In the in-game TAGAP 4 soundtrack jukebox, every song has its own 'CD single cover' that doubled as the basis for the video visualiser. Due to both popular demand and the spirit of our 'holiday bags of goodies', here they are as wallpapers.
That is correct; all 21 illustrations in 4k to decorate your desktops. A couple of these have been released already, but now they all are here in one big zip bag – a perfect mix of TAGAP goodness to turn into a wallpaper carousel. Grab 'em from the mirror-of-your-choice:
All illustrations are by the Head Penguin Jouni, with the Glowenko's mansion painting being a 'Hammer Horror' adaptation of the diegetic in-game painting by Poison Sleeper.
Happy Holidays – and stay safe & chill!
Time for the 14th annual Weekly Penguin Holiday Greetings! Feel free to distribute this Christmas card to cheer up your penguin-loving friends and loved ones!
This year Pablo has reached two big milestones – his fourth game and this here Weekly Penguin being No. 800! Pablo for sure has earned a holiday rest – and so have you, follow Pablo's example and relax!
Before Pablo went to bed, he did prepare a Christmas present, arriving December 24th.
All TAGAP games get new versions today. The original trilogy gets minor maintenance fixes, whilst TAGAP 4 also gets gameplay tweaks. More specifically, the easiest skill setting "Game Journalist" now starts giving out Combo rewards faster, meaning more Life Blobs gained.
These are (likely) the last TAGAP updates for 2022. Fear not, there are further TAGAP 4 improvements on the way – including improved key-binding options – but those will come early next year. Not only is the holiday season upon us, I also have to upgrade my Windows 8.1 system and migrate my development environments to whatever comes next. It will take a while.
As usual, the updates are available as full downloads and separate patches – on Itch.io:
Or here on TAGAP.net:
TAGAP 4 continues to evolving thanks to your feedback – and more tune ups are on the way!
This one is not just about fixes, but also adds a new Level Selection to the "Extras". If you've reached a level in the campaign, you can select it to play at any time now. For the full list of changes, check out the version history log.
As always, the update is available as a full game download and as a smaller update. You can grab it either from Itch.io:
Or you can grab them from the TAGAP website.
Surprise! Updates to the original three games!
TAGAP 4 bringing new eyes on the old games, I've gotten several new reports of glitches in both Classic TAGAP and TAGAP 3 – so both of them get new updates! Huge thank you to everyone reporting the issues.
For full list of changes you can check out the change logs of Classic TAGAP and TAGAP 3 respectively.
Naturally, he updates are available as a full game download and as a smaller update – either on Itch:
Or here on TAGAP.net:
One more launch week update! This fixes the following:
As always, the update is available as a full game download and as a smaller update. You can grab it either from Itch.io or from the Downloads section.
Following yesterday's hotfix, we're back with a meatier update! This update includes:
The added tutorial tips mean that the Translation Template has also been updated. The Translation Template has its own change log for exact details on changes.
The update is available as a full game download and as a smaller update. You can grab it either from Itch.io or from this very website's Downloads section.
We're like the Big Boys, we have a Day One Patch!
If you had problems with fullscreen when using Windows 10 and its display scaling, this will fix it.
The hotfix is available as a full game download and as a smaller update. You can grab it either from Itch.io or from this very website's Downloads section.
This is it – the last stop before the launch of TAGAP 4! Time to look back on the story of TAGAP so far and you have the new ways to do it.
First up is the story recap that kicks off TAGAP 4. The great Neil Gardner returns as the narrator, re-telling the bonkers story of the series up until the beginning of TAGAP 4.
Obviously this video spoils the story of the games TAGAP, TAGAP 2 and TAGAP 3. If you want to play them first, scroll past the video for downloads.
Additionally to the story recap, both Classic TAGAP and TAGAP 3 get a new big updates. All updates are performance and stability related – ranging from general improvements in TAGAP 3 to replacing all legacy OpenGL extension calls with modern ones.
As always, the updates are available as plain zips and installers – and as full game downloads and as smaller patches.
You can download the games from either the Downloads section, or from Itch.io:
Sadly, the reason the updates come this last minute is that we tried to obtain a code signing certificate to sign the programs, lessening warnings Microsoft ""Smart"" Screen gives to you folks. Sadly, this is impossible, at least on our budget, so the updates and TAGAP 4 next week will have to launch without digital signatures.
Come back next Monday; The fourth penguin apocalypse is nigh!
The last Weekly Penguin before the Fourth Penguin Apocalypse!
So here's Pablo's friend Pedro – back from the day he still was Pablo's enemy number one. Yes, this is more of the 'previously on TAGAP' illustrations.
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And if you like this, you really should tune back in on Thursday!
If you're new here, Weekly Penguin is a weekly feature on TAGAP website. Typically it is all about showcasing the endless penguin artefact collection of the Head Penguin, but with TAGAP 4 around the corner, even Weekly Penguin is all about the hype!
On the social medias, screenshot Saturdays are a big thing in the indie game development circles. We've (mostly) not been a part of these, simply to avoid ending up showing and spoiling absolutely everything before the game is anywhere near launch. However, we indeed are very near launch, so why not?
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For the penultimate TAGAP Thursday we have another excellent guest artist rendition of TAGAP 4, this time with a twist; Pablo goes 3D, complete with a simulated clay animation look!
This fiery render comes from Jacob Lloyd of SplashFire Studios. He is a fellow solo game developer currently working on Hop for the Best, a platformer game with a great claymation aesthetic – similar to the rendition of Pablo you see here.
Huge thank you to Jacob Lloyd for this one!
Hop for the Best is still hoppin' along, so remember to Wishlist on Steam.
Not only is today a TAGAP Thursday, it is also a special day. You know how software developers have a 'known issues' list? And how some companies seem to think it is okay to ship their games with that being miles long? We're not like that – the last item was just today crossed off the TAGAP 4's 'known issues' list!
This means TAGAP 4 is almost ready to be kicked out into the world. It still needs a couple of minor content things slapped into place (and tested), but we're on track. And this being an important milestone, there is only one thing apt for celebration:
Visualizer: Vimeo, YouTube | Streaming / download: SoundCloud
This is 'Level Clear', the level completion theme of TAGAP 4 composed by Petja Heiskanen. And yes, that is indeed what the 'last big art asset' featured few weeks back was for.
Remember to check back in next week for more great guest art, this time from Jacob Lloyd of SplashFire Studios!
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TAGAP, meet Sgurk!
Sgurk is one busy dude; when he is not fronting an industrial band Spankraght and editing trailers and videos, he does some brilliant first-person-shooter tribute art. We here at TAGAP HQ loved those artworks so much that we had to see what 'TAGAP by Sgurk' would look like. So we reached out and commissioned some big HD artwork to decorate your desktops!
I love it! The bold line art really makes it pop, to the point this would work great as an KMFDM album cover (everybody could use more "Brute!" in their lives).
Huge thank you to Sgurk for joining the Penguin World Domination!
If you wish to see more of his creations, check out Sgurk's ArtStation and naturally Spankraght. Sgurk is also no stranger to gamedev side of things, either and has made an excellent DOOM WAD 'Thou Shalt Drown In The Blood Of Thy Children' using Spankraght as the soundtrack.
TAGAP 4 may not be the biggest game in the series in terms of its scope, but it is so in terms of the production. In addition to the main dev duo of Jouni and Petja, there are several freelancers contributing to the game. All of them are amazing folks and we want to highlight them and their talent.
It is African Penguin Awareness Day!
I love all the penguins and the fact that we have three international penguin-themed days in our calendar is brilliant. I'll take any excuse I can get to put out new penguin media as a vehicle to spread penguin awareness!
On this African Penguin Awareness Day, here is the 'alternate cover art' for TAGAP 4. If you've seen the behind-the-scenes time lapse video of the creation of the art, you might have noticed that I paint in black and white, with the light and light highlights as separate layers. Well, here's an example of why; it makes easy to create alternate versions of the images and iterate with lighting.
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This blue-hued version is actually the original one, the final 'red and green' version is the second iteration. This one, whilst striking, wasn't 'TAGAP enough' and came across more like a synthwave-style throwback or a BloodDragon -homage. It may not work as well as the main cover for TAGAP 4, but it sure works as a desktop wallpaper!
You can get both versions of the cover, as well as other wallpapers, at the Download Extras section.
Though the battle penguins of TAGAP are not African penguins, they are here to show support to their sadly-endangered cousins. African Penguin populations have been in severe decline over the years, mainly thanks to, you guessed it, humans.
African Penguin Awareness Day is a great excuse to learn more about these banded honking waddlers. The best sources to look for both information and ways to help these little guys out, is via organisations like SANCCOB and Lewis Pugh Foundation and WWF South Africa.
This is one one of the soundtrack illustrations, but it is also something special and is featured here for a reason. I mean, though it is a pretty cool shot of Pablo's new weapon, the AMM-01, unloaded, it is also the last piece of artwork I had for myself in my to-do list for TAGAP 4!
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There is still one more art asset I need to do for TAGAP+ and an art gallery to compile for the bonus features, but as far as the main game is concerned, I think I can say that the art is done.
The single cover for the soundtrack track Hammond Foundry, due to popular demand now in the glorious widescreen desktop form! I was originally planning on putting all these album artworks up post-launch, but hey; ain't no time like the present.
Witness Pablo's sweat drops in glorious 4k!
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On the semi-related topic; as mentioned in the previous blog update, we just had the TAGAP 4 voice over recording session last weekend. Most of the voice work is now in place and yes, there might be a behind the scenes video down the line 😉
All these years I've tried to keep everyone in the loop on the current progress status of TAGAP 4, but with all the TAGAP Thursdays shenanigans and themed posts, I've neglected that for some time. So let's get two birds with one blog and make the progress update his week's theme!
So, pop in to the blog to read on what's been going on in the Penguin DT recently!
Well, how about that – this week we may not have TAGAP 4 things for you, but a whole lot of the original TAGAP trilogy. TAGAP 3 v2.9 and Classic TAGAP v3.7 are here, bringing bug fixes, performance updates and quality-of-life improvements inherited from TAGAP 4!
In addition to stability improvements in TAGAP 3, the biggest thing is the improved game controller handing. Choosing between the game controller and the mouse + keyboard setup is no longer 'one or the other' – enabling the game controller still lets you use both methods. Well, except when playing TAGAP 2 split-screen, of course.
All SDKs have now been moved their latest versions, which in this case means the end of the 'official Windows 7 support for the games. The games will likely still work on Windows 7, but we can't guarantee (nor actually test) it. The lowest supported version of Windows now is 8.1, under which the games work great – in fact, that's what they're developed on.
The updates are, as always, available as patches, full game installers and as plain zip files. Whatever you need, you'll find it in the Download Classic TAGAP and Download TAGAP 3 sections.
Or hop over to Itch.io where we're now hosting the whole TAGAP trilogy! And yes, everything is freeware everywhere, including Itch.
Time for another slice of TAGAP 4 soundtrack goodness, in form of a song you've heard before – Hammond Foundry, as heard in the level Iron Foundry, which we featured as a full playthrough last year.
Visualizer: Vimeo, YouTube | Streaming / download: SoundCloud
The reason for picking this song in particular right now is simple; the music meastro Petja Heiskanen has been finalizing the soundtrack. With the final mixes and masters being in place, it felt like a good idea to showcase how the game's music has progressed, from the demos to the final rendition.
As a refresher, the original demo version sounded like this;
The fourth TAGAP Thursday was scheduled to be a developer blog update on another aspect of the game, but as it happens, a much-requested new feature was just now implemented into TAGAP 4. I've been been talking about it on Twitter, but if you missed it;
TAGAP 4 finally supports multiple languages!
Check out the new blog update on what that means and how it all works!
Time for a new slice of penguin funk, fresh from the TAGAP 4 soundtrack; here's 'Back 4 Funk', naturally by the great Petja Heiskanen! The track is available as a visualiser on both Vimeo and YouTube – as well as in the audio form on SoundCloud.
Visualizer: Vimeo, YouTube | Streaming / download: SoundCloud
Also worth noting is the artwork associated with the track. It was indeed released earlier this year on the World Penguin Day as a wallpaper. Back then I said it was made for something in TAGAP 4, but I wasn't ready to reveal it yet. Well, here it is; TAGAP 4 jukebox is an actual Jukebox this time around, where every track has its very own single cover. Every. Track.
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As a nice bonus, every cover doubles as a great base for these visualisers!
We've been doing this TAGAP thing a long time and game marketing has changed quite a bit, for the better of for the worse. One thing that was big in the early days was having a 'game menu tour', showcasing the user interface in a thorough manner. Seriously, back in the days of TAGAP 2 everyone was doing it.
It's been ages since the last time I saw this and it could be we're among the last weirdos still at it, but let's keep up the tradition. Without further ado;
Here is the full showcase of the TAGAP 4 main menu!
Let's take a stroll from the main selection, through all the configuration options and even having a sneak peek at the unlockable bonus content.
With the release date now set in stone – November 14th in case you missed it – it is time to bring back the countdown known feature as the TAGAP Thursdays! So, every Thursday until TAGAP 4 launches, we'll have something new to showcase regarding the game – from new media to behind-the-scenes features.
Let's start with one of those – the very first TAGAP 4 'Behind the Scenes' video featuring the time-lapse of the creation of the key-art. Want to see how the TAGAP 4's illustrations – including the 'previously on TAGAP' scenes – are doodled up? Well, this is how.
This is not a speed-paint, but a time-lapse – built from hundreds and hundreds of snapshots. It doesn't show pen movement or the tools chosen, but on the other hand the image is stable and a lot easier on the eyes.
Additionally, I've now added a 'Behind the Scenes' tab to the TAGAP 4 section – compiling all the 'making of TAGAP 4' shenanigans into one place.
The first two TAGAP titles were released on July 31st, making it our very own TAGAP Day. And in 2022, we're having our 15th anniversary of the apocalyptic penguin!
First things first; TAGAP 4 double-announcement trailer!
Yes, barring apocalyptic events,
The music you hear is indeed the theme song by Petja Heiskanen, aptly called 'Theme 4 TAGAP'. Here it is in full, in video visualiser form:
Visualizer: YouTube | Streaming / download: SoundCloud
And yes, the artwork featured in both the trailer and the visualiser is the final cover or key art for the game. Here it is in 4k form to decorate your desktops:
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All the TAGAP Day shenanigans – and more, including the trailer commentary – are compiled in the new 'behind the scenes' blog update.
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As we've entered July, that means the 15th anniversary of TAGAP is around the corner on the 31st! For this reason, it felt appropriate to feature more 'Previously on TAGAP' artwork on the Weekly Penguin arena. This time we look back at TAGAP 2.
Accompanying these fearsome penguins is a new blog mini-update, covering what to expect from the TAGAP Day 2022 and info on where we're at with TAGAP 4 development.
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This week's Weekly Penguin celebrates the latest TAGAP 3 patch and it heading to the games distribution service Itch.io! We do with more 'Previously on TAGAP' artwork from TAGAP 4, focusing on the space penguins of Pluto!
Finally here, TAGAP 3 v2.8 brings important stability improvements – hammering out a nasty elusive crash bug and in general featuring extra optimisations. So if you've featured a crash while playing the previous release in particular, this should fix your problems.
Huge thank-you to everyone who helped me nail this bugger down. Especially with my limited hardware access – I literary have only two computers I can test these things on, meaning sometimes I simply can't replicate issues that materialise on specific Windows versions.
Head to TAGAP 3 Downloads and get the update – as usual, available as a full game download or as a smaller patch.
Or...
Penguin DT is now a developer on Itch.io – and the latest version of TAGAP 3 is now available through the platform.
And no, TAGAP 3 isn't going commercial – it is still freeware on Itch.io as well.
Why Itch? It's a lovely ecosystem for all kinds of indie projects, from the heavy duty commercial ones all the way to bizarre freeware doodles. TAGAP lies somewhere in the between, so it fits right in – and the option to keep things freeware ensures the tax man can't leech off of Pablo. Everybody wins.
There are only a handful of days I choose to celebrate myself and today is one of those days; April 25th, the World Penguin Day! And this year I'm doing it by unleashing more TAGAP 4 artwork, this time featuring Pablo investigating the clone labs.
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Done in the same style as the previously featured 'recap' paintings illustrating the previous games, this one actually covers a scene from TAGAP 4.
This digital painting isn't a piece of promo art, though I admit it does work as one splendidly. It isn't concept art either, but something created for a specific section of the TAGAP 4 extras. However, as these extras are one of the rewards for completing the game, I won't spoil them, at least not today.
Have a fun World Penguin Day, everybody – and remember to think of penguins at least once today.
For the second time, the Weekly Penguin focuses on rewinding the time for another snippet from the 'previously on TAGAP' segment of TAGAP 4! This time the spotlight goes to the Dr. Glowenko of the original timeline with his fearsome army.
As before check out the Weekly Penguin entry for the more details and the wallpaper downloads.
Instead of letting the reality drag you down, how about some escapism in form of a TAGAP 4 reveal?
For today, our Weekly Penguin has been taken over by none other than TAGAP 4 and it's recap sequence. For full rundown of how it'll work this time around, as well as wallpaper the downloads, check out the write up on the entry.
I'm also delighted to announce that – if the world is still here in a month or so – the recap sequence will be again voiced by Neil Gardner of Ladbroke Audio!
In the meantime, stay safe everyone.
Another year behind us, another excuse to rave about some good games we've played. As I keep saying, you can't make a good game if you don't play games. Also, obviously the games we play will influence the games we make, regardless of our intentions. This in mind, here's our annual showcase of the best games of 2021!
Are you aware that there are these funky birds known as penguins? Well, just in case you weren't, there's whole day dedicated to making sure the whole world knows about them. Yes, Penguin Awareness Day is here and as usual, we have to celebrate!
However, this time is special, something I've been wanting to do for so long but didn't find the time to do it. But I decided to cheat; I made the project part of TAGAP 4 so that I would have to make time for it!
So, without further ado – here are TAGAP 4's secret collectibles, featuring the Penguin Species of the World in TAGAPified form!
The two examples here are the elusive Fiordland Penguin of New Zealand and the African Penguin, both sadly endangered. If you want to aid in the research and conservation efforts of the two, check out Tawaki Project and SANCCOB, respectively.
And when I said penguins of the world, I meant it, I went all out with this. There are total of 19 collectibles for you to find in TAGAP 4, each featuring their own illustration, information and trivia.
If you like what you're seeing, time to get secret hunting when TAGAP 4 arrives later in 2022.
