2024 was a year in which our mighty developers havent been sitting stillquite the opposite. After months of exploring all the crooks and crannies of the vast terrain of Rotterdam, we have secured a beautiful and spacious new base in the booming city center!

We are growing!

We thank you for all the support throughout the years, Explorers. You motivate us to keep making awesome co-op experiences! The Total Mayhem Games Team

Ho, ho, ho, Explorers!

Day 1: Cozy Lo-Fi Tunes for Every Explorer

Whats Next? Stay Tuned!

Christmas at Base Camp

Winter Sale Alert!

Stay warm, stay adventurous, and enjoy the holidays! The Total Mayhem Games Team

Attention, Explorers!

Made it back safe and sound to basecamp in We Were Here Together? Looking for a new adventure? Weve got some exciting news for you!

Thank you for your endless support, Explorers! We can't wait to see you in the next adventure!

Dear Explorers,

Happy Frenniversary!

Crafting a Secret

The Big Reveal at WASD x IGN

Celebrating Friendship

All the best, Total Mayhem Games

Dear Explorers!

Come hang out with us at TwitchCon Rotterdam!

Cant make it to TwitchCon?

Cool down in the Arctics this Steam Summer Sale!

All the best, Total Mayhem Games

Dear Explorers!

Celebrate the holidays with your partner

Talking about Forever!

Explore the other games of the We Were Here Franchise

Happy Holidays and Happy Exploring

Hello Explorers, December is finally here, which means it's holiday season! For us here in The Netherlands, our festivities have already started mid November, as our dear Sinterklaas made his way from Spain by boat! Tradition for the kids is to leave the shoe near the chimney or door, sing a song and leave some small gifts for Sinterklaas (like a drawing) or some food for his horse. It seems like Sinterklaas made a visit to the basecamp in We Were Here Together as well. Be sure to hop into the game and have a comfy chill session with some pepernoten, chocolate letters and maybe you even find some presents!

Holiday Shopping

Happy December!

Dear Explorers, It's time to get cozy at the basecamp, We Were Here Together is on sale during the Autumn Sale here on Steam. You can now get the game with a 62% discount.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/865360/We_Were_Here_Together/

Keep on exploring

Nominate us for the Steam Awards!

Stay warm Explorers!

Dear Explorers, We kindly ask for your help! As you might know, a few months ago we surprised you all with our We Were Here series spin-off game: We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip. The love and support was overwhelming and were forever grateful. If you want to make sure that everyone knows about the great friendship test weve made, be sure to nominate We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip for the Steam Awards in the category Better with Friends. Because with a game that makes you build literal FriendShips, this award is meant to be ours!
You can vote for us here in the We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip announcement! https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2296990/view/5941998260533097052?l=english

Autumn Sales

SInterklaas kapoentje

Set sail & grab the trophy!

Hello Explorers! Its time to get together and enjoy the spooky festivities at the basecamp in We Were Here Together. The scary vibes will linger until November 2nd so be to play the game before the the decorations are scared away.

Boo-tastic sales

On course to new adventures

Happy early Halloween Explorers!

Dear Explorers, It's time to explore the Antarctic and put on your big brain puzzle hats, because We Were Here Together is now discounted with 50% off! https://store.steampowered.com/app/865360/We_Were_Here_Together/

Thank you for sharing your input

• give us an option to slap our co-op partner if they are too silly
• Your games help my brother and I keep in touch when long distance. Thank you!
• graveyard puzzle was b*llsh*t i still dont get it

Test your friendship

Dear Explorers, A new bite-sized adventure awaits you; We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip is available now! [previewyoutube=aPHRenQug3g;full][/previewyoutube] In this new bite-sized series of the main We Were Here series, You and your partner play as a team of Explorers on a boat, hearing a distress call that might be familiar to some of you. Eager to answer the call, you try to locate the sound, but end up on a deserted island with an amusement park?!
And the best part, you put your friendship to the test for free until October 13, so be sure that you and your bff (or are they?) have claimed the game before this date. It will be yours forever to keep. And it doesnt matter which platform you and partner will play on, as the game is playable cross platform! So you can truly test your friendship across platforms! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2296990/We_Were_Here_Expeditions_The_FriendShip&utm_source=SteamHubTG&utm_medium=StLink&utm_campaign=FShipLCH This game is a great introduction for new Explorers to the series, as well serving as a fun friendship test for you and your co-op partner. Who knows, maybe you can finally work on your Communication, Teamwork and Trust skills amongst each other, something you definitely need for our main games.

Ready for Forever?

<3 Total Mayhem Games

Hello Explorers, Christmas comes twice a year in We Were Here Together! In the basecamp, you can now experience our special Christmas Puzzle as part of Christmas in July. A special nod to our Explorers down under.
You can play this puzzle until July 26, so be sure to find your partner and get ready for winter chills and a jolly good time!

Hello dear Explorers, You can now find We Were Here Together on sale with 55% off! Perfect time for you and your partner to see if you can truely overcome anything, as long as you are together... https://store.steampowered.com/app/865360/We_Were_Here_Together

Stay with We Were Here

Yours Forever

Hello Explorers, First of all, we want to wish you all a happy new year. And what better way to start the new year with a console release of We Were Here Forever! Check out the new trailer. [previewyoutube=fbG8YCcnRqI;full][/previewyoutube] Now with cross-play support, you and your partner can play together, no matter what your preferred platform is. And if you still need to start your new Antarctic adventure at Castle Rock, We Were Here Forever is now on sale with a 20% discount. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1341290/We_Were_Here_Forever/

Ask us Anything

Dear explorers! It's that wonderful, magical time of the year again ! What better way to spend it with your beloved partner in our basecamp, with a special suprise !

Celebrating Christmas Together

12 Days of Christmas

Together Forever

Total Mayhem Comfiness

We're wishing you all a wonderful Christmas

Dear explorers ! Were excited to share with you all that you can now nominate We Were Here Forever for the Steam Awards 2022! The category we would like to be nominated for is Better With Friends ! It would be an amazing opportunity, so we hope we can count on your vote! You can vote here

Special holiday event in Together

Snowy merchies

We Are Thankful

Dear explorers, Our sixth and final episode of the We Were Here live-action series, 'Chronicles of Castle Rock' is live now! See how the accounts of Kees Klokkenmaker ended... [previewyoutube=zNOdhs5FCwU;full][/previewyoutube] Thank you all so much for watching! It was amazing seeing our ideas and concepts come to life in this series and we're happy to see you all enjoyed it too!

Together Forever

Hello explorers! The wait is finally over! We Were Here Forever is available now ! It feels surreal to finally have you all able to play the game weve been working on for so long! You can get it now until May 17th with a 10% discount. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1341290/We_Were_Here_Forever/ [previewyoutube=3085f9umxlQ;full][/previewyoutube] With 22 puzzles and 6 chapters and over 12 hours of gameplay, only if youre clever, We Were Here Forever is the biggest game we ever made. The amount of puzzles, the diversity of the environments and an overall big climax to the story of Castle Rock. And you, dear explorer, will decide how this story will end

We Were Here Forever: Complete Fan Pack

• We Were Here Forever Game
• We Were Here Forever Digital Artbook
• We Were Here Forever Digital Soundtrack
• We Were Here Forever Wallpapers

Forever Merch

Good luck and happy exploring in We Were Here Forever!

Dear explorers, We got a release trailer of We Were Here Forever here for you all! Only 5 days left until its release, the game will be here for you all to play on May 10th! The trailer shows quite some interesting images of the areas you'll be exploring in our 4th installment in the We Were Here series. The game is our biggest one yet, with over 12 hours of gameplay, if you're clever enough to make it out in that time frame... [previewyoutube=3085f9umxlQ;full][/previewyoutube]

Chronicles of Castle Rock

See you soon explorers!

Dear explorers, Only two weeks left and then it's finally time! We Were Here Forever will release on May 10th! After almost 2,5 years, we're so excited to bring you our biggest game yet! However, your wait isn't over yet - that's why we have something to ease your pain [strike]a little bit[/strike]. The entire We Were Here Series is available with a 50% discount! Be sure to complete your We Were Here collection or to finally get that one game to play with you! Just don't tell them you're going to betray them later... https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/12260/We_Were_Here_Series_bundle/ Only missing one game in the series? Don't worry, we got you! We Were Here is available for free (always will be) and We Were Here Too has a 75% discount!

We Were Here Chronicles

Dear Explorers, Were more than excited to share some big news about our upcoming game We Were Here Forever! Check out our new reveal trailer here! [previewyoutube=Ztz99oZXjOU;full][/previewyoutube] On May 10, We Were Here Forever will be released on steam! Bringing you more puzzles to solve, places to discover and mysteries to unravel. Console versions will follow shortly after! The 4th instalment in our We Were Here Series is our biggest game yet. Youll be exploring more of Castle Rock- whats hiding in the dark corridors, the dungeon below as well as forgotten halls and chambers, once filled with life and joy. A graveyard for those whove fallen, a chapel and even a puppet workshop are a few of the new areas awaiting your exploration

We are Here in Live action

Sale Celebrate

Wish for Forever

Dear explorers, That special day full of love and appreciation is coming soon: Valentines Day. The state of the world is still not fully recovered from the pandemic, so we sure hope that you and all your loved ones are safe and sound. To help you share your love with that special someone, a friend, or your family, we have a new Valentines Care Package. In this package you can find special wallpapers for your phone and desktop, streamer kits, our soundtracks to chill/study to, and of course special We Were Here themed Valentine ecards.

We Are Your Cupido

We Are Here to make you look good

Mayhem Podcast

Music sounds better with you

Happy Valentine's Day

We Were Here Together for festive winter celebrations!

Frosty Festivities

The Explorer Post brings you news and beta info!

Stay warm with TMG gear!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Happy Halloween!

The season for giving...?

Searching for something to wear for Halloween?

That's it for now, explorers. Try not to get spooked!

Happy Halloween from all of us at Total Mayhem Games!

Hello explorers! Were happy to announce that We Were Here Together will have a demo now and thats not all! Until July 26th, youll be able to experience some Christmas fun during your summer break! The demo will include the limited Christmas puzzle for you and your partner to solve!
Escape the warm weather to the Antarctic where its nice and cold. The basecamp of the explorers will be in a festive mood and the hot coco will be ready for you! So hop on and unravel the joy of We Were Here Together.

The season of gift-giving

Don't stop at the demo

Ho ho ho Explorers, Merry Christmas in July?! Yes that is correct! This year we celebrate Christmas TWICE! From the 15th until the 26th of July you will be able to play the special Christmas Puzzle in We Were Here Together. Escape the warm weather to the Antarctic where its nice and cold. The basecamp of the explorers will be in a festive mood and the hot coco will be ready for you!
You dont have We Were Here Together? No worry explorer! Jester Claus has made sure that everyone can enjoy winter wonderland because a demo version of We Were Here Together will be available too. Its the most wonderful time of the year for everyone.
What about presents? Well, it is the season of giving, so hop over to our social media to have a shot at winning some amazing prizes, such as signed artwork! Merry Christmas Explorers

Feeling lucky Explorer? The Jester Bunny has hidden easter eggs all over our social media! You can find them over at our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Discord oh and lets not forget about that one over at the We Were Here Forever page! Once youve found them, create the word and leave the solution here a spoiler comment [spoiler] Text [ /spoiler] and have a shot at winning all of our games! Happy hunting! We will pick 1 winner per social media, you may participate on more than one platform

...does one ever truly escape Castle Rock?

There's much more to learn!

Other exciting WWH news!

Surprise dear explorers! Were happy to announce that the 4th game in the We Were Here series is coming to you in 2021! [previewyoutube=34R0UCd493M;full][/previewyoutube] In We Were Here Forever, were going to bring you explorers a next level experience! Expect an even more intriguing and exciting environment for you to explore with new cooperative puzzles and challenges for you and your partner to unravel. Forever will be the largest and most lively game ever seen in the Series, and thats just the tip of the iceberg. There is much more to discover in the cold of the Antarctic. One cannot help but wonder what happened to those explorers who got left behind and.. does one ever escape Castle Rock??

Your wait will not be forever

You Were There for updates

We Were Spreading the Love; Together

Be Here Together, with our [strike]Lockdown[/strike] Valentines Package

Hi everyone! Its been a hot minute since we last spoke to you but in the meantime most of you were busy with our Christmas event over at the basecamp. Whilst you were wrapping your minds around our holiday puzzle, weve been working on a couple of things Podcast We have seen your questions, your cries for more secrets. You want to know more about our games and about our studio. Well, weve got you fam; This Weeks Mayhem. Our podcast in which we go down to the nitty-gritty about our games with our community manager Soraya and some of our developers. In the second episode we get to know more about the puzzle design progress from our game designer Thijs. [previewyoutube=_Tb0FitaFf8;full][/previewyoutube] Want to stay up to date on our Weekly Mayhem? You can find all our (future) episodes on our YouTube channel and in this playlist. Consider to subscribe to our channel, any form of support makes the Jester smile! Merch Out with the old, in with the new! A new year and a new season, means new merch[link]. As previously explained our TMG Essentials will remain, but our TMG Limited got an update! This limited collection is all about love and romance. But no worries, our Curse of Castle Rock design is available until the end of January, ON SALE!

Santa, can you hear me?

Feeling hungry?

Carroling through Castle Rock

Staying warm

Can you read me??

Get in touch with other explorers

Exploring festivities

We are thankful for...

Brand new Merch store!

Big discounts on entry tickets to Castle Rock

Labor of Love award!

Holidays, holidays, holidays!

Boo!

There once was a castle filled with life

Cross, Circle, Triangle, Square?

Have a happy Halloween!

How is everyone doing? It's been a busy month but we've been making steady progress. In fact, we can finally reveal some exciting news... at the end of this post ;)

What are we up to right now?

Are you a notetaker?

Last but not least...

We released an update today which fixes a couple of issues with the Steam rich presence display, and adjusts the Russian translation on the final puzzle to be more clear. It also adds localization support for a bunch of new languages! New Languages

• Arabic
• Czech
• Danish
• Finnish
• Italian
• Norwegian
• Portuguese
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Swedish
• Thai
• Turkish

Scenes from the Antarctic

While we've been hard at work on our future projects (you're gonna love them), we've also made the time to put together some We Were Here bonus materials! Have a look and see if anything takes your fancy...

Spice up your Steam library!

We Were Here Streaming Kit

Get the We Were Here Together soundtrack on Steam!

Not one, but two bundles

Let us know what you think! Would you like to see more of this kind of stuff?

What have we been up to, indeed?

PC Sale!

Fan art!

Cheers!

Patch Notes 1.6.7

• Animated dots show at the bottom right when the game is busy loading
• Increased auto-crouch trigger size downstairs after entering the monastery
• Xbox related objects added to the basecamp

• Players should no longer be able to walk off the left pickaxe elevator
• Fixed an issue causing the castle entrance puzzle not to start
• Fixed overall missing colliders causing players to fall through the world
• Optimized performance-heavy fog
• Increased default voice chat volume
• Accepting an invite just before entering gameplay from a lobby no longer leaves the other player in the void
• Fixed an issue with rejoining your own lobby
• DLC Store page languages now match those displayed on the base game store page
• Fixed overall texture and mesh issues
• Rapidly bashing the elevator buttons won't get visually stuck anymore
• Disabled puzzle item interaction after completing the Greenhouse area preventing players from taking unnecessary items to the next chapter
• Fixed an issue with the pipes where the puzzle would not complete after placing the correct pipes
• Fixed a desync issue with the throne room statues puzzle
• Fixed visual mismatch of items picked up in the mirror room and the image displayed in the inventory
• Fixed an issue where the basecamp fuel docks did not load in completely
• Fixed visual errors with some fog areas
• Audio of the first throne room puzzle no longer overlaps with the cutscene audio

• After the voice chat system connects both players in a session, the application volume in the OS is forced to 100%

Come watch our producer Geoff!

That's right, We Were Here Together is set to release June 5 on Xbox One!
Let your console owning friends and family know ;) This is great news for all the new console fans who experienced the We Were Here series for the first time when we released the earlier games on Xbox One last year. We can't wait to see what they think! To celebrate this great news, we also have a 25% sale for everyone on PC too!
A screenshot of a sinister scene by Scorpiorange!

Hugs from us at Total Mayhem Games!

We're making great progress on We Were Here Together for Xbox One - so much so, that we can announce the release date! Console fans set your calendars for June 5th.
To celebrate this great news, we have a 25% sale for everyone on PC right now! If you've had your eye on We Were Here Together, now's the time to grab it! [previewyoutube=uCPqQcHpi20;full][/previewyoutube] We also have a collection of awesome fan art!

Fan art fun!

The future is [strike]now[/strike] soon ;)

Keep that fan art coming, we love it! We'll end with this screenshot taken by player Rabbit. It could almost be a vacation photo!

Cheers!

Total Mayhem Team

This Friday is Valentines Day! For this special occasion, we want to match you with someone! Whether you are looking for a special someone, a new friend, or just a nice co-op partner, we will try to find you the perfect match. Theres no better way to get to know someone than trying to solve puzzles together, after all! We are even giving away a few Steam keys for We Were Here Too and We Were Here Together in a raffle, so you might get lucky!

Click to fill out the form!

Happy New Year!

We want you...r opinion!

Total Mayhem Games wish you all the best in the new year!

Light up the Holiday

A year of Total Mayhem

Christmas Changelog

• Added a christmas themed puzzle to the basecamp.
• Revamp of the default controls. Player who have played before will keep their settings.
• Skipping a cutscene is now done by a HOLD action.

• The incoming voice volume is no longer bound to master volume. This should fix some volume issues with the voice chat.
• Added experimental audio settings - marked in yellow - to test out. We would love to hear any feedback regarding the functionality of these settings. (The Microphone level slider is set to your system level by default. Adjustments are directly applied to your system microphone level)

• Intro animation Wall is now synced properly.
• Mirror Room paintings should no longer fully rotate when clicked once.
• Players should no longer be able to jump in or out of a rotating door in the cave while it is rotating to prevent softlocking.
• Added proper controller button images to the menu.
• Fixed several desync issues in the mirror room.
• The purple orb pistons should now be retract on both sides in the mirror room.
• Optimized a ton of meshes throughout the game increasing performance.
• Selected button behaviour in the menus should now be more intuitive and consistent.
• Fixed several audio effects.
• Fixed some edge cases around inviting and leaving a session just before starting.
• Gamepad horizontal/vertical look speed should feel more consistent now.
• Changed some visual UI elements throughout the game.
• Fixed several seams in meshes throughout the game.
• Fixed an issue where spamming the switch side button in the lobby would cause a desync.
• [spoiler]The Jester's laugh no longer cuts out during the alchemy cutscene.[/spoiler]
• Added some additional sound effects throughout the game.
• Fixed an issue where players would end up in a softlock if their partner disconnected when inspecting a world element.
• In-game menu should now work properly with a D-pad.

• Looking for a substitute for performance-heavy fog.
• Desync of player position in rotatable doors.
• Credits will be made legible.
• Textures that might be incorrect.
• Visual inconsistencies in the throne room.
• Falling through the world in some specific edge cases.
• Several game freezes.

• Color blind support.
• Additional voice chat options.
• Collectables.
• Additional checkpoints for Chapter 7.

The latest developer diary video about the creation of We Were Here Together is here! The series gives you an insight on the creation of the co-op puzzle adventure. In this third episode, the designers are reliving the process of coming up with and creating the puzzles of We Were Here. But what about testing? We might have some extraordinary ways to do so Watch the episode below: [previewyoutube=ai2dEhxGN6A;full][/previewyoutube]

The latest developer diary is all about how the team created the environments of We Were Here Together, incorporated puzzles into them, and brought Castle Rock to life. This four part series gives you an insight into the game development process at Total Mayhem Games, and how We Were Here Together came to life! Watch the episode below: [previewyoutube=eypmSMql0wk;full][/previewyoutube]

It's update time again! We have tweaks for visual issues, collision, and some performance issues, not to mention some more fixes for walkie-talkie issues. We are particularly interested to hear if the issue with picking up microphones correctly is fixed. Future updates will see continued work on performance as well alongside more general bug squashing.

Complete list of changes and future plans

• Added holiday event: Saint Nicholas (live now, check it out!)
• Improved the game over screen visuals
• Added missing sound effects

• Microphone should be picked up correctly for everyone who was having issues. If your problem still exists, please report again.
• Walkie-talkie lighting up when you are talking instead of when your partner is talking
• Final decision moment radial button speed now properly matches the corresponding animation, to visually match whats happening behind the scenes
• Missing logbook entries are now added when starting from a checkpoint
• Improved overall menu usability
• Improved gamepad usability
• Increased gamepad sensitivity range
• Improved water shader performance
• Fixed a couple of in game visual glitches
• Fixed issue in the mirror room allowing players to pick up a book through walls
• Fixed reported collider issues throughout

• Final decision moment will better pick up the intent of the player, [spoiler]instead of the princess taking over control while youre in the process of sacrificing someone[/spoiler]
• Credits will be made legible
• Investigating an issue where disconnecting during an inspect locks you in that inspect
• Looking for a substitute for performance-heavy fog
• Investigating what we can do about a rare throne room desync event

Hi everyone! My name is Leon van der Stel and I'll be talking today about the creation of the main theme for We Were Here Together. The first and second We Were Here games share the same main theme. For the third entry in the series, we wanted a new main theme - the classic We Were Here atmosphere in a new jacket. I would like to take you into the story behind the main theme and the choices that were made along the way. At different sections I'll link to audio clips. These are interim versions and ideas for the main theme that show the development process well. For the people who want to play the main theme themselves, I made sheet music, which you can find at the end of this dev diary. Finally, I want to thank Jos Platschorre for helping to compose the main theme with his grandiose guitar playing, and Tom Hartman for his support and feedback.
The author, making music.

The process

Fitting the pieces together

Good news everybody! Earlier this week we released a hotfix which should resolve the issues with microphone volume dropping, and now we've just released a larger update with even more in it.

Complete list of changes and future plans

• Issues related to microphone levels have been resolved.
• Added cross region friend invites.
• Added a toggle in the gameplay settings that will make sure you connect to the region with the lowest ping. (Auto select region).
• Added controller navigation support to the banners in the main menu.
• Added translations for the keybinding panel.
• Added the ability to select a different region when the connection in the title screen fails.
• Added the ability to see what chapter is selected before joining a game.
• Fixed some UI navigation issues.
• Fixed an instance where the lobby background and chapter name would not be updated correctly.
• The correct background is now shown for chapter 6 in the lobby.
• You no longer receive a Connection Established popup when switching regions.
• Fixed some minor visual errors in the game hud.
• Fixed several instances of inventory items showing up through cutscenes.
• Fixed an instance where the candle would not be visible.
• Fixed a visual glitch where the candle would be visible for a single frame when scrolling through the inventory.
• Fixed an instance where players would clip through the ceiling in forced crouch areas when opening the menu.
• Subtitles in the basecamp should be more consistent now.
• Snow and Cloud particles should no longer be visible when inside the basecamp.
• You can no longer get stuck behind the outside door in the basecamp.
• Fixed an issue where you could solve the clock puzzle with only one correct dial.
• The board of the alchemy puzzle is now properly interactable.
• Fixed a missing door after passing through the royal passage.
• Removed a button click sound effect during the intro cutscene of the throne room.
• The jester's face now disappears in the game-over screen.
• Keybindings for the decision moment are now correctly bound to the correct keys.
• Reworked a lot of the rotating statue puzzle in the throne room to resolve de-sync issues. (let us know if this has truly fixed the issue).
• Improved performance in the throne room.
• All steam achievements are now hidden to avoid spoilers.
• Added some Halloween decorations to the basecamp.

• Proper implementation for microphone auto leveling.
• Revamp of the control schemes.
• Ability to select a checkpoint for all puzzles in the Overgrown chapter.
• Collectibles that can be found throughout the game.
• Audio leveling throughout the game.
• Resolve performance drop caused by the volumetric fog.
• An issue when 2 players try to join the same game at the same time.
• Investigating an issue in the mirror room where the rotatable titles spin 360 degrees instead of 90 degrees.
• Investigating an issue in the bridge puzzle where the clamps dont always update correctly.
• Investigating an issue where push to talk events are not sent to the other player, resulting in the voice chat not working at all.
• General bug fixes for puzzles.
• Loading speed optimizations.
• General performance optimizations.

Welcome to the first entry in a four part series of We Were Here Together Developer Diaries! The series will offer a peek behind the game development curtain here at Total Mayhem Games - the team will discuss challenges they faced, the thinking behind the overall direction of the project, and what aspects of the game changed and evolved during production. This first episode focuses on the cooperative gameplay which is so central to the We Were Here series. Without further adieu, here it is - enjoy! [previewyoutube=8tThcTabRnU;full][/previewyoutube]

Pumpkins have been brought in just for the holidays, and those long Antarctic nights (sometimes a couple of weeks long in the depth of Winter) have given the explorers plenty of time to practice their carving technique.
Carving pumpkins!
Reading scary stories!
Jump scares! Finally, if We Were Here Together is the first game you've played in the series, you might be interested in our Halloween sale on We Were Here Too! It's 55% off while supplies last...* https://store.steampowered.com/app/677160/We_Were_Here_Too/ *Supplies will always last, since this is digital distribution after all...

Today's update brings a mix of gameplay and puzzle updates alongside technical tweaks to improve performance and option menus. We also have an updated list of things we are working on. Fixes included in this update:

• Simplified resolution selection. (highest refresh rate is now automatically applied for the selected resolution)
• Removed the refresh rate dropdown due to confusion.
• Resolution dropdown now displays the current resolution properly.
• Steam avatars now visible in server browser.
• You can no longer get stuck behind the wooden fence in the basecamp.
• You actually spray the poison on the plant in the greenhouse now.
• The ceiling of the brewery should no longer be foggy.
• Removed a cheat where picking the same destination 3 times would complete the puzzle.
• Fixed some issues with menu text and subtitles.
• After passing through the royal passage the door behind you is now closed.
• The pipes puzzle is more consistent in updating the leak states.
• Spamming the paintings in the mirror room should no longer result in the puzzle becoming unsolvable.
• The clock inside the mirror room should now visually represent the correct solution.
• You should no longer hear the puzzle complete sound twice in the mirror room.
• Fixed some visual inconsistencies.
• More performance optimizations.
• Added OpenGL for older Apple Hardware (this is experimental, visual errors could occur)

• We are still investigating issues surrounding the microphone volume being pushed down.
• General bug fixes for puzzles.
• General performance optimizations.
• Loading performance optimizations.
• Game invites that fail when players are not in the same region.
• Ability to switch region if connection fails in the title screen.
• Ability to switch region directly from the server browser.
• Ability to select a checkpoint for all puzzles in the Overgrown chapter.
• Ability to see what chapter is selected before joining a lobby.
• Visual glitches where the candle would be visible for a single frame when scrolling through the inventory.
• Minor visual errors in the menu and lobby.
• Controller navigation for the banners on the right side of the main menu.

Previously on Walkie-Talk we looked at how we design puzzles for the We Were Here games. However, even with the best ideas in the world a game doesnt get far without technical developers. Today were talking to one of our newest devs, Alex Leestemaker.
Walkie-Talk: Hi Alex! Lets start with the basics. Who are you and what do you do? Alex Leestemaker: My name is Alex, and Im the new programmer on the team. That means I listen to what the game designers would like in the game, I program exactly what they asked for, and then the next day it turned out that they meant something completely different and I can start from scratch. What do you think of your work at Total Mayhem Games so far? This is my first job in the game development industry, and Im glad its at a studio that makes games Im interested in myself. Puzzle games and co-op multiplayer have always been high up on my list of favorite mechanics in video games. Since Im new to the industry, working in a smaller team like this also feels more familiar than getting thrown into a big sea of coworkers would probably have felt like. I like it! Ive been here for a little over half a year now, and its my first job straight out of university. Its a big jump going from a giant university where everything is planned to hell and back to our small office in Rotterdam, but I like my coworkers here far more than the average uni student. Its much more cosy for sure! What are you working on right now? Ive been working on a lot of the alpha tests weve been releasing over the last few months. Final question - what are you playing for fun right now? Currently Im dumping most of my free time into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Thanks for your time! A short but sweet interview this week. We hope you liked it! If there are particular topics you think might make for a cool Walkie-Talk, let us know in the comments.

Thanks everyone for your great comments, reviews, and general feedback! The launch has been great, and today we have a first update to resolve some of the issues that slipped through.

UPDATE

Changelog

• Final chapter in some rare cases didnt trigger the same events / cut-scenes at both ends
• Environments behind a door sometimes popped in, due to slow loading
• In very rare occasions the Brewery area wasnt loaded in for one of the two players
• Pipes puzzle sometimes didnt trigger an achievement
• When using the 4-way pipe in the pipe puzzle the leakage isnt always clear (visual and in sound)
• Server browser could not be scrolled
• Achievement when inviting a friend didnt get triggered on some rare occasion
• Credits list in menu didnt always work

• Loading times have been improved
• Several minor performance improvements
• Organ player is now more visible
• Subtitles in various languages
• Several minor improvements to the experience

• New Steam integration, fixing some integration issues and visuals like profile pictures
• Microphone issues, where some players experience issues with the volume of the microphone getting adjusted
• Players in different regions sometimes have a hard time inviting each other
• Players are often connected to EU servers, while in another region
• Resolution option in menu doesnt show all available resolutions due to difference in refresh rates

Review Roundup

Total Mayhem Games will be at Dreamhack Rotterdam this weekend, as part of the Rotterdam Games Week! We will be there with our latest game We Were Here Together, and it would be great if you could join us at stand 329! Yes, you personally ;) In their own words, the event is: "The world's greatest digital entertainment festival is coming to Rotterdam on 18-20 October 2019. DreamHack Rotterdam 2019 is the major event at the brand new Rotterdam Games Week, and will take place at one of the major venues of the Netherlands: Rotterdam Ahoy."
There's something for everyone at the event, with a LAN party, several e-sports tournaments, cosplay competitions, and more! Even better you can play our newly released third game We Were Here Together at our stand! Get your tickets here!

[previewyoutube=XhE5mPCHdY4;full][/previewyoutube]

Return to Castle Rock!

• Even closer coop you wont always be split up from your partner this time. Explore together, try both sides of a puzzle for a different perspective, its up to you! Just dont get too comfortable - Castle Rock has some tricks waiting for you
• The great outdoors puzzle outside Castle Rock for the first time, from the deceptively cosy expedition base camp through imposing sub-zero valleys to breath-taking frozen caves.
• Gadgets wont save you - but they might help! Figure out how to use new equipment and gather an inventory of curious items to solve puzzles and progress towards the fateful finale in We Were Here Together.
• You arent alone in Castle Rock and this time you get to meet a fellow explorer who is trapped inside. Could they know a way out and can you trust them?

But wait, theres more!

We hope you enjoy your Antarctic adventure! Maybe you'll even make it back alive? Wed love to hear all about your adventure, so let us know!

We Were Here Together will bring players to an entirely new part of the Castle while so far everything has been the classic medieval corridors, lots of dark stone, impressive staircases and balconies, mixed with heavy wood and metal, the new game offers a new take on the series showpiece, inside and out. Castle Rock did not in fact emerge fully formed from the snow and ice of Antarctica it was built by someone. Of course if you want to learn more about who and why, youll have to play the game! You will spend quite some time outside the castle, clambering around scaffolding, traversing snowy paths, and creeping along frozen ledges. While previous explorers found themselves effectively invited inside Castle Rock, making an entrance this time may prove more challenging.
These new environments arent just for sightseeing. Longer sight lines opens up more puzzle possibilities, and this makes cooperation important even when you and your partner are together and can both visit the same areas. You cant be and see everywhere at once, so better split up and make use of those walkie-talkies! Larger environments also means more space to scour for clues, and more places which could hide secrets
There is also a new part of the castle interior. While everything players have seen in We Were Here games so far is cold and silent, the greenhouses still have life within! With an abundance of glass windows and high ceilings, you might think that they would be less oppressive than the rest of the castle but theres something in the air, even here. A stifling corruption that makes you wonder - are the plants only living things in here with you?
The greenhouses are part of a monastery section of the castle, and we know what monks are famous for brewing! The systems to maintain the plants found inside the greenhouse are not simple, and you can bet that puzzles await! Returning players will find the green hues of this new location quite a change from their previous visits to Castle Rock, where stone, statues and metal were often the order of the day. However, caution is advised. Even the plants here have been influenced by the dark aura of the castle, resulting in some monstrous things. In the screenshot below, we have more of a venus mantrap than a flytrap!
Well end on a more pleasant note the expedition base camp where you start the game. This comfortable cabin provides a gentle introduction to the game, though the puzzles here arent anything to scoff at. It provides a base for the player characters and gives players more background about who they are and what theyre doing. You can also discern other information given those dishes in the sink, either someone has skipped their turn at washing up, or the explorers as a whole arent big tidiness fanatics!
The base camp also serves as a contrast to later parts of the game. Players will pass from the warm wood tones of the base camp into the icy blues of the Antarctic exteriors. And then? Into the castle itself, and who knows what awaits you there We Were Here Together can be wishlisted on Steam now, and will be released on October 10th!

Welcome to another edition of Walkie-Talk! In a previous post we showed you an image of the inside of Scotts hut in Antarctica which we used for inspiration. What about the outside of the base camp though? Heres an example of what we were thinking of as a base for the exterior look. A pretty classic log cabin, with some useful odds and ends scattered around outside. However, a building like this alone would be a little dull, and we wanted to spice things up a little with some light steampunk elements.
An early version of the base camp viewed in Unity. And what says steampunk more than pipes? Along with nice chunky windows, the satellite dish antennas, and fuel tanks, our base camp is recognizable while still having a personality of its own. Remember, this isnt all just eye-candy - you and your partner have puzzles to solve at the base camp.
The base camp area as it looks today! Heres the final product! Adding colour makes a big difference, and you can see we removed some of the pipes and tanks from the base camp itself and moved them to a new section, seen in the foreground here. Thats all for now!

Give us the details!

A big thank you to all our testers!

Xbox One News

Seven days...

We Were Here Together has an official release date: October 10!

Explore outside of Castle Rock for the first time!

Explore all new areas of Castle Rock!

Explore and discover equipment in addition to the walkie-talkie!

The We Were Here series on Xbox One

If you haven't played our second game We Were Here Too, or you have friends who haven't played, or your family hasn't played, or your pets haven't played, or strangers on the street haven't played, everyone can get it now for an 80% discount on Steam! That's 2, $2, or 1.50! Way to break the combo, . The game is packed with coop puzzling where creative communication is a requirement! Split up in the ancient Castle Rock, can you and your partner solve the many conundrums in your path and make it out in one piece? Warm up those walkie-talkies and let's find out!
Make new friends! Probably not with this guy.

Buy We Were Here Too now!

Beta Tests

New location and a new walkie-talkie!

News on the way...

Were looking for a new group of We Were Here Together testers who have NOT participated in any of our previous tests. Youll be asked to play through a work-in-progress section of the game with a partner, and then fill out an online survey afterwards. You will also need the game to be on your wishlist. There will be two testing periods, each with a different area of the game to test. We would ask that you and your partner will be able to try both areas.

It was puzzle and computer game designer Scott Kim who said: My goal as a puzzle designer is to create a meaningful experience for the player, not just 'I solved it.' Its a good philosophy, especially when youre trying to create a game like We Were Here Together, which is about atmosphere and exploration as well as solving puzzles. Getting the balance right can be a challenge - from one point of view, the We Were Here games are all about puzzles. From another point of view theyre all about leaving your best friend to die, but lets not get into that right now Where do we get our puzzles from? To find out, we talked to one of our designers, Niels de Jong. Walkie-Talk: Greeting Niels, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions today! Lets start with the big one: where do the puzzle ideas for the We Were Here series come from? Niels de Jong: We steal them from others of course. ;p Seriously though, ideas can come from a lot of different places. An approach we take a lot lately is to do a quick summary of everything we already know about the point in the game we want to create a puzzle for, and then we start throwing ideas at each other. In these brainstorming sessions, we can quickly discuss different options. The advantage of working with three game designers is that you rarely run out of ideas!
Were able to take this approach because we know what most environments are going to be at this point in development. An example of an environment is the crypt at the start of We Were Here Together. So we start off with knowing it is a crypt-like space, and the general atmosphere we want players to feel. The position of the puzzle in the complete game flow is also important. You dont want to have several high-pressure puzzles in a row, for example. These limitations are often a source of inspiration. Can anyone suggest puzzle ideas, or is it just the designers that come up with concepts? Everyone can suggest ideas! The thing is, it takes more than an idea to get to a functioning puzzle. So while other team members can provide the initial point of inspiration, there is still a lot of work that is mostly done by the design team. Another thing to note is that while we call most of the things we make puzzles, they do not necessarily have to be puzzles. The game is about playing together first and foremost. So if you are doing something besides solving puzzles together and youre having a great time, then thats a win for us! In my experience, the fun is in trying to figure out how not to fail completely at any given task or puzzle on a side note, I need to find new, better coordinated friends. Once you have an idea though, how do you work out the details of a puzzle? Currently we have a way of pushing puzzles through several stages that are more or less the same for each puzzle. We start off with an initial brainstorm as already described. The next stage is to create a paper prototype of the puzzle. Some puzzles are difficult to paper prototype, so we sometimes skip this step and go straight to the next step: whiteboxing.
After testing the paper prototype and making changes based on feedback from testers, we start bringing the puzzle to the digital medium. This usually involves placing the puzzle elements in a 3D space, thinking about viewing angles and level layout and placing lighting. After this whiteboxing step, we start preparing the puzzle for alpha testing. By this point, we know the puzzle is playable IF you understand it. Of course, understanding how a puzzle works is part of the challenge. In this step, we mostly focus on adding feedback elements that tell the player how a puzzle works. An example: where before you were pressing a cube, there is now has an actual button model and a click-sound plays when you press it. After adding extra feedback elements, a puzzle goes into an alpha build, where all our lovely alpha testers can give feedback and we can spot any glaring issues. Do you ever encounter problems turning a puzzle from a paper prototype into a digital form - going from the paper prototype to whiteboxing? Yes, definitely. It makes a big difference whether you are controlling an avatar in a 3D world or looking at some pieces of paper. When fleshing out initial ideas (the brainstorming part), we try to think about how the puzzle will fit in the digital game, even when we do not immediately test the puzzle digitally.
An example: we were working on a puzzle in a cave. The paper prototype was very doable. But of course, when youre actually standing in a cramped cave with a wall in front of your nose, you have no overview of the entire level. Having no overview means you cannot plan your moves, which in turn means solving the puzzle becomes much, much harder. We had people who ran around in circles both figuratively and literally, because there was no way to distinguish between separate paths in this cave. I swear I wasnt one of those people! On the subject of testing, what is the process for testing out puzzles? We try to annoy our colleagues as much as possible by regularly asking them to test new puzzles! Because we can sit right next to them, we can improvise and get an idea of what a puzzle would be like, without having to actually make each and every element or have the game enforce every limitation. I think its time for me to mention the alpha tests again! Those give invaluable feedback.
Thank you for your time! So there you have it - puzzles definitely dont spring into existence fully formed, and it can be a tough process sometimes to make them work at all, no matter how cool the initial idea is. Join us in the next edition of Walkie-Talk to hear more from your favorite studio!

Progress is going great on We Were Here Together! Check out this screenshot from the demo we showed off at EGX... it's probably much cosier than you're used to in the first two games ;)
We also have some great news for your puzzle loving, console owning friends - both We Were Here Too and the original We Were Here are coming to Xbox One! We will share more details about pricing and release dates in the near future - stay tuned.

We just got back from a fantastic time at EGX in London - maybe you came by to play the new We Were Here Together demo, or spotted our t-shirts or beanies around the show! If you did and you liked what you saw, or if you didn't and are curious, we are delighted to announce that our official merchandise store is live and open for orders! Get walkie-talkie phone cases, warm hats, and t-shirts with Jester artwork right now.
Get hats, t-shirts, and more!

Check out the options and see for yourself!

Play new puzzles at Rezzed London

We Were Here Merch!

Early Puzzle Testers

Hello Antarctic explorers! We are looking for more people to give feedback on our early versions of the new puzzles. The testing will be done between April 5th and May 3rd. If you think that you and a friend might be up for it, read on!

How will it work?

How can I join?

Welcome to our first We Were Here Together dev blog! Our plan is to use these posts to talk a bit about our creative process, show off some work-in-progress assets, and generally lift the curtain a little on how we develop our games. For this first blog, we'll look at some of the places we take inspiration from when creating assets and designing locations for We Were Here Together. We draw inspiration from all kinds of things as we work on our games - anything from photographs to painted artwork to bits of old stories and legends can be useful! Here are a few of the images weve been using as we work on the base camp - a new location youll be able to explore together in We Were Here Together, the next game in our coop puzzle series!
The first image is from Scotts Hut in Antarctica, which was built in 1911, last saw use in 1917, and is still standing today. Its well preserved due to the incredible cold! Naturally the structures youll see in the new game will be more modern, but in terms of layout and general atmosphere Scotts Hut is still great inspiration.
The second image is more modern. Of course the walkie-talkies will still be a central part of the game in We Were Here Together, and communication in general is vital in any expedition to unexplored places. The mess of devices and cables is also appropriate for We Were Here because figuring it out could practically be a puzzle by itself or maybe it already is ;)
Finally, the third image is a typical art-deco building. Our visual style is a combination of 70s, art-deco, steampunk, and other elements. The walkie-talkies you can recognize as being heavily art-deco inspired, for instance. Well have more dev blogs coming up in future, including some work-in-progress behind the scenes images from We Were Here Together! Watch this space...

The Holidays are almost here, so what better time to have a look at whats to expect next year! As 2018 grows old, we have something new for We Were Here Together! Weve decided to set the release in Q2/Q3. This because we need a bit more time tinkering on the intricate puzzles and challenges, we have some devious minds hard at work here! Weve also had a lot of requests about how to become a beta tester. Rest assured that nobody has been given access yet, were planning a beta test close to release. More information on this will follow, so keep an eye out on our announcements. [url=https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/33592243/fb98d0a3faa0f5865774a3b2391d817c2457a97c.png]
Thats it for now! We at Total Mayhem Games wish you all a joyous Christmas and the best wishes for the New Year, Together!

Its happening! Another We Were Here game is on the way - and its planned for early next year! You can already add the game to your wishlist to get a notification when it releases. Watch the trailer and learn more about the history of Castle Rock! https://youtu.be/m3bb0G0pA6E Visit the expedition base camp for the first time in We Were Here Together, before returning to the sinister Castle Rock once more. You will begin the game together with your partner, before being split up once you reach the castle itself! The latest game features more backstory hidden within the castle halls. What can you discover about the expedition itself? Is this really just another attempt to map the unknown areas of icy Antarctica, or is something more involved? And most importantly will you be able to escape the jesters clutches? You can play We Were Here for free right now if youre curious about what the We Were Here series offers, or check out We Were Here Too, our first commercial game. Each game is connected with story hints and background details, but fully standalone so you can play them in any order you like.