You complained. We listened.
Greetings, everyone! I bring you a juicy update, possibly the last one before launch 👀
Quite a few topics to discuss, so let's get started, shall we?
First, to confirm the following: we were planning to launch an updated demo today during Next Fest, but decided to hold on for the time being. Every day counts now, and we're applying coats of polish and fixing bugs everywhere. While the demo was quite fine overall, it still had a few kinks to work out (ie: new intro not color graded yet), so I preferred to have the team keep focusing towards launch.
Technically speaking, we already participated in a Next Fest years ago, and we might launch the demo next week in case you want to verify the game runs well on your device.
When we removed the planned localizations from the store page as we wanted to launch ASAP, there were sad faces 😔
I don't like sad faces, so we put in motion an extremely ambitious plan with a group of translators we've been in touch with over the years. As I'm writing this, the localization strike team is sending me translated documents that we're already implementing.
How many languages, you ask? Here's the confirmed list:
While there's always the possibility that some of these might not make it exactly by launch since it's a tight deadline, we're talking about a potential delay of mere days. See and marvel at how the language selection works:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Hopefully this news will prompt more happy faces 😄
Because there's no better sign of an imminent launch than recording voice overs. We're so satisfied with how the script turned out, that we licensed a technology called Speech Graphics to improve the lip sync of our characters. You can see and hear it in action in this video:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
I know it's not AAA, but it's still a far cry than anything we ever did in this area for ASYLUM. Also, we're aware that the protagonist sounds rather flat in this conversation, and we're doing retakes. There's a sweet spot that's difficult to achieve here, since you're an ex-patient after all and meant to sound like a hollow blank slate. But just so you know, it's on our radar.
One more cool moment for you to check out:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
After a lot of thought, I've decided the launch price will be... *drum roll*... $24.99. With a 10% discount during the first week, and regional tweaks for certain countries.
People tell me this is awfully cheap, but we're not in this for the money — just the fame and glory.
There's been lots and LOTS of work on the sound design department. This was the #1 feedback from the earlier demo and internal testing, and we addressed it. It's a massive improvement across the board, with a fully revised soundtrack, weird ambient noises, screams, sploshes, gooey stuff... The Hanwell Mental Institute is now fully alive and breathing. Check out a short clip of your upcoming visit to the high-risk section here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
One more thing: recently followers in our social networks sent us a series of questions that I responded in a recorded video. It was very well received, more than I expected, so here goes in case you folks want to take a listen. It's 30-mins long. There's insights about the development of ASYLUM, Scratches tidbits, gamedev advices, and news about what's coming next from us:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
And with system requirements! We confirmed these just today. The ones that were listed until now were a bit dated, but the good news is that it's not a dramatic difference. Basically, a 10-year-old PC will manage just fine.
Check them out for yourself, and also do note the amazing new GIFs 🤓
https://store.steampowered.com/app/230210/ASYLUM/
And... that's it! I'm sorry if you were expecting today's Next Fest demo, but hang on in there — just a few more days!
-Agustín
Quite a few topics to discuss, so let's get started, shall we?
Steam Next Fest
First, to confirm the following: we were planning to launch an updated demo today during Next Fest, but decided to hold on for the time being. Every day counts now, and we're applying coats of polish and fixing bugs everywhere. While the demo was quite fine overall, it still had a few kinks to work out (ie: new intro not color graded yet), so I preferred to have the team keep focusing towards launch.
Technically speaking, we already participated in a Next Fest years ago, and we might launch the demo next week in case you want to verify the game runs well on your device.
Localizations
When we removed the planned localizations from the store page as we wanted to launch ASAP, there were sad faces 😔
I don't like sad faces, so we put in motion an extremely ambitious plan with a group of translators we've been in touch with over the years. As I'm writing this, the localization strike team is sending me translated documents that we're already implementing.
How many languages, you ask? Here's the confirmed list:
- French
- German
- Greek
- Italian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
While there's always the possibility that some of these might not make it exactly by launch since it's a tight deadline, we're talking about a potential delay of mere days. See and marvel at how the language selection works:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Hopefully this news will prompt more happy faces 😄
Voice overs!
Because there's no better sign of an imminent launch than recording voice overs. We're so satisfied with how the script turned out, that we licensed a technology called Speech Graphics to improve the lip sync of our characters. You can see and hear it in action in this video:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
I know it's not AAA, but it's still a far cry than anything we ever did in this area for ASYLUM. Also, we're aware that the protagonist sounds rather flat in this conversation, and we're doing retakes. There's a sweet spot that's difficult to achieve here, since you're an ex-patient after all and meant to sound like a hollow blank slate. But just so you know, it's on our radar.
One more cool moment for you to check out:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Price confirmed
After a lot of thought, I've decided the launch price will be... *drum roll*... $24.99. With a 10% discount during the first week, and regional tweaks for certain countries.
People tell me this is awfully cheap, but we're not in this for the money — just the fame and glory.
More goodies
There's been lots and LOTS of work on the sound design department. This was the #1 feedback from the earlier demo and internal testing, and we addressed it. It's a massive improvement across the board, with a fully revised soundtrack, weird ambient noises, screams, sploshes, gooey stuff... The Hanwell Mental Institute is now fully alive and breathing. Check out a short clip of your upcoming visit to the high-risk section here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
One more thing: recently followers in our social networks sent us a series of questions that I responded in a recorded video. It was very well received, more than I expected, so here goes in case you folks want to take a listen. It's 30-mins long. There's insights about the development of ASYLUM, Scratches tidbits, gamedev advices, and news about what's coming next from us:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Finally... Store page update!
And with system requirements! We confirmed these just today. The ones that were listed until now were a bit dated, but the good news is that it's not a dramatic difference. Basically, a 10-year-old PC will manage just fine.
Check them out for yourself, and also do note the amazing new GIFs 🤓
https://store.steampowered.com/app/230210/ASYLUM/
And... that's it! I'm sorry if you were expecting today's Next Fest demo, but hang on in there — just a few more days!
-Agustín