So.
Dunno if this announcement is really warranted. Just want to let people know what is going on.
Super Army of Tentacles: (Not) A Cthulhu Dating Sim has three main mechanics: skills/attributes, Word Battles, and Armies.
Well, it did. See, I started work on the project when things were.... let's say, different in the USA, and that, in turn, fueled the direction of the thing. We had already wanted to do something new with AoT 1's army mechanic, but do it better than the first game. Do it with all the game dev we had learned over the years since we've started. So I felt that my internal anger was a good fuel for said mechanic. Who doesn't love a good 'throw out the bad guys' story?
While the main story of the game is still 'the humans somehow occupied Monster Land', after recent events, I just don't feel good about a mechanic where you pre-meditatively build up militias to take over areas. We talked about this, and the bottom line is that we feel that even though the Army mechanic would have been solid, it would have taken away from the main gameplay loop of the first two games. Even though there was a final Invasion mechanic in the first game, the way you recruited your army was never the focal point. The focals were the Word Battles.
At the end of the day, real people make games, and we don't want to be making a game that we feel isn't up to snuff or is pushed in two different directions. This is the last in the trilogy for us. We know more now and want to do it right, as both a stand alone title and a series cap.
This also allows us to put greater focus on the idea of reactivity to your choices in the world's hubs. Which is cool.
I'm writing this because, even though it wasn't the selling point of the game or even showcased in screenshots or the trailer, it was in the initial store description and there were shots of it in the trailer and on the screenshot gallery. We've already updated the gallery, but will also be updating the trailer shortly.
This really doesn't affect the already delayed release date of 2022. If anything, it clarifies a release date. If anything, at max what it means is this will release post-summer 2022, but I honestly don't think that's a concern.