Just earlier this morning, Jack and I sent out some bare bones level from the final game. We wanted players to try them out and let us know about their design. Aesthetics aren’t important at the moment, which is why the levels look blocky and have no sound. Right now, we’re just trying to settle on the best design for the game’s first few levels. This is a critical period where players generally make up their mind about a game. Hero, or zero?

Well, Jack and I have been floored by the response we got! Almost the instant we sent out the levels, we received a tsunami of feedback. After a quick brainstorming session, we’ve mapped out our dazzling new plans for the game.

 

 

A New Way To Pay

The “premium” model is going the way of the do-do bird. People just aren’t buying it anymore, if you’ll excuse the pun. One of the biggest pieces of feedback we get constantly is to modernize our payment model to adapt to a changing marketplace.

We couldn’t agree more. That’s why we’re dropping the planned premium price of the final game all the way down to $0.00. That’s right — Where Shadows Slumber is going free-to-play!

After downloading the game and completing the first few levels, you’ll notice our new in-game shop module that we’ve been working all morning on. A new currency has been added to the game called Gold. Gold can be found on the ground during levels, and you collect it by simply walking on it (see image above). Of course, it can also be purchased with real money (USD or regional equivalent) if you have a credit card associated with your App Store / Google Play account.

The main purpose of Gold is to buy Silver. Silver is mainly used to buy Gems. Gems are used to purchase Jade, which is the only currency in the game that can get you Card Packs. Card Packs, when opened, have a chance to give you Riot Points. Riot Points are important since they can be used to buy Rubies. Rubies are the main currency the game will be using from now on, as they are used to buy Energy.

 

Energy – Balancing Player Anxiety and Fun

But what is Energy, exactly? Energy is a new way to play that adds gritty realism to the game. It also adds an important anxiety-checkup cycle to the game that urges players to keep checking their phone habitually to succeed in Where Shadows Slumber.

In order to move a single space in the game’s grid-like path-finding system, you need to spend 3 Energy. When solving a puzzle, you need to ration out your Energy. Spend too much time walking, and you’ll run out of Energy for the day.

Never fear, however. Within 24 hours, your Energy bar will be refueled back up to 24, and you’ll be ready for another exciting few minutes of puzzle solving! If you’d like to speed up this process, you can buy Rubies in the Shop.

 

Challenge Your Friends In Multiplayer

The final piece of feedback we hear constantly is to add multiplayer to the game. We think this is a fantastic idea, so we’re proud to announce that the final game will allow you to solve puzzles with friends and strangers alike! Advances in technology have allowed us to create a real-time multiplayer solution that we hope everyone will enjoy.

Work with your friends to solve the puzzle, or trap them behind a veil of shadows forever! We hope multiplayer will expand the replayability of the game and the amount of money players invest. We’re also well aware of the criticism that this completely breaks everything about the game’s shadow mechanic, and we are working to remedy that.

 

We hope you enjoyed taking a look at our bold plans for the future. Our goal is to produce a game that appears free, but costs close to $1,000 to really enjoy. Due to these changes, we expect we’ll have to push the game’s release date back to the year 2020. We appreciate your understanding!

 

This post was last updated on April 1st, 2017.

 

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We hope you believed this satirical post! If you’d like the truth, starting tomorrow you can find out more about our game at WhereShadowsSlumber.com, find us on Twitter (@GameRevenant), Facebook, itch.io, or Twitch, and feel free to email us directly with any questions or feedback at contact@GameRevenant.com.

Frank DiCola is a professional Grongus, and the artist for Mass Effect: Andromeda.