Windows Release Delayed

We regret to inform you that the Windows and OSX releases of Don't Be Patchman are not ready! We had hoped/said that it would be available roughly a month after the initial Linux release. Now, we are not sure, and consider them delayed indefinitely, but at the same time, they could pop up at any moment! Often a daunting technical task like this turns out to be easier than expected, so who knows? There are a number of reasons for this, so as the programmer (Dave) I will explain as best I can: the single biggest factor is that I have been short on time, and taken on a variety jobs to make ends meet, including stocking produce at a grocery store, washing dishes in a cafe, and building an engineering application for my father. Throw on top of that raising two children and you can see why time is tight. However, developing and completing this game remains my top creative priority, and I work on it every chance I get! The dilemma I face is: do I work on the game itself, or do I work on the supporting material, such as platform support, marketing, etc? I'm good at creating the game, not so much at the other areas. My current goal is to finish the second quadrant of the game before moving on to additional platform support. Otherwise my efforts are splintered, and it's best to focus on one chunk of tasks at a time. Square Boss Preview:
Over the month of August+September not only did I work those three jobs but also updated the game's joystick code, added in new features like the level select screen, quadrant select screen, Steam achievements, alternate language support, keycards, level scores, new music licenses, bug fixes, and so on. I have to sacrifice a lot of things in life, like vacations, money, television, etc to make progress on this game. It might not look like it on the surface, but underneath it is very complex, with many interlocking parts that require focus and dedication to design and maintain. This game is my greatest creative passion in life - so it will be finished one way or the other! While the July goal of Early Access was met, technically, the final release looks like it could be delayed by months. We'll be providing Beta-level backers with keys in October as the estimated release for the beta has passed. Fortunately, the game seems very stable: error reports are few and far between! We're in the middle of working on the next five levels and the Square Boss to top them off. Cutscenes are looking doubtful... they are just too expensive for our budget. They were a stretch goal for our crowdfunding that did not hit anyways. If we can procure enough funds through Steam via Early Access, then we can pay to have the cutscenes made. Even if we can do well in Final Release, we can retroactively add the cutscenes. Good news though, we have a new "Quadrant Select" screen that serves in telling a bit of the narrative, which you'll see in the next update.
Hang tight, Windows and OSX gamers, there are plenty of great games to play to tide you over, and Patchman will arrive on your desktop before you know it! One last bit of news: Dave will be demoing "Don't Be Patchman" at the Retro Gaming Expo in Portland this weekend: http://retrogamingexpo.com

[ 2015-10-13 16:10:37 CET ] [ Original post ]