Emberglass

Devlog

• New bug fixes in the next few months
  September 01, 2023 by Riddle Fox Games

  I noticed on M2 macs this runs weirdly fast, it seems to be ignoring the vsync (even though on M1's it used vsync just fine). I have a solution for that, and several smaller bug fixes for windows mach... Continue reading
• Bug fixes for Windows coming soon
  February 17, 2022 by Riddle Fox Games

  Okay, man, finally having a windows machine of my own was very eye opening here. This game is fine on OSX, runs milky smooth without issue. On Windows? Yikes. Nice thing is, I can fix most of it. I've... Continue reading
• Updates coming up in a few weeks...
  February 21, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games

  I'm going to add in a manual pretty soon with the download (and maybe a way of launching it from inside the game itself in the options menu). The manual will be pdf, and printable so it looks like an... Continue reading
• Steam is an absolute nightmare to use
  February 10, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games

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  I kind of wish everyone would just use itch instead of Steam. It's a nightmare to use, it's expensive, and really the only thing it adds to the experience is their whole achievements system. Personall... Continue reading
• A post mortem for Emberglass
  February 08, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games#metriodvania, #postmortem

  And here we are now, a month after launch on itch. I've been working hard on getting the steam version ready, too. Learning how to do steam achievements in Love2d (which is interesting!). I am toying... Continue reading
• Trailer is uploaded!
  January 14, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games#game trailer, #metriodvania, #full game, #zelda, #ico

  Nothing special, just some gameplay, to give you an idea on how it runs. Later, I'll be doing a short postmortem, where I talk about the game, what it was like working on it for a year, what went righ... Continue reading
• And the game is LIVE for purchase. 4.99$ for a week, than back up to 5.99$
  January 13, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games

  It's been a crazy year, but here we are. The game is launched and up for sale... Continue reading
• Redid main page
  January 13, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games

  I think it looks nicer! I still need to add a new trailer. Will hopefully do that soon, but I might actually launch the game before the trailer. In fact, I might do it today... Continue reading
• IT IS DONE.
  January 10, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games

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  Emberglass is DONE. Well, for the most part. I need to test play it from start to finish with several paths, and I have to create an icon. But it's basically done. DONE. The last map, the end scene, a... Continue reading
• Price points...
  January 08, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games

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  After going back and forth on various price points, keeping in mind the low fi look and the length of the gameplay, I finally settled on 5.99$ USD as the final price for the game. I think the first we... Continue reading
• Working on that last map
  January 08, 2021 by Riddle Fox Games

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  This might take a bit. I want the final area to test the player, not just in skill and etc, but also in lateral thinking and puzzle solving. I'm adding in a pacifist route to the game, that will make... Continue reading

  
• Official Release Date: January 20, 2021
  December 30, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So I looked at my notes last year, and I saw that I started this project exactly on January 20, 2020. So I've decided to mark the one year anniversary as the official release date on Itch (and maybe... Continue reading
• OH NO RUN
  December 27, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  just some random boss battle art... Continue reading

  
• Bosses are done. For the most part
  December 27, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Bosses are done, for the most part. I need to get fresh eyes to play them, just so I can tweak their difficulty. I want them to be hard, but at the right level. I want players to think their ways thro... Continue reading

  
• So close!
  December 26, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  I'm hoping I can get this done around next weekend! I am so close. I just need to finish the bosses, add maybe two enemies, and then do the ending animation sequence and that's it. That's it! I have t... Continue reading
• Added a new item, worked on the bosses
  December 04, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  I realized today that it would be cool to add two new items to the game, now I'm just figuring out where to put them. They're pretty simple in idea, but can open more areas in interesting ways. One wa... Continue reading
• Streamlined the start of the game, added two new maps
  November 03, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So, I changed what items you find right away in the start of the game (when the player wakes up between the standing stones). It went from being a boomerang bone and a bow and arrow, to being a boomer... Continue reading
• Spent the morning working on maps, fixing bugs
  October 26, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Spent most of this morning working on maps, fixing some screen transition bugs (dealing with x and y offsets so that the screens match up when you move bettween them on maps that are larger/smaller th... Continue reading
• Took a month off working on this, returning now...
  October 22, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Took about a month off from working on Emerglass, mostly to finish edits on that novel I've got coming out next year, but also to work some bit on my other video game projects. One thing I've learned... Continue reading
• Did some beta testing today...
  September 29, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  And before I realized it, an hour went by and I was absorbed in the game, still. What fun! Even though I knew where everything was, and how to get to it, and etc, I still found it challenging and a bl... Continue reading
• Fixed some bugs
  September 17, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Fixed some pretty big bugs that have been bugging me for awhile. Def would make the game less polished and slick, so there's are solved. Funny how easy they were to fix, too. I kept putting it off bec... Continue reading
• Added a speedrun counter
  September 11, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Another quick change, added a savable speedrun counter that can be toggled on and off. It's off by default, but if you want to use it and have it display your time as you play, BWAM it's right there... Continue reading
• Cross fading between map transitions...
  September 11, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#polish, #late game additions

  Spent about an hour this morning adding in a cross fade between map transitions. It's a small thing, but I think it adds a bit of polish. Originally I was going to make a swipe transition, or maybe so... Continue reading
• Added support for Switch Pro controllers
  September 06, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  Okay, I just added Switch Pro Controller support, as well as the 8bitdo variants that appear as Switch Pro Controllers. It's nice, and actually is my favorite way to play the game right now. I have an... Continue reading
• Working on a new boss...
  August 23, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Might take a few days to maybe a week to get this exactly right. Right now it's in the planning stages, and I hope I can pull this idea off. So, the basic plan is based around how you can run around a... Continue reading
• Random thoughts on level design, maps, and art (and artiface)
  August 21, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Something I noticed and learned while working on Emberglass... About halfway through development, I noticed that I was starting to approach maps and level building in a completely different way than I... Continue reading
• Done two maps...
  August 17, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  But the next two are going to take a bit longer. Maybe a week for these, these are large maps. I did the smaller two this morning, and it was good to get them done! Anyway, after the next longer maps... Continue reading
• At the tomb of the Hollow Prince
  August 14, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#platformer, #pixel art, #metriodvania

  Just finished the tomb of the Hollow Prince and holy crap, I've got four more maps to do and two bosses (as well as a secret level) and then that's it, I'm done. Wow... Continue reading

  
• Working on the underground maps...
  August 13, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#maps, #level design, #atmosphere

  It's pretty cool, I like the light filtering through above, it gives this section a nice bit of atmosphere. It's going to be a pretty hectic area, I just finished adding thorny bushes and vines, and I... Continue reading

  
• Some more workity work
  August 12, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#gravity, #physics, #page update, #theme

  Worked some more on the light shafts coming in from underground- I made it so there are two layers of them now, each running at a slightly different speed (but faster than the player). This gives it a... Continue reading
• Spent the morning fixing wonky stuff
  August 05, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Found a bug that bothered me to no end- but was able to fix it before work this morning, and that made me happy. Basically, enemy projectiles were forcing collision detection with other enemies, forci... Continue reading
• Working on the next area...lots of new art
  August 04, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  So my third to last area I'm working on now requires a bit of new art, and also some new functionality in this game engine. This part is called The Tomb of the Hollow Prince, and I picture it being sl... Continue reading
• Controls controls controls
  July 30, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So after playing it on several different controls, I'm rethinking the gamepad mapping. Originally I wanted something very Genisis/Megadrive, with a three button control scheme that would just be A, B,... Continue reading
• Fixed up some maps, moved around some items...
  July 25, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#dev, #bugs, #mapping, #items, #gameplay, #puzzle, #exploration, #metroidvania

  Today was mostly cleanup. I fixed up some minor errors on some maps, and then I moved some of the items about. There are two kinds of items in the game- "debris" which is randomly placed about and can... Continue reading
• Added two new minor enemies...
  July 22, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  One of them even likes to hide and throw skulls at your head, that wily bastard. I need to do some more maps, and then after that probably updating the code. I also did some error fixes on the full sc... Continue reading
• The itch page updated slightly...
  July 21, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  And took a backseat to fixing some bugs. I redid the screenshots so they're all current now, updated the blurb text a bit. Next I have to create a better background and banner for it, and then I think... Continue reading

  
• Going to spend sometime this weekend updating the itch page
  July 18, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  It looks kind of bland, I need to spruce it up, get rid of old screenshots from the start of the project, and hopefully create a newer, better video showing off the gameplay that fixes a lot of errors... Continue reading
• The skybox effect and changing of the hours
  July 14, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#pixel art, #platformer, #skybox, #night day cycle, #weather effects

  One of the things I really wanted to do with this game was a have a really cool night and day cycle. I've worked on them before, and I know the basics (slowly fade in a night overlay to get towards ni... Continue reading

  
• The jam is done! Back to the wonderful folkloric world of Emberglass...
  July 12, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  The jam was so much fun, and my kids had a blast. We made a game that's a lot of fun for us to play, it's pretty much for us and only us, but worked well for the jam. Now that it's done, it's back to... Continue reading
• Next week- taking a break from Emberglass
  July 02, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Me and my kids are doing a retro game jam, and it's going to be a blast. So during that week we'll be working on that game and pretty much nothing else but that game. After that? Returning to Embergl... Continue reading
• Messing around with how flying plays
  June 27, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  #game design, #metriodvania, #game feel, #controller, #visual feedback

  My first idea was more like a hover kind of thing, so that it would be easier to cross larger areas that you couldn't jump/make a platform/vine across. But, that just felt and looked kind of weird. I... Continue reading
• Didn't get any sleep last night, really...
  June 25, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#sleepless coding, #wings!

  So around 5am I decided to put these restless hours to good use and work some more on Emberglass. I fixed a few maps that were bugging me, and then I added in a new item. Now you can find magical wing... Continue reading

  
• Giphy capture and Kaps not working on my Mac...
  June 25, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Fun times. My Mac is my dev machine, and right now neither of the video capture tools are working with the latest OSX (Catelina). I was going to take a new video, maybe make it into a gif, showing off... Continue reading
• Clean up, adding some flavor text to the start of the game...
  June 22, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Mostly did some code clean up, refactoring and such, so that I can eventually take the tools, functions, and libraries I built for this game and use them elsewhere. Maybe in a future JRPG style game,... Continue reading
• blergh
  June 19, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So I have to admit, I was depressed for a week or so there. I was watching some up and coming indie trailers on a few popular youtube shows, and I noticed that a few of them had magic spells or items... Continue reading
• Added healing spas...
  June 13, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  I decided to add two healing spas in the game, they work kind of like the faerie ponds in the first Zelda game, where you're healed completely. Consider these moments of respite during all the fun fun... Continue reading

  
• A day fixing gamepad issues...
  June 07, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  I got a few new controllers today to test some stuff out. I've already tested it out on a PS3 controller, and now I was able to check it out on a 8BitDo Genesis style controller and an Xbox controller... Continue reading
• Added three new rooms/maps, and tweaked some stuff and fixed a few outstanding bugs
  June 02, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#bug fixing, #gravity, #ground

  The last few days I've been adding some new areas, but the engine itself being mostly done, did not have to add any new functionality. I know in the next few weeks I will have to add some new function... Continue reading
• Tweaking, bugfixing, tweaking some more
  May 28, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#gamedev, #metriodvania, #zeldalike, #exploration, #platformer

  Last few days have been mostly bugfixing and tweaking some small things here and there to get it to move right and feel good. I think that's important for a platformer- to have smooth 60fps response t... Continue reading
• Fixing up Vine Issues
  May 25, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  #vines, #love2d, #lua, #pixelart, #gamedev, #open world

  Last few days has me fixing up some unseen issues that were introduced while adding the vine grow functions, as well as cleaning up some issues with the vine grow itself. Originally I just had it so y... Continue reading
• Wand that grows vines that you can climb
  May 22, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So I added something I've been wanting to put into a game since forever. Back in my dev days at university (25 years ago, yikes!) I wanted to make a puzzle adventure game where you could grow vines an... Continue reading

  
• Some of that enemy art...
  May 18, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  The one looks like a cross between a Bauer troll and a mystic from the Dark Crystal. The other is a bat, lol. There are two kinds of trolls, collecting different bones and that sort of thing... Continue reading

  
• Enemies, enemies, enemies
  May 18, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Each new area of the game I try and do at least two to three new enemies that are completely unique to that area. I try and give them unique strategies, something simple but fun and interesting to pla... Continue reading
• Working on the forest of sleeping gods
  May 14, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Finalized some pixel art, and now working on the new sections. I still have a bit more pixel art to do (going to have large thorn bushes that require the ghost shield to pass through safely). Also nee... Continue reading

  
• After coding the boss, took the weekend off
  May 11, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Getting that boss to work and act exactly as I pictured it in my head took a bit of work, but it paid off. I think the fun part is, until you figure out how to beat her (it is a bit of a puzzle), it's... Continue reading
• Just finished working on a boss
  May 08, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  I would say first boss of the game, but since they can be done out of order, that's not really the case, is it? Hah. it's a bit of a thinking man's boss, a bit of a puzzle. I won't say what the soluti... Continue reading
• Some of that new pixel art...
  May 05, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  I still have a lot more to do... A lot more... Continue reading

  
• Taking a break from level design and coding to do pixel art
  May 04, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  Next few days should be pixel art only days. I'm not happy with a few things (none of the screenshots show these parts), so I need to clean them up a bit and look nice. They're larger pieces of pixel... Continue reading
• Tweaking tweaking
  May 03, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Spent the day tweaking small bits of code and fixing minor errors and bugs that aren't a huge deal, but add some polish to the whole thing. The main tweaks were with controls and how standing on arrow... Continue reading
• Debug Mode
  May 01, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#debug, #coding, #tools

  So, about 1/2 way through building the engine I decided to add in a debug mode, and it was probably the best thing I created so far, as far as helper tools are considered. What is this mess, in debug... Continue reading

  
• Added a short 7 minute gameplay video
  April 29, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Nothing huge, mind you. But it does have the fog roll in at some point, and slowly descends into evening as I play, so it does show off a few features here and there... Continue reading
• The Hundred Ghost Tree
  April 29, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#verticality, #platforming, #secrets, #ghosts

  Most of yesterday and this morning I worked on an area I'm calling the Hundred Ghost Tree. It's another area that was kind of grown organically, I know that I wanted to have the second room to the lef... Continue reading

  
• Old and new art
  April 27, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  #pixel art, #old and new, #game design, #tiled, #love2d, #lua, #aseprite

  I was looking through the old art, back when I started this game around February. The engine was still coming along, and I was working out what it was going to be like and how it was going to work. Th... Continue reading

  
• Brief talk about how I'm using TileD
  April 24, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  One of the nice thing about TileD is it's versatility through simplicity. It doesn't try and tell you how to build your levels or designs, it doesn't give you a premade system to use and then try and... Continue reading
• More mapping and adding some atmospheric details...
  April 22, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  #TileD, #levels, #maps, #tools, #editing

  Most of the last few days were just making maps, laying down enemies and items, and not much else. I did a little bit of coding, mostly tweaking some of the controls, adding some atmospheric details... Continue reading

  
• Maps maps maps maps
  April 16, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Spent the last few days working primarily on maps and nothing else but maps. I got a few more screens done, and I think I only have about three more maps and a boss battle to do for this area. Origina... Continue reading

  
• Other people using iterative designs...
  April 14, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#puzzle design, #game design, #ico, #jonathan blow, #iterative design

  I don't know if they call it that or what, but I love reading on how other people approach game design. I've been watching a few youtube videos and reading some old blogs posts, and it looks like a lo... Continue reading
• The art of visual storytelling and subtle gameplay instruction
  April 13, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  #game design, #design by subtraction, #gameplay through inference

  One of the things I wanted to do with this game was go for an extreme minimalism, or as the director of Ico called it: game design by subtraction. There were several reasons for this, the primary one... Continue reading

  
• Light eaters and the Labyrinth of the Blind Witch
  April 10, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#metriodvania, #platforming, #lights, #incremental development, #boss battle, #shadows

  Some more fun with incremental design! So, one thing I've been wanting to do was create these enemies I called living shadows. The original plan is for them to sap the light from your lamp, making yo... Continue reading

  
• A day of mapping, vertical jumping, and arrows as platforms
  April 09, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#mapping, #arrow platforms, #platforming, #level design

  So, yeah, almost all of the work today was on a single map. It's a doozy of a map, right before you get to the boss in this area (The Garden of the Mushroom Duchess), and I wanted to make it a little... Continue reading

  
• Randomish
  April 07, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Those screenshots don't have anything exactly to do with this post, other than the second one showing off some of the random weather effects? The first one is just exploring the Rootworld Ruins, and I... Continue reading

  
• Brittle Bridges go Kaboom
  April 06, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So last night I stayed up way too late implementing a feature my kids have been asking for...ever since I added debris falling from bridges when you walk across them. They said repeatedly, "this needs... Continue reading
• Quick Update-
  April 05, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  Just added a better preview of gameplay- I found out that OSX (for some reason) was locking down the interior audio, and forcing it to require the mic to record from the speakers. A quick download lat... Continue reading
• Ghosts, haunted bones, more on incremental design
  April 04, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  So here's a good example on the way I'm building this game, and why approaching the design in an incremental fashion is both agile and flexible and really works with how my creativity works. It can le... Continue reading

  
• Maps and enemies and new items
  April 03, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So, I was up late last night and then woke up crazy early this morning, and while I was unable to sleep I worked on adding some new enemies, a few new maps (the area known as the Garden of the Duchess... Continue reading

  
• Worked on some pixel art for the sections that need ruins
  April 02, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  That was most of today, just doing pixel art for the section that need crumbling ruins. It was nice, these came together quickly and look really well. I did a few maps using them, but I need to tweak... Continue reading

  
• Some notes on the end game...
  March 31, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So, I've been thinking that if you go right through without taking any side quests, searching out secrets, or getting 100% completion, the game is probably going to be about 8-10 hours in length. The... Continue reading
• A second day of tweaking...
  March 31, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  That's right, another day of tweaks. Most fixing small bugs I'd known about, had a plan to fix, and so I could just type it in, test it and go. The fixes worked right away, without any issue at all wh... Continue reading
• A day of tweaking little things
  March 30, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

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  I was originally going to work on a few new maps today, as well as do art for some ruins and some of the other new areas/sections/biomes/what have you, but after the work I'd done yesterday, I felt li... Continue reading
• Of Spiders and Incremental Development
  March 29, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So, this was basically what I was going to write about yesterday, before I went on a super killer big quest of infinite unravelling. A few days ago I was working on new enemies, mostly for the first... Continue reading
• Bugs bugs bugs bugs bugs bugs
  March 28, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games#bug squising, #new features

  So, originally I was going to write about the in game spiders, happy accidents, and using an unforeseen bug to create really cool and interesting gameplay mechanics. And then, this morning happened, a... Continue reading

  
• Uploaded video of first two minutes of Gameplay
  March 27, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  So check the main page for the game to see that. Apologies for the audio! The game itself is not that shrill and tinny, but Kam for some reason wanted to record audio through my microphone, and it jus... Continue reading
• The game thus far...
  March 27, 2020 by Riddle Fox Games

  I've been working on this game for about three months or so now, off and on, picking at a little each day. I'm finding it a joy to create, and the simplicity of it is keeping it from spiraling out of... Continue reading