, under, or the exact amount required. How you perform will affect your relationship with your Manager. As with all NPCs in the game, your bond with your manager will have a profound effect on the rest of your game for better or for worse. Those are two of the biggest changes that have been made to DIGGERGUN. Its my hope that they will address some key issues with the game, as well as enhance its pacing. But what about other gameplay additions? Well, here are just a few:

• Players can now earn a money bank, and a lithium bank from NPCs to store their resources,
• It rains from time to time in Town, find an umbrella to stop yourself from getting wet,
• Loans - you can take out a loan, but beware of the interest rates,
• More mine levels have been added to the mine randomiser,
• More enemies and objectives have been added,
• More environments to explore and interact with,
• Plants - if you want to water them youll need to find a watering can
• A new stat, Luck, has been added! Increasing it will increase how often lithium and other resources will spawn whilst in the mines,
• Players can sell their lithium to an ever-so-slightly dodgy buyer,
• More weapons have been added
• And much more!

So whats next? Well as mentioned above, Im now working on adding more NPCs to the game, as well as programming their various storylines. A large part of my time over the last month or so has been spent on designing each NPCs story, so Im incredibly excited to start implementing them. There will also be more enemies, more mines and more polishing as development continues on the Beta. Its all leading up to another demo/prologue which will release sometime in Spring! Theres still quite a lot of work to be done until the final version of DIGGERGUN ends up in players' hands. I must admit, it does feel quite daunting! But all of the feedback Ive received over the last few months has really encouraged me to deliver the best game I can! I wish everyone the best for 2023! May the next year be full of good luck for all! As always, Wishlist DIGGERGUN on Steam to get the latest updates!

[ 2023-01-10 15:47:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello there and welcome to my blog series about DIGGERGUN's Game Mechanics. In this series, I'm exploring some of the inner workings of DIGGERGUN and revealing some behind-the-scenes info! Today, I'm talking about experience points and levelling up!
Experience points in DIGGERGUN work in a similar way to other games. Do "X" and you will gain experience points. Reach a certain amount of experience points to get a level up. And then, depending on the game, increase your power somehow. In DIGGERGUN you gain experience points by defeating enemies, obtaining lithium gems and depositing lithium at the Mine Entrance. Seems basic enough, but there are a few things which make the level-up system unique! Firstly when depositing lithium the amount of experience points you gain is multiplicative, meaning that the more lithium you deposit, the more experience points you get. So, dropping off a lot of lithium in one go will get you a TONNE of experience points. As with most games when you obtain a level up, the maximum amount of experience points required for your next level is increased. In DIGGERGUN the experience required to obtain a level up increases by 1.4 of the current maximum experience. At level 1, you need 100 experience points to level up, so at level 2 you'll need 140 experience points to level up. (As a side note, I will probably be increasing the maximum experience multiplier in the Alpha release, as currently, I feel players get too many level-ups too quickly) So once you gain a level, you obtain a stat point which you can then spend in the Main Menu's Status Screen.
There are currently three stats to spend your points on: Aim: Increases the damage that your bullets do in the mines Endurance: Reduces the amount of energy you lose over time and by doing actions Mindfulness: Increases the amount of energy restored from resting and eating Those with an eagle eye might notice that there is space for a fourth stat. In the prototype, there was a fourth stat, but it was removed as compared to the other three stats it didn't seem as useful. There are plans to eventually re-add the fourth stat, but that will be much later in development. In terms of the effectiveness of each of the stats in the demo, aim is currently the least effective as most players won't get deep enough into the mines to encounter enemies with a lot of health. That leaves Endurance and Mindfulness. Both stats are very effective but players will get more immediate effects from putting a point into Endurance. The math for Endurance is: "EnergyBuildUp" / (Endurance/2)+1). So for example, if "EnergyBuildUp" is 0.85, then with an endurance stat of 1 you will reduce that to 0.56. With 6 points in Endurance, your Energy BuildUp will be 0.2125. Every 0.45 seconds, "EnergyBuildUp" / (Endurance/2)+1) is added to a hidden value. When that value hits 100, you lose one point of energy and the value is reset. These numbers will be a bit higher in the game on launch, meaning that the player will lose energy faster but for the demo, I found that players were struggling with the speed of energy being reduced. I'll talk a bit more about energy in a later blog! Mindfulness requires a 2 point investment in order to see results. At that point, you'll start gaining an additional point of energy each time you do an activity. The math is similar to Endurance: "EnergyIncrease" + "round(Mindfulness/2)". This makes Mindfulness exceptionally powerful every two stat points invested. For example, at 6 points, you'll be getting 3 additional energy every time you rest or eat. Again, I'll probably tweak the numbers before the game launches in its final state, but it will probably remain similar to what is in place now. Overall where you add your stat points, and when, does matter. Even though I've explained them in quite simplistic terms, it's important for me to note that a lot of these systems can be very complex. For example, the player gains "EnergyBuildUp" from doing a variety of actions, such as jumping, and this is further affected by other tracking stats such as how long it's been since you've eaten or slept. There's a lot at play and DIGGERUN's really not just a simple, 1bit, pixel-art game. It reacts to the player and their day-to-day choices. That ended up being quite in-depth, didn't it! I guess you're here so I thought why don't I share all! Hopefully, now you understand the level system in DIGGERGUN a bit more! If you like what you've read and you haven't backed DIGGERGUN yet be sure to back it on Kickstarter for some great rewards!

[ 2022-07-14 09:52:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone! I'm super excited to announce that the Level Editor is now live for everyone who backs over 25 or more on Kickstarter! You can back the Kickstarter by clicking here! The Level Editor allows users to create and share DIGGERGUN levels with others who own the Level Builder! How will it work? You'll be sent a link and a password for the itch.io page within 48 hours of backing or increasing your pledge. The Level Editor runs on HTML5, so it should be usable across multiple platforms, as long as you have a keyboard or controller plugged in. The Level Editor is very similar to Super Mario Maker, so my hope is it'll all feel very intuitive and easy to use. Nonetheless, on the page, you'll find instructions about how to use the tool as well as some advice. You can check out this short tutorial video here: [previewyoutube=0i6JaszT64I;full][/previewyoutube] The Level Builder, much like the demo, is in pre-alpha. There's a lot more to add, including objects, obstacles and options! Here are some of the things coming soon:

• Add your name to the level,
• "Fill" tools
• Music picker
• Keys and doors
• Additional enemies added alongside DIGGERGUN Alpha/Beta game updates
• Additional obstacles added alongside DIGGERGUN Alpha/Beta game updates
• Much more to come!

And of course, the level editor will be a useful tool for backers who have paid 50, as using the level editor, backers will be able to create and add their level to the final version of DIGGERGUN for everyone to play! I'll be doing a separate post about rewards and how they'll work very soon! I hope you guys enjoy using the tool and of course, I can't wait to see your creations and share more updates about the tool! Kabloop

[ 2022-07-05 18:09:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's been a long week since I launched the DIGGERGUN Kickstarter and demo seven days ago! If you haven't already, then make sure you play through the DIGGERGUN demo here on Steam! Next Tuesday I'm going to be releasing the pre-alpha of the level builder to all backers who selected the reward on the Kickstarter. Don't miss out and back us now! Onto the DIGGERGUN dev-log! Hello there and welcome to my blog series about DIGGERGUN's Game Mechanics. In this series, I'm exploring some of the inner workings of DIGGERGUN and revealing some behind-the-scenes info! Today, I'm talking about money, the economy and game balance.
Ive been pretty clear from the beginning that from an economical perspective, much of DIGGERGUN is based on the current situation in the United Kingdom. Food, bills, and rent are all based on real-life UK figures during the time that I made the datasets in April. Even tax and national insurance are calculated to real-world rates. However, pretty early on I encountered a problem which I doubt any game designer has ever experienced: real life was too hard. In play-testing, it proved too difficult to keep up with the barrage of taxes, bills and cost of living, on the 9.50 minimum wage the player was earning. If they missed even one day of work, they would immediately be making a loss that week. Players were struggling. So I had to go in and adjust the numbers, sharply reducing the costs, making them lower than they would be in real life. I even had to remove one bill. It was a depressing experience. I could go in and tweak the numbers to make things easier for the player, but unfortunately, this isn't the case for at least 2 million people in the UK who are paid minimum wage or less (1). They cant just adjust their life with a keystroke and make it easier. Of course, since then, things have gotten a lot worse as the UK is being battered by record-breaking inflation, the highest its been for 40 years (2). And things are set to become even more difficult. Given how I will be adjusting the economy again for DIGGERGUN before its final release, I dread to think what battered state Britain and its population will be in at that point. Theres an interesting moment I want to share that occurred during playtesting. One playtester was genuinely shocked when they got their paycheque for the first time and saw their taxes and bills go out. He commented on how difficult the game was. In the second week, when it happened again, he was still just as surprised as he was the first time it happened.
The playtester said he really didnt want to be reminded of the days when he was on minimum wage and the whole experience was a bit of a depressing throwback. It was moments like this during playtesting that made me feel like I had created something meaningful. There was no character shoving the message into the player's face, telling the player minimum wage sucks, doesnt it. Instead, the player saw first-hand, with immediate brutality, just how much living on minimum wage sucks. And all I did was show them numbers when they picked up their paycheque. I didnt create DIGGERGUN to make people depressed, but I did design it in such a way to make people think. Money isnt talked about enough in the western world, and often its with a weird shame. And yes, maybe we should be ashamed that we have a society that enables people to struggle on such a grand scale. But we can change things, and thats optimism I hope DIGGERGUN exudes as more of the game is fleshed out and character plotlines are expanded. Besides, if I wanted to make DIGGERGUN really morbid, then I would have set the minimum wage to 9.18. Thats the minimum wage for 21-22 year-olds (3). And considering the players character is a young, university graduate, in real life that's what his wage would be. Hows that for some rampant ageism in a society that already punches down? Sources 1 - https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7735/ 2 - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/22/uk-inflation-rises-to-91-its-highest-rate-in-40-years 3 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-national-minimum-wage-in-2022

[ 2022-06-28 20:57:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone and welcome to DIGGERGUN! My name's Kabloop and I'm the developer of DIGGERGUN, and today I'm super excited to finally release the demo on the Steam store! Our demo release on Steam has been done to coincide with the launch of our Kickstarter, which happened today! For those wondering WTF DIGGERGUN is, here's a short summary: DIGGERGUN is an oppressive platformer about workers, low wages and the environment. After arriving on an island off the coast of Cornwall to work as Engineer, youre quickly put to work in the lithium mines due to the flexibility clause in your contract. With the Cornwall Mining Corporation demanding a 3,000 fee to terminate your employment contract and take you back to the mainland, youre left with nothing to do but dig. ---- It's been a crazy long road to get to this point but I'm so happy to be able to finally share the game I've been working on with the public. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to share any feedback with me on social media or through Steam! Naturally, I'll be keeping an eye on the build and aiming to fix any bugs that pop up! Also a note to Linux users, the demo is currently available on Windows but I do have the Linux version ready to go, it just needs a few more days of testing. I'll post an announcement when it's ready to go of course! Thank you to everyone for their support with DIGGERGUN!

[ 2022-06-21 19:58:55 CET ] [ Original post ]