Hey all, it’s me again, AMP. It’s been a while since my previous update, and as Jaakko is still getting his bearings back after some well deserved R’n’R, I’ll take this opportunity to have a chat about Chompy. We’ve recently started taking a look at implementing her into Cave Digger 2 as well, which means that our thickset buddy from Cave Digger 1 is getting a makeover! Multiple makeovers, in fact! 

 

Now, I’ve never minced words about how I dislike Chompy. Anyone who’s followed our Twitch streams or other social media posts has probably heard that I’m the mean old game designer who hates the blocky mascot, and would rather put her through a wood chipper than an episode of Queer Eye.

 

 

The root of this antipathy is the way I interacted with her in Cave Digger 1. Or rather, the way I didn’t interact with her at all. My first contact with Ms. Mimi Jewels was when I completed my first side quest (breaking a bunch of bottles, if I recall) in Cave Digger 1, and was horrified and confused to discover that a flying box was suddenly making its way through the empty ghost town, farting out treasure. This also remained my only contact with the creature, as once I managed to repair the train, I just rolled past the box hiding in the tunnel. This experience didn’t really engender any warm feelings of commitment to the mascot.

 

Despite my misgivings about the quadrate monstrosity, I of course did recognize her utility as a mascot and a “face” for the Cave Digger -franchise. So I was fairly easily persuaded into figuring out some utility for the entity in Cave Digger 2 as well. 

 

 

As a mascot, she has her uses as part of the worldbuilding and illustration of the game. In this iteration, she has been pressed into service for the faceless, looming Merchant Trading Company – you’ll see her first appearances in the coming Halloween update. 

 

But that is not enough! 

 

 

We’re currently putting in the final designs for overarching gameplay elements, such as health boosts and traps, for example. This is something that Chompy will be very useful for, so while you won’t see her following you like the able bodied assistant she was in Cave Digger 1, you will meet her again in the caves, in many different guises. We’re also working on some cool Twitch integration features, and Chompy will be present in those as well. 

 

The attached sketches are from Juho the Elder, our art lead. He’s done a great job in bringing Chompy to life again, and I actually look forward to designing the actual feature uses for our mascot now. In any case, it’ll provide some welcome variety from the endless interior design cycle I’m stuck in again, working on the caves of our third biome…

 

Cheers,

AMP 

 

Random development quote: “Ari-Matti, add more polishment“!