Unicopia

Devlog

• Porting from Steam Deck to Picade
  October 01, 2024 by squeakypig

  1

  #2D, #arcade, #port

  After creating my first game, Unicopia with Godot 4.x, the Steam Deck had always been my target platform. Developing the game on both Windows and macOS, I added controller support early on and was gra... Continue reading

  
• Unicopia launches with Picade prize draw
  September 27, 2024 by squeakypig#picade, #godot

  To celebrate the Unicopia's launch on Steam , Squeaky Pig Studios is running a 3-month prize draw to win a unique Unicopia Picade cabinet . While it's optimized for a Steam Deck, Unicopia's spiritual... Continue reading

  
• A tale about chasing a pixel perfect tail
  August 25, 2024 by squeakypig#2d, #godot, #retro, #pixel perfect

  Although hindsight is a wonderful thing, I learned while making my first game, Unicopia , that naivety also has benefits, namely the ability to make ill-informed decisions while remaining blithely opt... Continue reading

  
• Edge-cases and emergent behaviour
  August 17, 2024 by squeakypig

  After hundreds of hours making Unicopia, and deep in the midst of squashing bug as I race towards release, I'm still amazed to find the game showing me things I didn't plan. While the ghost's AI is pr... Continue reading

  
• How much effort marketing an indie game?
  August 12, 2024 by squeakypig#marketing

  As I race towards releasing my first game, Unicopia , one thing that's taken me by surprise is how many non-game dev tasks I've started clocking up. Creating assets for Steam, making a trailer, polish... Continue reading

  
• Unicopia Beta time
  May 11, 2024 by squeakypig#2D, #godot, #retro, #platformer, #action, #unicorn, #beta, #demo, #colourful

  I'm pleased to announce the release of Unicopia's first beta (v0.3.0). Available in the new 6-level demo are greedy and speedy awards, the ability to drop-through one-way platforms, controls to peek u... Continue reading

  
• Unicopia full-game alpha released!
  March 31, 2024 by squeakypig#2D, #godot, #retro, #platformer, #alpha

  I'm pleased to announce the release of Unicopia's final alpha (v0.2.5), the last release before I start cranking out the beta. And as a special thank you to itch.io supporters, and for a limited time... Continue reading

  
• Jump to it!
  March 30, 2024 by squeakypig#2d, #platformer, #mechanics, #jump, #design

  As I finish incorporating feedback from Unicopia 's alpha testing, one change that made me super nervous was updating the jump mechanic. While some testers have praised the control feel, others mentio... Continue reading

  
• Unicopia release v0.2.4
  March 17, 2024 by squeakypig

  Play the new demo in your browser , with new levels! Hot on the heels of v0.2.3 , there's been a load of bug fixes, design updates, and some content added. This is going to be the penultimate alpha re... Continue reading

  
• The surprising fun of Boss design
  March 16, 2024 by squeakypig

  After 9 months developing Unicopia , I've spent a lot time thinking about design, but I've only spent about 10% of that time on the core loop. Jump up and down platforms to collect the gems; reveal an... Continue reading

  
• Why Godot?
  March 08, 2024 by squeakypig#2d, #platformer, #retro, #godot, #engine, #unity, #love2d

  Making a game involves a truckload of decisions: What's the concept? Who's the audience? Which platforms will it be on? Very quickly game devs can get lost in a maze of big and small decisions, one mi... Continue reading

  
• Unicopia release v0.2.3
  March 01, 2024 by squeakypig#release, #platformer, #unicorn, #unicopia, #2d, #godot, #retro

  Play the demo in your browser now! Following an assortment of feedback from alpha testers v0.2.3 includes a raft of changes including : difficulty adjustments; core gameplay mechanics like the jump; v... Continue reading

  
• Getting good jump feel in Unicopia
  February 29, 2024 by squeakypig#platformer, #jump, #mechanics, #design, #collision, #feel

  As Unicopia’s my first game, I purposefully wanted to make it as simple as possible. What could be easier? Make a basic platformer, throw in some unicorns and rainbows, and then bingo, I’d have a... Continue reading

  
• Using signifiers to reduce instructions
  February 24, 2024 by squeakypig#games, #retro, #platformer, #game design

  Knowing no one likes reading instructions, I've tried to be as curt as possible for Unicopia, resulting in 13 words describing how to play. However, for players that still clicked through the instruct... Continue reading

  
• Uncloaking Unicopia
  February 16, 2024 by squeakypig#retro, #demo, #platformer, #announcement, #unicopia, #godot

  So after many false starts, I'm pleased to announce Unicopia, a simple little platformer I'm developing for release in late 2024. It's necessarily small, leans on the spirit of 80s arcade games, and i... Continue reading