Hurdles and Grandpas Don't Mix

Hey, all! Did anything exciting happen in your lives during our suspicious hibernation? Because we had something weird happen around that time, and it caused a SUSPICIOUS HIBERNATION. So, let's bring you up to date. This news might be interesting to you, it ends well, and it is unlikely to cause the same cataclysmic soporific event in you that it did in us, so you can relax, yeah? Sweet, here we go...

Tasty Tasty Grandpa was close to being finished, and we submitted a preliminary version to Apple, ready for approval, blessing, and a mighty celebration involving never-ending chocolate fountains and potential heart palpitations. Silence followed. More silence followed that. Then we received a foreboding message that our 'app has gone into extended review'. We joked to ourselves that "maybe they're carrying our game up Apple Mountain to show the Apple Gods themselves its sheer beauty and wondrous fun...?" but we weren't fooling anybody. We suspected something was wrong. And we were right...

Yup, the app was rejected. REJECTED! And rightly so; we'd broken a very clear rule that was laid out by Apple from the get-go: 'no violence against children'. It really should have been clear to us that having a baby EAT AN ENTIRE TODDLER would actually count as 'violence against children', no matter how cute and cartoony it looks. So, like, that was a MAJOR whoops on our part. The wind left our sails, the despondency kicked in, and things ground to a near-halt. But they're grinding up again, because you can't keep a reincarnating Grandpa down for long!

Long story short(ish), we have a solution, we're getting it ready to show Apple again, and we're preparing our hiking boots to take it right up Apple Mountain ourselves. Hoorah!

We'll update here with our progress as it happens, but we thought it was time to get word out that Grandpa has lifted his weary bones from the floor, pushed himself up with his trusty cane, and he's ready to walk the stage, right to the final scene.

Prepare the chocolate fountains and CPR machines.

Grandpa... slowly... approaches...!

It's on! Though we've been quiet, we've been continually working on Tasty Tasty Grandpa since our new programmer, Keir, came on board. We're like a scream that's been building from a whisper. And we're so looking forward to screaming soon!

Here's where we're at: with the Pozible crowdfunding money (thanks heaps, you awesome backers!), we hired Keir to program the game. We're all working together, adding touches of code, art, design, and sound, like we're making some kind of magical soup that keeps getting more magical. Prototypes are happening, and it won't be long before we can launch our early beta builds on the select, awesome backers and other select folk (also awesome).

Things are happening quickly. We'll have a fully playable, fully excellent vertical slice build to show off at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March. Then not long after that, we'll release the finished game. RELEASE THE FINISHED GAME! Don't worry about setting reminders or anything... you'll hear our joyful screams from every point on Earth. For now, we've got a bunch more tasks, scrawled on tiny squares of paper, to get done. And we're excited!

Pens down! 

The campaign is done, and the news is sweet! 89 of the world's finest people gave us money to help us make Tasty Tasty Grandpa a reality, and for them we say a massive THANK YOU! We exceeded our $5000 goal, ultimately basking in the warm and mighty generous glow of $6511. Yeeehaaaar!

So what happens now? A few things simultaneously, actually. We start getting all the rewards out to our backers. We start looking for the perfect programmer who we can now pay (YES!) to help us finish our game. And we fire up the great Grandpa production machine to full heat and slam through our tasks to get this game into YOUR EAGER LIL' HANDS! It'll be a few months away yet, but thanks to you all, it won't be infinite months away. YOUZ IS AWESOME!

BEHOLD THE FINE FINE EIGHTY NINE!

TRENT kusters BIG rick MARK serrels DEREK proud TROY mitchell JENN sandercock PAUL callaghan GERRI mills MEREDITH tucker-evans NATHAN thomas SIMON bachelier TYSHAN carey PETER wayne JOYCE hwang JORDI fine DEAN natov BEN britten CLINTON shepherd LAURA van dyk SHU SHU zheng DREW taylor ROB caporetto GISELLE rosman ANDI spark ERIC hemal akmeemana ROBERT gallo DAVID woodman MICHELLE van dyk CHRISTOPHER hawkins ELROY el BEN mckenzie SARAH jansen MICHAEL davies NEIL fillingham ANDREA fillingham DOROTHY duturbure MATT curtis BRENDAN bottomley HELEN stuckey JOSHUA mapleston AARON dunton ALEX hutchinson JAMES filippone STEVE fillingham GERALD poon AMANDA kool JEFF brasket TIM rogers STEVE spangaro BRAD giblin DEREK elliot GOATi outsourcing BROOKE hodgman JEREMY kool STEVE duda FRED milgrom NICK grodzicki RUSSELL dilley CHEN-PO sun ANON ymous DANIELA palstra GREG palstra ENTER audio ANTHONY hayes DANNY mcgillick CRISPY brown NATALYA pemberton DENNIS mills ALSO anonymous BLAKE mizzi STU campbell BARKUS francis JOANNE haddon BEN pfarrer RUSSELL ashdown PETER madden RAHNI tucker ADAM rippon MARK morrison MELINDA chapman BEN crossman BRODIE court CLAUDIO gallo DAVID macminn ANTHONY o'dempsey PAUL green CRAIG peebles PASCAL stang HILARY armstrong LEENA van deventer JASON bakker KATE millett

And special thanks to Pozible for their support and their magical portal and to Freeplay Independent Games Festival for helping promote us. And to EVERYONE who retweeted, reFacebooked, re-emailed, and spread the word far and wide!

Target hit! Target hit!

Yesterday, 7 days remaining on the campaign clock, the magic happened. BOOM -- we hit the crucial target for our project's funding! Which means... we get the funding! WE GET THE FUNDING! You people are awesome! Thanks so much for supporting our project! We're holding off full celebrations until the campaign has come to a full stop, but for now, know that we're crazy happy with this and with you!

There are now 6 days left on the clock, and it turns out that we're already 1/4 of the way towards achieving the $2500 we need to hit our NEXT goal! THIS PROJECT IS STILL SEARING HOT! So yes, all lines are still open to help fund the project and help us hit our stretch goals. If you've been thinking about throwing in some lovin', we will be happy and also covered in lovin'. The more funds we get, the more content and polish the game will have, and the better THE WHOLE WORLD will be all round. You can pledge here!

So that's where we're at. If this were Toy Story, we'd be Buzz and Woody, clinging to the little car, after having lit our rocket. We're soaring, we're happy, we're a bit terrified... and we're overshooting the removal truck where we were originally headed... "We missed the truck!" screams Woody. "We're not aiming for the truck," replies Buzz, eyes on the sweet sweet sunroof ahead. 

AN UPDATED LIST OF AWESOME PEOPLE (NOW WITH MORE AWESOME):

(these folks are helping make our game a reality!)

TRENT kusters BIG rick MARK serrels DEREK proud TROY mitchell JENN sandercock PAUL callaghan GERRI mills MEREDITH tucker-evans NATHAN thomas SIMON bachelier TYSHAN carey PETER wayne JOYCE hwang JORDI fine DEAN natov BEN britten CLINTON shepherd LAURA van dyk SHU SHU zheng DREW taylor ROB caporetto GISELLE rosman ANDI spark ERIC hemal akmeemana ROBERT gallo DAVID woodman MICHELLE van dyk CHRISTOPHER hawkins ELROY el BEN mckenzie SARAH jansen MICHAEL davies NEIL fillingham ANDREA fillingham DOROTHY duturbure MATT curtis BRENDAN bottomley HELEN stuckey JOSHUA mapleston AARON dunton ALEX hutchinson JAMES filippone STEVE fillingham GERALD poon AMANDA kool JEFF brasket TIM rogers STEVE spangaro BRAD giblin DEREK elliot GOATi outsourcing BROOKE hodgman JEREMY kool STEVE duda FRED milgrom NICK grodzicki RUSSELL dilley CHEN-PO sun ANON ymous DANIELA palstra GREG palstra ENTER audio ANTHONY hayes DANNY mcgillick CRISPY brown NATALYA pemberton DENNIS mills ALSO anonymous BLAKE mizzi STU campbell BARKUS francis

To hang with the cool kids, you can pledge here!: Pozible Tasty Tasty Grandpa!

Funding enters the nail-biting final lap!

DING DING, friends! The bell's a-ringin', and that can mean only one thing -- there is one lap to go in the all-important, Olympic-style fundraising race we've set for ourselves to fund and finish Tasty Tasty Grandpa. 

WE'VE GOT JUST OVER 1 WEEK TO RAISE AS MUCH AS WE CAN! (Deadline: August 23!)

First up, we really want to say a massive THANKS to everyone who has pledged money to the project so far. We're stunned at the generosity of you fine, fine people. At the time of writing, we are at $4500 -- almost at our core goal of $5000! 

We now announce... THE STRETCH GOALS (and a project update)!

Stretch goals are what we promise to add to the value of the project and to your contribution if we can hit higher targets than the core $5000 goal. This is not about greed (since the core team members aren't getting any of the funding money -- it's all going towards hiring an extra programmer!). Rather, it's a way to hit higher targets of quality and features in the game. If we can reach the $5000, we'll be stoked. But if we can make more, then all that extra money above and beyond the $5000 will make the game EVEN BETTER and will be mighty, mighty appreciated. You can see the new stretch goals in a Pozible campaign update here. And if you're a first timer to the project, we welcome you! You can read the full description on the Pozible campaign main page here!

So, as we hit this final week of our funding campaign, we ask you (we down-on-knees beg you!) to please think about contributing if you can, and to share the links across the world with people who might be interested in the project. A lovely bunch of independent game developers trying to catch a break will be so grateful, and imagine the warm feelings of human kindness you'll experience, just like all the backers listed below!

THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE ARE AWESOME:

(thanks so much for already pledging to help our game live!)

TRENT kusters BIG rick MARK serrels DEREK proud TROY mitchell JENN sandercock PAUL callaghan GERRI mills MEREDITH tucker-evans NATHAN thomas SIMON bachelier TYSHAN carey PETER wayne JOYCE hwang JORDI fine DEAN natov BEN britten CLINTON shepherd LAURA van dyk SHU SHU zheng DREW taylor ROB caporetto GISELLE rosman ANDI spark ERIC hemal akmeemana ROBERT gallo DAVID woodman MICHELLE van dyk CHRISTOPHER hawkins ELROY el BEN mckenzie SARAH jansen MICHAEL davies NEIL fillingham ANDREA fillingham DOROTHY duturbure MATT curtis BRENDAN bottomley HELEN stuckey JOSHUA mapleston AARON dunton ALEX hutchinson JAMES filippone STEVE fillingham GERALD poon AMANDA kool JEFF brasket TIM rogers STEVE spangaro BRAD giblin DEREK elliot GOATi outsourcing BROOKE hodgman JEREMY kool JEREMY geddes STEVE duda FRED milgrom NICK grodzicki RUSSELL dilley CHEN-PO sun

To join the awesome, you can pledge here: Pozible Tasty Tasty Grandpa!

Putting the 'fun' in 'funding'

There was a total dev diary meltdown. A single keystroke wiped everything, autosaved a cold void over it all, salted the HTML earth, and it was gone. For months. But, like a bionic dude in a velour ‘70s tracksuit, it was rebuilt! Let that digital dog keep eating my digitial homework, the Tasty Tasty Grandpa Dev Diary is back, now on its own domain page! 

First, some facts. Fact #1: We need an additional programmer to sit down for a bunch of dedicated hours to help us finish our game. Fact #2: The only way to reasonably ask someone for these dedicated hours is to pay them for their time and expertise. Fact #3: Like, WHO HAS THE MONEY to pay such good people? The solution: crowdfunding!

We made a video that includes both ukuleles and tantrums, and we used it to set up a Pozible crowdfunding campaign to raise funds, so we can pay a programmer to finish our game. And it goes well! Thanks to some amazingly generous people, we are already around 80% pledged in our first week, and if we clear 100%, it all becomes real!

YOU PEOPLE ARE AWESOME AND WE ALL THANK YOU! 

If you would like to pledge, we would love you for it. LOVE! Anything that gets us to 100% of the target makes the game happen, anything above 100% we raise makes the game more polished, more awesome, and adds more love! LOVE! You can pledge at the Pozible Tasty Tasty Grandpa page, and there are REWARDS for doing so! REWARDS! LOVE! HUZZAH!

Until next week, thank you! Here are some handy links, for ease of everything.

Some handy links:

Pozible campaign: www.pozible.com/tastytastygrandpa

YouTube video: http://bit.ly/MS3oaL

Reddit thread: http://bit.ly/P8LRri (please upvote!)

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/grapplegungames (Like, if you like!)

Strange Dreams and Cold Beer

The last thing you guys want to hear is how there’s nothing concrete to show this week, and how our tasks are moving along, but are moving along a bit slowly. So let’s talk about something else! Dreams! 

When I’m not laying awake and worrying about this game and turning into a full-time insomniac (not the wonderful games company), I’m dreaming that we're stuck in a blizzard (not the wonderful games company), with snow whipping through cold air, lashing our faces, trying to get through to safety, but not knowing where it is. Or I dream of the team being in a house, and we’re not getting a lot of work done, as there are bugs all over the walls and we have to deal with those. As you can tell, my subconscious mind is not hard to work out. Developing this game is often great, but sometimes does not make me feel fine, let alone double fine productions incorporated south of market district san francisco (no relation).

I did get together with Stu this week, which was GREAT, and we worked over some of the issues I was having with my prototype tweaks. This is us, in a pub, working (not pictured: 500 nearby bulldog-type people wearing rugby shirts, who had flown to Melbourne for a rugby game between Brisbane and Sydney and were desperately trying to get hammered before heading off to the game. Why come here? We’ve got nothing to do with it!) 

Stu solves problems with a pint of 'problem-solving juice'

One thing DID happen this week, and that’s us deciding that there is too much coding to be done in too limited a time for Stu to handle on his own. So we’re going to call in another programmer to help out, oh yes! We need someone with time in their schedule, Unity in their head, and hope in their heart. We’ve sent our four fastest ships, one in each direction, to deliver our message. It’s a big ask, but we hope it’s all worth the asking. When the ships return, we’ll let you know what they bring. Until next week, maintain your noticeably high levels of tastiness!