ASS Plays It Early Aero's Quest with Developer Interview!

Aero's Quest - I'm A Cyborg!

Greenlight Indie Bundle #15 news - DanVox

Greenlight Indie Bundle #15 news - DanVox

Channel Shoutout - Aero's Quest - Indie Game on Steam Greenlight

Aero's Quest ★ STEAM Greenlight ★ Vote YES ✔

Aero's Quest GamePlay Trailer - Indie Game

“iPong: The Game” available on Desura.com for 2.49 USD

September 23, 2014 (Curacao, Netherlands Antilles) -- The official release date for iPong: The Game has been set for the 27th of September 2014 and the game will be available exclusively on the famous gaming platform Desura.com. The indie game (produced and developed by Soloweb N.V. Studios) which claims to be “the most advanced pong-style game ever” will be available for PC/Windows and for Mac/OS X at the launch price of 2.49 USD.

iPong: The Game has been in development for more than a year by now and finally is going to be released for a very interesting time. Soloweb N.V. has declared that the latest months of the development have been useful to add to the launch version the possibility to play Multiplayer on networks and between different devices (cross-platform). The number of followers of the game is constantly raising as the social accounts of iPong are showing:
facebook.com/ipongthegame and twitter.com/ipongthegame and finally today the official launch trailer has been presented:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUL4g2PH3_I

The game will be sold officially on desura.com from the 27th of September 2014 worldwide and the pre-orders are already available here:

http://www.desura.com/games/ipong-the-game1

The release price has been lowed to 2.49 USD and the equivalent for all the other currencies around the world. A special edition of the game will be released also with the game itself and all the tunes of the official soundtrack which has been digital recorded in the studios of Soloweb N.V. and will be available here:

http://www.solowebnv.com/shop/ipong-the-game-complete-soundtrack/

For press and review sites free keys are available, contact please ivano@solowebnv.com

iPong: The Game is considered a very good reboot of the classic-arcade Pong, it scored 3rd in the latest GMI contest and it gained 4/5 stars on gamemakerblog.net. It is new, polished and quite addictive. Will iPong open the road on Desura to the new coming title of Soloweb N.V. Studios Aero’s Quest?


Media Contact:
Ivano Cheers
Soloweb N.V. Studios
Twitter: @ipongthegame @ivanocheers @solowebapps
Facebook: /ipongthegame  /ivanocheers /solowebnvapps
www.ipongthegame.com


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Aero's Quest has been announced!

Finally the wait is over, we are finally able and proud to announce our brand new indie game in development right now: Aero's Quest! Check out the announcement video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG_Mz5TS6ZA
This is the mysterious project I started to work on in April 2014 and the development so far is going very well despite the huge amount of work to do and the ambitions of the project.

Aero's Quest (check the site: aerosquest.com) is a 2D puzzle platformer where our here must rescue the love of his life (Ariella) from the evil Andraus. Aero's Quest is what we consider a 2D side scroller of the new generation. The graphics are cured by Travis from raveneyestudio.com and the game presents more than 10 layers of parallax, millions of colors on screen, plenty of sprites moving at the same time, special effects, particle systems, shaders and so.

We are really proud of this project and we are investing everything on it, it's a big gamble for us.

Aero's Quest is developed for PC/Windows and Mac/OS X and indeed we will try to get it on platforms such us Steam and major consoles.

Please stay connected with Aero:
Aero's Quest on Twitter
Aero's Quest on Facebook
Aero's Quest on Google+
Aero's Quest YouTube Channel

The latter will also show all the dev vlog videos we will record to keep you visually updated on the development of the game. Very first time for me to do something like this.

We are also developing a small version of the game in HTML5 that will run for FREE online, so stay tuned.

GMI Contest 2014 - iPong: The Game placed 3rd

For whoever that didn't know it we decided few weeks ago to present iPong: The Game to the contest organized by the Italian GameMaker Community.
Even if we knew the game concept is everything but original and the game is everything but spectacular was nice anyway to have some feedback.
Well we are happy to know that the game placed 3rd at the contest and we got quite good rates from the judges (not all of them but the majority :) ) and hopefully soon we will get some feedback.

First of all we want to thank GameMaker Italia for the contest:
http://gmitalia.altervista.org/gmi_forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11389

We wanna thanks all the judges and all the people who played the game and we wanna congratulate with SuperMat who won the competition.

Whoever wanna play a limited time fully functional beta version can download it from here:

http://www.freankexpo.net/755/iPong-The-Game

Developments and works in progress

Very busy lately, here a quick recap:
- New video tutorial published on GameMakerBlog.net: http://www.gamemakerblog.net/video-tutorial-n-9-saving-and-loading/
- We are working on the brand new BIG game: Aero's Quest: soon screenshots, websites and an HTML5 demo. Later on a demo for PC/Mac and consoles version.
- Music composition: we are exploring new areas of commercial music, soon news.
- Web development: Filippo is always more busy with sites, templates and web development/programming.
- A new project is taking form: HTML5 games production starting from the game "Vlad's Towers" in cooperation with Luca, an italian artist.

Please support our websites and social networks:
https://www.facebook.com/solowebnvapps
https://www.facebook.com/gamemakerblognet
https://www.facebook.com/ipongthegame
https://www.facebook.com/ivano.cheers

http://www.gamemakerblog.net
http://www.solowebnv.com
http://www.ivanocheers.com
http://www.ipongthegame.com
 
 

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As the title tells us: would you like to see on gamemakerblog.net videos where me and the rest of the staff answer your questions? (on video)
Please tell us by voting our poll on the blog (gamemakerblog.net) or via Facebook at https://apps.facebook.com/my-polls/gbveyl

thanks!

iPong: BETA available and Italian Contest

With a bit of delay, due to the busy schedule of mine (coding and stunting...) and due to the fact that Aero's Quest development is running in high gear, we finally finished (let's say 99% of the development) iPong: The Game and the BETA is actually available.
I managed to include everything in it especially the crossplatform/network feature as well as the multiplayer option on the same device. The BETA is available for MAC and PC as well.

I modified also the nets: was something I had in mind for quite long time and now I changed the static/solid nets with a nice animated laser grid. The overall effect is cool, futuristic and elegant enough to fit in the game.

I'm glad the game is actually finished! I just registered the game to a brand new contest promoted by the Italian Community of GameMaker:
http://gmitalia.altervista.org/site/game-maker-italia-competizione-2014/
Let's see how it goes.

If you want to test the BETA version you can contact us HERE or on the iPong Facebook Page

I drop few pics of the new look of the game:

Aero's Quest is taking shape. GameMaker Blog

It is about two months that I work hard to put together what is going to be our next game: Aero's Quest. Everything is going well, the graphic artist is great an we are running in high gears.
Check my blog out for more info:
http://www.ivanocheers.com/video-games/aeros-quest-is-taking-shape/
Another project that is working very good is our blog gamemakerblog.net: in few months we reached hundreds of subscribers on the website, 31k followers on Facebook and 26k followers on twitter: thanks a lot for all your support and keep on following us!

Amazing Genesis - HTML5

Sorry if I didn't update this blog on  a regular base, but I'm following so many projects right now that I have barely the time to eat and sleep and it is hard to blog everything I do. However I will keep you informed on all the progresses of the new projects until I will start to blog again about the development of one in particular.
First of all the new video game project is taking form: the name (still temporary) is Aero's Quest and soon you'll be able to see some preview.
Lately I've been studying a lot the new HTML5 technology applied to video games. As company we decided to develop a HTML5 games portfolio and get sponsors around.
The first game I personally developed is Amazing Genesis: a up'n'run side scroller with several touches such as the animated background and four levels of parallax effect.
Our engine for HTML5 games work on normal computer browsers and on mobile browsers re-sizing and adapting in full screen automatically turning the browser game in a sort of app.
You can play for FREE Amazing Genesis following this link:
http://www.solowebnv.com/html5/amazinggenesis/

Website updates, social networks and new project

A lot of work in these days. As announced the networking feature has been implemented in iPong: The Game PC/Windows and Mac, is fixed, is stable and the beta testing is running. If you wanna be part of the beta testing (no charges for the build) please contact us on the main iPong website here.

Today I just started to move all the new features for the mobile versions and I put the bases to start to work (find and upload all the runners on the test devices, checking everything and looking back in the old codes). Soon updates about the mobile versions.

All the websites has been updated with the news of the network feature:
http://www.solowebnv.com/gamesandweb/ipong-the-game-network-is-real/
http://www.ipongthegame.com/news/updates-on-the-multi-player-function/

soon I will post something related on my personal blog ivanocheers.com

All the Facebook and twitter accounts/pages related to Soloweb N.V. and to iPong: The Game has posted the news.

The new project has officially started, we have hired a new artist from Chicago and soon we will make some official announcement. Today I started to work on the editors for the new game...a new adventure has started!

Habemus Network

Finally after a lot of battles against the code I finally integrated the network game into the iPong code. Everything is still very unstable and full of bugs, I noted everything's wrong at the moment and I will fix them all tomorrow. Finally!
Tomorrow, once everything is fixed I will post the news on the official website and on the twitter/facebook accounts of the game.
Can't wait to stop to work on the network feature....

Cross platform PC/Mac close to the goal

Hi everybody and happy Monday...let's be positive.
Didn't work a lot over the week-end, I really needed to re-charge the batteries: this week was very hectic for work (new project to begin, old project to finish) and my preparation for the new movie (as a stunt) if getting harder and harder every day. I needed a bit of rest indeed.
But here I am, new week, new opportunities: as the alarm woke me up I started to work on iPong: The Game from the point I left it last week.
The network part is quite integrated into the game by now. I still need to fix few details such us the aesthetic aspect of the server/client menu (to match with the rest of the game) and the return routine once the game finishes. Seems easy but when you work in network everything gets complicated.
I hope by the end of today max tomorrow I can manage to have something completed with the network in it. Then we need to test it and, mean while I will start to port it on mobile.

Fighting with the last issue and finally the solution

Been fighting with the problem of yesterday all the day long. The client once connected blocks everything and jam the computer. I did check every single line of the code of every single object of the networking source and nothing. Don't know why but all of the sudden the game won't work anymore.
I checked all my logs and the only thing I could notice was that I updated my GMS to the latest release. I uninstalled all and re-installed it...nothing.
I just gave a last chance before calling the day disappointed: i uninstalled all one more time and I re-installed the previous release: and it works!
Doesn't make me feel able to solve the real issue but at list my built now works again and it seems I have to stick with this version of GMS until I finish the game :)

Fitting in and unaspected issues

The work of fitting the networking section into the actual game keeps on going. To me is a bit of a boring work because is just copy, paste, check, wait, polish, adjust ... nothing really challenging but, at least, I don't have to do anymore with the evil networking scripts which I really hate...and when I was about to try everything...a surprise: the client is not working anymore. Everything (passing by the main menu of the game) goes smoothly, the two computer connects, the server waits and then at the moment of the game itself the server starts to play and the client fails. And fails bad because whatever the issue is it jams the whole computer, any platform.
The best part of it is that I have no idea what that is about...

iPong details

Beside the fact that iPong: The game is almost finished there are still a lot of details to fix. Today was the turn of implementing the network section in the main menu. Takes a bit longer than normal because my biz partner (who's good in icon design, menus and graphics) is out of town and I have to make things all alone.
Anyway part of it is done and tomorrow i think i will complete it.
Meanwhile we are very close to hire a new graphic artist for the coming new project!

New project? New graphic designer?

I did work on the new idea for the last 48h (I mean the last 48 working hours...which are more or less living hours ;( ). I finished the little demo in order to show to the new co-operators the game-play of the new project.
I developed it in HTML5, which is the very first time for me and it works just fine, of course the final version will be done as a regular game.
Probably soon I will post the link to this demo, just to see some reactions.
Talking about reactions thanks to everyone who reacted to my quest for searching a graphic artist: it seems I might have found someone but I don't want to say anything until we put the contract in the safe.
Working also on www.gamemakerblog.net because we are about to insert a brand new section: video tutorials!

New project

Ok, I admit it, I'm working very seriously to a new project.
iPong: The Game is really in the last stage of development and all I need is to port the networking on the mobile and I can consider the project, for what concern the code, close; therefore I'm developing something new: I had an idea about a puzzle/platform game and I decided to start to work a bit on the base engine.
I can't say anything yet, if not I realized a very early prototype (using sprite I found on the Web) and the idea seems to work quite well. Few people have been trying it and I have to admit they got quite addicted to the little demo.
The main inspiration comes from a very old Atari title called "Mr.Robot", but the game-play is very different. It will be a game where you never can die and every room is a new puzzle. There will be plenty of rooms divided by several worlds and probably different bosses.
I might show you the early prototype (anyway totally playable with keyboard and joypad) but ask me for that in private on my website: ivanocheers.com or on my facebook page (not the main account: the PAGE) Ivano Cheers FB Page.

I am thinking to develop something more basic in HTML5 where everyone can play and then a bigger game only for sale. I'll see. I need a graphic designer dedicated for the game. If you are in any way interested please contact me: will be a good a and profitable experience.

New ideas

I'm taking a little break from the networking coding of iPong: the biggest is done and all I have to do is fix it up inside the global game and port it for mobile.
I'm taking a bit of time off from it to elaborate new ideas: first of all I'm making practice on Unity 3D and you never know I might do something 3D soon.
Most of all I'm making an engine for a platformer/puzzle game that was already running in my mind for a while. Now I manage to make the base engine, and I see there is quite a lot of potential.
I wanna do a base version in HTML5 first and then to make a bigger game for sale...tha's the idea, I can't tell anything else. Will keep you updated.

Sunday working

Today is Sunday so I took it a bit more easy but, despite a huge nap, I manage to work properly.
The Network of iPong is working well. I added the basic power ups like the double and the speed. They work, there are some little glitches but, it is something that I can notice bc I play simultaneously the two devices connected and I see some difference: The single player on his own cannot spot them so I might leave everything like it is.
I don't wanna slow down the frame rate of the game so I won't add other features in order to preserve the quality of the game play: this means magneto and guns won't be part of the cross platform multiplayer system and, probably, not even the flames but i still have to check on that.
I need to add the script for recognizing the end of the match, the winner and then I have to fix the whole block inside the game itself.
Once everything works I can call the mac and PC versions done and I have to start to work again on the Mobile versions implementing all the new things.

Before I called the day I decided to start to work on Unity to make a better 3d engine, the one on Game Maker is actually still to buggy and slow to master. I'm taking few online classes and I'm trying to learn fast all the Unity's features.

Good night

Good stuff...going in the right direction

New update about the network-cross-platform game. Yesterday I managed to make the connection and to merge the old code with the new code of iPong.
Today I kept on working on making fit the old networking code with the game and I'm making really big progress.
First of all now the game looks like iPong and not anymore Pong 2013, so new HD backgrounds with animations and movements, new sounds and all looks ok.
Then I manage to implement the new control system: all is playable via keyboard and joystick with the 2 modes of paddle control which works fine.
I fixed some connection issues speeding up a bit the process but, I must admit, the routing is still sending back and forth a lot of useless data so soon i need to clean it but, before I put my hands in the pure network code I want the game to work properly.
In the beginning I was thinking the network version might not have power ups..I actually changed my mind and I might be able (bc I found a hole in the code) to fit at least the speed and double power ups with the gas clouds. Too early now to talk about the asteroids and the other power ups...we'll see.

Network progresses

Today has been a good working day in terms of results: I managed to bring the whole old network code into the new iPong's source and make it work.
And so far I tested it on two different computers on the web and it works.
Now the hardest part will start. The routine is not perfect: I know it. It's very glitchy and it is very base: connects two devices and makes them play a very base version of pong (no power ups, no lifting) plus all the control options are not implemented yet (and honestly I don't know if they never will) and no asteroids as well. Already like this the game lacks a bit of frame rate, so I need to make it more fluid in order to add stuff and then make it fit with the rest of the game, options included.
But, at least, we have a connection!

Any progress? Social networks and gamemakerblog.net

I admit it, I had to take a bit of time off from the network because it is a subject which is driving me crazy: I will never be working again in a network system all on my own, never again...
Ok, while I was taking some time off from the network I've been practicing some coding in 3d environment: writing code for a 3D engine is not really relaxing, so I think I'm just masochist :)
I have a little idea about a game, a puzzle/adventure game and it would be much nicer if it runs in 3d, so I'm checking some basic things like 3d models, textures, lighting and shadows.
I make some progress but nothing to show yet and, btw, it is time to work again on the network of iPong. I'm planning to integrate the old network engine I made several months ago to the new code and from there fix it and make it work better.
Easy to say.
Anyway I will keep you updated on this and if you don't hear anything is just because the progresses are really slow.
Meanwhile I wanna thanks all the people that follow this blog and also all the people that are liking, sharing and tweeting us: our accounts on social network are getting quite popular and we have very good response every time we communicate something.
Here a list of links to our network:

My personal twitter account
My coding FB Page
Ivano Cheers website
Ivano Cheers G+

Soloweb twitter account
Soloweb FB Page
Soloweb website

iPong twitter page
iPong FB Page
iPong website

and if you are a programmer please enjoy our game maker community:

Game Maker Blog
gamemakerblog.net on Twitter
gamemakerblog.net on FB

The game maker blog net community is really growing, if you have any demo, post, article, review or comment please contact me.

network and 3d engine

The networking / cross platform is really draining me. I knew it because I worked on it before and the same is happening now.
I'm doing little progresses every time I work on it but it's a hard beast to fix. Anyway I'm more than confident the system will be functional for all the platforms at the moment of the release.
Beside that I'm working on few new ideas and I believe one of these will be real, I just need to understand which one.
The point is: iPong will be released as a budget game, even if nice and cool you can set the price of a pong game as any other games out there. It has been and it is a useful experience to try, experiment and learn about the promotion for a game, about the indie game underground and about coding in general but it won't be a real hit and it doesn't pretend to be a hit.
So now that we know more about the environment we are moving in, it's time to think about new more ambitious ideas. And that's exactly what I'm doing.
I have 2-3 ideas I'm digging in and I will pick and try to turn in a real project the one that is better in terms of satisfaction and sales.
All this intro to say I'm working checking on 3D stuff. I took the 3D engine I developed for the fighter game and I see what I can do. GML 1.3 gives you the chance to implement lighting, fog effects, reflections...so it is cool to experiment a bit.
Can't say anything more....yet

Connection issue solved

I spent the whole day to fix the connection problem, I couldn't bind the main port of communication making impossible creating the local connection between client/server on the same machine.
After a lot of tries I made it work but, I have to be honest, I still don't understand why didn't work at first.
Anyway, one day passed on it. Actually I started to throw something down about a brand new project, but it is too early to talk about it.
It's almost Easter, tomorrow no coding. Happy Easter to everybody!

Cross-platform and Network

Working to the network part. I know I did already a network routine applied to the old pong which was working just fine but now there are much more elements and the main code is almost totally different. Which is why I completely started a new routine which, hopefully, will work as good as the other one if not better. The only issue is: networking is so difficult; it is very hard, hard to think, hard to plan, hard to code and I, honestly, don't like it at all.
I'm just at the beginning and still I'm stopped in a problem that doesn't make me go any further.
Keep you informed...

two players

If you follow this blog you know that at the moment I'm working to the cross-platform networking in order to connect to players remotely and make them play together in an iPong death match.
Point is: how they can play together if I didn't implement yet the 2 players mode?
Now on mobile can be a little bit harder due to the touch limitations (read: space on screen for two persons) but on computer it is a must have option.
Yesterday I did work full time on it and now mac and PC have the 2 players option, playable with keyboard or 2 joysticks.
It works and it is fun after ages spent playing against an A.I. which I coded.
Now network...i'm crying.

Apple logo, mobile versions and cross-platform networking

These days I'm working so hard that I don't have even the time to write down what I do to keep this diary up to date.
Let's recap then. The Mac version is perfectly functional and stable, is in testing and it works fine. I added (only for this version) the apple logo replacing the "o" of iPong. Just a little touch.
The PC version is in the process to close the testing which is good. I have to put together all the modifications, fixes, corrections and new features I added in the computer version and update the mobile versions with the new stuff. Not really funny to do.
But now the big announcement: I start to work full time to the cross-platform network in order to make it in the game for the first release. Will be hard but I will try especially because a lot of people told me to do so.
Soon new updates.

Download the demo!

After few consultations we finally decided that everyone can download the demo of iPong: The Game totally free of charge.
Actually I fixed already few things after that built but the demo works fine enough.
You can play the first level of the arcade, see the second opponent (if you win) and use both the control modes.
You can play either with the joypad or with the keyboard.

Subscribe this page to get your demo for free:
http://www.ipongthegame.com/free-demo/

and don't forget to give me a feedback!

One little request: if you are part of the steam community kindly vote for the game right here
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=249010907

thank you!

Video trailer and cover of the game!

Here we have the trailer we were waiting for: you can finally see the video of the game in a trailer form.

here the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrxay2F9OHI

Do you like it? Please give me some feedback! It is very important as well as sharing the video as much as we can. Thanks a lot!

Here instead is the official (for now) cover of the game: enjoy it!

That's a post I like! ;)

Mac version, bug correction, video trailer and wallpaper

Working on the Mac version. This version will be virtually identical to the version for PC, maybe i'm thinking to change the "o" of iPong with the apple logo, I'll see.
The problems I had with the difference of colors are fixed, now is really the same if not better due to the great retina screen of the MACs.
The more I code the more I spot little bugs here and there which I fix on the spot. Probably I'm the only one who will ever spot them but still...must be perfect.
The video trailer is a bit behind schedule, a guy from asia is doing it and it takes a bit longer than I was planning.
The final draw which will be the official draw/wallpaper of the game is almost done. Soon a preview.

Testing, flames, corrections

The process of beta testing for the PC version is running very smoothly. All the glitches we found so far has been already corrected and hopefully nothing else will come out.
As I said few posts ago I added flames at the side of the paddles to simulate the propeller of the movement. The flames were only present on the player's paddle, now also the computer have its flames (they only work with a different algorithm).
I fixed few things that were not wrong but now they just look better and so far the game is fully functional and stable.
I will add a little screen right at the beginning (where the "turn the device" text is for the mobile version) which says you can you either the joypad and the keyboard.

finishing iPong

I'm fixing the latest point on the game. While I made the PC version I added few stuff that I will need to add on the mobile version as well. Same when I made the demo a fixed few things and now I'm fixing the original code for PC before I forget what I did :P
Plus I started to work on the MAC version which will be basically the same of the PC version.
Waiting for the trailer to be done and for the wallpaper draws which should be given to me very soon.
Matter of days and we will release the demo
good night

Mac port - intro video

Ok, most of the coding is done. I am waiting for an outsource who's building the trailer video to start to promote better the demo and the game itself, meanwhile the game testing keep on running.
I want to make a mac port, so also mac users can enjoy the game as well.
Well I tried to port it directly with the Game Maker: Studio mac module and the first result ain't bad at all: the game actually runs fine on mac beside some chromatic issues which I think I can fix quite easily, so I am confident that the mac version will be released a at the same time of the PC version.

It is already a couple of days that in my head is running the idea to put a little flash intro for the game. I know that when these kind of ideas get in my head I have to try to realize them before I notice that might be a total failure (or a big success...). I might outsource some tests for a flash intro which I need to import once it is done in my code.

done done done

The majority of the code on the PC port has been done! The I cut something here and there and also the demo is ready. I didn't test it yet, it might be unstable but the majority of the code is done.
The demo will be soon available somehow somewhere, we might wanna give it to everyone who subscribes the newsletter of one of our sites, we'll see.
The final result is good: playing iPong with my joy pad in full screen is so cool! :)
Soon screenshots.
I'm hiring a freelancer to make good trailer videos of the game, if someone is interest please contact me here or on my site page at ivanocheers.com
Good night

Still working: iPong PC

The PC version of iPong is taking me longer than I could ever think. The fact is that there are a lot of little things to modify and the introduction of the cursor made re-write a lot of routines to manage the main menu. Then every time you touch something, something else goes off and the circle never closes ... anyway, I'm doing quite a lot of progresses, I rewrote also the routine that manages the music on/off and now is way better and usable in every other program.
I added a nice feature: now when you move the paddle a little flame appears at the opposite side of the direction of march giving the sensation of power.
I'm close to finish and start to beta test it but there are few things left to do.
As I'm done I will make a little demo (only the first stage of the arcade) to send around.
See ya...

Press Release – “iPong: The Game” in final stage of development, expected release: June 2014

April 6, 2014 (Curacao, Netherlands Antilles) — After 4 months of intense development the video game “iPong: The Game” is finally entered in the final stage where the alpha and beta versions on the available devices start to be tested and de-bugged and the demo released.

Soloweb N.V., the company that is taking care about the production of the game, announced that the release of the game for PC/Windows, iOS systems and Android devices will be most likely at the end of June 2014. The designer and project manager Ivano Cheers confirmed the news on the social networks and on the official video game website www.ipongthegame.com . More over he said that a demo version is imminent and will be released for reviews and testing.

“iPong: The Game” is an indie game/mobile game that brings the player to the future where the hierarchy of the Universe is the result of “iPong tournaments” between the known life forms: iPong is a space sport similar to the iconic “Pong”, one of the first video game of history. During the match the player needs also to collect special power ups to defeat the alien opponent. The game, as the site reports, will have a lot of cool features such as HD graphics and original tunes.
A lot of attention is developing around this game in the indie-gaming underground considering the increasing number of followers that the official Facebook page is getting every day since the announce: www.facebook.com/ipongthegame and the interest in the official game twitter “@ipongthegame”

Additional informations about the release date and the supported platforms will be posted on the official site and in further press releases. Meanwhile the fever is raising.
Soloweb N.V. is proud to say that this is so far one of the most ambitious projects as the Facebook page of the company remarks: www.facebook.com/solowebnvapps

Media Contact:
Ivano Cheers – ivanocheers.com
Soloweb N.V.
Twitter: @ivanocheers
Facebook:  /ivano.cheers
www.ipongthegame.com

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Pc port: updates

The whole day dedicated to work on the PC version of iPong: The game. The new cursor has been fixed all over all the menus of the game. The game will be playable either with the keyboard and the joystick (no selection needed, they both work together).
I need only to change few things in-game and the all should be fine.
I need to prepare a Demo for Steam and Desura not to mention the yoyogames show case.
The game will allow you to play the first level of the arcade and then it will stop.
Hope I can make it work as soon as possible. Meanwhile the first press releases are about to be sent to the press, all the releases will be sent between Sunday and Tuesday. One copy of the PR will be published here as well.
www.ipongthegame.com is getting a lot of consensus as well as the twitter account of the game @ipongthegame and the facebook page fb/ipongthegame . If you didn't yet please subscribe, thanks.
Going back to work to the game, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Deep night coding: cursor

It's deep night, no way I could sleep and here I am on the code for the PC port of iPong: The Game.
I'm focusing on the new control mode in the menu that needs a sort of cursor (the telephone version was simply touch). I came out with the idea of the burning comet (similar to the in-game ball) that pass from corner to corner of the menu's voices commanded by the arrows or the pad.
Due to the track that the comet leaves behind the global effect of the cursor is cool and it works, so I think I will keep it.

PC port updates - Soloweb Site

The work on the PC port is going well.
The PC game will be full screen and will be playable with both keyboard and pad. There will be the "tick" option where you just press up and down once to make the paddle keep on going up or down and the other choice will be that the paddle moves when you press the button and it stops as you release the button. Easier to see than to explain.
Another change will be of course from the fact that the PC/Windows ain't touch so I'm studing a sort of cursor for the menu.
There are few issues to resolve but I will manage it. Very soon I must release a playable Demo (probably downloadable from the main site) with the only first level of the arcade mode.
Company news: the new Website of the company is finally live, SOLOWEB WEBSITE
check it out and let us know what you think about.
I'm going to sleep because today I worked too many hours in a row and I can't keep my eyes open.

iPong website finally online

The website of the website of iPong: The game is finally online and here is the URL:
http://www.ipongthegame.com/
As you can see it is complete with all the updates done so far, with new screenshots, with the complete storyboard and with all the social connections.
Exactly: because for all the people that follow already iPong: The Game on Facebook we have really few (just launched) who are following the official iPong twitter account @ipongthegame (give some support!). Now that the site is, at the moment, completed I can focus on the PC port and on the first demo to give to the publisher.

Early demo, first pictures released and preview

I had to send something playable for PC asap to Dino Tonoli who takes care about the reviews on gamemakerblog.net. So All I did was direct porting the iPhone version on PC/Windows and send it to him. He even had to see on his test-pc the screen "device in horizontal position" ... which is funny. The demo was anyway playable with the arrows of the keyboard. The new controls features I wanted to add on the PC version were not yet into the demo.
Anyway after few hours the preview was already published and I must say this is the very first preview of the game, yet the first pictures published!
You can find the complete preview here: http://www.gamemakerblog.net/talent-scout-n-1-ipong-the-game-demo/ ... so cool!
I post here few pictures taken directly from the review:

and here we go: always closer to the end ...

PC version, blogging and social

The work on iPong: the game is getting very busy. While I'm selecting on the iPhone version what code to keep and what not (fortunately most of the original code will be saved) we are preparing the promotional campaign before the game will be release: that means that I'm working around the clock to fix bugs, coding the ports, making mi personal site up to date, this blog up to date, soon the game site will be live and I'm also taking care of the administration of gamemakerblog.net which will review a demo of iPong the game soon (actually as quick as I prepare it...another item on the to do list). Plus we just opened the gamemakerblognet twitter account so please follow it @gamemakerblogn if you will as well as will be very appreciated you like on the GM blog Facebook page. Thanks

Author blog

Just a quick update regarding iPong which will be probably and finally officially called iPong: the game. The testing is going well, today I will start to fix the bugs (few) that came out so far on the iPhone version and I will start to work on the PC/Windows version. Thanks to game maker studio will be a direct port but I have to add the control section and few code.
Meanwhile I want you to know that my personal blog is live: www.ivanocheers.com : it is nothing fancy and indeed ain't personal because it is tech/business related. It talks more about my experience in the past and now with games and programming. Give a look.

gamemakerblog.net live

This is not a promotional AD or a sort of shootout, but as you everybody know (especially if you follow this blog) I mostly use Game Maker studio and the integrated language GML to code my games. Game Maker is a growing tool and always more programmers are using it to develop their games especially now that Sony and Yoyo Games found the agreement for the module to develop for PlayStation. With a group of other people I'm working to a blog dedicated to the powerful language of Yoyo Games and the blog is now reachable at the URL www.gamemakerblog.net . The blog is a community of programmers that want to find and share info, full of news, reviews and special sections. If you are a programmer, if you want to learn something more, if you wanna stay up to date with the news or if you wanna show case your game please give a look to www.gamemaker.net : from today on will be daily updated.

One week of beta testing

One week of beta testing on iPhone and so far so good: we just spotted few minor bugs and the glitches list is still quite short. Next week I will start to correct these little things while the testing keeps on going; what is absolutely good is that the game is very stable and it works well.
Coming week (I'm traveling right now) I will start to work to the PC version which will be quite the same with the exception of the different control system and the android version (which is ready) will go in play testing too on the runner for android.
Once all is ready we will publish "iPong: the game" for PC, iPhone/ iPad/ iPod and Android for sure. I'm not sure about Mac (we will see) and maybe a smaller version in HTML5.
Soon the website dedicated to iPong will be live and the pre-promotion will start hands down. I believe that in like 2 months we can announce the game for all the platforms but I don't know it yet.
We will promote through indie underground, social networks, blogs and gaming websites. Any update will be reported here...and soon.

End of coding, pre-beta version in testing

The biggest of the coding is done.
The turning device page (animated) has been done, the shop option has been linked with the url where the future shop will be online, few minor glitches has been fixed and few sound effects has been adjusted in volume.
This means the official coding has been terminated, I said the official because now there will be a lot of beta-testing and for sure a lot of things will come up which is why I uploaded this version (which I like to call pre-beta version) on the test iphone runner in order to test it and retest it.
I will also record some footage of the game to share it privately with other tester and for the phase of pre-advertisement.
I might publish some of those here.

Almost done!

Two days I don't post, two days full of work.
Most of what I needed to do has been done, the control mode option is there and works: now you can decide to choose between three ways to control your pad such as swiping mode (the same used until now), tapping mode where you tap the screen up and down to move up and down your pad and the finger mode where you keep and move your finger on the screen and the pad try to follow your vertical movements.
It works, the control setting screen is nice, big plus for the game. More over depending from your control choice 3 different little icons appear during the game when you try to move the pad.
The help screen has been done and I like it. It is just a single screen but it explains all the purposes of the game and all the objects you will encounter during your playing.
I decided that in the single game the player don't have to insert the name so once selected the single game mode the menu brings you directly to the level selection. Faster and direct.

I fixed few bugs here and there till my pc crashed again and I have to re-install everything and check one more time if everything worked and everything was saved.

The game is constantly rolling on my testing phone and the game itself is virtually finished. I'm working now on the initial screen of "phone in landscape position" which will be animated and will contain the disclaimer we will use not to be confused with the iPong TM

In the main menu there is one more option which is the shop option: the shop option will connect directly via web to our online shop which is not developed yet, so we need to fix the url and (even if close) connect the link with the shop icon.

Wanna play again?

The "do you want to play again?" screen is finally working. It appears every time the player loses an arcade game. If you select yes you will repeat the game against the same enemy at the same lever, otherwise you will come back to the main menu losing the level you reached.
The screen shows a constellation rotating on the background with a music looping which I composed in few minutes: I like it because it is just 2 bars looping! But it works

Control mode time! 

working from my bed

The title says all... yesterday my back snapped and I can't stay sit or standing, therefore the only option is resting in bed. Thanks someone invented laptops..
Ok, here we go with some updates of my work on iPong (or whatever will be ...):
- The music button is there: a little icon at the bottom right of the screen which makes the game mute of with sounds on. Works, looks nice ... checked
- The problem with the name disappearing after the first game has been fixed, was just a variable issue.
- Now whether you run a single game or an arcade game you have in the menu the back button: actually is a main menu button, every time you press it guess what? you go back to the main menu resetting everything you have done so far.  It's a little pulsing arrow on the bottom of the screen.
- Wasn't on the "to do list" but I've been fixing something that already for long time bothered me: The first time you open the game there is a sort of intro which takes you to the main menu; the length of this is about 10 secs required (with the excuse to give you a nice effect and a presentation title) to load in memory the whole game. Before every time a game was over and the player was taken to the main menu there was this effect and this waiting time. Now not anymore, beside the very first time you open the game you get always the main menu right away.
- Rematch mode: I'm still working on this, harder of what it seems because I have to put my hands on old code (original from pong 2013 lite). I've been thinking that in the arcade mode if you lose the game a new screen will show telling you "You lose" and asking you if you want to repeat the match keeping the same level or going back to the menu losing your level. The screen is ok, nice effects as usual in this game, the background music is missing but i'm planning to compose it today (i need only something that loops in the background) but the routine of rematch is not quite there yet. As I finish it and it works I'll put the music as well.

I'm in contact with a lawyer studio specialized in trademarks to discuss about the name ipong. Updates soon.

To do list ... lot of work still to do

After checking, testing and playing the game on the runner here is the list of things to do asap:
- The variable that contains the name of the player in the arcade mode gets empty after the first game. Is due to the fat that the asynchronous object is keep on going also when the name form is not there anymore. Should be a quick fix.
- Rematch mode: if you lose a match in the arcade mode you just lose the arcade and you go right back to the main menu. Might be a bit frustrating which means I want to add one more chance to stay at the reached level to have a (only one) rematch right after the defeat.
- Back button: at the moment in the menu there is no back button, can be nice to add it
- Music on/off button: will be added in the main screen.
- Kill the game button: during the game beside the pause button I want to add a quit button. The match will be lost.
- Controls and Help: the two sections that still need to be developed
- Copyright issue: we need to contact some expert to see if and how we need to change the name of the game :(

long day ahead...

Fixes, asynchronous functions and copyright issue

Big day of work, the control system is not there yet, actually I not even started.
While the computer was updating I could just work on smaller fixes so I did calibrate the frequency of the asteroids, I made the sign iPong on top of the game-field fading in and out making it a bit more dynamic, the variables that carry the magneto and the guns status now reset once the game is over, there is an elegant count-down (ten to 1) which introduces the menu while everything is loading and few minor things.
Something not minor instead is that I completely re-coded the system to type in the name. The problem wouldn't show on PC or any other computers but it would show once the game is tested by apple to be approved: when you type in anything the script that shows you the virtual keyboard and related needs to be asynchronous! Whoever not familiar with this term just think that the script and the new type-in window cannot bother the normal functionality of your program or any program running (included the iOS itself). This is to prevent malfunctions in case you receive a call or something like while you type in your name.
After one hour of learning I manage it to make the scrip working asynchronous.

While I was testing everything on the phone and I was listening to the main tune (with a choir that keep on singing "iPong" I had a terrible sensation...quick check and I was right....it seems that the word iPong is covered by copyright, it's actually a device that shoots ping-pong balls. New updates soon but this ain't good.

Monday's updates, iphone testing and mainteinance

Week end is over, new week ahead. Actually not a big difference between my Sundays and my Mondays.
I've been testing a lot the game on the iPhone runner and the main points are working well. Nothing run slow, not even in the long run which makes me happy because everything is under control. There are few things I have to fix which I noted in my to do list such as few variables that need to be reset once the game is over (like magneto and guns status, if the game finishes with one of these two on the next game starts with the two on, which is wrong), something I want to change like the little phone avatar (I just don't like it), something I want to make nicer such as the fancy "iPong" on top of the screen while the game is on on top of the control system that needs to be developed from scratch.

I modified the effect on the ball. Before the ball was like a comet with few particles effects applied at the same time to the ball's sprite...effect was good but not good enough to me. Now the ball makes smoke which is left behind when the ball moves. The effect is given by using 3 different particles systems, all smoke related but with different intensity and color. Looks better to me. 

Now: I'm want to start to code again because I want to do almost everything left within this week (next week I fly to Holland) but I need to perform some big maintenance on my working PC laptop.
If you red the previous posts you know by now that after a while the laptop loses performance and sometimes is near to crash. The hard drive is almost full so I'm backing up all the important project i'm working on to free some space.

Of course is taking AGES! 

Single game mode, iOS simulation

Sunday morning and the single game mode is done.
Beside some little bugs due to calibration all is fine and completely playable.
Yesterday I was very concerned about the fact that after a while and after many games (single games) the system started to slow down and along with it the game.
I just launched a simulation in the runner of my iPhone 5 tester and I played for more than 30 mins: all is still smooth and fast, which means that the problem was related to the PC emulation version most likely to my laptop which is old and full.
By running the game on the phone I noticed only a little thing which I don't like when the player needs to type the name. It makes a little shift which is acceptable but not nice but unfortunately is not modifiable because is part of the system itself.
It might be that is just a glitch in the runner and once I'll burn the final game it will disappear, not the first time actually...

Little lunch break and the I will start to work on the control system, trying something and running some tests. 

Single game

Today I've been working the whole day to the option single game. I started to clean up everything but there are still some sprites of the old game that I might be able to re-use so in order to avoid any important loss I decided not to clean but to code.
As I predicted the single game mode needed a complete re-coding because everything is changed in the menu. We can now enter our name, we choose few options only by the "Single Game option" plus now there are avatars and computer communications: I decided that in the single game mode the computer avatar is just a phone which tell us what's going on during the game avoiding the more mean sentences of the arcade session.

Obviously nothing went smoothly and it took quite long time to fix everything. Now more or less all work, I need to check, re-check and check again but my PC crashed again and I don't know if it's because is way to old, way to full or my code itself has got glitches.
Hopefully not the last one so I start to clean up the PC right now.

Name length day...

Strange title for a post but believe it or not I spent the whole afternoon to fix a very little feature:
when you pick the arcade mode the game will ask you to type in your name which will appear in the game score and every time the game will speak to you.
Actually for many reasons the name length limit is 7 letters or it will create graphic issues. I had to add a little routine on the variable that carries the string "name" which checks how long the name is and, if longer than 7 letters, will ask you to retype it.
The routine was an easy task, but for some reason after that nothing was working as it should. Every time the game was ended something in the menu was happening and nothing was working properly anymore.
After many hours all is fixed and the routine works.
I launched also a complete game in "cheating mode" (just a little cheat I added for testing purposes where the collision with the computer pad is always equal to null therefore the player always wins) from match one till the congratulation screen and everything works just fine.
For the records now I'm testing the game via PC in emulation mode (arrows as pad controls) to make all faster. As quick I start to work on the multi-control mode I will have to check the game on touch devices (probably on the yoyo-runner on my test iPhone 5).
Right now I still have a lot of code belonging to the old game as well as few objects unused. Before I start to work to the control modes I need to clean up all the unused code, sprites, objects, sounds to relocate the valuable memory and avoiding huge waiting time while I send the software wi-fi to the runner.
Tomorrow's task.

goodnight

updates iPong: music and code

A lot of work on iPong lately, if this diary is not updated every single day is because most of the time the game needs attention in its last days f development.
Here the updates: the arcade part has been virtually finished and integrated in the game as well as the new menu, faster and indeed with a better look. No bugs or glitches so far (game testing is on right now) and, beside minor changes soon will get the "internal green flag".
The new menu looks good, way more eye catching than the old one in the lite version despite the fact we are using the same objects, just in a different way.
The nebula effect of the menu is now present in a different look also during the game itself: combined with the background zooming and rotating effect makes everything way more fancy.

I still need to code two major things beside few minor menu items:
1) the single game mode will be recoded using the base of the old routines. Won't be a big deal.
2) the control mode: in the old "lite game" the main pad was controlled only by swiping up and down the screen. Even if I keep on thinking that this is the most effective way to play the game we got some bad feedback about that and I have to admit it is hard to master. On iPong the Player can choose how to control the pad with several options: beside the actual swapping mode I'm thinking about the tapping mode (tap up and down to move the pad up and down) and/or the finger follow mode.
The chapter controls will take me I guess one whole day of coding and I need to see all the options by testing the game on touching devices directly.

Now, the most important update of the last 3 weeks of work: MUSIC.
The original Pong 2013 uses tunes from the movie Tron Legacy from Chemical Bros. Now: Pong 2013 is a free game and no-one will bother us because of the rights. iPong instead has got a bit higher expectations therefore we need original music.
Thanks god I have a music background so armed with my Magix Music Studio I developed 3 brand new tunes: iPong menu, iPong in-game and iPong Congrats.

The first one sounds very epic inspired but historical movie soundtracks. The second needed to be short, easy, catchy and loopy...I came out with some tribal drums and few patterns going in a loop with a more than decent effect. The congratulation tune is in Dub, quite acid and is not actually completed yet but I am almost there.

We are thinking also to make a longer version of these tunes and eventually sell them on iTunes along with the game. Let's see.

A lot of new features

A lot of new things has been implemented:
the new main manu has got 4 main voices:
- play arcade
- play single game
- Control settings
- Help me

plus one side voice named "Shop"

At the moment the one which is functional is the arcade one with all the features already posted in this blog. The interaction of the Arcade section and the main menu is now functional.

The background of all the menus is now more dynamic and tends to the blue rather than black.

The name of the game pops up on the high right corner and pulses creating a nice looking effect.

During the game the nebula of the menu is now present just in different dimension and with a low alpha, rotating and creating a very smooth effect along with the already animated background.

Overall the new in-menu music makes is job.

There won't be any presentation/ typing story anymore like it was in Pong 2013, only a quick zoom on the menu to get inside the game as quick as possible.
All the storyboard will be shown in the iStore description and, maybe, in the help me section.

Good progresses...

Music

One part I didn't really care so far is the music of the game. The lite version of pong 2013 used the tunes from Tron Legacy but for this version (paid version) the music will be custom made.
I just finished to compose the menu tune which gets inspired from the old battle squadron tune. The wav is ready, I need to reduce it and convert it and, of course, fix it in the game.
I need to start to work on the "in-game" tune which won't be easy because the old one was just perfect. I see what I can do. Stay tuned.

finally iPong

Since we decided to call the final pro version of the game iPong not following the Pong 2013-14 lite/pro trend I kept using the old code for the game where Pong 2013 was showing in the menu area and on the top of the game screen.
Now finally the real name (iPong) is showing correctly with the right spell and the right font :)

Problem solved

Finally after more than 30 days of studying, debugging, coding and re-coding I found the glitch that was killing the game once the arcade gaming was over, no matter the result.
Of course was something very stupid and easy but, at least, now is fixed.
The arcade part of iPong is virtually over. Need to fix little "cosmetic" details and then I can pass to the new main menu.
I will change also the music with something I'm developing with good robot-voice samples.
Keep on reading.

Great Microsoft...

Thanks to the powerful resources of Microsoft after 24h I started the updates my PC where I code the games is still configuring the updates!
I hope I can manage to do something soon...

Updates

I just started to work on the code in order to find out a bad bug that mess the system up and guess what? The computer died.
I manage to make it work again but now I have to install something like 150 Microsoft updates...takes a while...

Pong, twitter and fixes

All the enemies have their phrases and their notes now.
By test playing to check the whole thing I've seen few glitches which I need to fix right now, I'll get behind it now.
Meanwhile if you didn't subscribe yet please follow us on twitter:
https://twitter.com/SolowebApps
and Facebook as well
https://www.facebook.com/solowebnvapps

For whoever just connected to this blog I remind you that I'm working at the "pro" version of the following free game: http://appsandgamesdevelopment.blogspot.com/p/pong-2013-lite.html
The game will be called iPong, will be featuring a new storyboard, new animated backgrounds, a big tournament, characters and new weapons. As add-on we will launch also the the network version to play on the Internet.
Enjoy it.

We are back

Hi everybody

sorry I haven't been very keen in posting lately. I was very busy with finding a publisher for the game and with new personal projects nonetheless an arcade game emulator.
The pong game keeps on going and soon we will be ready to publish it.
I'm working now on few details such us the notes of the enemies and some graphic detail.
I'll post as I finish the whole bunch of phrases.
One important update: the game will be called iPong rather than Pong 2013 pro or Pong 2014. We think that iPong is way more catchy name.