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This week’s update is all about fun and making sure we've captured it in our game.
After a few months of testing, playing and layering in features, powerups, projectiles, enemy waves, first-person food fights and more… we took a deep breath, stepped back, and asked:
“Is this still fun to play?”
The answer was… not quite. So we’ve done what every good dev team should do now and again... ripped it apart, put the wagon wheels down, and gone back to the drawing board to focus on the fun factor for Nom Nom Express.
The result?
An absolute rage-fest of physics, chaos, patience and strategic stack-building fun in the making.
Welcome to the new and better focussed Nom Nom Express:
Stacking food items isn’t just for show anymore. It's the core mechanic, and it finally feels right!
Each delivery is a physics-based puzzle in motion:
Stack items heavy to light, or risk toppling your tofu on a corner.
Get greedy with speed and hit a bin? Watch your burritos bounce into traffic.
Maintaining perfect balance? Then you’ll earn those sweet stack stability badges.
Prefer chaos and mayhem with max orders and full throttle boosts? You do you... and yes, we’ll be tracking your fastest times too.
Each different food item affects your speed, handling, and momentum, meaning your playstyle shapes your score. We're contemplating when and where to drop the pickups for extra boosts and alternative approaches to stacking, to mix it up a bit and give players that personalisation vibe.
Oh, and yes... we’ve added velocity penalties for sharp turns, overclocked throttle and hard landings. You want that perfect run? You’ll have to earn it the hangry way!
We’re making sure a mix of player styles gets some love in this game:
Speed Demon? Burn rubber for leader board glory.
Stack Strategist? Build it right, keep it tight.
Perfectionist? No drops, no bumps, all smiles.
Chaos Gremlin? Make it rain meatballs and still cross the finish line? We salute you.
Achievements and badges will be baked into the game, and we’re fine-tuning how we reward fun over frustration in this Job Simulator/Rage Stacking hybrid. Yes, our genre or mix of genres changes over time, but it's been important to find that sweet spot and follow the fun at all costs, especially when we are aligned with good causes.. so good, clean, but chaotic fun is coming thick and fast. Woooop.
On the Funding Front…
Unfortunately, we didn’t make the cut for the Media Cymru Development Fund this round. This was a closed round follow on, from our Seed Fund R&D that we're in the process of preparing for interviews here.
It’s a knock, for sure — but we’re so grateful for the opportunity to pitch the vision of Hangry Animals. The support and introductions so far on the Seed Fund have been incredibly helpful, and while the outcome wasn’t what we’d hoped, the mission stays the same.
We're still 100% focused on:
Building games and entertainment with heart and humour
Creating meaningful social impact via digital experiences
Offering value to players, charities and our community alike
Having fun while building the characters, story and products
It’s all part of the journey. We learn, we iterate, and we build the best games and experiences possible.
We’re now heading into full focus mode on:
Core mechanic testing for stack weight and velocity
A few very funny physics fails to dial up even more
More player styles = more types of reward and challenge
Internal playtesting to lock the new fun-first approach
And yes... more bad puns in the delivery dialogue
There’s still a long way to go. But we're more confident that we’re building something with soul & silliness, and just the right amount of jellied eels.
Watching games is just as popular as playing them.
Kids aren’t just gaming - they’re watching other people play too. Platforms like YouTube and Twitch are packed with livestreams and ‘Let’s Play’ videos. Joining in as a parent (even just for one video) can be a great way to spot if the content is right for your child - and share a laugh or two!
Thanks for sticking with us and supporting where you can.
Thanks for helping us shape something weird and wonderful.
Thanks for being Hangry. 💜
The Hangry Animals Team
www.hangryanimals.com
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PS Hello new subscribers! Don’t forget to visit our Paragraph page where you can read previous newsletters 🦓
If you have questions or suggestions on what you'd like us to include in future newsletters, drop a message in the #ideas-vault channel on our Discord or email us via hello@hangryanimals.com with your feedback.
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