Hi everyone.
So, where to start... Seeing the negative reviews has been really hard. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, and I’m not going to pretend it hasn’t hit us emotionally. Making games is such a vulnerable thing. It feels like sharing something personal, something you love, something that comes from you, and then hoping people enjoy it. We put so much love, time, testing, and care into this game. We really did try our absolute best with the resources and team size we have.
We are only five indie devs. I am not saying that as an excuse, I really hope it does not come across that way. I just want to explain where we are coming from. We tested the game over and over, especially the microphone calibration. We tried different microphones, different software setups, got help from friends and family, and on our end it was working great, like, it genuinely was. And honestly, we had so much fun playing and testing it together. We really believed in it. But when your whole game mechanic relies on a microphone, there are so many edge cases you can never fully prepare for. Every setup is different. Every mic behaves differently. There are so many variables. We did do our best, even if it might not seem like that right now.
And I am so sorry to anyone who feels disappointed or frustrated. It hurts to read that. Truthfully, I have cried over this because it means a lot to us. Anyone who knows our team knows how much passion we put into everything we make. Maybe we missed the mark here in some places. Maybe we could have explained some things better or caught more issues before launch. We are human, and we are learning.
In the end, we just wanted to offer you all a fun, simple horror experience with a cool twist using the microphone mechanic that you could enjoy with friends, at a price point we felt was fair and accessible for what the game is. And maybe we did not think everything through as clearly as we should have. The multiplayer version of DON’T SCREAM has been one of the most requested things from the community, and we made this version for you because you asked for it. We believed we could take the original idea and build something special to share with your friends. But now we are learning, the hard way, that what works great as a single-player tension experience does not always translate perfectly into multiplayer without its own challenges.
That realisation has been painful, because the intention truly came from a place of wanting to give you what you asked for. We tried to deliver something fun, something different, something you could laugh and panic through together. Even if we stumbled in the process, the heart behind it was genuine. I also want to say that I really did try my hardest to explain what this game actually is. It is not a traditional horror game with a story, missions, or complex puzzles. It is a very simple jumpscare experience with friends, and I tried my best to communicate that clearly from day one. I wrote a Before You Buy FAQ, made announcements, updated the page, and did everything I could think of to set expectations honestly, because you work hard for your money and I wanted you to know exactly what you were buying. Even on the Steam page I clearly say the game is incredibly simple and explain exactly what you do in the game, but it feels like a lot of people skimmed past that or it just did not come across the way I hoped. So seeing people upset because it was not what they expected has been really disheartening, especially because I genuinely tried to be as open and upfront as possible. I want to be clear that I am not blaming anyone for this. If anything, I feel like I failed to communicate the game well enough, and that has been hard to accept.
But... We can sit here feeling sad, or we can learn from this and grow. And we want to grow. We want to take this experience, as tough as it has been, and use it to become better developers. We are not running away from the criticism. We are taking it on the chin, accepting it, and doing what we can to improve the game. This launch has taught us a lot, and we are choosing to use it to get better, not bitter.
Here is what we are already working on: (Hotfix has been pushed)
Mic calibration
We saw the automatic calibration being too sensitive for some players. We released a hotfix with a mic input slider to help with certain mics and setups. A lot of people also did not realise you can switch to manual calibration if the automatic option does not work well. We are improving how this is communicated, but for now, make sure to click the small arrows to change the calibration mode to Manual. The image below shows exactly where to find it.
HOTFIX: • Added Mic Input Scale option to the Manual Threshold menu. Players can use this to lower their mic input level, which helps with lower quality mics or setups without pop-filters. • Set Retry Mode to be enabled by default in Settings > Accessibility, so players can call out false positives more easily. • Fixed an issue where some mic calibration settings were not saving properly for new users.
• Fixed hunters getting stuck in the watchtower during the tutorial.
Thank you to everyone who gave our small horror game a chance. Thank you to those who shared feedback honestly, even when it was hard to read. It all matters. We love making games. It is what we care about deeply. We are not perfect, and we will not always get everything right, but we are listening, we are learning. Thank you again, truly. I will speak to you all soon.
Digital Cybercherries | Joe
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