Weather Factory

We announced a number of biggies this sprint. We’ve signed with Humble Bundle, who are publishing Cultist Simulator; we released the Adept’s Build, along with several hotfixes; we won our first award!

(Cultist Simulator won ‘Best Game Design’ in the Emotional Games Awards 2018, and apparently we get a bust and everything. I have to order it from France, where the awards were held, because obviously we didn’t go because obviously it was totally nuts to think we’d win when we were up against the likes of Hellblade, INSIDE and Pyre, but apparently AK’s, like, really good now and stuff, so there you are. It’s AK’s first design award, and I am extremely proud of him.)

I pushed our GOG store page live, as well as updating Steam with new screenshots and graphics. I’ve also commissioned sound effects from the excellent SFX studio Soundcuts – I’ve worked with them before on Zubmariner and Sunless Skies – and started our video marquise Vanessa off on our Super Secret Launch Trailer, Whose Date You Definitely Don’t Yet Know. But I’m just saying: tune in to the Kickstarter live stream on Thursday 31st May for reasons that are in no way related.

I also designed a number of new aspects which should make recipes and combinations clearer. It’s worth taking a moment to specify the difference between principles and aspects, as they’re something I’ve seen elided in our Discord and Steam forums a bit.

• Principles are our nine governing powers in the narrative: Grail, Heart, Forge, Lantern, Edge, Knock, Winter, Moth, Secret Histories.
• Aspects are the small, runic-looking icons in the bottom of verb and inspection windows, which tell you about the hidden essence of a thing. They are the scraps of knowledge beneath the skin of the world. Sometimes these actually show principles; sometimes they show things like ‘Desire’ or ‘Scholar: Aramaic’.

Here’re some newbies that went in this sprint…

AK’s been focused on locations and expeditions, which are specific to the Explorer’s Build, and one of our last remaining bits of Big Content yet to go into the game. He talked a bit about them here, earlier in the week. No more shall that Explore verb remain chained to Strathcoyne’s comburent library! Soon, you shall MARVEL at the Cave of Candles, flickering and sly; TIPTOE through the ruins of the Chateau Raveline; and BRAVE St Trento of the Deep Door, like the beastied mere of Beowulf:

Here’s some actual text from the game, which is I guess what you are even here for, not worm-eaten Anglo-Saxon poetry. This is your introduction to Fort Geryk, a ramshackle fortress in the remote Evening Isles:

“Three hundred years ago, a rapacious empire claimed an island ripe with tourmalines. Neither the empire nor the island are mentioned in any reputable history. But the governor’s fortress remains. Perhaps his treasures remain. For that matter, perhaps he does, too.”

AK’s also been working with Sarah on a number of Hours cards: the Beach-Crow, the Lionsmith; the Velvet; the Malachite. Most of these are still in progress, but we have confirmed our final Velvet, whom I present to you in smol form below!

Finally, I leave you with news that IRL I turned an Acquaintance into a Follower, triumphing over the powers of Winter. From this, my ill-fated attempt to keep animals alive during the Greenwich Snows…

to the one, the only…

♥ ~ B I R B S Y ~ ♥

(Artist’s impression. He’s a goddamn birb so photography is HARD.)

He comes to visit my office quite a lot and together we shall start a cult called the Winged Worm and make it really hard for you to set that slider in Cultist Simulator‘s options menu. Thank you and goodnight.