They say music makes the world go round, so in today's update, we make it go round and round with way more music! In your feedback you often pointed out the lack of variety in music and that it feels static, not contributing to the excitement of more intense combat. Well, that’s about to change.



Once again we decided to lay the burden of composing the music on the shoulders of Paweł Błaszczak. Paweł, who also created the original Book of Demons soundtrack, is a renowned music composer. You probably heard some of his tracks while playing Witcher, Dying Light, Call of Juarez or EVE Online. So we knew the sound is in good hands.



But new tracks are only a part of this update - the machinery underneath also changed. Let me introduce you to our new dynamic music system! The music will change to more dynamic as you approach tougher fights with clutches of enemies or trigger bosses and cursed chests. This should build more tension and introduce a lot more variety during your runs.



In case you missed the 2020 Roadmap post from December, we have a surprise for you! In short, we have not one but *two* new games in the oven right now:

• Book of Demons: Hellcard - a cooperative roguelike deckbuilder supporting both single and multiplayer modes and which has more in common with games such as Slay the Spire than with action RPG’s.
  
• Book of Aliens - the next installment in the Return 2 Games series and our take on the turn-based tactical game with overreaching global strategy. And it’s a tribute to MicroProse’ UFO: Enemy Unknown.

You can read more about them in the original Announcement post - click!

If the above games sound like something you might enjoy, be sure to wishlist. Wishlisting makes the game more visible on Steam so it’s not only a great way of keeping up to date with the game but also a huge help for the game itself.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1196230/Book_of_Aliens/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1201540/

And if you are not hooked yet - we will be posting dev updates along the way. In fact, you can expect some more detailed information on the progress quite soon.

As usual, I encourage you to join our Discord server on which we plan to unveil all the magic of early development. All that in the form of brand new dedicated Sneak Peek channels where we will be posting news about the games and development process. You can set notifications for both channels (read more on notifications on #About-SP Discord channel). If you wish to follow the games' development more closely, Sneak Peek channels are the way to go!

Click here to join the server.

• Added new soundtracks and updated music system
  
• Fixed a possible crash at the beginning of a challenge
  
• Fixed double click occassionally moving character when Click to move option was disabled
  
• Decreased a chance for triggering SFX while using Charge card
  
• Updated translations
  
• Added new supporters to credits

Stay safe in the world of Paperverse!
Margaret ːpaperheartː

2019 was a particularly chaotic time for all of us here at Thing Trunk! A whole year has passed since Book of Demons went out of Early Access, so it’s high time we share with you what we’ve been up to for the last 12 months.

In the spirit of the annual roadmap update, I’ll try to briefly sum up what we managed to do, what’s coming up in the near and not so near future, and - as usual - why everything is always going slower than we’d like to. But most important of all, today we’re announcing not one, but two new games that we are working on in the Return 2 Games series!



Hellcard is a cooperative roguelike deckbuilder supporting both single and multiplayer modes. It takes place in the same universe as Book of Demons, but takes the story further and into unexpected places!

Book of Demons used cards for many of its mechanics and we have toyed with the idea of making a truly deckbuilding mode on top of it, but within the original game it could never be developed to its full potential.



Hellcard, on the other hand (pun intended), is a true turn-based card game and in this sense, it has more in common with games such as Slay the Spire than with action RPG’s.

What makes HELLCARD unique is that the battles take place in the dungeons and monster placement actually matters.



Another feature we’re extremely excited to share is that with Book of Demons: HELLCARD we’re planning to support co-op battles with up to three heroes facing Archdemon’s hordes. You’ll be able to descend into the dungeons solo, recruit computer-controlled companions, join your friends or strangers in their battles against the armies of darkness.



Hellcard internally started as an idea for a new game mode inside Book of Demons, but we soon realized that it’s a much bigger design and that it should be executed as a separate stand-alone spin-off game. While not a separate “book”, Hellcard will be a part of the Return 2 Games series and will be free for our R2G Supporters. Book of Demons owners can expect *very* heavy discounts on launch.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1201540/

If the above features get you excited, be sure to wishlist the game! Otherwise consider wishlisting anyway - who knows, maybe we will get you excited along the way! - CLICK!



As many of you speculated, Book of Aliens is the next big book in the Return 2 Games series and it’s a tribute to MicroProse’ UFO: Enemy Unknown. A game of global strategy and battlefield tactics.



Unfortunately, we can’t reveal much about the game mechanics at this point. The screens you see above and below are an indication where we want to be in terms of visuals, but they are just mockups based on one of the older prototypes. After testing lots of ideas, we had to scrap most of them because none of them fulfilled our R2G vision. Currently, we’re experimenting with several new gameplay mechanics that are much more original and promising.



In terms of story, Book of Aliens’ action takes place during a global crisis. Earth (or… PapEarth?) is threatened by an alien invasion originating from below the planet’s surface. Your mission is to lead a supranational agency of scientists and military agents in a desperate but valiant fight to understand the alien agenda and thwart it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1196230/Book_of_Aliens/

If you want to stay updated and be notified when the game is released, be sure to wishlist Book of Aliens! - CLICK!



We have an ambitious plan to launch Book of Demons: HELLCARD into early access before the end of next year. This should be doable given that Hellcard will be using much of the Book of Demons tech. We plan to showcase more details from the game, including gameplay clips, throughout the year and generally be as open with the development as possible.

Book of Aliens, on the other hand, does not have a release target yet, as we are still experimenting with new gameplay mechanics to find the perfect one. We don’t want to rush things and accelerate deadlines as this would mean compromising on quality.



Another reason why Book of Aliens might take more time to develop is that we decided to switch to a new game engine for this title. Book of Demons was created using a custom in-house C++ engine that was developed almost a decade ago. While it’s still on top of current technology, keeping up with all the latest advancements in graphics tech is not realistic for such a small team as ours. We’d rather invest time into migrating to a new technology stack rather than keep reinventing the wheel.



Just like with Hellcard, we plan to give more regular updates on Book of Aliens and show how the game is progressing. And if you are excited about Hellcard and Book of Aliens and want to be the first one to test our future games be sure to join our Sneak-Peek Discord channel to follow their development. That's where we will post about updates, public tests and ask your opinion.

Just click here!




Like I mentioned in the beginning, the whole year after the Book of Demons launch was insanely hectic and it wasn't until recently that things started to settle a bit. Looking back at it I’m wondering how we even managed to squeeze in any new game development at all.

After we launched Book of Demons, the amount of work we had to do with the game didn’t drop, it actually increased! On one hand, we still had to keep developing the game to bring all the features that we promised in the post-release roadmap (last one of those should be coming in less than a month), and on the other, we had to start bringing the game to more shops and markets. In some countries, we launched a physical version of the game in retail stores. Thanks to our efforts, Book of Demons was one of the few launch titles for Xbox Game Pass on PC.



Apart from this, we were (and still are) working on an iPad port of Book of Demons and this is coming along nicely and is almost complete. As you know from our previous announcements, we were working on an Xbox One version of the game. Luckily, in the middle of the year, we were approached by a publisher who offered to port the game and bring it to even more platforms. Expect an announcement about it soon.

A considerable amount of time was dedicated to a thorough review of our technology stack and planning of future features. This was when we came to the conclusion that Hellcard would be the last title made in our current technology and that we need to make the switch to a mainstream modern engine with Book of Aliens. Learning a new technology can be a big endeavor on its own, but it’s an investment that should allow us to make better games faster in the future.



We also dedicated a significant amount of time to expanding the team. But thanks to the new people on board (two graphic artists and a designer) we were able to kick off a simultaneous development of Hellcard and Book of Aliens. Our team is now 10 people and we are still looking for a community manager.



By far, the biggest amount of time in 2019 sunk into moving to our new office. We found a very nice place in a good location and capable of accommodating our bigger team. Sadly, it was a mess and needed full remodeling. We moved a little over a month ago and it’s still not complete, but at least everyone’s got a place to sit and work.




The good news is that new games are coming along nicely and we can finally focus on them, as the biggest hurdles are behind us. If you are excited about Hellcard and Book of Aliens, and want to follow their development, be sure to join our Sneek-Peek discord channel. If you want to be notified when the games are released, wishlist the games on Steam or simply subscribe to our newsletter.

Take care, and let us know in the comments if you have any questions :)

Stay safe in the world of Paperverse!
Thing Trunk team ːpaperheartː

Autumn Sale is finally here and so do the Steam Awards of 2019!

While taking this opportunity to expand your libraries consider taking a moment to vote for your favorite games as well. And if it is Book of Demons that holds a special place in your heart, let us propose the category so we can all focus our efforts (and votes).


How awesome sounds that? Pretty awesome. We spent a lot of time designing and searching for Book of Demons' paper art style to create something unique but readable and, well, nice looking. Let me tell you a bit about that journey so you can decide for yourself if the game is worth your vote!

Developing the paper art style for R2G took us almost two years, but why we needed a unique art-style at all? Why didn’t we just make “normal” realistic graphics? Why it took us so long?



We wanted R2G to have an iconic look, and be adaptable to various themes. We considered taking a safe route and adopting a 2D or a 3D cartoon style. For a while, we thought about making everything of macaroni, voxels, or mono-color pixel art but all of these ideas were quickly scrapped.



One day someone said, why don’t we make each game in the series a book with the action taking place inside a paper pop-out world. Everyone on the team was sold on the idea. Paper is a very flexible material, so we could really do whatever we wanted with it!



And that's how we ended up with tons of pop-up books on our shelves and whole games taking place in one of those. If you enjoyed this short version of the art style search story you might enjoy this longer version on our blog.

And don't forget to vote ːarchduckː

As always,
Stay safe in the paper dungeons
Konstanty

And now you know how to greet a fellow Bulgarian playerːpaperheartː. From now on, thanks to the titanic work of community translator Peace, you can play the game in Bulgarian! ːsteamhappyː

Today's update also brings an awaited Korean translation. Many players asked about it and finally, thanks to Coco Love fantastic and much-appreciated work, it finally arrived!

It's over 6000 lines consisting of 20.000+ words and they completed the translations not even in weeks but in mere days! It's insane! Let's have a big round of applause for our heroes!ːpaperheartː



As always, if you’re a native speaker and have any suggestions about the translation (or to any previously added), get in touch with us at our official discord server or via email: support@thingtrunk.com! You can also talk directly to the community translators in the forums.

We are using this opportunity to sneak in some fixes as well. Here is the Changelog:

• Added Bulgarian and Korean languages
  
• Slightly changed the way credits are presented
  
• Added a counter of cards left to collect in Antipope's quest
  
• Fixed selecting pedestals with a gamepad in nonstandard aspect ratios
  
• The order of gossips in the gossips window now match the order of discovering them in the game
  
• Fixed a bug allowing players to enable Superhot mode in all challenges
  
• Fixed a bug with teleport allowing players to cross the Archdemon's gate without finding shards
  
• Fixed the position of dispelling progress bar when a monster casts two spells simultaneously
  
• Fixed congratulations window showing sometimes after mastering a quest
  
• Fixed the damage of legendary Ice Blast
  
• Fixed the damage of Barrage not scaling with levels
  
• Fixed a crash occurring when 'R' key was bound to swapping a card's deck
  
• Updated translations
  
• Added new ːpaperheartːSupportersːpaperheartː to credits

And if you would like to know more we are on Discord and we are running Ask Us Anything channel for the curious ːarchduckː

Check it out! -> Discord.gg/bookofdemons

As always,
Stay safe in the dungeons ːpaperheartː
Gosia

Some of you might have noticed that Supporter Pack was discounted for a few hours during the Halloween Sale. This was a mistake on our part, clicked one button too many when setting up the sale. Supporter Pack is not something we are going to discount, ever. It's a way to support our vision of the Return 2 Games series. And I think we can all agree that support for an idea cannot be discounted.

While it gives supporters all the games and content we will publish in the series, it's more of an adventure than a product bundle. It comes with risks since developing six more games will take time and these are turbulent times for game development companies.

This mistake is now corrected and the old price of the Pack is back ːarchduckː Of course, those lucky few who bought it at discounted price are welcome to the fold! We hope you will enjoy the journey with us.

As always,
Stay safe in the paper dungeons ːarchduckː
Konstanty

In case you're new to Book of Demons, in a few words, Book of Demons is a Hack & slash game distilled to its purest form. Slay the armies of darkness in the dungeons below the Old Cathedral and save the terror-stricken Paperverse from the clutches of the Archdemon himself!




It's been months. Months of planning and preparation - gathering all the candy you can get your hands on, contacting your local ghosts, inviting the most famous vampires, booking the zombie pumpkin show. Finally, Spooktober takes its peak - everyone, put your pumpkin hats on, grab your vampire teeth and wail to the moon - it's HALLOWEEN!



We know Book of Demons is already pretty scary with all kinds of monsters roaming around trying to kill you and get your cards (and candy). We know. But we decided to make it even sp00kier. We consulted with all the famous spooks, monsters, ghost and ghouls to prepare a Special Halloween Special, just for you ːpaperdeathː





We celebrate Halloween with Limited Edition Spooky Challenges and Halloween decorations in all the dungeons (made by the Archdemon himself). Introducing:





ːarchduckː All you need is Blood - each second you loose 1 HP point. Each broken enemy heart gives you +1 HP point. Hearts become a resource you have to manage in order to survive.

ːarchduckː Spooky Spooky S..pores! - seems like you caught a bug...spores come from your own body and....spawn even more spores poisoning you in the process. Do you run or kill enemies around you? The choice is yours.

ːarchduckː For The Horde! - the enemies are super fast and can sense you from a long range


ːarchduckː 7th sense - enemies spawn once killed and drop gold (killing them doesn't give you more points) - grab as much money as your pockets can hold and run before the monsters surround you!





Version 1.03.19561 25th October

• Added Halloween event including spooky pumpkins and a Halloween-themed challenges
  
• Due to popular demand Superhot mode stays in the game for good
  
• Added a Superhot option to the character creation window
  
• Updated Mac version of the game to the newest match MacOS 10.15 requirements
  
• Fixed minor issues with Superhot color theme
  
• Updated German and Belarusian translations
  
• Updated Translators in the credits
  
• Added new Supporters to credits

Happy Halloween everyone! May the Spooks be with you!

Stay safe in the Haunted Dungeons,

Agnesːpaperheartː

The more you cast down the hotter it gets... until it's SUPERHOT!




We created Superhot inspired challenges and a contest for you (more info further down)! To celebrate that, this week we are doing a bundle with awesome guys from SUPERHOT ːarchduckː




All of the challenges will have one thing in common - the iconic time mechanic from Superhot. Time moves only when you move. This element will add to the strategic part of the game, as you will be able to see clearly what's happening even in the most chaotic situations. The rest... come and see! We can't spoil the whole fun now, can we? ːpaperdeathː

The first one-day long pilot challenge will start today at 10 AM PST /7 PM CEST. The rest will change as usual 3 times a week (on Monday, Wednesday and Friday), there will be 7 of them in total. The last challenge will END on October 24th at 10 AM PST / 7 PM CEST.

But that's not all! You can also try Superhot mode in the regular game too! Just open the Options and mark the "Superhot mode" checkbox there. Don't forget to drop us a slow-mo of your best in-game actions!




Of course, the dungeons got redecorated for the duration of the event challenges with white, red and black being the key colors.



Don't have Book of Demons or SUPERHOT yet or want to gift a copy of them to a friend? Now is the opportunity to get both of these for free!

To celebrate this fun with Superhot event, we prepared a contest for you. We know that you appreciate the bosses' names in Book of Demons, with names such as Gym Spirit, Usain Goat, Piece of Stone or Glu Glu. We figured - why not give you a chance to be creative too? Hence:

What to do:

• Join our Discord server discord.gg/bookofdemons
  
• Come up with a Superhot-themed name for a boss in Book of Demons!
  
• Write your answer on the #giveaways channel on our Discord server.
  
• Don't forget to explain why you chose that name!

The contest starts now and we'll pick 3 lucky winners on October 24th.

Rules: https://thingtrunk.com/book-of-demons-x-superhot-contest-rules/




Version 1.03.19343, 10th October

• SUPERHOT event
  
• SUPERHOT game mode
  
• Fixed a few legendary cards' icons
  
• Fixed a bug in the tutorial window which could have lead to a crash

Stay safe in Superhot paper dungeons!

Agnes ːpaperheartː

Cunning rogues! Mighty mages! Hardened warriors! The time has come for a new (mini)challenge! Behold: The Mini-challenge Mode!


This mode is aimed for anyone who seeks some more challenging gameplay, competition, is willing to prove themselves in unusual circumstances and, well, enjoys a challenge ːarchduckː (pun intended). Your goal is simple: gain as many points as you can and gain fame among other brave souls!


Mini-challenges are short levels in which the players compete in the same conditions for the best score. They will take place in predefined dungeons, you will play with a premade character, cards, and a certain set of rules. TL:DR: we give you a character, rules, a set of cards and a dungeon and send you on your way for the best score.



Each challenge will have a set of rules modifiers. For example, spells cooldown will be getting longer with each use. Or monsters moving with super speed., etc. Scoring will also vary between challenges. Sometimes the gold will be most important and sometimes the speed will be of the essence. And sometimes there will be no light in the dungeons at all. Good luck with that one! ːpaperdeathː



Please note that everything in the challenges will be predefined, including the character. In order to participate in the challenges, you have to reach the 10th level with the featured one. So if a challenge is made for mages, but you played only with a warrior so far - you need to reach the 10th level with a mage in the normal game mode in order to be able to try that challenge. This ensures that participants know the basic gameplay with said character.



From now on new challenges will be switched 3 times per week - every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (this means that weekend challenge lasts 3 days while weekday challenges last 2 days).



Oh, one more thing: while playing a challenge, cards, HP/mana/scrolls do not drop in the dungeons, the cauldron is always empty, and Death Rage is disabled. ːarchduckː


The challenges will have their own leaderboards. The higher the score, the higher your position on it.



Following scoring applies, unless changed by modifiers:

• 1 pt for every coin looted
  
• 10 pt for every heart of the enemy that you destroy
  
• 250 pt for every boss stage completed
  
• 500 pt for every boss killed
  
• -20 pt for each second spent in the dungeon
  
• -750pt for every death (unless death cancels the challenge)

Spending gold or selling runes does not decrease the score already awarded for picking that gold, so sometimes it may be worth to hop to town for quick heal and card upgrading.

To finish a challenge and send your score to the leaderboard you have to click on the Complete button. The button becomes clickable when you click on the stairs down in the last level of the challenge - no need to clear all the levels! You can always abandon the challenge via a menu that opens after pressing ESC or with the X button next to button Complete. However, abandoning or failing the challenge (some modifiers add special fail conditions) does not save your score on the leaderboard. You can retry challenge for a better score as many times as you want for as long as it’s available.


Hit us up on Discord or simply come to hang out! (Write us there if you have any issues with the game tooːarchduckː)




Version 1.03.18721 24th July 2019

• Challenge mode!
  
• Updated translations
  
• Fixed pad support in card variant selection window
  
• Improved pad performance on low framerates
  
• Modified supporter registration window
  
• Changed Whetstone charge cost from 1000/3000/5000 to reasonable 750/1200/1500

Stay safe in paper dungeons ːarchduckː

Agnesːpaperheartː

Have you ever found yourself wishing you could swap your hand for another build in the middle of a fight? Ever wished to be able to have two builds and quickly swap between them? If you answered yes to any of those questions, this update is for you. Introducing: Card Sets!




From now on you can have two hands of cards. Only one is equipped at a time but you can switch between them quickly without opening inventory.

This means you can now have two specialized builds and adapt faster. Passive vs aggressive build. Fire vs ice. Ranged vs. Close And Personal™! It all depends on your play style and creativity, so don't be afraid to experiment!




You can use them from the very beginning of the game. The feature is accessible starting from level one on all game modes. In order to swap your cards use the button to the left from mana orb, press G (default) on your keyboard or hold D-pad up on your controller. The number on the button shows which set is active. There is no cooldown.




Come join our Discord channel and let's chat!
https://discord.gg/bookofdemons

• Card sets
  
• Fixed disenchantment granting unidentified card that cannot be identified
  
• Fixed showing incorrect progress of "Bronze division" achievement in Awards window
  
• Added supporters to to credits
  
• Updated translations

Stay safe in paper dungeons! ːarchduckː
Agnes ːpaperheartː

Game developers don't share their early working concepts of games - the prototypes - often. When they do it's usually super interesting to see how the game changed and get a glimpse into the creation process. That's why we would like to share the earliest prototype with collectors.

In game development, prototypes serve many purposes but most importantly they are used to test if the core gameplay is fun. Usually, the first prototypes are not even computer games but rather tabletop games quickly put together with pieces of paper and a set of dice. Prototypes don't have to look good either - it's even better if they are not great looking as you can focus on how fun they are that way.




Our prototype took a month to put together. When compared to years it took to make the finished and polished game it gives a good idea of how much work separates an idea from the finished game.

We wanted to be very thorough when making a prototype so we made sure it's as complete experience as possible. That's why you will find that the prototype plays almost until the Archdemon. As a neat bonus, you can get a glimpse into how we initially imagined the cards. You will find some of them echo similarly to what ended in the finished game, while others will be... different.

Important note: only Warrior has cards in the prototype. Both other classes are present and playable but without cards. Warrior's set was all we needed to prove the concept.

The Flexiscope is present in its basic form. Balance is *very* rudimentary so don't expect the prototype to hold your hand. While the rng gods might time at you there is a considerable chance you will get killed. A lot.

Unless you like to experiment that is. There are developer shortcuts in the prototype that grant superpowers.



There are possibly also bugs, some of them exploitable, waiting to be discovered. The boss fight at the end of the game is metaphorical: the game crashes. We like to think it conveys the futility of eternal fight of light versus darkness. Also, we had no use for the boss fight in the demo :archduck:

Ah, and one more thing. There is no duck in the prototype. Really, can you believe it wasn't a core character in the beginning? A poignant realization, it would be a sad world without it :archduck:



All of you who own Collector's Content or Supporters' Bundle will gain access to the prototype immediately. For those of you who would like to check it out but don't own the Collector's Content pack, we are putting it on a 50% sale now so you can grab it on the cheap.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/991890

To run the prototype just go to the Book of Demons' files where you can now find a new folder called Prototype. Just enter it and double click the executable file.

Here is a short step by step guide how to get to the Book of Demons' files:

• Go to your Steam Library (list of your games)
  
• Select Book of Demos and make sure Steam uploaded the Collector's Content DLC (see the image)
  
  
• RMB-click on the Book of Demons
  
• Select Properties
  
• In the window that pops-up select Local Files tab
  
• Press Browse Local Files button
  
• Go to Prototype folder and double click Prototype.exe

Some time ago Matthew wrote a couple of blog posts and did interviews about Book of Demons' creation process. If you are interested in how the game was made, get a cup of tea and make yourself comfortable:

• Making of the Paperverse, the art-style of Book of Demons
  
  
• A closer look at the deck-building hack-and-slash success
  
  
• Deep Dive: Flexiscope, the play-time aware dungeon generator
  
  
• 99$ - Live orchestra on an indie budget
  
  
• Designing for deck-building in video games

And if you would like to know more we are on Discord and we are running Ask Us Anything channel for the curious :archduck:

Here is the invite link: https://discord.gg/qD4uWKu

Stay safe in the almost-paper-like-prototype dungeons! :archduck:

Margaret :paperheart: