Leap Day

Leap Day is a level-based platforming game released on the Apple App Store and Google Play on May 11th, 2016 and planned to be released on the Amazon App Store and browser. The player plays as a character who is trying to reach the Gold Cup in each daily level. Levels in Leap Day are released each day and are created by an algorithm.

Gameplay
In each level of Leap Day the player has to reach the Gold Cup at the end in order to complete the level. A new level is released each day, and it is not mandatory for a player to complete a level in order to play the next one. All past levels are available to the player and can be replayed at any time. All levels are generated by an algorithm using pre-made parts, and are identical for every player. If a level is not completed on the day of its release, it will be locked in the menu. Locked levels can only be played if the player watches an advertisement. Levels will not be locked if the premium version of the game has been purchased.

Cups
Cups will appear on the level menu for each day depending on how far the levels have been completed. Each level is composed of fifteen checkpoints which the player can activate, all numbered in decreasing order starting at checkpoint 15 and ending at checkpoint 1.
 * [[File:LeapDay_trophy_menu_small_bronze.png]] Going past checkpoint 10 will grant the player a bronze cup ﻿.
 * [[File:LeapDay_trophy_menu_small_silver.png]] Going past checkpoint 5 will grant the player a silver cup ﻿.
 * [[File:LeapDay_trophy_menu_small_gold.png]] Finishing a level will grant the player a Gold Cup.
 * [[File:LeapDay_trophy_menu_small_fruit_crown.png]] Finishing a level with all fruits collected will grant the player a Fruit Crown cup.

Level generation
Levels in Leap Day are generated from a pool of separately created level chunks, each which can be assigned any theme, and some level chunks have interchangeable elements in them. Each level is composed of fifteen checkpoints, with each checkpoint having two level chunks in them. Each level chunk is drawn from a pool of 700 to 800 separate chunks and has set elements such as platforms, spikes, fruits and other objects. Other elements, like enemies, have a set place in the chunk but can be changed depending on the level theme, segment difficulty, daily enemy pool or other factors. Some chunks have multiple similar variants, even though they all follow the same basic principle. Level chunks vary in difficulty, and are ordered in daily levels so that easier chunks have high probabilities of being generated at the beginning, while harder ones will more likely appear at the end.

A level's level chunks and theme are all arranged following a level seed. The seed is generated from the date of each level, meaning that every player will have the same seed each day and a virtual infinite amount of different seeds can be generated. Furthermore, since level generation is date-dependant, Nitrome does not have to support the game and continue updating it in order for new levels to be made available each day. As new content gets added to the game, the level chunks and elements pool will be increased, making new days more varied to increase the game's longevity.

Level chunks are used up until the level section after checkpoint 1, whereupon an End Zone is encountered. End Zones consist of an assortment of hazards and each End Zone is unique to the day it was created for. The background of End Zones consists of walls painted in goal colors and dungeon-like scenery.

All possible enemies that can appear in a level are part of a daily enemy pool. This enemy pool is seed-specific and contains three to four different enemies each day. Most level chunks will contain an enemy slot, which is filled according to the daily enemy pool following a set of rules and restrictions. This means that the same chunk can have different enemies in it on two separate days. Common enemies, which have a basic walking pattern and can be stomped by the player, can appear in various situations and are easily interchangeable. Each daily enemy pool will contain some common enemies which will be used in most chunks of the level. However, some chunks will only accept specific types of enemies, such as flying enemies or enemies which can walk on walls. On these specific occasions, only the fitting enemies will be selected. A chunk cannot appear in a level if there is no enemy from the daily enemy pool which can fit in it.

Similarly to the enemy pool, each day has a set object pool. This pool contains various interactive objects and hazards which can appear in the level. This means that there is a limit to the diversity of objects the player will encounter. Since objects are not interchangeable like most enemies, the daily object pool will also dictate what level chunks can and cannot appear in a level. If a chunk contains objects which are not present in the daily pool, it will not be able to appear in the entire level. Both the enemy and object pool give an overall gameplay theme to a level, with some recurring elements the player has to deal with in different situation, helping each level to feel more unique to the player.

Checkpoints
Each level will start with a bottom room which is identical throughout every level. The room is composed of a cheering crowd with a king watching the player above a giant "LEAP DAY" sign. The date is also displayed right above. Between the 15th and 14th checkpoint stands yet another room which is shared throughout every level. It is a dark room the player will traverse that always has the same platforms. Two creatures appear sitting on couches, facing away from the player, watching a giant television. On the television is displayed a television program that reads "Tomorrow on Leap Day" and shows a preview of the level theme of the next level.

Each checkpoint throughout a level can be activated by the player in order to respawn from it after they die, as well as saving their current fruit score. Checkpoints are composed of a red platform with the checkpoint number (sorted from 15 to 1) in the middle. The wall will be opened on the right, and the player has to go through this opening in order to activate the checkpoint. The first room will contain two chests the player can use by jumping under them. The first one will unlock the current checkpoint for 20 fruits, while the second one will unlock the checkpoint if the player watches a video advertisement (provided that data connection is activated). Yet another opening on the right will lead to a second room with a large chest the player can use to purchase the premium version of the game, which allows them to unlock each checkpoint for free, either manually or automatically. Premium players can toggle between both unlock options for free checkpoints in the options menu.

Gifts
Gifts are unlockable aesthetic objects and currently consist of characters and Selfie poses. As of Update 1, there are ten characters and thirty-three Selfie poses. Gifts are unlocked by advancing through levels as indicated by a progress bar on the calendar screen, this done by adding points to the bar by collecting cups on the current day's level. All cups, including Fruit Cups, contribute one point to this bar. Levels 1, 2, and 3 require three, four, and six points, respectively, while levels 4 and higher require eight points. After level 4, gifts are generally unlocked in a pattern consisting of three Selfie poses and a character.

In app-purchases
Leap Day has an in app-purchase called premium. It removes advertisement from the game. Also, every checkpoint is automatically registered.

Announcements
{{Gallery|type=Leap Day preview image|
 * March 30th, 2015 - Leap Day was announced under the name Project Jump, and three mockup images shared
 * December 23rd, 2015 - A Youtube video of Leap Day's gameplay was released along with more details about its gameplay.
 * January 20th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on his Twitter account a screenshot of Leap Day
 * January 30th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on his Twitter account a screenshot of the room used to buy a checkpoint
 * February 11th, 2016 - Nitrome announced on Twitter that Project Jump has been renamed "Leap Day" and shared a screenshot of the game.
 * February 20th, 2016 - Mat Annal shared on his Twitter account two screenshots of Leap Day.
 * February 22nd, 2016 - Mat Annal shared on his Twitter account a mock-up image of the Waterfall background.
 * February 27th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on his Twitter account a screenshot of a level that uses the Castle Beanstalk background
 * February 28th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on his Twitter account another screenshot of a level that uses the Castle Beanstalk background
 * February 29th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter a screenshot of the game.
 * March 28th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on Twitter a level that used the desert background.
 * April 2nd, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter a level that had Cactus Monsters.
 * April 3rd, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter three previews: a level that had Mud Monsters, a level that had a piece of scenery that showed two characters watching the game's protagonist on a television, and a level that had an egg.
 * April 5th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter a level that had a selection of scenery that showed two characters inside a house watching the game's protagonist on a television.
 * April 21st, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that the game had been submitted to the Apple App Store and Google Play and also posted an image of an king-like character on his throne pulling a lever.
 * April 22nd, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of the Gold Cup goal for one level and on Youtube a video of the generated level for April 20th, 2016.
 * May 4th, 2016 - Nitrome posted that Leap Day will be released on May 11th and also posted a trailer of the game on Youtube.
 * May 7th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of the day select screen and highlighted how it displays achievements gained on each day.
 * May 8th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of the Gold Cup at the end of a level that has a Fruit Crown.
 * May 11th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on the Nitrome blog, Facebook, and Twitter that Leap Day was released.
 * May 19th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of unlockable characters that would be added in a future update.
 * May 25th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of the "free unlock" chest which would be added in the adjustments update for players who have bought premium.
 * June 3rd, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of the sharing feature that was added in the adjustments update.
 * June 9th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter a screenshot that shows during a level Yolk's second selfie pose and mentioned that they were testing Update 1.
 * June 10th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of the update calendar in Update 1.
 * June 10th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter a Selfie screenshot of Yolk among Stone Monsters.
 * June 11th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of the Lick on the character select screen.
 * June 11th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of Lick in a level.
 * June 12th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an image that shows a screenshot of a Selfie cam image with Lick performing its first Selfie pose.
 * June 13th, 2016 - Nitrome posted that Update 1 had been released.
 * June 14th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on Twitter a mockup image of a background that he was working on.
 * June 15th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on Twitter an image of art that was being created for the Totem background which is going to be introduced in Update 2.
 * June 16th, 2016 - Nitrome posted that they were working on Update 2 and mentioned the new content it would introduce.
 * June 19th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter an in-game Selfie cam image of a level that has the Totem background.
 * July 1st, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that Update 2 would be released the following Monday (July 4th, 2016).
 * July 4th, 2016 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that Update 2 had been released.
 * July 5th, 2016 - Mat Annal posted on Twitter an image of art that would be used in the beach background, a new background that was being created for Update 3.

Development
During development, Leap Day was called Project Jump. Leap Day was worked on at some point before being temporarily put on hold in order to finish the first major update to Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire. At this point the game was in very early development, with the general game running and some of the game's art and enemies created.

The game was initially revealed on March 30th, 2015, to make up for announcing that Nitrome Touchy would be discontinued, and Nitrome provided some information on the game's gameplay and also some mockup shots of the game. A single section of the game was used as the basis for each shot, only with a different background and different themed enemies for each shot. At this point in development the game was planned to be endless instead of level based.

By July 24th, 2015, the game had entered mid development. On October 3rd, 2015, Nitrome mentioned that previously work on the game had slowed down due to the team behind it being affected by "various things", and out of the three other games being developed it was the least complete one, despite being started first. Despite all this, Nitrome added that the game's development should now be progressing at a faster pace.

Nitrome posted on December 23rd, 2015 a video of Leap Day's gameplay and also shared information about the game's gameplay. From January 20th, 2016 onward, Mat Annal on his Twitter account and Nitrome on their Twitter account posted preview images of Leap Day. On February 11th, 2016, Nitrome announced that the game's official name would be Leap Day and shared a preview image of the game.

On February 21st, 2016, Nitrome said that they were aiming to release the game in March 2016, but they were not able to meet this release period. On April 21st, 2016, Nitrome posted that the game had been submitted to the Apple App Store and Google Play. The following day, they also posted a video on Youtube of the generated level for April 20th, 2016. On May 4th, 2016, Nitrome announced that the game would be released on May 11th, 2016, and posted on Youtube a trailer of the game. The game was released on May 11th on the Apple App Store and Google Play. On May 19th, 2016, Nitrome posted on Twitter an image of unlockable characters that would be added in an upcoming content update.

Mat Annal, one of the game's artists, was aiming for an art style reminiscent of what was considered by fans as Nitrome's "classic" style.

Leap Day's gameplay progression was the result of one idea Nitrome had for an endless game with traditional gaming levels, as during the company's general game development, Nitrome was thinking of ways for its games to combine the endless genre with a level based system.

All employees in Nitrome's office helped create level parts for Leap Day, as opposed to just the game's artist and programmer creating these level parts.

Release version
This version was released on May 11th, 2016 on the Apple App Store and Google Play and is labelled Version 1.1 on the Apple App Store. This was the game's initial release version.

Google Play update version 1
This version was released on Google Play on May 11th, 2016, and fixed a bug with the player suspending or resuming playing the app when watching an advertisement.

Adjustments update
This update was released on May 27th, 2016 on Google Play and on June 3rd, 2016, on the Apple App Store and is labelled Version 1.2 there. This update makes adjustments to the game based off problems players were having with the game. For players who have bought Premium, automatic checkpoints can be toggled on and off, and with this change the "Checkpoint Charlie" achievement can be obtained. For non-Premium users, when unlocking a checkpoint the animation for unlocking a chest was changed to make it clear that a checkpoint was being unlocked and the words "checkpoint unlocked" now appear. Social network sharing options were added and the amount of jumps the player could perform was reset when jumping and landing on an enemy.

A glitch with the flames of fire blocks appearing in their block was fixed, along with other bug fixes.

Google Play update version 2
This update was released on May 31st, 2016, and is labelled version 1.23. It is not known what changes this update made to the game. This update's update notes are the same as those from the previous update.

Update 1
This update was released on June 13th, 2016 and is labelled Version 1.30 on Google Play and the Apple App Store. This update adds new content and fixes bugs. The gifts system was added and with it forty-three gifts, ten of these gifts being unlockable characters. The Selfie cam was added.

This update also fixes the following glitches: the game crashing when the "restore purchase" button is selected in the credits menu, the game scrolling after a level is completed, and for users who have bought Premium the auto-checkpoints toggle button not appearing. The Apple App Store version also corrects the game's splash screen on iPad and shared images on iPad being cropped.

Some level chunks were also modified so that they were easier to complete, one of these being the level segment seen on the June 10th, 2016, level directly after checkpoint 4. This change was not mentioned in the Google Play update notes.

Apple App Store update version 1
This update was released on June 14th, 2016, and is labelled Version 1.3.1. This update makes small adjustment to the sharing function and changes the pop-up that reminds the user to download the latest update so that it does not appear when the user has no internet access.

Update 2
This content update was released on July 4th, 2016 and is labelled Version 1.3.2 on the Apple App Store and version 1.30.7 on Google Play. This update adds new level chunks, the total amount added being ⅓ more than the amount currently in the game and adding over three hundred chunks ; two backgrounds, Totem and city; and two music tracks to go with each new background. This update also fixes several bugs.

Update 3
This update was released on July 14th, 2016, and is labelled Version 1.3.3 on the Apple App Store and Version 1.30.9 on Google Play. This update adds End Zones, the Beach theme, and fixes some minor bugs.

Update 4
As of July 1st, 2016, Nitrome has mentioned that they have content they plan to release in this update.

Future content
The following content will be added in future updates:
 * New hazards: slime, cannons and spiked barrels.
 * Two backgrounds.
 * More unlockable characters.

Promotions
On May 13th, 2016, Nitrome posted on Twitter that Leap Day had been featured by Google Play. That same day, Nitrome also posted that Leap Day had been featured on the Apple App Store in the section "New Games We Love".

On June 3rd, 2016, Nitrome shared on Twitter that Leap Day had been featured on the Apple App Store in the section "May's Best Games".

On June 23rd, 2016, Nitrome shared on Twitter that Leap Day had been featured on the Apple App Store in the section "Play as Your Que".

On July 7th, 2016, Nitrome posted on Twitter that Leap Day had been featured on the Apple App Store in the section "Top 10 Best Platformers".

Downloads
By May 27th, 2016, Leap Day had received one million downloads across both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Revenue
For its first and second week, Leap Day brought in the most revenue out of all of Nitrome's mobile games over the same timeframe.

Glitches
A certain glitch can cause enemies to appear in incorrect spots. For this glitch to occur, the player has to have a checkpoint unlocked before the section where the glitch happens. The following situations can occur:
 * An extra enemy on the same platform.
 * Incorrect enemy placement.
 * Wrong enemy (e.g. a green runner instead of a red jellyfish)
 * Maggots closer to each other than normal.
 * Enemies stuck on their platform.

Destroying some breakable blocks from the platform an enemy is standing in may lead to AI issues such as the enemy not being able to tell where the platform ends, often resulting in an enemy moving back and forward in one spot.

Some enemy and projectile hitboxes may interact in unexpected manners depending on the player's position and state. This can lead to the player being able to stomp enemies from otherwise impossible angles. The momentum given to Yolk when jumping can also be carried to an enemy or projectile if they collide at the same moment the player taps jump. This can result in enemies being pushed slightly upwards or projectiles changing trajectories and moving diagonally.

If the player taps jump at the exact same frame they are about to touch the face of a wall spring, Yolk can grab the spring as if it was a normal wall and slide on it, being able to wall jump normally.

If the player is clinging to a wall and a pig reaches the edge of its platform, they will perform their turning animation but move backwards.

Trivia

 * The following elements are similar to content from the Mega Man video game series:
 * The sound effect for jumping on an enemy and killing it is the same as the sound for shooting with the Mega Buster.
 * The creation of the death sound for Leap Day's main character was influenced by the death sound of Mega Man.
 * The dying animation and teleporting animation for Leap Day's main character is similar to the respective animations for Mega Man.