JellieBox Games

28/12/2022

Merry Christmas! I'm still alive - I've just been incredibly ill for... 2 months? It's been absolutely ridiculous, but I'm getting back to normal now. This is a bit of a personal-progress-blog-type-post, so feel free to keep scrolling - Or don't!


Since I don't have the free time I once had, I decided I wanted to keep a closer eye on my own progress, so I went a bit over the top and created myself a Jira board. It's not something you generally do without a team, but I've found it really helps me focus and keep on top of what I've changed not-so-recently, and it's much more efficient than just leaving random notes in my own code...

I've been closely watching the journeys of lots of other game devs and I really appreciate the way some of them provide detailed changelists when they drop an update for a game (I'm looking at you, Valheim) and wanted in on that action. I've attached a random screenshot of some of my tickets that I've completed recently, just for posterity.

I've done a lot to No Way Up in the last few months, but the majority of it has been building a much better framework to build the rest of the game over, so unfortunately I don't have much to share with you. But things are finally shaping up, and I've now got a nice, chonky list of some new, well thought out enemies that I think you're all going to love.

Everyone enjoys games where they die when they stop moving, right?

11/10/2022

This is a special day for me, and I'll tell you why! Today is the second anniversary of my first Android release, Brock Hop: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.JeffMakesGames.BrockHop

While it never quite gained the following I would have liked, it was great fun to work on, it taught me a lot in a short time, and I always knew that simply creating something and seeing it through to completion and release would be the hardest step. It was the first passion project I ever saw through to the end, and because of that it will forever hold a special place in my heart.

I've since gone on to release Colourfall, Fidget Box, No Way Up, and even branched out over to Steam - Which was something that seemed unachievable when I started out.

When I very first sat down to work on Brock Hop, I was a postman with a bad knee, a busted ankle, and an incredibly encouraging and supportive wife.

I gave myself 3 years.

3 years to build a portfolio of 3 solid games and start looking for work as a full-time games developer. Today marks the end of 2 of those 3 years. Not only did I release 4 games in that time, I'm also approaching the end of my first 6 months as a full-time game developer! I work at a fantastic company that sought me out and immediately put me to work on their highest-earning game, and (to the best of my knowledge) I'm absolutely killing it over there.

I love my job. I honestly never thought I would get to say that.

I'm good at my job. Wasn't sure that would ever come up either!

All of these interactions with you - my wonderful little community; every like, every comment, every share, every review, every fragment of feedback I've received across various platforms and in person, everything has led up to this moment. And I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your support over these last 2 years.

Thank you all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much!

I genuinely couldn't have done it without you. I'm so grateful to every single person reading this right now.

Yes, you!

Anyway. I imagine you're thinking this is a roundabout way of me telling you that I won't be working on my games anymore because my spare time is limited... Quite the contrary! I've been spending every spare waking moment of the last few weeks rewriting No Way Up from the ground up. Just last weekend I finished building a system that lets me create new levels to completion from within the game itself. It can be done in seconds!

One of the biggest caveats of being a so-called 'professional' now is that I'm now learning about all the different ways that I did things badly in my own games... So I'm fixing every minor detail as we speak!

Hopefully you'll all feel the difference when the second part of No Way Up drops. I'm very excited to showcase what I've got in store, but... not yet. Not just yet.

Love you guys!
-Jeff

PS: Brock Hop has a Halloween event all this month, along with a cool birthday event that ends at midnight tonight. If you're bored, check it out! It's silly fun.

30/08/2022

Anyone running Steam on a Mac?

No Way Up is now available to you.

Also, here's a trapped Cinder in the same style as my last post. (Repost - I put the wrong picture up. Whoops)

22/08/2022

This week is my birthday, and I want to celebrate with all of you by giving you 50% off the game, along with masses of improvements. Including (but not limited to):

- Revised levels - Almost half of the existing levels have had the difficulty hiked up and many puzzles made much more interesting.
- Sound - I've devised an entirely new audio system to keep everything consistent.
- Equalisation - Volume levels have been severely stomped down and normalised.
- Background music - As requested, more dark, sinister ambience...
- Lighting - The 'black wall' issue should be resolved.
- Dialogue - The story has been almost entirely rewritten to be less wacky.
- Menu Navigation - Page left/right buttons added to the main menu.
- Optimisation - Lots of minor fixes and quality of life improvements.
- 2 new achievements!
- Dancing... Just to take the edge off.
- Late edition: Dialogue Skip - Story dialogue is now always on by default when replaying levels, but it can also be toggled on/off in the Options menu.

Thank you all so much for all the feedback since release. Every single word has been taken on board, and I think this update has it all covered - plus much more! Now the game is all nice and polished, time to start work on Part 2...

Get it now, or play it some more:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1878670/No_Way_Up

Check the comments for a very cool re-imagining of a Spectre...

18/06/2022

Would you just look at that distribution! I'm overwhelmed by how far and fast No Way Up is spreading. I've had droves of eager streamers reach out to me recently, wanting to play. I can't thank you all enough for putting in the time to play, write reviews and share the good word.

I've had some fantastic feedback in the last few days on what I've done well, and what could have been better. I've listened closely to every single word you've all said - I'm sorry the intro music is so loud...

I'll immediately be working on tweaking those parts of the game, as well as starting work on the next chapter.

THANK YOU ALL
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1878670/No_Way_Up

14/06/2022

SPEECHLESS. The response for No Way Up has been absolutely phenomenal. In less than two days, the Steam release has outsold the Android version more than ten times over. Thank you SO much for everyone that bought it, and everyone that claimed a code in the giveaway.

I'm currently still sitting at one single positive review. If you've enjoyed the game please please please give it a rating on Steam, as that is what will ultimately give the game a chance at success and result in more quality content. I have big plans for the future of No Way Up and am very keen to hear what people have to say about it, be it good or bad!

Thanks everyone! 🥰

12/06/2022

Steam release day!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1878670/No_Way_Up/

Full controller support, achievements, and masses of optimisation and quality-of-life improvements! No Way Up is now available on Steam. It's currently under the early access banner, but there are 48 fully playable levels wrapped in a quirky little story.

Once again, the first 5 comments will receive a copy of the game absolutely free. All I ask is you leave a fair review - or at least provide some general feedback.

I'll see you if/when you return from the Void.

Edit: All free keys (and then some) have now been claimed. Thanks for supporting JellieBox!

03/06/2022

While preparing No Way Up fit for its Steam release, I got a bit carried away with making the game more non-phone-friendly and started work on promised features a bit prematurely. It's still coming! Just... not today. But what IS coming you ask?
---
Controls have been revised - Tank controls are now exclusive to first-person. When in third-person, up/down/left/right are now explicit.

Full controller support is 99% integrated, I just need to run a few more tests with some different controllers.

And assuming I don't massively overrun: Achievements!

The Android release will be updated with all new features and optimisations shortly after the Steam release.
---
Once again, thanks for your patience!

Wishlist No Way Up now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1878670/No_Way_Up/

07/05/2022

Big news for my non-Android followers.
..Ready? I'm preparing to release No Way Up on Steam! Everything is working great so far, but I plan on using the weekend to fully stress-test everything and release the finished product within the coming week. Controller support and achievements are also in the works to be added shortly after release!

Add No Way Up to your wishlist now! (And receive 25% off on release)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1878670/No_Way_Up

The only way up... Is down.

29/03/2022

Automatically sync your game progress across your devices in version 1.2 of No Way Up.

Available to download now!

10/03/2022

No Way Up - Part 1 is now available to download and play on Android!

To celebrate, I'm hosting a little giveaway - The first 5 comments on this post will receive a code to download the game free of charge. All I ask is that you leave some fair feedback once you've played. Thank you all for your patience everyone!

Download here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.JellieBoxGames.NoWayUp

Updated trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7TV_6iUros

10/03/2022

A new addition to the family is always a shock to the system, so the final testing phase and subsequent release of No Way Up had to be briefly halted while baby Phoebe settled into the JellieBox family.
😴

No Way Up has been submitted for final approval and will be landing on Android any day now!

16/02/2022

No.

Way.

Up.

https://youtu.be/O7TV_6iUros

The only way up...Is DOWN.Releasing soon on Android and Steam.

16/02/2022

JellieBox is back in action! My new PC has arrived and I've already leapt into action to put together the trailer for No Way Up as promised. It should be barging onto your screens before the day is out. Thanks for being patient!

20/01/2022

20/01/2022

It's been a while since I posted anything because I've been so buried in polishing the release of No Way Up, but I thought it only fair to mention that my computer sort of... exploded while I was working on a launch trailer. 😱

Not to worry though, my harddrive is still intact so I haven't lost anything important but I'm currently out of the game for a week or two.

The second I'm back up and running, my latest release will be imminent. Exciting twist: I'm aiming to release on 2 platforms for the first time. Stay tuned!

12/11/2021

Whoops, I seem to have dropped a new game!

Fidget Box!

I made this distraction piece for my little girl so she could hold my phone without accidentally buying things. You can see her thoroughly enjoying a beta version of it if you look at my previous posts.

Free of charge - No ads, no profit, my gift to parents everywhere. Play with bouncy balls, stars and coins. Enjoy bright colours, silly noises and some peaceful music while you fling things around in this gravity-defying fiesta of colour.

If enough people show interest, I'm happy to continue adding new content. Currently only available on Android.

PS: Sorry for the lack of recent updates, work has been absolutely manic and the family has been consistently ill for roughly an eternity.

11/10/2021

🤩 100+ followers for little old me? Absolutely mind-blowing. And you're all so good-looking too!

Thanks for all the likes and shares in the last few days everyone, it really does mean a lot.

If you haven't already (and you're on Android), feel free to check out Brock Hop before the anniversary/birthday event ends at midnight tonight. The Halloween event will continue until the end of October. 👻