Gesundheit!

[Matt Hammill]

UPDATE JULY 19, 2011: Gesundheit! coming to iOS

Now that this has started to pop up on a couple sites, I'm relieved that I can finally talk about it! Um, a rather large update/change--Gesundheit! is being published by Konami soon for iPhone/iPad!

I realize it's been a very very long time since I've updated, so here's the backstory: Late last year/early this year, things were going swell with the AGS build of Gesundheit!, and just for fun I passed a beta to this iOS dev studio called Revolutionary Concepts, who I'd worked with previously. We started bouncing ideas back and forth about what a hypothetical iOS version might look like... and pretty soon after that it just happened that there was some time in both our schedules to actually start making it.

At this point I was still planning to finish the iOS and PC versions maybe around the same time, but the iOS version quickly expanded into all my available time. We basically rebuilt the game from the ground up. It was great working with the devs--having actual programmers handling the programming on iOS freed me up to focus 100% on design and art stuff, which was awesome. I got to redo high-res animation from the original scans, make new maps, environments, cutscenes, and other stuff like that. And then Konami came on board as publisher... Anyway, now it's gotten to the point where the iOS version far outshines the PC one, and I'm not entirely sure what my plans are for the PC build. I've put it on hold for now, and it's going to take some figuring out.

At the moment I'm still crunching in prep for the iOS launch (it'll be out really soon!) but I wanted to post an update here, and also to say thanks to everyone in the forums who have kept me going over the years with their interest in this game!

---

In Gesundheit!, you're an allergic little pig who sneezes yummy green snot, which you use to lure evil booger-eating monsters into traps--all while trying to avoid being eaten yourself. The graphics are a combo of handmade illustrations and digital animation, and there's an original instrumental soundtrack with xylophones and recorders and kazoos and other fun stuff.

[auriond]

That looks really interesting, and even quite cute.

Though the idea of yummy snot makes me wince. xD

[Vince Twelve]

This looks excellent.  I hope it's as fun to play as it is to look at!  Good luck with this!

[Candle]

Looks good . can't wait to play it.

[dsg_charly]

Graphic style is cute, very nice. Great job dude. Continue.

[Ali]

I must say the title led me to expect crude MS Paint scribblings, but this looks amazing! I absolutely love the style, and I'm impressed that you're using anim8or. I couldn't get the hang of its bones.

I love the backdrops, especially the paint-splat trees.

[Scummbuddy]

I must say, this is one of the most gorgeous and stylistic games I have ever seen. Keep up the great work, have my babies and work with me in the future on games. 

[m0ds]

This looks really nice! Looking forward to your demo.

[Domino]

Welcome to the forums Matt. Yummy Snot looks like it will be one Yummy game. I look forward to test driving the demo when you release it.  Good Luck.

Shawn

[gypsysnail]

That looks like a fabulous game in the making and I have added it to my wish list and will be looking forward to its release . I must admit I did feel the same Ali did and thought it might be like that, but when I entered the thread, I was like WOW this is one fabulous looking game and it looks like it will make me think heaps while playing the game . Keep up the good work!

[Matt Hammill]

Haha, thanks all! Maybe I'll downgrade the title to a "working title," though... hehe.
And Ali--yeah, when I was first starting to set up the bones in anim8or, I was getting all these random kneecaps and ears blasting off in crazy directions and stuff. I quickly gave up on the "painting" bone weights thing and just went with those ovals of influence. Good old ovals.
-matt

[big brother]

Stunning! It's refreshing to see such an original visual style. Keep up the good work! I can't wait to play this.

[TheMagician]

Wow, this looks amazing!
I love the style of the graphics and the gameplay sounds refreshingly different 

Can't wait to play it.

Just one question: what do you use anim8or for? Is the monster-thing 3D with a toon shader?

[Matt Hammill]

TheMagician: Thanks! The monster is made out of a bunch of flat shapes... no toon shaders, just simple light from the front.  I drew the shapes in anim8or with the spline tool, and then assigned the scanned textures to each body part. I used bones to make the body curve and the knees bend and stuff. The bones all rotate around the z-axis, so the shapes stay flat (although you could get cool stuff happening if you used all the axes... like Parappa, or something).
-matt

[Matt Hammill]

UPDATE (Jan 4, 2007):

So I've changed the name of the game from "Yummy Snot" to "Gesundheit," which I think I'll stick with (hmm... or maybe it would look good with an exclamation point, haha). Hopefully the new name is less, uh, stupid-sounding? 

Last month I finished the 10-level beta version that I had planned on releasing, but when I passed it around to some friends I learned that the tutorial and the early levels need a bit of tweaking, just to soften the learning curve. I still handed it in for my independent project at school, though, and it seemed to go over well.

Now for some new material. Here's a screenshot from one of the later levels:



And here's the player character:

And here's an mp3 of the title music I recorded with some second-hand instruments (it was good fun): http://www.matthammill.com/files/music1.mp3

Now my goal is to release a demo within the next month or so. Fingers crossed!

[EagerMind]

This looks like loads of fun, and the opening theme is just killer.

Perhaps you could call it "Phlegmatic"? I kind of liked "Yummy Snot," although I guess it was a bit ... distasteful?

[Sean]

I love the art style!

Keep up the good work, looks quite novel and fun.

[The Ivy]

This looks fantastic. You should be seriously proud of yourself for the visual style. The animations look superb too. That is one carefree little booger.

[auriond]

Haha! I love the new title. If I saw that on a game box on a shelf I would pick it up out of sheer curiosity - and then after reading the concept and seeing the adorable graphics I would probably head straight for the cashier. 

I think the exclamation point idea is great!

Gesundheit! 

[big brother]

I concur. Keep up the good work!

[floorboards]

It's really cool people are doing stuff like this with AGS. The graphics are have a great original style and from those screenshots, it can't fail to be an absolute blast.

[Ghost]

That little green guy is adorable! I agree with the general tone of the thread: This looks like a fun, fresh idea. Time for AGS to have its own indie superstar 

[Matt Hammill]

Last update before demo release... let's start with another screenshot...



Well, it's later than I thought it would be, but I've got a 12-level demo done, and recorded another handful of music tracks, and now I just need some beta testers to look at it. I've had some of my friends test it already, but that was a while ago and there's some new stuff anyways, so it could probably use another round.

I'm also curious about what kind of system requirements this thing has, since it's 32-bit colour and there are sprites with alpha channels all over the place. The zip's also kind of heavy, at 37 MB. But if anybody feels like testing, let me know and I'll be eternally grateful!

[Snake]

WOW

This looks like it'll be a fun game. I can't wait to play it. I like the concept of it (trapping the monsters) - sounds great, Matt!

I also love your art, looks beeeeeautiful!


--Snake

[Play_Pretend]

Hey all, I just beta tested this, and OH MY GOD you have to play it!!!  This game is so well done, and totally addicting!  I beat all 12 levels in about two hours, the last few are buggers.   But the animation is great, the puzzles progress nicely from easy to hard, it's totally adorable and hard to stop playing.  Cheers to Matt on a job well done!

[Steel Drummer]

Yeah, I've been beta testing it too. I played for just a short time, but I'm already hooked! Same stuff Strange Visitor said. I'd also like to add that the music is very well done.

[Play_Pretend]

Right, the music!  Also really cool...shades of Neverhood, it was.

[Stupot]

This game looks really cute, in a 'Making Fiends' kind of way.Ã,  I'd offer to Beta test, but I've got my own problems at the moment, hehe. Sounds, like you've got enough interest now anyway.Ã,  Can't wait til the official release, I'll definatley play this one.

I had to look up 'Gesundheit' on wiki, mostly because I'm ignorant, but now the title makes so much sense, I like it.

Good luck with the release

[Maverick]

More,more!
I just beta tested the game and I can tell you that this is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Took me just over 90 minutes to finish with the last two levels taking up about 20-25 minute. I agree with the others on the graphics, animation and music. I'm not a big action game fan but I was hooked within the first couple of minutes. The puzzles are excellent.

Well done Matt!

[Matt Hammill]

Hey you guys, thanks for all the love (and the beta testing)! I tweaked some little things the testers mentioned (I just hope I didn't mess something ELSE up). The demo has twelve levels and a tutorial, and is 39 MB.

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?category=5&action=detail&id=863

I also threw together a website just now for my pretend game company at http://www.underwaterbase.com. Hmmm, now that I think of it, I only registered underwaterbase.com a day and a half ago. Hopefully it's worked its way around the internet by now...

[Vince Twelve]

Matt,

The game is looking solid!  The changes from the beta have made some subtle improvements.  Well done!

All in all, this is easily one of the most polished games that has been produced by AGS.  And it's a lot of fun to boot!  Congrats!

Everyone should play this immediately!

[Igor]

Matt,
what a beautiful game! Graphics and animations are sooooo friging great.. It all just ozzes style and charm.
I'm a fan

[Snake]

I gotta say, Matt, you are brilliant! I just downloaded the demo and I couldn't stop playing! Fricken great game you got here, man - it SLAPS THE CAT'S ASS! I can't wait for the full version...

Are there going to be more different monsters and different ways of sneezing in the final version?

w00t!


--Snake

[Nikolas]

It is simply amazing!

So stylish! so perfect in every way!

Do answer snakes question please

Hope for the best and many many levels with new interesting stuff to do

[Ali]

This is the most visually appealing thing I've played since Psychonauts. I love the music and sound too. Great stuff!

[Matt Hammill]

Thanks, hey! I'm glad people are digging the art style. When I went to my illustration instructor in September with an early version, asking him if I could work on it for a class project, it just had lame placeholder graphics, and he told me he'd let me do it as long as I made the graphics look more like my drawings. So I owe it all to him.

Snake: Thank you kindly! Yeah, I definitely want to have more monster types (maybe even a boss or two), traps, and power-up objects in the final. I'd like to keep the controls down to just the two buttons, though, so I'm thinking of ways the power-ups could be tied to the level location, or something you touch, and fit them into the puzzles that way. I've got a little sketchbook I carry around with concept snots in it.

Ali: Never played Psychonauts. Just looked it up, though, and it seems interesting. My old roommate had an Xbox. If only I'd known about it then...

[TheJBurger]

Matt,
I'm really enjoying your game.Ã,  Everything from the graphics, gameplay, animation, and music are superb.
I ran into a bug though:
Right after the tutorial finished, the game crashed with a message about SetWalkSpeed while the character is moving. I tried to reproduce it a second time, but it didn't happen again.

I made it to level 12 and I got stumped, so I decided to take a break. I quit the game, and came back a little while later, but my save file says I'm only on level 1.Ã, 
All the other levels have been erased from the file.
There's no way to get it back, is there?

[Layabout]

Oh this game is evil. This is by far the most original game i have played for years. The concept is so simple yet so brilliant. You are certainly on to a winner here.

It is in a similar vein to lemmings yet even more simple. This is a must have game. I am amazed at what you have achieved. Kudos to you.

It is infuriating, yet a pleasure. I love it and can't wait for the full game. This is the kind of game which could sell millions. As mentioned before, the graphics, music, sound, everything is perfect.

I hate you for making a near perfect game. But I love you for making it.

[Matt Hammill]

Arggghhhh, that save bug thing sounds really annoying. JBurger, I just PM'd you. Is anyone else having this problem?

EDIT: I was just playing with some things, and I started having this problem too. Bah!!!

EDIT (March 19): Just uploaded a new version, with that bug fixed. Thanks for finding it. New version: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=863

Layabout:  You're much too kind! (Obviously haven't run into the save bug yet!)

[BOYD1981]

awesome game, i just completed it after failing level 12 like 10 times (got down to just one monster a few times but then accidentally stepped on a trap and almost punched a hole through my monitor  ), it's great working out strategies to use and i had a lot of fun playing it, the music was great too.
but i agree you're gonna have to come up with a better ending 
also, do you think you could add a 'snot counter' to future versions/the full game and perhaps even a 'master' type mode where you get a limited amount of snot to use? 
i didn't encounter the save bug fortunately, but i did get eaten through a wall once on the last level by the first monster, he saw me so i ran to the right bottom corner of the starting area but he didn't follow me, he just seemed to go through the wall and eat me.
really great game.

[Chicky]

Brilliant, simply brilliant!

[Matt Hammill]

Just uploaded a new version (1.0.1).
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=863
I fixed the save bug, which was a really silly error on my part, and tweaked the level 12 walkable so that the red guy can't eat you through that wall any more. Thanks JBurger and BOYD1981! If anyone notices any other weirdnesses, let me know...

And thank you, Chicky.Period.!

[auriond]

I was browsing drawn.ca, a pretty cool art blog that I visit now and then, and look what I found there!

Congrats Matt!

[Matt Hammill]

Yeah, that was really cool of them to post it!  They're swell!

(And as for what's new with the game, I'm currently trying to figure out some keyboard movement, because some people have told me they'd prefer to have that option. I'll add that to the demo, and then probably start slowly making stuff for the "fuller" version, which will be released, uh, in the future.)

[Snake]

I thought of that as well. Are you going to make it so the player can control him either way or have an option in an options menu?

Good luck!


--Snake

[Matt Hammill]

I figure I'll make it so you can switch from the pause menu. I can't really think of a more efficient way to the shooting than the mouse, though, so I guess it'll be a mouse/keyboard combo. And maybe when you choose keyboard controls, both mouse buttons will become shoot.... sound reasonable?

[Matt Hammill]

As stated in the top post... I just finished a new version of the demo (v1.1) that gives you an option for keyboard/mouse controls, as well as an optional aiming crosshair, and snot stains on the ground. Here's the new version...

http://www.underwaterbase.com/files/gesundheit_demo1.1.zip

And here's a replacement index.dat that should unlock all the demo levels in the new version...
http://www.underwaterbase.com/files/v11index/index.dat

It'll save your key configuration, too. I haven't posted it on my site yet, because I want to see if anyone finds problems with the keyboard controls... so yeah, if anyone tries it and notices anything odd, let me know!

I know the controls and crosshair make things a bit easier, but maybe that's a good thing--if the controls are kinder, then I have room to make the puzzles more cruel...

[R4L]

WOW! I've been playing this for an hour and a half now, and I must say that this game is so polished and so fun to play! I love your style and I hope to see more of it if you make more games.

R4L

[joelphilippage]

I just played the demo and this looks great. Very original for an ags game. Looks a lot like lemmings.

[Snake]

Matt!
Hey, man, I meant to reply the other day but your new demo is great
I love the new controls. It took a few levels to get used to it but afterwords it was so much better.

I can't wait until the final release - you gotta get it done, and quick!


--Snake

[bigbossSNK]

I found a small bug. Right clicking to throw another snot overrides the "step on a trap" condition, so instead of losing, the trap disappears and you are still in the game.
Good job on the game, both style and content are unique and interesting.

[Matt Hammill]

Crap, it's been a long time! Just updated the main post with a couple new screens.

[ThreeOhFour]

It still looks incredible after all this time

Good luck getting it finished!

[Jimbob]

Yes! I hope the soundtrack has been suitably been expanded as well, I loved those tracks...

[Ali]

Bless you!

I'm thrilled this is still a going concern, and looking forward to the finished game.

[Chicky]

Awesome, i remember playing the crap out of this a few years back.

Great to see you're still active!

[Bulbapuck]

OH MY GOD!!!

My brother gave me this demo on a USB over a year ago, before I even knew about AGS. Now you're telling me this IS AGS?! AMAZING!!!

Matt, I reeeeaally enjoyed your demo and have replayed it several times. This is definately the AGS title I'm looking forward to most (even more than Boryokudan Rue! Which I highly enticipate too).

Keep up the great work

[blueskirt]

Keep up the good work! I can't wait to play this game!

[Igor Hardy]

I was afraid you gave up on this project. Looking forward to the full version.

[The Ivy]

Hey, that's awesome news! Best of luck finishing this game, it looks amazing.

By the way, it was awesome running into you in Ottawa. Small planet indeed.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I remember playing this way back when you released the demo and was greatly impressed by the gameplay and fun factor.  I hope you can get it all together!

[Snake]

This is awesome! I almost forgot about this one. Great game, I can't wait for you to release this. I see you've added a few new monsters? Looking good, man! Can't wait...

[Vince Twelve]

Wow!  I was just thinking the other day how disappointed I was that there hadn't been any updates on this in years!  Glad to see it's still alive and sneezing!

[Peder 🚀]

 

[edmundito]

Yay! I'm still looking forward to it...! Finish it! Makes us all proud!

[SookieSock]

Cool game, love the art. Just played the demo hurry up and finish it

[arj0n]

Yeeh! *Ahchoo* 

[Ubel]

Wonderful to see this is still being worked on! I loved the demo back when I played it. I also remember it being featured on a popular Finnish website about technology and gaming at one point, which is cool.

Keep it up!

[Matt Hammill]

(Just updated the main post--the latest build of GESUNDHEIT! will be playable at this year's Nuit Blanche in Toronto!)

[Peder 🚀]

(Just updated the main post--the latest build of GESUNDHEIT! will be playable at this year's Nuit Blanche in Toronto!)

Awww, to bad I don't live anywhere close to Toronto .

[Sughly]

Wow, I'm quite new here so I hadn't seen this before. Great style, can't wait to see more!

[Jimbob]

Aw, I loved Nuit Blanche when I was over there a few years back. Congrats!

Any news on when a new version will be released here?

[Bulbapuck]

Even though I live nowhere near Toronto, I'm happy that there's an update on this

[Snake]

It is great to hear that you are still working on this game! I loved the demo and am highly anticipating it's eventual release. Speaking of, any idea when that will be?

[Fitz]

Looks beautiful! The graphics make me think of Chowder (the cartoon) - and the main character's walking animation really reminds me of Samorost for some reason. Great title, too. Very Square-Enix Though the original one might've been more... eye-catching?

[blueskirt]

Poo, GameSetWatch's coverage of the event only had a single screenshot of Gesundheit, from an old level.

BTW, I completely fell in love with the demo's soundtrack, the flute and xylophone, combined with the art made the game so childishly cute, if you ever post new screenshots of Gesundheit sometimes in the future, could you post a new music track too?

[Matt Hammill]

Thanks, blueskirt! Glad you dug the tunes. I just finished recording a couple new ones last week, but now that I'm close to releasing the game, I might have to save them for the levels

(Also, just updated the main post with a call for testers.)

[arj0n]

...but now that I'm close to releasing the game...

Now that's where I've been waiting for