Red Fly Studio Developer’s Blog

Plotting the future of Red Fly Studio, originally uploaded by Red Fly Studio.

No rest for the wicked. Even though Mushroom Men is wrapping up, there’s no time to rest. We have several more unannounced games that require our attention and focus now that Mushroom Men is complete.

Nearly finished, originally uploaded by Red Fly Studio.

We’re doing a full playthrough checking gameplay, game flow, art, scripting and audio.

In the final weeks of the project, leads are isolated in a smaller office out of the main pit where they make the hard decisions and answer the tough questions.

As remaining months turn into remaining weeks, most of the staff works through lunch to get everything wrapped up in time to ship some top-notch games.

Producer Chad Barron just returned from a two-week press junket across Europe. He reported the good news to the entire team.

Blind testing, originally uploaded by Red Fly Studio.

After developing a game for a year and a half, it’s crucial in these final months to put the game into the hands of someone who’s never seen it before. We’ve lived in these environments for so long, we can play through our levels forwards and backwards without paying much attention to them. This makes us a little blind at times to certain flaws that a newbie stumbles upon naturally. Designers learn a lot by watching someone pick up the game for the first time.

Reviewing the Amanitas Inner Sanctum level, originally uploaded by Red Fly Studio.

Testers Eric and Eva sit in to provide their feedback, having played through it all day every day.

Mr. Mike gives us the benefit of his vast planning experience, originally uploaded by Red Fly Studio.

Long-time industry vet Mike McShaffry is pitching in during our final months of production to ensure that our final push runs as smoothly as possible.

Mandatory playtime, originally uploaded by Red Fly Studio.

Now that all the levels in Mushroom Men are playable in their entirety, we have instituted a “mandatory playtime” during the week in which all developers, regardless of discipline, must play the game for a half hour, preferably a level they haven’t worked on in any capacity. Fresh eyes reveal issues unnoticed by scripters and artists who might be jaded by spending their entire days within their own levels.