2018.01.18 Boss 101, future games and ShMUPS devblog

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the latest Boss 101 update and thank you for stopping by!

Making Weapons in Boss 101. In our quest to bring you the most variety when you battle bosses we are again peeling back the curtain to look at the creation of our bow weapons. You heard me correctly – you have bows and arrows in Boss 101! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

We start with the basic idea which was adding a relatively hard hitting special weapon  for the mid-game. Many of the weapons in Boss 101 are grouped in a classes which in turn have three or more levels of upgrades to them. Each level representing more power or other advantage. As the player you will be giving the choice to use ANY weapon based on your preferences.

We also have basic player upgrades and hat bonuses available for the player’s character. These would arguably allow you to take a weaker weapon and buff it up through bonuses granted via items. Ok – that was a mouthful so let’s look at the bow and its three upgrades

First there is the Class 1 bow weapon – the regular bow and arrow! A solid weapon all around.

Spoiler

Second up we have the Class 2 Compound Bow – upgraded from the regular bow in nearly all ways.





Last up is the Crossbow Deluxe, a Class 3 weapon – top of the line!





Here are some shots of the various bow weapons in action







Lest you think the fun ends there we also are working on BLADE WEAPONS. Now why would we do that? For you - we want you to have choices! These blade weapons are all of the throwing variety. Below are two quick snaps of some of the things you can see.



Some debug shots of the basic throwing knife – you can see some of the draw outlines since we are running in debug mode here. Another quick shot:



And if you succeed in taking the boss down over water you'll see him drop into the deep blue. YEAH BABY!

Thanks again for stopping by and thank you for your e-mails. We appreciate your support!

Remember to live your dreams!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Hello again and welcome to our Boss 101 Development Update. This week’s subject GAME FOG!

We are going to walk you through how we are using a simple fog overlay in Boss 101 to clear up the action. This makes the game not only more visually appealing but arguably more fun for you the player.

First off let’s look at what we are doing here. Below is a sample screenshot of a forest themed level.

Spoiler

Everything is working just fine in practice and the level looks great in the screenshot. Thing is, you will be playing the game in motion and when bullets are flying and minions are dodging all over the place you want every advantage possible. For that we looked at the background area and wanted to push it more into the ‘background’. This was for a couple reasons. One – it would add depth to the level by giving things and atmospheric haze. The next is it would help clear up the difference between what is important and what is more eye candy.

Be warned, we are getting into a subjective area. This is really about what you want for YOUR GAME. This is not a cure all for every game. Let’s move on…

Testing out the theory
So we took the above screenshot and blocked out the boss and the player like so. This was to have a quick testbed for what we wanted to do.



We then looked at adding in a gradient fog to the level. Mind you this is something we want to add in order to unify the background and pop the foreground action. The idea here is a light wash over the whole background and nothing that drops everything into a San Francisco type pea soup.



Above you can see the sample fog effect. It’s dropping the saturation down on many of the brighter objects and still keeping the nice art in place. That’s what we wanted to see started working on more levels.

Some later levels in action with before and after

Robo Egypt Daytime – no fog



Robo Egypt Daytime – fog effect added



Again – there is a subtle drop here of the brighter areas which is what we wanted. The idea behind everything it to make the game fun to play and entertain the player. Fun to play is first so the playfield needs to be as good as we can make it.

Here is Robo Egypt Nighttime – no fog (forgive the gif compression banding on the sky)



Robo Egypt Nighttime – fog effect added (forgive the gif compression banding on the sky)

You can see here the fog helps give a greater sense of depth and unifies the scene. Also – I love Robo Egypt! HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Hope you enjoyed that look into the game and look forward to more as we head towards our ship date.

Always remember folks - LIVE YOUR DREAMS! No one else will!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind. Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome back to the Boss 101 update!

The GSS

This week we are talking about the latest and greatest upgrade to the Map Room in Boss 101 – the Gopher Space Station (GSS)! You heard it here first, the gophers are building a space station with a special warp gate during the course of the game.

As you already know the map room is where you go to select your next planetary mission. It’s also a place to chart your progress towards Boss 101 himself. During your adventure you will get to see first hand the gophers constructing the mighty GSS. Each level of your progress is a step in their progress. It will be your efforts driving the construction forward.

Check out this early stage of with the construction at its earliest. Here we have the superstructure just up and the framework laid out.

Spoiler

Now later in the game you will see framework removed and more paint and goodies added. Cool huh?



No work is done in space without the Gopher Space Corp and here are a  few of the people working to make things happen.

Ted Gopher bringing in Supplies from a supply ship



Mary and Angela are welding some of the struts together for extra rigidity



Dialog Advancement

We also wanted to highlight a feature about our dialog system added to make your reading time much more pleasurable. The magical A button. We know many games employ this method and we think it’s a good one too. Basically you can advance dialog with the A button and read at your own speed. Of course if you want to skip dialog entirely you can do that but we do not recommend missing out on all our hilarity.



We also test dialogs for errors in the debug dialog room. In an earlier update we highlighted this room and its ease of use in making corrections.

Folks, it has been an amazing few weeks. We spoke yesterday at the Indie Games Riot IRX 2016 conference. We recommend checking out the site for their interviews and news. A great crew and worth your time.

http://indiegameriot.com/

Also – we have been working round the clock to clean up and polish the game into something truly special. Speaking for myself (Tim) I feel our team has really brought the art, animation, story and code into a special area YOU the player will really enjoy. All our decisions are based on making things entertaining and fun. Boss 101 is about adventure and being a kid with a jetpack. We are all working our rear ends off putting in every bell and whistle we can.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to always... LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind. Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Hey all, this is Tim and welcome back to another Boss 101 update!

Here at the Donley Time Foundation we think about you! Now you might ask yourself “Self, what are those wacky people at the Time Foundation up to this week?” The answer, we are up to our necks in polishing Boss 101 FOR YOU! We have been tightening the screws, checking the paint, smashing bugs and tuning features so you can have the very best Boss 101 game we can muster.

This week we wanted to talk about a feature we lovingly refer to as ‘the hat collection’ though it is MUCH more than that. You know we have hats! You know you can buy them and get special powers. You might also suspect something we are going to verify RIGHT NOW. Those same hats show up all across the game while you play! In cinematics, the Command Center and all throughout the main storyline. So if you are dressed as your fav character from our wide selection of costume hats then you will see that character interact with everyone in costume.

We have superhero themed hats, hats that make you mythological characters, hats that make you sci-fi stars or even robots. Let’s look at some of the variety shall we?

Mister Cyclops has his day! Go on and visit your brother as a classic Greek monster, he won’t judge.

Spoiler

Getting ready for a warp jump with your one eyed avatar…



Snack Time..



Maybe you want to change it up as a super hero type person…



Into Space!



Perhaps purple haired Sasha?







Maybe something a little more ‘solid’?



Maxine in space!



Maybe even a forbidden robot…



Picnic as Alice…



If all else fails go classic…



Ok – the whole point is we want you to have fun and play the way you want. Boss 101 is about your stories. The hats, weapons and bosses are there to bring you an adventure and we hope you will find our efforts worthwhile. There are a lot of little touches you might not see right away but don’t fret! We feel it’s worth the time and effort to make things special.

Screenshots of the Day!



Celebrating a win in Boss 101! Hurrah! You did it and everyone turns out to cheer you onward.



The Robotrains are always running in Boss 101! Check out our latest game development blogs if you get a chance.

General Update

This was a pretty big week for us. A lot of the systems were checked over for thoroughness and bugs. We fixed a few little niggles to make your experience better and added in more storytelling hooks. Overall – things are moving along well!

Check back with us next week for more news and until then…

LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind. Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the latest Boss 101 update!

Let’s talk some more about world building in Boss 101. Specifically we are going to talk about the way we setup environments in the game and make them consistent during your stay in the Command Center.

Let’s look at how this evolved. We have the Start Screen and early on we wanted it to have a variety of environments (rain, night, day, etc). The idea was to give you a sense of time and life in the game. You leave, come back and time has passed.

Well, you can imagine that opened up a rabbit hole of possibilities for us. The moment we had a changing Start Screen we talked about changing the pet window in the Command Center. Of course, once you do THAT you start to think about all the other screens built off there which would likely have the same environment.

Spoiler

Start Screen – Sunset


Ok – so we looked at Kite Hill and thought “That’s in the same area but maybe off to the left or right from the start screen.” It wasn’t long before we hooked up that location to have the same type of environment (with slight tweaks) as the start screen. From there we ended up going through all the locations you can access directly from the Command Center and creating custom but similar looks for you to see.

Kite Hill – Sunset from another vantage point


We have the Endless Boss Launch area. The Clicks ship in there shows and open sky that now reflects the rest of the Command Center. Pet Hill as well as the Options and the Credits Movie area are all part of the main game environment you see at the beginning.

Endless Boss launch area with opening to sky


Pet Hill


Options Screen WIP


The thing we wanted for you was to make something special and interesting when you played. A lot of our time is put into making the game feel like a place and the people you meet as interesting as possible.

Examples with a Rainbow Sky

Pet Hill with Rainbows!


Endless Launch rainbows


Screenshot of the Day

Tuning the abilities for a few of the sweet hats in Boss 101. Here is a small sampling of the lid goodness!



We really do believe it is ALL of this which adds up to make a special game. As we heard Racer X once say “When YOU care, THEY care” and who are we to argue.

Thanks again for stopping by and remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind. Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

You asked for it and you got it! Welcome to the Boss 101 update where we sweat the details and share the secrets behind the making of Boss 101 the game.

Speaking of details, this week we’re looking at more of the little touches we think make Boss 101 a special game. Things like interface cleanup as well as various UI screen niceties to enhance your game experience are covered. We feel the ONLY way to bring Boss 101 into your life is by giving you OUR VERY BEST EFFORT and then some. We also believe the way to make a mark, give you value and bring you back for more is to put forth an effort so spectacular you can’t ignore the joy we had making it.

Every day we look at ways to make each element of the game as fun, engaging and charming as possible. No screen, character or BUTTON is immune to this thinking. It’s not enough to have a great gameplay feature or some neat looking loading screen. We feel each part of the experience must match up and equal the rest. We have themed the entire game around the Boss 101 look so let’s check out samples of what I am blabbing about shall we?

Spoiler

Load Screen Panel

Working on the front end UI. Specifically the save game panel so it shows your current gun and hat. These days it's about the nice touches as we polish up Boss 101 heading into the final stretch.



Main Screen Options Panel



Once you get to the main screen panel you can access the base options for the game. Among other things you will be able to configure your keyboard controls. Let’s talk about that for a second.

When we first looked at this panel we had static icons to represent the various controls you were going to remap. That’s all well and good but how much cooler is it when the buttons move and activate? MUCH BETTER WE SAY! Check out the screen:





Work in Progress Movie Room Icons



You can see here in the movie room the start of the process for labels. We are adding in animated icons for the movies you can replay. Again, a static icon would do just fine but that’s not us and we think we can do better FOR YOU! We’ll post more in progress images here as we go forward.

The room! The work in progress area:



Close up




The Endless Boss Win Warp Screen



Winning a round in the Endless Boss mode will toss you to the warp screen where you can catch your breath and ready yourself for the next round. Here is where ROB and the Cosmic Clicks ship will meet you for a refueling stop. We thought about this room and felt ROB would definitely want to be on this journey with you so we had him join you in the win area.



Of course the gophers show up to give the Clicks ship a bit of polish and top off the fuel tank. YOU KNOW!

OK – that is it for the week’s highlights. Hope you enjoyed seeing the plan come closer to fruition. Boss 101 will be released sooner than later and though we can’t put a pin on the EXACT DATE we can tell you this – it will be the most fun, most charm and the very best value we can possibly give you. YES!!!

Take care and remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind. Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[tiaoferreira]

Your project is too impressive, man! Congratulations!

[Donley_Time]

Your project is too impressive, man! Congratulations!

Thank you so much! Appreciate you stopping by for a look. We've been hammering away on this for a long while now and it is finally heading towards a finish.

The only things slowing us down from release are making sure the game is nice and polished. Once we feel good about that our release should come soon after.

-Tim

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to another Boss 101 Development Update and thank you so much for stopping by to see what’s up!

The Team Makes the Difference

I want to start this week with something I have mentioned before but it bears repeating. The team bringing you Boss 101 is one of the finest teams I have ever had the privilege of working with. It may be boring to hear that but I can assure you the work is anything but. These are dedicated people who are going the extra mile at every single turn to bring you the very best game we can make.

Spoiler

Manon (pixel artist) and Joshua (lead programmer) along with myself are the core of the Boss 101 experience. The game would not be this awesome without their help. There is an old saying I heard a long time ago that you can judge a leader by what his team does when he is NOT in the room. Well, I think it is better to say when you give the right people good direction and let them run free they will deliver the goods whether you mapped things out perfectly or not.

What I am getting at is there is a TON of stuff in Boss 101 that was not plotted out perfectly at the beginning. The thing is, when it came time to make an A or B decision – both Joshua and Manon have consistently picked the highest quality outcome. This in turn is being passed directly back to you in the form of value and gameplay.

I really am a fortunate person to get to work with these fine people and I think you will agree when you see the final game.

Gun Store Touchups

Moving into the polish stuff for this week. First up is the gun store. As you have seen before, the gun store has had a couple upgrades over the time we’ve been working on Boss 101. All the upgrades have been about making the user interface clearer and easier to use.

Something you might already suspect is good looking does not always equal easy to use. We have adjusted a lot of little interface items due to this. When things first go in we tend to be pretty proud they are in and working. From there on out it is pretty easy to get used to a functionality and forget the end user will likely see the interface in an entirely different light. (probably a much less forgiving one too!).

We have gone through several of the panels in the Command Center and the idea is we touch them up to provide the information needed quickly and without any fuss. Where things were unclear we worked to make them MORE clear. Check out the gun panels below being lightened up so you can see the gun hardware you are getting.

Old Version


New Version


Now we understand there is nothing technically wrong with the old version. The thing sticking out for us was that it was a) very old in terms of implementation and design and b) a bit dark compared to other store panels. The corrected one is much more in-line with all the other stores and the Command Center in general.

Hat Store touchups

We have a bigger update planned for the hat store but check out the jazzed up hat room. Again – these are some other items we are excited to talk with you about but the deal here was to add some space for UI elements and also clean up the background. Of course you can have tech in the Command Center without Professor Gopher and Friends!

Old Version


New Version WIP


Screenshot of the Day

Adding in a hat inspired by the great J Hause! (check out his page here https://www.facebook.com/Ghosthause)



The guys hope you're having a great day and remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

Thank you again for stopping by and hope you enjoyed this look at the game. We appreciate your support and emails!

Remember to always LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the Boss 101 Update

Polish and cleanup. That has been an ongoing theme for the last few weeks and will continue to be one for the foreseeable future. You see, Boss 101 could be done and wrapped up in a few weeks. It COULD be in your hands sooner than later. The only problem we have with that is the game would not be our best effort and that is not acceptable.

UI touchups

Something important we are working at the moment is making certain the UI is understandable and readable. The way we are doing this is, well, playing the game and having others play the game. You might image how easy is it to make a game and get used to the controls you install. After working on a game for over two years it is easy to think “Oh, this little control makes enough sense! Sure, it’s a little odd and I have NEVER seen anything like it before but PLAYERS WILL GET IT!”

Well, I have news, they probably won’t get it. It’s actually very likely they will not understand any scheme which deviates to far from logic of the norm of game controls. In those situations it requires a dedicated team to address the issues and correct the little weird things. I can’t say everything we ever did will be perfect but I can assure you we thought of YOU at all times. We looked at our game and asked “will someone who has never seen the game understand this in context?” We put ourselves in your place as much as we possibly can. It’s really the only way.

Let’s look at some of the things happening this week…

Rob’s Store

Here we have an update to Rob’s special store. In it you can find all sorts of odd guns and hats. We’ll talk more about how you access it but in the meantime let’s look at the design of the place.

First we have the current store. Pretty nice and there is a neat look happening. In a lot of ways there is nothing wrong with it on a purely aesthetic level.

Spoiler

Here is the remodel work in progress. We added space for UI elements that clearly explain what you are doing and show the controls a lot better. We also lightened up the area so you can see the products better. This is a great example of taking something that was working and simply making it better for the player. We could have shipped with the old one and players would have figured things out (we hope) but when we played the game it was pretty obvious clarity would help.



Something to remember is a lot of times you can get caught up in what looks good versus what works well. UI needs to work well first and foremost. The looking good will mostly be a function of the efficiency and thematic clarity you create (ie – form follows function)

Help Panels

We added little help panel overlays to all of the main Command Center pages. The idea is to give you an easy assist if you are still learning the ropes or need a refresher. Also – we didn’t want to intrude on your game so we made the overlay and activates as innocuous as possible.

Command Center

With help on and off


Upgrade Room

Help on and off


Gun Shop

Help on and off


There you go! A quick snapshot of this week’s work and much more to come. The goal of our development at this point is the same as always – give YOU the best game we can. You deserve it and we aim to deliver.

Boss 101 Screenshot

Rolling bosses in the Make a Boss! Just another day making the universe safe for you and me.

Thanks again and always remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!!!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind - Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the Boss 101 Weekly update!

Let’s talk about dialog, specifically about the way we interact with YOU in Boss 101 through the dialog box.

If you recall the dialog boxes from recent updates, they were pretty practical affairs. Got the job done. Readable and overall pretty straightforward. Well, as you know in Boss 101 land “good enough” ISN’T! No it is NOT!

Improved Dialog Box

Look at some of the new features we added to make your reading engagement easier, better and more entertaining. We have things like font style changing, pausing, more interesting text draw-in and allowing you to interactively speed up and slow reading down to YOUR pace.

Spoiler

Name Tags

We added the ability to put a small animated name tag above the current speaker. Previously we had it above Max and Steve on special occasions but now EVERYONE gets a tag!

Below are some examples of colored text for highlighting those super important (or funny) phrases. We also added triggers for text effects to add a little oomph to the reading experience.



Check out Rob giving us one of his deep though moments here with some of the new effects in place.



A small set of samples of effects



Make A Boss Equip Panel

In the game you have a few places to outfit your character. The basic ones are the gun and hat shops. This is where you purchase and store all the equipment you use on your adventure.

Hat Store



Gun Store



Beyond this, we added couple more places to kit out your character. These are intended to help with game flow by letting you see the boss you’re currently fighting and adjust your strategy on the fly. Let’s say there is a boss with a fire weapon and you want to wear your fire protective hat. The Equip Panel in the Make A Boss room is where you can do that.

Let’s talk about the Equip Panel for a moment shall we?

When we first built the MaB Equip Panel the design was inspired by the need to see the boss abilities AND see your hat & gun abilities. We had a first version in the game and while it was nice visually it didn’t quite do the trick when it came to functionality. One of the main problems we ran into was with abilities added to the hats (like being able to equip a costume and ability version) as well as general space and layout concerns. Due to this we felt a small redesign was needed.

The Old Version of the Make A Boss Equip



As you may already know, one thing about creating games is not getting too attached to an idea and being open to feedback. When we looked at the old equip panel a bunch of problems became apparent (I won’t bother to list them all here). We ended up doing a slight redesign and wouldn’t you know it? We found a way to show MORE guns and hats in the same area. Check out the hat and gun slots we have going in these work in progress shots.

Work In Progress - New Equip Panel Hats



Work In Progress - New Equip Panel Guns



To be clear – what you are looking at is the current version we are working on. It’s not a final product yet but getting there. As we said before, it is SUPER important to bring you a polished game you can dive into and enjoy. For THAT to happen we are bringing our best efforts by testing and retesting levels and UI panels.

Going Forward with Boss 101

It’s been a busy week and a lot of our work was little cleanups all across the game. Every time we sit down for a play through I’m impressed by what our team has managed to do. It’s inspiring and the people on this team inspire me to keep me going through the day and on into the night. It’s energizing and the most fun I’ve had in a LONG, long time. Great people and great teamwork are driving Boss 101 forward. Of course – we also have some amazing friends and supporters like YOU. So thank you for stopping by and we appreciate the comments and letters we’ve been getting.

Boss 101 Screenshot



Hat Store, you can wear a hat for looks or ability or BOTH. You decide. We give you the ability to look like you want and play as you like.

Tuning the pirate boss. This guy can lay down the serious smack if you aren't careful. Bring your "A" game people!

OK – the whole idea is to make the game and the enjoyment as awesome as we can. This is just a small example of the things we are making daily. Everything we are putting in is about YOUR entertainment. Boss 101 is more than just an action adventure game and as we edge every closer to shipping we will be bringing you more looks at the game making magic we employ.

As we have said before, it’s very important to bring you the best game and value possible. We want you to be right there with Steve and Max while they battle the bad guys and discover things about the universe AND THEMSELVES!

How do we do that you might wonder? Well, we are keeping you in mind as we work and most importantly – WE LIVE OUR DREAMS!

Remember to live your dreams too and we’ll see you soon!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind. Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome back to the Boss 101 update!

This week we are looking more at the little touches we think make Boss 101 special. Let’s start with the Command Center proper shall we?

So, the command center is your main base of operations and your home.  We have often spoke of the elevator nature of the floors. You use a small control panel to travel up and down. Well, we always thought it was pretty straightforward but after some consideration we added a new touch that solidifies what is happening – the Command Center Door!

Check out these screens of the new door which closes when you are in ‘elevator mode’. The idea here is you will clearly get a sense you are ‘outside’ the room. You will still be able to see what is going on though and you will get a better idea of the floor you are on relative to the others. It’s a small touch but we think it adds a bit to the feel of being in a place.

Spoiler

Going into the Command Center from the Start Screen


Moving Between Floors


Moving to the top floor



Pets join you on Kite Hill

Hey, you know your little buddies like to be around you so we are letting them out onto Kite Hill with you. Of course, they just want to fly around and enjoy the day (or night) so you might see them off in the distance bopping around. Check these snaps out.

Look at Mister Mouse flying around! He’s so tiny!


Here a cute giraffe with a jet pack hanging around


Same little guy during the day


Those are just a few of the little touches we continue to add into Boss 101 as we head towards completion. It’s important we give you the very best experience we can and that means pulling out the stops to make the Boss 101 universe as complete as possible.

Comment on the new hat store


Check out this great post from a friend on Newgrounds. We think this pretty much embodies WHY we are doing what we are doing!

Boss 101 Screenshot

Well it looks like Mr. Squirrel moved into the Command Center. No worries though, there's plenty of room.

Keep checking back for more release news, images and even new videos!

Remember to always LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Boss 101 on Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind. Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the Boss 101 Update!

As you know we are dedicated to bringing you our best effort. At this stage the news is really about polish and cleanup. Let’s talk about that, shall we?

Equip Panel in the Make A Boss

This one has come up a few times in recent updates and there’s a reason. It’s an important area for the player and has a lot of moving parts to understand. For us that means testing and retesting things that will make YOUR game a lot more fun in the end.

So here we have an example of the panel being iterated on. This is a nice little idea here and improved from version 1.0 (see prior updates). Upon closer inspection we thought it could stand a little more cleanup and brought the whole she-bang into the Boss 101 lab to work on it.

Spoiler

We looked at what was working and how we could make things even clearer. We lightened up the panel to make the guns and hats pop out as well as added a few labels to clear things up for you the player. I’m not a huge fan of tons of small text but I believe there can be a place for information and decals when used correctly. In this case there is so much information happening in this room it seemed to warrant a little more text information.



You can see we also have nice nods to the hat room way of equipping your hat as a costume or an ability hat. This is one of those design moments when we asked ourselves “What have we been teaching the player up to now?” When we did that we felt it was necessary to put in this function since a player might rightfully expect it here. Originally we did not want to do that and ONLY wanted to deal with the ability hats since they are all that matter on this screen. Of course the issue with that sort of thinking is we are making choices for the player instead of giving them the decision.



It was easy enough to add the hat equipping idea from before anyway – SO WE DID! YOU SEE HOW WE ARE!

Little touchups to the Command Center

Endless Boss and the Trophy Room get some shine on their selected animations. Just nice adds to make it clear you have selected these items. We already have a nice green outline and placard but the shine effect puts a cherry on the whole thing.



Movie Room Animated Icons done

You can see here the movie room animated icons are in place. There are only two movies in the queue at the moment but the way they work and the neat new icons for the spooling tape and movies look marvy!



Boss 101 Screenshot of the Day

You can have a pet coffee cup in Boss 101. See him flying around outside? Man, I have always wanted one myself since it would make those morning coffee runs a lot faster. hehe

Sound and Music Updates coming!
Ok – more to come soon including updates about the Boss 101 sound and music! Thanks for checking in. Boss 101 is well on track and we are excited to bring it to you soon.

Remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind - Thank you!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the Boss 101 Update and thank you so much for joining us today! Lots to talk about so let’s get rolling.

The Attitude of Gratitude

You know it is really easy to talk about working on Boss 101 because it’s so fun. I mentioned this before but I have to give credit where it’s due. The team is what makes Boss 101 such a blast to work on. Manon (pixel artist), Joshua (lead programmer) and myself hammering away for the love of the game and for YOU!

If you ever wondered what it would be like to have an amazing life by doing what you love then WONDER NO LONGER! I can tell you it’s the best thing. There is only success in following your dreams. The rewards outweigh the cons by such an amount as to make the journey an easy choice. I know from the outside you might say “But Tim, I have a lot of responsibilities and can’t just go draw sneakers on T-Rex’s all day like you guys do on Boss 101” Ah, but you CAN!

Each day you can take a step towards your goal. Soon enough, you will see progress and sooner than you think you will be well on your way.

It’s that determination and the great fortune of finding two people like Manon and Joshua which make Boss 101 the easiest job I have ever had in my life. The actual work is there but it’s fun and I like doing it. A LOT!

So do it… FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS and by all means, bring as many people along as you can.

Adding Pets to the Cinematics

Did a pass on the cinematics to make sure the pets were showing up in all of them. We added a small blanket for all the pets in the appropriate cinemas. This allows them to sit or fly along with you during the course of the game. Check out these SWEET images….

Kitty in the vending room. Why does kitty have its back to us? Because it’s a kitty!

Spoiler

You can have Mister Whale fly around whilst you dine outside



Also – what would a picnic on a hill be without a UNICORN!!!



Cinematic Room Adds

Working on some adds to the cinematic rooms. Here are setup shots in Spine (by Esoteric Software) we input into GameMaker. Apparently there are some more Spine integrations coming for GameMaker so that might help swing it over to more people using it.

Setup the room and layout art and animation



Closeup of STEVE art and animation



Make A Boss Save Function

We added a save for the most recent boss you rolled. The idea here is you can roll a boss – see his stats and then if you need to go get a gun, take a break or otherwise step away from the boss generator you will still keep your most recent roll. We think it will allow more strategy and most of all MORE FUN FOR YOU!



Guns in the Game

Today we are giving you a tour of a few of the weapons you can use in Boss 101. If you’re a longtime viewer you might have seen a few of these but for those that haven’t here is the general idea; during the course of the game you will have access to the most MIGHTY weapons in the Boss 101 universe. Some will be accessible from the start and some will be unlocked as you progress. The various means of unlocking guns is for another update and you might guess they involve things like completion of rounds, general progression or even hitting specific goals.

When we designed the various guns we aimed for variety and designs we felt were ‘fun’ in the Boss 101 sense. Sure we have pistols and bazookas but did you know we have friendship guns and knives? We do!



Here we have one of the more straightforward guns. The pistol set. Three levels ranging from pretty much a pea shooter to a more solid firearm guaranteed to dent most robot armor. The pistol is one of your starting guns and though it is a weaker weapon some may find they like it.



Moving into some of the more hard hitting firearms we have the bazooka series. These pack a serious punch but have limited firing speed. They will do the trick for a lot of minions and put a crimp in most boss armor. The 976-BOOM is a fan favorite.



Bows! Everyone loves a good bow and arrow fight against a giant armored metal opponent. Check out this sweet progression of string weapons. That crossbow can get right in there on those tough bosses.



Throwing Knives Series! You might have thought the game was mostly about bullets and bombs and you would be partially correct. We have LOTS of those but we also have some NEW weapon types you will enjoy. The throwing knife series is all about quick firing and piercing damage. There are a few robo’s weak to this so packing one in your arsenal is a good idea.



Wrenches. You knew these were coming so here they are! This is a nice assortment of old reliable beaters. Get ‘em! They work, you just need to be up close to deliver the blow.



Interview with Indie Hangover

Quick re-post about the interview I (Tim) did with Jacob at Indie Hangover about Boss 101. Check it out!

http://www.indiehangover.com/interview-tim-donley-of-the-donley-time-foundation/

Jacob was very nice to allow us some airtime and it was a blast to talk with him.

Boss 101 Screenshot

Boss 101 tuning the Endless Boss mode with gun power-up drops. Yep, there is a classic arcade option! You can go into Endless Boss and select an arcade mode YOU want!

Thank you!

That’s all for this week’s weapon looks but stay tuned for more peeks in the coming updates.

As always – remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!!!

-Tim

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to today’s Boss 101 Update and thank you so much for joining us. We do appreciate your time!

Tutorials and B.E.R.L.

Spoiler

So, let’s talk about Berl. Berl is YOUR guide to the world of Boss 101. We introduce him as the tutorial giver when you start a new game. Berl walks you through a lot of the basics in the Command Center and across the various game screens.

The Tutorials

We like to think Boss 101 is a pretty straightforward game but we won’t assume you will. We knew it would be a wise move to include some sort of walkthrough for a new player to get them familiar with the systems we throw at them. Of course, this is Boss 101 and we aren’t going to just toss a bunch of text at the screen – NOPE! We are going to let one of our own characters help you out. In this case BERL!

Berl in Rob’s Room (notice he’s off in a corner)



Who is B.E.R.L.?

Berl in his charger (close up)



Berl is the oldest jetpack in the base. He is much older than either Rob or Steve and built on older technology. Sadly that technology was a little dangerous so the guys had to give Berl help when he is in the Command Center in the form of lightweight anti-grav devices. Berl doesn’t like them but he knows he needs them. This all adds up to the fact Berl needs to spend a lot of time charging up those lifters much to his own annoyance.

Berl introduces himself




In an effort to help Berl feel a little more useful the guys let him give guided tours of the place to all newcomers. Berl will meet you when you start the game and point out useful things. The ONLY hitch here is Berl isn’t always welcome all over the Command Center so he may not know every little thing. That’s OK – he’s fine at winging it!

Check out parts of these tutorials done with Berl’s special twist. We think he’s a really great guy and when it comes right down to it, he just wants to make some new friends. Won’t you help him out?

Berl in the Make a Boss – notice how he can activate things to demo how they work



A Map Room intro with Berl



Gun Store



Upgrade Room – is Berl giving out secrets!?!?!? BERL!!!!



Isn’t he great? It’s nice to give ole Berl something important to do. Makes him happy with an important job and serves to help you out. A win all around. Look for more Berl as we move forward toward our ship date.



Editors

You might already know we use GameMaker for the development as well as Esoteric’s Spine software but did you know we make our own editors also? Yes folks – WE ROLL OUR OWN! Joshua cooked up a swift editor so we can access some of the more useful items in the game and edit them with ease.

The thing we were looking for in our editor (at least during its initial creation) was the ability to edit some of the many description & item abilities in the game. We have hats and guns! We have passports, bosses and Wiki pages in the game. All these need some sort of description and detail for you the player of our game to enjoy. In comes the editor.

Prior to this we edited everything with a combination of Excel and XML sheets. That is fine for a small amount of stuff but when you have nearly 300 hats you have to think a little different in terms of scale and scope.

Wiki Pages

So here is a screenshot of the Professor’s Wiki editor. You can see we have a little line of text ready to go.



Moving into the actual game you can see we are able to NOT ONLY edit the text of the Wiki and the various pages but do so IN REAL TIME! How are those apples!?!?!?



Hat Editor

Look at some of the other things we can do with the Editor when it comes to Hats. Below we can see the ability to select and look at any of the hats in the game. From there we can edit the powers, name and abilities bestowed. Crazy huh?



Check out this snap of some of the various things we can edit and the result in the game. We can change power levels, names and the like all pretty easily. Makes things much quicker to debug and correct. Also means a better game for you!



Here are the results happening real time in the game



Some of the other tabs we have going…

OK there you go. That is this week’s peek at the latest and greatest. Everything we do we are doing to make the best game we can and make sure YOU are entertained when you play Boss 101.

Thanks again for checking in and thank you for the letters and comments across all the places we post Boss 101 info. We all appreciate you taking a moment to look at the game and we aim to bring you our very best.

Talk with you soon and remember….. LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

Thank you!

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the Boss 101 update!

Today we are talking about some of the ALTERNATE things you can do when you play Boss 101, specifically, using the ARCADE MACHINE!

The arcade machine is on the Command Center top floor and it’s a place you go to blow off steam between rounds of galaxy saving action. The arcade machine has three games for you to choose from. Today we will be talking about the “tank battle” (working title) game.

Check out the progress from the first pass arcade title screen to the latest version…

First WIP

Spoiler

Current version



Moving onto the game itself. The current gameplay is about surviving as long as you can versus up to four tanks. Sounds simple but the difficulty ramps up fast. All the arcade games inside Boss 101 are about quick action and your skillage as a gamer. Think you can stay alive long enough to get the high score?

First pass WIP version



Current art version



The latest art versions add the effects and emerge animations for the tanks as well as the new art for the player and enemy vehicles. Still on our list is polishing up the instructions sheet, title cards and a few other minor touchups. Overall things are moving along well and we are looking forward to you getting a look at the final game!

Gopher WIKI with Pet Pages!

We added MORE information to the WIKI so you can read up on your favorite pets. That’s right people – each of your pet friends has its own page with background info, names and even a look at the home world of the pet. EXCITING!

Here’s a shot of a few of the pets and their info…



OK – that wraps up today’s update and join us again for the next look. Look for upcoming updates to bring you more looks at Boss 101 as well as release info.

Gopher WIKI Wrapup

The Gopher WIKI! We spoke about this in July 2015 in this blog and it has come a long way. The good news for you is we kept at it and improved it.

Recall some of the old screens here:





The big change recently was the Game Editor we added. That one thing was responsible for a MUCH easier WIKI creation. Text, images and even the page number could be created and edited on the fly. Previously we had a combination of XML sheets and Excel documents with a lot of cut and pasting going on.

Screenshot of the current editor in action


Well, we took all the old data and moved it easily into the new editor. From there we ending up taking LESS TIME than if we kept using the old way. In other words the new editor was so efficient at making the WIKI pages we were able to beat the old deadline.

Here’s the Professor in the command Center with a link to the WIKI


When you are in the WIKI you can read up on backstory and interesting information about how things got there. You can also read about people who visit and even see if they bought you a gift. The whole thing is curated by ROB and the Professor with some help from BERL and the gang.

Sample shot of scrolling through the WIKI


We don’t know that everyone will read all the pages but for those who want history – it’s in there. The idea here is we want you to know about the world we are creating. There is so much going on but you can access it at your speed.

Pages on the WIKI


Check out some of the swift animations and loading screens we have




A shot of the WIKI in Spine.

Thank you again for stopping by and remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

Thank you!

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Spoiler

Welcome to the Boss 101 Update!

This week we continue the talk about the arcade games you will find in Boss 101 as well as the reuse of existing game assets to not only save time but unify your game’s look!

Breakout/Arkanoid Work-in-Progress

First off let’s talk about the Breakout (or Arkanoid) like game we put inside the Boss 101 arcade machine. This is another example of something you can do in between game rounds to pass the time and maybe earn special prizes.

So we would access this from the main arcade booth in the Command Center.

From there we can go and select the game and proceed to the actual gameplay (after an intro screen).

What we have here is a work in progress shot of the basic gameplay. The art is going in and you can see a lot of the cute-ness and fun are well on their way. As with the other arcade games we are installing, we want them to be fun and straightforward moments of gameplay.



We will be allowing you to share your high scores with friends so you can see how you do against them. We also are looking at global Steam leaderboards. Regardless the idea here is you can sit back for a little while and enjoy some arcade action while contemplating the next big boss attack!

Look how happy this guys is!



The Wise Re-use of art you already have!

This is another work in progress look behind the scenes at how we do what we do! The story here is we needed to create title and end screens for all the arcade games. These would be places for instructions and high scores respectively. Of course we wanted them to look cool so we needed some idea for how the backgrounds might look.

Make a Boss to the rescue!



Check out this sweet background from the Make A Boss – that’s a pretty neat effect right? I wonder if we changed the shapes up and the glow pattern? Maybe we can reuse it for the arcades.

Work in Progress Arcade Screens.







So here we have the first pass of the arcade screens. This is basically the same underlying tech as the Make A Boss. It’s been re-purposed with new art and a new glow pattern. Still to do are color passes to make it more inline with the arcade game as well as some tweaks to the glow color and speed. Overall though this is MUCH faster than creating a whole new look for something. The added benefit here is we get to make another piece of art that helps unify the overall look of the game. NEAT!

Ok – that is it for this update and thank you again. We appreciate your support, letters and comments. Please check back for more updates and info about the upcoming Boss 101 release date!

Boss 101 Screenshot

Making the magic happen with game tunes and touchups!

Remember to always – LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

Thank you!

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the latest Boss 101 update.

Let’s talk about some of the UI improvements and touchups we have done in Boss 101 over the last year. What we are going to do is look at a build of the game from ONE YEAR AGO and compare it to today’s build. What I would like to point out is how many things have remained the same and touches we have done to make things clearer and easier to understand. Overall I feel YOU will enjoy the changes and rest assured we are making sure the WHOLE GAME has as much polish as we can muster for the release.

Upgrades Room

We spoke about this one a while back but here’s a refresher. Upgrades are on the second floor of the Command Center and they are where you can go for basic overall improvements of your main character and weapon. Additionally you can invest in a construction project to get access to ROB’s secret store.

So – we have a snippet here of the game tutorial giving you an overview of the upgrades in the room. Notice even BERL is hesitant to talk about the Debug upgrade! Guess you will just have to get down there for yourself.

Spoiler

Health – then and now

The Health upgrade section is a pretty good example of what has been happening. The old version wasn’t bad but we wanted a new one with the information a little clearer (more on that later) and a little more in line with the Boss 101 game aesthetic.

The old version



New and Jazzier



So – some of the reasoning here is we wanted to leave space for dropping in numbers after all the tunes are done. You’ll notice we have levels of upgrades but the idea is we have left the door open for tweaks in the way the information is displayed. Once all the final gameplay tunes are in and balances then we will come back here for a last pass on the display. The same will go for all the upgrade sections.

The Bounty section

This is where you adjust your end of round bonus. In here you can give yourself a health boost in cash. As with the health – this will be revisited once all the final values are in. The current setup allows for a really easy change to this display.

Old



New



Main Gun Damage

Personally I think this upgrade benefited GREATLY from the UI improvements. This is the indicator of the damage your main gun will do. The old was a simple bullet and icon coloration. Now we have all the different machines guns YOU WILL SEE IN GAME represented here. It’s pretty clear what’s happening, right? HA!

Old



New



Debug Store

This was another one long in the works. The debug store was always a tricky concept to sell in this room. The original idea was we had a totally secret room that you had to buy to ‘discover’. You would not have been given any information other than this obscure looking upgrade slot. As you dropped your cash down you would have been slowly building a button on the command center controls. Well, the idea is still there but we make it a LOT clearer what is going in with the design of this upgrade, the tutorials and the actual in-game displays.  

Old



New



Boss 101 Screenshot

Putting the last touches on the Tank Battle Mini Game (Start Screen)

Wrap up and release date

We’re working on a release date announcement (sooner than later) and a final series of gameplay videos for your enjoyment as we head into the last part of development. It has been a LONG, long ride and no one wants this game in your hands as much as we do – TRUST US!

Realistically though – we will not put this game out there before we put our all into it. We’re right next to the finish line, the end is near but this is the time to keep a steady resolve to BRING YOU OUR BEST! You will be adventuring in Boss 101 soon people – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HANG IN THERE!

And….. remember to….. LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

Thank you!

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome to the Boss 101 update!

Hope your day is going well and thank you for checking in on us. Let’s get rolling shall we?

Mazard – the arcade game of Mazes and Wizards in Boss 101

We’ve been looking at some of the other arcade games you can play INSIDE Boss 101 and here is yet another. It’s Mazard and it continues in our theme of retro arcade action. We have some work in progress shots for you to look at.

The rules are simple – destroy all the aliens to survive. You have a maze, your gun and a bunch of bad guys to deal with. The problem is some of them are invisible but FEAR NOT! You have a radar to spy them out.

Check out this sample of the maze in action

Spoiler

Our hero going through some of his animations



The maze is a tough place and pretty unforgiving. Think you can get the high score? MAYBE YOU CAN! We will have to see when the game launches.

Another WIP of the Maze art



High Scores and Global Leader boards

So we know you might want to compare some of your rankings with OTHER friends. In addition to local high scores we have your friend’s leaderboard as well as the global leader boards for all the arcade game. CHECK IT!

Sample of the various leader boards (note, some scores are ridiculous for testing purposes)



Pet Hill Art Wrap up

One of the last things in Pet Hill was the addition of the various new and vacant signs to identify the pet friends you have and don’t have…



Good News Everyone – Options on every screen!

It’s likely this is more an expectation than an exception but we added the ability to access the options panel from near every screen in the game. We also added an insta-pause if your game was to lose focus. YAY!



Boss 101 Screenshot, Endless Boss Launch

The elevator ride to the Cosmic Clicks Rocket in Boss 101!

Thanks again for stopping by and thank you again for your support and letters! We appreciate it!

Remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

Thank you!

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome back and GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! The new gameplay video for Boss 101 is here!

Boss 101 December 2016 Gameplay Trailer

Let’s get straight to the good stuff shall we. This is the culmination of nearly three years of development efforts and we still can only show you a FRACTION of the game you will get. Check out the trailer here:

>>>DIRECT LINK to Boss 101 December 2016 Gameplay Video on YouTube<<<

What you are seeing is a broad look at many of the gameplay systems you will be dealing with in Boss 101. Not only do we have a fun story about friends and adventure but we put in a cool system to battle with robot baddies. You have hats, guns and abilities to upgrade and take into battle but the CRAZY PART is you can ROLL YOUR OWN BOSS. Sure, make who you want but then you will have to match him against your own abilities. Bosses are tough so plan carefully. You might get a boss that is strong against, say, a fire attack so you will want to avoid bringing your flamethrower. Basically, you will have to do a little research to bring YOUR best into the battle. Better battles mean more money for upgrades. Find more people and bring more friends back to the Command Center! EVERYONE WINS WITH MORE FRIENDS!!

Here are some stills from the video for your viewing enjoyment. Notice that BERL helps walk you through some of the more complicated moments.

Spoiler

More Videos on the way

We have a series of deep dive videos planned as we head towards release. Starting in the New Year we would like to highlight various aspects of the game and give you a better look at the systems and sections of the game. Things like stores, upgrades, characters, even PETS! Stay tuned for more as we head forward.



Boss 101 - BIG FAT RELEASE UPDATE!

Good news everyone! We’re going to talk about the upcoming Boss 101 release date, pricing and even the Boss 101 Soundtrack! YOU HEARD RIGHT!



Boss 101 Price Target - $9.99

Yep, that is what we are planning on selling Boss 101 for on Steam. Less than 10 bucks! A BARGAIN AT TWICE THE PRICE I SAY!

There are nuances in the reasoning for our price but the overriding factor was to hit a sweet spot which put Boss 101 in as many hands as possible AND give us financial breathing room to continue working on the Boss 101 franchise (i.e. Boss 102, 103, etc).

We thought long and hard about a higher price point and though we love to image a glorious deluge of purchases at ANY price we felt $9.99 was just the right amount of “wow” and value YOU NEEDED to want to buy Boss 101. You are getting a ton of our blood sweat and tears for that price but more than that – you are getting a ton of game entertainment! Check them dev blogs for evidence!

We have put everything in Boss 101 we felt was needed. The main storyline, equipment, stores, WIKI, mini-games, PET FRIENDS, collection, arcade action, gopher buddies, and THE JOKES!!! It’s all there and you get it for what we think is a great value. Ideally this price will bring you a lot of fun and ZERO regrets. Also – wouldn’t it be nice if you recommended Boss 101 after you played it too?!?! THANK YOU!!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Release Date News – or “When can I buy the gol-darn game?!?”

Let’s ease into this one first. As you know we are ENTIRELY self-funded. We didn’t do a Kickstarter nor are we being subsidized by any publisher or third party. That’s right folks – we’re what you might call INDEPENDENT! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

That said – we have only had one main commitment to Boss 101 and that is to make sure YOU get the most value for your money. That means putting our best into the game and making sure things are as amazing as we can make them. Many times this pushed the date out a little further but the end result is a MUCH better game. If we had stuck to the original release schedule we would have been in development for about six months and Boss 101 most likely would have been a glorified web game brought to Steam. Maybe that would have been enough for some developers but it was not enough for us.

We looked at Boss 101 as it was coming together and thought “We have something special happening here and with some more ‘oomph’ it could be VERY special.” So we put in the time and polished features. We added gameplay we felt we needed. We added in the story elements that helped fill in the universe we envisioned. Then we spent (and still are) a lot of time polishing.



It was NOT enough to just ‘make a game’ and put it on Steam. We want to bring you a game with fun, entertainment and a high content value. To that end we have been working hard and waiting till we felt we were close to talk about a final release date. Well, that day is finally here.

The target right now is the beginning of 2017. This would be ideally end of January or beginning of February. Yes, it might be a little saddening to hear the game won’t hit Christmas but check this out. We COULD have hit Christmas and probably given you a pretty decent Boss 101 game. After all – we are mostly polishing and tuning the game. The thing is we didn’t want to rush into a late November or December ship date and get buried under a mountain of gaming press for every release around that time. So we looked at the game, the calendar and decided we might as well keep the focus on polish and cleanup over the next month and wait till 2017.

So yes, we are on track for a release. Yes, we are only on polish and sound (more on that below) and YES we feel you will be getting our best effort which is WHAT YOU DESERVE! As always – we reserve the simple right to hold things while we tighten the needed bolts and fix the needed bugs. It’s important we bring you our top effort.

So, Boss 101 Release – Early 2017 with a rough target end of January or early February. We’re getting there folks and we will keep you posted regularly. If you have any doubts about the game or are wondering where all our time and money are going then please take a look at any of our devblogs. We have well over two years of TWICE weekly updates and you can pretty much see we aren’t sitting around.

YOU KNOW WE LOVE YOU!



Soundtrack for Boss 101 and Album info!

We have been quiet about the music for Boss 101 but that doesn’t mean we aren’t ACTIVE. We have been speaking with a CLASS A fellow named Martin Millar for over a year now. He has been in touch regularly, is supportive of Boss 101 AND a top notch composer.

Martin will be providing Boss 101 with a musical foundation. That will mean themes, background music and various tunes you will hear throughout the game. He’s a longtime composer with a ton of talent. Check out his work here:

Martin Millar on BandCamp

We’ll be posting samples of his work but in the meantime visit his site – really great work. Additionally we are working with Martin to create a Boss 101 album that you can purchase separately (if you so desire).

Store Update, NEW VIDEOS, SCREENSHOTS AND MORE!

Of course - expect some new videos about gameplay in the coming time leading to release. We are aiming for a new one before the end of the year and think you will enjoy it A LOT! After that we are planning more 'snapshot' videos which highlight various parts of the game - EXCITING!!!

Check out the ongoing update at our Steam Store!



Ok – onto the update!

VFX and More!

We are hammering away at VFX touchup and came across a great little utility called Geon FX for GameMaker. In short it is a standalone particle editor for GameMaker and it is VERY nice. For where we are in polish it really nice to be able to load and edit VFX tweaks. Let’s look at something we just fixed shall we.

Damage States for the Bosses

As you damage the bosses they show the damage externally. What this means for you is a set of sparks, smoke and flying debris. What we did was setup all the bosses with bones that would be used as 'damage bones'. When the player does enough damage the boss has a small chance to have a bone smoke, spark or something exciting.

Here's a sample of the early setup. You can see the bones are all lit up here. Mostly this was done as a sample so we could tell things are work..

First pass test of the VFX Bones



In Game sample



Here's a setup in Geon FX - this is where the smoke and VFX magic gets made!



Let's look at some samples of Smoke and Fire VFX for the bosses. ALL GOOD!!

Fire example 1 - sample from editor



Fire example 2 - sample from editor



Sample Explosion



Boss 101 Steam Store Page - please wishlist us!
Release Date: Early 2017
Price: $9.99 (look how much YOU get for UNDER TEN BUCKS!)

Happy Holidays to you, your family and friends!

OK – huge update and please enjoy the video. It was the true product of blood, sweat and tears and we did it not only for ourselves but we did it to bring YOU the Boss 101 experience. Hang around, wish list us on Steam if you would and we will keep counting down to the release date.

Wrapping up for today

OK - HUGE update - hope you enjoyed it and if you have any questions, drop us a line.

As always, we appreciate your support and look forward to bring you Boss 101. We hope you are looking forward to the release. It's happening folks!

Talk with you soon and remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!!!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

Thank you!

[BulletMagnet]

Good to see it all coming together; best of luck through the final stretch.

[Donley_Time]

Good to see it all coming together; best of luck through the final stretch.

Thanks so much. It's been a super long road but we are getting to the end. Appreciate the support!

-Tim

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Hello and welcome to the end of the year Boss 101 update!

Happy Holidays and thank you for your support!



>>>DIRECT LINK to Boss 101 December 2016 Gameplay Video on YouTube<<<

Spoiler

As we head into 2017 we want to thank you SO MUCH for the support you have given us over the last 2 plus years. We have been working to bring you our best and that has meant some delays but overall we feel it has been for the better. The new video is out, we are wrapping up the game and polishing and best of all you will be able to play Boss 101 soon for your self.

We always recommend you live your dreams. Boss 101 is no exception to that thought. We have been living our dreams for nearly three years and with the release on Boss 101 we are hoping that YOUR KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY will help us continue that dream. We made this game for YOU, we made this game for US. Most of all we made Boss 101 to entertain.

Boss 101 Info Roundup

Release Date: Early 2017
Planned Price: $9.99
Boss 101 Steam Store Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920
Boss 101 December Gameplay Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMQ1CrYeac
Please wishlist us if you would be so kind!

Upcoming videos

Starting in January we will be doing a series of videos (ideally weekly) to highlight some of the main features of Boss 101 you might be interested in. Things like the various stores in the game, upgrades and weapons. These will be short animated looks with BERL as your guide. If you are wondering how things look in action then get ready to see a LOT MORE of Boss 101 in action.

Some progress from the last year

Weapon Madness

Check out the crazy weapons you will have access to!

Wrenches


Throwing Weapons


Bows


Picnics on a hill with friends!



ROBs house of awesome deals!



Hat store!



Mister Squirrel - can you find BERL’s old friend in the Command Center?



Don’t forget the game is MEGA-configurable!



Weather too!



Boss 101 has his own problems!



When life gets you down head to Pet Hill and find a pet buddy to hang with!



OK folks - there is more to come and MANY more looks at the game. We hope you have had a chance to check out the latest gameplay video and if you haven’t HEAD ON OVER THE YOUTUBE LINK!

We will see you NEXT weekend and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!

Take care, have a great holiday and remember to ALWAYS - live your DREAMS!

-Tim

Please put Boss 101 on your Steam Wishlist us if you would be so kind

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920

>>>Link to Boss 101 December 2016 Gameplay Video on YouTube<<<

Thank you!

[Shepardus]

$9.99 is a steal, looking forward to the launch!

Are you planning on releasing the game on any sites other than Steam? I don't really mind Steam but I prefer getting my games on GOG, Humble Store, or other DRM-free sites if possible, and some people here are a lot more picky about it than me.

[Donley_Time]

$9.99 is a steal, looking forward to the launch!

Are you planning on releasing the game on any sites other than Steam? I don't really mind Steam but I prefer getting my games on GOG, Humble Store, or other DRM-free sites if possible, and some people here are a lot more picky about it than me.

Awesome! Thanks for the kind words!

We are mos-def considering other platforms that are DRM-free. At the moment though - we are heading towards Steam first. The deal here is we are laser focused on finishing up the game and once that is done (and released on Steam) we will be looking at other platforms (including consoles) and other languages too!

For now though - yeah, it's Steam.

-Tim

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Thank you for joining us here again in the new year – THE YEAR OF BOSS 101! Yes folks, we intend to get Boss 101 in your hands as soon as possible THIS VERY YEAR!

Boss 101 not only will have the action on high but there will be the HUMAN element. We are telling you the story of two buddies who not only come together to save the galaxy but who also learn a lot about friends, family and how much they mean.

YOU will be part of that family. You get the experience this from the ground floor up. We put you in their life and you can walk the walk. We always say to live your dreams and it may be a corny line but it’s the truest one we can think of. It means to reach for your dreams, work on on your dreams and then make them real. The point is the EFFORT you put into something determines the worth. We’re putting everything we can into Boss 101 and leaving nothing on the table.

One nice thing is YOU directly benefit. You get our best! OUR VERY BEST!

Ok – onto the update and a new announcement about the coming plans as we head closer to the release.

Spoiler

Boss 101 Info Roundup

Release Date: Early 2017
Planned Price: $9.99
Boss 101 Steam Store Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920
Boss 101 December Gameplay Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMQ1CrYeac
Please wishlist us if you would be so kind!


Video Updates



We already spoke with BERL and we also gave him a new position at the Donley Time Foundation. He’s our inteocution Ambassor for the video series we will be presenting to you. We are going to be making short lips with BERL to highlight parts of the game and give you a clear understanding of the landscape you will be playing in.

Berl in Rob’s Room



Berl in his charger in Rob’s Room (closeup)



Like in the December Gameplay video – we will have BERL ‘host’ the videos and tell you what he knows about the various systems. Of course BERL may be a LITTLE rusty about some of the places in the Command Center but he’s REALLY good at improvisation!



Some topics BERL will cover:

Topic: The weapons and guns in Boss 101





Topic: The galaxy YOU explore!



Topic: HATS! All you need to know!

Topics: Pets – your buddies!





Boss 101 Screenshot

Hammering away on game tunes! Hope your holidays are awesome!



And much much more!! Stay tuned and we will talk with you soon…. As always….

Remember to LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

-Tim

Boss 101 Info Roundup
Release Date: Early 2017
Planned Price: $9.99
Boss 101 Steam Store Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920
Boss 101 December Gameplay Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMQ1CrYeac
Please wishlist us if you would be so kind!

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome back to the Boss 101 Update and thank you for joining us!

Today we are starting up the VIDEO series for the game. These are all hosted by BERL and the first one is a basic intro to the Command Center. We will be diving into many aspects of the game from here on out so keep your eyes peeled for things like guns, hats, upgrades, the map room and the Make A Boss among other things.

Lots to cover so let’s get to it! The first video is up on YouTube right here. Check it out!

>>> DIRECT LINK TO THE BOSS 101 Video Series - Chapter 1 - The Command Center <<<

Spoiler

Some images from the video!







Boss 101 Screenshot



Cash collecting at the end of a hard round! YOU EARNED IT BUDDY!

Boss 101 Info Roundup

Release Date: Early 2017
Planned Price: $9.99
Boss 101 Steam Store Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920
Boss 101 December Gameplay Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMQ1CrYeac
Please wishlist us if you would be so kind!

So check this out – for the next set of updates we will be exploring the game and the various systems with videos. The idea is to give you a good look at some of the FUN things you will be doing as well as answer questions about how things work in Boss 101.

So keep coming back and check out the latest as we go. We promise to keep it interesting. If you have any ideas or suggestions we welcome them! Feel free to comment or reply below.

We appreciate your support and enthusiasm for Boss 101. It means a lot to get your comments, emails and feedback. As always, be yourself, believe in yourself and….

… LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

Talk with you soon!

-Tim

[Hoagtech]

That game looks awesome.

I love the pixel art man.

I'm looking forward to your steam release

[Donley_Time]

That game looks awesome.

I love the pixel art man.

I'm looking forward to your steam release

Thank you!!! Appreciate the support and we're working hard to bring you our best. The goal is to give you a high value game at the best possible price!

Keep checking back - we do regular updates here and on our Steam Store page.

Best,

-Tim

[Donley_Time]

***ALERT! Images in thread except for the latest post has been put inside spoiler tags for faster loading. Remember to uncheck them when you read!***

Welcome back to the Boss 101 Update and thank you for joining us!

The video series with BERL continues! These are all hosted by BERL and this one covers the guns store including some off the beaten path looks at guns not on the regular tour!

Lots to cover so let’s get to it! The video is up on YouTube right here. Check it out!

>>> DIRECT LINK TO THE BOSS 101 Video Series - Chapter 2 - The Gun Store <<<

Some images from the video!







Boss 101 Info Roundup

Release Date: Early 2017
Planned Price: $9.99
Boss 101 Steam Store Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/380920
Boss 101 December Gameplay Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMQ1CrYeac
Please wishlist us if you would be so kind!

Up next are the Command Center Map Room, the Upgrade room, the Hast Store and the Make a Boss! (and some more!). So keep checking back and check out the latest. If you have any ideas or suggestions we welcome them! Feel free to comment or reply below.

We appreciate your support and enthusiasm for Boss 101. As we work on the final stages we are COMMITTED to bringing you the best game we can. As always....

… LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

Talk with you soon!

-Tim