Overcrowd: A Commute 'Em Up will launch in Early Access this Thursday 6th June!


That's right. After almost 4 years in development, Overcrowd - the station building management sim / spatial puzzler set on the metro in the fictional city of Lubdon Town - will be available for around $16.99 USD / £12.99 GBP (and other regional prices in a similar range).


Overcrowd is made by a team of two - that's me (Al) doing the code, and Sarah who does the art. During early access, we'll be building on the game, adding new features and content. I hope you can join us!


Consider buying the game! It will almost certainly cost more at full release, so there's no reason to wait. Aside from that, feedback during early access will help us shape the game and make it as best we can. Drop by the steam forums or Discord and give us your thoughts.

Keep in mind Overcrowd has a minimum spec of Nvidia 750 or equivalent because the game is dealing with some large textures. It's not designed for low spec laptops with integrated graphics cards at this stage (but please note, further optimisations during early access that may change that, so stay tuned!).

See you Thursday!

Al & Sarah

This month we had some great news - Overcrowd has been selected as a finalist in the Casual Connect 2019 Indie Prize! This coveted award allows us to showcase the game alongside some of the top indie games around. As part of the award, we've been gifted a stand at the event in London towards the end of the month.

We're super excited to have been picked by the judges, who played an early build of the game before nominating us. If you're attending the event, please drop by and say hi!


Development-wise, I've stopped adding features to Overcrowd and the past few months have been all about extra polish, bug fixing and balance. I can't wait till launch when, after an initial period for addressing any issues that launch might throw up, I can get back to adding more stuff in the game. We'll be publishing a road map soon to give you an idea of our plans.


I've had a few people asking both on the steam discussion forum, in the reddit group, on Twitter and in the Discord server about the release date. So to confirm, we're planning to release Overcrowd into Early Access in June!

Right now, we're working on a new trailer, and we'll announce the precise date when that goes live. I'll leave you with a gif of some commerce in the game. You can see more pics and vids of the game on Twitter.

As ever it’s been a busy few months, and I’m happy to report we’ve made a lot of progress on Overcrowd. We are just about on schedule for a (reasonably) imminent launch. More on that later. First, here are the headline features/fixes we've been working on.

The campaign is now working nicely with a neat new campaign screen. The campaign is entirely procedural - you can enter a new key and play as many as you want, with different terrains, scenarios and goals created each time.

One of the key iterations for campaign is the ability to return to prior levels if you want. The idea here is that you can unlock tech in a later station, then return and upgrade earlier stations further, ideally aiming to get a full 5 stars on every map. I also recently added a difficulty slider in the campaign.

Sandbox means different things to different people. The campaign in Overcrowd is quite sandboxxy, but it does have restrictions in that you have to unlock the tech tree as you progress and pay for building. In Sandbox (custom) mode you can set how much money you start with and how much tech you can unlock from the start. Alongside this you have full control over the random seed, the terrain generation parameters, goals, victory conditions and map size, amongst other things.

Having rolled out our new sprite animations, we’ve begun to add more commuter types, with more interesting clothing and accessories, to the game. This will continue through early access.

We improved the graphics and balanced the rate of the tech tree unlocks across the campaign. Various new tech items have also been added or tweaked.

Staff now have new hair styles and appearances as well as new tool animations across the board. New staff are randomly generated and will apply throughout a play session. A new staff scheduler means you can tell staff to take breaks automatically at set times, as well as toggle autorest. This works alongside the existing job prioritising features.

Added new GUI elements to show when trains are ready and how many are on arriving trains. I also updated alert GUI elements to slide in, stack and slide out on the side of the screen. Also polished some other elements.

Spatial FX added and music is finalised - I’m super excited about what we have lined up. More details to come.

You will now have the option of toggling the surrounding ground on and off to show a greater sense of digging underground when you build your station. I've also added some weather effects (rain so far) for atmosphere, but which may cause more water pooling near the entrance as we develop that side of the simulation in early access.

Improved commuter flow in various ways.

A few people have kindly pointed out to me that it is Spring 2019 (in the UK) – the stated launch window for Overcrowd. Will we still make it? The signs are pretty good I’d say. For your information, Spring ends June 21st here and a launch before then is still possible, maybe even likely.

If you have any questions on the game, or just fancy a chat, please drop by Discord and check out the snazzy new server structure. You can also post any thoughts or questions in the Steam discussion forum or the comments below.

Finally, be on the look out for a new trailer showing off everything I mentioned, Coming Soon. In the meantime, here are some more escalators. Thanks!

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The game has been progressing nicely the past few weeks. I thought I'd show you some of the new commuter walk cycles and escalator objects you can build. I'm super happy with them.

Building escalators will allow your commuters some rest as they traverse floors in your station. Take a look:

I thought I’d give you a quick update on what’s been going on with Overcrowd in 2019.

First up, I've improved the commuters and staff sprites. As well as looking great with a super smooth walk cycle, we have now animated a bunch of new actions, from sitting, to foot tapping, to using objects and tools.

Combined with a new lighting system, the overall look of the game has taken a big step forward. I can’t wait to update this page and make a new launch trailer to show off the new aesthetic. But for now here's a gif of some staff relaxing in a the staff room (you can see more video on my twitter feed).



Of course, it's not all about the visuals. I’m also working hard to get as many features and items as I can in before hitting early access.

With lots of the core functionality done, I’ve been able to add a slew of new objects. These include new power generators, capacitors, an ornate clock, air purifiers, light fixtures, staff seating, benches, CCTV cameras, a PA system and an arcade machine. And there's more to come.

On the systems side of things, I've been refining a fully customisable sandbox mode. This lets you generate maps, set win/lose conditions, starting money, scenarios and goals, and generally tweak a load of settings to make the game as hard or as easy you like.

Alongside the custom sandbox, there is a procedural campaign. This is really where the heart of the game lies. Your aim is to build a series of underground stations – and a team of staff and procured tech – across a series of increasingly tough randomly generated terrain and scenarios.

Every time you restart you can enter a random seed to generate a new campaign. This should maximise replayability even during early access. I hope to add one or two more game modes on top of this (possibly more challenges or an endless-type play mode), though those will probably be introduced in early access (depending on your feedback).

In the coming months I'll be sorting out a gameplay video showing how it’s all coming together, so remember to check back if you can! If you have any questions, drop by the discord server, start a thread in the steam discussion group, or pop a question below.

With the festive season upon us, I wanted to bring you a quick round up of what's been going on and what to expect in 2019.

It's been a big year for Overcrowd. Myself and Sarah, who draws the game, have made good progress, and some really enouraging words have been written about it from some of the top gaming press who had a chance to play it.

We showed an early build off for the first time at EGX Rezzed in April. Kotaku had a play and picked us as one of 8 Standout Indie Games from EGX Rezzed, calling the experience "hugely satisfying".

Later in the Summer, PC Gamer listed us one of 12 cool-looking indie games in development right now, describing Overcrowd as a "quirky-looking 'tactical management sim' ... blends base-building, pausable real-time strategy, and spatial puzzling."

Following that we were fortunate enough to land a full page preview in the magazine proper, where author Andy Kelly wrote, among other things: “There are a lot of interesting ideas in Overcrowd and I hope SquarePlay manages to bring it all together.” You can read more about that in my post here.

In October I announced my target release of Spring 2019. That's still a few months away, but before then I'll be showing you more of what's in store, including some greatly improved commuter animations, and new features like vertical lift shafts, capacitors, hot dog stands, vending machines, more shops, a functioning economy, a procedural and highly replayable campaign, arcade machines, tea machines, benches, fountains, tasers and, of course, escalators. There's more.

Recently I have been focusing on adding these items, reworking walk, action and idle cycles, expanding on a fully customisable sandbox mode, and iterating on how staff act in the staff room by allowing them to wander between amenities, sit down, drink, and gain temporary buffs from caffeinated beverages like us all.

You can see some of our new commuter style in the seasonal Gif we made below. In the meantime if you have any questions, drop by the Overcrowd Discord server or follow us on Twitter.

From myself and Sarah, Merry Christmas!

One of PC gaming’s most venerable and well respected print magazines has run a full page preview on Overcrowd: A Commute ‘Em Up.

Featured in the December 2018 issue – which is also the 25th anniversary edition – author Andy Kelly writes about his hands-on experience with the game. Mr Kelly is one of few writers to have had time with the game outside of our presence at EGX Rezzed in April where (did I mention?) we also got picked as one 8 Standout Indie Games by Kotaku.

And, dear reader, I am happy to say, I think he liked it! Among other nice things, Kelly wrote: “You can carve into the earth, and there’s an enjoyable amount of freedom to get creative with the layout.”

As well as: “The interface makes me think of the similarly slick Prison Architect, with bold, simple icons that make the many items at your disposal recognisable at a glance.”

Later, he goes on: “The way it presents the realities of the Underground in a lighthearted way reminds me of Theme Hospital. It has a sense of humour to match its vibrant colours and cartoonish art style.”

He concludes: “There are a lot of interesting ideas in Overcrowd and I hope SquarePlay manages to bring it all together.”

I was really happy both to see the game in print and with what I read, so thank you to Andy for taking the time to write it up. In other news, I’m still working hard to make it all happen for Overcrowd, and as I said in the last update, I’m aiming for Early Access in Spring 2019. Until then, stay tuned for more updates - there are some exciting things in the pipeline.

The bracing air, the pollution-tinged fog and the crinchy-crunching of leaves underfoot tell but me one thing: Summer is over. That and the fact I am no longer sitting here in my pants sweating profusely (seriously, the heatwave in London this summer was intense).

Anyway, you didn’t come here for a dubious weather report. You want hard facts, and you want them … some time ago. So here it is, an all new update on What’s Been Going On over here at Overcrowd Towers as no one calls it.

Following our success at EGX Rezzed, where (did I mention?), amongst other favourable previews we were named by Kotaku as one of 8 Standout Indie Games at the show, I have been taking the opportunity to do some maintenance on the code base.

I started coding Overcrowd on a part-time basis in Gamemaker 1.4, back in late 2013 when I had significantly more hair. However, since then Gamemaker 2 (GM2) has been released, support for 1.4 has ceased, I went full time on the game and my hairline has migrated north.

To make sure the game is future-proofed against platform updates, this summer I moved the project over to GM2. After some initial hiccoughs* I can report it is now up and running and working nicely. This is great news because it not only opens the door to putting the game out on other platforms in the future, but ensures continuing support on Windows/Steam.

Over summer I also took some time to refactor some of the core “building” code – specifically the way the walls and floor tiles are handled - and to revisit the commuter A.I, which needed work to make it both more reliable and more efficient. All together this was a long and fairly frustrating process, because, while 100% necessary, it didn’t bring any major exciting new features. But now it’s done, and the game now handles far better for it. Onwards.

Following the commuter refactoring I was able to build further on their A.I. There are now around a dozen or so special behaviour types, including commuter rage, brutes, pickpocket, heatstroke, flu, cardiac arrest, vandal and vomiting. The way movement is handled has also been improved so that commuters can push each other out of their way, which both looks funny and is marginally more efficient too.

I also more fully implemented and refined commuter buying behaviour. This is a complex cascading system of needs that feeds back into the gameplay/need to expand the station. If a commuter wants to buy something but can’t, they will be sad, and your station loses some reputation. However, if you have similar products their needs will be met to a degree. Products are divided into 4 main categories: food, drink, goods and services. The current system means I can gradually expand needs and shops as development progresses.

On top of the 8 or so existing shops, I have now added a flower stall, a hot dog stand and vending machine, with many more planned now that the core system is near final.

After this I added some detailed report systems. Everyone wants to see their stats, right? The reports let you do just that. You can examine in detail how commuters feel about their station experience. Do they feel late, do they need more shops? Overcrowded? Angry? Diseased? Is there too much litter or perhaps too much vomit?

There are over 20 metrics you can see here in a quite-cool live updating bar chart. In another tab you can see finances: your income and outgoings on that day or over the station life time. Another lets you see power usage, complete with live bar charts showing power drain per machine while they are being used, including of course train tracks, which use the most.

You can also view the sales figures of all your shops and what sentiment they evoked in the customers, allowing you to vary price points. You can set prices low to cheer people up, but you will lose money in the long run. If you are broke and need the cash, you can boost the prices, but be prepared to deal with the loss of rep.

I finally added the tool box. Machines can break down (through use or by getting smashed up by vandals), and staff are now able to fix them up. Other tools added were a defibrillator and a drip for cardiac arrest and heatstroke victims, respectively. Oh, and a taser for stunning crims too.

This completes the set of basic tools which operate across the 5 staff skill sets in the game: people, refuse, medic, security, technician. I’m now able to iterate on the tools, by which I mean, you will soon be able to procure and build better tools to use.

I’ve also added 2 new types of trains, along with some more advanced power generators, and some other tech including PA systems, and updated the cooling code for fans, air vents and air conditioners.

A lot of work has gone into campaign continuity. The campaign is entirely procedural, and you can enter a key at the start to generate it. The idea is that you can train your staff as play (they level up and learn skills by doing), and take them to your next station with you, along with the tech you have unlocked. This is now all working smoothly, although the actual “overworld” map does not yet change shape yet, and I plan on redoing that.

The other major area of work has been in events and scenarios. In campaign, maps can now have a range of scenarios in them. This might include classics such a rodent problems, heatwaves, flus, crime waves and the like. Now implemented, I’m working on balancing the frequency and impact they have on the game.

I’m also working on balancing the “sandbox” mode. There has been much discussion about sandbox mode lately, both for other recently launched management sims and over in the Overcrowd Discord server. The general consensus being a) people want one! and b) it should be flexible, to allow for more creative and freeplay styles.

This will be something I will look to have in at launch, most likely with an option to specify how much money you start with and an option to unlock all the tech from the outset, along with an option to toggle scenarios/events. This could all change but that’s my current thinking. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Oh, did someone mention launch? Yes, I do intend to actually ship this game one day! Because of the work on refactoring, moving to Gamemaker 2 and the like, it looks certain that Overcrowd will now be released in 2019 rather than 2018 as I had once hoped. I can only apologise for that. I’m sorry! And I thank you for still waiting around for this game (if you do that is, I won’t presume).

I do feel I owe it to you to give a more reliable date of when to expect Overcrowd, so I will tentatively say that I’ll be doing my best for a Spring 2019 launch. Look out for more details, and perhaps a super duper official Announcement Date Trailer, next year.

On top of that, you may now notice, the game is now officially tagged as Early Access on Steam. At points this year I thought there would be a chance I could do a full release launch. However, it’s increasingly clear this is a game that really does suit Early Access. I want to hear from you, to learn from your views, to sculpt the game both to fit your expectations, but also to bring my own unique take on the management sim/pausable RTS/basebuilder/crowd management/spatial puzzler genre.

I feel there’s been a bit of trend to rush games into a full release to avoid the “stigma” of Early Access, but it’s my hope that Early Access, if done right, can still work just fine, especially when the dev is committed to making it work. And, dear reader, I am oh so committed!

There are a few other exciting things on the horizon for Overcrowd, and I can’t wait to tell you more about them. Until then, consider dropping by Discord if you have any questions, or pop a question in the Steam forum.

* yes you can correctly spell hiccups like this. Who knew?

Ever wondered what aspect of Overcrowd I am working on right now? Sure you could post a question in the Steam discussion forum (and please do!), but it could be hours before I notice and reply.

You're a busy person. You don't want to be waiting around for a forum reply. No, you want real time discourse. You want a fully featured online chat room, with seperate rooms for general chat and announcements. You want optional voice chat. You want a place where you can see new development screenshots and gifs as soon as I make them. That's why I've launched a server on Discord.

If it sounds like your thing (and come on, how could it not be!?), drop by the Overcrowd Discord server and say hi. Hope to see you there!

Overcrowd has been listed as one of twelve indie games most anticipated by PC Gamer.

In his article "12 cool-looking indie games in development right now", author Andy Kelly cites Overcrowd as one of the indie games that he most looks forward to playing.

"By my calculations, approximately 72,000 new games are released on PC every day, and keeping track of them all is basically an impossible task," he writes.

"But of the dozens that pass before my eyes in any given second, a few stand out enough to catch my attention. These are some of the in-development indie games that I’m looking forward to playing the most."

He goes on to name Overcrowd as the only management sim/base builder to feature in his selections.

"This quirky-looking 'tactical management sim' is set in the hot, sweaty, crowded tunnels of the London Underground and blends base-building, pausable real-time strategy, and spatial puzzling," he writes.

You can read more about this and the other top choices in the full article.