Started on presskit. Here is a draft, feel free to read it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/u8itq7f8jyqjkz3/presskit%20draft1.pdf?dl=0

I don't know, how much info do you need? I don't want to have too much I think. help...

also

Liking what I see. The sprites and portraits are really charming! I'm also in favor of the no-grind aspect.

Well, going back to the original shadows I have something like this

Much, MUCH better! The other shadows just kinda look like compression artifacts.

If you have any thoughts on that, I'd love to hear them :-D

I say stick to binary, it's probably enough. Sometimes less is more, it's better to have two good level designs than three mediocre.

[NEW TRAILER CUT]

Thanks for telling me things I didn't want to hear but definitely needed to . First things first, I'm adding another 2 weeks to prepare. Aiming for the 28th instead.

I scheduled in 3 months for my Kickstarter prep. It took me 5 months, and this was still not long enough to have a full campaign plan and page that I was happy with. I worked on it in the evenings and weekends though, so roughly 20-30(max) hours a week. You probably have more time that this.

Yes I do have more time, it's a full time thing for me right now. Still it's better not to be too optimistic with time, you guys are right.

-6 weeks to prepare feels a bit short to me, though it all depends on the community you've built up so far (and your current financial situation)!

Yep, this is the biggest problem, there is basically no community at this point and that's arguably the most important thing to have. Ideally a game should already be backed before it launches. Hooo'boy...

I've got a few thoughts on the trailer:

It's too long - I think you'd be better focusing on what's interesting about the game. The different ways that you can interact with the enemies (working with them is a cool thing).
Show the bosses more, they look cool.
I think the messaging is confusing, pick one tagline and stick to it. Is it the strangest love story ever told? Or is it a modern fairy-tale? Of course it can be both, but you want to give viewers something to take away. Having more than 1 key thing is just dividing their attention and making it harder to remember. I fall foul of this all the time. Let the trailer say 1 thing, and say it well.
Personal thing: I don't like the text overlay. The font doesn't suit the game for me, and it looks cheap. I'd prefer something bigger and simpler.

BUT I LIKE MY TRAILER.. I think I focused too much on narrative and "humor" which in a way I think is "interesting" things about the game but it's not always right for a certain trailer. I still want to have it in there but I'm cutting it down, especially the intro which I'm throwing out completely. As far as gameplay, yeah the companion-stuff should really be in there more. Thing about trailers though, you can never have too many, so I'll just make another :D.

Anyway here is a new cut, check it out and tell me what you think! Got it down to 1:44, much better! Might change font and stuff, feel free to nitpick! (I just realized I should probably add something about there being a demo out)

NEW TRAILER CUT

-planning to ask for the least amount of money minimum is not only risky, it's basically shooting yourself in the foot, as you'll need to pay taxes and other expanses on what you'll get + most likely have nothing when delays occur (not that I say or wish you'll have some, but it's pretty much an inevitability of gamedev, unfortunately).

I've read a few things about this. Some say you should keep the goal low and try to reach it as fast as possible. Smashing the goal early makes for a "good story" essentially and can bring more backers in. I'm really not sure what route to go though . My living expenses are thankfully low and since I'm doing everything myself, that cuts down the cost too. The goal will probably be lower than 10000$.

2) Add an extra year to all of your deadlines. Or more. I wish I'd done this!

Haha, maybe not a year but I'll keep it in mind. If I keep working at the same pace I'm confident the game will get done this year (that's what everyone says until it all comes crashing down).

If it's already available and need it playtested, feel free to send it through PM, I'd be glad to offer thoughts on that!

Here you go (only for Windows at the moment): https://silkworm-sweatshop.itch.io/the-wizard-and-the-slug-demo

Even though I despise memes, I can see this doing really well. So when is the tabletop version coming?

(P.S just kidding I like memes lol)

Looks great! Mad props on the animations! So are there essentially two alternatives for the modules, one per character? Or does it get even deeper than that? Has this kind of modular design been done before? It seems like such a good idea and a great alternative to just completely procedural stuff.

[STUFF TO DO!]

It's time guys! I'm really proud of how far this game has come this past year. As much as I love working on it, money is running out which means I either have to look for some proper work and suspend development for the time being or....

..I've heard this is a thing you can do



I think the game is ready. Even though there's hardly a shortage of indie-platformers out there I think there's enough in the game to make it stand out in its own ways. My biggest problem really has been marketing and getting it out there. Even if the kickstarter fails, I have all to win and nothing to lose and it might at least bring some attention to it.

As of now, I'm thinking of launching 14th 28th of March and spend the 8 weeks leading up to it pretty much focused on marketing, reaching out to media and whatever I can do to get the word out. My goal will probably be pretty modest, the bare minimum I think I would need. If I raise more, GREAT! there is a lot of polishing I would like to do if I had the chance. Anyway, if all goes well I think the game will be ready for release in the fall/winter of this year.

STUFF TO DO!

What I've done so far (opinions?):
-UPDATED shorter trailer:


-Original long trailer:


-Extended trailer/kickstarter video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDw4tHvfvIY
-DEMO: https://silkworm-sweatshop.itch.io/the-wizard-and-the-slug-demo

What needs doing:
-Kickstarter page
-Think about rewards
-Press kit
-Media and community outreach
-Website

Please give me feedback, suggestions and advice if you have any. Is 6 weeks enough prep time? Is contacting media for example something you have to do way, WAY ahead of time or would a month in advance be ok? I think the press kit is the first thing I'll do so I have something to send out as soon as possible.

Wish me luck!

Chickeeeeeeeeeez!



Maybe went a little overboard on the feathers.

Haha  , will they start attacking you zelda style too?

schloop n boop?

What about "Schlong n Twats" 

Anyway, I've finally decided to go with The Wizard and the Slug. It feels right to me.

Haha I only really suggested Slugboy because I'm obsessed with Owlboy currently...

I like The Wizard and the Slug tbh. Got a nice ring to it!

I honestly think that's where the joke comes from too.

Is the word wizard explicitly describing a male person?

Nope

You could keep both characters gender-neutral.

Yep, they are. The slug has both genders, the Wizard has none. In the lore of the game, (biological) gender is one thing that separates mortals from immortals. Mortals can reproduce on their own, immortals can not. If we're talking gender roles, I can say that in my mind, gender is a pretty foreign concept for the immortals and they generally don't identify with any gender or even understands them really.

In writing, I feel the Wizard tends toward more of a "male" gender role but most people who've played it seem to refer to the wizard as "her" even though the word "wizard" itself is a masculine term. I'm pretty alright with this. 

I found this gif on the second page


Why did you chose another form for the slug in the game? It was perfect, imho. More "sluggish".

Additional illustration concerning the slug shape:

I hear ya! I didn't really consciously choose to change the form. I guess that's just how I drew it from one time to the other. The current sprites I use for the slug are pretty much the first assets I ever made for the game and they are about 2 years old now. I might go back and redo/polish them eventually because I agree, that (even) older pixelart/framy-by-frame version does have a bit more character I think.

I love the Secret of Mana - pretty sure that's what I sent Fat Bard as reference for the Mable soundtrack!

I'd love to do a Secret of Mana type game at some point but man, RPGs are such huge projects to undertake.

I'm rubbish at names for games. Are you any closer to picking one? Maybe something like Slugboy (is it a slug? I always assumed it was some kind of single-celled amoeboid protus...)

This is a joke in the game . Anyway, I call it a "slug" but who knows really. I've compared it to a slug, sea-cucumber and a single celled organism at various points. It's really just a weird fantasy creature. As for the name, I'm heavily leaning towards The Wizard and the Slug. Perhaps I should just make it official already.

Anyway, I've been doing some art recently. I pretty much never do concept art, mostly because I often feel I'd rather just work on the game. I also don't think I'm that good of an artist. Not fishing for compliments I'm just very limited in what I can do.

I think they turned out pretty nice though and I figured I'll need some promo art eventually anyway.

There were various bugs with scaling on the GUI layer

Is the issue around the scaling in different window size? I used to have similar issues but they've been pretty much resolved with this snippet. I have it in the step event of a persistent object running through the entire game.

Does anyone have any examples of really nice speech bubbles in games?

Are you asking about speech bubbles specifically or text management in general. You mentioned Owlboy, it had pretty good ones. It also had very nice emotive sprite work to go along with them. With Mable, that becomes a bit hard since she doesn't even have a face . I mean you can still do stuff with body language I guess but all this is time consuming/polishing stuff and it really depends how important conveying emotion is.

You can do a bunch with just text to. Coloring, shaking, speed, adding audio. Wuppo did this great. Then again, Wuppo is a really text heavy game that needs these effects for a lot of the humor.



I wouldn't obsess about this with Mable. At the very least though, add a slight pause after a period. Also, I know what you showed was WIP but I'm not a huge fan of text that starts from then center and grows out to the sides.

Yeah, it looks a bit iffy. Was just an excuse not to draw a hand though to be honest...

Haha, I can relate. I either do stickfigure or powerpuff girls hands most of the time.
   

Let's talk some references.

The biggest addition to the next patch will be these guys. The Dustmite Army.



They are a direct reference to the Scorpion Army from Secret of Mana, right down to their theme song.
Dustmite Army theme






I've always liked the trope of the bumbling villainous team with a kind heart. You can also kinda pop them in anywhere for some comic relief. While doing some research I found this little tidbit. 

Most players outside Japan might not realize that the Scorpion Army is based on the Dorombo Gang from '70s anime series Yatterman. Led by a femme fatale served by two bumbling henchmen, the Gang has served as the template for incompetent-yet-incorrigible villain teams in innumerable works of Japanese media, from the Grandis Gang to Team Rocket.

Speaking of Secret of Mana, the cat people in my game are really just references to "Neko". I also made a rabite reference.  There are probably more I'm forgetting but yeah, the mana series might be my most referenced work, although they're completely different games than my own. Oh yeah, another thing the mana series did was A.I companions!

Wow your game looks like a lot of fun! 

In my opinion the fire level is a bit too dark. Maybe use another red colortone instead of pure black?

Thank you! It somehow seems darker to me in the screenshot than in the actual game but yes, it'll probably benefit with some extra light so I'll take note of that.

Looks great! Definitely giving it a try later!

Finally made a proper background for the new area.



Also played around with the color palette in the fire level. Decided to make the background more purple to contrast all the red/orange. 



Also planning a major patch update for the demo once I decide on the name. It'll have some new content but mostly I want to redesign some stuff and perhaps add an "arcade mode".

[Miniboss!]

Alright, content!

I've made a first draft of the next area but it needs a lot of polish (mainly art and design). It's a pretty plot-heavy part and it includes a town as well.



Floating platforms and chain reactions. Shooting or touching these causes them to explode.



Miniboss! You can't hurt this guy directly. You have to push it into spikes when the dog companion launches it in the air.



Boss! These are the comets and they are the first group-boss in the game. You won't be fighting this many though, instead probably 3-4. They'll chase and try to dash into you as well as shoot bullets. The Wizard Companion will shield you up and charm the bullets to make them hurt the enemy instead instead.

[blaze]

My gut is telling me to go for TWATS but if you have strong feelings against it I'd like to know why.

In another devlog, the word blaze came up and someone mentioned a pot related reference but there the distinction is obvious.  However, twat has some usage that might be more vulgar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twat

The word twat is widely used as a derogatory epithet, especially in British English, referring to a person considered obnoxious or stupid.[1][2] It is also used informally as a verb in British English to mean "to hit or punch a person".[2] In British English and Commonwealth English, it is pronounced /twæt/ to rhyme with that, or sometimes /twɒt/, to rhyme with hot.[3] In North American English, it is pronounced /twɑːt/, to rhyme with squat.[1] Twat is also used in the United States as vulgar slang for the human vulva.[1]

On the other hand, there's also ball, beaver, pussy, cock, etc ...

Haha, I'm well aware of what twat means . I'm NOT calling my game TWATS, it is simply what the acronym turned out to be for "The Wizard And The Slug". Zorg noticed it and I've used the acronym kinda jokingly since (and now I regret it). Hopefully that clears things up.. But maybe you were just joking, I can't tell .     

call it [after considerable period of deep reflection] Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

This made me chuckle. Quite an acceptable shit post I'd say. Good on you Superb Joe, good on you .

[Charm]

How about something with Quest?

Slug's Quest
Sluggy's Quest

Does the slug have a name?  How about Slick or Slicky?
Then:
Slick's Quest
Slicky's Quest

It kinda has ..a stupid name, or maybe it's the name of the species? It won't be mentioned in the game though. My working title was actually this name (Prölen or The Pröl).

One of the reasons I've kinda moved away from calling it Slug Tale, Slug Story or similar is because the story itself is really centered around the Wizard. Although you play as the Slug, it's pretty much a blank slate character.

The Wizard has a name though, it's Charm. It could be a direction to focus more on the wizard but straight up calling it "Wizard Quest" or similar doesn't feel right either since it implies you play as a wizard.

Charm is a pretty nice word too, you could probably do some stuff with it.
A Charming Tale, Slug Charmer etc.

I dunno, too many options man . I guess I'm still open to suggestions but more importantly I'd like some opinions. If you guys had to pick one of the ones already mentioned, which would you pick (or pick your favourites)? I'll just list them all even though I think I've motivated why I probably won't choose some of them. My gut is telling me to go for The Wizard And The Slug but if you have strong feelings against it I'd like to know why.  

Original title
Pools of Creation

Slug focused:
Slug's Quest
Sluggy's Quest
Slug Story
Slug Tale

Wizard + Slug
The Wizard and The Slug (My personal pick)
Wizard & Slug

Word mesh
Slugzard
Wizug
The Slugromancer
Slugromancy
Slugcery
The Slugronomican
Slugs and Sorcery
Sluzzard
Slugika

Charm
A Charming Tale
Slug Charmer

[Nice]

twats

Nice, already looks way better! Also lol, I hope I won't regret that acronym. I'm really feeling this title more and more. It's also the title from my own list that most people have picked and I've pretty much scrapped the other ones at this point.   

what about Slugzard?

I've actually gotten a bunch of suggestions like these, some might be pretty good but my brain is pretty much stuck on TWATS (oh god). I'll try to be open though.

Here are some more title suggestions I've gotten:

Wizug
The slugromancer
Slugromancy
Slugcery
The Slugronomican
Slugs and Sorcery
Sluzzard
Slugika