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Rust Bucket Leap Day Stretch Dungeon

Leap Day is a level-based platforming game released on the App Store and Google Play on May 11th, 2016. 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.

A sequel called Super Leap Day was released in 2021.

Gameplay[]

In each level of Leap Day the player has to jump on the button of 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[2][3], and are identical for every player. If a level is not played 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. The menu is a Monday-first calendar with each level as a tile on the calendar.

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.

  • LeapDay trophy menu small bronze Going past checkpoint 10 will grant the player a bronze cup.
  • LeapDay trophy menu small silver Going past checkpoint 5 will grant the player a silver cup.
  • LeapDay trophy menu small gold Finishing a level will grant the player a Gold Cup.
  • LeapDay trophy menu small fruit crown 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 level is composed of fifteen checkpoints, with all checkpoints except the last having two level chunks in them, while the last checkpoint consists of a special chunk called an End Zone. For these checkpoints, each level chunk is drawn from a large pool of separate chunks[4] 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. Since each Theme restricts what enemies, hazards, and interactive objects can appear throughout the entire level, some level chunks that only work with specific game components will not appear in themes that lack them. Some chunks have multiple similar variants, even though they all follow the same basic principle. Level chunks have a specific order in levels: specific easy level chunks appear at the start[5][6], other easy chunks separate from these chunks have a high chance of being generated at the beginning, harder ones are more likely appear at the end, and an End Zone is encountered at the last checkpoint.

LeapDay sings

The various signs that often appear between level chunks

A level's level chunks and theme are all arranged following a level seed. The seed is generated from the date of each level[7], 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[8] is encountered. End Zones consist of an assortment of enemies that can attack, hazards, and sometimes interactive objects. The background of End Zones consists of walls painted in goal colors and dungeon-like scenery. Each End Zone is unique to the day it was created for[9]. Originally, the game components for End Zones were not restricted to those in the level they were in, but in November 2016 Nitrome confirmed that they had changed End Zones to function as they currently do[10]. This unintentionally resulted in some End Zones being reused.

Enemies[]

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.

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. 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.

Common elements[]

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Needed: Anniversary changes to the starting room and room between checkpoints 15-14.

LeapDay tomorrow room

The "Tomorrow on Leap Day" room

Every level in Leap Day shares common elements at or in between certain checkpoints.

  • At the very beginning, the room is composed of a cheering crowd with a king watching the player above a giant "LEAP DAY" sign, along with the date displayed right above.
  • Between checkpoints 15 and 14, the player will pass a dark room with two NPCs sitting on couches facing away from the player, watching a giant television. The television screen displays a program that reads "Tomorrow on Leap Day" and shows a preview of the level theme for the following day's level.
  • End Zones appear at checkpoint 1.

Checkpoints[]

LeapDay checkpoint room

The first checkpoint room as seen by non-premium players.

Players have the option of activating checkpoints in order to have their character respawn at that point upon death. This will also save the player's current fruit score if they choose to quit the level or game. Checkpoints are composed of a red platform with the checkpoint number (sorted from 15 to 1) in the middle. When passing a checkpoint, the wall on the right is opened, and the player has to go through this opening in order to activate the checkpoint. The timer will be stopped in a checkpoint room until the player leaves. For players without the premium upgrade, two chests provide the player with two options: paying 20 fruits, or watching a video advertisement. An additional room to the right features a larger chest that allows players to purchase the premium upgrade. Players select the option they want by having the character jump directly underneath the chest to "bonk" it. If the activation is successful, the chest opens. When the player leaves the room, the sideroom's door will close and flags rise up from the platform to display the checkpoint's activation.

Players with the premium upgrade can toggle whether the checkpoints should be activated manually or automatically. When automatic, a checkpoint is activated when the character passes through and lands on the checkpoint platform. If the character manages to pass through the platform but does not have enough height to land on it, the checkpoint activation fanfare will be heard, but the checkpoint itself remains inactive until the character lands on the platform. This fanfare is not heard if such a result happens, even after death. The flag rising animations, however, still appear.

If a premium user disables automatic checkpoints, the sideroom opens, but only has one chest with a heart on it. The player bonks this chest to activate the checkpoint. This side room was added in the adjustments update to make it possible for premium upgrade users to get the "Checkpoint Charlie" achievement.

Coming soon room[]

This room appears in levels and has a giant screen showing a short video of content that will be added in a later update. It showed the following videos:

  • Yolk jumping up a level and sliding up against screw block, then being pushed by it into a pipe which drops him on to dynamite, which explodes in an explosion that has the words "NEW" in it.

Gifts[]

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This section is incomplete. You can help by adding the missing info.
Needed: Characters and Selfie poses as of the current update.

Gifts[11] are unlockable aesthetic objects and currently consist of characters and selfie poses[12]. 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. Each unlocked gift has a random[13] character or Selfie pose for an already unlocked character.


Enemies[]

Main article: Enemies (Leap Day)

Hazards[]

Main article: Hazards (Leap Day)

Interactive objects[]

Main article: Interactive objects (Leap Day)

Pick ups[]

Main article: Fruit (Leap Day)

Power-ups[]

Main article: Power-ups (Leap Day)

VIP[]

Main article: Leap Day VIP

Stickers[]

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Needed: All the stickers included.

Leap Day stickers are a messaging feature present in the Apple App Store version of Leap Day and usable by iOS devices that are running iOS 10. These stickers can be used in the Messages app in messages to other people. The following stickers are included:

  • Animated stickers of Yolk in the following expressions: dancing[14], angry[14], thumbs up[14], rage[14], punching, laughing, in love, doing push-ups, performing a martial arts style kick.
  • An avatar of Yolk that can be dressed up with costumes based on events and holidays. The costumes include: a birthday costume, easter bunny costume, pumpkin, St. Patrick's Day costume, pancakes with syrup and a pan, Santa Claus beard and hat, bird, and halo.
  • Stickers of enemies.

Nitrome posted the following images on Twitter:

In-app purchases[]

20?cb=20120317190109 Incomplete section. You can help by adding missing info. Needed: Information about the in-app purchase
Leap Day has an in app-purchase called premium. It removes advertisement from the game and every checkpoint is automatically registered. This in-app purchase is present in the second checkpoint room in the form of a giant treasure chest and can be accessed by hitting the chest from below.

Item US ($) EUR (€)
Premium $3.99 4,77€

Icons[]

Leap Day initially launched with an icon of Yolk with a calendar behind him. Some months later in September 2016 Nitrome started testing out different icons on Google Play that consisted of a blue background and a platform with a character jumping off. Viewers of Google Play had a 50% chance to get Yolk, a 25% chance to get Lick, and a 25% chance to get Victor[15]. Nitrome eventually settled on the icon with Yolk and updated both the App Store and Google Play versions with this icon.

Credits[]

Click [show] to reveal this box
Artwork
Mat Annal
Markus Heinel
Helm
Joseph Gribbin
Programming
Marcin Zemblowski
John Kennedy
Tomas Normand
Marcus Schrock
Gabriel Farfan
Arthur Guibert
Producers
Mat Annal
Jon Annal
Music
Dave Cowen
Level Design
Jon Annal
John Kennedy
Additional Levels
Mat Annal
Markus Heinel
Tomas Normand
Aaron Steed
Romain Macré
Helm
Joseph Gribbin
Gabriel Farfan

Announcements[]

Nitrome has released various announcements for Leap Day.

  • Leap Day/2015-16 announcements - Announcements from 2015 and 2016.
  • January 27th, 2017 - Nitrome posted a short video preview of marching enemies that will be added in a future update.
  • February 10th, 2017 - Nitrome posted a preview image of the Valentines update.
  • February 11th, 2017 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that they are aware of the glitch with the horned monsters.
  • February 14th, 2017 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that the Valentines Update had been released.
  • March 16th, 2017 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that they are aware of the two inaccessible fruit on March 16th, and will fix it in an update. They later posted that this update has been released on the Apple App Store and contains some new aesthetic content.
  • April 21st, 2017 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that they are aware of the crash for the iOS version of the game for the April 21st, 2017 level.
  • April 23rd, 2017 - Nitrome posted on Twitter that the update that fixes the April 21st, 2017 level crash bug for the iOS version of the game is live.
  • May 5th 2017 - Nitrome posts on Twitter that new content for the game will be released from May 11th to May 17th as part of the game's first anniversary.
  • May 11th, 2017 - Nitrome posts on Twitter that the anniversary update has been released and posts a trailer for it.

Development[]

During development, Leap Day was called Project Jump[16]. Leap Day was worked on at some point before being temporarily put on hold during the time period of February 25th, 2015 to April 15th, 2015[17] in order to finish the first major update to Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire[16]. 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.[16]

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[16]. 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.[18] At this point in development the game was planned to be endless instead of level based[19].

By July 24th, 2015, the game had entered mid development[20]. 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[21]. Despite all this, Nitrome added that the game's development should now be progressing at a faster pace[21].

Nitrome posted on December 23rd, 2015 a video of Leap Day's gameplay and also shared information about the game's gameplay[22]. 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[23].

On February 21st, 2016, Nitrome said that they were aiming to release the game in March 2016[24], 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[25][26]. The following day, they also posted a video on Youtube of the generated level for April 20th, 2016[27]. 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[28][29]. The game was released on May 11th on the Apple App Store and Google Play[30]. Nitrome released nine content updates for the game in 2016.

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. [31]

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[32].

All employees in Nitrome's office helped create level parts for Leap Day[33], as opposed to just the game's artist and programmer creating these level parts.

While Amazon App Store and browser ports of Leap Day were initially planned[16], as of February 2017 Nitrome does not currently plan to release them[34].

Beta elements[]

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Needed: Information regarding beta elements in the game's other preview images.

Early on in the game's development (February 25th, 2015 to April 15th, 2015[17][16]) Leap Day was intended to be endless and have no set end point[19]. This had been changed by December 24th, 2015[19].

Enemies were changed at different stages of development.

  • In the March 30th, 2015 preview, early versions of three enemies are seen:
    • Spring heads and spike heads have a slightly different colour pattern and design. Spike heads have a bigger spike and the spring head has a taller spring than in the final version.
    • A small blob is present, which was cut from the game. This small blob was from an early idea where the regular sized blob would split into tinier blobs when jumped on[35].
  • In the December 23rd, 2015, Leap Day preview video, spike shells lack their spikes and when jumped on instantly die instead of their shell becoming a hazard and moving around. Also, their dead sprite unique to the video, as it is not used in the final game.

Watermelons and pineapples were intended to be in the game as fruit, and can be seen in the the May 30th, 2015 preview of Leap Day, but were not included due to being forgot in development and not getting an animation[36].

In the May 19th, 2016 preview, which showed the in-game sprites for the characters that would be added in Update 1, four sprites differ slightly from their final versions: La Beef's head is closer to his body, Grill's skin is much lighter, Scalp's sprite has lighter skin, and the bottom part of Kepi's hat is green instead of grey.

The Waterfall theme originally had fish jumping out of the waterfall, but this was changed due to not looking very good[37].

During development, the walls for levels were intended to have a light coloured block every ten blocks, but this was removed due to limiting level design[38]. This can be seen in the March 30th, 2015 preview and also in the December 23rd, 2015, video preview.

Unused content[]

In the April 2016 calendar of levels, April 19th has a checkerboard graphic, the same graphic used for May 11th in the May 2016 calendar. This graphic exists on April 19th because this day was used as a starting point for the calendar during testing of the game's alpha builds[39]. This graphic is normally inaccessible in the game as levels are only accessible from May 11th, 2016, onward. This date can only be accessed if players change the date on their device to April 19th, 2016, or a date prior to this, although Nitrome does not recommend that players do this[40].

Some Nitrome games are configured so that they can be played with a USB QWERTY keyboard plugged into the mobile device, and even though Leap Day is not configured for this, there are still keyboard inputs that will affect the game. Pressing X key will cause the game to fade into white and then end this effect, the same effect seen when hitting a checkpoint chest. Pressing A key will cause the game to quickly pan horizontally then be pulled back to the room the player is in, panning to the right when outside of a checkpoint, and to the left when inside a checkpoint. Pressing ESC key will pause the game the same way the pause button pauses the game.

Versions[]

Version 1.0[]

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[41].

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 Selfie cam was added. The gifts system was added and with it forty-three gifts, ten of these gifts being the characters Lick, La Beef, Kepi, Meep, Smooch, Solder_26, Root, Scalp, Grill, and Zweiclops, and the other gifts being Selfies, with each character getting three.

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[42][43]. 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.

Version 2.0[]

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[44] and adding over three hundred chunks[45]; two backgrounds, Totem and city; and two music tracks to go with each new background. This update also fixes several bugs.

Version 3.0[]

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, fixes some minor bugs, and updates the game to Version 3.0.

Traps update[]

The traps update[46] update was released on September 1st, 2016, and is labelled Version 1.3.4 on the Apple App Store, Version 1.30.10 on Google Play, and Version 4.0 on the game's calendar. This update adds yolk cannons, logs, slime, Guillotines, bullet cannons, fireball cannons, barrel cannons, liquid cannons, Wall lasers, and rotating blocks were introduced. This update also adds the characters Logga, Rasbunny, and Venus, along with their respective Selfies. This update also fixes a bug with projectiles from enemies being reflected[47].

September 9th, 2016 update[]

This update was released on September 9th, 2016, on the Apple App Store and Google Play[48].

Update 2[]

This update was released on September 12th, 2016, and is labelled Version 1.30.11 on Google Play and 1.3.5 on the apple App Store. This update added new level segments, easy level segments that appear at the start of a level[5][6], and changed the algorithm that makes levels so that these level segments are introduced at the start of levels. This update also fixes a glitch with timer tiles becoming invisible. The Apple App Store version of this update adds cloud saving.

Stickers update[]

This update was released on September 14th, 2016, on the Apple App Store and adds stickers, a new feature introduced in iOS 10.

Bug fixes update[]

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Needed: Description of the glitches.

This update was released on September 26th, 2016, on the Apple App Store and September 27th on Google Play. It is labelled Version 1.3.7 on the Apple App Store and Version 1.30.12 on Google Play. This update fixes a bug with barrel cannons, springs, and makes minor optimizations and bug fixes. The Google Play versions adds cloud saving.

Update 3[]

This update was released on September 29th, 2016, on Google Play and September 30th on the Apple App Store. It is labelled Version 1.30.15 on Google Play and Version 1.3.8 on the Apple App Store. This update adds the characters Croak, Slab, Whip, Glug, Flake, Tuft, Char, and Turret, along with their respective selfies.

Jump bubbles bug fix[]

This update was released on October 13th, 2016, on Google Play and on October 14th on the Apple App Store. It is labelled Version 1.30.16 on Google Play. This update fixes a bug with the player's allotted jumps being reset after hitting a jump bubble.

Apple App Store update version 2[]

This update was released on October 18th, 2016, and is labelled Version 1.3.10. This update lowers the app's minimum iOS version down to 8.0 instead of 10.0.

Version 6.0[]

This update was released on the Apple App Store and Google Play on October 31st, 2016[49], and added the electricity theme and fish skeletons. This update caused these new game components to appear on the October 31st, 2016 level, to coincide with Halloween.

Update 4[]

This update was released on November 3rd, 2016, on the Apple App Store and November 4th on Google Play. This update is labelled Version 1.3.12 on the Apple App Store and Version 1.32 on Google Play. This update adds new End Zones and fixes minor bugs.

Version 7.0[]

This version was released on the Apple App Store and Google Play and adds new End Zones and fixes a few bugs[50].

Apple App Store update version 3[]

This update was released on November 4th, 2016, and is labelled Version 1.3.13[51]. This update fixes a glitch where the player character could become a white blob[51].

Version 8.0[]

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Needed: Characters added.

This update, also called the Winter Update[52], was released on December 21st, 2016, on Google Play and the following day on the Apple App Store. The update is labelled Version 1.36 on Google Play and 1.3.14 on the Apple App Store. This update adds the Ice Temple, Snow Land, and Fireworks Themes, ice and snow interactive objects, icicle hazards, and the two Ice Charger, flying icicle, and Wooly Trunky enemies. This update adds new characters.

Version 9.0[]

This update, also called the Valentine Update[53], was released on February 13th, 2017, on the Apple App Store and Google Play and is labelled Version 1.3.16 on the Apple App Store and Version 1.40 on Google Play. This update adds the winged sphere and pink blob enemies and greatly improves the level generating algorithm. This update also fixes a bug where horned monsters would jump up and freeze[54].

Google Play update version 3[]

This update was released on February 23rd, 2017, and is labelled Version 1.41. This update changes and improves the level creation algorithm[55].

Aesthetic update[]

This update was released on March 16th, 2017, on the Apple App Store and March 17th, 2017, on Google Play and is labelled Version 1.3.17 on the Apple App Store and Version 1.43 on Google Play. This update fixes a bug with two fruit on the March 16th, 2017, level being inaccessible[56], gives the cups a new in-game animation for being reached, and introduces a new splash screen.

Google Play update version 4[]

This update was released on April 5th, 2017, and in the update's notes is described as fixing minor bugs and making small positive changes to the level creating algorithm[57].

Apple App Store update version 4[]

This update was released on April 23rd, 2017, and is labelled Version 1.3.18. This update fixes a bug where level chunks that have both fish skeletons and Sticky Slime will cause the game to crash when loading the entire level[58]. This update also adds a development tool for Nitrome that will help them detect major glitches in levels before they become publicly accessible by regular players[59].

Version 15.0 (Third Anniversary update)[]

LeapDay Third Anniversary

The third anniversary advertisement in the Cross Promotion advertisement

This update was released on May 11th, 2019, and includes new enemies to celebrate the game's third year after-release. Besides changing the King section and the Tomorrow on Leap Day section to fit the 3-year anniversary look, they also added these new enemies:

  • Spike Shooting Swamp Snails (Mud World)
  • Mini Mushrooms (Windy)
  • Casino Blocks (Casino World)
  • Ice Blobs (Ice Temple)
  • Acid Spitting Mecha Trunky Copters (Toxic Sewer).

Future updates[]

A future update will add the following content, as seen in the "Coming soon room" video. All these game components exist in Super Leap Day.

Reception[]

By May 27th, 2016, Leap Day had received one million downloads across both the Apple App Store and Google Play. For its first and second weeks, it brought in the most revenue out of all of Nitrome's mobile games over the same timeframe[60].

Feature promotions[]

  • On May 13th, 2016, it was announced that Leap Day had been featured by Google Play[61] and on the Apple App Store's section "New Games We Love"[62].
  • On June 3rd, 2016, Leap Day was featured on "May's Best Games" in the Apple App Store[63].
  • On June 23rd, 2016, Leap Day was featured on the Apple App Store in the section "Play as Your Que"[64].
  • On July 7th, 2016, Leap Day was featured on the Apple App Store in the section "The 10 Best Platformers"[65].
  • On September 15th, 2016, Leap Day stickers were featured on the Apple App Store in the UK[66].
  • On December 7th, 2016, the game was featured on the Apple App Store in the section "10 Best Games of the Year"[67].
  • On March 17th, 2017, it was announced that the game was featured on the Apple App Store in the section "Must-play platformers"[68].
  • On March 31st, 2017, it was announced that Leap Day had been featured on the Apple App Store in the section "We love British games"[69].

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. (Rarely also happens with flying diamonds)
    • 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.
  • In the September 17 level, barrels can fall through thin platforms and disappear after a few seconds. This glitch renders passing these platforms impossible and is caused by the lack of spikes on the above floor. Barrels can sometimes even reach a checkpoint floor and randomly appear there. Here, barrels will warps the player back to the start of the level. The player can return to the last checkpoint saved by going to the menu. Sometimes also barrels can appear at the Golden cup floor falling from the sky randomly.
  • In a space themed section, a wall panel is missing on the right side of the screen. The character cannot pass through this opening.
  • In a casino-themed section, a quarter of a block appears on a flipper. This does not interfere with the flipper.
  • The character is still able to jump while the intermission screen is on. You can tell by the jumping noises when the screen is tapped.
  • In the completion image when the player completes the level, the image can show the wrong percentage. (99% instead of 100%) A selfie pose can also sometimes be seen near the character.
  • While sliding on the side wall when a death laser is active, the character is able to pass through it.
  • Rarely, cauldron fish can go around the yolk blocks (when the player gets a checkpoint) and into the next section.

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[70].
    • The dying animation and teleporting animation for Leap Day's main character is similar to the respective animations for Mega Man.
  • The July 20th, 2016, level was hinted with many preview pictures showing the Beach background and the End Zone challenge.
  • The levels shown on the shop pages of the game do not appear on their respective days.
  • The September 22nd, 2016, level includes an End Zone from September 3rd, 2016 as a normal chunk during the level.
  • The music that plays in Casino World is a remix of the music from J-J-Jump.
  • The Casino World theme was influenced by elements from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series[71].

References[]

  1. As seen in the Google Play description.
  2. http://www.nitrome.com/comments/?hid=825057&pid=822581&t=2&id=1400
  3. Mat Annal on Twitter: [1]: it's a one button jumping game with a new level every day that's the same for everyone generated using lots of rules., 28 Feb 16, retrieved 14 Aug 16.
  4. Touch Arcade: Leap Day (by Nitrome) → post by Nitrome: There are 50 elements in the game and between 700-800 hand crafted level chunks., 13 May 16, retrieved 28 Jun 16.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Nitrome on Twitter: [2]: the levels have been updated [by Update 5] with new easy chunks (which you should be seeing). It also has a ton more normal chunks., 13 Sept 16, retrieved 4 Feb 17.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Leap Day - Android Apps on Google Play on the Wayback Machine (archived 16 Sept 16 )
  7. Touch Arcade: Leap Day (by Nitrome) → post by Nitrome: Level generation is based on a seed created using the days date., retrieved .
  8. Nitrome on Twitter: [3]: Entering one of the new End Zones in #LeapDay. End zones update coming next week! [4], 8 Jul 16, retrieved 18 Jul 16.
  9. Nitrome on Twitter: [5]: oh. And just to clarify. No two endings will be the same. A new ending every day., 13 Jul 16, retrieved 18 Jul 16.
  10. Nitrome on Twitter: [6]: Eero Sivula‏: You said "no same end zones" I have now got same end zones in Leap Day these days.

    Nitrome: yeah we did a fairly big shuffle around so the end zones would feature objects featured in levels.'', 21 Nov 16, retrieved 14 Aug 17.
  11. Leap Day: When viewing an older month on the calendar: "PLAY TODAY EARN GIFTS".
  12. Leap Day – Android-Apps auf Google Play on the Wayback Machine (archived 2 Jul 16 )
  13. Leap Day - Android Apps on Google Play on the Wayback Machine (archived 6 Jul 17 )
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Project Jump (working title) → comment by Nitrome: The levels are not endless and everyone will play the same level on the same day. It is however generated rather than hand crafted though there is a lot of hand crafted parts going into making this work and a clever system for putting it all together., 31 Dec 15, retrieved 14 Aug 16. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "refname13" defined multiple times with different content
  15. Mat Annal on Twitter: [7], 9 Sept 17, retrieved 9 Aug 21.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Project Jump (working title), 30 Mar 15, retrieved 30 Mar 15.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 This is the time period from Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire's release to the release of its first update.

    Nitrome on Twitter: [8]: Magic Touch: Wizard for Hire (Out 25th Feb), 17 Feb 16, retrieved 12 Aug 16.

    Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Magic Touch Update #1 - Out Now!, 15 Apr 15, retrieved 15 Apr 15.
  18. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Project Jump (working title) → comment by Nitrome: They are mock up shots of different themes in the game. I did them over the same template from a section of the game...that's why they are the same rather than it being a gameplay mechanic., 31 Mar 15, retrieved 1 Apr 15.
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Project Jump (working title) → comment chain by NOBODY and Nitrome: NOBODY: Is any part of this game endless ... Because on the blog post titled "Project Jump (working title)" (the one posted 9 months ago) you say "it's random and endless.."

    Nitrome: 9 months ago the game was less focused. There is no technical reason we couldn't let the levels be endless so we weren't going to give them an end originally., 24 Dec 15, retrieved 21 Feb 16.
  20. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Friday updates are BACK!, 24 Jul 15, retrieved 31 Jul 15.
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Beneath the Lighthouse → comment by Nitrome: Project jump is probably furthest from completion of the 4 games we have in development despite being started first. Various things have impacted the team working on it which has made progress slow. It's still being worked on though and we should start making quicker progress now., 3 Oct 15, retrieved 3 Oct 15.
  22. 22.0 22.1 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Project Jump (working title), 23 Dec 15, retrieved 21 Feb 16.
  23. Nitrome on Twitter: [9]: Working on the start of level for that Jumping game. Oh yeah and it's probably going to be called #LeapDay., 11 Feb 16, retrieved 22 Feb 16.
  24. 24.0 24.1 Nitrome on Twitter: [10]: the plan is March some time but we will only really know once it's done and there's still stuff to do., 21 Feb 16, retrieved 21 Feb 16.
  25. Nitrome on Twitter: [11]: We finally pulled the lever and submitted #leapday for review on the [Apple] AppStore!, 21 Apr 16, retrieved 22 Apr 16.
  26. Nitrome on Twitter: Twitter discussion between Mike and Nitrome: Mike: @Nitrome when's it coming to android?

    Nitrome: it's out at the same time as iOS.'', 22 Apr 16, retrieved 22 Apr 16.
  27. Nitrome on YouTube: Leap Day speedrun in space, 22 Apr 16, retrieved 22 Apr 16.
  28. 28.0 28.1 Nitrome on Twitter: [12]: Ready your thumbs! #Leapday will be released on May 11th. #newleveleveryday #gamedev #pixelart #iOS #GooglePlay, 4 May 16, retrieved 4 May 16.
  29. Nitrome on YouTube: Leap Day : Out May 11th, 4 May 16, retrieved 4 May 16.
  30. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: LeapDay OUT NOW!, 11 May 16, retrieved 19 May 16.
  31. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Project Jump (working title) → comment by Nitrome: I really wanted to try and capture what people keep referring to as the 'classic' style in an upcoming game and this seemed a good fit., 31 Mar 15, retrieved 1 Apr 15.
  32. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Vault gameplay ! → comment by Nitrome: We are considering ways to combine the two (endless and level based). You will see one iteration of that in the other 'endless' game we previewed [Leap Day]., 4 Jul 15, retrieved 4 Jul 15.
  33. Mat Annal on Twitter: [13]: Second day building level chunks for #Leapday. We need tons so the whole office is on it! I was working with enemies!, 9 Mar 16, retrieved 10 Mar 16.
  34. Mat Annal on Twitter: [14]: NOBODY: Amazon and browser ports of [mobile] games still planned?

    Mat Annal: neither currently make back the cost of porting so not right now but I'm not ruling out reconsidering later if things change., 20 Feb 17, retrieved 15 Mar 17.
  35. Mat Annal on Twitter: [15]: Mat Annal: Messing with a new background idea for #Leapday today at work! [16]

    Megaphantaze: What's that small triangle creature? Is it some kind of baby monster or something? I haven't seen it in actual game

    Mat Annal: it was supposed to be a blob splitter so a big blob that splits after being jumped on into smaller [blobs], 14 Jun 16, retrieved 15 Jul 16.
  36. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Leap Day OUT NOW! → comment by Nitrome: nitrome dg: Why on Leap Day pineapple and watermelon are not present?

    Nitrome: Ha we noticed this in office after launch. Turns out we forgot about them at some point and they were never animated., 19 May 16, retrieved 2 Jun 16.
  37. Touch Arcade: Leap Day (by Nitrome) → Post #291: It has fish swimming up it if you look close....they did originally jump in and out of the water but it looked rubbish so we made it more subtle., 6 July 16, retrieved 12 Aug 16.
  38. Nitrome on Twitter: [17]: Rodolfo Guerreiro: In this old image too... are this blocks a removed block design ? [March 30th, 2015 preview image]

    Nitrome: it used to have a lighter block every 10 tiles but it was limiting on level design so we removed it and made them all dark.'', 7 Jul 16, retrieved 12 Aug 16.
  39. 39.0 39.1 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: LeapDay OUT NOW! → comment by Nitrome: AshBob5000: Nitrome, I have a question, why is April 19th a checkered graphic for the day?

    Nitrome: The checkerboard graphic is a false starting point we put in for in-house testing alpha builds., 13 May 16, retrieved 12 Aug 16.
  40. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: LeapDay OUT NOW! → comment by Nitrome: I really wouldn't recommend trying to gimp the game by playing around with your system clock though. It may actually break/change the game for you permanently, especially if we add other things in future updates. [...] We put a lot of testing into the whole world clock thing so we know that it can bug the game and get you out of sync with everyone else. If we ever added something like a speedrun system then it may happen that this simply just wont work properly in your build., 13 May 16, retrieved 12 Aug 16.
  41. Nitrome on Twitter: [18]: edwin: today's level. should the fire be doing this? [19]
    <be>Nitrome: nope, it was a mistake. We've fixed it in the upcoming update [the adjustments update had not yet been released on the Apple App Store].'', 28 May 16, retrieved 28 May 16.
  42. Nitrome on Twitter: [ ]: it [the checkpoint 4 level segment] will be altered in the updated version [Update 1] on Monday if you want to back to it then., 11 Jun 16, retrieved 14 Aug 16.
  43. ': Leap Day (by Nitrome) → Post #212: The chunk in today's level [July 10th, 2016] we agree is too hard. [...] Were [sic] going to tune that chunk to make it a bit more forgiving., 10 Jun 16, retrieved 14 Aug 16.
  44. Touch Arcade: Leap Day (by Nitrome) → post #273: Update 2 hits on Monday. New Backgrounds with new music and over a third more level chunks to spice things up a bit!, 1 Jul 16, retrieved 5 Jul 16.
  45. 45.0 45.1 Touch Arcade: Leap Day (by Nitrome) → post #244, 15 Jun 16, retrieved 5 Jul 16.
  46. Nitrome on YouTube: Leap Day - Traps Update (OUT SEPT 1st), 31 Aug 16, retrieved 31 Aug 17.
  47. Nitrome on Twitter: [20]: Satomi Hinatsu: in leap day, why do I sometimes reflect projectiles? Is it like a random lucky chance thing?

    Nitrome: we have improved the projectiles thing in the upcoming update., 25 Aug 16, retrieved 1 Sept 16.
  48. Nitrome on Twitter: [21]: We did a recent [Leap Day] update on iOS and Android on Friday [September 9th, 2016] ?, 14 Sep 16, retrieved 9 Apr 17.
  49. Nitrome on Twitter: [22]: [regarding the content introduced in update 7] The update came out for haloween [sic] ., 3 Nov 16, retrieved 9 Feb 17.
  50. Nitrome on Twitter: [23]: cafedelmartin: just wondered what is new on Leap Day version 7.0? ...

    Nitrome: we updated our end level list with more levels and fixed a few bugs., 9 Nov 16, retrieved 9 Apr 17.
  51. 51.0 51.1 51.2 Nitrome on Twitter: [24]: The update is live. Please update Leap Day now to fix the characters back to normal. (Ver 1.3.13), 4 Nov 16, retrieved 9 Feb 17.
  52. Nitrome on YouTube: Leap Day Winter Update OUT NOW!, 22 Dec 16, retrieved 1 Mar 17.
  53. Nitrome on Twitter: [25]: The #LeapDay Valentines Update is now live!, 14 Feb 17, retrieved 1 Mar 17.
  54. 54.0 54.1 http://forums.toucharcade.com/showpost.php?p=3977038&postcount=401
  55. Leap Day - Android App on Google Play on the Wayback Machine (archived 23 Feb 17 )
  56. Nitrome on Twitter: [26]: We are aware of this near impossible fruit. We've fixed it, an update will be in tbe pipeline asap. Sorry to the 100% fruit enthusiasts. [image] , 16 Mar 17, retrieved 16 Mar 17.

    Nitrome on Twitter: [27]: BUG FIXED! thanks for the heads up guys. There are a few small new touches in there early too!, 16 Mar 17, retrieved 16 Mar 17.
  57. Leap Day - Android Apps on Google Play on the Wayback Machine (archived 10 Apr 17 )
  58. Nitrome on Twitter: [28]: We are aware of the crash on ios for todays level. [April 21, 2017] We have found the bug and are doing some quick testing internally. ... It was some levels [level chunks] that had never shown before mixing ghosts with sticky tiles., 21 April 17, retrieved 24 April 17.
  59. 59.0 59.1 ': Leap Day (by Nitrome) → post 418, 22 April 17, retrieved 24 April 17.
  60. 60.0 60.1 Pocket Gamer.biz: How Nitrome committed to retention, promising a new level every day for Leap Day, 27 May 16, retrieved 27 May 16.
  61. Nitrome on Twitter: [29], 13 May 16, retrieved 19 May 16.
  62. Nitrome on Twitter: [30], 13 May 16, retrieved 19 May 16.
  63. Nitrome on Twitter: [31]: Wow Leap Day got featured in The App Stores best of May! [32], 3 Jun 16, retrieved 3 Jun 16.
  64. Nitrome on Twitter: [33]: Great featuring for ReDungeon on the UK App Store! A nice unexpected feature for Leap Day too! [34], 23 Jun 16, retrieved 1 Jul 16.
  65. Nitrome on Twitter: [35]: Leap Day featured in the App Stores 10 Best Platformers feature! [36], 7 Jul 16, retrieved 20 Jul 16.
  66. Nitrome on Twitter: [37], 15 Sept 16, retrieved 4 Feb 17.
  67. Nitrome on Twitter: [38]: Our daily platformer #Leapday is in the Best games of 2016! Thankyou @AppStore, 7 Dec 16, retrieved 11 Feb 17.
  68. Nitrome on Twitter: [39], 17 Mar 17, retrieved 28 Aug 17.
  69. Nitrome on Twitter: [40], 31 Mar 17, retrieved 29 Aug 17.
  70. Youtube: Leap Day speedrun in space → discussion by Tiny Castle Guy and Nitrome: Tiny Castle Guy: I wonder, does that Mega Man sound effect only happen when dying to the laser? Either way it's a nice homage to Quick Man's stage.

    Nitrome: When you die you dematerialise at the last checkpoint you unlocked so the sound makes sense. It's not actually the mega man sound though clearly that has been an influence on the sound we chose to create'', 23 Apr 16, retrieved 23 Apr 16.
  71. Nitrome on Twitter: [41]: For sure sonic was an inspiration behind the Casino BG in Leap Day though [...] , 26 Dec 21, retrieved 26 Dec 21.
  72. Nitrome on Twitter: [42]: #LeapDay Update 2 featuring New Backgrounds Music and levels lands Monday! #Indiedev [43], 1 Jul 16, retrieved 1 Jul 16.
  73. Nitrome on Twitter: [44]: fur: any word on when we could expect the end zones?

    Nitrome: Thursday next week is the plan, 7 Jul 16, retrieved 11 Jul 16.


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