[quote]In the Mansus, the Hours strive one against another. As the struggles are resolved, they iron out the impossible, exalt the possible, tie the fraying braids of what has been into one golden ribbon of future. Everything is resolved. History becomes the past[/quote]
There are, however, exceptions. Its Cultist Simulators sixth birthday today, so lets make an exception for her. This quote is from a high-level Secret Histories fragment called Unresolved Ambiguity, and it could absolutely be a metaphor for game development in general. Cultist could have been a hundred different games, but it ended up consolidated in the one it became (and the one it evolved into, after years of post-lauch DLC and updates). You may remember that we made Cultist Simulator in 11 months, with a budget of around 150,000. Its now reached somewhere between 850,000 to a million people, making some serious allowances for chaotic data like Humble Bundles and Amazon Prime. So in honour of her birthday heres a whirlwind tour of just under a years game development, starting with the most important part of all: the What Even Is This Javascript Greybox Prototype.
People whove played Cultist Simulator will recognise a surprising amount in these early prototypes. The art direction isnt there AK is definitely theme and mechanics first, colours second but the games Cookie Clicker influence is particularly apparent, as are important other factes of the final game like verbs (Study, Dream, Work), timers (45s countdown for The body has its needs) and resource-based storytelling (Secret Histories 1 + Occult Scrap 1 = Recruit an Aficionado of Conspiracies). Ive worked with AK since 2015, when we met at his previous studio, and he always has a weirdly clear idea of what the game will be at the start. Its just difficult for him to explain it and for anyone else to see inside his head. Im now well-versed in the two to six months of trust where I have no idea what this game is that were apparently making, before it all falls into place. That moment for Cultist was this updated prototype, where you could first see the basic card interface:
I get it now! I see what all those grey buttons on their grey backgrounds represented! This gives me a lot to work with I can now see what needs to be artified while being flexible enough for AK to still be able to play with basic mechanics and the all-important recipes at the heart of the final game. Looks recognisable now, right? But where it really comes to life is when AK and Catherine Unger, our brilliant freelance artist, settled on a suitable art style:
It now looks so much like the real Cultist Simulator, but with enough difference, to trigger a bit of sense of the uncanny valley. I still mourn those stick-timers on the verb tokens, for instance! But this was where people really started to sit up and take notice of the game we were about four months out from completing. So with a bunch of hard game dev, which looks in real terms like this
Cultist Simulator, as we know and love her, was born. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAME ABOUT PEELING BACK THE SKIN OF THE WORLD! We all really love you.*
*Apart from Dread. Nobody loves Dread.
[ 2024-05-31 12:45:32 CET ] [ Original post ]
- Cultist Simulator Linux [299.36 M]
- Cultist Simulator: The Dancer
- Cultist Simulator: The Priest
- Cultist Simulator: The Ghoul
- Cultist Simulator: The Exile
- The Lady Afterwards - Digital Edition
Cultist Simulator is a game of apocalypse and yearning from Alexis Kennedy, creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. Play as a seeker after unholy mysteries, in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Perhaps you're looking for knowledge, or power, or beauty, or revenge. Perhaps you just want the colours beneath the skin of the world.
In this roguelike narrative card game, what you find may transform you forever. Every choice you make, from moment to moment, doesn't just advance the narrative - it also shapes it.
Become a scholar of the unseen arts. Search your dreams for sanity-twisting rituals. Craft tools and summon spirits. Indoctrinate innocents. Seize your place as the herald of a new age.
Key features:
- Combine cards to tell your own story in a rich, Lovecraftian world of ambition, appetite and abomination. Corrupt your friends. Consume your enemies. There is never only one history.
- Found a cult, dedicated to the Red Grail, or the Witch-and-Sister, or the Forge of Days. Recruit Believers and promote them to Disciples to serve as burglars, researchers, cat's-paws. Use your disciples to keep you fed - or feed on your disciples.
- Unravel arcane, unacknowledged mysteries. Translate grimoires and glean their lore. Locate and pillage the Star Shattered Fane. Penetrate the realm of the Hours, and win a place in their service. Perhaps - if you are very cunning - you may even glimpse the Mansus.
- Outwit rivals, investigators and the increasingly suspicious Authorities. Your own altered Appetites may force you to act abominably, but your Cause must not be stopped.
- Transcend death with a story-driven legacy system. Perhaps your inheritors will complete the Rite of the Crucible Soul. Perhaps they'll find peace in a pleasing career. Perhaps they'll bring the Dawn.
- OS: 64-bit system; Ubuntu 20.04. Ubuntu 18.04. and CentOS 7
- Processor: 2GHz or betterMemory: 1 GB RAM
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1280x768 minimum resolution. OpenGL Core. post-2012 integrated graphics
- Storage: 500 MB available space
[ 6089 ]
[ 3241 ]