Moving Out News

Hey Movers,

Last week we went into outer space with Contraband Cluster, but this week we’re taking a trip down Packmore River.



A bit of a throwback to a faithful classic, Packmore River has you dodge and jump your way across lanes of traffic AND crocs!

With dangerous cars making their mark in 21 Slick Street, we’ve ramped the danger level right up. There aren’t just a few cars here, there’s a steady stream of them getting right in your way! Be careful!



Our designers made the river just wide enough so that if you’re proper skilful, you can throw the boxes over in one shot! If you’re especially crafty, you can even get some of those heavy objects over without making a full crossing. Genius!





Now you might be wondering, with those perfectly situated bridges in view, why aren’t you using THEM instead? Life is for living, my friend, and it’s way more fun taking the path less travelled, don’t you agree?

Also to clarify – yes, our delivery team do have a park anywhere permit. Packmore permits are pretty easy to come by, but don’t tell anyone we said that.



Until next time,
Team SMG, Moving Out

Hey Movers,

Last week we went all guava, but this week we’re going Contraband. Cluster, that is!



Known by the team as PLANET DONUT… why? Who knows, really? After scaling cliff-top mansions and hailed haunted houses, the next logical step was to move in SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCEEE!

Having teased you with some floating fun in Neighbourhood Watch HQ, we thought we’d up the ante by cranking up the size of the fans and then making them the focus of the level.



Our designers wanted the fans to be a fun navigation tool to move around the level, but they also wanted them to act as shortcut to move large items rather quickly, should you prove up to the challenge. Do you have the skills?

Now if you’re greedy, you can load up the pitch with as many items as you can muster and when you hit that button you can launch the goods into the truck… or send them spiralling into space.



We had plenty of fun peppering the scene with an assortment of objects to create a mish-mash hobble of a cluttered collection in space, with nods to previous levels. Queue train carriages from The Chase and fountains from Roundabout Mansion, please.



Our artists took the environment to new heights with an epic space setting of distant nebulas and glowing stars.



Lastly, and most importantly… did you see our hidden space explorer? Get your friends together and zoom that camera out just enough to spot our friend.

Until next time,

Team SMG, Moving Out

Hey Movers!

Every week we dive into our process for making Moving Out and this week is no different. Last week we showcased a really unique level - The Chase - but this week we thought we'd jump into the super svelte world of yet another interesting level.

Level names can be a fun opportunity for us and in The Floor Is Guava - see what we did there? - our designers wanted to try something a little different. Unlike in previous levels, you don't really see the full environment right away. Then again, you also don't KNOW that, until you play it. Sneaky, sneaky.



Perhaps in a stroke of genius, we decided we’d hide the item count until the full level is revealed and then BAM! You, the unsuspecting player, see there are a whole lot more items to deliver. You're welcome...

Maybe our designers tricked you, but we didn’t stop there. We also wanted to throw in some other unique elements into the design of the environment. Floating items pepper the scene, and they are definitely interactable. When you land on them - uh-oh, they sink!



Even though the sinking element of the gameplay initially didn’t have a warning, we thought we’d help players out by communicating the sinking mechanism clearly. To do this, we added some visual indicators: warning lights let players know when a platform is going to sink. Now colour is all well and good, but because we didn’t want to rely on a single indicator alone, we dropped some shapes into the mix.



On reflection, this level can be a little tricky, so in the Reduced Danger Mode, we had the ability to slooooow down various elements: the barrel rotates slower and the sinking platforms have a delay so they stick around longer. This makes the level less intimidating and that makes play a whole lot less frantic. Win-win.



Understandably, you probably freaked out when the second half of the level revealed itself. Let us know in the comments below what you thought. Were you shocked? Confused? Excited? We’d love to know!

TeamSMG, Moving Out!

Hey Movers!

Last week we shared some of the animals we have in the game, but this week we’re diving into showcasing a special level!



In the Chase we wanted to have some fun presenting a whole bunch of mini-puzzles and mini-encounters; this level could have a whole lot of variety!

Not only was it a chance to mix things up, but from a narrative perspective it had the opportunity to be a super unique level – it’s a climactic event! Being the story crescendo, it’s a spectacle level that really plays differently from every other level.



The vignette-like compartments let our designers present small versions of the puzzles and encounters that we’d seen in previous levels. Elements like levers and conveyors are throwbacks to mechanics players would already be comfortable with but new elements were included to hint at things to come.



From a story perspective we also knew that every thrilling tale needs a chase scene!

Our artists also had a bit of a laugh adding some personality to the scene. Road trip Chook is having the time of their lives.



Tying everything together, The Chase lent itself really well to integrating with the world map in a fun way.



Last but not least, do you wanna know the secret to making this level ‘look’ right? You can stop reading here if you don’t want to break game magic... You have been warned!

******It’s all smoke and mirrors! The train itself never moves, but the environment slides underneath to give the illusion of the carriages translating through space... and tiiiiime.******



Until next time,
TeamSMG, Moving Out!

Hey Movers!

Last week we let you know all about the 1.2 update, but this week we wanted to show off some of the fun animals we have in the game!

With Snottsberry Farm, animals really took centre stage, with your usual variety of farm friends.



From silly sheep to cheeky chickens, we have all that woolly and feathery goodness that you know and love.

We have prancing pigs, sloshing through that sticky mud.



Not to mention, those cavorting cows minding nobody’s business...



If farm life isn’t for you, we have frantic frogs and creepy crocs to terrify and delight.



Last but certainly not least – we have the t-t-t-turtles.



It’s a world-class menagerie up here.

Until next time,
Move Out!