Month: April 2018

Oh, week 13 where do we start? Well, it was recently National Beer Day and a pint or two should be a requirement.  This means that all individuals of the drinking age should be required to drink at least one pint of craft beer.  Today I’m asking you to call your representatives as we work to pass this through the legislature. This would all be government funded of course.  Dream big or go home!

Yeah, that’s pretty much what this is all about. I mean what are we all here for?  I have a few game ideas that may or may not take off.  Won’t know unless we try right?  Well, this week was spent brainstorming a few ways to market the game upon release. I also spent a good amount of time on other projects so this bit will be a little short. Within the game, players can now exchange BEER CHEER for Beer Tokens.  This will reward better players with options to purchase items without real currency.  I want the game to be free-to-play for those who spend time consistently making it through levels.  Hopefully, they will also be able to use that BEER CHEER for actual beer!

Well, other than that I don’t have much for updates. At this point in the cycle, I may switch up to bi-weekly updates.  Unfortunately, for the game, I may be taking up some part-time work. This would of course slow up progress some, but hey we all got bills yo!

Anyway, on a serious note. On National Beer Day (NBD) I fell in love with Wild Ride Brewing in Redmond, Oregon.  It wasn’t love at first sight, but at first sip!  In celebration of NBD, Wild Ride hosted their Porter Mania which consisted of 12 experimental porter taps.  Although, some were already in production such as the Peanut Butter Nut Crusher which was my first awesome taste on this Wild Ride!  Nothing prepared my wife and me for this amazing Porter experience.  We traditionally stay away from porters in favor of stouts.  My first glance at the tap list was quickly repeated in mouth-watering awe. The variety was really good, and what was this habanero & jalapeno porter all bout? As we made our way through the brewery from table to table tasting everything from Raspberry & Peanut Butter to Milk Chocolate & Mint.  Surprisingly, the Bacon & Black Pepper porter was tolerable.  A particular roguish pink bottle has kept me far away from any beer that claims to tame the bacons.  I would like to see them refine a lot of these as it provides tremendous variety to their game.  Unfortunately, some of them like the Coconut porter did not sit right as the coconut flavoring seemed a little too syrupy.  I am now realizing they have already bottled this one.  Hey, if it has some fans then more power.

Overall, the event was pretty amazing and the food carts were on point. I truly had one of the best burgers I’ve picked up in a while. It was huuuuuuuuuge, and super tasty. I’m hoping as the crowds persist they offer some more bathrooms as the line was pretty annoying to deal with.  The following day I saw they have already ripped up the entire parking lot where we just sat by the fire pit.  More bathrooms?  Regardless, I’m a fan of a few Wild Ride beers and attending this event put a little more behind that.  My wife thought the spot might be a little too country for our taste, which is actually pretty expected in the area.  For my first trip they made an impression that we would be welcomed back… so,  if you’re in Redmond, Oregon make sure to swing by.  My favorite WRB brew at this time is the Peanut Butter Porter, but the sours have my wife and I both coming back.

Cheers!

Auzzzy

Yes, it really is dev update #12! The time is flying by and every day I am making decisions about what to keep in the game and what will take too long to develop. This month, April, I was supposed to be opening up the beta version of the game for everybody. I am still working hard to do that, but I am running a little behind. One of the setbacks has been making sure my Google Play account was set up correctly under the right business.  This is currently an ongoing process as I work with a Google rep to correct issues.  Another pain in the ass has been setting up an Apple Developer account. Wow! Apple makes you pay just to be able to use their test flight program while the app is in beta.  But before that, you have to apply for a DUNs number. In this regard, Google is way more approachable and I appreciate that.

Between coding and business admin, I did get a chance to enjoy a few beers last week.  We headed up to Mt. Bachelor for some “Spring” skiing and had a great day while enjoying a few good beers.  One big surprise was the Hawaiin Crunk by Riverbend Brewing. It was surprising because I visited their pub several years ago and was not too impressed. Well, it looks like with their release of a series of Milkshake IPAs they have found a good spot.  This was actually my first Milkshake IPA ever so I am a little biased, but this one has piqued my interest and I will be trying there others.  Unfortunately, the Your’e In the Jungle Baby by Evil Twin Brewing did not hit my tongue with the same note.  We ended up fighting with this one and making a few bets as to who could finish the beer, but eventually, half the can went down the drain.  Just not my style, sorry. The can is beautiful though!  I do applaud Evil Twin for their unique brews and urge them to continue.  Even if I didn’t like it I enjoyed giving it a try if that makes sense.

After heading home from the mountain we hit up Crux Fermentation Project and enjoyed the infamous Crux Stout and the Cocoanut Stout as well.  Crux is always a great place to enjoy a beer or two with the family, but with all the construction and road closure going on I may stay away for a month or two.  It was really a hassle to get in there.  We will be back though once things settle down.  When we got home it was almost necessary to pop open a bottle of Crux’s Fabled Grapes Wild Sour Ale. Now, this was a real treat and one I could sip on all night.  The wax-tipped bottle AND cork make for a classy bottle affair.  We had some family in town who were here in Oregon to bottle their new wine, and they were pretty impressed.  There are still a lot of people that have not experienced beer like this.

Over the weekend we hit up Bend Brewing Company for their annual Easter egg hunt.  While there I had a chance to try the Chocolate Jackalope Stout.  It’s beers like this that keep me coming back to BBC time and time. Plus the fact that they have a great space on the South side of the building for kids to play while we adults can chill on the patio or by the fire pits.

Well, after a few people in town and a pretty busy weekend, it’s back to game dev. I have a lot of scene/level balancing to do this week.  As the game evolves with new mechanics the difficulty level has to be tweaked and some scenes have to be reorganized to make the progress seem as fluid as possible.  I have a good friend in South Carolina helping me out with play testing, and she has dug up some really good stuff for me to fix.  So, hopefully, next week I can release this piece for beta and not have to worry about signups anymore.

Well, that’s it for this week’s bits.  Please keep drinking good beer and stay tuned!

Auzzzy