TGO Daily | October 22 | Eric Barone's Next Game
✏️ From the Author
Today is a huge day for indies! Couldn’t be happier to see so many positive stories around some great developers.
I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt like I generally enjoy indie games more. Maybe it’s just because they’ve traditionally been cheaper games, which meant that I got into them more often as a cash-strapped teenager. Either way, seeing new things from established game makes me all warm inside :)
Until tomorrow,
— Adrian
📰 In The News
1. Eric Barone’s next game
Eric Barone, famed solo developer of Stardew Valley, has revealed his newest game: ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier.
The game puts the player in the shoes of a chocolate-maker — collecting ingredients, making sweets, and running a shop to sell it all. It also takes place in a haunted castle with ghosts — a combination that makes for an extremely cozy aesthetic. As described in the blog (which you should definitely read if you’re interested in the game):
“Chocolate represents that which is delightful. The haunted castle represents the allure of the unknown. The ghosts represent the imprint of the past. All of these things are important. However, don’t think for a moment that, because this game features ghosts in a haunted castle, it is an evil or negative game. On the contrary, I intend for this game to be positive, uplifting and life-affirming. However, if Stardew Valley mostly channeled the energy of the sun, Haunted Chocolatier channels the energy of the moon. Both are vital.”
The trailer shared above reaffirms the premise. Visually, it looks like a lot like Stardew Valley. Much of the UI is the same, and it appears as though many of the mechanics are similar as well. The social aspects has certainly remained — it shows a character walking through a town and interacting with NPCs. Though, the game is still very much a work in progress:
“While the video I put together may look like the game is at an advanced stage of development, there is still a ton of stuff to do. And the way I work, things often don’t come together until the final moments. I tend to work with a “vertical slice” approach, and so it’s easy to put together some video that looks like a finished game. But there is a ton of content I still need to make. So, please understand that it will be a while before this game is done. I’m going to be working on it as much as I can, though.”
No release dates or platforms have been confirmed, as its still likely to be a number of years out.
💭Adrian’s Thoughts: I’m extremely happy to see Barone moving on from Stardew into something new. He mentions in his blog post that this is him going “unleashed” into new ideas, which I think is exactly what’s needed for a follow up. Hopefully he can capture that same magic!
2. Epic Games publishing partners with Spry Fox
Epic Games announced yesterday that they are partnering with two indie studios “currently in the early stages of developing their original titles.” The first is EYES OUT, a brand new studio led by Spec Ops designer Cory Davis.
More interestingly, they also came to an agreement with Spry Fox, the developers of recent hit Cozy Grove. In a similar vein to Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, Cozy Grove is a life-sim that has a very wholesome vibe. Following its success, they’ll now work with Epic “to build its most ambitious title to date, a multiplatform, non-violent, persistent multiplayer game designed to encourage friendship and reduce loneliness in the world. The title will support crossplay and cross-progression.”
Why it matters: An indie developer getting publisher funding for a game is always a good thing. It helps ensure that creative and unique games are able to come to life, and with success will help studios really thrive in the long term.
3. The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Reviews
The next installment of The Dark Pictures Anthology releases today, and reviews are now available.
Destructoid provides a good intro:
“At this point, I feel like we know what to expect from The Dark Pictures Anthology, a sometimes spooky, sometimes campy, always better-with-friends series of standalone cinematic horror-adventure games. You’re either in, or you’re out — or you’re waiting for a complete collection, which, three games in with House of Ashes, still feels pretty far off.”
Along those lines, critics either enjoyed or disliked the game depending on how willing they were to “buy in” to the franchise. Eurogamer enjoyed it, while understanding that not everyone will. GamesRadar ran out of patience, while still calling it a decent game.
“In many respects, you know exactly what you’re getting with The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes. It’s a QTE-filled horrorfest that is often stretching against the limitations of its budget. The script could use some polish and the characters could be a little more outside the box. However, the claustrophobic scares work effectively, and the central mystery of House of Ashes signifies a return to what fans loved about Until Dawn. It gives us a tantalizing look at what could be coming in the future”
4. Terraria / Don’t Starve collab teased
This is a pretty small story, but I thought I should share it in the spirit of today’s celebration of indie games.
A short teaser has been provided by the teams of Terraria and Don’t Starve, indicating some kind of collaboration! These are two very great and very popular indie games that seemingly don’t have much in common, but a lot of people are excited to see work together.
It’s especially interesting because the Terraria team had already confirmed that they weren’t going to be adding more content to the game. That means this likely won’t be an extensive update, but its still interesting!
💡 Worth A Look
📅 Events & Releases!
October 26: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, NASCAR 21: Ignition
October 28: Age of Empires IV, Riders Republic, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
October 29: Mario Party Superstars
🔥 Thank You!
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