Hi Everybody,
We would like to start by saying thank you to all the kind words and support people have showed us since our last post.
Unfortunately after an initial boost in sales, things have slowed down and we are only at 15% of the total amount we need to carry on, with Snoring Dog Games likely to close it's doors in June and The Flayed Man delisted (although if it's in your Library you can play it forever).
The Flayed Man sits in 36,000 libraries and has been played by 4000 players with 96% positive reviews. It's clear that players have enjoyed our game and we're hoping that by sharing the games we would to make, it might help nudge you to helping support our studio through purchase of our Supporter Pack.
It Waits In The Abyss - Sci-Fi Point and Click Horror
Prior to my current day job I served in the military as a submariner, which is where the seeds of the idea for It Waits In The Abyss came from. It Waits In The Abyss takes in place in the future not too far from our own which has been ravaged by tactical nuclear conflict. The world's surviving nations receive a mysterious signal from a rift created during the wars, and pool together there resources to send a submarine to investigate. Things get much worse from there.
The game would feature 12 end, determined by hidden values based on your actions and how you speak to others, with the final third of the game determined by a secret counter. The submarine would take a similar concept as Event Horizon and be based on Westminster Cathedral, with influences from the horror drawing on Barker and Lovecraft.
This is a dream game and not something we expected to deliver straight away (although if we sold 5000 copies we could!)
The Hunger Pit - Point and Click Horror
If you loved The Flayed Man, you'll love this one. Dark religious Barker-type horror, mixed with concepts and artwork straight out of a Bosch painting! It takes place in a Leper Colony which has seemingly been abandoned. You play as The Ex-Priest, afflicted with leprosy, who along with the small number of fellow survivors must try to avoid starving. However, food may be the least of your worries as it turns out something unspeakable is also in the camp, something that hungers for flesh.
This is a "full" version of the themes and play-style found in The Flayed Man, with 5 endings. If we reach the 1000 copy sold goal, we'd be able to make this.
Suffering Inc - Business Sim Horror
Ever wanted a business simulator crossed with a horrifying visual novel that requires you to indulge in the worst excesses of capitalism to succeed? Then Suffering Inc will be the game for you. This will feature dos-style, horrifying graphics and feature multiple paths you can follow to progress the game and the story. It will feature multiple endings depending on your choices.
As this is less graphic-heavy than our other potential games, we only need to sell 750 copies to make it a reality.
The Burnwalkers - Point and Click Sci Fi Horror OR Roadwarden-Style Text-Based RPG
Taking place in a biopunk, dystopic Scotland, the world has given up all pretence of civilisation and has dedicated itself completely to war. Accompanied by the dog that helped you escape a laboratory where you would have been turned into an instrument of war, you must travel across Scotland in search of New Eden, a rumoured paradise unaffected by war.
Inspired by The Road, WE3, The Plague Dogs, and The Walking Dead games, this will feature some horrific imagery and choices with multiple endings. This will fit into either a point and click game (which would need 1000 copies sold) or a Roadwarden type text-based RPG with the kind of graphics you found in The Flayed Man. We'd only need 750 copies to make this.
Moving to Paid Model
With all that in mind, we've had a lot of people suggesting moving to a paid model would make the most sense. It was our hope that we wouldn't have to do this, but it looks likely that for us to have any chance of making another we will have to make this change. We will lower the price of the Supporter Pack and keep the cost of The Flayed Man very modest at around $3.99 (and keep tailored pricing for markets). That way, we might have a fighting chance at keeping our doors open. We're aware this might be unpopular, but please remember I won't be earning a penny from this, literally everything goes to our artists. We'll give it a day or two, if we get incredible sales of the Supporter Pack following this announcement, we'll keep it free but if not we'll have to make the transition this week.