I've been playtesting Sky Peck almost non-stop for the past three weeks, and let me tell you — it's an arduous job. Twenty minutes per session, max. My arms are in constant pain from all the flapping and flailing. I guess that means the exercise part is working?
But the real problem I found during the playtest is this: Sky Peck is an extremely single-player game. The moment someone else walks into the frame, the controls break, and there's nothing I can do about it. And that's genuinely sad — it's a fun game, and people naturally want to watch each other play.
So I came to a simple solution: let's build a server and let several people fly together!
And guess what? It worked. Last night my friend and I wrapped up testing at midnight. Three hours of playtesting. We were completely wrecked. And it was TOTALLY worth it. Gosh, this is rewarding.
For now there will be just one network mode, and it's called Keep the Beacon. Somewhere high on the map there's a single beacon, and your job is to capture it. But once you grab it, you get debuffed — and every other bird in the sky comes flocking after you to snatch it away. Land or crash, and you lose the beacon. The winner is the bird that held the beacon the longest.
And gosh, it's SO much fun. It's a game of tag — but in the air.
My kid is furious with me, by the way. He had to go to bed at 9 pm last night while Dad got three more hours of Sky Peck. Sorry, buddy. Perks of being the developer.
I should have a new video of a multiplayer match later today — it's going up on Instagram and YouTube.
One more thing: can someone help me with a Discord? I have no brainpower left to run yet another community server. If that's your kind of thing, speak up!
See you in a sparring flight, Flock!