A Giant Problem News

We did it though, and we launched it into Early Access on April Fool’s Day in the midst of the pandemic and the restrictions they put here in place in Finland. For us that meant no movement outside of the capital region, closing of schools, and other limits. It sucked, but we did got through it alive and with a game going out.

That said, we probably launched A Giant Problem too early, even for something called Early Access. There have been numerous things that just weren’t in the game and/or needed such great improvement that the game simply wasn’t fun. All the same we’ve been dedicated to improving what we’ve made and adding to it to the point we’ve put out 8 patches of various sizes.

Those patches have steadily improved the game, added content and increased the features that make you feel like a giant. So overall the team is quite happy with the progress we’ve made on A Giant Problem. That is of course because we know what’s coming. And we’re happy to finally tell you all about it.

[h2]The New Roadmap[/h2]
As you can see from the updated map what we’re planning on delivering has changed. Most notably, there will be a campaign! And we’re excited about that, cause who doesn’t love a good story and want some reasoning behind what’s happening. We’re still delivering eight maps, more magic, more enemies and varieties, allies, upgrades, and the repair hammer.

To date the game has been more of a rogue-lite, in that each play session is a run and upon losing you have to start all over. The addition of a campaign changes this. Namely the game no longer becomes about staving off loss, rather you’re trying to achieve goals which generally feels a lot better. At the same time we will be refining the rogue-lite aspects and putting them out as a new Endless Mode.

Together the campaign and endless mode will offer a lot, and to players with different likes. And we want this game to be both appealing and fun. Fun is different for different people, which is why both modes will be available from the start once we reach 1.0. Our major focus in this updated roadmap and for version 1.0 is about making a fun and playable game. That’s why certain features are currently out of scope - they’re nice, but not necessities to achieving the goal a fun and playable game.

[h2]Change of Scope[/h2]
If you compare our roadmap for 2020 with that for 2021 you’ll see some features or plans have changed. That’s an inevitable part of game development, but it also reflects what we as a company have been through. We’ve had to reevaluate based upon a combination of our ability to deliver, priorities, and our need to stay afloat. The latter has meant that we’ve had to diversify as a company and take on contract work.

This has been a net positive for us as a company because it’s given us more experienced and honed our skills both as a team and game developers. The one downside is how its affected how much time we can dedicate to A Giant Problem. Rather than shelving the project entirely, we’ve rescoped it. This has resulted in certain things becoming more limited or removed all together for the time being.

We want to make it clear we want to deliver all of this and more. But right now we simply can’t. That doesn’t mean we won’t in the future. But for the sake of early access and seeing an end to the game shipped we’ve determined there is a line we’re drawing. And this is it, and we think it offers a lot to players.

That’s not to say these features and content won’t ever come to the game. Our aim is to bring it all. That’ll happen in one of two ways. 1) Post-launch content that we put out when possible as we continue to create games, and/or 2) We get a publisher for A Giant Problem that’ll enable us to do all this and expand the game further. We’re hoping for the latter. It would enable us to bring all of this and more.

They say art is never finished, it’s only abandoned. Not in this case. We aren’t abandoning A Giant Problem, we’re more committed to it than ever. We’re just being realistic about what we can accomplish, and honest with you in turn. So thank you for your support so far and we hope you’re with us for the rest of the journey.

2020 sure has been something. So we thought why not make it a little more amusing. And what’s more amusing than a game called A Giant Problem? You can do that by going to Steam and voting for A Giant Problem for VR Game of the Year!

This game has been the literal embodiment of the year, hence why we think we deserve such an illustrious award! It launched into Early Access on April Fools. It’s got a name that’s not just figurative. We as a company nearly went under, but we’re still here and kicking. And there’s nothing like smashing things when you’re annoyed. 2020 keeps throwing things at you and so does this game. But you’ll be knocking them out, back and into nothingness until 2021 and beyond!

It also helps that our game is currently on sale for 20% off! Meaning it’s now 6,55€ ($7.99 USD). Making it the perfect time for you to get A Giant Problem. So head over to Steam - pick up a copy and vote!

Key to this game is the ability to throw. That’s affected by a number of factors, namely the hardware you the player are using. Long story short, we’ve accounted for most of those differences so the game should feel better! We’ve also made a slew of other improvements, changes and fixes including:

• Throwing Improvements,
  
• More Stuff Causes Damage
  
• Dragons Preventing Game Ending Bug Fixed,
  
• Dragons Can be Picked Up Now,
  
• Holstered Hammer Doesn't Fix Things Anymore,
  
• Warrior's Health Fixed,
  
• Goblins from Warriors Fixed in Multiple Ways,
  
• Lost Ziggurat Improvements,
  
• Stele Oasis Houses Fixed,
  
• Destroyed Houses No Longer Generate Mana, and
  
• Objects in Water Now Sink
  

Each VR controller model behaves differently. That means throwing and other interactions can vary widely. Which isn’t great in terms of consistency nor making players feel like giants. So we’ve done another round of improvements to account for the differences. Not all controllers have been accounted for, just the most common. But we will get to the rest soon.


We talk about this game as being about using anything you get your hands on to be a weapon. And then we littered the maps with barrels - a classic bit of video game design. Except the barrels did nothing. Now they do. Enjoy. And so does every other little thing you can pick up. So seriously, enjoy some death by duck.


Dragons are pesky creatures especially when you’re a giant. For one thing they didn’t want to get picked up, yet they also didn’t want the game to end. Both of those have changed. So throw them to your hearts’ content, pick them up and pet them, do what you will. And all in the confidence that once your gold is gone, the game is over.


When all you’ve got is a hammer everything looks like a nail, even when that hammer is resting comfortably in your belt. The hammer was knocking around and hitting things and if they needed to be fixed then they were getting fixed. Well no more! Now things only get repaired when you decide to fix them with a mighty swing.


With Warrior 2.0 we introduced a minor issue related to the amount of health a warrior has. That’s been fixed. Along with some issues that occur with the goblins that spew forth from the warriors under the right conditions. The goblins will no longer slide upon spawning and they can now stand up if thrown.


Tossing things into holes can be fun. It’s one of the joys of playing on Lost Ziggurat. You can just pile up boulders and trees till the cows come home. That doesn’t make for great gameplay though if you’re able to block all the enemies from making their way out. So we’ve implemented something we call quicksand on the path up, so objects sink and disappear, allowing the enemies to keep coming unhindered. We’ve also fixed some movement issues related to the map and better spaced out the houses and magic spawners.


There were a number of issues affecting houses, some only on particular maps. Needless to say they’ve all been resolved. So now the houses on Stele Oasis have a hit and destruction animation as well as health bars. And all houses no longer generate mana when destroyed. It just didn’t seem fair for them to do so, especially for lore reasons.


Okay it’s not wet in the traditional sense, but does act more like water in that anything in it doesn’t display it so much as it sinks and disappears. Just like quicksand, only faster. Trees, rocks, barrels, anything tossed into the sea on Ragged Shore will now up and sink. Same goes for all the other maps and their water. And on The Cauldron lava does much the same. Both of these features will be improved further in the future, with splashes and particle effects, but for the moment we thought we’d add some more realism.

That’s it for this update. And as always, we have more in store for A Giant Problem. But for that we need your feedback. Please be sure to reach out to us on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.

2020 continues and so does the development of A Giant Problem. We hope this update finds you well. If not, hopefully this will be a bright moment in the day. And boy do we have a lot for you to be excited about. So much so, it’s almost too much for a single patch.

We’ve been quiet for a couple of months in part because of the summer holidays and then our intense focus on implementing all of these new features and changes. But enough faffing, you want to know what we’ve done!

This update includes the following:

• AI & Animation Overhaul,
  
• Repair Hammer
  
• Mana System,
  
• Destructible Gates,
  
• Stele Oasis,
  
• Warrior 2.0,
  
• Main Menu Scene Update,
  
• Holster Overhaul & UI Updates,
  
• Sound Updates & Fixes,
  
• Troll Hitting Walls Fix,
  
• Dragon Flight Rework, and
  
• Other Bug Fixes.
  
• 
  

The two are intricately connected in games. So we of course had to improve them. What does that mean? Well the game should be buttery smooth now in terms of all of the characters running around and causing chaos. Not that there won’t be issues or bugs, this game is still in EA after all. It’s just that we’ve improved the flow of information within the game and you should see that very directly in how characters behave.


You’re big so you need some big tools. Thus we have given you a hammer that repairs things. Don’t ask how, just accept that it does. Why? Well because you’ll need to be rebuilding your defenses and villages. The pesky invaders aren’t just after your gold, they’re destroying your home. So it’s time to put your muscle to work.


Magic requires a cost. That cost is mana. But it’s not on you to generate the mana, it’s on your village. They’ve transformed you into your current fighting form using magic, and now they’re providing more support. In turn fireballs and iceballs now cost mana, but you’ll be able to easily transfer everything during the game and ensure you’re at peak destruction.


We call them gates cause they’re kind of like walls that you can shut at any time. Though it is on the enemy to open them again. While you can’t repair them, they do have the added benefit of being able to destroy anyone unfortunate enough to be standing in their way. They’re not being introduced on every map as they’ve been designed to take into account the particularities of our newer maps.


Speaking of. Your wait for more has been worth it because we have it for you. We now take you to the desert locale that we call Stele Oasis. This map has been lovingly designed to take into account all of the new features we’ve been adding. So it highlights the destructible gates and the repair hammer, as well as mana.


A new contender has entered the ring. Well it’s dressed like the old contender because it is. It’s still the Warrior, but it has some surprises for you. These changes stem from how similar the Warrior was to the Goblin. This was in part because of features which have not yet been implemented. So the Warrior isn’t operating to its full potential, added to that is the complicating factor of that behavior being dependent on the players actions. Ultimately, if you don’t play a certain way then you don’t get to experience everything there is to about the warrior. And we didn’t want that. Which means it’s time to get to grips with the new warrior.


We’re setting a scene with our main menu. Our Art Director has been lovingly decorating the scene so when you first start the game it’s more than a menu. It’s a bit of an amuse bouch, a taster if you will, of what’s to come.


Thanks to your feedback and that of our dedicated team we have improved the holsters and how you interact with them. This isn’t just a UI improvement, it’s an overall user experience change. It was a long time coming and we think you’ll welcome it especially with the introduction of the repair hammer.


New features mean new sounds, and boy do are they audible. Didn’t want to say the sound good cause that would just be a bit too much use of the word sound. Not that they aren’t. We think they add nicely to the atmosphere of A Giant Problem and help with the overall user experience.


Look trolls are big and lumbering. They’re not known for their grace and poise. So to some degree having trolls hit multiple targets at the same time made sense. But not from a game balance perspective. They were just too strong, so we changed the attack model for them so they no longer hit multiple buildings or enemies in a single swipe. It makes the game easier for us to balance and just a bit easier for you to play. But it’s all for the better.


Dragons have wings. That’s how they fly. They’re not some simple gasbags. All the same they weren’t doing so well on some of our maps. So we’ve worked to get them flying straight… or at least to hit fewer things in their pursuit of you. You should see the biggest changes on Lost Ziggurat.


The introduction of new systems and features, changes, new content all inevitably introduced new bugs. So we’ve squashed many if not most of those. We’ve also been hard at work getting some of those older, peskier bugs too. When the world is affected as much as it is by a bug, we don’t need anymore.

That’s it for this update. And as always, we have more in store for A Giant Problem. But for that we need your feedback. Please be sure to reach out to us on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.

As you can see from the beautiful artwork Minna, our Art Director, has created, even our characters are having a nice, relaxing summer break. Though they do occasionally try to sneak in and steal some gold. But we hope you’re getting to relax, remaining safe, and stopping the hordes now and then.

This is smaller patch to just add a few things including:

• Tuned the Difficulty and Rewards,
  
• Additional Particle Effects, and
  
• Updated NavMeshes.
  

[h2]Difficulty & Rewards[/h2]
We’re constantly tuning the difficulty to make the game as fun as possible, while being welcoming to new players. It’s not an easy task. But it’s one we know we’re up for. So in this leaks tweak we’ve tried to soften the start and ramp up more gradually. We’ve also doubled the amount of credits you receive at the end of a session, in the hopes of enabling unlocks sooner.

[h2]Throwing Trails[/h2]
The game is generally better, and now it also looks better. We’ve been adding particle effects to more things that you interact with. Seriously, who doesn’t like more sparkles, explosions and lights everywhere! The addition of these particle effects should help you track your throws better and make for better streaming and screenshots.

[h2]NavMeshes[/h2]
This is a minor thing and you may not notice any differences, but we’ve updated the NavMeshes following some small changes to things we’ve done on the maps. Nothing has moved or changed beyond what’s included in the NavMesh. This is a long way of saying the characters should move about the maps better.

That’s it for this update. We expect the next to be in August. And as always, we have more in store for A Giant Problem. But for that we need your feedback. Please be sure to reach out to us on the Steam Forums, on our Discord or via our support email.