Tomorrow will be 2017 so it’s a good time to reflect on the year 2016.
2016 was a good year for us. While Ayo the Clown has been in development for a couple years already, we really hit quite a few milestones this year. Due to everyone’s hard work, a lot of progress were made for the game on all fronts. Also by attending more conventions and events, we were able to forge new friendships with fellow indie developers and being inspired by all the amazing work being done out there. Additionally, we had received some recognition and exposure thanks to all the friends in the indie game community. However, 2016 went by way too fast, there’s still a lot left to do but we’ll still be working diligently to perfect our labor of love which is Ayo the Clown in 2017.
Some highlights of 2016:
PAX East 2016 was quite an eye opener. We were so glad that we were able to make it. And prepare a special version of a fully playable demo in a very short time span. We also got a lot out of it by meeting with developers and players. While it was exhausting but we’d definitely try to go again.
Presentation at Demo and Play by Google. Thanks to Playcrafting for arranging us to present at Google’s special event. It was an exhilarating experience and not only we had received a great response we also had made many friends at the demo.
Winner of Best Art Direction at Gameacon. Halloween weekend was a busy time for us. We had 3 events to go, all on the same day, Kickstarter Ghost Arcade, Playcrafting Halloween Expo and Gameacon in Atlantic City. Thankfully we were able to pull it off. We spared no expense on the candies and it worked. Everyone had a great time at each event but the biggest gain was the Best Art Direction crystal award in Atlantic City hosted by Gameacon. We’re really glad that our hard work was recognized and it really meant a lot to us. Our first ever award, thank you Gameacon!
Nominated for Best PC/Console and Best Style for Playcrafting Bit Awards. Near the end of the year, we were surprised to find out that we were nominated for two categories in Playcrafting’s Bit Awards. It was such a great honor to be listed alongside of other great nominees. While we didn’t take any awards home that night but we already considered the nominations a huge win for the year. Playcrafting also put on a real great award show to close off the year, we all had an awesome time.
It’s also important to mention the progress we had made on the game this year:
New features and stages on the demo. Ayo the Clown is a big game and will still take some time to complete. However we can’t wait to share it with the world so we keep improving our playable demo. Throughout the year we kept adding and tweaking the playable demo which kept players busy. We’re very proud of this vertical slice of the game that we are making and there will be more updates to come.
Finalized style and design for many worlds, stages and enemies. Just a year ago a lot of Ayo the Clown world were just in concept stage. However we were able to lock down many design decisions in this year. Finally solidify what the game is going to be from start to finish, in detail.
There are still a lot to be done but with the progress we made this year, we are more confident than ever that we will hit our delivery date, or very close to it.
While we hit many milestones this year, we also realized the risks that might impede our progress. That is also why we also prepared a Kickstarter campaign. Set to launch in January 10, 2017. Hopefully it will get us in a more comfortable position where we’d be able to add even more features to the game. Everyone here worked very hard to get the campaign going, please come check it out when it’s ready and we hope you’ll enjoy all the content we put on there. More information on the Kickstarter campaign to come in our next updates.
A lot was achieved in 2016 and we’re very happy to be where we are right now, thanks to everyone. Lastly, to our family and friends out there, you really made this year for us.
Goodbye 2016, hello 2017!