Here's what I've been up to!
Hello! I recently checked and was horrified to discover that I hadn't posted any updates here in over 6 months. Oops! But rest assured, I have not been idle! Finding a work/life/dev balance over these last few strange years has not been easy, for sure, but I am still working on that, as well!
Today marks the release of Falling Plus on Xbox. While this was somewhat unexpected (even for me), I had actually originally planned to release it a few years ago, so...uh, yeah! It's out! But it's not the only thing I plan to release this year.
I have also resumed work on Bungee Ferret Tossing 1.5. I am only working on it a little bit here and there, but it is at the point where I should hopefully be able to release it later this year. September actually marks the game's 10th anniversary, so I would love to kick it out the door around then...
...my primary focus, however, remains the Super Multitasking expansion, which I had originally announced as a Summer 2020 release. At the time, I was drastically underestimating the amount of work I would be doing on it, as well as the amount of time that work would take, and I'm greatly sorry that it has taken far longer than was originally promised. But rest assured, I absolutely, positively WILL finish it, and it will still be FREE for existing owners of the game!
I have placed a great deal of effort into the new minigames, and I'm currently in the process of finishing them up. I hope to complete them by the end of this month. Then, it's off to work on the new Missions. But there's a lot more I'll need to do than that. Some major changes are planned under the hood, particularly for the UI; I want to make a framework that I can easily re-use, to speed up new projects, as opposed to the house-of-cards-style globs of code I'm using now. The new framework is also planned to support something I've never done before: support for other languages other than English! My desire to do this is driven by the fact that I've sold more copies of Super Multitasking outside of the USA than inside it!
I've also realized that with Super Multitasking, I've done something quite extraordinary: developed 25 unique minigames. However, in Super Multitasking, there is basically no option to enjoy just one of them by itself. For fans of simple, classic, retro-style games with score competition on Leaderboards, my belief is that some of the minigames could stand on their own, perhaps after making some small additions and/or changes.
I have also watched as the Intellivision Amico console has become something of a train wreck. Its original sales pitch was one that I actually really believed in: simple, affordable family entertainment. I wondered if it would be a great entry point into gaming for my young daughter. But over the last year, that project's issues have come to light, and things have spiraled increasingly out of control; clearly, if it ever *does* launch, it will not be what was originally promised. While a minigame collection of mine is not really going to fill the exact same niche, it will deliver on the original concept: a collection of simple games that are easy to learn and play, will feature score competition on leaderboards, and also, feature local multiplayer where appropriate.
The collection would act as a companion release to the Super Multitasking expansion, and ideally, would come out on the same day. But of course, it would mean more work. I'm well aware of this, and will be ramping up my efforts over the coming weeks to compensate. I will continue to be transparent with updates on all of these projects, and as soon as I have a release window planned, I will communicate that!
I will also mention that I'll need to rebuild my Web site this year, as support for security updates on the back-end of the current site will be ending this November. So please look forward to a more modern yyrGames Web site, as well =)
Lastly, I want to thank you for your support. Just the fact that you're reading this means a lot to me. Thank you for supporting indie developers, arcade-style games, and of course, my family. I can't thank you enough. I appreciate your support more than you know! Thanks. =)