Hey, Netherholics!

Its been a while, huh? Hope youre all great. Being a small team + having different final deadlines on December 2024, February 2025 and April made impossible for us to write your traditional quarterly devblog (sorry v.v). Instead, we decided to focus all our energy into production, testing and polishing the game as much as we can. However, Spring is here and we want to share with you this amazing news:

NETHERWORLD WILL HAVE A PHYSICAL EDITION!!!

Who said physical games were dead, huh? HUH? We wanted the full old-timey experience, so f*ck empty game boxes with shitty codes inside:

PHYSICAL = Game Box + Cartridge + Game manual

You asked WHEN? We say:
Thanks to our publisher Selecta Play, everyone who missed our Kickstarter campaign will be able to pre-order it through different retailers. v v v v List of sites where NetherWorld's Physical Edition is available* v v v v

PRE-ORDER NETHERWORLD PHYSICAL EDITION HERE!

*Sites updated in real time. We hope in the upcoming hours/days the list will increase with the pending US/worldwide retailers too (or new ones).
You have it? COOL. After making space in your shelves between the funkos and the vinyl records, talk to your neighbor! Word-of-mouth always helps us a lot. [video]https://i.imgur.com/eIqUyOX.mp4[/video] (It seems these guys misunderstood the assignment...) Btw tell your neighbor we have more announcements to make soon too, so if y'all don't wanna miss anything...

Add NetherWorld to your wishlist!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or wanna get physical too, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. As always, thanks so much for your support... ...and get ready to touch NetherWorld with your dirty hands! MUAHAHAHA Hungry Pixel team

[ 2025-04-08 13:02:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Play our demo in The Game Awards for Games Who Can't Afford the Game Awards Showcase!

NetherWorld takes the spotlight at The Game Awards for Games Who Can't Afford the Game Awards this week.

Were part of this wonderfully sarcastic and budget-friendly indie game showcase! Dive into the world of NetherWorld from the comfort of your home, and explore its dark, quirky, pixel-art narrative filled with alcohol, drugs, sex, blows, and strange characters.
NetherWorld is a pixel-art action-adventure narrative experience, set in a decadent world full of filthy creatures, where you play as a jellyfish navigating a marriage crisis with lots of odd twists. What are you waiting for? Add NetherWorld to your wishlist now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420/NetherWorld/

[ 2024-12-16 12:09:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Netherworld takes the spotlight at Gamescom Digital Indie Arena Booth this week.

Were part of the Gamescom Digital Edition, and you can dive into the world of NetherWorld right from the comfort of your home! Try the demo soon on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
NetherWorld is a pixel-art action-adventure narrative experience, and also a dark and decadent land full of filthy creatures, where you are a weird jellyfish handling a marriage crisis with alcohol, drugs, sex, blows, and lots of odd characters. What are you waiting for? Add NetherWorld to your wishlist now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420/NetherWorld/

[ 2024-11-25 17:10:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

NetherWorld takes center stage at TGS Join us and experience the demo!

Were thrilled to announce that NetherWorld is part of the Tokyo Game Show 2024! Come try the demo and get a sneak peek at whats coming soon to Steam and Nintendo Switch.
NetherWorld is a pixel art action-adventure narrative game set in a dark and surreal world. Step into the role of a bizarre jellyfish, navigating a marriage crisis through alcohol, drugs, and encounters with strange, filthy creatures. What are you waiting for? Add NetherWorld to your wishlist and try the demo during Tokyo Game Show 2024! https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420/NetherWorld/

[ 2024-09-25 14:54:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Netherworld takes center stage at One Six Indie Join us and experience the demo!

Were thrilled to announce that NetherWorld is part of the One Six Indie event! Come try the demo and get a sneak peek at whats coming soon to Steam and Nintendo Switch.
NetherWorld is a pixel art action-adventure narrative game set in a dark and surreal world. Step into the role of a bizarre jellyfish, navigating a marriage crisis through alcohol, drugs, and encounters with strange, filthy creatures. What are you waiting for? Add NetherWorld to your wishlist and try the demo during One Six Indie! https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420/NetherWorld/

[ 2024-09-19 15:08:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Netherworld takes the spotlight at Gamescom Indie Arena Booth during this week.

We are at Gamescom, you can try the demo here, and soon on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
NetherWorld is a pixel art action-adventure narrative experience, and also a dark and decadent land full of filthy creatures, where you are a weird jellyfish handling marriage crisis with alcohol, drugs, sex, blows and lots of odd characters. What are you waiting to add Netherworld to your wishlist? https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420/NetherWorld/

[ 2024-08-22 12:34:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

HELL-o Netherholics!

Hows summer going? Please dont die of heat stroke, were near the 100% game development!! To prevent that (the stroke, not the full development), get in the elevulture(?) and join us in this chill ride called What Weve Done. LETS GOGO! [video]https://i.imgur.com/nvfEDHS.mp4[/video]

1) Events

One of the greatest pros of having publisher has been the possibility to travel to physical events outside our main city without going bankrupt, and also joining more online events! Since March weve been to:

1.1) Guadalindie 2024

May 3-4 | Mlaga (Spain)

Its first edition automatically became a must event in Spain on the first semester of the year. Place, people, games, conferences... All 10/10. Kudos to the amazing organization!

Thanks to our publisher Selecta Play we made one of our dreamt merchandise real: Wormpink condoms! [previewyoutube=Jp5D5lOwsWA;full][/previewyoutube] Anyone who played the demo could have this reward by putting their hand into a NetherWorlian popcorn bucket. Being a double-headed worm has its benefits: You could choose the hole!
Sometimes people had to wait a bit to play, but nothing could stop them to get the reward anyway! You just had to wishlist the game and play a ring toss sponsored by Neth Beer: [previewyoutube=Vg_l_BGg5YI;full][/previewyoutube] As you can see, this was our most complete physical stand wed had since IndieDevDay 2023. In fact, we won the Best Stand Decoration Award!
Celebrating the award with our friends from Half Sunk Games (their game "Bl0w Up" won the "Most Brutal Award") and Chumas Games ("Best Puzzle Game" for his game "PANIK"). We also appeared in different Spanish media, as well as having a very interesting interview with the good people of NPC Syndicate (Original source in Spanish. Feel free to check it out!).

1.2) IndiE3 2024

June 4 | Online

During the first weeks of June began the "No-E3 season", and we had the opportunity to be part of one of the most indie-focused online events:
Wed like to thank Clemmy for organizing such a great event and the attention he paid to each indie game in the line up. Oh, did you miss it? Rewatch the showcase here! (we appear at 1: 43 :09 hehe)

1.3) Mad Games Show 2024

June 14-15 | Madrid (Spain)

This time we travelled to Spain's capital, and it was an incredible experience. Not only for the tons of amazing games and devs we met, but also all the people who came by and played our demo. Thank'all! <3

Special shoutout to the super nice Kickstarter backer who came to say hi, and to Duckkk who made a video talking about the game!

"OKOK but what about future events?"

Well, maybe you know this one:

1.4) GAMESCOM 2024!!!

August 21-25 | Cologne (Germany)

YES!!! Were so So SO happy to be at Europes biggest video game industry event thanks to Indie Arena Booth (IAB) and Catalan Arts. Well share a big stand with other 5 amazing games! Check out the full line up here (us in 1:07): [previewyoutube=k1nKYm5WzPA;full][/previewyoutube] Sadly, due to announcement timings we cant reveal the following ones yet, but weve been accepted in at least 3 more:

SEPTEMBER 2024:

• [Physical event] Announcement soon
• [Online event] Announcement soon
• [Physical event] Announcement soon

2) Development

Besides our trips spreading the wonders of our beloved Giant Pink Worm, development hasnt stopped:

• Boss illumination: Neon Lizard A neon creature without neon lights?? Cmooon! [SOLVED] [video]https://i.imgur.com/5HERiHG.mp4[/video]
• Boss illumination: Angry Tree Starter color changed from blue to greener tones, and polished light sources. [video]https://i.imgur.com/ntje54F.mp4[/video]
• Reloading animations for all weapons + improvement of the current ones [previewyoutube=XDF2D8xA1CI;full][/previewyoutube] Testing the new revolver reloading animation.
• 2 new story demos ready One for publishers and a spoiler-free public one. The public demo will be out this year!
• Event demo improvement for Gamescom Basically bosses and some minigames, including not only illumination but also bug fixing.
• Full controller compatibility! You can even play alternating keyboard and controller while playing. I mean, why not? [video]https://i.imgur.com/wvbx1K9.mp4[/video]
• Pending visual assets For secondary quests, scenarios, minigames and items like: >> NPCs for duels
  Wait is that one opponent, or...? >> NPCs for drinking tournaments
  Say hi to Rupert! >> This shit hat [video]https://i.imgur.com/OxscyhS.mp4[/video] >> Over 100 new HD dialogue portraits ...like this little fella!
  

3) QA

Were (and will be) replaying and checking carefully each of the +200 in-game cinematics so we can have a full playable beta with no critical bugs from start to finish after this summer.

4) WA

While we're working on Quality Assurance, help us with the Wishlist Assurance and join this crazy adventure! https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. As always, thanks so much for your support and patience. Enjoy the summer and see ya in the next update! Hungry Pixel team

[ 2024-08-03 15:18:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

How are you? Spring entered the room with blossoms, and so did us with OSOM news! LETS OPEN THE NOSTRILS! (eyes recommended too)

1) WE HAVE A PUBLISHER!!

YES. YES-YES-YES. After months of negotiations, were happy to announce that WE SIGNED A PUBLISHING DEAL WITH SELECTAPLAY! [previewyoutube=UNrzO5rqnLc;full][/previewyoutube] For those who dont know them (yet), SelectaPlay is the video games publishing branch of SelectaVisin, a Spanish video publishing company with a huuuge catalog of anime and live-action feature films, TV shows, and movies.

Okay, cool!! What does that mean?

Thanks to this agreement, SelectaPlay will bring us all their support and necessary resources for:

• NetherWorlds digital and physical publishing for Nintendo Switch and PC;
• Marketing and PR support before, during and after release;
• Kickstarter rewards management (production and shipment).

Not bad, huh? Oh, and one more thing:

WE HAVE AN ESTIMATED RELEASE DATE!

As you may know, NetherWorlds development will finish this year. Our intention was to release it at the end of 2024, but both the team and SelectaPlay agreed that to ensure an ideal release campaign (+ great localization, decent QA, physical edition production, etc.) the best option for the game was to move the launch date to 2025. What hurts us the most is the delay of the release date, and wed like to apologize for that. After all this rollercoaster of emotions called Indie Dev Life, youve kept showing us your support and patience, and were working to make this game worth the wait. Thank you <3.
Visiting SelectaPlays headquarters a couple days ago! Cant wait to show you some of the stuff weve started planning with them, heheheheheheMUAHAHAHA... Meanwhile, you can follow SelectaPlay on any of their official community channels!

• Twitter Spain
• Twitter International
• IG
• YT

2) Same Losers, New Look

Maybe you noticed a little detail in the announcement video... Nope, there are no hidden Illuminati signs (this time), but we couldnt make such a great announcement without suiting up! Heres our brand new logo as Hungry Pixel! [previewyoutube=P55e2-iSK7I;full][/previewyoutube]

3) Wait... Not the same losers!

OK we lied, that logo is not the only new face in town: David Lleida has joined the team as Unity Developer to help us with the last steps of the game. Hes now focused on the remaining cinematics and ensuring everything works fine. Welcome!! <3

4) From Backer To NPC

As you may remember from our last update, we started the process to fulfill the long-awaited Kickstarter "Dark Soul" backer tier reward: Making their own NetherWorld NPC. Well, we finished Phase 2 and Here are the HD dialogue portraits!!
Wanna see the pixel art animations too? We're considering showing them in next updates or waiting until you see them ingame.

5) Scenarios

Having support on cinematics has given us the chance to keep improving details of the biggest urban areas like Gazhova and Pinksburg, such as:

• Elevator system: Why wasting money in regular elevators having an amazing manhole covers system in Gazhovas Sewers? [video]https://i.imgur.com/7C4Jwgg.mp4[/video] Also, we added a manhole cover caller in case you get trapped in the stinky underground, as well as the possibility of calling it from the upper level. [video]https://i.imgur.com/LaiJM6b.mp4[/video]
• First Church Throne Room: Who sat there?
  
• Tick Joe urban entrances: Weve placed most of the tick mounds in the cities, both with distinctive elements. We used little pipes instead of dirt mounds in Gazhova because, you know its kinda hard digging in a 100% metal city. [video]https://i.imgur.com/MXfbk4M.mp4[/video] Tick mound models from Gazhova (left) and Pinksburg (right).

6) Minigames

Last update we talked about bars and Tick Joe stuff, but what about new hanky-panky stuff? As always, our amazing artist Alex has been doing some research to find inspiration for all the specific kinks and positions listed in the game design documents. Sorry, mate.
The irony of searching NSFW content to work. But do you know what is incredibly sexy too?

Adding NetherWorld to your Wishlist and joining this crazy journey!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support and see you in the next devblog! :) Hungry Pixel team

[ 2024-04-17 16:08:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

If you didnt get any presents this Christmas, REEEELAX: Our special Santa has a last 2023 gift for you. LETS UNWRAP THIS SHIT!!
Ho-Ho-Hmmm!

1) Scenarios

Almost 100% of them are finished or, at least, with all buildings and assets in place for cinematics and going for a walk. Were talking about:

• 10 main/big/medium scenarios
• ~16 small/interiors
• and ~6 bars [for now? ( ) ]

Thats regarding to walkable scenarios playing as Medoo, but it's not all: Weve also finished the 8th Tick Joe minigame scenario (keep reading)! Next steps: polishing details + adding illumination and particles. [No new scenario footage because spoilers, sorry. But wait for the Tick Joe one!]

2) Characters

2.1) New secondary character: Dimitri

A smelly, weirdly charming and quite talkative Industrialist who knows more than what he thinks, but less than what he says.

2.2) Sketch + HD Portraits

NetherWorld has lots of NPCs. We mean, theres more than 200 NPCs in the game. During these last months our talented artist Alex Faria has been sketching most of their faces to later make the HD illustration for the dialogue portraits. Thats A LOT of work and certainly not a priority in terms of production right now, so weve decided to put them in stand by and prioritize other assets directly related to gameplay and cinematics. As a small 4 people team wed like to thank and praise the hard work of our main (and only) artist Alex for everything hes doing for the game, dammit everything looks amazing!! Heres some of the pixel art idles of Gazhova NPCs
And heres Dimitri running from their portrait sketches in our last Halloween video! [video]https://i.imgur.com/zYx1xcN.mp4[/video] Oh, and talking about NPCs

3) Designing backer NPCs!

As you may remember from our last update, we started the process to fulfill the long-awaited Kickstarter "Dark Soul" backer tier reward: Making their own NetherWorld NPC. Heres the current design status:

• Phase 0: Backer survey to gather design ideas for each one [DONE]
• Phase 1: Pixel art design image + HD face sketch proposals [DONE]
• Phase 2: Pixel art idle animation + HD color portrait + name & nickname proposals [SENT & WAITING FOR FEEDBACK / APPROVAL]

Well show you the results once Phase 2 is completed! :)

4) Bosses

Our boss programmer Xavi has been working hard on the final boss, which has several phases lol. Alex has done a great work on the different attack animations too, and theyre nearly finished!

5) Minigames

5.1) Tick Joe explores Pinksburg!

Heres a first gameplay of Tick Joes Pinksburg scenario: [video]https://i.imgur.com/Y0A9tZI.mp4[/video]

5.2) Want a drink?

You already knew you'll be able to order a wide range of drinks depending on the bar you visit, and they will be a part of the Drinking Tournament minigame too.
But you didn't knew we'd show you a sneak peek of some of the ~50 pixel art drink designs youll get drunk/high/sick with!
Theyll all have an HD illustration image for the ordering UI.

6) Publishers

Weve had very interesting conversations recently, and hope we can give you good news about it soon! ;)

7) HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

WHAT? 2024!? TOMORROW!!??

Quick, add NetherWorld to your Wishlist to have a great year!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420 We really hope you enjoy these last 2023 moments, and every time you feel 2024 is shitty, remember: The life of the weird jellyfish you see below will be always worse. [video]https://i.imgur.com/yGLs5nM.mp4[/video] And avoid cokehead mages, please <3.

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support and HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :D Hungry Pixel team

[ 2023-12-31 11:31:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

Were back from the hot season almost melt but with tons of great news too, so less BLAH BLAH and more LETS GO!!

1) IndieDevDay 2023

As you may remember from last year, IDD is one of the most important indie game development events in Spain, and last weekend we had the honor to repeat our attendance physical stand included!
We're dead, but also super happy about all the positive feedback about the game. Thanks so much to everyone who visited our stand, organization, publishers and all the wonderful devs we met! For those who couldn't come, here's a quick IDD23's recap! [video]https://i.imgur.com/APYCd6E.mp4[/video] We were selling exclusive drunk Medoo keychains too! Want one? ( )

2) Demoing (is that even a thing?)

Having a stand at such big event meant preaching how good was being puked by a giant Worm God while watching visitors being kicked by bosses, but also meeting cool publishers that could be interested in the game. Thats why during the last month weve been working on two demos: a stand-visitor one (with bosses and Tick Joe's minigame), and a publisher one (with story content too). You guys seemed to enjoy (and suffer) the public demo!
Besides discovering new minor bugs in the bosses, we also noted down all your feedback. Inputs like increasing Medoo's visibility in dark scenarios and improving the "You need to reload, dude" visual feedback will be fixed for the final game for sure. Thank you!

3) Scenarios

Theres a lot to tell but unfortunately less to show (because spoilers). However, heres everything Alex has been working on these months!

• Pinksburg building interiors: Two-level club, crappy bar.
• Pinksburg Church final assets, including: >> A medium scenario with 5 rooms to explore.
  A tiny part of Pinksburg Church main hall! (WIP) >> +20 NPC designs, and even a new secondary character! (more info soon)
• Final scenario: First designs and basic assets placement.
• New characters HD portrait designs.

4) OST / SFX

As mentioned in the last update, our favorite music duo Rogue Sonics recently sent us brand new sfx for one of the fights people had the chance to try playing the demo at the event, and also a couple of tracks related to NetherWorlds capital: Pinksburg and Boss #9. Aaargh cant wait for you to listen to them!!

5) Story

5.1) Script

First draft of the whole script is at 96% now! Luckily, our script integration system allows us to keep creating cinematics regardless the scene has final dialogues or not, so its great for avoiding bottlenecks.

5.2) 2nd half progress

With the 60% of the game fully playable and with no critical bugs, our awesome programmer Dan is going at full throttle with the cinematics of the remaining 40%. Our main goal is to have them ready + a fully playable beta version of NetherWorld for Christmas aprox.

6) Other improvements:

• Bosses: Xavi polished #6 & #9 for the demos, as well as making progresses with the Final Boss.
• General performance optimization (triggers, AudioPlayer), especially for Nintendo Switch. And yes: we've been running the game in both dock and portable modes! [video]https://i.imgur.com/gXymf5a.mp4[/video] NetherWorld looks great on portable...
  ...and on Switch dock too!
• Polishing minor bugs on implemented systems, like: >> Interactable objects >> Combat cinematics (No shooting while talking, Medoo!) >> Inventory UI Now you can read item names without going blind!
  
• Cute new detail: Every time Medoo dies, the weapon hes holding will fall off (yes, we love highlighting drama). [video]https://i.imgur.com/ao8USox.mp4[/video]
• We also programmed Fishermans fishing rod! So he can fish anything we want! (probably everything but fish) [video]https://i.imgur.com/P7TNFyI.mp4[/video]
• Made some internal tweaks to sex minigame too. Now it better adapts to Medoos plot situation (not gonna elaborate on that).

7) Crowdfunding awaited reward

In case you didn't know, one of our Kickstarter rewards for "Dark Soul" tier backers and above was called You as NPC. Well, the time has come: In the following weeks, we'll send them a form so they can help us creating their own NPCs for the game! Not a "Dark Soul" backer? Don't worry, we know you have a dark soul anyway, so you can help us too...

...adding NetherWorld to your Wishlist and joining this crazy journey!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support and see you in the next devblog... Or event! ;) Hungry Pixel team

[ 2023-09-16 08:58:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

How are you? Since our last update weve been quite low-profile on Twitter and other social media because were reaching game content we dont wanna spoil. However, our quarterly updates are SACRED, so well tell & show you everything we can. LETS GO!

1) Scenarios

1.1) The too-religiously-invested organic cyberpunk capital

Weve spent nearly 2 months crafting Pinksburg, one of the biggest scenarios of the game. We prefer waiting a bit more to show you Medoo getting lost in it, but most of its weird buildings are ready, so... Check out some of its designs!
Some Pinksburg buildings without neon signs. Quite huge! We have lots of NPCs too, especially the first designs of The Mofia*: an organization that rules the city in the shadows. What are they up to?
*Any resemblance to other criminal organizations called Mafia is pure coincidence. They're mabs, not mobs! Were currently working on some interior scenarios like a bar, an office, a two-level club, a hotel suite, Pinksburg Church (a new scenario inside the scenario) and more! Once we finish the interiors and implement the upper level elevators, well add all the crazy neon signs and light effects everywhere. [video]https://i.imgur.com/m5Sugl6.mp4[/video] Alpha light test for an elevator!

1.2) Back to Gas City!

Gazhova exterior surface is finished, but theres still some interiors to finish. We also improved Sewers underground level parallax, adding depth and some metal bridges so you can cross toxic acid rivers without harm. [video]https://i.imgur.com/5TDrmvb.mp4[/video] Smelly jelly > Skelly jelly What's next for Gazhova? Implementing the elevator system that connects Surface and Sewers levels (after Pinksburg).

2) Bosses

Thanks to Xavi, theres only one last big boss to make Yes, you guessed well: The Final Boss!! After several weeks of design meetings to ensure the most epic and complete fight of the game, were glad to announce that Boss #12 is starting production next week! Any guesses?

3) Buggie Dance

We found some time to improve our demo for future physical events too (dont ask how, we dont even know). Cant confirm any yet but our intention is to be in 2 events this year! Preparing this new demo allowed us to fix some unexpected critical bugs like:

• Some Tick Joes enemies trapped in walls. [video]https://i.imgur.com/NUgvZc6.mp4[/video] This bug only appeared to Albert in almost every run. However, every time he wanted to film it with the screen recorder, it disappeared. He finally recorded it with the phone to prove he wasn't crazy.
• Weird object breakability physics in Boss #4 (Protect the milky creature).
• Phase 2 transition errors in Boss #9 (Blue Fire Armor").

4) Script

Keeping a low profile in social media (and answering mails a bit later, sorry!) has allowed us to focus on writing at full throttle. The first version of the script is at 80% now, and our goal is to complete it by the end of June. This way well have all the summer to rewrite, cut filler and polish to achieve the *cheff kiss* level (or trying it at least).

5) Music

Meanwhile, Rogue Sonics have been on fire composing and producing a couple boss themes (#7 & #9) and the drinking minigame track since January. They recently started with Boss 9 SFX and Pinskburg main theme too. Still on the works, but cant wait to listen to it! [video]https://i.imgur.com/q4z0hjv.mp4[/video]

6) Pitches, Pitches, Pitches, Pitches-Pitches

We havent stopped sending pitches to publishers we think NetherWorld could fit in their catalog, but for now we havent been lucky. However, we truly believe in our project and well fight until last minute to find a partner that can make NetherWorld launch easier and reach as many people as possible. Do you know any publisher that would be interested in NetherWorld? We're all ears! If not, you can do something too:

Add NetherWorld to your Wishlist and be a part of this crazy journey!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support and see you in the next devblog! :) Hungry Pixel team

[ 2023-05-26 10:34:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

Its us, or did February pass faster than January? Anyway, hows 2023 going?

THIS HAS BEEN OURS SO FAR:

1) Bosses

As scheduled in our last update, Boss #10 is finished! Theres still visual stuff and minor bugs to polish, but were happy with the results. This time weve decided not showing screenshots (sorry! v.v), but for now lets say its a drug lord. ( ) So Only 2 bosses ahead now! In the following months well be discussing Boss #12's design. Its the final one and we want to make sure its EPIC! Hope we can tell (& show) you more soon without spoilers!

2) New implementations

2.1) Map location

Cant show footage yet, but now you can see your location in the map! It will also change during the story while unlocking the different worms and discovering where the heck they lead to.

2.2) Minigame rewards

Every time you finish a minigame, youll obtain items, money or both. Our idea was items to pop up, and money to rain on you or going towards you. Visuals still WIP, but it works! [video]https://i.imgur.com/WyVMmDD.mp4[/video] While testing it, we had the great idea of setting a 3k coins reward. 2 minutes later, Medoo was still under the golden shower lol

3) Scenarios

3.1) Gas City

Gazhova is 95% done, as well as all its NPCs placed! In the following weeks well start building all the in-game cinematics and dialogues, and also making sure everything (quests, minigames, NPCs, main story) works and looks cool. [video]https://i.imgur.com/BiIx2T0.mp4[/video] Hanging around at Ikarov's sewer bar! (Visuals not final)

3.2) Building the Capital!

While our programmer Dan is focused on Gazhova, this March our artist Alex will be on fire with the last big scenario: Pinksburg. It will be the 8th scenario of the game, and NetherWorld's capital. How will it look like? Any guesses? Cant wait to show you concepts and building designs in the coming updates!

4) Business

In the last 3 months weve been a bit less active on Social media (e.g. Twitter) and even slowed down NetherWorlds development a bit to deal with our Boss #13: Paperwork. [video]https://i.imgur.com/Mb5yUZf.mp4[/video] The chance of a publisher agreement or just selling our game as a set up studio has demanded our attention, implying business & economic plans and budgets considering all the possible scenarios. As a small indie team with very limited resources, wed like to thank Barcelona Activa for their free assessment in business creation and financial stuff to avoid jail and bankruptcy in the future :')

5) What's ahead

5.1) Unblocking Part 1

Its taking more time than expected, but we continue working to make sure the first 60% of the game (main and secondary content) is fully playable without any critical or major bugs. Its a kinda slow process but were getting closer to the finish line! [video]https://i.imgur.com/BtdZLuw.mp4[/video]

5.2) Writing Part 2

Not gonna lie: Writing a script while handling other necessary tasks is hard, and burnout ghosts are there. However, having all the scenes planned makes us confident and glad about the direction the script is going. [video]https://i.imgur.com/9dNf3Sl.mp4[/video]

5.3) WANTED: Publishers

We havent stopped sending pitches and scheduling meetings. If you know any publishers that may be interested in NetherWorld, make them know!

5.4) WANTED: You

Our sensors detected in your eyes a high amount of WISH to play the game, but... Is it in the LIST? Help us and add it below! (Thanks <3) https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support and see you in the next devblog! :) Hungry Pixel team

[ 2023-02-28 18:55:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

How are you? These last 3 months have been CRAZY, and we wanted to share with you all this craziness in a final 2022 update!

LETS GO-hO-hO!

1) New Artwork and Trailer

As we told you in Septembers update, we had the cool chance to have a physical stand at the 5th edition of IDD22, an awesome indie game development event held in Barcelona (Spain). So... It was time to update our visual materials everywhere, and were very glad of the results!
Amazing work by our artist Alex Faria. We made a new trailer too: [previewyoutube=Kha0qqZK6EQ;full][/previewyoutube] Did you like it? Let us know your thoughts! We also created a new Youtube channel that will contain all NetherWorld and Hungry Pixel-related content from now on. Feel free to subscribe to it!

2) IndieDevDay 2022 Experience

What an amazing weekend. Were extremely happy and grateful for meeting incredible devs, some of our Kickstarter backers, as well as for the hundreds of people who came by, talked to us and played the bosses demo (we even had a waiting line WTF).
We were also interviewed by Spanish indie game media such as XYZ Reviews or El tico Indie! (Very nice people btw) Heres some photos of the event (in case you couldn't come and want to add yourself with Photoshop):


Xavi (boss programmer) and Albert (communications, writer) after a whole non-stop event weekend. Smiling outside, dead inside.

3) New Improvements and Implementations

• Vendor system: Fully tested and coordinated with the buying, inventory and money systems.
  UI design and text not final.
• Barman system: A variation of the vendor system that allows you to order drinks and food, as well as taking part in drinking tournaments.
  UI design and text not final... hip!
• Mission system: That includes checking current main and secondary quests, automatic crossed-out + pop up for the ones you already made, subtasks list, expanded descriptions, etc.
  UI design and text not final.
• Playing 60% of the game non-stop: Weve been fixing bugs to make sure all the developed game and quests are playable uninterruptedly. At some parts of the game, youll be able to choose between different main quests, and we have to be sure nothing breaks despite the quest you chose first.

4) Bosses

As always, our boss programmer Xavi has done an amazing job developing Boss #9/12. For those who played the first demo of NetherWorld, this boss is a (more?) surreal adaptation of the Blue Fire Armor. Its design was updated both narratively and mechanically to fit the final version of the game.
Old "Blue Fire Armor" boss.
New (and mostly hidden) "Blue Fire Armor" boss. Regarding to Boss #10, its currently in the works and planned to be ready the first weeks of 2023!

5) Scenarios

Gazhova (Gas City) has been quite a challenge due to its size: Not only horizontally, but also vertically (it has 2 levels, 3 in some areas). Thats why it has taken up most of Alexs time, dreams and nightmares. The good news are that remaining NPCs are done, and the scenario is planned to be fully finished in the following weeks. [video]https://i.imgur.com/XZtb44o.mp4[/video] We were so focused on streetlights, that we forgot to implement the correct access to the Sewer level. HOWEVER, you can technically go to the Sewer level now, right?

6) What's Ahead

2023 is especial for us. Main reason? Were committed (and scheduled) to have NetherWorld FINALLY finished that year (yeeaah!). We have the last big scenario ahead, along with the final boss, the final scenes scripts and the final final everything. IDD22 and all your support really gave us renewed energies to face the last year of development with confidence. We really hope you enjoy the crazy shit were doing!! [video]https://i.imgur.com/wDBt6KW.mp4[/video] Eating mushrooms in Fornus Forest is high-ly recommended.

Aaaaand before finishing...

Unlike Medoo, we'd like to

wish you a Merry Christmas and a Grrreat 2023! :D

Thanks so much for your support, get wasted responsibly and see you next year! Hungry Pixel team
If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com.

Any wishes for 2023? One proposal: ( )

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

[ 2022-12-30 18:28:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

All good? How was your sweaty vacation? If you feel a gentle breeze in the back of your necks, enjoy: IT'S US BLOWING YOU COOL NEWS!* *(if you feel it twice, it's not us. Get the hell outta there.)

LETS SEE WHAT WE GOT!

1) IndieDevDay 2022

For the first time in centuries, were glad to announce well have a physical stand in the IndieDevDay 2022 event on October 29 & 30! For those who didnt know about it, IDD is an indie game development event held in Barcelona (Spain). This 5th edition is sponsored by the publisher Devolver Digital, and will have tons of meetups, workshops, conferences, indie game stands and more!
You'll be able to meet us, kick us and also play the improved boss beta our Kickstarter backers tested! (1/3 actions may not be possible) If youre in Barcelona during these days, feel free to come by! (Entrance is literally free). **In case you are a horrible person who lives abroad and dont want to spend a fortune in transport (how dare you!), no worries: well have a virtual stand in the event website too!

2) New Footage and Materials

Having this event in mind, weve worked hard to prepare and update every footage and material we can to show the game as it looks now. That means:

• New trailer
• Website content update
• Steam page content update

Well reveal everything once the event date is closer. CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE IT!

3) Development Progress

Besides the event preparation, NetherWorlds development has continued flowing like a summer day sweat dripping down our armpits:

3.1) More Bosses!

Bosses #7 and #8 are fully playable, but theres still work to do regarding to final animations.

• Boss #7 will include a puzzle-solving mechanic and a unique weapon. Heres how the scenario will look like! [WIP]

• Boss #8 is a nearly total rework and improvement of the Abbess we showed in the original Kickstarter campaign. That includes explosive fetuses and tons of blood, of course.

Well show you more once we have the final assets!

3.2) More Buildings!

The Gas City of Gazhova has several important structures, including the Old Church. Weve finally finished its exterior, and this is how its top wormlight looks like! [video]https://i.imgur.com/Bs8pZRA.mp4[/video] Wanna see the rest of it? Wait for the trailer! ;)

3.3) More Particles!

Travelling to a toxic city like Gazhova means theres deadly gas everywhere, so weve been testing different gas particles to set the mood.
Dont forget the gas mask in the city! Weve also added dust and snow particles to the desert and snow scenarios: [video]https://i.imgur.com/Jt8DNft.mp4[/video] [video]https://i.imgur.com/6F3GuK2.mp4[/video]

3.4) More Fixing!

Preparing new materials for Octobers IndieDevDay hasnt stopped us from the usual game development. That involved fixing and improving stuff like:

• Tick Joe minigame minor bugs
• Zoom system for specific locations and cinematics: We managed to avoid pixel deformations due to resolution, zoom scale, pixel perfect grid or others.
  For some, the solution was to stop applying interpolation based on screen size. For others, changing the bulb.
• Alcohol (and/or other) effects for every drink depending on type and number. Food effects too!
• Buying system design implementation.
• Excessive slippery terrains: Medoo is clumsy, but not THAT clumsy.
• New Autonomous Bird behavior system: Footage soon!
• Controls changes: Draw weapon and Change selection from multiple objects keys are separate now.
• Conditional Equipped Object system standardization: Depending on the hat or/and mask youre wearing -or the object you have in the inventory-, youll be able to start or complete missions. Even getting into exclusive places!
• Strange bug in your Steam account: That caused not having NetherWorld in your wishlist, but you can fix it easily by clicking the following awesome button!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support and see you in the next devblog... or event! :) Hungry Pixel team

[ 2022-09-23 16:46:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

If summer vibes havent reached you yet, youll feel them now, honey. HERE WE GO! [video]https://i.imgur.com/KREH7hG.mp4[/video] No summer vibes, but mosquito bites? Time to have both!

1) Kickstarter Boss Beta Test Feedback's Feedback (and other extremely long titles)

We couldnt start this update without thanking all Kickstarter backers who played NetherWorld's boss beta (and also happy you liked it that much!). Its been 2 months since its launch, and their feedback has helped us a lot improving and fixing certain aspects of the fights.

• Most of them pointed out there was a lack of reloading feedback sounds: FIXED!
• Were also working on some visual improvements such as the hallucinogenic gas geysers from The Angry Tree, among others.

[video]https://i.imgur.com/4ugGtfq.mp4[/video]

2) New Bosses Production

Were glad to announce that weve started the production of the remaining bosses:

• Bosses finished: 6/12
• Bosses designed: 11/12

Hope we can show you some cool footage soon! Meanwhile, heres some Making Of footage from one of Xenus -the Neon Lizard- attacks: [video]https://i.imgur.com/jF90xX0.mp4[/video]

3) Minigames progress

3.1) Tick Joe

Weve done tons of changes and improvements to this roguelike-ish minigame, so heres a summary:

• Enemy behavior polishment
• New projectile designs (for both Tick Joe + enemies)
• New block & enemy destruction animations
• Dash implementation

[video]https://i.imgur.com/UmzC5xi.mp4[/video]

• Laser glow addition
• Health UI implementation (may change in the future)
• Tile rotation and corner model addition for procedural dungeons
• 6 unique dungeon & enemy designs implementation (and more to come)

[video]https://i.imgur.com/PVFu6qe.mp4[/video]

3.2) Drinking tournaments

Weve been working on the UI as well as testing it in one of the scenarios (youll be able to participate in every bar you find). [video]https://i.imgur.com/dqSYnw9.mp4[/video] [WIP] Avoid coffee or your Wasted bar will decrease!

4) Polishing animations

Thanks to our procedural pixel arms system, weve been adding reloading animations for every weapon.

DID YOU KNOW...?

This system is the same we use for object throwing! [video]https://i.imgur.com/URx5OKv.mp4[/video]

5) Story

During the last updates youve heard us focusing a lot on minigames and bosses, but what about the main story? Well Weve:

• finished a quest list system available from the inventory (footage soon)
• kept writing the second half of the script. Thanks to having all the game scenes and interactions planned, we can build most of the cinematics without having the final dialogues. That will avoid production bottle necks in the future.
• taking advantage of our event system, which allows the game to change weather, dialogues, character design/locations and more depending on the actions (events) completed by the player.

[video]https://i.imgur.com/iv9uTlZ.mp4[/video] Some scenarios will look different in many ways when you come back during the story.

• been revising all first half of the game looking for bugs and possible scenario&cinematic improvements (still doing it).

Talking about improvements...

Add NetherWorld to your Wishlist and be a part of this crazy journey too!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now! How was it?

If you have any questions or insults, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support, have a grrrrrreat summer and see you in the next devblog! Hungry Pixel team

[ 2022-06-21 18:09:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

Did you know that Spring means New progress update in some language weve just made up? Its similar to Sprint, so LETS GO! *STARTING SHOT*

1) Mossy Bosses

One update later, were glad to announce that all first 6 bosses of the game are playable! Huge thanks to our freelance programmer Xavi, he's done an amazing job! Heres some footage of one of the fellas weve enjoyed the most: The Angry Tree!
Hmmm... Did you hear that?
Time to get dirty!
The "Oh, f*ck" moment in boss fights.

2) Bassy Minigames

Were still polishing minor bugs and visual details of every minigame, especially their UI. However, regarding to Tick Joe minigame we recently got fresh new tracks! (Cant wait you listen to them)
This is how bugs are fixed.
Unlike Medoo, Tick Joe can jump. A LOT.

3) Gassy Scenarios

Remember Gazhova, the Gas City? Well A new version of it is being forged!
It will be the first scenario with 2 levels: Toxic surface and More-toxic sewers!

4) Sassy Characters

Gas City isnt the only thing weve improved. Meet the new versions of Madam Marinda and some of her desert b*tches!

5) Woozy Drinks

To finish this update, lets toast with some of the drinks youll be able to get wasted with in the game: Pumpkin Vodka and Smoked Whisky!
WAIT. Feeling dizzy?
You should

Add NetherWorld to your Wishlist and be a part of this crazy journey too!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

6) Slight change of plans

As you may know, were developing NetherWorld for PC and Switch at the same time. A few months ago, Nintendo upgraded the list of required Unity versions to publish on Switch, so we had to upgrade our Unity version too. That caused several bugs: the big ones have been already fixed, but were still checking everything in case theres more. The Unity upgrade bugs interrupted NetherWorld's first part cinematic revision process, delaying the following steps in the schedule too: OST/SFX implementation + English localization. Considering the recent events, our mental health and the work ahead, we've decided to launch an exclusive boss beta testing for Kickstarter backers soon instead of the original first part of the game.

Aaaaand that's it for now!

How was it? If you have any questions, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Hope you're all doing well, thanks so much for your support and see you in the next devblog! Hungry Pixel team

[ 2022-03-22 20:32:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

Turkey is gone*, winter is here and so is the last update of the year! *(the animal) LETS SEE WHAT WEVE BEEN COOKIN' LATELY!

1) From Losses to Bosses

The first part of NetherWorld (60% of the final game aprox.) has 6 bosses, and sadly during The Accident the ones we already had blew away. To ensure they're ready by the end of this year, Xavi Farr joined the team as freelance programmer to help us with all the fights.
Say hi to Xavi! Among many stuff, hes been working on:

• Testing new potion mechanics to simplify a bit the first fight
  
• ensuring giant trees hit you properly...
  Strike 3, BOSS OUT!
• or choosing the right beer color to be spurted on your face.
  Any beer preferences to get killed with?

2) Minigames

In the last update we talked about Tick Joe roguelike dungeons, but What about the rest of the minigames? [The following footage is not final]:

2.1) Sex(y) encounters

Smash the correct buttons to reach the climax performance and set the thermometer ON FIRE!
Having fun with Miss Garple.

2.2) Drinking tournaments

Catch the drinks at the right time and get wasted before the opponent does!
First minigame test. Just one advice: avoid coffee! For the Wasted Bar we came up with a system so an object can follow the fill amount of an image without using Sliders (in Unity):

2.3) Duels

Make sure you hit the poster with the moving sight, or youll be shot in the face instead!
Deciding sight design. Any favourites?

3) HD Inventory Objects & Map

3.1) Weird pixel art objects deserve weird HD portraits too

3 months ago we showed you how NPCs would look on dialog UI. Dont remember? Heres another one:
Oh, Miss Garple... Our beloved nosy neighbor!

Now its time for Inventory objects!

As you can see below, weve divided the objects into 4 color categories:
Left to right: Hats, Weapons, Masks and Mission Items.

3.2) Press M!

Medoo doesnt give a shit about maps, but somebody else will (and ultimately it will be helpful for Medoo too). This valuable encyclopedic map will change during the story each time Medoo discovers new stuff, and hell write and draw on it like it was a kids menu.
WIP design.

4) Polish & Tweak Should Be Character Names

As always, weve continued:

• Improving existing systems like the teleporting worms
  [Early tests footage] Now they work 100% great, just need final particle touches!
• fixing bugs of new systems like elevators...
  [SPOILER-FREE VERSION] The system understood Medoo was falling into void rather than just going down in an elevator. Looking at his life, we would make the same assumptions.
• and creating new animations like these ones for Mayo, the Hook Lady:
  
or for the not-annoying-at-all waspions:

$$ Oh, and were also implementing the money system! $$

5) In-game cinematics

Were glad to say that 95% of the first part cinematics are built-in in the game. But thats not enough, obviously. During this month theyll be revised and polished in terms of both script and visuals to provide the best narrative experience possible.

6) Playing NetherWorld before 2022

Were now totally focused on finishing a Kickstarter backer exclusive playable version of the first part of the game before 2022 (or at least first weeks of 2022). If you're not a backer, don't worry! You'll be able to enjoy the final game with everything polished, so...

Add NetherWorld to your Wishlist and be a part of this crazy journey too!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now!

How was it? If you have any questions, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. Thanks so much for your support, Happy Holidays and see you in the next devblog! Hungry Pixel team

[ 2021-12-05 15:18:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

How was your summer? We guess it was sunny most of the time, considering the heat in the basement we were locked up. But this is not about us this is about your NetherWorlds quarterly dosis, so LETS GO!!

SHOW MUST GO WORM

Following our last update wormwork, animated and implemented the worms of the 60% of the game (both upper & lower heads), each one with unique designs depending on its scenario. Now teleportation between scenarios is fully possible!
Taking attendance at the Worm Cave.
Desert worm upper head is ready to include you in the menu besides rocks and sand.

GO GO TICK JOE!

Although Tick Joe underground adventures are one of our most advanced minigames, we were still using old or generic assets for the dungeons UNTIL NOW! Weve

1) Improved Tick Joes appearance:

Wanna see it in HD? Keep reading!

2) Redesigned the dungeons

To fit the scenario where youre playing it:
Next improvement: Adding tile variations. This redesign also includes:

• DUNGEON FINAL CHESTS Always hiding useful items, useless stuff and/or money.
  
• +30 ENEMY VARIATIONS Ready to kick your ass in a visually consistent way everywhere.
  Can you guess which scenarios are they from?
• NEW MINIGAME UI (WIP) Were still testing it, so maybe its better to show it in future updates!

But talking about UI No, wait:

TALKING ABOUT UI

Much better. Heres our progress on implementing the new UI in HD! (STILL WIP!)

1) Inventory

2) Fight Mode UI

Although we already had the combat system developed, were currently polishing it to fit the new UI. Thats important especially regarding to:

• The new semicircular bullet system and boss health bar (not implemented in older versions),
  
• Weapon switching + reload systems in both PC and Nintendo Switch,
  Switching weapons! (They will look cooler, we promise)
  Oh, reloading The difference between dying now and dying later.
• And visual details like the damage indicator in the health bar each time Medoo is hurt.
  

That's not exclusive to the Fight Mode, but were also working on a throwing trajectory indicator!
And finally

DIALOGUE FACES!!

Were so happy to show you this, guys. Since day 1, we were aware our pixel size didnt allow to show all the characters emotions the way we wanted. That was a problem, because dialogues and expressions were key to empathize with them along the story. The idea of HD UI solved this even better than expected. So here we are, creating nearly 130 portraits for all NPCs in the game (main characters will have several facial expressions too)! This couldnt be possible without our talented artist Alex Faria. Hes doing an incredible job giving a soul to each one of the characters, and we couldnt be prouder of his work. We hope you like it too!




Tick Joe has its own one too, obviously!

WHAT'S AHEAD

As planned, during the following months well focus on bosses and minigames while continuing the ingame cinematics and HD UI elements left. Thats why were gonna need some extra help in programming soon! ;)

Add NetherWorld to your Wishlist and join us in this crazy journey!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand that's it for now!

How was it? If you have any questions, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. As always, thanks so much for your support and see you in the next devblog! Hungry Pixel team

[ 2021-09-04 16:00:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

Hope youre all fine. Oh, youre not? Dont worry, we bring good stuff to fix that! Medoo, light up the room and LETS GO!!

DEWORMCRATIC ELECTION RESULTS

A month ago we asked our Kickstarter backers which double-headed worm model they preferred to puke them (and you too) around NetherWorld scenarios.
Hmmm... Parabolic A, Punky B or Mustaches C? AND THE PEOPLE SPOKE:

CONGRATS TO PARABOLIC A!

We wanna thank our incredible backers again for voting and giving us feedback. We also noticed people liked B a lot (it even won the Twitter poll!), so MAYBE we manage to include it one way or another. We also promised wed show the winners main animations you'll see when travelling from a scenario to the Worm Cave (vomiting / absorbing effects will be added soon):
However, this is only the basic model. The final design of each worm will change a bit depending on the scenario they are placed on (or lead to). We really hope you like it!

SCENARIOS: UPDATES & UPGRADES

Were glad to announce that all the scenarios from the first 60% of the game are playable. Some of them have a new look too! (no lightning or particles yet).

1) New Mordisco Desert

In order to make it feel eerier and threatening, we decreased saturation, changed sky color and tested increasing mountains size (so they looked closer to the player). We'll add sandstorm particles in the future.
We also fixed the scale of some houses that made Medoo look way taller than he really is:

• Old Saloon size:
  "Optimistic Medoo", 2020. Oil on canvas.
• New Saloon size:
  "Realistic Medoo", 2021. Tears on canvas.

2) New forest

Fornus Forest was one of the first areas we created on 2016, and despite some upgrades it was looking too old. We decided to burn most of it and plant new assets in a completely new terrain. SLOPES EVERYWHERE!
Weve also improved some of the creature designs:
Whether you get lost or wanna have fun in Fornus, we encourage you to visit this spot. Its empty now, but keep reading to know who youll find there.

3) Home, S-weed Home

Weve made Medoos house bigger, and with more rooms and objects. Besides... It will change a bit during the story!

CHARACTERS: UPDATES & UPGRADES

Scenarios arent the only ones with a new face. Check out some of the big changes weve done to main and secondary characters!

1) Bozky

Our best friend and pet looked so big on screen that stood out more than Medoo himself (that's not difficult, but still).

2) Cubick

We gave him the outfit a real cokehead mage deserves!

3) Aitana

She's very shy and comes from a conservative and religious family, so we changed her animations and clothes to reflect that.
She... she's gonna be fine. Yeah. Totally fine.

4) Petra

We wanted to add more personality to The Puke's best bitch. If you need business or entrepreneurship advice, she's your girl.

5) Marinda

The Puke's Whorehouse owner has 2 passions: Money and sexual slaves.

6) "Them"

Are you lost? Are you hot? Meet "Them" at Fornus Stones and let it flow.

TECHNICAL STUFF

Our beloved PLIB (Programmer-Locked-In-Basement) Dan has been focused on in-game cinematics and fixing minor bugs, as well as working on:

• Worm teleportation system.
• Autosave system implementation.
• Fast-Dressing tool (internal use only): It allows us to test clothes on Medoo faster just by dragging them there.
  

WHAT NEXT?

DAAAMN, after the Accident we never thought wed be that happy seeing all the lost scenarios on Unity again, as well as the new ones! Tell us your impressions in the comments! During the following weeks well keep working on in-game cinematics, designing a new HD UI and also finishing and revising some parts of the script.

Add NetherWorld to your Wishlist and join us in this crazy journey!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaaand Holy Worm, that's it for now!

How was it? If you have any questions, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. As always, thanks so much for your support, stay safe and see you in the next devblog! Hungry Pixel team

[ 2021-06-05 09:05:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

How are you?

We can all agree that 2020 sucked a bit, right?
In our case, we kinda survived the first half of the year, and even posted a complete two-part recap about NetherWorld's last years of development on September 2020. Did you read it? Are up to date? Great. NOW FORGET IT.

THE ACCIDENT

One month after the recap update, NetherWorld scenarios were seriously damaged by a repository error.
An old .gitignore configuration had been ignoring most of the scenarios .meta files. This means that when we pulled a previous backup version to undo a minor game error, NetherWorld scenarios (including everything placed on them like cinematics, NPCs and the rest of visual elements) were overwritten both in local and cloud with the [MostlyNothing.meta] saved in the backup. OH BOI. We spent several days and nights trying to restore the original files, but it wasn't possible. Despite the bad news and our temporary mental breakdown, there were reasons to be optimistic: Dialogue script was fine, game code was fine, and visual assets as individual files were fine too. That meant we still had all the pieces of each scenario, and our job during the following months would focus on putting them together again (as well as working on new assets).

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS

1) Technical upgrades

That unfortunate event made us realize there were several parts of the game that could be improved, but we couldnt due to the structure of a game that was started on 2016. So we had a last chance to apply all our gained experience during these years to upgrade old code, optimize functionalities and use new tools that would speed NetherWorld up and make the future development easier. Heres all weve achieved since then:

• Backup system improvement: We learnt the lesson, so we updated and tripled our protocols.
• Ranged weapon selection system improvement: Easier for you to switch weapons during fights, easier for us to create new ones.
• New recoil system
• New aiming system
• New crouching system: More agile and useful during fights.
• New falling system: Shoot while falling and standing up!


• Parallax System optimization
• New UI system: Way more optimized and in HD!
• Pixel perfect system implementation: We were doing it by hand!
• Resolution optimization: We added extra pixels to make it full native and scalable. Same resolution quality, less resources used, no half pixels. That also allows getting rid of external tools for pixel rotation.
• Item equipment system optimization: Especially for hats and masks.
• Collider and trigger system improvement: Using Unitys physics and trigger systems at the same time was quite tricky for the project, so we created our own trigger system from scratch.
• Save and load system improvement: Weve adjusted (& optimized) it to follow all Nintendo Switch requirements.
• Game notification system improvement: It was used for missions only, but now it works with in-game tutorials of any kind, shape and format.
• New cinematic engine: Using Unitys tool Timeline for cinematics instead of coding everything allows us to speed up their production without sacrificing narrative quality.
• New cinematic camera system: Cool real time in-game cinematics need great camera fx, movements, and zooms! We made sure all of them work well with the pixel perfect system.
• NPC portraits on dialog interface: With the HD UI upgrade, well be able to see all NPCs and characters we talk to with more details than a few pixels!

As you may suspect, dialog UI and Bozky's HD photo are not final.
• New controller plugin for Nintendo Switch
• Slope system implementation: See ya, plain scenarios! Weve also fixed some bugs that didnt allow NPCs to walk on these new irregular terrains.


• Multiselection: Sometimes it was quite tricky to interact with the right objects or people because they were very close to each other. Not gonna happen again, baby.

Sorry for the GIF compression... Barman Bobb is ugly, but not THAT ugly.
• Drug effects system: Every drug you drink, snort, eat or take somehow will have a different visual effect!

Drunk who?
• Interacting from behind: No more need to be in front of an NPC to start conversation!


• New Wishlist button: Okay, it's not new... but if you press it you'll have all the good luck our protagonist lacks.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

2) New artist in the team!

Pandemic and confinement have affected us in many ways, not only at work but in our personal lives too. Due to personal reasons (basically LIFE), our incredible and talented artist Isa asked us to step aside from the project. As a little family who has been working together for nearly 3 years, thats tough. However, the n1 priority for us at Hungry Pixel is health (mental and physical). But don't worry, Isa is not leaving the studio! We love her, well miss her, and we wish she can come back for the next Hungry Pixel game with recharged batteries! <3 Not gonna lie, it was very difficult to find someone who could continue Isas amazing work. After many weeks and interviews... WE DID IT. Were glad to introduce you Alejandro Faria, NetherWorlds new Main Artist!
Look at him... What is he hiding behind that smile? Lets see what this guy can do!

3) New scenarios

Wait Did somebody say NEW SCENARIOS? In plural?

>> SNEW SNOW

We already had old snow assets from before starting our 2018s Kickstarter campaign, but they needed to be upgraded to maintain the current visual quality of the game. Here's some of the changes!

• Old Snow:

  
  
  

• Upgraded Snow:

  
  (Still WIP / no effects / no sky)
  Note to self: Don't lick the wall.
  

• Stalkers of all kinds:

  
  In this freezing wasteland youll meet disturbing creatures like this dirty old man
  or the official Stalkers, one-eyed creepy fellas that live in tribes along the ice wall. Well, technically they live IN the wall. People call them stalkers because yknow.
  

>> BROKEN BRIDGE

Broken Bridge is literally a bridge between 3 scenarios: It connects with the Snow Scenario vertically, and the Forest (left) and Gas City (right) horizontally.
Broken Bridge preliminary design. Gas City was once home of the finest inventors and engineers, and thats shown even before entering its gates:

• Wanna go up?

  
  Visit the ice wall with the latest technology in elevators!
  

• Wanna go in?

  
  Youll need a gas mask to enter Gas City, sir. If not, these wonderful city soldiers wearing ultimate camouflage uniforms will bar your way:
  Were really proud of Gas City Gates too. Hope you like them!
  

• Meeting Sarah

  
  Sarah was once member of Gas Citys special operations unit, and now a mutilated exiled living in a mass grave. She will have a VERY important role in the story.
  

• Hmmm Theres something fishy about this bridge

  
  Youll have to cross Broken Bridge several times for many reasons. Maybe the Fisherman can help you out with some of them
  

4) Reassembling old scenarios

As you know, one of the main priorities these months was to rebuild the scenarios we already had before The Accident: Deumanville and Mordisco Desert. Thanks to the great art production rhythm finishing the Snow and Broken Bridge assets, weve been able to improve stuff from the old scenarios too (and also adding new assets that were pending).

>> DEUMANVILLE (still WIP)

Medoos hometown has experienced several changes due to slope system implementation, new skies (both night storm and sunset), new rain particles and also visual upgrades for the grass, trees and mountains (some colors may change in the future).

• Hanging out with neighbors

  
  One of the things we hadnt added yet in the previous versions were graves. NetherWolians have the tradition of hanging their deceased love ones. The higher the corpse, the easier for Wormpink to see it from above, eat its soul and puke it into the Holy Swamp.
  

In the next update well talk about the upgrades were doing to Mordisco Desert!

5) Going Down The Tick's Hole

Anything related to Tick Joe deserves its own section. Heres some of the termite-mound-like entrances that will allow you to play Tick Joes minigames! Each scenario will have its own design.
Some Tick Joe minigame entrances (left to right): standard, snow scenario, Deumanville.

NEXT STEPS

We have most of NetherWorld's first part assets ready, so now we're focusing our work on assembling them all scenario by scenario, as well as working on the in-game real time cinematics. That's by far the part that takes more time, but we're optimistic about the whole development progress.

Add NetherWorld to your Wishlist and join us in this crazy journey!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420

Aaaand that's it for now!

If you have any questions, please comment below or send us a mail to info@netherworldgame.com. As always, thanks so much for your support, stay safe and see you in the next devblog! Hungry Pixel team

[ 2021-02-27 17:49:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

How was your week? Did you like our first update? Well, were glad to say that once you read this second one, youll be totally catch up with the current NetherWorld development! Today well talk about 3 more scenarios, the teleport system, a new boss, a new minigame and more! Shit wait, disclaimers coming...

WARNING:

NetherWorld is still under development, and this is a recap. Most footage and information shown here may be outdated or may change in the future to guarantee the best quality and fun.

WARNING 2:

GIF compression quality is worse than in-game real footage (sorry!).

WARNING 3:

Keep reading... and ENJOY!
Enough introductory blah blah blah. LETS START!

SCENARIOS (II)

1. Mordisco Desert

Just like Deumanville, the desert scenario has experienced important changes during the development. Two of the main reasons were the color contrast problems and excess particles of its first design. Heres how the new version looks:
"Why the fuck is this gif not moving...?" The inspiration for this scenario was clearly Sergio Leone's spaghetti western movies ("A Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"...). We're huge fans of them (especially Dan, our programmer), and we're deeply in love with their incredible OST composed by the ethernal Ennio Morricone (R.I.P.). Our amazing composers Rogue Sonics have created an original soundtrack with these western vibes too. Can't wait for you to listen to it! Mordisco Desert is also one of the largest scenarios, and includes different sub-scenarios youll be able to explore as well:

• The Nachos Hideout

A western-inspired scenario is not complete without outlaws riding horses. But who are they? Lets dip into The Nachos!
Guacco, Cheddy, Ketch and Mayo will be the first people youll find in Mordisco. Maybe they can help you coming back home
This is why Cheddy goes on a cart. Medoo will find them during his hangover walk through an infinite hot-as-hell desert. What do you think about their hideout?
Youll be able to explore the inside too.
This place is special for us due to many reasons:

• Its the first place youll discover important NetherWorld lore.
• Its a moment to tell and listen to stories, to delve into each character background And to drink, obviously.
• Weve put a lot of effort into the illumination and sfx to make the place feel comfy and real.

• Saloon

We're happy to introduce you one of the many NetherWorld bars to play drinking minigames, ordering stuff to get drunk alone or just talking to weird people. It has evolved from a squared 3D zenithal view to a 2D side-scrolling view. Why? Time and resources, basically It was impossible to make all the bars following this design. Bye, Old Saloon:
Hi, New Saloon (WIP):
And heres how the Saloon looks like from outside:
Hmmm Something makes us suspect these guys are not from this town.

• Sheriff Office

No description needed. Sooner or later, Medoo will end up there...
...because Sheriff Westwood, aka The Fucking Law, will make sure of that.
As you can see, we changed his design to look more badass. After all, he's the bigwig of The Puke, Mordisco's biggest town.

• Ammoizing Gun shop

Besides obtaining weapons through main story quests and as rewards, youll be able to purchase new ones talking to the correct NPC.
Howdy, stranger! Wanna get some shotguns?

• Wormpink Chapel

This old chapel was built long ago by Wormy Olesva to spread the word about Wormpink and the Great Abbess, and includes a cemetery inside. Oh, boy Youll remember this place.
Wormpink Chapel from outside.
Wormy Olesva.

2. Fornus Forest

We wanted Fornus to be a creepy, dark and more mysterious version of a "Princess Mononoke" forest. However, we had a handicap: Medoo was completely black, and although he'd have a torch to walk around there, the scenario needed more illumination. So yeah, Fornus Forest hasnt escaped from improvements neither (were still working on it tho).
Fornus Forest before / after some improvements. Not all the elements in the scenario are just decoration. Feeling down? Get high with those purple mushrooms!

TELEPORT SYSTEM: Wormholes

One of the main mechanics in the game is a fast way to travel between scenarios. Portals? Nah

Wormpink and teleport worms first sketches. Legend has it that Wormpink, the Life Puker, The Soul Eater, created everything. Its basically a holy giant two-headed pink worm.
Maybe you wont know if this god exists, but youll find normal (?) palindrome worms in most of the scenarios you visit. The mechanics are simple: One head eats something somewhere, the other pukes it somewhere else, and vice versa. Now replace something with YOU.
But where do all these surface worms lead to?

• Into the Unkworm: Neil's Cave

The Worm Cave, obviously! More than 5 worms are waiting to be unlocked using different items.
Were still testing the eat-and-puke mechanics (the worm of the picture is not final!), so hope in the following updates we can show you all the teleportation stuff. Trust us: The waits gonna be totally wormth it!

• Meet the Zoontist

You won't be alone in the Worm Cave. Its a scientist? Its a creepy animal lover? No, ITS BOTH!
Neil was the first Netherwolian to survive wormhole travelling, but at a high cost. After more than 20 years trapped in this cave, hell see Medoo as the help he needs to finally complete his research.

BOSSES (II)

Mordisco Desert has its own threats, including this friend below.

• Keranukk

Run away from a giant fast-as-fuck creature while throwing everything you find in the desert: rocks, barrels, babies
Run, Medoo... Run!

MINIGAMES (II)

In the last update we introduced Tick Joe rogue-like dungeons. This time well show you one Mordisco minigame: Shooting stuff while horse riding like an outlaw!
As you can imagine, the game wont be that easy.

MECHANICS IMPROVEMENTS (II)

• Multiple Question System

Besides normal dialogues, youll have the chance to ask multiple questions to some NPCs (not all), or answer them in two different ways. The enigmatic Oraculactus will be one of them.

• Object Picking, Throwing & Drinking Systems

We wanted NetherWorld to feel more real in terms of how Medoo interacted with items (not just clicking and adding them to inventory automatically). To do so, we combined the Picking Objects System with the procedural pixel arms algorithm explained in the first update. Now Medoo can physically grab most of the objects before adding them to inventory.

This led us to new and interesting functionalities. While developing Xenus boss mechanics, we created the Throwing system, so Medoo would be able to handle tough objects and throw them wherever he wants. It's used in the Keranukk's boss fight too.
The toughest material we found was Alberts head, our writer and communication guy. Finally, the Drinking System was born. This would allow you to grab a beer, drink it in several sips and throw the glass on the floor.
"Casual" Drinking System working. Drinking minigames will have different mechanics.

GRAPHICS IMPROVEMENTS (II)

• Infinite Parallax

To optimize resources and time, we also developed a never-ending parallax system that only generates the background needed for whats on screen when the player is moving.
Run all you want, Medoo MUAHAHAHA! Regarding to Deumanville, besides the background elements we decided to make visible only the on-screen grass. This has been key for properly optimization too.

• Particles

We love realistic details, and particles like rain, gas or sand help making the scenarios feel truly alive. Adding rain to a scenario is easy with Unity, and sand too; however, recreating how these particles behave in contact with other objects is what we enjoy the most.
Adding sand particles to a desert house. In this case, by hand.

ONLINE FEATURES

Wait... Is NetherWorld an online game? Are we gonna play a Battle Royale? WTF NO. NetherWorld is still a single-player game, but we wanted to add some cool and fun online features, like worldwide leaderboards and what we call the Intruders System.
Imagine that you and 200 other players are getting drunk in The Puke's Saloon at the same time. Wouldnt it be great you could see each other? NetherWorld Intruders System is still in alpha tests, but its basically a representation of other players in the shape of an NPC based on their in-game location. You wont be able to interact with them, but youll see them in a funny (or creepy) way.

Aaaaand thats it!

We hope you enjoyed this two-part development recap, and feel free to say anything you think or wanna know about the game!

...that's it?

Now you are truly up-to-date Netherholics, well continue posting brief development updates here We must satisfy the nosy old lady we all have inside, don't you think?

Wait a second...

You haven't added NetherWorld to your wishlist, or joined our Community Hub? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420 Thanks so much and see you soon with new updates! Hungry Pixel team (Oh, you can stalk us below too, including Facebook!)

[ 2020-09-25 17:46:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Netherholics!

Its been 2 years since our Kickstarter campaign ended, and a lot of stuff has happened: +25 development updates, extended articles Our backers and newsletter subscribers have already read them, but What about you? Thats why weve decided to make a two-part recap update summarizing all weve been working on from 2018 (and before) to now. Once up to date, well continue posting brief development updates with the current progress.

WARNING:

NetherWorld is still under development, and this is a recap. Most footage and information shown here may be outdated or may change in the future to guarantee the best quality and fun.

WARNING 2:

GIF compression quality is worse than in-game real footage (sorry!).

WARNING 3:

There are not more warnings, ENJOY! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, introduction done. Lets start from the beginning then!

INTERFACE: The Menu

Heres the Menu we designed for our first backer demo, and we actually like it for the final game. What do you think? Imagine yourself watching this while listening to NetherWorlds main theme Wait, you actually can listen to it in our website!

SCENARIOS (I): Deumanville

Youll be able to explore more than 15 scenarios in NetherWorld, including exteriors and interiors. Lets see the first one you're gonna play in:
Deumanville is the hometown of Medoo, our unlucky black jellyfish-like main character. The green flying snot is Bozky, his best friend and pet.
This town has changed a lot since we started its development. Youll play it at night, but also in a beautiful sunset.
Okay, so this crazy adventure starts in Deumanville but WHO starts it?

• Cubick, the cokehead mage

Cubick is running away from the Mafia. Why? Dont know yet. But what we know is that hell be involved in all the boss town fights... And will involve you in them, of course.
To the nearest drug dealer, and beyond! Here are some characters youll meet in Deumanville too. Most of them will have an important role in the story:
Yummi, the party-loving newcomer.
Aitana, the shy newcomer.
Roger, the town bully.

Let's kick some asses: BOSSES (I)

We love big fights, and thats why all the enemies in NetherWorld will be deadly bosses like the pal over here:
Hot armors aside, were glad to show you the first 2 bosses youll have to fight in Deumanville. And you know what? Youll have to face them unarmed! MUAHAHA!

• Xenus, the Mafia Doctor

Did he drink Monster Energy or what?

• Cubick Party

Theres nothing more deadly than a party with a cokehead mage. Wait... Is that a unicorn?

MINIGAMES (I)

Youll get money or materials taking part in drinking competitions, having sex (you better don't ask with who), shooting stuff or even controlling a tick called Joe through filthy underground rogue-like dungeons.
Tick Joe in action! [WIP]

MECHANICS IMPROVEMENTS (I): Weapons

Sword, shield, torch, shotgun, submachine gun, flamethrower Not Pokmon games, but some of the weapons youll use to [strike]survive[/strike] fight bosses. Check out all the upgrades weve made to the weapon system below!

• Pixel Laser Sight

  
  

Old one. If youve ever worked with Unity, youll know how useful the LineRenderer tool is for adding a laser sight like this in your weapons. The problem lies in having a cool HD red laser in a pixel art game. We fixed it using Bresenhams line algorithm:
New one.

• Procedural pixel arms

  
  

We developed and polished a faster algorithm which allows Medoo to hold and move all kind of weapons with his pixel arms in real time.
If you wanna know how we did it, feel free to check out our IndieDB article.

• I swear I was aiming the boss!

  
  

At the beginning, programming a realistic recoil for a jellyfish shooting a Thompson sounded fantastic. However, we didnt take into account that two human hands were not the same as several slippery tentacles... So recoil was horrible. To avoid frustration and despair among players while trying to shoot a target, we reduced recoil parameters. Heres the comparison:

• Weapon Selector

  
  

Were gonna kick lots of boss butts in NetherWorld, so the combat UI has to be up to scratch. According to the mess you got into, youll be able to switch between ranged and melee weapons. This double weapon category system made difficult to decide how the weapon selector should be. We finally opted for a quarter circle in the top left corner of the screen.
Besides showing the weapon list, its rotation would allow to change weapons and the weapon category as well.

GRAPHICS IMPROVEMENTS (I)

• Optimization challenge

Developing NetherWorld for Steam and Nintendo Switch at the same time has taught us how to work in a more efficient way, mostly in terms of performance optimization. Weve been able to reach stable 60 fps even in our 300-IA-bird benchmarks!
Hitchcock-inspired benchmark approved! In this other image below, you'll see more than 20,000 triangles! By increasing the number of tris in each scene element, we can fit to its shape better and reduce overdraw risk.
This is particularly important in the game, because we love playing with illumination (and this consumes resources).

• Lightning

  
  

Although being a 2D pixel art game, we like to use different types of light and particle effects to make scenarios feel more real. To do so, we combine 2D and real-time 3D illumination.

In the second part of the update well talk a bit more about how we use particles in the game.

• Rotation system

  
  

We considered a standard rotation would clash with the pixel art essence of the game, so we developed a truly pixel art rotation system. That wasnt an easy decision: NetherWorld rotation system has experienced several (and important) changes during its development. In the beginning, the calculations to build a new rotated image for big objects like the gauntlet youll see below raised the 30,000. After an optimization, we reduced it to 10,000.
We also developed a system to storage the rotated images, so if we already had Object X rotated in a certain angle, next time we needed it we'd use the stored image instead of doing the rotation calculations again.
Calculating rocktations.

• Weather system

  
  

Weve also created a Day/Night&Weather system applicable to different scenarios. Thanks to that, well be able to set the perfect mood for each scenario and situation in the story!

• Outlining

  
  

We want you to enjoy Medoos suffering no matter the situation, so we added some outlining when his body is hidden. Dont miss a thing!

• Blood Stain System

  
  

Theres quite a lot of blood in NetherWorld, so we wanted it to feel right. Thats why we created a 2D pixel bloodstain system that generates random bloodstains every time you hurt someone. It can be used by us (Hungry Pixel team) to decorate scenarios too, and works for dirt and other stain materials.
Testing random bloodstain generator.
No difference at all!
Is she hitting you with a fetus? Of course she is. If you wanna know how we developed the Blood Stain System, we explain it here! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aaaaand thats it for now!

Next week well finish this recap with PART 2: Desert scenario, worms, particles and more! We hope you enjoyed this update as much as we did developing all this stuff. It'll be a pleasure to hear your impressions and answer any question you have about the game!

Wait a second...

You haven't added NetherWorld to your wishlist, or joined our Community Hub? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? https://store.steampowered.com/app/672420 Thanks so much and see you next week! Hungry Pixel team (Oh, you can stalk us below too, including Facebook!)

[ 2020-09-16 21:20:47 CET ] [ Original post ]