Zune Preview

Part of what I plan to do with my games is make them portable! The first step in that was to put Bauble Play on the Zune. I would like to upgrade this to the ZuneHD and maybe a phone version? But that wont come for a bit.

But in the meantime, here it is running on a Zune 30 gig!

Game is in the mail!

this morning I sent Bauble Play to the Indie Game Challenge.

I also updated the code and fixed one of the crashing bugs.

Open Beta Released

Holy crap! I cant believe it. The beta to Bauble Play (windows version) has been released. Those looking forward to the Zune version have to wait at least another week. Sorry. This doesnt stop you from downloading and installing.

You can download Bauble Play HERE!

To run this you will need at bare minimum the XNA 3.1 Redist

The compressed file also includes the CCGame so if you want, you can also install XNA Game Studio 3.1 but technically you shouldnt have too.

Remember this is a beta version. And only meant to be a demo!

There are still some open / known issues

1. The achievements menu is not functioning properly. It scrolls weird and doesnt display how it should
2. Not all the achievements are in the game yet. The more simple ones are.
3. The game does not save achievements. This is a bug and will be fixed next revision.
4. When the level ends, some sound effects are still queued to go off when the curtain closes.

The game works with a gamepad, but can be played with the WASD / Arrows and Enter key.

Looking forward to your feedback and have fun!

 Reported Issues

- When you bomb the ship, and it sets sail. The captain still steals gems. He shouldnt ;)

Now with Sound!

So since the last update, I've been working hard on getting new features and taking out as many bugs as I can find. But, at long last I can show another game play video!

There appears to be some lag in the video. This is NOT in the game play. My computer really isnt the best for recording, so it does appear to hickup at times. I'm still working on it. There are many things in the game that I dont show in this video. There are more special baubles and more baubles that just dont want you to win.

I'm also trying to find a good balance to the game. Id say right now its at a very good pace for an experienced player. I will tune it for novices as well as there will be an easy setting.

Very excited. I cant wait to release it!

How to play Bauble Play

Here is a shot of the simple in-game instructions. While I've talked about it before, I'll go over it pretty quickly. Each level has its own theme. Right now, the only one we have is the Pirate Ship. You try to remove baubles from play and score points. The more points you score, the more baubles are added to your game.

Meanwhile, the Captain is trying to prevent you from getting them and collect them for himself. Crabs and Scurvy dont cure themselves ya know. Baubles fall that can help you, and some the Captain puts in himself to hurt you.

The game is still in Alpha! Beta is coming soon and release is looking for mid Sept. STAY TUNED! :D

Thoughts about the IGC

I really have no idea what to expect. I'm very worried that the game will not be up to snuff. Time is always against us, and I feel I dont have enough time to get in what I want but I'm going to make my best shot at it. Its going to be the most complete it can be with my schedule being what it.

In the immortal words of Tweak, "AHGH! Too much pressure ... '

I realize the game isnt some ground breaking new idea, but it brings an element that I have not yet seen. Doesnt mean there isnt one out there, I just havent come across it yet. I hope I do so I can compare what I ultimately have in my head vs what someone else manged to do.

I just hope we do well and even just a nod would be nice.

Here is a comment from X-Play's Adam Sesslers about IGC

Video Game - E3 2009 - Sessler's Soapbox