POGOPPL (my new game!)

Yakoob on 6/5/2025 at 21:56

henke, have you been submitting your game(s) to various shows? I think Tiny Teams and Cozy Quest are coming up and might be a good fit. I had luck getting some good exposure from those in the past, and a lot of them offer a virtual options too.

henke on 7/5/2025 at 15:06

Tiny Teams might be a good fit yeah. Gotta look into that.

Quote Posted by Thirith

even just looking at your physics games, henke, I found POGOPPL easier to get into than, say, Stilt Fella.

Yeah it's certainly easier to pick up than Stilt Fella. Only having one axis of rotation to worry about rather than 2 makes a big difference. I think Malf was reacting to some of the later levels tho, it does have some difficulty spikey bits, even tho I've tried to sandpaper most of the peaks down.

henke on 8/5/2025 at 10:58

Quote Posted by Malf

Some form of playground level where you get to try various techniques without the pressure of a timer would be a welcome addition.

Put up a new build today with a few bug fixes and improvements (custom levels have leaderboards now!). I also added a new Playground level under My Levels. You can also open it in the Level Editor to see how it's put together. :)

No one's made and uploaded any custom levels yet! I'm wondering if the blank canvas of the level editor is a bit intimidating, so having an example level you can mess around with is hopefully a good addition.

Malf on 8/5/2025 at 13:35

Good stuff, I'll have to hook my Deck up to the net to get it downloaded!

I've just reached Act 2 having just "fought" my first "Boss Battle".
That was a fun little segue :)

I'm gradually learning that pogoing hard ALL THE TIME isn't necessarily the route to success. But it does feel that for the majority of the first act levels, the medals are balanced so that pogoing hard is the only way to get them.
Maybe split up the running order a bit with some earlier levels that require you to learn when not to press "A", and instead rely on some non-powered pogoing?
I think the first level where I found it to be essential to NOT pogo was the penultimate level of act 1, The Tower?

Malf on 13/5/2025 at 14:24

Okay, for the timebeing, I've had to put the game down, as it's gotten more frustrating than fun (for me).
I'm on the level that starts with you having to pogo over a scrapyard into a central building with a checkpoint, then a button that opens the door to a floor that is quickly sliding away to reveal a pit.
And I just can't do it.
I get stuck too easily on crap that seems to have been placed specifically at the most awkward position, and if I get past the central checkpoint tower, I get stuck on crap while the floor slowly slides away.

I'm also irritated at the way you've handled checkpoints.
Continuing from the time you choose to restart rather than the time you reached the checkpoint initially effectively nullifies the point of having a checkpoint in the first place. Unless the aim is just to get through the damn level, where you'll be so far past the time required to get even a bronze medal, you may as well skip the entire damn thing anyway.

I may get back to it at some point, but I've had to put it down as I just wasn't enjoying it any more; and I don't want to leave you a review while I'm so irritated with the game.

henke on 13/5/2025 at 15:57

That level's called "Garbage". :D Yeah, it's a tough one. The checkpoint system pretty much follows the Trials model. Getting through a level is achievement enough, consider the medals stretch goals, you don't need em to finish the game.

henke on 9/6/2025 at 11:23

Just uploaded a NEW DEMO! The old one was getting long in the tooth, being a year old. The new one has all the latest bells and whistles and 3 more levels. Steam Next Fest starts tonight. I'm not in it, since you can only participate once, but folks will see their wishlisted games there if they have demos, so good idea to keep it fresh.

The game's on sale for a few more hours btw: (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1640220/POGOPPL/)

Also I did a big update last week adding 2 new challenge modes: Speedrun and One Team Mode. These unlock once the Story Mode has been beaten, and have their own achievements and leaderboards. With that, I think I'm done with POGOPPL. For now. Sales haven't been great, but if they do pick up I might still make some more content, like additional level editor objects and whatnot. For now, it's on to the next project.

PigLick on 9/6/2025 at 13:13

May I ask, and I totally understand if you would rather not answer, but what has been the best selling game for you so far as a self-publisher?

henke on 9/6/2025 at 13:43

Stilt Fella is mainly reponsible for keeping the lights on in the September Games office. Crossing Guard Joe also ended up doing well, even tho it took till 1.5 years after release for it to start selling.