Thank you for joining us at the Table!
Today is a HUGE milestone! From playing in an empty room, to bringing Creeps to life, figuring out ways to Cheat and then giving a sneak peek on Itch.io, we are now finally on STEAM! Before I jump into more details, I would love for you to check out the Demo trailer if you have not already seen it!
Big thank you to @Soundwave Samurai for composing this original piece for the occasion! And also shout out to @Camilo Polanco for the amazing capsule art over at Frost Earth Studios!
What is Fold'Em?
Fold'Em is this crazy little card game with absurd "villains" called Creeps. You are trapped in this very odd house - where the ceiling is swallowed by a void and everyone is playing Poker. No one plays fair and Cheats are the name of the game. It is inspired by early 90's / 2000's era cartoons with the antics and visual style - utilizing mixed media and eccentric hand drawn textures!
Each Creep has their own unique playstyle and Cheats. Creeps have a strategy to consider when trying to survive between rounds. They are not the only ones who can Cheat - as you have your own arsenal available! From silly little glasses that let you see everyone's hands to a rusty pair of scissors to snip away a Card from someone, there is always a way to swing the odds back in your favor!
All of this is orchestrated by a looming "evil" from the void, only named as "The Dealer". There is something sinister at play and if you look closely, you might be able to find the secrets lurking all around...
When is Fold'Em Releasing?
Fold'Em is expected to launch in late March 2027. There is still a lot of content I want to add for the full release and these next few months will give me plenty of time to make that happen!
What is next for Fold'Em?
With the launch of Steam, I got some behind the scenes plans cooking for spooky month! However, I want to provide a brief teaser of what is coming up next before the end of the year.
⚠️All Work in Progress ⚠️
Dialogue and Character Interactions 💬
When I started showing Fold'Em off - one of the most common pieces of feedback I got was:
"Will the Creeps talk? Can they interact with each other"?
And the answer is YES. Absolutely. With the creation of these Creeps, I wanted players to see them come to life in all these unique ways. And the fact that early playtests revealed that some Creeps were becoming fan favorites only emphasized how important it was going to be to get them yapping.
Character dialogue was one of the systems I built pretty early on, but did not implement all the way as I did not feel it was ready yet. With the demo now launched, the runway to get this system fleshed out is wide open and will be the next priority. This is something I am excited to tease more of soon - as this will also come with revealing a bit more of the narrative stirring in Fold'Em!
A new Creep 👻
One of my favorite things about this project has been the use of mixed media to bring the Creeps to life. Each one is represented by a different art style in some way shape or form. It has been a creative challenge but one I think has added so much personality to the game.
Before launch, I want to get one last Creep in the mix that utilizes an art form I have been so antsy to implement - but had to postpone due to the time it was taking to put it together.
I feel like I got the right systems set up now to make this possible and will be putting them together before the end of the year! I don't want to share the idea / vision too soon - but I think I teasing the "shape" of the Creep might be fun!
Narrative Improvements📖
Fold'Em is very "mysterious" right now. There is not a lot of context on "why". Why are we trapped here? Why are there Creeps here? Why is a big hand trying to give me a soda can from the void?
There are narrative teasers in the demo - but I want to make sure that Fold'Em is able to tell it's story a bit more directly. I am collaborating closely with a close partner to bring the narrative of Fold'Em to a more proper place. Once the dialogue system is fleshed out, this opens the door to start iterating with the story and begin telling them at some defined narrative beats. A proper start, middle, end!
This will also come with a tutorial as well, which I think will help set the stage and make learning the gameplay systems a bit less daunting / confusing.
Let me know how you're feeling!
Although there is only 5 month left until launch, that time is going to fly by! I am still putting things together on the player communication side but I have socials you can follow now so you can stay up to date on all things Fold'Em.
I would love to know what you're thinking as you are playing and what you are excited for with what's coming up next.
Newsletter: https://spookysnuffy.eo.page/gjhqz
Youtube: View game page
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spookysnuffy/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@spookysnuffy
Enjoy the demo and I look forward to providing you all an update next month! Thank you again for checking Fold'Em out!
Deepest Regards,
SpookySnuffy