Clover Would Be Out Now...

...If it wasn't for a framework bug in Microsoft's XNA, and what I consider to be a flawed approvals process, which results in me having to sit on my backside for a week completely unable to make any progress.

All Xbox LIVE Community Games are required to pass peer review by other developers before getting to market. If a game crashes in any way it gets failed, and rightfully so. The problem comes because a whole heap of community members (who can only be described as utter idiots) kept resubmitting games for review with the same bugs in. As a response, a vocal portion of the community suggested that if you fail review, you have to wait seven days before being able to submit again.

So there I am, coding up to 16 hours a day, finishing the game up. I've played it through over 50 times, without seeing any crashes. I submit it to peer review, and a couple of testers leave Clover running whilst eating their dinners. When they return, the game freezes. After digging around a little, I find it's an issue with the XNA framework - I'm using the code as it's supposed to be used, but it causes freezes.

I pull Clover from review, and immediately fix the issue by placing two whole forward-slashes in the appropriate place. It's not in anyone's interests to have games out there with bugs. I then discover that because I try my darndest to maintain high standards, and because of a flaw in Microsoft's code, and because of a load of process-abusing idiots in the community, I (and all of you) have to wait a further seven days before I can even submit Clover to review again.

I could have left the game as it was, and hoped that no-one noticed. Instead I did the right thing and pulled it, and thus I get punished for a bug in someone else's code. I've already started a discussion to find a more fair solution than seven-days-jail, and it looks like a fair few people support that.

What was the bug? Calling SoundEffectInstance.Dispose() explicitly. One might go as far to say it's best practice to dispose of heavyweight resources when you're done with them. Unfortunately, this causes complete system freezes, fixable only by hitting the off switch.

When will Clover be out? Who knows. The review process (which itself lasts a few days) will commence again on Sunday, all going well. Knowing my luck some obsessive tester will fail it again for crashing whilst using a guitar controller whilst yanking out the hard drive and hitting the 360 with an axe.

Clover HD Trailer

The Clover HD trailer is now live on YouTube. Go along, let us know what you think with comments and ratings, and for goodness sake watch it in HD.

Here's the mini version, but seriously. We didn't spend 6 months doing all this lovely artwork just so you can look at it all squished up to fit this blog template!

Clover in Peer Review, Feedback

Clover is in peer review. This means that it is currently getting vetted for IP infringement, showstopper bugs, and inappropriate content. Once this is done (and it can take up to 10 days if nothing fails) the game will be available to buy. So, it's finally in the release pipeline.

We've recorded a rathe snazzy HD trailer, but as it says "Available on Xbox LIVE Community Games" I don't want to put it about the place until people can actually find and download the game. Pre-release hype makes no sense in our business model, as we can't secure pre-orders.

Here's some of the nice things people have said about Clover whilst it's been in playtest:

• "Love this game, reminds me of simpler times."
• "this game is awesome"
• "Still can't wait to see if Old Greg has a mangina!"
• "Very well made, nice work."
• "the graphics look fantastic. Definitely one of the best looking XBLCG."
• "Watercolor + political + platformer + puzzles hits me in all the right spots."

Clover Progress Report

Clover is on schedule. The order of tasks has changed a little, but the code is complete and locked down. All that remains now is finishing the trailer, and then it can be submitted for peer review. This is the process by which Community Games get approved for release, and vetted for inappropriate content.

So don't get worried, and don't go getting too excited just yet. Believe me, when it's available for purchase you won't be able to stop me telling you about it.

As an aside, we couldn't help ourselves from adding new loveliness. With a mere 45 minutes 'til code-lockdown o'clock, a conversation between Jeanette and I triggered an epiphany of symbolism. The best bit is (like quite a few references in Clover) most people won't notice it. You won't even get to see the suggestion of this symbolic analogy unless you're very lucky, or you've played the game through once and have an inquisitive mind. Then when you do, it's only the subtlest of nudges.

Rate Xbox LIVE Community Games

You can now rate Xbox LIVE Community Games over at Nick Gravelyn's fantastic XBLCG.info.

This means that for the first time, gamers can easily find out which Community Games are ace, and which are arse.

You'll need a Windows LIVE login to vote.

Release Imminenter

I really mean it this time. Clover (best CG so far?) should be going to peer review on Wednesday this week, which means that if it gets approved first time through, it'll be available on Friday. I've got no control over the peer review process though, so best wait until I send out press releases before getting too excited.

Today we're doing some last-minute emergency sound fixes (some of the voice work wasn't up to scratch), tomorrow is mixing those down and playtesting, Tuesday is preparing the release candidate build and more testing, and then Wednesday is trailer-filming day.

So, what happened? Clover was due to be submitted on Friday just gone, but unfortunately two performance bugs raised their ugly heads. The first caused the game to take 1 minute 21 seconds to load, which as I'm sure you'll agree is not acceptable. The other was causing two frames to be dropped every two seconds, which whilst bearable isn't the level of quality we're aiming for.

Both have since been fixed, and whilst doing the code fixes we've also had a chance to apply further polish to other aspects of the title. The 'tactile' elements of the gameplay mechanics are now more engaging, but it's still not very platformy. If you're looking for platforming action the likes of which you'd expect from a certain blue hedgehog, you'll be very disappointed.

Release Imminent

As mentioned before I've been saving personal and rambling guff for Twitter these days, so it's been a bit quiet on here.

If I can get my mitts on a lovely HD camcorder on Thursday, we should be looking at submitting Clover to peer review over the weekend. This means it may be available as early as next week.

Progress

The more observant among you may have noticed I'm using Twitter for more day-to-day inane banter, rather than littering this here blog with chud.

To illustrate that we are indeed making progress though, I thought I'd share with you that my todo list has had 25 items struck off it today alone. This week we should be all done, and then it's just a matter of marketing.