Battle Gem Ponies Pre-Alpha V2 Demo [Download]

      It's finally here. A version of Battle Gem Ponies.exe you can play! Have a blast with the 6 available ponies in simple randomized battles against the computer. This is the game at its earliest possible form so expect quality to skyrocket with each preview release over the next year.

Download the Battle Gem Ponies Demo

     In the next update you can expect improved mechanics, bug fixes, special move functionality, customizable attacks, an overworld to explore, local multiplayer, and gamepad support. This version is PC exclusive but future demos may come to mobile, Linux, and Mac platforms.

     If you're new to BGP and plan on attending BronyCon 2015, be sure to check out the Battle Gem Ponies panel in the Hall of the Moon Sunday, August 9th from 1:45pm to 2:45pm.

Battle Gem Ponies DevLog #31 (Battle Animations & Corrected Facts)

Battle Animations are done! Just have to fix some annoying bugs and release!

     Missed that mid-July demo date by a mile. It's going to be a literal end of July release now. Getting the animations to work right just ended up eating an entire week instead of the 2 days I set aside for it. But that's not the only miscalculation I've made lately. Starting an LLC turned out to cost more than I expected too. I should have enough for it by March though. It'll be the last business expense I need before focusing on finally moving out.

Get a bunch of actual completed things below.

BGP's 1st Demo On the Way!

     One week from today you'll be able to play an early build of Battle Gem Ponies! It's the same build I'll be showing off at BronyCon. The Pre-Alpha V2 demo will be the first playable version since my school's BYOC three months back.

     I know I said it'd be done by this date at the latest, but that just goes to show how unpredictable this game development stuff can be. It's no wonder so many games get delayed multiple times. So many things can go wrong out of the blue.

     But judging by how close I am to finishing now (and how much I did last week) I'm guessing I'll have a demo ready by Tuesday night. I'll even have extra time to polish and make a gameplay video of it before release on Friday!

Just need to put finishing touches on! 5 more days tops!

Battle Gem Ponies DevLog #30 (Panel Hype, 60 Ponies Planned, & BronyCon Schedule)

     This week has been downright explosive. So much news... Multiple convention schedules, new business opportunities, completed animations, a public demo that should be ready by Friday, and more. I even weeded out the fluff and decided on the 60 must-have ponies to put in the game. Let's just dive into it! Catch this crazy week in gamedev below the break!

BGP: Maladies and Altering Stats Mid-Battle

     Stats like Attack, Energy Defense, Speed, and Evasion are specific to each form your pony takes, meaning buffs stacked on them are form specific too. However, maladies like Poison, Sleep, and Burn affects all of your pony's forms (the entire party). Accuracy is the only stat shared across all pony forms. It's a dynamic that reinforces the sense of each player having just one pony that shapeshifts rather than traveling with a team. Hopefully it gets people to bond more with their pony while also opening up interesting combat dynamics.

     This means you can have situations where your Simber has a sharpended Energy Attack stat then gets Cursed by a Ghost Class opponent. On the next turn if you switch to Orscina, the Energy Attack boost is gone and you're still Cursed. If you use Orscina's ability to heal then switch back to Simber, the curse will be lifted and the Energy Attack boost will return.

Battle Gem Ponies DevLog #29 (Attack Sprites Galore, Looking to the Future)

     I'm all hyped up on my potential future this week. It's up to me to make Yotes Games mean something to a lot of people. I can't wait to do just that. Lots of spriting was done this week. Once I get them all to move properly, I can put out a demo for everyone to try.

     Hopefully DevLog #30 will be the last before a public demo release. Almost done here.

Updated BGP Demo Release Schedule

     With June's delays accounted for, the Spring 2016 release date still seems possible, but the demo releases are thrown out of whack. There is only time for one public demo before BronyCon 2015 and features once intended for the convention will not be available until a number of weeks after.

Below the break you can find a modified version of the BGP demo release schedule.

Battle Gem Ponies DevLog #28 (Making Moves, Unicorn Training Launch Week)

     Well then. I certainly thought I could draw these things faster. Turns out I'll be spending over  half of this game's development time on the graphics alone. Unless I get this done I won't be able to hire an artist in the future, so I just need to keep at it. Unicorn Training's release was fun, but the numbers really need to be higher for me to have hope of living off this mad use of my free time.

Get your weekly Yotes Games update below.

BGP Battle Animation

     Battle animations is a feature that has finally been implemented and I'm comfortable with saying I can produce them for 50+ ponies within a reasonable timeframe. The way ponies move in combat plays a major part in the entertainment value of the game. It's also one of the main inspirations for the project. Seeing the battles in action right now gets me pumped every time. I always start the workday with a quick match just to remind myself of what I'm making here.

     There are 5-8 sprites for each animation and most play for about 1 second each. Every pony has the animations listed in the pic above. With this process broken down I should have an even easier time with making an Attack Effects pipeline. Can't have battles with ponies flinging imaginary attacks every which way. My goal of creating a vertical slice to show to people is coming true.