Did a quick mock up of what pixel quack’s default look may resemble.
Pixel Quack #1
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Category Archives: Captain Quack
Quack #1 – Early Insight
Since Quack has been essentially been rebooted, I’m going to consider this post the first post regarding it!
At the moment I have nothing visual to offer, but I wanted to take a quick moment to discuss the current outline for the game and what it will have in store.
Story
The game takes place on an island, which was once peacefully inhabited by various animal creature humanoids. At some point, an unknown human traveler invades the area and establishes his own mechanical humanoid kingdom (he’s never been good with actual people, so he made his own so they can’t so no to being his friend).
Years later, the mechanical folks are overtaking the animals, and attempting to capture them for their own experimental use and oppression. This is where our story begins — with Cornelius Quack teaming up with Mr. Stumpz (the tech savvy genius beaver) in order to save his family and fellow animal inhabitants. So yeah, it’s basically Sonic + Mega Man.
Gameplay
The gameplay will hold true to the original vision, with the majority of the game being a series of levels consisting of part puzzle solving and part boss-like encounter. Right now, I’m planning on a total of 23 main levels/encounters, plus a slew of secret goodies. Additionally, things like Boss Rush Mode, Wave/Horde Mode, a Crafting/Gear Progression system will be in place. The ultimate goal is to keep the gameplay tight and polished, while packing as much variety of fun things to do that would realistically fit the game and my resources.
Platforms & Release
My goal is to bring it to PC/Mac/Linux, available via a variety of marketplaces, as well as the Nintendo Switch. Mobile release might be feasible, if I can make the game control as I’d like it to without compromising the experience.
We’ll see where development goes from here in the weeks ahead, I’ll continue to offer updates or insight into the process. It may start as more descriptive and conceptual before moving into showing demos and in-game assets. Until next time!
It’s 2019
Well hey how’s it going!
It’s certainly been a hot minute (like two and a half years) since I last posted something on this here blog! It’s now 2019, and the goal is to change that.
I could rant for a while and make excuses about why I haven’t given any updates on games for a while, but let’s be honest! I lost motivation and have spent a lot of my time at work and playing dumb games like World of Warcraft and Destiny.
But! I’ve also been learning GML (Game Maker Language). You see, up to recent times I have been building all of my projects in Construct. Now Construct, while great in it’s own right, has it’s limitations in terms of what it can do and what platforms it can support.
With swapping to GM, I’m going to have to rebuild my projects from square one, and I’m super excited about that opportunity. It’s not like I haven’t gone through a million iterations of Captain Quack anyway! I have been spending a lot of time fleshing out these games over and over on paper and prototyping things, and I am feeling good about where they are now and am getting ready to start bringing them to life.
I’m not going to be making any lifeless goals this year with these projects, aside from the goal that I will at the very least post SOMETHING related to these games, my game making process, my thoughts on gaming in general, or just a quick look into my dumb life. In short, I want to share more, a lot more, throughout this entire year.
I’m just one man, and I’m doing everything (art, sound, design, programming, marketing/networking) all by my lonesome, I’m also a husband and a full time employee in a time consuming career, so things may come slowly, but they will come in time.
SO WHAT AM I GOING TO MAKE? Well, I’m gonna keep making ‘A Deep, Dark Place’ (previously Project Orb), and ‘Captain Quack: Stool-Fueled Fury’. With GM, I can bring these projects to the platforms I want! My target platforms right now are simply PC and Nintendo Switch. Quack might also see itself in some form on the mobile scene at some point, we’ll see.
That’s it for now! I hope to be much more engaged going forward. Even though nobody reads this, maybe somebody will one day. If anything it will be nice to look back on my stupidity and progress (or lack thereof) throughout this year.
P.S.
Tom Hanks
Love,
Grant
A Quack Update – #1
Hello! It’s been a little while since I last touched base with everyone about Captain Quack. My goal going forward is to be as transparent as possible with the development of this game (and any future HBG titles).
Things have admittedly slowed down subsantially as far as development goes since the campaigns failed. I’ve taken a lot of time to reflect on feedback, the current state of the game, and where I want the game to end up at the finish line.
The result of this is stripping down the game to the fundamentals and refining them. After this, experimenting with various systems and new mechanics that will hopefully greatly enhance the game.
Let me be clear, I in no way think that the game is in any way bad as it was, but my end goal is to make it the best game that I possibly can, in every aspect. What I’ve come up with is exciting, and I can’t wait to start showing off some of the new ideas in the coming months.
The game at this point is going to take a lot longer to develop, as I now have full-time work that will take up lot of my time, so the project will now move to my free time. But the plus side is that with the job I can completely self-fund the project.
With this in mind, I won’t even begin to give an estimate for a release date, but it will simply be done when I’m finished with it! I look forward to sharing this journey with you all.
Quack – Weapons and Abilities
Today I’d like to offer you folks a quick look at the weapons and abilities systems within Captain Quack. These two systems work in synergy to bring a great deal of depth and strategy to what looks like a simple game on the surface.
The main goal of both weapons and abilities is to provide fun and useful things to the player, but also present the restriction of choice.
You can unlock any of them in any order (provided you have a token to redeem), but will NOT be able to unlock all of them in one play through. Some of them are strong on their own, some pair very well when used together.
First off, let’s talk about the weapons. There are three unlockable weapons to choose from in the game.
The charge shot adds the ability to… well… charge up your normal attack! It is a great source of single-target damage that you can “weave” into your normal attacks.
The spread shot splits your shot into three weaker projectiles. It is a reliable attack to use when you want to cover multiple areas with a specific angle.
The missile barrage continuously fires a sporadic stream of weak attacks in a general direction. It’s not the most accurate attack, but it is the go-to choice when you’re unable to line up a direct shot and need to attack while on the move.
Next up, the abilities. There are a total of ten different abilities to choose from. These are unlocked by redeeming a token of insight, which you receive from reaching milestones within the game (ex: defeating a boss for the first time).
While you can swap abilities that you have unlocked at any given time during gameplay, you can only have one ability active at any one time, and must wait for the respective cooldown on your ability to finish before using any other that you swap to. Let’s break these down into three categories: utility, defensive, and offensive.
Utility Abilities:
Teleport – instantly teleport a far distance in the direction that you are facing
Double Damage – temporarily double all of your damage dealt
Ghost Pepper – temporarily enhance your stool with acidic power, which leaves a damage over time effect on anyone that you hit
Haste – significantly increase your movement speed, acceleration and deceleration for a limited time
Defensive Abilities:
Shield Orb – grants you immunity from all sources of damage while active
First Aid – passively regenerate any lost health over time
Guardian Angel – upon taking damage that would normally kill you, you are instead saved and restored to full health
Offensive Abilities:
Pewpximity Mines – launch a mine which detonates when an enemy is within a specific proximity of it
Diarrhea Beam – unleash a beam of stool which deals continuous damage to all enemies within it
Dooklear Explosion – cover the entire screen in an explosion of stool, instantly killing any weak enemies
Some of these may sound much more useful than others, but again it’s important to keep in mind synergy, as well as the fact that all of these abilities have different cooldown lengths associated with them.
One last thing… I’ve implemented an achievement system within the game! This works similarly to these types of systems within other games or marketplaces (WoW, Steam, Gamejolt, etc.).
When you do something fun or cool within the game, you may unlock the associated achievement. These range from dumb things like your first failure, to monumental things like defeating a boss without taking any damage.
Don’t forget to support/share our Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight campaigns. You check out an early version of the game via the browser-based demo on GameJolt (note: you’ll need to create a GJ account, but it’s worth it. I promise!).
Captain Quack – Public Demo
Edit: You can now try the demo super easily, via our browser-based demo
GREETINGS, FRIENDS.
The time is finally upon us. Both the Captain Quack Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight campaigns are nigh! With the launch of these campaigns comes the first public demo of Captain Quack. Details below!
What does the demo contain?
The demo contains the first “area” of the game, The Parklands. This area consists of five unique encounters (4 normal, 1 boss). There are a few secrets scattered in the world for you to discover (costumes, mini-games, etc.).
What platforms is the demo available for?
At this time, the demo is only available for Windows 64-bit and 32-bit platforms. In the end, the game will be available for Mac and Linux as well.
How do I install the demo?
The demo comes with an installer. Depending on your security settings, you may be prompted that the installer is from an unknown publisher (me). Simply bypass this flag (for Windows 10 click ‘more info’) and proceed with the installation. Anti-virus software may also flag the installer, but I assure you that there is nothing suspicious about it.
Things to note:
- This is the first PUBLIC DEMO. Up to this point the game has been tested internally with a small team, and we’ve caught many bugs and glitches thus far. There’s bound to be a lot more out there that you may run in to.
- While the demo represents many things that the finished product will come to look, sound, and play like, none of it is final. Everything in the game is subject to change, but this should give you a clear idea of what it will end up as.
- The demo has 1 of 5 main areas planned for the game (plus many secret areas and encounters). This means that it’s only a small percentage of what the end game will have to offer.
How do I DOWNLOAD the demo?
Easy! Simply click the link below for your respective version.
Thanks for your time and support up to this point, and we hope that you will support us on Kickstarter and Steam. Spread the word!
Announcement Trailer for Captain Quack: I Pity the Stool
Hello! Progress on Captain Quack continues along at a nice pace. I’ve been able to ramp up development a good bit over the past couple weeks now that the semester is over. It’s now in a state to where I feel comfortable formally unveiling it upon the world, starting out with the announcement trailer below.
The plan from here is to launch both a greenlight campaign and a crowdfunding campaign within the next few weeks. If all goes well and we find some success with those, this sucker could be done as soon as Q4 2016.
Check out the trailer. Like, share, subscribe yada yada yada. Check back soon!
Quack Quick Look – Sun Nova Beach
Today we take a quick look at a video from the first encounter — Beach Bum Biff — of the second world of Captain Quack — Sun Nova Beach.
As you may guess from the title, this world takes place on the southern coastline, or beach, of the world which Quack inhabits. You’ll meet some crazy characters in this area, the first of which is Beach Bum Biff.
He and his horde of crabs roam the beach all day and night, relaxing to the sweet sounds of his ukulele. This video is nothing more than a tease of some simple animations, the lovely view of the beach and one of the many different background music choices for the area.
Quack – Boss Infoz!
Hello again!
I have another quick look and update on some Quack stuffs for you. Today I’ll briefly discuss how boss encounters work for Quack, and give you a glimpse of the first boss of the game.
Weed Whackin’ Walt
So this here guy is Weed Whackin’ Walt. He’s the first boss of the game, and the groundskeeper of the Parklands (the first area of the game). He may be old, but he’s well seasoned and has many tools in the ole shed (ZING).
Bosses work a little differently than a typical encounter does in Quack:
- They begin in attack mode, skipping the cloud mode part of the fight entirely. Right from the word “Go!” you’re in for an intense fight.
- They consist of multiple phases. The fight evolves as you progress in the encounter.
- Beating a boss unlocks a new ability or attack type. Once you’ve unlocked it, you can use it retroactively in the game.
And that’s about it. But enough jib-jab, go ahead and check out the video below to see a bit of the fight in action!
In future updates, we’ll take a look at some new areas and enemies, and also go into detail on various mechanics of the game.
03-21-16: Quack Update
HELLO.
Not a huge update today, but hopefully an informative one. We’ll talk a little about what the heck you do gameplay wise in Quack, and then we’ll take another look at some footage! Let’s get quackin’.
SO! FIRST OFF. What is going on in this game? Well, it comes in two parts:
The first portion of the gameplay takes place during what is called “cloud mode“.
During this mode, Quack is incognito in his cloud and is unseen by the world and its inhabitants.
In cloud mode the player needs to interact with the environment of the level in order to expose the enemy’s weakness. This typically involves a lot of rapid tapping (or clicking for PC users) on specific objects during small time frames. But what do you need to interact with? That’s where Quack’s trusty ear horn comes into play.
While Quack is in cloud mode, he can don the ear horn to listen for clues as to what you may need to do to uncover the enemy’s weakness. Simply tapping (or clicking) anywhere on the screen while using it will give visual and audible clues to the player. Hear a ding or see a shine? That’s probably something you need to interact with at some point.
You can consider using the ear horn as somewhat of a hint system, but it’s not going to hold your hand. You’ll have to observe and solve the puzzles for yourself as well.
When the enemy becomes vulnerable you’ll move into the game’s second phase of gameplay — ATTACK MODE!
When you shift into attack mode, the gameplay changes up somewhat drastically. Instead of solving puzzles and turbo tapping with precision, you need to unleash a stool storm in an arcade shooter/bullethell type of environment.
What this means is that you’ll need to DODGE A LOT OF STUFF and UTILIZE YOUR ATTACK TYPES and ABILITIES! Speaking of attack types and abilities…
Quack has a number of different types of attacks, but for today we will focus on three: normal, spread, and beam.
Normal simply shoots straight down.
Spread shoots two smaller bullets down at an angle and does less damage than a normal shot.
Successful hits of either of these two attacks will build up your special attack meter, which powers…
The Beam attack. This shoots a large and wide beam of stool down for as long as you have the special resources for it. It does very high damage but it depletes quickly!
These So what about abilities?
Quack can obtain a number of different types of abilities, but the two we will focus on today are: shield and teleport. Quack can only equip one ability at a once, but they can be swapped at any time during gameplay.
All of the abilities have a cooldown on use so you can’t just frolic through the game spamming them constantly.
Shield creates a shell of invulnerability around Quack for a short period of time, making him immune to all incoming damage for its duration.
Teleport will instantly send quack to the end of the screen in whichever direction you are moving. Very useful for a quick escape or if you need to get somewhere quick to pump out some damage.
Utilizing all of these things to your advantage can help you defeat even the most difficult of encounters. When the enemy’s health hits zero, it’s a glorious victory for Quack and another step towards his ultimate revenge.
I hope this information gives you a bit more of an idea of what you can expect when playing the game. As promised, here’s a fresh look at some in-game footage. The footage takes a look at Newspaper Ned, the third encounter in the Parklands area of the game.
Enjoy!
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