Feb 1, 2021

Gamedec - Definitive Edition - Matt_Anshar

It's been a while since we shared some work-in-progress insights about the game. We're sure that many of you are pretty curious about how the game development process is going and what are our current struggles on the road to the release. Especially after we shared information about delaying the game (back in October) or asked our Kickstarter backers to prepare their input that will appear in the game.

By the way, we know you hate our e-mail reminders... but... there are still some of you, folks, that didn't send f.e. message for Gamedec voicemail. If you need help creating the script for your message or struggling with all the other rewards, give us a call, we will try to help you out. It's also worth mentioning that we are saving the right to reject all the assets delivered after the deadline since it can collide with our pipelines. However, we hope that we will not have to undertake such dilemmas.

Let's get back to today's topic, shall we?

Among all the minor tweaks and features that our designers, programmers, and artists created or implemented, we mostly focused on making the mechanics like the Character Creation tool and a Save System. Just as a reminder, you can watch our dev-diary HERE, where Marcin, Mateusz, and Krzysztof are breaking the Character Creation process down into pieces.

Your feedback from the Backer's Build closed preview also gave us crucial input in which direction we want to go with the UI. And I don't mean only horizontal or vertical alignment. We're also working on making the text more readable. Specific worlds will have some custom layouts to highlight the idea of being inside the virtual world. And perhaps this is a perfect moment to hint that something is coming? Here's the hint: Check out our Kickstarter page to look after clues ;)

What about the visual layer? The Art team is now working on a new location, but it would be slightly unfair to you, the players, to spoil everything before the release. Instead, we want to show something else. Starting with the concepts, you already know Twisted & Perverted Virtualium. The theater concept in the 2D perspective resembles buildings from the golden age of cinema. You had the opportunity to see what was happening inside and join an extraordinary showing. The Slums can be described as a deteriorated infrastructure of Warsaw City. The name indicates that it is located in the more inferior part of the city, i.e., the lower parts - Low City.

But wait a minute. Who is this lovely Mech? It's Sgt. Brut. And she’s not lovely. A huge battle robot in the Out-Rangers painting with a lot of experience on the battlefield, as evidenced by her battered armor.

Last but not least, the Animation Team progresses with their work, with a GIF below serving as an a example. Sleeping in a coffin inside Harvest Time... sounds cozy?

We also made the first attempts to run the game on a Nintendo Switch. And guess what... it’s alive! After a few initial runs we must say that the frame rate looks promising. Our QA is currently highlighting all the bugs and tweaks required to optimize the Switch version of the game.

We got to the end of today's report. Let us know what would like to find out next time. We’ll be back in February with more concepts and WIP assets 😊

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.

Stay safe!
#TeamGamedec

Jan 15, 2021

About Gamedecverse #3: The pain and senses in Gamedecverse virtualia

Gamedec - Definitive Edition - Matt_Anshar

Welcome to the third episode of our gamedecverse-related articles. This time, we’re looking closer to the aspect of emulating senses and pain in the virtualia. How does the system deal with such a complex physical factor? Is it possible to inflict real-life pain while gaming? Is it legal? Listen what Marcin Przybyłek has to say about this fascinating topic.

There is a problem when you create a vision of virtualia, which are supposed to be so real, the player cannot see or feel the difference between them and reality (reality is known in Gamedecverse as "realium"). When I was writing about the games of the future, I asked myself several questions. I will not write down all of them, just a few, the most important as far as this text is concerned:  
Would I like, as a gamer, to feel the pain in the games of the future?
How would I like to feel the death of my avatar?
Will there be future games that would allow the pain?
If so, to what extend? Will they allow the pain to be as strong as the real one – for example, in a fantasy game, would I like to feel the torture of an axe cutting off my hand or a sword piercing through my stomach?
Will some games specifically concentrate on pain?
Would it be dangerous for the players to deal with strong digital pain? 
Would I like to feel the actual weight of the stuff my avatar would carry?
Would I like to feel the tiredness of the digital body/muscles?
Would I like my body to get dirty and smelly?
Would I like my body to feel the hunger and urge to open the bowels / urinate?
 As you can see, even though I said, there are not all the questions I asked myself when thinking of the games of the future, there are quite a few. My answer was (to all these questions): "It depends on the game." I decided that most gamers playing "typical" games wouldn't like to tire too much, nor feel the pain, nor feel the real weight of the guns and stuff, nor feel the physiological needs. The last ones would require additional sophisticated programming because the body of a person in virtualia in Gamedecverse doesn't urinate, open bowels or eat. So there would have to be an outstanding program differentiating certain reflexes of the real body. 

In Gamedecverse, if you play a simple shooting clan MMO game, for instance, Crying Guns, you don't feel pain nor weight nor tiredness, nor hunger. You are there for the fun of shooting and fighting, not for a sim-like adventure. On the other hand, if you enter the Brahma world, everything is like realium. I mean, everything. Brahma was created to emulate realium, and its target is people forced to live in the net (zoenets), who don't want to play games but live everyday lives. It is also for children zoenets, whose parents wish to their younglings to see how they grow, how their bodies change, and so on. So "normal games" like Crying Guns and Brahma are the opposite sides of a specific continuum. Is there something in between? Yes!

Take a quick look at some of the worlds we're talking about in this article [click to enlarge]. These concepts come from the Gamedec: Boarding Game, released in 2013.

Some games allow pain if you let it. Like Twisted & Perverted. Generally, you don't feel any discomfort in this game, even during a fight. When you die, it is a slightly nauseous sensation, but that's it. You don't feel even a pinprick when someone stabs you or shoots at you. But if you agree with another player for a PvP mode, you will feel the pain. Not some excruciating torture, but big enough to… cherish it.

There is also a Goodabads game. It is an esports arena where devils fight angels flying in the skies. When a gamer gets a hit, he/she feels the pain. And it stays. When he/she gets hit again, the pain is added to the previous one. As above the head of a player, the audience can see that a Hammerfield ribbon unfolds, showing how much he/she suffers (it's a made up scale, don't look for it in the net). The top of the scale is 20, and, according to my books, there is only one player who can withstand this torture for several seconds. Goodabads is a trendy game because the audience knows that the pro-players are real heroes who learn to control neuro-induced pain and are good at it.

Now, there is a problem with the pain. On the one hand, it is just a neurological sensation informing you that there is something wrong with your body. So if only your brain can feel it, and your body is perfectly healthy, as it is the situation with the games of the future, nothing bad should happen. Well, theoretically, yes, but practically – not so very much.

When the brain feels the pain while playing a game, it doesn't understand that there is nothing wrong with the body. It starts the cascade of stress, and certain hormones are being released, the blood pressure rises, as does the pulse. "But that's also the case when a player is just excited," someone could say. Well, almost. The hormones of "bad" stress are slightly different from the ones of the "good" one. To sum things up, when you decide to play a game with the pain, you have to accept the possible health problem consequences so that the producers wouldn't have legal problems should something terrible happen to you. In other words, It will be all on you, and you've pressed "OK" - didn't you?

There are some illegal games, and they cross all the boundaries. The most (in)famous one is the Happy Hunting Grounds. It is a game of a hunt. Players who enter it dwell in the misty swamps and look for fantastic beasts, which… look for them too. In this game, all the sensory gates are open. If an animal puts a claw into your belly, you will feel it; if a predator opens your veins and tears your muscles, you will feel the blood loss and the pain of macerated tissues. You will feel it all, inside and outside. It is not like in the Brahma world.

When facing a serious accident that can mutilate your body, the program will protect you from such feelings. Nobody wants you to suffer the pain of dying. Happy Hunting Grounds doesn't protect you from the pain. What happens when you play this game and get injured in your stomach so much, your intestines go out, and you bleed to death? First, you feel the actual pain of such an event. Then your brain gets the message that you are bleeding out. What is a physiological reaction to such a thing? The organism tries to maintain blood pressure by contracting blood vessels. You see the problem here? The actual blood pressure is OK; he/she is not bleeding. 

The brain gets contradictory messages so that it can react in two ways. One: go with the first protocol and contract arteries and veins, causing a rapid increase in blood pressure. Two: respond paradoxically, tuning to the game image of bleeding – widening the blood vessels in the stomach, causing most blood to go there (it is called an anaphylactic shock). The first scenario is dangerous – it could lead to a heart attack or brain stroke. The second one is even more dangerous. The lack of blood in the heart, brain, kidneys, and other essential organs may lead to death, as is the case in anaphylactic shock. 

Happy Hunting Grounds is dangerous – playing the game and being injured can lead to real death. Of course, when injured, you can log out of it using a standard log out gesture with your hand. But what if your hands get ripped off? HHG doesn't forgive. Playing that game is forbidden, and if you get caught, you will face legal problems. So be warned.

And so, more or less, we have covered the topic of feeling and pain in games. As you can see, it is a continuum – from games where you don't suffer or face discomforts to games that are so real that they can be fatal.

Which one will you choose? It's your decision, my friend. You are the sum of your choices.

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.

Stay safe!
#TeamGamedec

Dec 29, 2020

Gamedec 2020 in a nutshell - let's relive the most bizarre year of this century

Gamedec - Definitive Edition - Matt_Anshar

Hello there!

The year is coming to an end. As we well know, 2020 is perhaps the strangest year in years for both humanity and the gaming industry itself. Therefore, we decided to prepare a quick summary of what this period looked like for Gamedec and provide you with a hefty amount of information about what we’ve managed to achieve.

JANUARY

In January, we’ve published an extended version of the Dev-Diary, in which Marcin Przybyłek (AKA Author of the Gamedecverse) told us a bit more about what it looks like to live in Low City:

We’ve also published some of our concept arts: https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/posts/767514250389731

FEBRUARY

February was marked by solid preparations for the Kickstarter Campaign (which you did not know then because #WeKeptItASecret). That did not stop us from giving you more doses of Gamedec - Dev Diary on Harvest Time is the best example.

Members of our Team appeared (as announced) at PAX EAST 2020, where they showed a playable demo of Gamedec to both the community and the media. https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/posts/803142113493611
During this event, we were asking people about their RPG experience and preferences. The results can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/posts/778775469263609

MARCH & APRIL

March also began a period of our COVID-related remote work. Most of our Team moved to their homes to avoid exposing themselves, their families, and the rest of the Team to the potential threat of the virus in the name of #StayHome. When you’re reading this, we’re still working home. Some say we’ve collected a pretty badass pajamas collection. At least the bottom part. Hopefully, 2021 will be more favorable, because we miss the day-to-day contact and kitchen small-talks.

For us, March was a significant step towards running the game as a community-driven product, as we showed you the first draft of our Campaign on Kickstarter, collecting feedback and making the necessary touches. In the meantime, you also unlocked one of the tiers of the Steam Wishlist Challenge: the first chapter of the Gamedec Book: The Edge of Reality in English as a community, which you can read at the link below:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/917720/announcements/detail/3219450621197088809
You also managed to unblock one of the songs with our # WishlistChallange - we posted it on our youtube channel - what do you think? Let us know in the comments:

The day before the start of the Gamedec Kickstarter Campaign, IGN published a material in which our Head of Production - Magdalena - went through and told a little more about the matter in the virtualium "Twisted and Perverted":

KICKSTARTER

And, of course, the remarkable milestone of the year. Our Kickstarter Campaign: {LINK REMOVED} Over 340% of the amount funded, a lot of additional content unblocked, and above all - the community that we managed to build both here and on our Discord - this moment is one of the most critical points in our summary. We really cannot express how much we are happy with this success. Thank you!
What we confirmed during this campaign:

GOG.COM release
Seven – The Days Long Gone virtualium
Cthulhu-based virtualium
Partial voice-overs
Additional languages at the launch

Over a month of hard, intense work of our Team, a lot of interviews, talks, videos, articles in which we wanted to bring you closer to our vision. And the sleepless nights of our PR / MKT department is a success for which we have been working for a very long time. During the Campaign, the video mentioned above was also released - about Gamedecverse:

More details can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/anshar/gamedec-isometric-cyberpunk-rpg-set-in-xxii-century/posts/2822061

MAY

May started the event period, which, due to COVID-19, moved to the network. We took part in a lot of different events, including #IndieCelebration created by Digital Dragons, where we were one of 50 games that qualified for the main event: https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/posts/852201625254326

We also appeared in #TheEscapistIndieShowcase https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/posts/866495570491598

Another Dev-Diary also appeared in June our Team wanted to tell more about the complexity of the branching system. Please check out the video below to see how your choices can impact the game's course on one of the examples - the case involving Ramona and her grandpa.

Marcin also told us a bit more about Cage Cities in the next Dev-Diary:

Gamedec was also present on MonsterVine's Hot Games Summer Showcase! https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/photos/a.654752608332563/887601825047639/

JUNE

Because we are trying to show you how complicated and full the world of Gamedecverse is, we asked Marcin once again to explain to us what Gamedec needs to be able to do his job:

JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER

This is an extremely important milestone. It was the moment of truth and a big test of our game. Backers from Kickstarter and the media got the Backer Build prepared to test the game and gather feedback, had the opportunity to share their impressions with us, prepare a lot of content (whether in the form of streams or video on youtube), and answer the questions we asked about how to play them in the survey which we took, analyzed and shared with the team to improve the game even more. Here’s the full report: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AjqtyACv3eKUuEb79O2_-fqW1QsF?e=JXlmqI

We also made the Gamedec demo available several times for everyone so that they could see "what it is with" and see for themselves whether it is worth giving our product a chance. Our Community Manager - Mateusz, along with Krzysiek - our PR guest, also played a live backer build during the Stream hosted by TVGRY [Polish]:

We also took part in Gamescom and the Indie Arena Booth. A lot happened - We announced the work on the Switch version of Gamedec. We showed some information about Knight's Code - another of the many virtual worlds available in the game. We also showed up at the event organized by Sonkwo, PAXWest, Digital Dragons (again!) And the Tokyo Game Show.

That’s not the end! We’ve been also present at the Sonkwo Online 2020. We were taking part in many great events to further promote our game. There were many activities, such as dev-streams, interviews, and more.

OCTOBER, NOVEMBER & DECEMBER

October brought essential news - we decided to postpone our game to 2021. Below, you can read the message that appeared on our social media channels:
https://www.facebook.com/gamedecthegame/posts/970035290137625

In November, we took part in the next edition of The Escapist Games Showcase: Fall Edition, DEVGAMM 2020, and we have prepared another Dev-Diary for you:

December brought to you another cool thing we were working on lately – an RPG character sheet for you and your friends. This sheet allows you to customize your very own gamedec for the sake of a Pen & Paper RPG session. We really advise to use it with some popular sci-fi RPG systems, to keep the experience fresh and exciting!
Here is the link: https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=!AI3_6CVDbW9ncW8&cid=94E2DDAF00C8AD3A&id=94E2DDAF00C8AD3A!7293&parId=94E2DDAF00C8AD3A!7292&o=OneUp

As a bonus, we advise you to watch the subbed interview with Łukasz Hacura, about the Anshar Studios and how it all started:

Awards!

During the events, we've won many awards, such as Best Indie Game 2020 1st place at Digital Dragons, Unreal Engine Dev Contest 2020, Best Indie Game award at DevGamm, 1st place at Indie Awards 2020 at Devcom, – below, you can find all of the awards/nominations we've got so far with Gamedec!

Last, but not least: we've been selected as one of the TOP 3 best upcoming games of the IndieDB Best of the Year :) Huge honor!

Are you interested in what is coming next?

Little spoiler – 2021 will be a wild ride for you and us both 😉 Be sure to get loads of tea or coffee!

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.

Stay safe!
#TeamGamedec

Dec 9, 2020

Create your own RPG character with our unique sheet!

Gamedec - Definitive Edition - Matt_Anshar

Some time ago, while preparing the process for backer input, we created something that we wanted to share with you.

GAMEDEC RPG character cards!

In the link below, you will find a PDF with the character sheet created by us - let your creativity carry you! Create your characters, give them names, describe their appearance - what you look like, what you like to wear, your trademarks. Tell us more about your character's background - where you come from, what you do before, professions, and motivations.

DISCLAIMER: Select only a maximum of eight aspects and two professions. Your character's profession determines what actions your character can perform. Your character gains some special class features and proficiencies centered around their chosen vocation. You can read the first few paragraphs of each class's section on the second page of the character sheet to understand what each of them is.

Of course, if you want - you can also use this character card in your homebrew RPG sessions and solve some epic Gamedec cases with your friends!

DOWNLOAD HERE

When you're done - Show off your characters in the comments or a discord thread! We are curious about your idea of a gamedec character!

***

We would like to seize the opportunity to ask you for votes in the IndieDB Indie of the Year competition:

Vote for Gamedec @ IndieDB 2020 Indie of the Year Awards.

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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.

Stay safe!
#TeamGamedec

Dec 2, 2020

About Gamedecverse #2: suspension in the air

Gamedec - Definitive Edition - Matt_Anshar

Welcome to the second episode of our gamedecverse-related articles. This time, we’re looking closer to the aspect of defying gravity and suspending buildings, pneumobils, and other things in the air. A real 22nd-century innovation we’re looking forward to inventing someday. Take a closer look at the article by Marcin S. Przybyłek, the author of the Gamedec saga.

> High City

Swifts live mainly in the air. Some may remain flying non-stop for ten months. People in gamedecverse don't fly (well, most of them), but they have something in common with these birds: they rarely touch the ground.

It all began during the '70s of the 21st century when nature turned against humanity. Mutated mosquitos, other insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and then mutated flora began, sort of, hate humans, so they fled from villages to little cities and then moved to the large ones.

They fenced themselves, hid behind the Anti Bios Barriers (ABBs), but it wasn't enough. Since the big cities began to overpopulate, gargantuan towers were built among the buildings. The high, enormous cities were built: the polis. The towers were built higher and higher, and people left old towns, where fauna and flora began to mutate as well – not to the extent like behind ABB's, but still, it was not safe to live there.

> Aurocar supported by an anti-g unit

It is the end of the 22nd century, and people live in polis like birds among the threes. The trunks of those trees are the towers, and their convoluted branches are the gangway nets that connect the towers. 

Over the past century, inhabitants of polis got used to living in the air. They got used to not touching the real ground or seeing things from above. They rarely are afraid of heights. They walk down the gangways looking up at the towering buildings and down at the dark abysses of lower parts of their polis.

> Anti-g bike concept

They got used there is no such thing as the streets. Pneumobils replaced old cars and are flying along the air pathways. When you move "on the ground," you walk on air pavements supported by anti-g technology.

What does it mean? What could be exotic to us that is not for them and the other way around?

Take Twisted & Perverted game. It looks very common to us: streets, tenements, street lamps. Get it now? It is very exotic to people of gamedecverse: in this game, they can walk on the street! The street! They see the bases of the buildings; they can see how they stand on the ground! They cannot see the abyss under their feet because all that is lower is the concrete of the pavement or the street's asphalt; there is nothing more! Take Harvest Time game, and again – a ground under the feet, but this time a speck of real dirt, a natural soil—what a treat. What's more – they can grow the plants, and the plants are not dangerous!

On the other hand – take the Knight's Code game. Yes, we didn't get to see much of it yet, but maybe it is the right time.

> Knight's Code - floating islands

Islands floating in the air, warriors that can fly. Exotic? To us – yes, but to the gamedecverse folks – it looks like an everyday view. Normal. You can look up and down. 

What most of the dwellers of polis do not see is a lot of space when looking horizontally. There is a far scape looking up or down, but not to the left or right because there are so many towers around. The only happy people seeing far horizontally live in the polis's high parts – so-called High Cities, or those who live on the outskirts. So, the Knight's Code is exotic to them in this aspect.

> On the left, there is a flying servobot with drinks, and behind the window, an anti-g drone displaying commercials.

In gamedecverse, people live like birds. Their vehicles fly; they walk on air pavements over thousands of meter high precipices, not noticing the danger. It is just their everyday landscape. Towers. Pavements. And heights. 

They are not swifts. But they know how those birds feel.

***

We would like to seize the opportunity to ask you for votes in the IndieDB Indie of the Year competition:

Stay safe!
#TeamGamedec

Nov 23, 2020

Gamedec has won three new awards!

Gamedec - Definitive Edition - Matt_Anshar

Recent weeks brought us three new awards for our incredible team here at Katowice. We appreciate how the community, press, and content creators share their feedback on Gamedec and the work we've done.

DevGAMM Awards!

Gamedec won in the most prestigious category - Best Indie Game! We're always very flattered when someone sees the quality of our work and effort behind it, we're putting a lot of heart into the development, and we're happy someone is excited about the game as much as we are.

Before we began designing Gamedec, we asked ourselves the question, "What in RPG is exciting for us?" Surprisingly, it was not the combat system, rather than the decisions we are making and how everything around us changes with them. We are trying to extract the essence of an RPG – To create a game with multiple story branches, where player choices make a difference to the game world. Such an award is always nice proof that our story will find an audience that will immerse themselves as a game detective in the 22nd century.

Unreal Engine Dev Contest 2020

Unreal Engine Dev Contest is a unique experience for everyone looking for expertise, publicity, and developers' input. We're happy to announce that we've won in two categories: Kefir's Best Game and Player One Editor's Best Game.

This reward is exciting in many ways, but having the industry's support is always a pleasant experience. It shows us that the way we wanted to go with Gamedec was the right path to follow.

It was a new experience for us, but the Eastern Europe region is known for its love for isometric RPGs, and we're honored to succeed in this market. Congrats to all other winners and nominated games. You guys rock!

Digital Dragons 2020 Indie Showcase

We have received the trophy for winning the Digital Dragons 2020 Indie Showcase!

Additionally, we were provided with a glorious PC from Actina, AMD, and Krakowski Park Technologiczny.

Once again, thank you for this award, and we promise to share this PC with some greatest minds and the most talented people at Anshar Studios :)

We're not stopping here, and be sure we will submit Gamedec to even more contests and showcases - we plan to spread the word about our game with communities, content creators, and press all around the world!

If you'd like to help us reach more people, be sure to send a link to our Steam Page to your friends; the more gamedecs in our community, the merrier!
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If you'd like to talk with our team members, want to ask a question to the Author of the Gamedecverse (Marcin S. Przybyłek), or chat with enthusiasts like you - join our Discord channel.

Stay safe!
#TeamGamedec