For your viewing pleasure, here's a triple whammy of GIFs, courtesy of Valfaris creator/dev/artist Andrew Gilmour...


Above: Therion lights up a shady area of the Eco Chambers using the rapid-fire Destroyer-class 'Hellwraith' and eponymous rail-pistol 'Therion's Own'


Above: Who doesn't love a good elevator section where you can let loose and blast the absolute bejesus out of anything and everything while simultaneously being transported from one place to another. I know I do


Above: With a sun looming behind him, Therion idles while armed with the formidable 'Bringer of Mayhem' beam weapon, which can be seen in action in the previous GIF

Until next time, keep it metal. (and, if you haven't done so already, be sure to download the free demo from the Valfaris page)

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

At every show we went to with Valfaris last year we lost count of the number of people who went out of their way to tell us how much they loved the big piece of display artwork we used on the booth (see below). One aspect of the artwork, which was created by Valfaris dev, artist + creative force Andrew Gilmour, that drew a lot of attention was the massive gun being wielded by Therion. Most of the comments were along the lines of “It looks absolutely badass”.

So, inspired by all the positive feedback for it, we’ve taken the logical next step and decided to make the gun, which is called the Bringer of Mayhem, into a full-blown life-size model. Because why the eff not.



As well as featuring in the artwork, the Bringer of Mayhem is part of Therion’s in-game armoury. It’s one of the hefty Destroyer class weapons and has a powerful beam that can connect to multiple targets and efficiently liquefy those targets into an explosive splatter of rupturing guts. Here it is in devastating action:



The model won’t be capable of causing the lethal combustion of internal organs, but everything else will be as faithful to Andrew’s design as possible. It’s going to be a serious bit of kit.

It’s being handcrafted in Bristol, UK, by the immensely talented model-making folks at Alban Studios, whose client list includes Aardman Animations – the people behind Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and many more. So it’s in good hands.

Here’s a look at how work on the Bringer of Mayhem has been going so far…


Using the look of the gun as it appears on the artwork and in-game, the first job was getting a more detailed design to work from. This involved creating a series of sketches showing possible interpretations of how it would look in the real world.


A very rough foam mock-up was made to help with getting the dimensions and ergonomics right. This is the mock-up I'm holding in the pic at the top of the page, which gives you a slightly better sense of the scale of the thing.


With the sketches and mock-up providing a more solid idea of the final design, next step was creating 3D models to work from and then start producing actual physical parts of the gun.


The basic shape of the gun is blocked out using polyurethane board, which is a material that's easy to sand and finish, and also good to machine with a mill or lathe. It's being made in modular sections, which means it's easier for more than one person to work on the gun at the same time. Once preliminary work on a module is completed, the last job before it's ready to mold is to paint it with grey primer.


And here's where the Bringer of Mayhem model is at right now. The basic structure has come together nicely and work should start soon on all the cool details. Looking forward to sharing progress with you as it happens.

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

Since it launched a little over two weeks ago, we’ve had a fantastic response to the Valfaris demo. We were originally planning to make the demo available for a limited time only, with a shut off date of 31 Dec 2018. However, with downloads showing no sign of slowing, we’ve now decided to keep the demo live into 2019.

So, the demo isn’t going anywhere, it’s still available to download and it will remain that way until further notice.

We’re also really grateful for all the feedback that’s been posted. If you have any to add, you can do so here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/600130/discussions/0/3216031607493200121/

Also, we’re currently thinking about holding a closed demo/beta at some point in the future and while exact plans are still being decided, it’s most likely that access to it will be given first or exclusively to members of the Valfaris Discord. So, heads-up, if you want to get in on some closed beta action, get yourself signed-up to the Discord channel.

Happy New Year!

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

It’s here! The Valfaris demo has landed and is ready to be downloaded and played right now, like, this very instant. To download the demo, head to the Valfaris Steam page, look for the banner that says 'Download Valfaris Demo' (it's just below the screenshots near the top), and clickety-click your mouse on the button handily labelled ‘Download’. And away you go!

Note: The demo will be available for a LIMITED TIME ONLY and is scheduled to be closed at the end of the year i.e. 31 December.

These are just some of the things you’ll be able to do in the demo…

• Experience the whole of the game’s first level – the Landing Pad
  
• Decimate an array of accursed enemies
  
• Wield the Hellwraith – a heavy weapon that drips blood and fires
  molten skulls
  
• Discover cunningly concealed secret areas
  
• Take on the Junk Gargoyle – a cycloptic boss with a penchant for
  scrap metal
  
• Headbang (of course)
  
• Treat your ears to a sample of the game’s OST, recorded by Curt
  Victor Bryant

We also vigorously encourage you to share the demo love by grabbing screenshots, recording videos, streaming, baking a Therion cake, getting ‘Valfaris demo is live’ tattooed on your body… anything to spread the word.

Finally, if after playing the demo you have a build-up of feedback in your brain that you’d like to share with us, you’ll find a ‘give feedback’ option at the end of the demo.

In non-demo related news, we’ve also launched a Valfaris website. It’s live now and can be perused at this location: https://valfarisgame.com/

Enjoy the demo!

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

Very excited to be able to share a first look at part of the game's opening cinematic...



That low-poly PS1 aesthetic is music to my eyes. Beautiful.

This particular clip is from the very start of the game and shows Therion aboard his space vessel – the Wolfship – en route to Valfaris. All being well, there should be a few other cinematics like this to look forward to in the game.

In other news, the latest build has just landed which means I should have some new in-game footage to share soon. In the meantime, please enjoy this GIF of Therion hitching a ride on a friendly space worm...



Ride the worm!

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

For this post I thought we’d have a quick look at how weapons are upgraded in the game. At current count there are 20 different tools of destruction to wield and each of these can be upgraded to make them even more lethal (and fun to use).

To upgrade a weapon, you’ll first need to collect the required number of Blood Metal. This is a resource item that can be found dotted around the levels, often in secret areas. This is what Blood Metal looks like (as a tiny and rather compressed GIF)…



And here’s Therion finding one in a secret area…



When enough Blood Metal has been collected, you’ll be able to upgrade the weapon of your choice at one of the game’s checkpoint pedestals. Here’s the Plasma Pistol – one of the game’s starter weapons – being upgraded…



The effects of upgrading can differ between weapons – for the Plasma Pistol, it increases the spread of shots, so once upgraded it goes from firing one plasma bolt to three…

Plasma Pistol Rank 1


Plasma Pistol Rank 2


Weapons can be upgraded twice, from Rank 1 to Rank 3. However, to upgrade to Rank 3 another resource is required in addition to Blood Metal. I wish I could tell you more about that, but I really can’t as I haven’t been privy to the information myself yet :)

Until next time, keep it metal.

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

Oh yes – Valfaris is going to have a mech!

It’s a skull-headed and fully-weaponised bipedal badass that you’ll get to pilot during a dedicated section. Here’s the great big grinning goliath idling with destructive intent…



This serious unit of heavy metal gear comes equipped with three weapons – a head-mounted ‘Soulwraith’ gun, a ‘Star Fist’ melee weapon, and a flamethrower-styled flesh-burner called ‘Soul Thrower’. In addition to being able to shoot, pummel, and scorch enemies into oblivion, the mech can use its jets to jump and create a powerful ground blast.

Here’s the mech in action, all guns blazing…



Can’t wait to do some serious stomping with this bad boy.

Until next time, keep it metal.

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

Well, this is very cool. Eurogamer recently posted a '6 Indie Games You Need On Your Wishlist' video and Valfaris is one of the featured picks. Here's the video if you want to give it a watch...

https://youtu.be/D5Ix9A1ERyQ?t=7m48s

It's fantastic to make the selection and be included alongside other great looking indies.

Feel free to share the video with all your buddies and recommend that they heed Eurogamer's sage advice and stick Valfaris on their Wishlist :)

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

EGX was the final stop on a busy Valfaris road-trip and, oh boy, it was good. Like, really good. We met and chatted with so many fantastic people and by the end of it we were absolutely buzzing by the reaction we got from pretty much everyone who took the time to play the demo.

Here are a few snaps from the show:


Above: Andrew's new artwork looked the absolute business on the stand


Above: We took it as a good sign that when people started playing they were reluctant to hand the pad to anyone else!


Above: Here's Thomas (programmer/designer) proudly brandishing a 'pick of the show' award from the fine folks at Ready Player 2

And Valfaris has already featured on a few lists of EGX highlights...

PushSquare: The Best Indie Games at EGX 2018

Game Hype: 10 Indie Games To Keep An Eye On

Love from the Röki devs, Polygon Treehouse: Team Röki at EGX

As well as giving us an opportunity to venture into the wild and meet with lovely folks, shows such as EGX are invaluable in terms of collating feedback and observing how players get on with the game.

Often elements of the design that seem obvious or easy to the dev team can – out in the field – often be misread, misinterpreted, too fiddly, too easy, too hard etc. So the chance to peer over peoples’ shoulders as they play can be a real eye-opener.

For example, in the Landing Pad area which was featured in the demo, programmer/designer Thomas noticed many players trying to interact with the lights that are dotted around the level, wrongly thinking they were switches or some other type of interactable element.

So, since EGX, Thomas has changed it, so the lights now break when shot, which they didn’t do before. Have a look-see:



A massive thank you to everyone who came to see Valfaris at EGX and PAX. And also an equally massive thank you to everyone supporting the game here on Steam.

Until next time, keep it metal.

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/

The Valfaris tour rolls on! Cologne (Gamescom) and Seattle (PAX West) are behind us, next stop is EGX, which is the UK’s biggest game event and it’s happening next week (Sept 21-23)!

If you’re heading to EGX, please do stop by, say hi, and – most important of all – play Valfaris. You’ll be able to find us at RZ4 (Rezzed South on the show guide).

A huge thanks to everyone who dropped by at PAX West for some Valfaris run-and-gun action. We were absolutely overwhelmed with the positive response and it gives us such a massive boost to know things are going in a good direction. And if you’ve joined the Steam community since playing at PAX – welcome! Happy to have you with us.

Here are a couple of PAX snaps...





In other news… Thomas and Andrew are now continuing work on the Hive, which we’ve seen glimpses of before but here, for the first time, is a look at the Hive Queen. And she is quite the beauty:



We'll be showing more of the Hive real soon.

Until then, keep it metal.

Matt | Digital Uppercut

Wishlist here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/600130/Valfaris/