coverart by 'SSF Patrons of 2026 (Michigan & Pennsylvania)'

HELLO, STRAP IN

Gonna keep this intro really short because we have a LOT to talk about! This WILL be a long read because a lot has happened, a lot is currently happening, and a lot more stuff WILL be happening soon. But before we jump in I just wanna wish everyone a happy fall! Summer officially is over as of the 22nd and let's hope fall treats us well! Without further ado let's just get right into all the stuff I have to share with you! :)

GAPPY'S 10th ANNIVERSARY

On the 5th of September this month, my game development career and Gappy (as a game character) would celebrate it's 10th Anniversary!

I already wrote something substantial about this event on the games post but the original version of the first game was made publicly available for the first time in about 10-ish years as well, it might be confusing what I'm saying out of context so for a better understanding just go check out the game on Newgrounds and read that games description.

It wasn't anything huge as I had nothing planned for it but if you are dying to see what my first ever finished video game looks like, well now you can!

SLEEPY SEPTEMBER

And to get the last of the smaller updates out of the way, I just wanted to be transparent about the games progress thus far. Slow, very slow. I would say it's stopped completely but I have at the very least opened my workflow and gotten a few small things done but nothing truly substation al during the entirety of September.

This has been the longest break I've ever taken with this game for the almost 3 years I've been working on it, and it's been nice if a bit stressful. Luckily, the work I got done for the Short Short Fest Demo did put me in a good spot to take this break, but it's also felt like I've had really bad art block for an extended amount of time, so Instead of forcing myself to work and making sloppy progress I decided I needed to sit back and try doing something else completely detached from Gappy.

As it's gone on, I've grown to both miss working on Gappy but feel the daunting task of going back, it's gonna take a sec to get my true groove back but writing this post is in-part making me face the reality that I HAVE to get back to working on this. To keep myself sharp I've also been working on a new browser game! A short, but actually fleshed-out, stand-alone browser game! Disregarding tech-demos, low-quality shitpost games and re-releases of older games from the vault this is my first TRUE browser game since late 2022! Expect to see this new game next week btw! :D

So for transparency sake, development has slowed but is obviously not over! I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of work to get done! Even just writing this up has gotten me fired-up to start working again. I know a lot of you are really excited for Gappy and I am to! But to all the game developers out there, especially if your working on big projects, don't be afraid to take a break. It will seriously help you and might clear your mind to make room for better ideas! Also go outside and be active and improve your diet!

SHORT SHORT FEST 2026

Very similarly to last year, Gappy made an appearance at Short Short Fest in both Pennsylvania and Michigan respectively!

The demo this year around was a but different then last years, instead of having a randomly-selected level from a wheel, you got a proper pick of levels, including a tutorial as well plus a rating of how difficult your possible level selection will be! I had fun with last-years idea but from what I saw last year I think player's this time around much prefered this set-up. However, that "level-wheel" idea may or may-not be used in something else in Gappy which I will talk about a little down the line ;)

I honestly don't even know where to start or end with the events, they were just a whirlwind of great people! Creatives from all walks of life coming together to just hang out and share what we've made. But truthfully pictures speak a lot better than words so here's just some pics I took of people playin' the Gappy Demo! :)

Can't post all the pics due to other pics I wanna post and there being a limit... if you wanna see all the pictures from the event go check-out the steam upload of this post! Sowwie!

// Capri Drive-in - Coldwater, Michigan //

//Shankweiler's Drive-In - Orefield, Pennsylvania //

As you can see we had a lot of people checking out the demo, and having a great time with it! Got lots of great feedback at both events and it was great not only seeing familiar faces who were so excited to check out what had changed so far, but entirely new faces who fell in-love with it! Seriously, everybody was so nice and to that I extend by greatest thank you!

It was absolutely a blast to see people exploring levels, finding secrets, pushing themselves in the harder stages and overall just having a great time with it, makes all the work this far seem worth it! Hoping that the full game to deliver even more for you when you check it out then! Until then, let the thought of how fun this demo was seep into your mind palace... do not forget it... and wishlist the game whilst you wait...

But truth be told, these events wouldn't even be worth it if it wasn't for not only the great people who make it fun, but to the people who make it possible! So Here's a quick rundown of people I'd like to thank and or acknowledge! (If I saw/interacted with you I didn't shout you out, please take it as a personal attack towards your character and improve next time when your in my presences, thank you.)

Obviously I wanna thank Lee Thompson & Barn House Collective Crew for hosting such a fantastic event! I'd like to give a thank you and general hello to both @Prowlink and @MilesJohn. I met them for the first time at the event and Mr. Prowlink added Gappy to the Newgrounds OIAF Sponsored Art Piece! I guess by extension this also means that Mr. Fulp also gets a thank you for that commission! As for Mr. John he was a pleasure talking to and I've been a long time fan of his, and for this momentous occasion he doodled me, really captured my form and essence.

To wrap up the philly ditizens I'd like to give a shrimple wave to My friends @Broly, @Leroyalmess, @mkmaffo, @Anislug, @Owen (And the misses), @Popperr and @musclebro! Speaking of which! His cartoon was played at the event and it was fantastic! Easily in the top 5 of the night! Should he do a Gappy animated trailer? Maybe! He Should!

[ALSO. Thank you @leroyalmess for buying me a wawa hoagie, ty <3 ]

As for The Michigan peeps there were not TOO many Newgrounds people there, but lovely faces all the same! A lot of them followed me on instagram and kept it touch, they are all very talented artists doing some amazing stuff so if ya saw me and talked to me then this line is for you! It was great seeing ya there! For the few newgrounders there I'd like to give a wave to @Pfinney (And the misses), AndrewDude (Or @PapaLegba here on Newgrounds) and Vudujin that I got to talk and see a lot more of than at the Philly meet! It was great seeing / meeting you guys! :D

Anyways, Yeah Short Short Fest was kinda lame but whatever, why would I keep a new Gappy Demo locked behind a really stupid and dorky event? Well...

STEAM NEXT FEST & NEW DEMO!

Gappy is coming to Steam Next fest!

But let me clarify...

I was kinda on the fence about WHEN I wanted to eventually bite the bullet and do one of these, do I wait until Gappy is closer to release? Sooner? Later? Who knows! But bringing Gappy to these events and having people have such a good time with it, even when (In my eyes) It still has so much to go. But I knew I'd have to do it sooner than later, I mean these events bring so many new people to the forefront I would be doing Gappy a disservice NOT doing one.

I thought about opting in to the final one of this year, but I ultimately went against that as I wanted to spend a bit more time tweaking up the game before REALLY showing it off to the public eye. So, Gappy will be participating in the FEBRUARY 2027 Steam Next Fest! Keep this in mind! Not this NEXT Next Fest, but the NEXT, NEXT, Next Fest, Capiche?

The Demo will essentially be an evolved version of the Short Short Fest demo with a bit more... je ne sais quoi... interpret that as you will, but it will be GOOD! And for those who haven't seen or tried out the SSF Demos you'll get a taste of what you've been missing :]

Oh, and with talks of 2027 generally. Gappy's release! 2027? Doubtful, but not impossible? I remember a few years ago I told myself "Gappy Will likely release end of 2026..." HA! How wrong I was. Not really for lack of trying, but life has a funny way of working out, let's just say my life has been shaken up quite a bit since I started this project. As I keep working, I'm not upset by this notion and truth-be-told I'm not in any serious rush to finish this game, it's just me after all and game development is my main form of art and expression, It's all about feelings baby~

HOWEVER, I am putting my foot down to say this game will NOT release past 2028. If this game gets pushed into 2029 then kill me. And for future reference if the game SOMEHOW doesn't hit it's 2028 release and release after that year, feel free to screenshot this and light my ass up in the replies.

(This is for your own good future self. Sorry.)

TOUCH UPS & WHAT NOTS

So to close out this post, since most of it has just been talking "soons" and "Maybes" and "Please waits" I wanted to end on showing off some stuff I have done. A lot of developers would crucify me for what I'm about to show and be proud of...

I don't ever really work with a fully-dressed vision of what anything will be. Most of the time I work in the mindset that I can always come back to it later, and for better or worse I do this a lot. Usually it's small stuff. Better visual cohesion, better enemy placement, pallet changes, etc. But sometimes it is FULL overhauls of an area to better convey and idea or improve on what I have. I try not to fall into the trap of constantly improving what is already good, but it does happen... frequently...

Is this a bad thing? Probably. But I really do want this game to be jaw-droppinginly gorgeous and as perfect as it possibly can be. Obviously I can't run this endless race forever but I am proud of the progress I've made touching up bits and pieces of areas. and I'll run through some of them with you now! Enjoy!

'Added some cute, thin little palm trees, along with making the sand castle quite smaller and more of a background element to less disrupt the flow of the level. This beach level has seen COUNTLESS layout changes, and since I know this one was in the first demo people who will revisit this level in 2027 will be in for quite a different level. More of a focus on rolling hills and longer sections of boardwalks compared to it's original counterpart'

'This may not look like much, and this level has barely been shown off, but this is a short section I'm working on in the factory level of world 2. A alternative path where instead of going INTO the factory you explore the roof. Flat, lots of enemies, and exploding barrels of toxic sludge! An entirely new section/route to a mostly complete level, this will involve some tweaks to some existing level layouts but nothing major, and for those who find this mostly hidden route, it'll be quite a new way to navigate this level, I'm excited for people to find this :D'

'If you could believe it, this is the new starting area of the ski-lift level, a level that was included in the first demo of Gappy. For those who played it, it's obviously VERY different. And yes, most of these builldings are enter-able and have there own secrets. The OG version was more-so a means to an end, but this rework really makes this short section of the level leading into the main section much more memorable and plays a huge part in world-building and leaning more into the games story. This is my current project and it's a lot of fun!'

'This is just a new level entirely. You get vored by a demon worm in hell. Get over yourself, bitch.'

'BONUS ENTRY EXCLUSIVE TO NEWGROUNDS : Also an entirely new level i'm working on that wasn't even in any of the demos thus far! Look Familiar? Fans of Gappy 1 should recognize this tile-set from the 2nd world of that game!'

CLOSING REMARKS

It's been a while since I've written such a wordy post, hope it was an enjoyable read! Writing all this stuff out has really inspired me to get back to the grind and end this damned break! I have a kinda weird idea for the next few posts that will not just be a check-in for signs of life. Maybe some real, gritty, breakdowns of worlds 1 and 2? Sometime to tide you guys over until I can show off the level editor something EXTREMELY cool!

Until then, hope you guys have a great fall! I'll see y'all in November! Ciao!

-Levi Ramirez