As the end of the year approaches, I'm starting to get a little sentimental. So I'd like to thank you, the fans of Dreadline Express, recap the past, and outline the future.
How can I put this... You are breathtaking! Dreadline is a game that requires a great deal of attention and concentration from the player. And my jaw drops every time we exhibit the game somewhere, and you are willing to spend an hour playing it, stand in line for 40 minutes or more, fully immerse yourself in the world of the last human train, and experience my story with me.
Thank you! I wish you a happy New Year and look forward to embarking on this journey together.
2024
Development began in early 2024. The first year was a year of finding its feet. There was a lot of conceptualization and a lot of testing. Each day, I was learning something new about the thing I was creating, until a solid framework for the game emerged. The idea was validated by the first public presentation at GDS Prague, where the game attracted many visitors. One of them was one of my personal heroes, Dead Space author Glen Schofield, with whom I'm in contact to this day.
GDS Prague 2024 was a life-changing experience.
The central idea proved beyond expectations and turned out to be more viable than I had expected. I abandoned my original plan to make the game almost entirely on my own and started building a team of artists. It became clear to me that Dreadline needed higher-quality audiovisuals than I could ever achieve by myself.
Current state vs. the first presented version.
2025
This year has been a year of stabilization. The production quality of the game has improved dramatically, the rough edges have been smoothed out, and the confidence to show the game more has grown. Brno, Berlin, and Prague—players have been able to try out the game in all of these places.
The Best Game Award at Game Access 2025. I nearly collapsed.
The response and success that followed took my breath away. Awards for Best Game at Game Access 2024, Editor's Choice award from GDS 2025. Interviews, newspaper articles, streams. But the best part is you—all the wonderful people who are rooting for Dreadline Express and looking forward to my story. Thank you!
The #Indiecember stream was full of encouraging comments!
What comes next
Easier said than done, but I’d like to finish the game! Dreadline was never intended to be a three-year project, but I decided to give it as much time as it needs to flourish. Now it's time to wrap things up.
A sneak peek of one of the new cards! I'm in love with this one!
2026 is a big year, as there is quite a lot to work on, improve, and complete as Dreadline makes its way to a full release. The story is pretty much set, the scope is defined, and my team is operating smoothly. However, we all know that the final phase is the most demanding.
There's nothing too special about the script, but it's certainly outlined.
It's probably worth mentioning that the game isn't my full-time job. It's being developed in my free time, and the same applies to other team members. I am investing my own resources in this project, and I would therefore like to ask for your support.
Playtest
I am planning to do a public playtest sometime next year which I hope you will all join. Your level of involvement will determine the final quality of the game. Please follow the game and join the Reddit and Discord channels to make sure you don't miss out!
Localization
Another thing is that I will have to decide which languages to translate the game into. The way it usually works is that you look at the number of wishlists per country and choose languages according to interest. However, to make this benchmark relevant, I first need to translate the Steam page into as many languages as possible. To be honest, I will probably need to use machine translation for this task, but I'm asking you first! If you want the game to be in your language, I would love your help with community localization of the Steam page. Don't hesitate to reach out to me!
Any support is really appreciated. Even simply sharing the game with a friend can make all the difference. If you dig Dreadline Express, let the world know! For us, enthusiastic indie developers, you are everything we have.
From left: Dejvys, Jirka, me, Krystof, Andrii - part of the best Dreadline Express team.
The whole team and I thank you from the depths of our grease-filled hearts! Happy New Year!
- David