Devlog #2: the teddy is in, a water ring toss, and a much faster start

Thanks to everyone who voted. The teddy bear won, so Misha arrived first: you pull a split seam together stitch by stitch, dry him with a warm dryer, and give him a gentle squeeze to check the repair holds.

Splash Hoops. Owen's little water ring toss handheld is now the first job for new players. You scrub the grime off, descale the cloudy window, drain and refill the water, and free the jammed rings. Then it goes on your shelf and you can play it any time (press H).

1.4.1, out today: getting to the bench faster. I added anonymous play stats and found that half the new players never pressed Play. In the browser, the title screen took close to a minute to become clickable. It now shows a loading bar right away and is ready in about 8 seconds, and the download is 40% smaller. Each toy is now prepared while its customer is talking to you, so cleaning no longer stutters. The title screen also got one big Play button.

What's next: a toy with a tiny game inside it. Ideas welcome!

Play free in your browser or on Windows, Mac and Linux: https://n3at18.itch.io/toy-mender
Full 1.4.1 notes: https://n3at18.itch.io/toy-mender/devlog/1741823/update-141-faster-loading-smoother-web-play

Devlog #3: a toy with a game inside

Last time I said the next toy would have a tiny game inside it. Here it is: Brick Pocket, a chunky grey 90s handheld that Dev dug out of his parents' attic.

The repair is all hands-on. Unscrew the battery door, drag the leaked batteries into the scrap tin, swab the green crust off the contacts, then prise off the cracked screen cover and press in a new one. Fresh batteries go in, the switch clicks, and the little LCD flickers to life. To prove it works, you clear Dev's test rows.

Then it lives on your shelf as a real falling-blocks game. Every row you clear packs a pixel toy into the box, and Dev tips you the first time you pass each score milestone.

One thing I learned from playtesting: my first version had a battery door you could only open by clicking a small spot in the middle, and it took about ten clicks to work out. Now everything is grab and drag, and the hint always matches what will actually happen.

Play free in your browser or on Windows, Mac and Linux: https://n3at18.itch.io/toy-mender
Full 1.5.0 notes: https://n3at18.itch.io/toy-mender/devlog/1742125/toy-mender-150-brick-pocket-a-handheld-with-a-game-inside

Devlog #4: where players got stuck, and a much faster browser version

After Brick Pocket went out I looked at the numbers, and they surprised me. Most people cleared the workbench just fine, opened the shop, met Owen at the window… and then two out of three left before taking his Splash Hoops.

When I played it as a first-time visitor in the browser, the reason was obvious: while Owen talked, the game was busy getting his toy ready behind the scenes, so the conversation froze for a second or two at a time and clicks seemed to do nothing. Click through quickly and he vanished, leaving an empty bench and "Unpacking the box…" for almost twenty seconds. Not a great first customer.

What changed in 1.5.1 and 1.5.2:

• Owen's toy is now prepared behind the loading bar after Play, so his visit is smooth.
• The browser version runs on a slightly customised copy of the Godot engine that only prepares the graphics the game actually draws. That's about a third of the work, and loading after Play went from roughly 30 seconds to 18 on a first visit.
• No more frozen conversations with later customers either.
• The glowing CLOSED sign now opens the shop when you click it (it used to just blink at you).
• Clicking the speech bubble skips to the end of the line, and Go on is a proper green button.

Full notes: Toy Mender 1.5.2. If you tried it before and bounced off Owen, I'd love to know if it feels better now.

Devlog #5: getting to the bench faster

Good news first: after last update's fix, every player who met Owen took his Splash Hoops. Before, only one in three did.

The next thing the numbers showed was the start itself. In the browser, pressing Play kicked off a long loading bar (18 seconds or more on a first visit) while the game got Owen's toy ready, and some people gave up right there.

In 1.5.3 the toy is prepared while you're still on the title screen, so Play takes you to the workshop in about 10 seconds. If the toy isn't quite ready when you open the shop, Owen waits at the window with a short progress bar instead.

I also added a few anonymous stats about loading and the title screen, so I can see exactly where the start still feels slow. Next up: making the title screen itself smoother while it loads.

Notes: Toy Mender 1.5.3

The Owen loading issue is such a useful example: the conversation looked unresponsive even though the toy was still loading. Preparing it earlier and showing progress at the window sounds like a much clearer handoff. The idea of each toy having its own repair is lovely, too.