Games

Indie Spotlight – Ultimate Chicken Horse leaps onto mobile with its beloved quirky platforming experience

BBG News

Story Highlights

  • Ultimate Chicken Horse is a indie party platformer where you build the level as you play, race as animals, and outplay your friends.
  • Richard Atlas, one of the three co-founders of Clever Endeavour Games, shared fascinating insights into the game’s inspiration, creative process, expectations, and more.
  • The game is slated for release in Q2 2025, and pre-registration is now available on both Google Play Store and App Store.

Noodlecake Studios is preparing to release the popular indie game, “Ultimate Chicken House,” on both Android and iOS devices sometime this year. This multiplayer platformer allows you and your friends to collaborate on building levels during gameplay, either cooperatively or online, while also providing opportunities to explore a variety of platforms together.

First introduced in 2016 by game developers Clever Endeavour Games, this meticulously designed game is now coming to mobile devices, offering the same captivating and thrilling experience it’s known for.

Featured Column – Indie Spotlight

As a passionate gamer, I can’t help but be captivated by GamingonPhone’s Indie Spotlight – a beacon that highlights the rising talents in the indie gaming world. This feature gives these small studios and developers the attention they deserve, helping them shine within their community. In each segment, you’ll find comprehensive overviews, along with unique perspectives and thoughts directly from the creators themselves. If you’re an up-and-coming indie studio, don’t hesitate to reach out with your questions at editor@gamingonphone.com.

Game Overview

Ultimate Chicken Horse, created by Clever Endeavour Games, is a thrilling party platformer where you and your friends compete in races as endearing creatures such as chickens, horses, and others. But there’s a unique twist: while racing, you can construct the level as you play, adding traps, hurdles, and other elements to throw off your opponents.

The game allows you to play either online or offline, accommodating up to 4 players. It offers a distinctive mix of strategic level design and fast-paced platforming challenges. To add more excitement, there’s an extensive library of blocks that lets you build your own levels infinitely.

Featuring a whimsical, cartoonish graphic design, an array of diverse animal characters, the ability to create personalized levels and rules, multiple game modes, shared control mode, challenge stages, and more, Ultimate Chicken Horse offers a versatile, dynamic, and thrilling gaming experience tailored for today’s players.

Why you should play Ultimate Chicken Horse

  • A hit indie party platformer with very positive reviews across major platforms.
  • Vibrant, cartoony visuals with a wonderful cast of quirky animal characters.
  • Supports up to 4 players for online or local matches, and 17 unique levels with different features.
  • A chaotic yet exciting gameplay experience with challenge levels, traps, hazards, and more.

From concept to creation: Developer Insights

During a chat with GamingonPhone, Richard Atlas, one of Clever Endeavour Games’ three co-founders (alongside Alex Attar and Kyler Kelly), revealed fascinating insights into Ultimate Chicken Horse. He delved into the game’s origins, inspirations, obstacles, and much more.

Speaking about the origins of the studio, Mr. Richard shared that before Ultimate Chicken Horse achieved indie success, it initially emerged from a game jam held in Montreal. At this time, he was already contemplating establishing a gaming studio. He further disclosed that Clever Endeavour was established towards the end of 2014.

From game jam experiment to studio foundation and game’s debut

He mentioned that he had been acquainted with Alex (another co-founder) for quite some time, and encountered Kyler (the third co-founder) at local coding gatherings. To gauge their compatibility and determine if they could “work effectively under tight deadlines,” the three of them initiated a speedy one-day project, which was followed by a weekend project.

According to him, they decided to invest more time in developing the game after presenting an early version at a gathering and receiving favorable responses. As the project progressed, they saw its potential and subsequently established a studio centered on this promising concept.

Mr. Richard added that the team initially consisted of only three members and stayed that way until it was time to launch. It wasn’t until Ultimate Chicken Horse generated enough revenue for them “to bring on another team member” that they “increased their staff.” The team continued to grow from there.

A chance encounter sparked the upcoming mobile version

I was wondering why they decided to introduce the game on mobile platforms recently, and he shared that the concept for a mobile version re-emerged during an unexpected encounter at a “gaming conference in our home city Montreal called MIGS (Montreal International Game Summit)” which sparked their decision.

Mr. Richard shared an anecdote about encountering “Ryan, from Noodlecake – the team responsible for porting and publishing our game on mobile.” He disclosed that they were acquainted before he joined the industry, and that he had sought advice from Ryan on how to enter the field.

Recalling that Noodlecake recently adapted a console game for mobile brought back thoughts like, “We hadn’t considered moving the game to mobile in quite some time.” Mr. Richard clarified, “Of course, we had talked about it internally on numerous occasions,” but they didn’t pursue it because they lacked both the required development expertise and monetization strategy experience.

He additionally clarified another motive behind why many profitable games during that period were free-to-play. They “felt it was challenging to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive free-to-play market on mobile devices.

Following the discussion, they came to understand that “the opportunity was substantial with a relatively low danger factor, and the methods of earning revenue were diverse enough to make it seem sensible to give it a shot.

Why the mobile release is worth the wait

During our conversation, I inquired about what enthusiasts could anticipate, and as Mr. Richard shared, “One key aspect that fans should look forward to with this edition is its portability and user-friendly nature, designed for every player.

Additionally, he notes that “Those who might have been hesitant due to the intimidating sensation of gripping an Xbox controller,” will now have the opportunity to explore this game.

Due to its user-friendly controls, he anticipates that it will be ideal for creating stages and navigating obstacle courses, implying a great opportunity for single player gameplay too.

The creative process behind the game’s origin

Mr. Richard shared that their game, Ultimate Chicken Horse, was developed for a game jam featuring three themes: Modular, Phrase, and The Ultimate [blank]. Originally, the team aimed to create something similar to Scribblenauts, but with the unique twist of letters transforming into objects. However, this concept changed drastically once they started constructing a level.

He reminisced about an idea of developing a game where players construct dungeons and enemies, with the AI taking on the role of the hero. However, they quickly understood that such a concept was too complex for a small jam. Instead, they opted to manage characters themselves and converted it into a 2D game.

As a devoted fan, I must admit that the design of controls for our game bore some resemblance to “Super Meat Boy,” a challenging platformer that both Alex and Richard spent countless hours playing, and it happens to be one of my favorites as well, albeit with its moments of frustration. However, they eventually abandoned the concept of worlds transforming into platforms and instead opted for an arrangement where levels are placed directly, as he explained.

Regarding the theme of “phrase,” it sparked the creation of the words “but we eventually abandoned this idea,” as Mr. Richard pointed out. He shared that they had originally conceptualized adorable chicken and horse characters, which he mentioned while discussing the origin of the game’s name, Ultimate Chicken Horse.

He also proposed an initial scoring system idea: “If you didn’t succeed, you’d get a letter, similar to how players continue taking turns in H-O-R-S-E in basketball or S-K-A-T-E with skateboarding.” In simpler terms, he referred to it as the ultimate version of ‘horse’ and ‘chickens’, a game where people tend to perform reckless and risky actions until someone gets injured.

Gameplay that’s wacky, fun, and surprising at the same time

As a fresh gamer diving into this game for the first time, I must confess that the multitude of blocks available can be downright daunting. However, I find it more engaging to approach the experience as a puzzle solver, rather than a strategist aiming to win, by exploring what each new block does and how it can contribute to the overall gameplay.

He mentioned that the game doesn’t require a significant decision or fixed positioning for each block because of its rotation system. He also highlighted an engaging aspect of the game, such as the scenario where ‘an arrow is inserted into a cannon and launched at an angle.’

Regarding the game’s modifications, Mr. Richard pointed out that many people are unaware of their existence. He attributes this to the game initially starting as a small project and gradually growing over time. “At first,” he explained, “there were no tools for level creation, no challenge mode, and no available modifiers” when the game was launched.

It was difficult to present these new features effectively to the players when they were introduced. The team acknowledges that some of these features may not be familiar to experienced players. However, they are brainstorming solutions to enhance the player’s experience and reveal more of what the game has to offer.

How the mobile release can expand the community to new levels

At the end of our chat, our discussion pivoted towards the potential impact that the forthcoming mobile release might have on expanding the Ultimate Chicken Horse community.

Mr. Richard finds tremendous opportunity in the mobile gaming market and thinks it could expose the game to a previously untapped audience, “those who would not have played the game on a PC or console.” This is due to either hardware limitations they face or because their peers primarily play on mobile devices, making this version more convenient for them.

He further mentioned that some current fans might select mobile versions merely to invite their friends who primarily engage in mobile gaming. Mr. Richard is enthusiastic about the future, expressing his eagerness to witness new participants joining the Discord and contributing to discussions around the game through our social media platforms.

Final Verdict from the Editor

As someone who can’t wait for pre-registration, I’m thrilled about Ultimate Chicken Horse! It looks like it’s going to be an amazing party platformer that I can enjoy with friends, supporting up to four players. What makes it stand out is its unique mix of strategic building and fast-paced platforming gameplay.

As a gamer, I’ve just dived into this early access gem, and let me tell you, it’s a blast! Whether you choose to go solo or team up with friends in local multiplayer, the game provides an effortless entry point. The eccentric characters, vibrant graphics, diverse levels, and the ability to design and share your own stages make it a game worth exploring. Don’t miss out on this one!

To join this exciting racing party platformer game with your friends, simply pre-register for it through the Google Play Store or App Store. The game is set to release in the second quarter of 2025. Keep an eye out for further updates!

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2025-05-08 03:38

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