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[Silkworm]

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.

[io3 creations]

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 .     

I wasn't joking and figured that TWATS was just an acronym based on "The Wizard and the Slug".  But looks like I missed part of the conversation. 

[Silkworm]

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".

[Retroopla]

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?

[Silkworm]

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.

[and]

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

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...)

[Silkworm]

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.

[and]

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!

[Zorg]

I like the latest art and the slugboy pun. You could keep both characters gender-neutral*.

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".

Edit:
* Is the word wizard explicitly describing a male person?

Additional illustration concerning the slug shape:

[Silkworm]

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.

[flipswitchx]

SCHLOOP! call it schloop because he's all schloopy!

schloop schloop schloop schloopschloopschloopschloop

schloop n boop?

[Silkworm]

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.

[io3 creations]

schloop n boop?

What about "Schlong n Twats" 

You're referring to the wizard's   magic wand, right?   

[Silkworm]

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!

[and]

Good luck!

I have some advice/feedback. You can take as much notice of this as you deem reasonable. I'll try to explain where I'm coming from with each point.

Prep Time

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.

Contacting Press

Most advice suggests building a buzz as soon as possible. I started contacting press outlets about 4-5 weeks before the Kickstarter launch. I got some coverage, but not from any 'big' sites. By contrast, I emailed John Walker at RPS and he covered the game the same day - because the email gave him a reason to cover the game (thinly veiled death threat, obvs).

I think more important than timing, is having a clear message in your email and what makes it different. I failed at this (and still fail at this) on the most part.

Demo

You've got one! That alone puts you ahead of most of the games I've seen on Kickstarter.

Trailer feedback

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.
  

I've not played the demo yet but I will!

3 more bit of random Kickstarter advice

1) Every element of your campaign has 1 job, so make it good at that 1 job:

• Profile image/tagline - make people click on it to look at your campaign
• Campaign video - could be several things: make people want to know more, make people pledge straight away
• Rewards - make people pledge more than they want to (only half joking...)

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

3) Know what your updates are going to be before you start the campaign.

I guess I don't know if any of this advice makes sense or will be of any use to you, but I hope it is!

[Pehesse]

I came in to check your work after your comment, and boy, this looks very, very nice!

I'm not sure how useful my kickstarter advice will be, since I haven't done one myself (will have to, eventually, though I'm dreading that moment), but here are a few things I keep seeing/hearing:

-the trailer/video should showcase the game within the first few seconds. I believe the intro on both your videos is currently too long before it gets to the "game" proper.

-having a demo is always a plus, though be very explicit about what it is/isn't, and ideally polish what it contains as best you can: it may just be a demo and WIP for us, but many treat it as a 1:1 representation of what your game will be. 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!

-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'd recommend a hefty safety margin: just as you should always add to your time estimate, I believe it's much safer to add to your funds estimate as well, even if it makes the goal harder to reach. Better to fail outright at your goal, that barely meet it, and realize in a few months/years you don't have enough and need to go for another round + face the wrath of your current backers.

-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)! I hear contacting press leads to very little these days, as they're tired and wary of "yet another kickstarter campaign", unless you can think of one thing that would immediately catch their interest. I believe your time will be better spent building community over social media, gathering interest/letting the word out in advance to prepare for the actual campaign launch, and then rely on the community efforts to spread the campaign - and THEN try for a media push, by showing that you already have the interest of a sizeable amount of people.

For all the rest, I'd basically be repeating what's said above, so... yeah!

As a final thought, I'd recommend getting in touch with @lobstersundew on twitter and ask him directly about your campaign/show him your page when you have it handy. He has extensive knowledge of many KS campaigns, and detailed anaylises about them. He's active in the ProjectMQ Slack channel and posts in-depth commentary about ongoing campaigns, and I definitely plan to ask for his expertise when I'll be working on my own!

And lastly... good luck!

[Silkworm]

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

[Silkworm]

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

[Silkworm]

Trying to make a project image.



I think it looks alright, I just need to make the title pop more I think.



What do you guys think? I just added some light/darkness behind it. Would it work or does it look terrible?

EDIT: Maybe just an outline would work. I'll play around with the background too.

[Silkworm]

Removed the outline on everything except the title. Did a darker one too but still can't decide. Getting there though I think.