Roombattle News

[h3]BE THE FIRST ROOMBATTLE PLAYER
[/h3][p]Here are some questions and answers about how the playtest will work.[/p][p]I want to help improve Roombattle, how can I participate in the playtest?
It will be open on FEBRUARY 6, 7, and 8. Just go to our Steam page, and in the “Join Roombattle Playtest” box, click Request Access.[/p][p][/p][p]Once registered, what do I have to do?
Once the Playtest opens, we’ll grant access to a limited number of people. So RUN![/p][p]I’ve been given access, can I invite a friend?
Yes! You can invite up to 3 friends so you can all play together![/p][p]It’s Friday, I haven’t received access... Can I come cry and beg for access!?
Sure, join our Discord and ask our boss... Give them reasons why you should get access. Good luck![/p][p]How can I give feedback?
We’ll use our Discord server to receive both bugs and improvement suggestions. If you don’t use Discord, you can use the Roombattle Playtest forum thread on Steam.[/p][p]What’s the difference between the Demo and the Playtest? In the Playtest we’ll use a version with much more content than the Demo. The Playtest version will be available for a limited time. We’ll be changing the Playtest version content as we fix the problems we find.[/p][p]Will we receive any rewards or benefits?
For now, among all participants we’re going to raffle keys for the Roombattle launch. We want to reward the help received somehow. We don’t know how we’ll do it yet, but we’ll do something. We’re indie, sorry.
[/p][h3]Rumbero Tournament #1 - This Saturday the 7th, it’s on.[/h3][p]The Rumbero Tournament is here, a Roombattle to come wreck games, try new stuff before anyone else, and have some good competitive banter with lots of flow.[/p][p]It’ll be played with the development version of Roombattle, so expect things that haven’t been released yet, crazy changes, and unexpected moments 👀[/p][p]Why you can’t miss it:[/p]

• [p]🆕 New stuff that doesn’t exist anywhere else yet[/p]
• [p]🏆 The winner gets a RoomBattle key for the official launch[/p]
• [p]🎶 Good vibes, competition, and great rumba[/p]
• [p]⚔️ Sign up HERE - https://forms.gle/jrJLfPT9jmUmbEBA6[/p]

[p][/p][p]If you like destroying your friendships: this tournament is your place.[/p][p]This Saturday, February 7 at 5:30 PM CET: Rumbero Tournament. Don’t miss it.[/p][p][/p][h3]FREE DINNER![/h3][p]Dive into our new Asian Restaurant theme, where your favorite vacuum cleaners have traded cleaning for hospitality. Our adorable robots aren’t just delivering sushi and noodles, they’re turning dinner service into a total culinary battle![/p][p]Expect flying spring rolls, dumplings in the air, and the occasional ramen explosion as you fight in this deliciously chaotic new map. It’s not just a restaurant, it’s a recipe for chaos![/p][h3]Roomboss takes the controller (tries to)[/h3][p]I don’t know what to say about this, but... Rombos... well... You be the judge. Stay tuned in the coming days

[/p][h3]Roombadvices
[/h3][p]What are we playing?[/p]

• [p](Carlos) The... PES 2021... BUT CO-OP. I’m not into soccer, but it’s fun to play with friends, no joke.[/p]
• [p](Borni) I’m hooked on Assetto Corsa Rally, a super realistic rally simulator in early access. Also Baba is You, an indie puzzle game where you manipulate text to change the game rules.[/p]
• [p](Arnau) Hytale, it still has a lot of work left and I love the foundation. I tried getting into the modding world, but I don’t have time because of a project I’m working on.[/p]

[p]What are we listening to/reading/watching?[/p]

• [p](Carlos) Discover Gelli Haha[/p]
• [p](Arnau) Lately I’ve been reading a book of Japanese myths and fables called: “Japanese myths & legends: tales of heroes, gods & monsters”[/p]
• [p](Borni) I’m really hooked on Lisa Ono and Cocteau Twins, pretty chill music, even feels somewhat nostalgic to me[/p]

[p]Random content to recommend[/p]

• [p](Dust Games) Sign up for the Roombattle Playtest[/p]
• [p](Carlos) How delicious Gochujang is, a Korean fermented chili paste[/p]
• [p](Arnau) This incredible documentary about one of the largest machines that currently exist. How are the machines that make chips manufactured, and how do they work?[/p]

[p]Wow, great clickbait, but something weird is actually happening. Roomboss, the boss, that character you might have seen roaming around events, is forcing us to program things we don’t quite understand.[/p][p]We’re not paying much attention.[/p][p]He’s also said we should put the Roombattle logo really big in lots of random places, like on the fridge in the kitchen of the new theme.[/p][p]We’re still ignoring him.[/p][p]The bottom line is, we don’t know what’s going on or what he wants from us. He told us he’ll say something in January, but I don’t trust him. He might even burn the GitHub and leave us without Roombattle.[/p][p]I think it bothers him that the vacuums don’t listen to him, that they have fun instead of contributing to capital through domestic cleaning.[/p][p]One of these days I’m shaving the mustache off the one that runs out of battery.[/p][p]By the way, I’m writing this on the 24th, so happy holidays, even though it will reach you on the 28th. So happy New Year. HAPPY EVERYTHING![/p][p][/p][h3]We’ve been very quiet[/h3][p]I should have written this about a month and a half ago, but we never found the time. Roomboss, every time I asked for a few days to prepare the newsletter, would say: “better if everything stays at home.” I hid the charging station, and here we are, writing this.[/p][p]Roombattle: Everything is going well[/p][p]We’ve made huge progress in development, an insane amount. I think these months have been, by far, the ones with the fewest problems and the most progress. Ironically, while I couldn’t find the time to write this, they wouldn’t let go of my arm. Here’s everything we’ve done these months.[/p]

• [p]The game works online, EVERYTHING works online.[/p]
• [p]We have Bots, which work in ALL maps and minigames, with different difficulty levels.[/p]
• [p]We have new Power-Ups.[/p]
• [p]We have new Mystery Skills.[/p]
• [p]We have (almost) new Maps (and we’re hungry).[/p]
• [p]We have a Tutorial.[/p]
• [p]We have anxiety.[/p]

[p]Private Playtest[/p][p]This month we’ve also been running private playtests to make sure online works. And surprisingly, EVERYTHING worked VERY WELL.[/p][p]That said, go check the Steam page. The playtest will be public in January. We haven’t announced this anywhere, so now you know. Run.[/p][p]Also, Arnau, our progammer talk with some insides here. [/p][p][/p][p]What a year of events![/p][p]Besides all the content we’ve mentioned, we’ve attended so many events. Above all, the one that excited us the most was returning to the BCN Game Fest. This year we wanted it to be a unique, memorable experience, and above all, for you to feel at home. I hope we succeeded. As a summary, here’s a video we made.[/p][p]But it’s not just the BCN Game Fest… Here’s another list of events we’ve participated in.[/p]

• [p]BCN Game Fest – Barcelona (Catalonia)[/p]
• [p]Play Festival – Hamburg (Germany)[/p]
• [p]Vibez Festival – Barcelona (Catalonia)[/p]
• [p]Premis Ludi – Barcelona (Catalonia)[/p]
• [p]Unity Unite – Barcelona (Catalonia)[/p]
• [p]Saga: Catalan Video Game Fair[/p]
• [p]Playtopia – Cape Town (South Africa)[/p]
• [p]BIG Conference – Bilbao (Basque Country)[/p]

[p]It’s been a wild year. We’ve been at events across 3 different continents and in amazing places like Bitsummit (Kyoto), London Game Fest, Gamescom, or Playtopia in South Africa. How cool.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Roombadvices[/h3][p]What are we playing?[/p]

• [p](Carlos) Is that Seat Taken: My personal GOTY, simple premise, clever puzzles, and bad jokes.[/p]
• [p](Aleix) I’m playing Tails Noir with Dani from the team. It’s a 2.5D detective game where the characters are humanoid animals and the story is dark and very interesting.[/p]
• [p](Dani JR) Hades 1 and Kingdom Come Deliverance 1. I want to play the sequels, but it annoys me that I haven’t played the originals first, hehe.[/p]

[p]What are we listening/reading/watching?[/p]

• [p](Carlos) As a pedantic person, here’s my top album of the year.[/p][p][/p]
• [p](Carlos) Pluribus, especially the drone episode, and this article explaining why things happen.[/p]
• [p](Aleix) For months, I’ve been listening day and night to the synth-pop duo The Midnight. My favorites are: Los Angeles, Deep Blue, Summer Is Ending Soon, and Gloria. Absolutely amazing, just take a look.[/p]
• [p](Dani Jr) Lately, I’ve been really into video game soundtracks; I’m listening to Portal and Bloodborne.[/p]

[p]Random content to recommend[/p]

• [p](Dust Games) Sign up for the Roombattle playtest.[/p]
• [p](Aleix) Not for the paranoid! This has become my favorite YouTube video.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[p]The Four is Party is back, and we couldn’t be happier to join the celebration once again! This event has always been a special moment for us — a chance to be part of a community of creators, players, and friends who truly love multiplayer chaos as much as we do.[/p][p]This year, Roombattle is proudly joining the lineup once more, bringing our cozy, chaotic room-cleaning battles to the festivities. And… we might have quietly added a mysterious new button to our Steam page. We’re still exploring what it does and how it works, so consider this your friendly invitation to take a peek and poke at it yourself. 👀 [/p][p][/p][h3] Follow us!
[/h3][p]Discord: https://discord.com/invite/MeGffmgy4F[/p][p]Substack: https://substack.com/@dustgames[/p][p]X: https://x.com/DustGamesStudio[/p][p]Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dustgames.es[/p][p]Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dustgamesstudio/[/p][p]TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dustgamesstudio[/p][p]Youtube: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p] [/p][p]
[/p]

[p]I’ve been wanting to write this for a few days now—weeks, maybe even months. The truth is, these past months have been intense, one thing after another with no break in between. And that makes it hard to find the zen moment to sit down and write this.[/p][p]Arnau traveled to Japan, Óscar and I went to Germany, and we also got invited to Tenerife. It’s kind of crazy, really, to think that just a year ago we were finishing the incubation program, and a year later we almost have a full game developed and have had the chance to present it nearly 15,000 km away from Barcelona.

But before that, let’s talk about the new minigames.[/p][h2]We’ve got new minigames![/h2][p]Arnau came back from Kyoto on a Tuesday, and by the following Monday we already had 4 new minigame prototypes. Looks like the vacation did him well.[/p][h3]
Dance Dash Revolution[/h3][p]
I’ve mentioned Arnau’s passion for dancing before. Well, here’s the result: he came up with the idea for this minigame one day.[/p][p]And that’s how Dance Dash Rebotlution became your new favorite minigame! Designed from pure passion and nonsense. It’s a tribute to the Arcade machine Dance Dance Revolution, but with vacuum cleaners instead of humans. Here’s you can see a little clip[/p][p][/p][h3] Cactus Rain[/h3][p] With this name and with Balloon Rain—there are two types of people: those who say it reminds them of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and those who say it reminds them of Prince’s Purple Rain. Which team are you on?[/p][p]That being said, players hate the first time they get pricked by the cacti. So what did we do? Made it rain cacti. Whoever survives this prickly minigame wins.

[/p][h3]Give me some air![/h3][p] When this minigame comes out, you’ll have to inflate a balloon with your own lungs. This will be validated thanks to a one-of-a-kind Artificial Intelligence. If you don’t do it, the game will lock your computer, making it completely useless FOREVER. So yeah, keep some balloons nearby when you play Roombattle.[/p][p]That said, the goal is to chase down tanks to inflate your balloons. Don’t worry, no matter how big they get, you won’t float away. This isn’t Up—we respect the laws of thermodynamics here.

[/p][h3]Roomball![/h3][p] If you’ve always been a star in the king of sports—football—this is NOT your minigame. This one’s made for everyone who doesn’t like soccer. Ever wondered what soccer would be like without all the bad stuff? Exactly: soccer with vacuum cleaners is the answer.[/p][p]That said, if you do like soccer, you can still yell Golassoooo every time you score. No AI will be watching that. Strange that I’m suddenly interested in AI—I’ll have to ask our roBOTs. Maybe I’ll tell you more about that next month.


[/p][h2]Roombattle World Tour

[/h2][h3]Bitsummit - Kyoto (Japón)[/h3][p]So yeah, we went to Japan. One of those things you don’t think twice about. Catalan Arts invited us to travel to Kyoto, to the biggest indie game fair in Asia.[/p][p]A super warm event where we had the chance to meet local devs and players. A unique experience. Plus, Arnau spent a few weeks traveling around the country in early July.[/p][p]Here are his impressions (and yes, he brought us gifts—I’ve now got a Porco Rosso keychain):[/p]

[p]That’s right! I took advantage of the long trip to soak up some of the culture. It’s incredible how knowing a bit of Japanese opens so many doors and leads to memorable experiences.[/p][p]I especially want to highlight the wonderful town of Beppu, where steam from hot springs literally comes out of the sewers. Houses have built boilers and pipes to collect this natural resource, creating hot spring baths everywhere. That’s why Beppu is considered an onsen town.[/p][p]Another highlight was Osaka, where I stumbled right into the city’s festival and got to see a boat parade on the Dotonbori canal.[/p]

[h3]
Indie Arena Booth / Gamescom – Cologne (Germany)[/h3][p]I still remember the day I got the email saying we were going to Gamescom. I jumped, I shouted, I couldn’t believe it. It’s one of the milestones that’s made us the happiest—we got to show our game at the biggest gaming event in the world. There was Silksong and, hundreds of games later, Roombattle.[/p][p]We’ve uploaded quite a bit of content on TikTok - go check it out, it’s pretty fun.[/p][p][/p][h2]Roombadvices

¿What are we playing?[/h2]

• [p](Carlos) Dracamar demo, our neighbors at Gamescom. Amazing people, and the game has a Spyro vibe with Catalan cultural elements.[/p]
• [p](Raúl) An obscure little title: Death Stranding 1.[/p]
• [p](Óscar) I’m completing pending achievements in several games (Goat Simulator 3, Peak, Schedule I, Chained Together, and No Man’s Sky, where I even built the Millennium Falcon).[/p]
• [p](Dust Games) Too many games to list, but also the charity bundle on itch.io Play for Peace – Games for Palestine 2025, to help a people facing extermination.[/p]

[h3]¿What are we listen/reading/watching?[/h3]

• [p](Oscar / Carlos) Here’s the playlist I made for Óscar for Gamescom. It’s what played in our room every morning and night.[/p]
• [p](Carlos) The album The Passionate Ones by Nourished by Time.[/p]
• [p](Oscar) I’m back on RuPaul’s Drag Race—the dresses and the show are wild. I also started the new season of Wednesday, which I’m really enjoying.[/p]
• [p](Raúl) I’ve been reading Homestuck, the famous 2010s webcomic. It’s really good, sometimes super niche, but the more I read it the more I see its influence everywhere.[/p]

[h3]Random content we recommend[/h3]

• [p](Oscar / Carlos) The best döner kebab of our lives is in Cologne. Apparently, it’s famous—and for good reason: Haus des Döners.[/p]
• [p](Oscar) I dug up an old video I had saved that helps me calm down when I get anxious.[/p]
• [p](Dust Games) Next month, go to the BCN Game Fest. We’ll be there with something very cool. Want to see it? Should I show you? Here it is.[/p][p][/p]

[p]And that’s it for this month’s newsletter. See you next month! If all goes well, I’ll have climbed onto a sofa to scream at BCN Game Fest, and I’ll tell you how that went.
[/p][p]Kisses [/p]

[p]Next week, we’re bringing the chaotic, laugh-out-loud world of Roombattle to Gamescom at the Indie Arena Booth — and we can’t wait to see you![/p][p]Jump in with your friends for frantic multiplayer battles and wild mini-games. Quick matches, big laughs, and total chaos are guaranteed when you team up (or go head-to-head) with your favorite people.[/p][p]Meet Roomboss — our quirky robot vacuum boss who can’t clean a thing but has a lot to say (even if no one really understands him).[/p][p]Come and discover the most hilarious game at Gamescom:[/p]

• [p]Exclusive DEMO for players checking out Roombattle at Gamescom[/p]
• [p]Unique, limited merch you can’t get anywhere else — perfect for fans and collectors![/p]
• [p]Hang out with the dev team and get first-hand tips, tricks, and stories straight from the battlefield[/p]

[p]Courage Cologne Appearance:
We’re also rolling into Courage Cologne on Tuesday, ready to bring the same fun, chaos, and Roomboss antics to a whole new crowd. Come say hi, play some matches, and snag exclusive goodies![/p][p]And that’s not all — Roombattle will also be part of the official Steam events and Games From Spain showcase, so you can join the mayhem even if you can’t make it to Cologne.[/p][p]Whether you’re joining us in Cologne, at Gamescom, or online, this is your chance to dive into the mayhem, meet the team, and experience Roombattle like never before.
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