Naughty Elves - Available on Steam/itch.io

Showcase
#1

Hi guys! It’s Steffen and Matthias from Gurkenlabs again!
We’ve been working on this for a few months now and it is now time to reveal to you:
[h1]Naughty Elves[/h1]


https://naughtyelves.gurkenlabs.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/capsule_lg.png

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[h2]Development[/h2]
The game is based on our submission for LDJAM38 and was developed in our self written 2D Java Game Engine: The LITIengine
[h2]Description[/h2]
Naughty Elves is a tactical 2D Puzzle game. Set sometime around Christmas, Santa’s elves have stolen all the presents to keep them for themselves.
You play as Santa, trying to save Christmas. Knock out the elves with snowballs to retreive the presents so that the children of the world can celebrate a peaceful Christmas!
[h2]Gameplay (a.k.a. “why shouldn’t I just download the jam game for free?”)[/h2]
The basic gameplay of Naughty Elves is, of course, the same as in the Jam version: You walk around the elves’ huts and try to throw snowballs through the doorways.
But there are some major improvements to what you’ve seen in the jam version:

  • Improved controls: No more chunky mouse aiming! Just turn Santa in the desired direction and throw! (this also means that Naughty Elves comes with full controller support.)
  • Improved technology: Since the game is made with LITIengine, it benefits from every single change we’ve made to the engine this past half year.
    Thus, and because we’ve rewritten most of the messy game jam code from scratch, the game is more stable.
  • New Content: The gameplay is now much richer due to [list][li]Three new enemy types with different abilities- A new “weapon”: the candy cane that stuns elves on impact- Mooooore levels gradually increasing in difficulty- Interactive objects like teleporters and buttons that require you to time your actions perfectly[/li]
  • Achievements: Collect Steam achievements to brag among your friends!
  • New look: We’ve completely overhauled the game’s setting, changing it from creepy clowns and gnomes to an atmospheric christmas theme.
  • Christmas: Come on, what kind of monster are you? Haven’t you been convinced by Christmas already? Christmas, son…
    [/list]
    [h2]Impressions[/h2]

https://naughtyelves.gurkenlabs.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/screenshot-6.png

https://naughtyelves.gurkenlabs.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/screenshot-7.png

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[h2]Release[/h2]
The game will be released via Steam on Dec. 07 For the price of 2.99$ / 2.99€ / £2.50 Add it to your wishlist now, maybe Santa will fulfill your wish!
[h3]Naughty Elves on Steam[/h3]
[h2]About Us[/h2]
[h3]Our Website[/h3]
[h3]Follow us on Twitter[/h3]
[h3]Support us via Patreon[/h3]
[h3]Support us via Paypal[/h3]
[h3]Contribute to or use LITIengine[/h3]

#2

[h1]It’s out![/h1]
Last night we’ve secretly released v1.0.0 of Naughty Elves! While we are certain that you’ll enjoy our little creation, there’s still some improvements to be made. So after introducing you to the features of v1.0.0, we’ll briefly explain which improvements and fixes you can expect within the next two weeks.
So go ahead and wishlist (or even better, buy) the game now on steam, we have a 10% discount running at the moment!
Naughty Elves on Steam

[]Features in v1.0.0
[list]
[]Santa vs. Elves:
4 Elf types with different perks require you to act strategically. Time your snowballs right and stun elves with your candy cane.
[]Interactive Objects:
Teleporters, Timed doors and other puzzles will test your aiming and timing skills.
[]Levels:
Right now, there’s 15 levels in the game, gradually increasing in difficulty and variety. We estimate your first playthrough to take about 35 minutes.
[]Achievements:
Collect 11 steam achievements to brag with among your friends!
[]Controller support:
Enjoy the game from your couch using your favourite controller.

[*]Planned improvements

[]Sounds:
Soon, each level will feature its individual christmas carol as background music.
Santa and the Elves are getting more sounds too.
[]Graphics:
More varied props and environment graphics are on their way!
[]Steam Controller:
We’ll upload a recommended Steam controller config near the end of the weekend so you won’t have to figure one out yourself.
[]Levels:
Maybe not within two weeks, but we’ll be adding more levels to the game in the near future.

[*]Summary
It’s been an in intense journey to release our first game on steam. The whole project is kind of a test for the capabilities of our engine and a lesson in marketing and digitally distributing a game. Nothing is, however, without flaws, keep in mind that everything you see is made in the free time of two young academics, not professionally. So if you have any issues with the game or other feedback, please let us know so we can improve our work accordingly.
[/list]

#3

https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzk2ODgxNS5wbmc=/original/4oTlQ%2F.png

We’ve been working hard for the last few days to improve theexperience with Naughty Elves. Here are the patch notes for the new patch that is live now:

Patch Notes 1.0.1

  • Overall improved the AI of the elves
    - This prevents them from getting stuck in corners randomly
    - Also this ensures a more distributed movement within the huts
  • Added a new HelpScreen that explains the player how to throw further
  • Added a victory jingle when clearing a level
  • Improved the general rendering performance
  • Increased alpha value for range indicator
  • Fixed playback of menu sounds on startup
#4

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With this patch, we not only bring you slight improvements but we also added a Steam Leaderboard to the game. Also, we’ve reworked parts of our HUD to improve the player feedback on the snowball mechanism.

Patch Notes 1.0.2

New Features

  • Refined the entire HUD[list]
    [li]Added a UI element that shows the snowball cooldown
  • Added a similar UI element for the candy cane cooldown
  • The timer is now always being displayed
    [/li]
  • Added a steam leaderboard that tracks the playthrough time
    [/list]

Improvements

  • Slightly improved bottom left part of level 15
  • Slightly improved top right corner of level 14

Bugfixes

  • Fixed an issue with the level win sound/animation where the player could still move
  • Fixed an issue with the settings menu not working after finishing a game
  • Fixed an issue with overlapping music under some circumstances
  • Fixed an issue with the splash screen rendering on non-default aspect ratios