"Everytime I bounce, I feel I touch the skyyyy!!"
Apparently there are “some lads in Britain” (no, not those Liverpudlians, talking about some other lads!) who very much understand what our game Make Bouncy Bouncy is all about!
“Bouncy Bouncy... Oooh! Such a good time!” 
ByDesign kicks off 2008 with a bang!
* New Designs & Development Projects
From the start of the year, ByDesign has been busy with a new online game prototype, a new interactive installation project, a new game design commissioned for the Wii console, plus various support work on other upcoming projects and opportunities (hint: iPhone!). It’s been crazy!
There is much more coming down the pike, such 2008 is looking to be a banner year for ByDesign Games! Check back here throughout the year for more details as it all develops!
.: v1.2 now available at http://www.bydesigngames.com/mbb/ :.
* Make Bouncy Bouncy gets new promo video, new online retail partners & a new version update!
We've added a video trailer highlighting Make Bouncy Bouncy's atmosphere & showcasing some of the gameplay. Check it out by visiting the Official Make Bouncy Bouncy Website!
In addition to a new & easier to navigate game site (with score leaderboard), Make Bouncy Bouncy has also recently launched with certain new online retailers to help spread the Bouncy Bouncy love! If you shop online, you might come across it, else it is available on the official game site at ByDesignGames.com.
As a part of our on-going plan to release regular updates and extensions to the game, we're happy to make v1.2 available, the game's biggest update yet! Changes include;
- Core play mechanic has a completely new layer to it... Building up your bounce is even more explosive and rewarding!
- Levels now have bouncy objectives, bonus bounces, and score multipliers!
- Added new levels to all Moods; the game now has over 35 levels in total! Will continue to release new levels (for free) for the life of the game.
- Fine-tuned the game’s physics to offer a more satisfying bounce when not making bouncy bouncy.
- Added a new feature that allows players to quickly turn 180 degrees by pressing Right Mouse Button / Down Arrow.
- Added a new pad type, the Turn Pad. The Turn Pad will angle you towards it's arrow whenever you land on it.
- Added a feature to enhance the feeling of vertigo in some levels. To "hear it" in action, play the level Firenze in the Nervous mood (also appears in other key levels).
- Demo users have a new free daily random level button in Mood Select; gives access to an otherwise demo-locked level & changes daily!
- Added Level Select functionality; now you can choose the level you wish to play on, if you've already unlocked that level.
- Added ability to change game resolution to the Options screen; players no longer have to restart to change the game's resolution (old start-up dialog was removed).
- Refinements to the overall visual styling.
- Demo available as a Mac OSX Dashboard Widget. Update: it’s an Apple staff pick today!
- And many more! Details can be found in the game's Version History.
Existing players can download free updates from the Official Make Bouncy Bouncy Website, just click Download!
As always, if you have any thoughts or feelings about Make Bouncy Bouncy, have any comments or questions, do not hesitate to let us know in our Forums or directly via the Contact page. As this update suggests, we are indeed listening!
Stay tuned for more Bouncy Bouncy news in the coming weeks & months!
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As you can see, things are rocking & rolling here at ByDesign Games. You can still help us spread the word by telling your friends, your family, and colleagues all about our work! Just click Tell A Friend from the panel on the right and you're all set!
Until next time, have fun and stay frosty!
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds, cannot change anything" [George Bernard Shaw -- Irish Playwright, Literary Critic]
Make Bouncy Bouncy update!
.: now available at http://www.bydesigngames.com/mbb/ :.
* Make Bouncy Bouncy v1.1 Released!
After a great launch of v1.0 at the end of 2007, happily v1.1 of Make Bouncy Bouncy is now available! Changes in Make Bouncy Bouncy v1.1 include;
- German language translation has been updated to make it more like German and less like gibberish
- Minor tweaks to the "Nervous" mood / demo levels to make them easier and more enjoyable to play.
- Fixed a few of the later levels where the Safety Cube would not always spawn in the most usable location.
- Various minor state fixes and performance tweaks.
If you're an existing licensed user, you'll also receive an update via email on how to download the latest version.
* Make Bouncy Bouncy Demo Now Both Online AND Downloadable
Some of the more popular feedback we've had since launching 2 weeks ago is that users would appreciate the option to download the demo version in addition to playing the demo online. We're listening and now offer the demo version to download!
Visit the Make Bouncy Bouncy site and click "Play the Free Demo" and you'll be only a few clicks away from downloading the demo version for either Mac or Windows!
What more, should you decide to purchase a full license, you won't need to re-download the game! The downloadable demo and full version both share the same assets and can be activated in the same way once you have purchased a full version license for the game!
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In the coming weeks, Make Bouncy Bouncy will launch on some of the top game portals, we'll put our promo video online and launch in new languages. Look here in the coming weeks for new announcements and availability!
If the meantime, if you've already enjoyed playing Make Bouncy Bouncy, you can still help us spread the word by telling your friends, your family, and colleagues all about it! We've made it super easy for you; just click Tell A Friend from the Make Bouncy Bouncy site and you're set!
As always, if you feel anything about Make Bouncy Bouncy at all, have any thoughts or comments, do not hesitate to let us know in our Forums or directly via the Contact link on every page. As this update shows, we are indeed listening!
Until next time, have fun!
"The progress of an artist is a continual self-sacrifice" [T.S. Eliot -- Poet]
Make Bouncy Bouncy v1.0 Released!
.: now available at http://www.bydesigngames.com/mbb/ :.
* Make Bouncy Bouncy v1.0 Launched!
That's right, v1.0 of Make Bouncy Bouncy has finally been released into the wild! For all you game players who hunger not for a lengthy 3-course game meal, but instead prefer a tasty game snack, this one's for you!
At a glance, Make Bouncy Bouncy features:
- 1-Handed Control - easy to pick up and enjoy!
- Fun For the Whole Family - for all skill levels (you too Mom!)
- Spatial Puzzles in 3D - easy to pick up, difficult to master!
- Calm Atmosphere & Spaces - who needs more stress?
- Variety of Challenges - consider new ways to succeed!
- Available Now for Windows & Mac! - Both Vista & Leopard ready!
This initial version was completed in the wee hours late Friday Evening (well, evening only if you live near Hawaii!), and now both the game & the game site is online!
Check out the game's site replete with brand new screenshots, a demo with 7 intro levels (the demo can be played directly in your browser!) and more info on what you'll find in the full version.
Our web store is also now online, 100% secure & operational, so if you decide that you must have more Bouncy Bouncy, we're here to accommodate you!
To that end, you can purchase the full version of Make Bouncy Bouncy for only $19.95 per single license, or go for the bundle deal at $29.95; that's 3 licenses for less than the cost of 2!
Purchasing is so easy, you literally can be playing the full game within minutes of reading this!
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* Where do all the Bouncy Bouncys go?
As if all of this excitement wasn't enough already, the launch is only the beginning.
In the coming weeks, we'll post more news about where the 'Bouncy Bouncys' go after you create them, web access to the game's online scoring component, video content, news on new features, level packs, and add-ons, progress on the multi-language site, bug fixes (hey, we're not perfect! haha), and more!
What more you ask? How about more details on the production and the history of how the game came to be, the technology used, and other morsels of geeky goodness. Sound good? Well check back soon!
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So that's all for this time! I hope in the coming days, you find your way over to try the Make Bouncy Bouncy online demo and check out the rest of the game's features.
If the meantime, if you've already enjoyed our little game, then you can help us spread the word by telling your friends, your family, pets and colleagues all about it! We've even made it super easy for you; just click Tell A Friend from the Make Bouncy Bouncy site and you're set!
If you feel anything about Make Bouncy Bouncy at all, have any thoughts or comments, do not hesitate to let us know in our Forums or directly via the Contact link on every page. We're listening!
Until then, have fun!
"The harder you fall, the higher you bounce..." [Source -- Unknown]
Make Bouncy Bouncy Release Date Announced!
That's right, our new casual online game with a funny name, finally has a release date!
.: launches Friday Evening, December 28th, 2007 :.
* MBB Launch Date & Pricing; These past weeks, we've successfully ironed out the few snags we'd encountered on the purchasing back-end (open standards are "a good thing") but with that behind us, we're announcing that Make Bouncy Bouncy will launch on Friday Evening, December 28th, 2007!
For more juicy details, including pricing & language support, take a look at the updated Make Bouncy Bouncy pre-launch site for what more you can expect on launch day!
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Remember, Friday, December 28th 2007 is the Make Bouncy Bouncy launch date, so watch this space! If you can't wait to Make Bouncy Bouncy, come and visit our Forums to let us know.
Until next time, have fun!
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." [Albert Einstein -- Physicist]
It's almost time to Make Bouncy Bouncy!
* MBB Status; It's true, Make Bouncy Bouncy is nearly ready! Nearly, as we iron out some last minute kinks on the web purchasing backend. The demo is ready, but the rest should only take a few more days to sort it all through... !
Huh? What's that you say? 'What if I lay the demo on you now, while you wait for the full version?' Well... we definitely could... but before that's decided, let's walk through what happens if we follow your testy "What If" scenario and release the demo early:
What if:
1) You somehow grab the "backend not yet ready" demo early from your favorite independent casual game developer ByDesign Games ...
2) You naturally fall in love with the game and want to Make Bouncy Bouncy all night long, and so you click on the Activation link to turn your demo into the full version...
3) Then you sit... waiting on the purchase page... in anticipation of all the Bouncy Bouncy you're about to get up to... just you and your expired Make Bouncy Bouncy demo, your hard-earned smackers in your hand, ready to buy the full version...
4) But it's not loading! And you sit... and wait...
5) And you wait some more. You stop bathing, your boss calls wondering why you haven't been to work, your pets have left because they are hungry, your neighbors start to wonder where you have been, and finally your family files a missing person's report...
6) The police come, but you don't answer the door because what if Make Bouncy Bouncy becomes available for purchase while you're chatting with the nice officer who would otherwise be explaining to you that your family is worried about you and have since cancelled your next birthday party... so you sit there and wait some more...
7) Finally you get hungry and you risk it all and make your stinky way over to the refrigerator. But all the food's gone bad! You've nothing to eat, but you don't go shopping, because... what if! So you return and wait some more until you end up growing weaker and weaker, and just before your last breath, you get another update from ByDesign Games saying, Make Bouncy Bouncy is finally ready to purchase! Oh sweet pickled onions!
But it's all too late! You're too weak to move the mouse any further. And you pass out on the floor, your future uncertain... all because you demanded that we release the demo early, before the full version was ready for prime time.
Is that what you want? To risk your health, before we ironed out some technology snafu on the backend?! Possibly life, even more possibly limbs, all for a backend SNAFU!?
Well, to that I say... NO! For your limbs, your health, your family, and your pets... just wait... a little longer.
And if you can't do that, all I can offer is that you express your frustration in our "just sitting there & waiting for you to post" Forums.
Have at it you...! Har!
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Watch this space for more updates next week, including the demo & pricing info for the full version. Until then, prepare yourself to Make Bouncy Bouncy! (and try not to make a mess of it!)
"A fast word about oral contraception: I asked a girl to go to bed with me and she said 'no'." [Woody Allen -- Film Maker, Musician]
Extra Extra... read all about it!
Technology: it is sometimes hard to imagine that the human race's use of technology began with the conversion of our surrounding natural resources into simple tools.
.: Technology of the Past : Simpler... Deadlier? :.
From using sticks and bones to help mash up our food, we've continued the path to empower us to create a global communications medium, to take photos from the edge of our solar system, and to build tools that allow us to express anything we can imagine...
Clearly, we've come a long way baby!
* New Site Updates; With the pending release of Make Bouncy Bouncy, we took some time to update various aspects of the site. Among the updates, we've launched a new home page celebrating our extensive game industry experience. Following that, the About Us page has at long last been updated to include details & some images from our past work.
More site updates, the ByDesign Games Forums has officially launched! Players can now give direct feedback, get specific game support, talk about upcoming games and game design ideas with a direct line to the brains here at ByDesign.
Final misc. site updates, we've added lightbox support for linked images, the site should load faster due to some back-end optimizations, and we performed some misc. color usage tweaks to enhance readability. Not too shabby for a single site update eh?
* Make Bouncy Bouncy status; I'm pleased to say that Make Bouncy Bouncy, ByDesign's new casual game with a funny name, is on track for a November release! Soon enough, you'll enjoy to Make Bouncy Bouncy with ByDesign Games! The game's site has yet to fully launch, only the teaser site is in place for now, but keep an eye this space for more updates as we near release.
* Apple OS X 10.5 Leopard; Attention! A Leopard is loose in the wild! That's right, Apple has released their latest operating system cum opus, OS X 10.5 Leopard. Speaking as a designer, Apple continues to amaze with their design priorities; with Leopard, the result is a very usable and rewarding experience all without sacrificing the important base elements of stability and security. From Quick Look (oh it's great!) to Spaces (nice implementation of an old idea) along with over 300 improvements across the board, the final analysis is that Leopard is a worthy update to a stable, secure, economical and all around pleasant operating system. After some very minor 3rd-party software updates, ByDesign is now fully a house of Leopard!
* Unity v2.0 released; Not to be outdone, Unity Technologies (formerly Over The Edge Technologies) has unleashed their Unity Engine v2.0 on the masses. As you know, we've been working with the v2.0 technology for a couple of months, helping it mature, and I can easily say, this update was worth it. In the making for the over 3 years, v2.0 brings much in the way of delicious new features: Terrains, Networking support, the latest rendering technologies, and a whole host of other game developer goodies. Unity is our engine of choice here at ByDesign, and we're just ecstatic that v2 is now available publicly.
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Whew! Well, that's it for this time. Stay tuned on ByDesign Games because... "things just keep getting better & better!"
"In science as in love, too much concentration on technique can often lead to impotence." [Peter Ludwig Berger -- Writer, Theologian]
Time Flies When You're Busy (now with more science!)
.: Time - no longer relegated to the annals of pithy catch-phrases :.
Anyway, this time around we've news on the super secret EA game mentioned in last month's update AND... (wait for it) a brand-spanking-new casual web game!
* Game Design for EA; We've completed our Design Direction with the developer on a new version of a classic & critically acclaimed Electronic Arts console & desktop video game. Sure enough, with so much history at stake, Electronic Arts has decided to hold back on its release until other related platform versions are ready to enjoy. Rest assured, once it's out, you'll hear about it here!
* New Game Announcement;
For generations past, playing games often involved attacking or destroying anything & everything with little reason or purpose. Mindless violence surely has it's place (so much better in game-space than in real life!) but "too much" is definitely not "a good thing".
Here at ByDesign Games, we've created a response to all of that. We proudly present...
.: A new casual puzzle game experience from ByDesign Games :.
What started as a 10-day "for fun" game-design exploration, has born the fruit of goodness such we are on track to release it in the short term, to wrap up our short break from The Late Call. Check out screenshots and more at the game's teaser site!
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Such it is, we're busy bees here at ByDesign... so that be all for this bout. Stay sweet and delicious everyone!
"You must never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." [Charles Buxton -- Writer, Brewer]