Hey folks,
This week's update is less feature drop, more brain spill… haha, because right now, we're neck-deep in refining what it means to feel something while playing the NomNom Express prototype.
We’re constantly asking ourselves:
What do we want players to Do?
What should players See?
What might players Think?
And most importantly, how do we want players to Feel?
Joyful chaos? Purposeful motion? A little adrenaline, empathy, and a lot of flying flaming burritos, right? That’s the goal. Striking that balance between the second-by-second experience, the minute-by-minute dopamine goals and rewards and the longer-term story arc or hour-by-hour incentives is hard. So we're taking our time to prepare the playground for this next step and unleashing the first game test to the community, for 'let's face it, ' the brutality of feedback #1.
We have our loop (Delivery piping hot and frosty cold items) to your designated destinations on route in the fastest, safest, and most efficient way possible without getting mauled by aliens. Simples right?
We can then manipulate time, temperature, and complexity of the challenge along the way to mix up the adventures to tap into the Do element of our Empathy mapping graph. The levels set out on the platformer hybrid will be visually delightful and some otherworldly as the player progresses through the thirsty challenges.. so what players See, will also be a wave of cool dopamine laden props, scenery and obstacles to explore. We satisfy the Think aspect of the empath map with loadouts and efficient route strategies.. when to use Speed boosts, take extra power ups from enemies and when to use Jump Boosts to reach platforms high above. The Feel factor is down to pace, animation, sound, the challenge itself and the So What of it all. Is the gameplay interesting and fun to play? for Hangry Andy, who's been whirring away with the early tests levels and interactable, he's hooked.. but that's not to say everyone else will feel the same. So the sooner you folks can get your hands on the demo level and provide some initial feedback, the better our game and experiences will be.
With this core reward loop established, we've been exploring what other factors keep players engaged.
that's why we’re experimenting even further to add variety to play and what gamers will see on screen. Some deliveries won’t just be about racing across town dodging aliens in the streets. The action will take you inside. High-rise drop-off deliveries will throw you into interior challenges, tight corridors full of lurking enemies, each turn more intense than the last.
We’re toying with a first-person switch inside buildings... where you can truly feel the tension as you fling Choctogons to distract, deter or disrupt everything that wants to ruin your perfect shift. You're determined to get that perfect score and badges of honour to climb the Hangry Leaderboard for the ultimate win!
On the R&D front...
We’ve been loving the process of pulling apart what makes a good core game loop and rebuilding it with our flavour. It’s messy, challenging, and incredibly satisfying. And yeah, no one’s had hands-on yet (we hear you!), but we’re close to having the first internal playtests good to go.
This isn’t just about making a game. It’s about building a system that reflects how people really want to play. That’s why your feedback will be gold when the time comes.
Collaborations
As well as everything going on here at Hangry HQ, we've had the privilege of helping the Community of Communities crew put together a Web3 Story book. This is an awesome collaboration with artists, musicians, founders and engineers building amazing projects using web3 technologies. We're huge fans and even have a page for each Hangry in the book exploring alternative histories of the Hangry crew. If you want to know more, do visit the C.O.C website for the scoop on their announcement of a digital and physical version coming down the track.. oh and the book feature will be in the next Crypto Magazine being prepared for print as you read this.
Elsewhere in the Hangryverse...
We’re grateful to be part of QuickNode’s accelerator programme… It’s already introduced us to the brilliant minds at Thirdweb, who are helping us think smarter about:
Account Abstraction
Token-gated marketplaces
On-chain leaderboards
Web-based access to your gear, shifts, stats and badges
We’re building a seamless web-shell that wraps around your core game experience, so you never miss a beat between shifts. for those looking for something of a framework to build with on tp of your existing codebase, check this repo out: https://github.com/Joe-Thirdweb/UnifiedGaming
More updates coming soon… but for now, thanks for following along on this wild ride. It’s getting weirder, more wonderful, and more us with every sprint.
Stay Awesome,
Team Hangry \m/
