- Next on the agenda... - 1 August 2026
Back in 2024 I released Fool's End. Now it's time for Fool's Metal. Check out Fool's Metal on Steam.It's a new underground adventure, with even more destruction, even more undies, and even more tomfoolery than Fool's End. You still have a pickaxe, but this time your main weapon is...your bulk. Every time you jump you break the ground below you. Every jump is consequential. Be careful or you'll bring down the whole cave with you. Or maybe you wanted to do that? Either way, Fool's Metal is all about destroying stuff and getting out alive on the other side.It'd be awesome if anyone that enjoyed Fool's End checked out the Fool's Metal trailer, and if you like what you see it'd be great if you wishlisted the game here on Steam. This is where all my development time is going at the moment.I look forward to sharing more of the game soon!Thanks - Alan
- 1 year of Fool's End - 28 February 2025
Today marks the one year anniversary since Fool's End released on Steam. Thanks to everyone who has played and supported the game over the last year. It blows my mind that people from over 50 different countries have bought and played the game! If you haven't checked out the game in a while I've added a lot since launch. The main highlights include the Daily Challenge mode to compete against other player's high scores every day, and a Level Editor to make your own levels. Thanks for supporting indie games, ːMCCHELMETː
- Hotfix: 1.52 - 10 January 2025
-Fixed a rare issue causing the game to crash sometimes when Steam user details couldn't be retrieved for leaderboard integration.
- Minor Patch Notes: 1.51 - 19 December 2024
Fixed issues with the Daily Challenge leaderboards not sharing scores. Caused by an update in the GameMaker Steamworks SDK plugin changing how leaderboard functions work. Have downgraded the plugin version to fix.
- Major Update: Level Editor - 9 December 2024
Fool's End LEVEL EDITOR is out now! Use the full Fool's End kit set and mechanic pieces to make and play your own levels. Key tools (Left Click / R2/ RT to use) Pencil / Create: Use this to place tiles, enemies, and other mechanics throughout the levels. Eraser: Destroys the selected tile. Can be used at any point by right clicking (or L2/LT). Damager: Damages the tile as if the player had lightly mined it. The level editor is fully compatible with Gamepads, Steam Deck and Keyboard/mouse setups. Check out a full video tutorial of how to use the Level Editor: At the moment you are able to share levels on Steam but not quite download and play other people's levels. That is the next step.
- Nominate us for a Steam Award? - 28 November 2024
I wanted to make a game where players can destroy everything, run away from their problems and spend a few hours embracing the chaos of a connected world. Turns out, it fits perfectly at home on the Steam Deck. I hope you're enjoying it! ːMCCHELMETː
- Minor Patch Notes: 1.21 - 29 September 2024
Steam Deck: -Improved readability for pixel fonts at Steam Deck screen size. Menu: -Levels that aren't yet unlocked are greyed out in the Level Select.
- Update: 1.20 - 25 September 2024
The biggest changes in this update are to the Daily Challenge mode. Some other little but long-requested features are packed in here too. Daily Challenge Algorithm Update: --Fatsploders added to daily rotation. --Firesnakes added to daily rotation. --Patrol towers added to daily rotation. --Fireball shooters positioning reworked. Stat changes: -Dirt and other gravity affected tiles now fall more slowly (gravity turned down from 0.6 to 0.2 for those tiles) -Player gravity remains. Fixes: -Jumping after hanging is now much smoother (this was a common complaint, and took quite a while to resolve). Fixes in progress: -Beer collectibles sometimes do not save properly. I'm hoping this patch resolves it but it is hard to test on my end so will need to see results since patch pushed. Coming soon: -Level editor. --It's nearly complete, just polishing off some UI features and making sure all tile…
- Get Fool's End at a discount and celebrate pixel art games! - 29 July 2024
Super excited to share that Fool's End is part of PixElated Festival from July 29 - August 5. This festival features some of the best pixel art games on Steam. From retro-style classics to contemporary indie gems all in one place. Check out the official line-up and more information about the event here: http://pixelatedfest.com/
- Patch Notes: 1.13 - 18 July 2024
Daily Challenge: -Fixed an ongoing issue which would cause scores not to register on the Daily Challenge Leaderboard. There are still some complications with Steamworks that requires you to open the Leaderboard in the Main Menu to see your score on the Leaderboard. Other: -The text rendering on the Main Menu is improved when players return to the menu after playing the game.
- Soundtrack Announcement 🎵 🎶 - 4 July 2024
Hey there. It's Alan from Pickled Cactus with some exciting news about the Fool's End soundtrack. The Fool's End Official Soundtrack is now available to listen to on Youtube and Spotify! All 16 tracks were composed and created by New Zealand-based musician Chris MacClure. It'd be awesome if you could help support a fellow local artist by giving the soundtrack a listen. Hope you enjoy the album - ːMCCHELMETː Spotify Album Link
- Patch Notes: 1.12 - 23 May 2024
It's been a few weeks, but we've got some nice little changes today. Gameplay: -Pickaxe can now be thrown in a one block high corridor without hitting the roof or floor. -Level timers increased on level Ossuary 9, 4 & 7. -Gargoyle now displays the correct biome sprite when destroyed. Daily Challenge: -Fireball shooters added to Jungle levels (will cause chaos). -Variation added to some of the level creation.
- Hotfix: 1.11a - 4 May 2024
-Fixed a bug that prevents playing the main game levels if you play a Daily Challenge level before the main levels.
- Keyboard "DROP" controls clarification - 29 April 2024
Upon popular request, the CTRL key now serves as the only way to drop while hanging from a block. You may still jump up off a block, but now the CTRL key (for keyboard and mouse users) and the B button (Circle for PlayStation controllers) are the only ways to drop directly from a block. Users can configure their own controls in the settings if they prefer a different key to drop. I'm open to further feedback, but for now this is the preferred setup from the feedback I've heard.
- Patch Notes: 1.11 - 29 April 2024
Some minor additions to Daily Challenges, UI, and general quality of life improvements: Players can now restart any level by pausing the game and choosing to 'Restart' There's now a small chance that Rats will appear on top of dirt blocks in a Daily Challenge. Colour of Mines is now changed in Cave-based Daily Challenges to be more clearly distinguishable. Previously was hard to spot mines in Caves biomes, as mines don't appear until the later Jungle levels in the core game. The mines art remains the same for Jungle and Ossuary levels. Spikes are now destroyed by the pickaxe at the correct frame of contact. Ctrl key (left and right) now make the player drop while hanging. B (circle) remains the default drop key for gamepad users. Players can now drop slightly quicker when going into a ledge-hang (should reduce occasions when a JUMP key press is ignored). Walk/run toggle preferences are…
- Hotfix: 1.10b - 25 April 2024
-Added Leaderboard as an option to the main menu. -Fixed issue where the Leaderboard wasn't showing more than once per session. -Slight tweak to Daily Challenge seed generation.
- Hotfix: 1.10a - 25 April 2024
-When gold coins and gems are obtained in Daily Challenge mode, the score shakes in the top right corner.
- Daily Challenges out now - Fool’s End version 1.10 - 25 April 2024
Daily Challenge is out now! Each day one new level is generated for players across the world to complete and compete in. -Players gain points when playing the Daily Challenge by picking up gold and gems from the ground. -After completing the challenge, your score is calculated and compared to other players. -The player’s with the top 5 scores for each day go onto a leaderboard, visible on the Steam Community page and in-game. -The Daily Challenge and its respective leaderboard reset each day and are tied the user’s local time/date. To mark this new content update, I've also added a new achievement for players to earn: Gems and other shiny things: Complete your first Daily Challenge. Some other fixes have been made in this patch too, including: Gameplay fixes: -Smash attack shouldn’t trigger when tiles above and to the side are falling (this now prevents player from mining and getting pu…
- Patch Notes: 1.08 - 17 April 2024
Hmmm, bigger number but not a very exciting update for y'all unfortunately. Behind the scenes I've updated the project from running on a 2022 version of GameMaker's LTS engine, to now the most up-to-date version of GameMaker. Some things broke in the process and have since been resolved, but ultimately it has been worth it enable some more cool stuff that I've got cooking. So, for some more behind-the-scenes insights: -Daily Level Challenges: Procedural level gen is working perfectly, just needs a little balancing and that side of it is ready. Still working on integrating Steam Leaderboards into the Daily Level Challenge. All 3 biomes will be able to generated in the Daily Level prod gen algorithm. -Linux version: Testing on Steam Deck shortly, as Steam Deck optimization and Linux build update will push on the same day. And...I have one last question for anyone still reading. I started…
- Hotfix: 1.07c - 9 April 2024
-More sound effects added for the snake enemy. -Minor stability improvements. -Logo updated in main menu.
