Enhancements & tweaks: 1) Upgraded to Unity Engine 2019.4.20f1 2) Upgraded to Steamworks SDK 1.48 3) World Map: You can now press and hold CTRL (Y button on controllers) to display 'unseen blocks'. 4) Allow Minimap to be extended to the whole screen. 5) All upgrades in the final Aura area are 'frozen' until all the final puzzles are completed 6) Lowered NetGun build requirements. 7) In Lelantos, muted the Riverines 'hiss' when you are in a puzzle room. Bugs: 1) In world map, only a max of 1 chest was displayed, even if there were more with items left in them. Now all are displayed. 2) When the mouse wheel button has been re-binded to 'Cycle Weapons', then when you mouse over the minimap it now does not active the next weapon, but does a zoom in/out only. 3) If you fired a bomb against the furthest right wall of the world then the game could crash. 4) If the player entered the final puzzle in Aura and the glitch effect was running, then the effect never stopped until you exited the puzzle room. 5) "Somethings" could spawn very close to the player when at world edges. 6) Danger Scanner: If you came immediatly from a world that you had already killed the Something in, then the danger scanner would not be visible when it should be.

[ 2021-02-23 13:43:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

No one should be out this Halloween, so why not stay inside and play SAMA! With a spooktacular 40% off for this Halloween weekend, now is a great time to get our game "Something Ate My Alien". Happy Halloween, From us @ RoKabium Games. [previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2020-10-30 13:45:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

After listening to our players we decided to add another difficulty level, 'Zen' mode. This mode reduces the number of enemies further and also makes all weapons kill enemies with 1 shot. This mode is more for the people who want to explore, collect and just puzzle. We also made it possible to change difficulty on a game you have already started. So if you are finding it too hard or too easy on a level you can now change it mid game. Hope these changes are welcome and help some of our players enjoy the game more. Also, we have just started a new discount on the game, so now is a great time to get hold of SAMA with a 25% discount here on Steam. We would also love to hear your feedback and would appreciate any reviews on our Steam page. Thanks for all your support, and have a great time with our game! [previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2020-08-20 18:25:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just updated both the main game and also the demo, to the a new version 1.006 Just a few a reported bugs fixed and better logging of file IO errors to help with permissions etc. Changes included in this version: Enhancements & tweaks: 1) File IO errors now logged to file to help debugging. File path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Something Ate My Alien\SAMA_LogFile.log Bugs: 1) Controller HUD popup when using the HUD was too big for 1920x1080 resolution screens. Now it resizes correctly. 2) Controller - Item Scanner on HUD would not follow the item as you scroll down and it went 'off screen'. 3) Clicking on items in the backpack with the mouse was not popping up the item description window. Thanks for all the updates and feedback so far and please continue to post on our Steam forum with anything you need help with and we will do our best to help with any problems. Hope you've enjoyed the game, and if you could leave us a review that would be great! :) Thanks, Rob & Kat.

[ 2020-07-23 15:28:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just updated both the main game and also the demo, to the a new version 1.005 Just a few things this time, but just wanted to get them sorted ASAP for you all. Changes included in this version: Enhancements & tweaks: 1) Help message on the World Map screen & Settings screen, if you are using a controller, to tell you about using the Left Stick to toggle checkboxes. 2) For controllers, if you have 'Hide Cursor' unticked, then it will still use the controller stick you have assigned for 'Device Control', ie aiming. If you set 'Device Control' to 'Unbound', then it will use the mouse for aiming. Bugs: 1) If you try to teleport as the Something is exploding (1 - 2 seconds), then you don't get the token, and you have to kill him again. There is now a message if you try to teleport in this situation. 2) If you were firing the flame thrower and you got a message box or paused the game, once the popup had gone the flame thrower fired forever. 3) If you swapped controllers (from PS4 to XBOX) while the game was running, certain buttons would stop working until the game is restarted. Thanks for all the updates and feedback so far and please continue to post on our Steam forum with anything you need help with and we will do our best to help with any problems. Hope you've enjoyed the game, and if you could leave us a review that would be great! :) Thanks, Rob & Kat.

[ 2020-07-12 19:28:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're getting close to the end of the Summer Sale, and with only 24hrs left, you need to get on over to our Store Page and buy "Something Ate My Alien" now before the 20% discount ends! We've had tons of feedback and messages, which we have put to good use and released a new update yesterday adding improvements and requests from our players!
Hope you've all had fun at the Summer Sale finding lots of great games to play, and a big 'thank you' to everyone who bought our game and hope you enjoyed it. Thanks, Rob & Kat.

[ 2020-07-08 16:58:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just updated both the main game and also the demo, to the a new version 1.004 Changes included in this version: Enhancements & tweaks: 1) Don't allow Something to 'eat' you within the first 20 seconds of teleporting in. 2) No enemy spawn in puzzle rooms for Insane mode. 3) Oxygen Station supply bar now moved above station and is green/red color to help visibility. 4) Balancing: Firestorms on Tartarus & blizzards on Aura have been removed when fighting the boss on Insane difficulty level. 5) Any interaction with the MiniMap now auto-pauses the game. Map can also be zoomed and resized while it's in the paused state. 6) Added a new button 'Twin Stick' to the Settings/Controls window. For controllers this sets up the button bindings more like a 'Twin Stick' setup. 7) Controllers: Back/Share button now available to bind to an action. Start/Options now used for menu select, ie ESC menu. 8) Too many Monodons spawning in Tartarus with firestorm event. Now random between 2 - 5. 9) Warning popup when selecting a new game with 'Hard' & 'Insane' modes. 10)Aura final boss, reduced the amount of enemies that spawn at the same time. Bugs: 1) Game fails to start, with a red error displayed bottom left. If the folder 'My Games' doesn't exist in 'Documents', then create it on startup. Seems that people who sync their 'Documents' folder with OneDrive, don't have this default folder created. 2) HUD focus rect not rescalling correctly when HUD scale is changed. 3) HUD Item icons for 'Misc' were not showing correct icons. 4) Stopped Energy & Oxygen pickups occasionally spawning with the Grave particle system attached. 5) Certain applications like DropBox, OneDrive & AntiVirus can lock our game save files while they scan/sync them. Introduced better locking detection around this area to stop erros occasionally happening because of this. 6) Controller triggers function better. Previously if you set them to fire the weapons, then you had to fully let the trigger travel 'up' again before being able to press down again and shoot again. Making shooting a little slow. Now this is not required, just a slight trigger up motion will allow you to press again for a 'fire' Thanks for all the updates and feedback so far and please continue to post on our Steam forum with anything you need help with and we will do our best to help with any problems. Hope you've enjoyed the game, and if you could leave us a review that would be great! :) Thanks, Rob & Kat.

[ 2020-07-07 22:00:54 CET ] [ Original post ]

Yay! The Summer sale is here! We're extending our Launch discount into the summer sale, so we still have a 20% discount on "Something Ate My Alien" till the end of the sale! Our demo is also still available and is on our Store Page for you to try the first 3 puzzles of the game. If you have already bought the game, we would love to hear what you think, so if you could leave a review on our Store Page that would be great. Thanks! Hope you all have a great time looking for bargains during the sale, and if you have any questions about our game, join us on the Steam forums or any of our Social Media.

[ 2020-06-25 17:21:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Live Stream

Come see our game streamer "Bumpy McSquigums" play "Something Ate My Alien"! Having completed the game on 'Normal', now it's time to try Insane mode! Maybe even find out, who is 'Jeff'? Developer Rob Donovan & Artist Kat Langwagen will be in chat to answer any of your questions, during the stream.

Launch - With 20% Discount

We're excited to announce that we have just released our game "Something Ate My Alien". It's available to buy now on our main store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/Something_Ate_My_Alien/ There is currently a 20% launch discount, so get it now! We would also appreciate after you have played, to leave us a review on our Steam Store Page.

The Game

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

Key Features

• Dig through the depths of 4 different planets and collect as much loot as possible.
• Solve puzzle chambers by pushing and pulling blocks to reveal secret treasures.
• Survive by finding oxygen recharge stations and dodging environmental obstacles.
• Fight the hostile flora and fauna with your choice of 6 specialized weapons.
• Upgrade and build your equipment by collecting items and energy.
• Find hidden relics and collect achievements.
• Engage in bigger battles with the scary huge threats guarding the hidden secrets.

[previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

Social Media

• Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RokabiumGames/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RokabiumGames
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOelxidLDP5X0oDGrNIj0OQ
• Website: http://somethingatemyalien.com/

[ 2020-06-23 16:19:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Launch - With 20% Discount

We're excited to announce that we have just released our game "Something Ate My Alien". It's available to buy now on our main store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/Something_Ate_My_Alien/ There is currently a 20% launch discount, so get it now! We would also appreciate after you have played, to leave us a review on our Steam Store Page.

Live Stream

Come see our game streamer "Bumpy McSquigums" play "Something Ate My Alien"! Developer Rob Donovan & Artist Kat Langwagen will be in chat to answer any of your questions, during the stream.

The Game

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

Key Features

• Dig through the depths of 4 different planets and collect as much loot as possible.
• Solve puzzle chambers by pushing and pulling blocks to reveal secret treasures.
• Survive by finding oxygen recharge stations and dodging environmental obstacles.
• Fight the hostile flora and fauna with your choice of 6 specialized weapons.
• Upgrade and build your equipment by collecting items and energy.
• Find hidden relics and collect achievements.
• Engage in bigger battles with the scary huge threats guarding the hidden secrets.

[previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

Social Media

• Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RokabiumGames/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RokabiumGames
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOelxidLDP5X0oDGrNIj0OQ
• Website: http://somethingatemyalien.com/

[ 2020-06-22 16:12:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Launch - With 20% Discount

We're excited to announce that we have just released our game "Something Ate My Alien". It's available to buy now on our main store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/Something_Ate_My_Alien/ There is currently a 20% launch discount, so get it now! We would also appreciate after you have played, to leave us a review on our Steam Store Page.

Live Stream

Come see our game streamer "Bumpy McSquigums" play "Something Ate My Alien"! Developer Rob Donovan & Artist Kat Langwagen will be in chat to answer any of your questions, during the stream.

The Game

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

Key Features

• Dig through the depths of 4 different planets and collect as much loot as possible.
• Solve puzzle chambers by pushing and pulling blocks to reveal secret treasures.
• Survive by finding oxygen recharge stations and dodging environmental obstacles.
• Fight the hostile flora and fauna with your choice of 6 specialized weapons.
• Upgrade and build your equipment by collecting items and energy.
• Find hidden relics and collect achievements.
• Engage in bigger battles with the scary huge threats guarding the hidden secrets.

[previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

Social Media

• Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RokabiumGames/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RokabiumGames
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOelxidLDP5X0oDGrNIj0OQ
• Website: http://somethingatemyalien.com/

[ 2020-06-20 22:08:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Launch - With 20% Discount

We're excited to announce that we have just released our game "Something Ate My Alien". It's available to buy now on our main store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/Something_Ate_My_Alien/ There is currently a 20% launch discount, so get it now! We would also appreciate after you have played, to leave us a review on our Steam Store Page.

Live Stream

Come see our game streamer "Bumpy McSquigums" play "Something Ate My Alien"! Developer Rob Donovan & Artist Kat Langwagen will be in chat to answer any of your questions, during the stream.

The Game

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

Key Features

• Dig through the depths of 4 different planets and collect as much loot as possible.
• Solve puzzle chambers by pushing and pulling blocks to reveal secret treasures.
• Survive by finding oxygen recharge stations and dodging environmental obstacles.
• Fight the hostile flora and fauna with your choice of 6 specialized weapons.
• Upgrade and build your equipment by collecting items and energy.
• Find hidden relics and collect achievements.
• Engage in bigger battles with the scary huge threats guarding the hidden secrets.

[previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

Social Media

• Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RokabiumGames/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RokabiumGames
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOelxidLDP5X0oDGrNIj0OQ
• Website: http://somethingatemyalien.com/

[ 2020-06-18 21:54:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're excited to announce that we have just released our game "Something Ate My Alien". It's available to buy now on our main store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/Something_Ate_My_Alien/ There is currently a 20% launch discount, so get it now! We would also appreciate after you have played, to leave us a review on our Steam Store Page. We're also 1/2 way through a stream with Bumpy McSquigums so head over there and see him battle the enemies down on Tartarus. https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561197968521358

[ 2020-06-18 17:32:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Live Stream - Launch Event

Today we are launching our game and starting off with a Live Stream! Come see our game streamer "Bumpy McSquigums" play "Something Ate My Alien"! Developer Rob Donovan & Artist Kat Langwagen will be in chat to answer any of your questions, during the stream. [table][tr][th]

Starting at 12PM ET / 6PM CEST

[/th][/tr][/table]

The Game

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

Key Features

• Dig through the depths of 4 different planets and collect as much loot as possible.
• Solve puzzle chambers by pushing and pulling blocks to reveal secret treasures.
• Survive by finding oxygen recharge stations and dodging environmental obstacles.
• Fight the hostile flora and fauna with your choice of 6 specialized weapons.
• Upgrade and build your equipment by collecting items and energy.
• Find hidden relics and collect achievements.
• Engage in bigger battles with the scary huge threats guarding the hidden secrets.

[previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

Social Media

• Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RokabiumGames/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RokabiumGames
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOelxidLDP5X0oDGrNIj0OQ
• Website: http://somethingatemyalien.com/

[ 2020-06-18 12:10:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Live Stream

Come see our game streamer "Bumpy McSquigums" play "Something Ate My Alien"! Developer Rob Donovan & Artist Kat Langwagen will be in chat to answer any of your questions, during the stream. Stream is currently here: https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561197968521358 It is not working on the store page for some reason :( [table][tr][th]

Starting at 1PM ET / 7PM CEST

[/th][/tr][/table] In the mean time, try our demo over on our Store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870

The Game

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

Key Features

• Dig through the depths of 4 different planets and collect as much loot as possible.
• Solve puzzle chambers by pushing and pulling blocks to reveal secret treasures.
• Survive by finding oxygen recharge stations and dodging environmental obstacles.
• Fight the hostile flora and fauna with your choice of 6 specialized weapons.
• Upgrade and build your equipment by collecting items and energy.
• Find hidden relics and collect achievements.
• Engage in bigger battles with the scary huge threats guarding the hidden secrets.

[previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

Social Media

• Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RokabiumGames/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RokabiumGames
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOelxidLDP5X0oDGrNIj0OQ
• Website: http://somethingatemyalien.com/

[ 2020-06-16 20:00:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife. In this demo you get to try out part of the first planet 'Metis' which included 3 puzzles and fighting enemies, while collecting lots of loot. [previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2020-06-16 17:01:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Discord AMA

With our Demo launch on Steam coming on 16th June, we are having an AMA on Discord right after our Live Stream of Bumpy McSquigums playing SAMA! Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs (From 3PM ET / 9PM CEST onwards)
We (Rob, Developer & Kat, Artist) will be in the chat answering any questions you have about us or the game. Come hang out with us, and we are looking forward to chatting with you all! We will also be having streaming all week long, during the Festival, so look out for those broadcasts! [previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2020-06-08 19:07:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Discord AMA

With our Demo launch on Steam coming on 9th June, we are having an AMA on Discord right after our Live Stream of Bumpy McSquigums playing SAMA! Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs (From 3PM ET / 9PM CEST onwards)
We (Rob, Developer & Kat, Artist) will be in the chat answering any questions you have about us or the game. Come hang out with us, and we are looking forward to chatting with you all! We will also be having streaming all week long, during the Festival, so look out for those broadcasts! [previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2020-06-02 18:38:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Live Stream

Come see our game streamer "Bumpy McSquigums" play "Something Ate My Alien"! Developer Rob Donovan & Artist Kat Langwagen will be in chat to answer any of your questions, during the stream.

The Game

Something Ate My Alien is a 2D, digging and puzzle platformer game where you take the role of the AI Antalasia, and control your little Alien blobs to explore the planets you visit! Your task is to dig through the ground of the different worlds and find all the items required by the pirate that is hijacking you. During the adventure on each planet you have to battle environmental dangers, fight off wildlife, solve secret puzzle chambers, and all this while surviving on a depleting oxygen supply and a threat far scarier than the local wildlife.

Key Features

• Dig through the depths of 4 different planets and collect as much loot as possible.
• Solve puzzle chambers by pushing and pulling blocks to reveal secret treasures.
• Survive by finding oxygen recharge stations and dodging environmental obstacles.
• Fight the hostile flora and fauna with your choice of 6 specialized weapons.
• Upgrade and build your equipment by collecting items and energy.
• Find hidden relics and collect achievements.
• Engage in bigger battles with the scary huge threats guarding the hidden secrets.

[previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube]

Social Media

• Discord: https://discord.gg/fYg5jzs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RokabiumGames/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RokabiumGames
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOelxidLDP5X0oDGrNIj0OQ
• Website: http://somethingatemyalien.com/

[ 2020-05-30 15:35:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

We are extremely excited to announce that our 2D puzzle and digging adventure game Something Ate My Alien is finally in a complete state and will be released 18th June 2020! If you have not yet added SAMA to your wishlist, now is the time to do it so you get notified when it launches.
After 3,5 years development and basically working around the clock, we have almost achieved our goal of finishing SAMA. Another month of polishing and bug fixing before the big day, and we are more than ready to make this happen. We promise a chill game with a slight strategy tone where you will explore big levels full of things to collect, puzzles to solve and a fair amount of shooting action occuring. All this while listening to a lovely mix of music tracks suited for this type of game. The most used words testers seem to use describing SAMA are chilled explorer game.
SAMA will be available on Windows, Linux and Mac and it also has controller support if you prefer to play with that rather than the keyboard. We also offer visual aid for the puzzle rooms for those who struggle seeing different colours which can be toggled on/off in the settings menu. As a 2 person dev team we have learnt a lot during this time, and feedback from testers has been invaluable to us. Reflecting on the time that has gone by since the first story line of SAMA was written down, and seeing where we are now is quite a satisfying feeling. Not only have we proven that if you really love what youre doing and put your mind to it, you can make it happen, but we have also proven to ourselves that we make a good team which bodes well for future endeavours.
We hope you are as excited for SAMA as we are, and that you will enjoy playing it once it is out.

[ 2020-05-14 18:55:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

With the release date being pushed to June 2020, this has now given us a little more time to polish and test the game.
This week has been quite busy. We went out with a PR to the media about the release date and we also have a demo of the game up on Game Jolt, where you can try out and play a portion of our game right now. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux and we hope this little teaser will make you feel that push to make Something Ate My Alien part of your wish-list. This has encouraged some Streamers to play the game and create videos, which we have been watching and scrutinizing for tips and ideas for things that might need tweaking. [previewyoutube=CWhCC08xe4k;full][/previewyoutube] Everything seemed to go smoothly, although we noticed a few minor things, and they are in the process of getting fixed right now. We also have to make a few tweaks to balance the "Insane" difficulty level, as we think the HP of some of the enemies is a bit high and needs some thinking about. It's always nerve wracking when you go public with releases like this, but we think generally people have liked the first experience they have had with our game, and we are happy to see people playing it. If you haven't seen our latest trailer, then take a look below, as this will give you some more ideas of what the game is like. [previewyoutube=RM2m1_v33Bo;full][/previewyoutube] If you like the look of our game and think this would be something you would enjoy then we would appreciate if you would add us to your Wish List, so you will get a notification when we release the game fully. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/ In the meantime, we are polishing, bug fixing and we keep looking at videos with people playing our demo or Beta to pick up feedback on possible changes and improvements that we can work on. Keep safe out there and why not try out our Demo for something fun and relaxing to take your mind of things?

[ 2020-04-13 20:51:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

General

Well the good news is were very near the end of our development. Weve implemented everything we wanted to, and the game is quite stable. There has been lots of help from our testers and we believe we have a good and solid game. But the bad news is, we are going to have to delay a bit more. We would have liked to release towards the end of April, but weve had a few issues, above the obvious one. Some of the finishing touches took longer than we expected, and also our Steam Wish List numbers arent quite as good as we had hoped for, as we havent spent as much time on marketing. With that being said, weve re-planned it all, and we are now going to aim for June 2020. During the time between now and then, we will be concentrating on more polish and bug hunting.

Updates & Changes

We entered Beta testing a few weeks ago with our testers, and the main difference is that now we will not be adding any major features or changes. Along with bug fixing we will also be balancing play, enemies and other small changes. So far, its proving to be stable and have little problems.

Speech

The AI and Pirate now talk to you! We thought just the text messages were a bit lifeless, so we gave them voices. Just electronically generated gibberish, but it lifts the experience and makes it feel more personal. This is optional in the settings menu.

World Map

Previously, you automatically teleported down to the last place you were at on a planet. Now, before teleporting, you are presented with a map of the area you have seen so far, teleporters youve previously used, and you can select where you teleport to. This makes it easier to move around the planets and find the goodies youre looking for. Its basically an expanded version of the Mini Map.

Relics

There are now 4 different relics to find, dotted around the planets. Each having a unique little message to read. Some are not so easy to access as they are sealed behind blocks. A new Achievement is available for collecting all 4.

Controller Support

This was on the list for so long, and we kept putting it off. You can now use a controller to play the game. Fully configurable from the setting screen. There are a few unique features when the controller is plugged in, to help with movement and make it easier to control.

Platforms

Were currently building Beta version on Windows, Linux and MacOS, so no matter what system you are on we have a version for you! Luckily with Unity its very easy to build for different platforms, and we are now using Unity Collaborate and Cloud build which makes it even easier.

Beta Testing

If you just have to try the game, why not sign up to our Beta Testing program and help us find bugs and problems? All you need is a Steam account and click the link below to join in. http://www.somethingatemyalien.com/forums/Thread-Sign-up-for-Beta-Testing

Steam Wish List

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/

[ 2020-04-08 18:13:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Its official, we are nearing the end of development of our game Something Ate My Alien and we will be releasing it on the Steam platform in April 2020! Reaching this milestone and being able to set a date for release is extremely exciting and a bit scary for us. When we started developing this game all the way back in 2016, we had no idea just how much work we signed up for and just how long it takes to develop a game when you are only 2 people doing it. Reflecting on that makes this day feel even sweeter, to finally start seeing the result of all that hard work. So, in this blog wed like to give you all a quick breakdown to let you know how SAMA developed since our last dev blog back in August 2019.

Level design

Changing the level design to be more linear in the beginning of the game has been a good move with our Alpha testers. We continued following this path and doing some more tweaking on the remaining levels and trying to add certain design aspects to each level making each one more unique. The puzzle rooms are now sorted in difficulty order from 1 to 10 in each level. If a player finds one tricky they will now know which ones should be good to start with and which ones are better to leave to the end.

Enemy enhancements

2-block enemies now stay in specific areas specifically designed for them rather than being spawned randomly across the levels. We kept getting a lot of weird behaviour and bugs with the bigger ones moving across areas where theyd get stuck on 1 block ledges. This way they not only work as intended; they are now a bigger part of the level design in acting like smaller mini bosses with specific traits that will make it harder to get through certain areas.
Several enemies have got an upgrade in looks, how they act and what they can do to add more diversity in enemy encounters and battles. The Oyse bulbous plant creature starts pulsating and will blow up and multiply if you approach too close to it. The Phantus can now both fly and walk moving up and down to ledges it previously could not reach, making it hard for you to avoid it or even hide. Oh yes, it also shoots projectiles through its tail, making it a very dangerous enemy. The Draker lay eggs that explodes and expels a powerful missile seed that can go through blocks to find you. The Guld leaves trails of little bombs that are deadly and the Murderia shoots out single projectiles in all directions like an automatic weapon. The Bagice can now grow its sharp crystal tendrils from the ceiling as well as the floor and the Kator does a roll at high speed to try and hit you like a bowling ball.
We have added a new Enemy to Aura called Jaxer. It hides in blocks and shoots out as some speed when the player gets near. Around the floor and ceiling near the Jaxer nests we added icy spikes that will warn of this enemy hiding nearby but also to add some difficulty in trying to pass these nests without taking damage. The Bosses have all been given an overhaul in movement tracks and the speed and variation within those tracks. Some extra things were added to make them feel more unique such as projectile impacts spawning enemies. The final boss scene has an environmental mechanic to help with the fighting. The bosses now also drops higher ratio of health and oxygen boosts so the player has a fairer chance of fighting without running out of oxygen before fight is over for example.

GUI changes

We changed the name Inventory to Cargo Bay in the menu to make it clearer this is the content you have collected and have stored in the ship, not what you are carrying on you.
We have done some major work on the GUI part of the game, with the Customization screen getting the bulk of these changes. We have moved around the different upgrade areas and put the weapon selection in a way so the player can view and decide on the weapons independently of setting the Primary and Secondary choices. This solves the issue with players having to manually reset the equipped weapon choice to the one they want after viewing other weapons which was quite frustrating. The way the numbers are displayed in the materials needed section has now changed to show how many you got and how many are needed so you can compare and choose where to use your items in a more calculated manner.
Overall, we have added lots of more sounds both to the levels and animals there, but also to the GUI end cut scenes. We have tweaked and added a bunch more messages popping up from the pirate and Antalasia when the player is teleported back to the ship with (or without) loot to make the player feel more engaged with the protagonists of the story.

Steam connection

We have moved over our game to the Steam platform so new testers now access the game from there. We chose this quite recently to see how that would work for the actual release further on, making us familiar with all those procedures before the live release.
Being on Steam weve also been able to add achievements to our game. Not only are achievements good for little rewards as you play the game, but it also creates a competitive part for those players enjoying getting all achievements and seeing their progress both within the game and from the Steam library. So with a few more months left until Something Ate My Alien hits the store front on Steam, we will continue tweaking and testing so the game will be the best it can be. If you havent already, consider adding SAMA to your wish-list on Steam so you dont miss out once it is released in April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/Something_Ate_My_Alien/

[ 2020-01-14 12:37:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

We have a new Alpha release out and we are now releasing through Steam. Changes include, Steam Achievements and loads of changes to make the Enemies and Somethings more exciting! Along with bug fixes found by our current testers. If you fancy joining in with our testing click the link below and have a read: http://www.somethingatemyalien.com/forums/Thread-Sign-up-for-Alpha-Testing

[ 2019-12-03 16:51:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Alpha Changes Weve been busy the last month implementing changes suggested from our Alpha testers. Inventory Changes have mostly been around inventory and the pirate list. We realized that the way the pirate ransom list worked was a bit hard to follow and generally was looked at as being a grind rather than fun. So we have changed it so that there are no groups and its just individual items that are now on the list. This meant we could remove the ransom list screen (no one really went to that screen), and everything is now on the inventory screen. The pirate automatically takes any ransom the player owes him as they teleport back up to the ship.
Upgrades Weve also changed how upgrades are acquired. Previously each item had a sell value, and were sold to accrue Units. Upgrades were obtained with Units. Again, this didnt seem rewarding, and people just click-click-clicked to sell everything all the time. So, weve changed it to be a more crafting like process. Items arent sold any more, instead they are now used to build upgrades. Each upgrade now has a requirement of items (For example, one of the laser upgrades requires: 5 Grittium, 2 Gumom & 1 Hingle Bingle) that the player needs to find before they can build them. Units have been removed, and now each item has an Energy cost along with the item requirements. Energy is found in the worlds in the puzzle chests, and also randomly dropped when enemies are killed.
Tutorial After watching some of the Alpha players uploaded playthrough videos, we saw that they were not understanding some parts of the game or mechanics. We had little message popups to explain things, but they were either just ignored or closed quickly. So we have introduced a Tutorial section (Can be skipped) at the beginning of the game. When a new game is started, the computer AI will talk through the mechanics of the game. The player now gets the chance to actually do the things, in a controlled setting. This way they can directly learn about how to play, what keys do what and how to use items etc. There are 3 main sections to the tutorial, where the player is guided through an easy section at the beginning of the first level.
Metis layout We have also made the game a little bit more linear. We have noticed from watching the play throughs, and also comments back to us, that people were feeling lost. They didnt really have any direction in where to go, especially at the beginning in Metis. So for Metis, we have made it more linear and it follows a more defined path. Its not fully linear, and the player can still mine in any direction and move about freely. It now guides them through the level with more with walls (blocks that cant be mined) etc. This should help the player in the beginning and not overwhelm them with such wide open areas. The other levels have not changed too much in this regard. Tartarus and Lelantos were previously more guided than Metis anyway, and Aura is still a lot more open. Hopefully this will start the player off on a more direct path and help them understand the game better.
Minimap The minimap has had a bit of an upgrade. Along with other Upgrades you can build, there is now an Item scanner. This upgrade allows the minimap to show up to 3 different items, so they can be found easier. It only shows them in areas that have already been seen, but it should help in finding specific items needed for other upgrades. A new button to stop the map following the player helps with navigation. Regarding upgrades, there is also a new scanner for graves, another suit protection for cold, and an extra level for the Lock Jaw device.
Going Forward So, that was a lot of work in the last month! We still have lots to do. We want to enhance the enemies AI, enhance and polish the boss scenes and add Steam Achievements. Some other things we are looking at are full controller support, Linux & Mac support and the possibility of localization in other languages. We had touted that our release date would be Autumn 2019. That would be possible, but we would have to drop quite a few things to get that done. Also, we have been working close to 100 hrs a week for far too long and that has taken a toll on our productivity and life. So we have made the decision to delay the release a bit. Ideally we would probably only need to extend by 2-3 months, but that puts us near Christmas and the winter sales. Generally this seems to be the time when small Indie developers should avoid releasing their games. So, we have to push it out to early 2020. We feel this is the most ideal solution for making our game the best it can be for our players. We would like the final part of the game to be finished how we want it to be rather than rushing to complete it and it not being the game we hoped for. Wishlist Were also still busy trying to grow our community and Steam Wishlist. Click the link below to go and add our game to your Wishlist or see some more screen shots and our trailer video. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/ Hopefully all the above will mean we will release a fun and complete game, and we still have fun finishing it Rob & Kat.

[ 2019-08-04 12:03:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Alpha Testing

Its been a busy time with our Alpha testers these last few weeks. Lots of feedback and ideas coming in. Weve just come out with a new update for the Alpha version. This version is including lots of bug fixes and changes from the testers. One of the larger items in the recent Alpha release is the sound. We hand picked and replaced all sound effects and added many more, and ended up with over 120 new sound effects added, along with 8 tracks for the background music. We decided to pick most sounds from Pond5, as they had the largest and best database of sounds we found.
In Lelantos and Aura we have introduced a new mechanic. Portals are devices that transfer the Alien instantly to another location on the planet. On Lelantos the Alien needs to use them to find different areas that cant reached by mining. On Aura, they are used for portaling into the Puzzle rooms. Once a portal is found, it will be displayed on the mini-map, and each will have a unique number so you can keep track of where they go.
Weve been playing through the full game now, to try to find how long the game plays for. For us, it takes about 10+ hours to complete, but looking at the Alpha testing data, people are playing it for between 10 -> 20 hours. So its looking like its easily going to play for 10+ hours.
We are still looking for testers to help us, so if you fancy helping out, follow this link to see what to do: Alpha Signup

Steam

Our Steam / Wish List is doing well, and we are starting to get a nice following on there. We changed our release text to specify Autumn 2019 as we are now more confident we can achieve this time. The Steam Summer Sale is starting soon, so we are hoping that will bring some extra traffic and adds.
Not seen our Steam page yet? Its got all the info about SAMA including screenshots and our feature trailer video. Click the link below and check it out. Even give us an add to your Wish List if SAMA looks like its for you! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1047870/

Social Media

Back in May we did our first interview. Indie Ranger asked us if we wanted to do an interview, and we thought that would be a good idea to get out some info about us and the game. It was a bit nerve wracking, since this was our first interview, but it all went well and they did a nice write up about us. If you havent yet, go have a read about us.
Click here for the Rob & Kat Interview We also got our first YouTube streamer, Fred! He is an Alpha tester and has done a few videos about the game and his views on it. With his comical commentary during the game play, its a nice start to our You Tube presence. You can find him here: Fred Impossible

Next things

The next phase of Alpha will be introducing some more ideas from the testers. These include modifications to the Somethings, new upgrades and some changes to the Aura world. Keep tuned to see them soon. We will continue to interact with our Alpha testers and get as much feed back from them as we can. Bonus: We also did a quick little fun video of some behind-the-scenes development, and how the game looks in the Unity editor with a 3D look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al_4GQoymN0

[ 2019-06-23 10:09:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

IndieRangers did an interview with us a few days ago, click the link below to have a read and learn a few things about us.

[ 2019-05-08 15:00:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today we start with our Alpha testing!

If you would like to help us testing our game, click the link below to get to our forums and read about how to apply. SAMA forums: Thanks, Rob & Kat.

[ 2019-04-18 14:10:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Thanks for joining the SAMA group. My name is Rob and I'm the programmer for the game, and my partner Kat is the artist. Between us, we have designed and written the whole game ourselves. We've been developing the game since the end of 2016, and we are now getting to a point where the game is nearly ready! Soon we will be entering an 'Alpha' testing stage, so look out for that announcement if you want to be involved with that. In the mean time, if you want more to read then head over to our website or social media accounts. Thanks for your support. Rob & Kat

[ 2019-03-31 19:40:35 CET ] [ Original post ]