Boll's Journey News

[p]Hi all![/p][p]This is your reminder that your chance to get Boll's Journey at a 30% discount is almost running to an end. To give you a bit more incentive to buy the game now, below you can find some of the (near) future updates.[/p][p]First of all, there'll be more puzzle types in the game. Adding to the current button and gate mechanic, I've dreamt up a little variation of the existing one: hit buttons in a specific order to open a gate, if you happen to hit the wrong button, the buttons get reset and you'll have to start over. This one will be added as early as the Silent Forest scene, which was supposed to come out early this week but has since been moved to end of week due to me dreaming up this new puzzle ːsteamhappyː[/p][p]Secondly, I'll be adding something with lasers in the near future. I've been playing with several different ways to do these lasers:[/p]

• [p]One where you have to make sure that they don't hit you or scene reset (or Shapes show up or moves lost - this can already go in several directions)[/p]
• [p]One where you'll have to make a laser get to a certain point by use of mirrors (or the opposite: find a way to block them to move on)[/p]
• [p]One where you have to use lasers to hit Shapes[/p]
• [p]I'll probably think of more ways to make lasers matter....[/p]

[p]Thirdly, the current collectibles, the Baybayin, will be a crucial part of something that has to do with instantaneous space travel, allowing for level replays, for example. I've already mentioned that the Baybayin is a script, so expect something to do with symbol combinations.....[/p][p]Other than the current enemies, there'll be more enemies to deal with, both Shape-like as well as nature-y and possibly others as well. [/p][p]To start with, in the Silent Forest, for example, there'll be falling trees (not much of an enemy, but they can get you to get stuck) And I've been playing with the idea to do moving Shapes or Duds, but that'll be something for beyond the mountain, possibly only in the city - which is 7th on the list after the mountains.[/p][p]I've also been playing with the idea to add technology as a type of enemy. [/p][p]My internal roadmap currently has about 50+ scenes. It'll be a while before I've got all the scenes in there that I want, and by the time I have those 50 scenes, I'll probably have come up with a few dozen more. That means a lot of work ahead of me, but as I'm working I'm also making the tools to make these scenes faster. [/p][p]The current scene I'm working on, for example, I've come up with ways to make lines of trees, bushes and paths, which makes the scene - in Unity - look a bit like this:[/p][p][/p][p]It might not look like a big scene, but it's pretty zoomed out, it'll probably keep you busy for quite a while....[/p][p]So, if you're feeling these future additions, if you want to be a part of what they'll look like, or at least have a voice on what works and what doesn't, you still have a few days to get Boll's Journey at a discounted price.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Hi all![/p][p]It's now been a week since the release into Early Access, and with that a personal milestone has been reached. In the past few weeks I've been able to lay out a few parts of the game, some in more detail than others, but one thing I haven't yet talked about, which are also important to Boll's Journey, is the puzzle elements in the game. This Devlog will change that.[/p][p]First, however, something about the...[/p][p]something I already briefly talked about, but haven't said much of yet, until now. [/p][p]My hope is that you, the players, will have played the game already before reading this Devlog. But in case you haven't yet: this Devlog will contain spoilers![/p][p]The story so far has Boll waking up at a rift, and being immediately greeted by the Guiding voice. After being guided through the first bit of the Serene Gardens, you end up having to cross the road until the voice will come with a final piece of information: the more moves you use, the closer you put yourself to death. [/p][p]After that, the only time you hear the voice again is when you get a Baybayin symbol, and scattered across the part after the Dream Dimension, where you're pretty much pushed out quite fast. In the parts that follow, you'll come to know that those in the Dream Dimension really don't want you there. You're being shot at by Shapes that appear out of nowhere, or kept by those same Shapes.[/p][p]In the Rift Dimension, however, things seem to be a bit different. The voice there is friendly, wants to know who you are, wants to keep you there, but seems unable to. So they give as much information as they can in the hopes that they help you get as far as possible.[/p][p]In between all of it, in the Real Dimension, the Guiding voice seems to be the one who helps you the most.[/p][p]The idea for all these story elements kind of came on the fly. The game world itself is largely planned, but when it comes to the story parts, I found myself just dropping them in as I made it all a reality. The same actually goes for the enemies and camera movements at times.[/p][p]Right now, the puzzle elements in Boll's Journey are quite simple, you have buttons that you need to press, and corresponding gates will then open. [/p][p]You could say that's pretty much all the puzzle elements that are in Boll's Journey right now, but there's a less obvious one: the choice between two powerups. At a few points, you'll find that there are powerups that make getting through Shapes easier. There's also a point where choosing one or the other will result in an easy way being kept open or the hard way.[/p][p]Talking about choices: the current end of the game puts you at one of two endings: a hard one and an easy one. This primarily reflects to the next scene: the ...[/p][p]... which is currently still under development. As it stands, I've got most of the path laid out. Now it's a matter of adding in the collectibles, gates and buttons, story elements, well, everything, really. I expect it to be done somewhere in the first part of next week.[/p][p][/p][p]As you can see from the above screenshot, it'll be slightly different than the previous scenes, paths are more narrow, more 'complicated' rather than the previous ones, where they were all straightforward.[/p][p]That's all for now. Keep an eye on coming news posts, wishlist if you haven't already, or buy the game if you want to get into everything already.[/p][p]A special shoutout to those who already bought the game, hope you enjoyed it so far.
Stay tuned for more![/p][p]Happy playing![/p][p]Studio Jephinca[/p]

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p]I was planning on only doing an update weekly or two-weekly, but the buzz of releasing the game gave me a bit more energy than I expected, and I was able to work on it a bit more than I originally planned.[/p][p]Early Access doesn’t mean the game’s done — far from it. Most of the current mechanics are in place, but there are a lot more scenes (and maybe new mechanics along the way) that I can’t wait to build.[/p][p]Since launch, a few bugs have popped up and they’re now patched. I also added a changelog to the main menu so you can see updates right in the game.[/p][p]Here’s what’s changed:[/p]

• [p]Closed up openings that shouldn’t have been accessible[/p]
• [p]Added missing collisions to collectibles[/p]
• [p]Fixed Shape’s moves in several spots[/p]
• [p]Increased transparency on trees[/p]
• [p]Added a changelog tab to the main menu[/p]

[p]All of this is live on Steam now.[/p][p]I’ve also started early work on the fourth scene, Silent Forest — too early to share details, but work is underway![/p][p]If you spot bugs, have suggestions, or just want to share thoughts, drop a mail to [email protected]. Screenshots or steps to reproduce bugs help a lot.[/p][p]Thanks for playing, and see you in the next update![/p][p]– Studio Jephinca[/p]

[p]Hi everyone![/p][p]I’m pleased to announce that Boll’s Journey is ready for Early Access! The game currently features 3 scenes…:[/p]

• [p]Serene Gardens[/p]
• [p]Desolate Exurbs[/p]
• [p]Abandoned Highway[/p]

[p]I feel confident about the current state of the game and am ready to release it in Early Access. The next few scenes (Silent Forest and Majestic Mountain) are in the pipeline and will likely be released in the coming weeks, with the Silent Forest being the first one. If everything goes according to plan, I should be able to then drop major updates (new scenes) at least once a month, although I hope to be able to drop updates every 2 weeks.[/p][p]Some notes when it comes to this Early Access release:[/p]

• [p]Sounds are currently non-existent, I spent most time building the world and the story for now.[/p]
• [p]Some mechanics may still be subject to change, depending on player feedback. For me personally, it is playable, it is working, it is annoying where it has to be (Duds for example)[/p]
• [p]The current playable time is over 2 hours. This is my own playthrough, your playthrough may be longer depending on how fast you pick up on the mechanics. In the coming weeks and months the aim is to make this playthrough a lot longer.[/p]
  • [p]There are five Powerups that can be used scattered across these scenes.[/p]
  • [p]There are several different enemies and obstacles to keep Boll from moving[/p]
  • [p]The story up to the Highway scene is finished.[/p]
  • [p]There currently is only one achievement in the game, but more are planned to be added in the coming weeks/months[/p]

• [p]Bugs and lags were taken out as much as possible while playing on my 5 year old laptop. The game runs smoothly on my 5-year-old laptop, so performance should be solid on most systems[/p]

[p]The ending so far is a bit abrupt, but this is because there is a lot more content planned which will be added as months pass. The main goal of going for this Early Access release is to get player feedback on current mechanics, so if you would like to get involved in the making of this game, be sure to do so by sending your thoughts, remarks, suggestions, etc to [email protected].[/p][p]The pricing for Boll's Journey has already been set, the table of which you can find below. There will be a 30% discount for the first two weeks on launch. The table is set up alphabetically per region, and per currency within the region.[/p][p]Note: These are the prices I manually set when submitting the game. In some regions, Steam may make slight automatic adjustments.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Steam has no local pricing in the following countries:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hey all![/p][p]I've come to a point where I have to make a choice: continue refining things so that they work for me, or put Boll's Journey out there to get feedback from you.[/p][p]After some thought, some back and forth, some left and right, I've decided to go for the latter... In a few days.[/p][p]That's right: Boll's Journey will go into Early Access somewhere in the coming days. I've already teased about an update in the previous devlogs, and I feel confident enough where the game is now to put it out into the wild.[/p][p]I'll still be taking the coming days to put some finishing touches on the last part of the Highway Scene, a death screen and one final playthrough up until the last bit of the Highway scene.[/p][p]I've done what I can to take out bugs, lags and weirdnesses, so I'm confident that it is a solid first Early Access version.[/p][p]Spread the word, wishlist if you haven't already, and stay tuned for an August 23 or 24 release![/p][p]Kind regards,[/p][p]Studio Jephinca[/p]