Almost all of our studio's productions are horrors. So it probably won't surprise any of you when we say that our team are fans of the genre. But what attracts us to them? What makes us choose stories that make our hair stand on end? What scares us in horror?

Our tastes may differ, but one thing is certain: we don't like jump scares. That's why we avoid using them in our games. However, you can find in them many interesting themes and motifs, mentioned by the members of Astrolab.

What storyline or theme are you most looking forward to in Threshold of Awakening?

It’s Jane, the lead developer at Funny Fintan Softworks, and it’s time for our October…

✨Dev Storytime✨

Today, I’m going to be talking about all of the wonderful weapons in Don’t Stop, Girlypop! and how we went about making them.



To start with, let’s talk about how we decided which weapons we wanted to include in the game and how we wanted them to work.

While I wanted Don’t Stop, Girlypop! to be stylistically different from other first-person shooters, I wanted to make sure that the archetypal guns of the genre were still represented and were as impactful as possible. The Magic Wand, for example, was inspired by the Gravity Gun archetype that’s present in shooters like Half Life 2. I used to spend a lot of time in Half Life 2 Deathmatch and Gary’s Mod just like flinging toilets and bits of wall at people using the Gravity Gun and I thought it was just so much fun, so I had to include something like it in Don’t Stop, Girlypop!

In terms of its base fire, the Bubblegun follows the machine gun archetype, but its base fire was actually inspired by It Takes Two! There’s a level in that game where one player has this waxy stuff that they can shoot out and the other player has a match stick, so one player sets up all of the wax and the other player detonates it. I realised you could combine both of these functions into one awesome gun, so the alt-fire creates sticky bubble grenades and the base fire can explode them for you.



The Nailgun is a classic archetype that I knew we needed to have in the game, because sticking an enemy to a wall is really fun. It shows up in a lot of first-person shooters, like recently in DOOM: The Dark Ages.

Similarly, I knew we couldn’t make a first-person shooter without a Shotgun. I wanted the Shotgun’s alt-fire to be a little different though, since so many FPS games go down the route of having a shotgun alt-fire that’s just a more powerful single shot, which can be useful but a bit boring. I kept thinking about the coin from ULTRAKILL and asked myself, what would be the next step up from the coin? How about a turret that shoots a lot of shots but doesn’t always hit the target? I felt like it needed to be more chaotic than the coin, so that’s how we ended up with the alt-fire being an unstable ball of portals that replicates whatever you shoot into it in a bunch of different directions.

The Railgun is another classic archetype that I knew we had to include. It’s just really satisfying to have something that does a sh❤t load of damage, but you have to wait a really long time to reload.

There is one more weapon in the game that I won’t mention here because we haven’t revealed what that is yet. No spoilers, girlypops!



When it came to the designs for the guns, we actually started out with the designs for 3 of them back when I started development almost 4 years ago! All of the guns were very different looking back then though. For example, the Railgun used to have all of these weird chemicals going into it and it had this mad scientist vibe. I decided I wanted to make the designs more unified, but that created another design problem because they ended up all being the same colour!

When I went to GDC in 2024, I met with Chris Murphy, who’s really well known online for his Unreal tutorial videos and is an expert in Unreal Engine. After playing through the demo we had for Don’t Stop, Girlypop! at the time, he mentioned that he couldn’t tell the difference between the guns at a glance. I mentioned about how we’d made sure the silhouettes of each gun were different, but he said that people generally don’t perceive shape in their peripheral vision, you mainly perceive colour. This completely changed the way that I approached gun design.

With FPS games generally, you work on silhouettes for things like enemies, items, etc., but you can’t rely on that with guns. You need that light colour change that registers in the player’s peripheral vision, because players aren’t staring at the bottom right corner of the screen where the gun is and getting a full view of the silhouette, they’re staring at the cross-hair. This obviously isn’t a concrete rule, but more of a design philosophy that Chris shared with me and that I decided to incorporate into Don’t Stop, Girlypop! This is the reason why none of the guns are the same colour and why you can’t apply the same colour to different guns in the dress-up game.

During that same chat with Chris, he also brought up the issue of having the damage multiplier being represented by a number onscreen. In that original build, your speed and damage multiplier were only shown through the numbers in the top right hand corner of the screen. He said that, as a game designer, he could tell he was doing more damage as he was moving faster, but the average player probably wouldn’t be able to. All the player can see is a number going up, so it doesn’t feel real or impactful. You need to add some visual cue to give a sense that you’re doing more damage, so that’s where I got the idea of adding more barrels to the gun as the player starts going faster. This added a lot more tactility to the movement and damage mechanic.



Alongside these design challenges, there were certain weapons that presented technical challenges that we had to overcome. In particular, the Magic Wand, you can tell it was definitely an art person decision and not a programmer decision! From a technical and mechanical perspective, it works completely differently from all of the other weapons. It doesn’t reload and it doesn’t have ammo. We had to create an entirely new physics system within the game and then put props throughout all of the levels so you always had things to throw at enemies. After testing out the prototype, I found it so much fun that I knew we had to add it! Altogether, the system took about a month to create, but I think it was worth it.

The Bubblegun was another challenging one. Creating the geometry for the sticky bubbles and having that geometry mould together was very complicated. I’ll admit, this was another crazy art request from me, which has made our programmer’s life much harder! Most of our creative process is me walking in naively thinking about how cool an idea will be while our programmer has to do all of the heavy lifting to make it a reality.

Another fun weapon-related fact is that the filigree VFX effect you see around the screen when you wave-hop was originally made for the Magic Wand. You still see a bit of them when you use the Magic Wand as well. I love this effect and it’s so beautiful, but it wasn’t easy to make at all. It took a lot longer than you might expect!



When it comes to my experience of the game, I don’t want to choose favourites because I love all of the weapons, but I have to admit that I find it really satisfying using the Magic Wand to whack enemies with crates and watch them explode. It just has so much oomph! My favourite alt-fires are probably the Shotgun Portal Ball or the Bubblegun’s Bubbles. The Portal Ball is cool because of all of the combinations and interactions you can have with it, while the Bubbles just feel super impactful! We actually tuned them down for the demo and we might have tuned them down too far, so we’ll be looking at balancing that in the final game.

My favourite combination though has to be the Shotgun alt-fire plus the Railgun because it is absolutely ridiculous. We’ve put it in a few of our trailers because of how cool it looks. You get this insane effect where like one million bright pink lights are coming out of the portal and doing stupid damage to everything around them.




https://store.steampowered.com/app/2610650/Dont_Stop_Girlypop/

🔥 Coffee & Boobs: Raiders of The Witch’s Elixir DLC is now live on Steam! 🔥

On the eve of Halloween, the most mysterious night of the year, the café Serenity is getting ready to welcome guests with the aroma of fresh coffee and a brand-new festive adventure.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4033030/Coffee__Boobs__Raiders_of_the_Witchs_Elixir

When the moon rose above the city, the café introduced a special Halloween menu – five mysterious drinks made from secret recipes. But that same night, these recipes were stolen.

You’ll have to recreate the stolen recipes and outsmart the cunning newcomer, Lucy, to save Halloween.

☕️ Total Halloween immersion

The café and its surroundings have transformed for the holiday: pumpkins, flickering lights, cobwebs, and a hint of cinnamon fill the air with the spirit of the most mysterious night of the year.

🎭 Costume parade

All the characters – from familiar faces to unexpected visitors – are dressed in unique festive outfits. Their choice of costume may reveal more than it seems.

💋 New hot scenes

Each scene is like a sip of coffee: intense, exciting, and leaving a taste you’ll want to come back to.

💫 New twists and emotions

Over the course of one unforgettable night, you’ll experience a series of surprising events that reveal new sides of the characters – and maybe discover that real magic isn’t found in potions, but in the people beside you.

Get ready for a hot night, it’s time to wake up, because what’s at stake isn’t just a few recipes, but the very magic of Halloween itself. Recreate the legendary drinks, outsmart Lucy, and prove that the real taste of the holiday is in your hands.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4033030/Coffee__Boobs__Raiders_of_the_Witchs_Elixir

The shadows are lengthening, the wind carries whispers, and the veil between reality and nightmare grows thinner… It’s Halloween, and there’s no better time to immerse yourself in the twisted, terrifying world of BrokenLore.

For those brave enough to experience it, Brokenlore: Don’t Watch isn’t just a game - it’s a descent into fear. Every corner hides a secret, every shadow something you’d rather ignore… but you can’t look away. It’s a journey where curiosity may be your worst enemy, and the consequences of seeing something that you shouldn't linger far longer than they should...

But the horror doesn’t stop there. The next chapter, Brokenlore: Don’t Lie, is ever creeping closer, ready to unravel even darker secrets. It’s a story of deceit, betrayal, and the horrifying things people hide when they think no one is watching...

What you should do (if you dare):

• Wishlist Brokenlore: Don’t Lie on Steam to be the first to uncover its dark mysteries.

• Follow us on social media for chilling updates, sneak peeks, and spine-tingling behind-the-scenes content.

• Revisit Don’t Watch… but remember, some things are better left unseen.

This Halloween, embrace the fear. Let curiosity guide you… and maybe regret it forever. The Brokenlore series is waiting, and once you step inside, there’s no turning back.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3886200/BrokenLore_DONT_LIE/

Follow us on

X : https://x.com/BrokenLoreGames

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/brokenloregames/

Tiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@brokenloregames

Event Chapters have arrived. Unlock rewards, celebrate the harvest, and bake the ultimate Thanksgiving Apple Pie!

Hey hey semibots!

As of yesterday, the MONSTER UPDATE has been released upon the world, with 10 brand new monsters, new mechanics and other new fun stuff to enjoy! In today’s devlog, we’re going through the main additions of the update, while also showing you an in-depth BEHIND THE SCENES of the creation of our live action launch trailer!

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https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3241660/view/511846967442148737

• It is currently FREE WEEKEND, which means you can play R.E.P.O. for free until November 3rd!
  (after that you have to buy the game as normal)
  
• We have a Discord Quest active, check it out here: https://discordapp.com/quests/1432436088508780675
  
• Last chance to get the SEMIBOT outfit in Fortnite!

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Bye bye!
/semiwork

Today, we’re excited to share one of the projects we’ve been working on for the upcoming 1.57 update. A small part of our Vehicles team has been reworking the selectable company logos that you can choose when first creating your driver profile, along with the matching company paint jobs available for your truck and trailer. Let’s take a closer look at the designs and the work involved!

Matej and Tomáš from our Vehicles Team have been at the forefront of this project, bringing new designs to life. We asked them a few questions to learn about this project. Matej explained how the idea first came about “The idea basically came from our shared vision of reworking the UI and various elements that we’ve been updating over the last few patches. So, we decided to get involved and created more modern company logos, which will be available in both ATS and ETS2, as well as matching company paintjobs for trucks and trailers, which are coming to Euro Truck Simulator 2 in this update.”

Once the concept was agreed upon, work began on reimagining the logos and the corresponding paint jobs. This was no small task, and required careful collaboration between different members of the team. “We’ve been working on the new logos and the paintjobs for several months, mainly as a duo with my good colleague and friend, Tomáš V” Matej continues. “Together with our whole paintjob department, we wanted to make sure every single paintjob fits as best as possible with the specific shapes of different truck cabins, paintable accessories and box trailers, doubles, tankers, or dumpers.”

The design vision behind this refresh was rooted in both modernisation and preservation. Tomáš shared more about their approach: “Since the existing paintjobs have been available to our players since 2016, our main goal was definitely to make them more modern and realistic. At the same time, we felt it was important not to change the overall look of the paintjobs and logos too much from the originals. We really wanted players to still feel a sense of nostalgia and connection in our modern reinterpretation.”

Alongside the visual improvements, the update also introduces more flexibility for player customisation. “We also wanted to give players more customization options, so all our new paintjobs now come with the option to use the RGB colour picker” Matej adds. “This gives every player the choice to either set their own preferred colours or choose from our pre-selected preset combinations.”

We’re excited for you to experience the refreshed company logos and paintjobs when version 1.57 rolls out. Whether you’re starting a brand-new profile or giving your current company a fresh new look, we think you’ll enjoy the modernised designs while still recognising their classic charm.


Matej leaves us with one last hint for our community “Our American Truck Simulator players haven’t been forgotten, they can look forward to an update in the future too!” We hope you enjoy the design of these reworked company logos and paint jobs, planned to arrive with the 1.57 update.

Let us know what you think! We’d love to hear your comments on social media, our official forums, and in the blog comments below. We look forward to sharing more exciting news in the future. Until next time, keep on truckin’!

Hey everyone! While I’m continuing to work on improvements after the last update, some of them have already been added to the game:

• Fixed clipping between certain clothing elements.

• Fixed a bug that allowed players to duplicate an item in the inventory.

• Corrected a few spelling errors on in-game textures.

• Fixed an issue where the player could interact with some objects through walls.

• Fixed a problem where the game appeared too dark when running on DX11 instead of DX12.

It’s important to understand that Lunar Eclipse was originally developed and optimized for DX12. DX11 support remains as a legacy compatibility option. You can still use it to improve performance on lower-end systems, but it doesn’t deliver the same visual quality or feature set as DX12

In the previous update, there was a mistake on my side that caused the image to appear significantly darker when running on DX11. This issue has now been fixed — visuals in DX11 mode should look almost the same as they did before version 0.40.0.

Thank you all for your continued support! I’m currently working on a few more improvements planned for next week — including a more convenient item interaction system, where a small marker will light up near objects as you approach, making it easier to notice interactable items.

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2953480/Lunar_Eclipse/

Hello detectives, With Samhain approaching, the veil is thinning between our land and the lands of the Otherworld. We thought this would be a propitious time to share some traditions and stories with you.

The silent dinner, known as Dumb Supper is a meal eaten in total silence to honour and commune with the dead. The silence creates an atmosphere of respect and calm, allowing for a connection with the spirit world.

Empty places are set for invited spirits or ancestors to join. These are often draped in cloth with candles or belongings of the deceased. Traditionally autumn harvest foods are served or particular favourite of departed loved ones.

The meal itself is a fortune telling event with colcannon made from curly kale and bairín breac lying host to small items and coins to signify the fortunes of the finder in the coming year.

At the end of the meal, messages written on notes may be burned in a candle flame to send them to the other side. The uneaten food from the spirit plate is often placed outside as an offering to the spirits or nature spirits.

Known to be a mischievous and often terrifying spirit, the Púca is a shapeshifting spirit from Celtic mythology.

Although often known as a trickster it is said that the Púca will steal away children. During the festival of Samhain children are dressed in costumes and masks that hide their true faces and natures, confusing the spirit and protecting them from being taken away.

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Also known as The Cave of Cats or The Morrigan’s Cave, Oweynagat is thought to be a portal to the Otherworld that monsters and spirits use as a gateway to the land of the living during Samhain.

The site is considered to be “Ireland’s Gate to Hell” and is open to the public. Would you be brave enough to visit on Samhain?

A grim tale that is said to mark the first Halloween.

Ttlachtga, a daughter of a powerful druid known as Mog Ruith died on the Hill of Ward giving birth to 3 sons. Her story can be read in more detail https://mythicalireland.com/blogs/news/tlachtga-mythology-and-archaeology-of-irelands-most-important-samhain-fire-festival-site.

We would also love to see any carved turnips you create during the Samhain festival. Share them on our Discord, Bluesky or Twitter and our favourite will win a copy of The Séance of Blake Manor.

Winners announced on Monday 3 November.

The Séance of Blake Manor is OUT NOW
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1395520/The_Sance_of_Blake_Manor/

Hey everyone!
We’re beyond excited to finally announce that Infect Cam will officially launch on November 17! 🎉

Watch the official Release Date Trailer:

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Step into the chaos of a world on the brink. Fight desperately to find a cure for a relentless disease.

Unique Perspective — Experience combat and exploration entirely through your camera lens.

Fast-Paced FPS Gameplay — Combine tactical shooting with exploration and story-driven tension.

Dark Story — Uncover the truth behind an infection.

Join the Community!

Add Infect Cam to your Wishlist

Join our Discord:
Discord

Follow us for updates and behind-the-scenes:
Instagram | Twitter / X

From the Devs

We’ve poured our hearts into Infect Cam over the past years, and we can’t wait to finally share it with you.

Your support, wishlists, and feedback mean the world to us — thank you for being part of this journey.

See you on release day, survivors.

— RAVENHOLM INTERACTIVE