- Our Demo is LIVE! - 1 October 2021
OUR DEMO BUILD IS NOW LIVE! The function of this demo is to gain user feedback on the game itself as well as the administrative dashboard that allows you to enter your own trivia content. Let us know what you think! Here are the release notes: CORE FEATURES Administrative Dashboard: Users can now create a Flamehawk Studios Account and create their own Battle Trivia Questions and Battle Trivia Packs Gameplay: Replaced placeholder Minibosses with unique versions Gameplay: The first levels for Jasper, Mohave, and Kalapana are now available for exploring (no battles yet!) FEATURES Administrative Dashboard: Added ability to rename and Battle Trivia Pack Administrative Dashboard: Dozens of User Experience and Functionality changes Gameplay: Added a Respawn button in case Demo users get stuck while exploring Gameplay: Added text alert to notify the player that the Miniboss has spawned Gameplay…
- Patch Notes: September 19 2021 - 19 September 2021
CORE FEATURES Added "If You Build It" Battle Trivia Pack Critter Unlock flow Level Unlock flow Hooked up main menu buttons for audio and video All player characters now swim when they travel over deeper waters All ten Kerhonkson levels are now ready for exploration and battle FEATURES Collect Basic Performance Analytics Post Battle: Lowered the amount of Essence paid out per critter prior to speed multiplier Turn Based Combat: Rebalanced all miniboss encounters Turn Based Combat: Rebalanced Combat Turn Based Combat: Rebalanced Sike's base stats Post Battle: Added a text message to let players know to click the loot crates during the post battle sequence Administrative Dashboard: Cores, courses, categories, standards, and substandard are now sorted alphabetically Player footsteps added Post Battle: Chance of Kerhonkson Armor dropping from a perfect Battle Trivia score within a Kerhonkson…
- Our Demo Will Release At Steam Next Fest! - 25 August 2021
We are absolutely honored to have been selected to participate in Steam Next Fest this coming October! We will be launching our playable demo at this time which means that you can input your kids' schoolwork so that they "play their homework" during game time! Be sure to wishlist on Steam and follow us on social media here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamehawkstudios/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/flamehawkstudio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flamehawkstudios/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flamehawk-studios-inc/ YouTube: The Mechanical World of Dr. Gearbox Website: www.flamehawkstudios.com #WishlistWednesday #indiedev #rpg #elearning #unity3d #DiversityandInclusion #Steam #turnbased #gamedev #esports #esportsindustry
- Patch Notes: June 13 2021 - 13 June 2021
CORE FEATURES Core functionality for Administrative Dashboard that tracks in-game academic progress Ability for administrator to create school subjects and standards Critter cooldowns have been implemented First pass at friend list functionality (not visible in UI yet) FEATURES Unlocked Kerhonkson 2 for testing purposes Created Kerhonkson 2 patrols and battle scene Asset setup for Jasper 1, Mohave 1, and Kalapana 1 Implemented 18 new armor sets First pass at capes and other cloth items Audio has been added to inventory pick up and drop off actions Gave our team a way to make particles conditional upon character knock out Adding clipping masks to many sets of pants to remove clipping issues BUG FIXES User can now back out of Battle Trivia Selection screens Fixed texture issues on polo starter shirt Fixed the red border in Kerhonkson 1 Fixed Chuck's taunt icon persisting into subsequent b…
- June 5th 2021 Update - 5 June 2021
For today's #screenshotsaturday we have a new video that provides an early look at some core administrative dashboard functionality that will help give parents and teachers insight into the in-game academic learning outcomes of their kids and students. In addition to our teacher-authored, standards-based content this dashboard allows parents and teachers to load in their own material. The in-game results are then tracked and surfaced to permissioned administrators through a series of customizable graphs that provide everything from high levels summaries right down to the results for specific questions asked over time. While gamers are "playing their homework," their parents and teachers can get a better understanding of what school subjects the child may need to focus more time on. #edtech #education #elearning #stem #learning #onlinelearning
- Global Accessibility Awareness Day - 21 May 2021
Global Accessibility Awareness Day focuses on digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people with disabilities and impairments. Here are some character creation options from The Mechanical World of Dr. Gearbox that put a spotlight on inclusion! #GAAD #GAAD2021
- May 1st 2021 update - 1 May 2021
Long time no see! It's been a little while since our last update so we wanted to pop in and give you a behind the scenes look at our new Loot & Inventory system! In this video we take a look at how Battle Trivia performance directly relates to the amount of Bits and Essence that you will earn during a battle. There is also a direct relationship between Battle Trivia score and the loot tables... so if you want the best loot, you'll have to know your stuff! Keep in mind that this is a work in progress so the post battle user interface is showing a slight rounding error for the total Essence earned. We are aware of the issue but did not want that to stop us from making this long overdue YouTube update! Check it out:
- February 6th 2021 Update - 6 February 2021
Hey everyone! Check out a couple of behind the scenes videos that show off some core features of The Mechanical World of Dr. Gearbox. In the first video we get a good look at the Battle Trivia system. In addition to the content that our team provides as part of the game, parents and teachers can input/import their own educational content and permission it to their students. Watch this video to see how schoolwork is directly reinforced through gameplay! This second video gives a first look at our wheelchair functionality. If you know a wheelchair gamer, send them our way... we would love their feedback!
- 2020 Year End Review - 4 January 2021
Where to begin? Like most of the world, we look back at 2020 with mixed feelings. It was a huge year full of milestones for both Flamehawk Studios, and The Mechanical World of Dr. Gearbox. It was also a hard, exhausting year for the families behind the game. COVID-19 changed the world and obviously no one was exempt. There were many times of frustration for obvious reasons, but the team was able to power through and persevere. First and foremost, the game prototype was finally completed after 2.5 years of nonstop work. Here’s a list of features that are in the newest build: Character Creation: - 18 different prosthetic limbs - wheelchair - cochlear implants - eyeglasses - 13 skin colors - freckles - 5 vitiligo skin patterns - 10 eye colors with the ability to choose different colors per eye (heterochromia) - 38 facial sliders that control how the eyes, brows, nose, ears, mouth, cheeks,…
- November 21st 2020 Update - 21 November 2020
Welcome back everybody! Today we wanted to kick off with some details around our developmental roadmap. The team is working hard to complete the prototype before 2021. That gives us about 6 weeks to get a bug free version of the core game loop together. If you’ve been tracking our progress, you know that we have done a ton of work on various aspects of the game, but now is the time to bring them all together under one single build. Some of the core features that will be playable in the prototype include the character creation and customization workflow, the “Battle Trivia” turn-based combat system, 8 playable characters (including “you”), the loot and inventory systems, the ability for an administrator to create new Battle Trivia questions and packs, and lastly the ability for an administrator to push educational content into the game in real time. We hope you are as excited for this mi…
- November 3rd 2020 Update - 3 November 2020
Welcome back everyone! To kick off this week’s update we are going to take a look at another armor set and some more loot! First up is our “Ranch Hand” set that Eric Crosby built for us. The set is coupled with 50 Battle Trivia questions that are themed around the American frontier. Here is a super fancy Marmoset render of the armor followed by renders from 3D Studio Max: For those of you wondering what the corresponding Battle Trivia questions look like, here’s an example from the “Ranch Hand” set. This particular question aims to satisfy the Virginia Department of Education Science 3.5 standard: A cow eats 24 pounds of grass every day on the ranch. A cow is known as _____________? a) a decomposer b) a carnivore c) a herbivore d) an omnivore In more wearable armor news, here is some loot including cutoff overalls, a monocle, and a foam hand that Caleb Embleton-Oliver recently worked on…
- October 16th 2020 Update - 16 October 2020
Hey everybody, it’s that time again! Let’s start this update by taking a look at some of the incredible work by our 3D all-stars, Eric Crosby and Caleb Embleton-Oliver. First up is the armor set that will be connected to our construction themed battle trivia pack. After some good old-fashioned research, we provided Crosby with some existing images of real-world experimental exoskeleton suits. Eric then came up with a design that stays true to the actual technology that is already helping vehicle assembly employees augment their lifting abilities while working at auto assembly plants. Here’s a first look at our very own exosuit: In more behind the scenes news, here’s a sneak peak at the armor set that will ship with the sports themed battle trivia pack. Again we used some real world references and Caleb Embleton-Oliver did a fantastic job not only building the color-customizable, wearabl…
- September 25th 2020 Update - 25 September 2020
Time is flying and we are back with another update! Continuing our recent Kickstarter rewards theme, Eric Crosby is putting the finishing touches on the 3D version of Etch’s digital obelisk concept. The backer names are almost all finalized and the only thing missing is getting the LED screen to cycle through the backer names. Check out this quick clip of both the digital obelisk and the Kickstarter Backer Armor that Eric recently completed as well: In other 3D happenings Caleb Embleton-Oliver and Eric Crosby have been working on dozens of loot items for over a month! We will be revealing all of the cool items over the coming weeks and months but here are a couple sentimental favorites to kick things off. This is the fabled “chicken-hat!” Way back when Etch drew up the loot crate concept he included a chicken shaped hat popping out of the crate itself. Over time the chicken hat became a…
- September 11th 2020 Update - 12 September 2020
It’s time for another update! Before we show off some new stuff, the decision has been made to refactor some core functionality of our game. This means that the date of our Early Access launch has been pushed out. We are currently analyzing the specifics so stay tuned for a revised launch date. Now onto the good stuff: All hail Etch who came up with the Kickstarter Backer exclusive “Gearboxian Armor” set concept, and to Eric Crosby for bringing it to life in such amazing detail. Only about 65 of these sets will be in existence so congrats to anyone who is entitled to receive a set! Eric also recently completed another Kickstarter pledge reward. The only person to select the “Design Your Own Game Item” asked us to create a Sunflower. We are still figuring out where to place them in the game but here is how it looks! The team has also begun work on the digital obelisk that will feature th…
- WE DID IT! - 31 August 2020
WE DID IT! Our Kickstarter campaign surpassed the $50,000 goal last week! The overwhelming support from friends and family of the studio as well as from the public is honestly quite humbling for our team. Thanks to your support we can continue to build The Mechanical World of Dr. Gearbox and provide kids with a world class game that not only focuses on their education but diversity and inclusion as well!
- Our Kickstarter is 93% backed with 5 Days to Go! - 22 August 2020
Our Kickstarter Campaign is coming down to the wire! We have 5 days left to find the remaining $3,285 or we do not get anything. Should we be excited or stressed out!? Depends on who you ask! We would like to take this time to extend yet another round of thanks to all of our new backers! We are almost there! Thanks to your help we are closer to our goal of being able to create a game that prioritizes STEM education and inclusivity while we look to redefine the e-learning video games genre. If you have not already pledged or would like to share our campaign with your network please use this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mechanicalworld/the-mechanical-world-of-dr-gearbox
- Our Kickstarter is 50% backed! - 12 August 2020
Our Kickstarter has hit the halfway mark thanks to our incredibly generous friends and family. Here's the catch: Kickstarter is "all-or-none," and if we do not hit $50,000 in the next 15 days then we get nothing. If you haven't backed us yet, please check out this 1 minute long video and click this link https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mechanicalworld/the-mechanical-world-of-dr-gearbox to back the project. Also, if you know anyone in the media please tell them about what we are doing, one well placed article would be huge for us. This will be the first 3D video game that we know of to have options that represent people who utilize wheelchairs, prosthetics and more, and it's also the first e-learning game that we know of that lets parents and teachers enter their own content. That last part is relevant considering the potential for distance learning in September!!
- Our Kickstarter is Live! - 28 July 2020
We just launched our Kickstarter campaign!! More details to come but please help us make The Mechanical World of Dr. Gearbox the e-learning game that teachers, parents, and kids will talk about for years to come! With your help we can get our studio off the ground and position ourselves to raise money for incredible charities like http://childsplaycharity.org/ and https://www.magicwheelchair.org/. Please back us by clicking this link and then click the green "Back this project" button! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mechanicalworld/the-mechanical-world-of-dr-gearbox
- July 13th 2020 Update - 13 July 2020
Welcome back to another huge update! We are just 8 days away from the launch of our Kickstarter so read on to get a behind the scenes peek at some of the backer rewards concepts that we have been considering in addition to all the usual update goodness that we have coming at ya! Eric Crosby made huge progress this week with our Superhero themed armor sets. Inspired by some of our favorite comic book heroes, these sets can be mixed, matched and recolored for maximum player customization. Also pictured here is Caleb Embleton-Oliver’s Firefighter armor set which he just finished this week. Here’s a full look at this work of art: Now let’s pivot to some hot off the presses Kickstarter news. Josh “Etch” Larson has been working on concepts for certain backer rewards. First up we have some “Golden Gearboxian” in-game Skin concepts: Here’s Etch’s hardcover book cover concept: Here are a couple…
- June 27 2020 Update - 27 June 2020
Welcome back! The past two weeks have been a blur for the team but the good news is that we’ve got a lot to show for it! A huge focus for Etch and our programmers this week has been the implementation of our User Interface (or “UI”) across almost all of the game. Here’s an early look at how things are shaping up: The Battle Trivia UI Open World UI Squad Select UI We are also finishing up our player creation and customization process. Check this out! Shifting gears, our 3D artists have been grinding away at the list of armor sets that we plan to launch Early Access with on Steam this summer. Eric Crosby completed our “First Responder set” that honors all of the front-line heroes around the world. Like all of our armor sets, the colors are completely customizable. Here are some screenshots of the final product: Eric also managed to create the first iteration of our highly customizable “Su…
