Davy Jones Deckhand News

[p]Watch the replay stream here: https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561199825638096

[/p][p]Creators included:[/p]

• [p]Deep Space Matt: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]
• [p]The Geek Cupboard: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]
• [p]TalaVT: https://www.twitch.tv/talavt[/p]
• [p]Salt Goblin: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Ahoy mateys, welcome Below Deck! [/p][p][/p][p]Tepene and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Germany. Thirty hours of travel, four nights in Cologne, and then straight back again. We’re tired. Our feet hurt from being on our toes non-stop working the booth at Gamescom, and our backs hurt from sitting through the long haul flights. Despite all this, we’re absolutely buzzing from the event.[/p][p][/p][p]It was a real “pinch-me” moment being there alongside the very best of the NZ games industry, and amongst 80,000+ developers from around the world. Before leaving on Friday we also got to catch a glimpse of the 300,000 game consumers and fans descending upon Cologne to immerse themselves in their favourite IPs and discover new games.[/p][p][/p][p]In this edition of Below Deck I’ll share some pictures and stories from our first Gamescom experience![/p][p][/p][p]Yours piratically,[/p][p]Ben
[/p][hr][/hr][p]
[/p][h2]Davy Jones’ Deckhand at the New Zealand Pavilion at Gamescom[/h2][p][/p][p]NZTE and CODE NZ put together an impressive display for the many kiwi games travelling to Germany.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]
The Cass Bay Games booth[/h2][p][/p][p]Tepene came equipped with some beautiful, impactful details that really made our booth stand out. It was a great place to test out some of his genius ideas ahead of our next showcase at PAX Australia in October. These items included an old map, books, keys, and a tiny wooden chest for business cards.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Representing Games pitching event[/h2][p]
The day after we arrived, Ben pitched the game to a room full of publishers as part of an event hosted by Representing Games. He dressed appropriately.[/p][p]
[/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Our Gamescom experience[/h2][p][/p][p]LEFT: Ben at the booth. RIGHT: Tep at the NZTE Networking Mixer.[/p][p][/p][p]LEFT: Sharing the game with NZ’s Ambassador to Germany, Craig Hawke. CENTRE: Ben pitching. RIGHT: Tep at the booth.[/p][p][/p][h3]
Context:[/h3]

• [p]We were located in the business area in Hall 3.2 which was for trade passes only.[/p]
• [p]We had a silver tier package and were part of the New Zealand NZTE pavilion.[/p]
• [p]We've never done this before...[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Highlights:[/h3]

• [p]Presenting a pitch in a session run by Representing Games meant we were able to get in front of lots of publishers, even those who had rejected in-person meeting requests.[/p]
• [p]With a silver tier booth we had lots of drop-ins, including some publishers we got to pitch our game to, and we had so many people stop by to play (and LOVE) the game![/p]
• [p]We met amazing developers from all around the world and got to hear many inspiring stories of success.[/p]
• [p]Every publisher we pitched wanted follow up and Steam keys to share the demo with their team.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Challenges:[/h3]

• [p]We received many rejections to our meeting requests via Meet To Match (a meetings booking app specifically for games events) and ended up with just 3 publisher meetings booked ahead of arrival. This was somewhat discouraging, but we were very pleased to pull together 3 more pitch meetings while we were there, and they all felt really positive.[/p]
• [p]The phrase "Roguelike deckbuilder" sometimes felt like it was met with a bit of resistance. There certainly seems to be some exhaustion around the genre in the publishing space. We had to really hone how we communicated our points of difference (namely our open world exploration elements and counter-attack system). On the flipside though, we met many, many people who came to play the demo and express how much they adore the genre and just had an overall awesome time with our game.[/p]
• [p]We were approached by a lot of service providers with a pretty hard-sell attitude, several trying to convince us to change the design of our game to be more mobile focused or other such madness... we had to practice giving a polite ‘no thank you’![/p]

[p][/p][h3]Was it worth it?[/h3][p]While we had hoped to book more publisher meetings ahead of time, especially with the huge 30+ hour journey from New Zealand, really it just takes one publisher that's a good fit and we could be set for the next phase of our journey. We will be following up and reaching out to others who weren't at Gamescom. The experience itself was an absolute blast, especially being surrounded by our New Zealand game dev peers! We also came away with some valuable insights to work into our next showcase build for PAX AU.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Join the crew![/h2][p][/p][p]Don’t forget to wishlist the game on Steam, blackmail your friends and family to do the same, and help us market our pirate game![/p][p]
If you'd like more regular updates and to chat with the team then please join our public Discord server, we'd love to have you join our growing community. You can also follow us on social media at the links below.[/p][p]
[/p][h3]Wishlist now: [/h3][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]
Discord invite: [/h3][p]https://t.co/sBqCnmZi9T[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Previous editions of 'Below Deck' can be found on our Itch Devlog.[/p][p][/p][p]Playtester sign ups: Fill out this form to access the playtest [/p][p]
Until next time me hearties, yo ho![/p][p]
[/p]

[p]It has been a quiet couple of months since our last online playtest back in June. We've been working hard on this new build, and also on our pitch and preparations for Gamescom. We travel to Germany in less than a weeks time![/p][p] [/p][h3]So what's new in this playtest?[/h3]

• [p]2x new bosses[/p]
• [p]Voyage selection screen[/p]
• [p]Intro cinematic[/p]
• [p]First death "contract signing" scene[/p]
• [p]Save system improvements[/p]
• [p]A dedicated "insult" button[/p]
• [p]'Combo': a new enemy status effect[/p]

[p]There are also 3+ new Steam achievements to unlock! Share your progress with the crew in our discord channel.[/p][p] [/p][h3]Accessing the playtest[/h3][p]If you would like to play, please fill out this sign up form to get sent a key.[/p]

[p]Ahoy mateys, welcome Below Deck![/p][p][/p][p]As we look ahead to Gamescom next month, we’ve been keeping priorities in order and adding a much anticipated feature to our demo: insults.[/p][p]
(ABOVE: Secret of Monkey Island, 1990)[/p][p][/p][p]What’s a pirate sword fight without a few sizzling roasts? We’re excited to offer players a dedicated insult button with contextual insults and humiliating comebacks. Press F during your turn to yell abuse at your opponents, or press it while they insult you to retort with a relevant zinger. The feature is as pointless as a blunt mop, and just as fun.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p](LEFT: The start of our branching “insults” dialogue tree. RIGHT: A zinger.)[/p][p][/p][h2]More distant ports to explore: PAX AU[/h2][p]
We’re looking forward to yet another international outing for the studio. In October we will be showcasing Davy Jones’ Deckhand at PAX Australia, thanks to support from CODE NZ.[/p][p](Concept for this year’s CODE booth at PAX AU)[/p][p][/p][p]Once again, Ben and Tepene will be setting sail to promote the game and pillage the industry of all its valuables. We’re really looking forward to sharing our hard work with the media, creators and players![/p][h2]
Our new website (hello there fancy-pants)[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]Our new and improved website lets you touch the cards![/p][p]
Go check it out 👉 www.cassbaygames.com[/p][p][/p][h2]Playtest update?[/h2][p][/p][p]Yes. We’re working on it.
[/p][p]Here’s a few things to look forward to:[/p]

• [p]2 new bosses![/p]
• [p]Tutorial cutscene[/p]
• [p]Tutorial death scene (sign Davy’s contract)[/p]
• [p]Destination selection (choose voyages of different lengths and travel between 3 locations)[/p]
• [p]The aforementioned insult system[/p]
• [p]Enemy “Combo” status. Counter-attack fast… or else![/p]

[p](Davy’s contract… sign if you dare!)[/p][p][/p][p](The new COMBO status)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Don’t forget to wishlist the game on Steam, blackmail your friends and family to do the same, and help us market our pirate game![/p][p]If you'd like more regular updates and to chat with the team then please join our public Discord server, we'd love to have you join our growing community. You can also follow us on social media at the links below.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Wishlist now: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]
Discord invite: [/p][p]Cass Bay Games discord[/p][p][/p][p]Previous editions of 'Below Deck' can be found on itch: Itch Devlog[/p][p] [/p][p]Fill out this form to get access to our playtest: Playtest sign up form [/p][p]
Until next time me hearties, yo ho![/p][p]
Wishlist now[/p]

[p]Ahoy mateys, welcome Below Deck![/p][p][/p][h2]We're off to Gamescom 🛫[/h2][p][/p][p]We have exciting news to share this month. Cass Bay Games have received another grant from CODE NZ, this time it’s to fund a trip to Cologne, Germany to pitch Davy Jones’ Deckhand at Gamescom, the biggest games event in the world! [/p][p]Ben and Tepene will be flying over in August with a pitch deck and a dream. We’ll be attending the business area from Wednesday to Friday, hanging out in the CODE pavilion and meeting publishers.[/p][p]
NZ CODE pavilion in Gamescom 2024 business area[/p][p][/p][h2]What are we working on?[/h2][p][/p][p]Following our April playtest, we have been getting to work on our next set of updates. We’ve been making general bug fixes and some juicy improvements like additional sprites for our counter-attack animations. Plus the art team is now focusing on our first cut scene, which will be the opening of the game - at least for our first public Steam demo! Here is a sneak peek at our private pre-vis animation, voiced by our very own game director Ben! 🤣[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]And we’ve started to build out a major new feature: voyage selection! In the full game, players will have the freedom to explore an open world map by completing voyages. The voyages are procedurally generated based on factors like distance from your current location, and the biomes you travel through along the way.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Join the crew! 🏴‍☠️
[/h2][p]Don’t forget to wishlist the game on Steam, blackmail your friends and family to do the same, and help us market our pirate game![/p][p][/p][p]If you'd like more regular updates and to chat with the team then please join our public Discord server, we'd love to have you join our growing community. You can also follow us on social media at the links below.[/p][p]
Discord invite: https://t.co/sBqCnmZi9T[/p][p]Playtester sign ups: Fill out this form to access the playtest [/p][p][/p][h3]Wishlist now: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/h3][h3]Find us on social media[/h3][p]🔗 Instagram 🔗 TikTok 🔗 X/Twitter 🔗 YouTube 🔗 Bsky 🔗[/p][p]
Until next time me hearties, yo ho![/p]