Renowned Explorers: International Society News

[p](Psst, before we start... Be sure to follow Abbey on Steam if you want to stay in touch with us!)

Oh sweet mother of God, remember 2015? Remember?! When you picked up Renowned Explorers, even though (*checks early reviews) it looked like a "Mobile Game"? That is 10 years ago.[/p][p][/p][h2]Ten years!![/h2][p][/p][p]It was the year of Jurassic World. Woke was still woke. A time before the great plague, and before all the other plagues too. Old people didn't find the real internet yet. We did extensive marketing on Facebook back then, which worked just as well as it does today.

This shark had a tough time in 2015. Did he know that in 2015, we arrived at the apex of modern humanity? Did he peeked into the future, and thought "Snap snap, it's all downhill from here. Let's dance for the lost future, Katy". [/p][p][/p][p]2015, what a time to be alive. In 2256, when Renowned Explorers 2 is finally anounced on your Google Brainslurper, the explorers will be cybersurfers in the year 2015. They will be exploring the memes and greenlit games that showcase the best the internet had to offer. [/p][p][/p][h3]10 years Renowned Explorers[/h3][p]But what a ride for Renowned Explorers! You all by now know that we almost croaked under Renowned Explorers failure at launch. Only by the blessings of St. Totalbiscuit that Abbey Games survive. Together with the community we ran community challenges, our bi-weekly source of joy! [/p][p][/p][p]We created two expansions with more fun for you to explore. Campfires. Islands, Vases to break. It was glorious. Glorious.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]But everything that starts, must end. Renowned Explorers, even though it's beloved by many of those who give the damn game a try, was never going to be big enough to support our mortal coils. We had to move on, and so we went to make Godhood. It was very hard, and it didn't work out the way we wanted. So as a last shot at keeping making games, we made Reus 2. Luckily, that one is doing well for us! (Because it's a good game, folks). [/p][p]Even now, we always have to come to the conclusion that Renowned Explorers was never really meant to be. Godhood - which we consider our weakest game - still outperforms Renowned Explorers 4 to 1 in 2025. Renowned Explorers might have the personality, but it doesn't have the face. It's the harsh reality of making video games for a living.

But it is still in our hearts. As are you, who have pushed us and Renowned Explorers to places we couldn't have imagined 1 day after release.

So here comes my attempt to befriend you:

[/p][p][/p][p]We often think back to Renowned Explorers. We had so much fun in that period, a time with a lot of creativity and unawareness of market restraints that were forming on Steam. A time with a lot of fun, and a beautiful group of players that made the game alive for everyone.

We're honored you all allowed us to do this. That you laughed at my dumb writing with even dumber spelling, loved our characters, and pushed the adventure forward. It was amazing having fun with you.

[/p][p]From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Keep adventuring, keep learning, and keep a lighthearted love for the world.[/p][p][/p][p]....[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]No, we're not wrapping up Abbey Games! We're even working on something new! It's in the earliest of phases, but who knows... this might be up your alley as well?
Be sure to follow us on Steam if you want to stay in touch with us! Who knows, maybe we'll meet each other at the next adventure!

- All the best from the Abbey[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

Hello good people!

Maybe you’ve heard it before, maybe it’s the first time you hear it: Next week on the 28th of May our newest game Reus 2 will hit the Steams! We’re happy to see the lessons we’ve learned from Renowned Explorers and Godhood put together into Reus to create a true fresh new Abbey Game!

Except what you can expect from us: depth, colorfulness, and a playful heart.

[h2]Ok, but why didn’t you create Renowned Explorers 2!?[/h2]
I get this question so often, I feel I need to elaborate more.

Photo of Abbey Games trying to defend not working on RE:IS 2 on MonkeyCon, colorized

Renowned Explorers was a creative success. We loved working on it, and we love the game. Every game we made has something special, but for me Renowned Explorers is very special.

However Renowned Explorers doesn’t sell well and was expensive to make. There are too many good games in the roguelite, storylike, turn based genre. It’s also a very odd game: most of you had no idea what you were getting into except if you were enlightened by the eternal TotalBiscuit. Without him, Abbey Games would’ve been long gone after the release of Renowned Explorers. We got families to feed, and we got to make business choices.

To add, Renowned Explorers has more words than War & Peace. It has 3 layers of gameplay that all have their own art, code and UX. It’s a lot to make. We would need to seriously rethink what Renowned Explorers can be in this day and age.

And it has definitely nothing to do with raccoons.


[h2]Take the next step with us[/h2]
Regardless, we’re super excited about Reus 2! It’s a big step for us, and we’re very happy with the result. Of course we want to share it with you who have been supporting us for all that time. It’s a major step up from the original, and we think you should give it a look! We hope you’ll find that Abbey vibe in there!

In any case, we’re grateful for your support in the past years. It’s a privilege to have a shot at entertaining you with our silly ideas. We hope for many more years of colorful creativity!

- Adriaan and the monks at the Abbey

In the previous tales, we shared stories of the start of Abbey Games. Today, we share about the exciting exploration of Renowned Explorers!

One thing was certain; The Abbey was filled with chaotic energy! All the monks, old and new, sat together and basically mashed ideas together to see what would come out. A big difference from the four that basically set the line for Reus! It's safe to say the game went in all kind of directions! It was going to be an action RPG! No, an RTS! No! A turn based game! No, a fighter!(?) One of the early mock ups of Renowned Explorers.

Not only the game was an adventure, we even started making our own tech: AbbeyCore. It was an engine made from scratch. All these factors gave us a lot of fun, but also little to show in one year. And we only had one year left to make something! Safe to say, things were getting hot.... It was time to get serious... Our attempt to getting serious.

The monks double downed on the events, treasures and characters, while keeping the encounters interesting and fresh. Of course, there was still room for fun. One event had the dialogue of an... adult... movie (without obscenity, think of Hildegard!) as a test case. However, it did got sent for review by our editors, who were kind of puzzled on what this whole dialogue was about! Also, have you ever tried clicking on Earl's portrait in an encounter? You should. ;)

The release of Renowned Explorers was rocky at first, but a tight community and the helping hand of a legendary reviewer helped the game to climb to the top! Would the Abbey even still be making games without that review? Maybe we would've switched to the darkside, creating AbbeyCoin or NFT's. Luckily, we don't live in that timeline!
A museum of your pieces, that sadly never made it.

We learned a lot from Renowned Explorers; The humor and character of Renowned Explorers is an important thing for our current secret project! But after two expansions and a lot of fun creating stories and characters, it was time to move to the next game. The development of Renowned Explorers already showed some cracks in the walls of the Abbey, but Godhood would really force us to define ourselves.

Tune in next Monday to see the third chapter of our tales at the news section of the Godhood page!


P.S. If you want to chat with us, feel free to join our Discord or follow the Abbey Games Developer!

- Fixed ice-cream van in Egypt.
- Fixed some missing images.
- Fixed a number of spelling errors.
- Removed outdated Godhood announcement in main menu.

Dear Renowned Explorers!

It is time to end the much loved Community Challenges with a bang! The amazing Challenge Organizers, said to be descendants of Pinkerton himself, have one final enormous challenge ready for you! Not a random number either; it will be the 200th community challenge!

Challenge #200: The Award Ceremony

Of course, we would humbly want to thank all of the Challenge Organizers for their amazing effort. Without them, Renowned Explorers wouldn't be half this vibrant and loved. We are honored to have had such amazing fans helping us out for so long!

Now why would you participate in such a challenge? Well, not only is it the moment to show off one of your many renowned talents. No my good Explorer, it is also a way to eternalize your achievement with a unique wooden figurine that you can win by leading one of the 15 categories!



[h3]The event runs for 3 weeks. Meet your rivals! Discuss strategies, but keep your ace up your sleeve! Impress your dog/love-interest/country with astonishing discoveries. Beat that French clown, and claim your title as most Renowned Explorer!![/h3]