Hi everyone, I wanted to catch up and let you know how alpha testing is going. So far so good! One thing is for certain... I'm really enjoying this game! My poor fingers are tired from building drinks, but on the positive... I've mastered the Choco Snow recipe! At first, it was easy to keep them all straight, but as I get farther into the game, it's been getting more difficult. For me, the best method is to do two tickets at a time and ignore the rest... it's easy to get lost if I break my drink-making pattern.

I'm currently on my second day in Witchwood (day 21), and I've just learned how to make Choco Smoothies. These are such a pain, but they bring in lots of gold.

So far, game play has been pretty balanced. I'm going to release an "easy" version for beta testers and adjust the difficulty level when the game goes out. Don't worry though, I'm probably going to have a way to adjust this in the final game.

Hmmm... other thoughts... One thing I really like about this game are the time limits for levels. Has anyone ever played Build-A-Lot? That is one of my favorite games, and I really like the long level times... it gives me a chance to relax and just play. I did the same thing with Yummy Drink Factory, and it's working out fabulously! At the beginning of the game, the first few levels are short, but after day 7, each level is 10 minutes long. On the surface, it's pretty easy to beat a level, but you have to keep up with tickets, even after your score is above the minimum. It's not as easy as you may think. I was on level 14, and quickly got above the score needed to beat the level. However, I got a little lazy, and before I knew it, I had four tickets that timebombed on me before I could complete them. Arrgs!!! My score went negative after that and I lost that round (if a ticket dies, the price of the drinks is deducted from your daily score.)

I may post a little movie in a sec...