It's time, it's time, for the Winter Sale, and we're very excited that Unpacking is 50% off for the duration. If you haven't picked up the game yet, it's the perfect time to dive in and start unpacking. Plushies need to be sorted, kitchen items put away, a tabletop game needs to be set up. From all of us at Witch Beam Games, have a lovely and restful holiday season!

[ 2024-12-20 20:13:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Todays the day! Unpacking is officially available on the App Store and Google Play!

Well keep this post short and sweet because the important information is right thereUnpacking is now available on mobile and tablets, and you can purchase it at the links above. A few FAQs for those curious:

• You can play it on BOTH phones and tablets
• It is a premium title, but the price may vary based on what country youre in.
• There are no ads or in-app purchases!
• It's the complete game now designed to play great with touch screen controls right in the palm of your hand!

We hope you enjoy it in its new form, and please tag us (@UnpackingALife on Twitter and @unpackinggame on TikTok) if you take any particularly good photos or videos of you playing it out in the world. Wed love to see them!

[ 2023-08-24 22:00:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Were happy to announce that Unpacking is coming to phones and tablets! This has been a long time coming, and we cant wait for you all to experience it on iOS and Android phones and tablets later this year! We shared the trailer during Wholesome Direct, and you can check it out below (including a cute cameo from the plushies!): [previewyoutube=ts0NpMdm6F4;full][/previewyoutube] Cheers, Emily and the Witch Beam team

[ 2023-06-10 18:53:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Weve got news to share!

We have an announcement coming upand you can tune in to see what it is this Saturday! Wholesome Direct is a yearly celebration of exclusive footage and announcements from 70+ indie games, and this year, that includes Unpacking! As a heads up, its not a DLC announcement, but its still something that a lot of folks have been asking for! So mark your calendars for Saturday June 10th at 9AM Pacific Time / Sunday June 11th at 2AM AEST (yes, well be very sleepy) and tune in on YouTube or Twitch!

In other news...

More beautiful fanart by alxxjms Disegno published a really lovely piece on Unpackinghitting points about the expansiveness and limits of cozy and wholesome games as a genre, the sadness we can feel when comparing our life to that of a protagonist, and the stories that are told throughout Unpacking. Its well worth a read!
Dont forget, Unpacking merchandise and plushies are still available at Serenity Forge! We absolutely love seeing them come to life, and as shipments are arriving at folks homes, its brought us so much joy! See you all Saturday at Wholesome Direct! Cheers, Emily & the Unpacking team

[ 2023-06-08 00:23:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Wait, did you think we were done with merch? SURPRISE!!! Weve got a second wave of Unpacking-related goodies for you, and yes, it includes PLUSHIES!

Shop the collection

Looking to cover your bed entirely with plushies? Look no further! Weve got all our favorite plushies available, like Piggy, Tiger, Mama Hen & Chicks (as a set or as blind boxes!), Froggy, Kitty, Bluey the Dragon, Cool Duck, and Beetle.
Next up, a lovely stationery set, complete with journal, pen, pencil, ruler, and washi tape! AND an Unpacking pouch, with some of our favorite items spilling out of a box.
Weve got replicas of some of our favorite posters in-game to decorate your walls including 3 Miles Home, the Angel Puppy, AntiHero Season 2, and the Unpacking key art!
One more t-shirt, this one of our favorite BFFs sitting on their respective boxes. And finally, if you want to chronicle how many achievements you got, nows your chance. Weve got sticker versions of all of them!

Shop the collection

Weve been waiting to share this news with all of you, and hope youre as excited as we are! Cheers, Emily and the Witch Beam team

[ 2023-04-27 18:02:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Two great interviews, one with Edge Magazine and one with Gameshub, that were quite proud of! We talked to Edge about a huge range of things, from choosing which items came along from each level, sentimentality, level design of the post-boyfriend level, UI/interface, and of course: fan theories.
With Gameshub, the conversation began with our definitions of home, and then we discussed the idea of stuff in the game, what you can control (and what you cant), and how the ways people play the game is still so, so varied.

Were headed to GDC!

Its a month out (how is that possible?) and were headed to GDC to give two talks. Please come join us if youre attending the conference! Wren will be giving a talk about building a game in a way that defies many game design mechanics, and why they made these choices, called 'Unpacking' Zen: Designing a Game Without Fail States or Scores on Wednesday, March 22nd at 2-3:00 PM PT Emily (thats me!) will be giving a talk on social media and marketing a game after its launch, and how to maintain momentum, called 'Unpacking' Fan Expectations and Driving Engagement Post-Launch on Tuesday, March 21 at 1:20-1:50 PM PT

Dont forget!

Unpacking physical editions are still available at major retailers (Amazon, Target, and others!) and you can still pick up Unpacking merchandise from Serenity Forges online shop. Weve been loving seeing people share their pictures of packages arriving! Also, weve been posting some looks behind the scenesas well as some creative interpretations of what people think some of the items areon TikTok, so join us there if youre interested! Cheers, Emily & the Witch Beam team

[ 2023-02-28 03:33:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

This past year has flown by so quickly, but its been an absolutely wonderful journey. To celebrate a full year of Unpacking, we thought it was the perfect time for the official release of our merch collaboration with our friends at Serenity Forge!

SHOP NOW

Weve got a collection were so proud of, so get ready to unpack:

• Fabric storage cube (yes, the chickens are all there)
• Enamel pin set of different achievements in-game
• Two different keychainsone with Piggy & Tiger, one with all the chickies!
• Two different t-shirtsand the Piggy one has a POCKET
• Fruit coasters, just like in the later levels!

And of course, since its our one year anniversary, Unpacking is officially on sale here on Steam for 30% off so if you know of anyone that hasnt played, nows the perfect time to pick up the game!

SHOP NOW

Finally, we cant help but look backwards at what a year its been. Weve put together an infographic of our favorite statsincluding that weve officially sold over a million copies of Unpacking!
Cheers, Emily and the Witch Beam team

[ 2022-11-02 16:30:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Weve been joking that Unpacking is built in a secret third dimension - this is what it looks like in-engine! The ACMI museum in Melbourne has put up a display about Unpacking! It has original notes, sketches, and a crocheted version of the Pig plush that ZebracornCreations made for the team). If you get a chance to go to Melbourne, make sure to check it out, but if not, its definitely worth pursuing online!
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote a piece on kinder, cosier video games, and Unpacking is featured alongside other Australian games. Its well worth a read, especially if youre looking for new games to add to your queue. Audio Director Jeff van Dyck was interviewed on the Sifter podcast, talking about using music to tell the story of Unpacking. Wren joined GLITCH to read reviews of Unpacking, and we find out who feels strongly about soy sauce placement: [previewyoutube=vApUJU3pXq4;full][/previewyoutube] Cheers, Emily and the Witch Beam team

[ 2022-10-18 23:51:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

How on earth is it September already!? Time flies, especially when youre headed to multiple events like we have. The team headed back to BitSummit for the first time in three years (!) and showed Unpacking, as well as Witch Beams newest game, Tempopo. Then, we bounced over to New Zealand for Wren to give the keynote at NZGDC. But were home now, thank goodness! Were VERY excited to share that Unpacking merch is coming soon! Were so excited to have partnered with Serenity Forge to create some things were so excited to have in our hands soon and do our own IRL unpacking of boxes!
Weve got two t-shirts, one with a rendition of the final scene that says Unpacking a life with you, and the other with Piggy peeking out of a cardboard boxand the box is a POCKET! Then some keychains of some of our favorite plushies (jk we cant pick favorites, we love them all) AND an enamel pin set of some of the achievements in the game. Theyll be available at PAX West this weekend in Seattle (at Serenity Forges Booth: #757), and after that well, youll just have to stay tuned! (and we just might have a few more things in store for you ) Also at PAX West, well also be a part of Pinny Arcades Pin Quest with these fantastic enamel pins that will be available at the Humble Games booth (#317).
Jeffs GDC talk is now officially on YouTube! Go listen to him talk through all the intricacies of foley in the game. [previewyoutube=mA4nZQA2wrs;full][/previewyoutube] A great piece on Jewish characters in video games featured Unpacking and its well worth the read! We wanted to make the characters feel like real, three-dimensional people so that players could relate to them. One aspect of that is a religious and cultural identity. Our character happens to be an artist, and she happens to be queer, and happens to be Jewish. All of these are important parts of who she is. Our Discord is finding new and exciting ways to play the game, play Dark Star mode, and speedrun (yes, we have a speedrunning community!). Our current favorite is Floor is Lava mode for Dark Star, where you still have to put everything in the wrong place, but the floor is off-limits! Let us know if you give it a try.
Finally, do you know anyone that hasnt grabbed the game on PC yet? If so, Humble is having a sale through September 6th, and Unpacking is 20% off in their store. Thats all for now! Cheers, Emily & the Witch Beam team

[ 2022-09-03 17:09:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're so excited to be a part of the Tiny Teams Festival here on Steam! As part of it, Unpacking is 20% off through next Monday, August 8th. Be sure to check out all the great games that are taking part in it!

[ 2022-08-01 19:22:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Above: @beezelbee_ is building the 1997 room in miniature, and were loving following the process Hello Unpacking fans! Its been a busy month, but at this point, maybe theres no such thing as a slow month!

ABC Australia Mini Doco

Were very excited that this mini-doco has come outABC Australia came to Wren and Tims apartment on the day of the game launch, and its crazy to think about how far weve come since this day in November. [previewyoutube=OiEg4brhXUA;full][/previewyoutube] We also got reminded that we made our Twitter account four years ago, and its resulted in some nostalgia as we think about where we were at that timeat Stugan, in Sweden, building out ovens and taking the first pass at the 1997 level! Wild to see all that progress.

Listen & Learn

Jeff & Ange have been giving some great behind-the-scenes looks at the sound design behind Unpacking. First up, they were on Level with Emily Reese to talk about sound, music and the complications of recording foley for the game, and then followed that up with a video as part of Save & Sound, which dives into the environmental ambiance of the levels (listen for a school letting out at around 3PM in the first level!), how they tracked the sounds of objects across different surfaces. And keep in mind theres variations on each sound as well! We put together [url=https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackinggame/video/7120658471015435521]a TikTok of some of our favorite soundswhats yours?

Another peek

On the other end of things (narrative and game design, that is!) Wren & Tim have had a few chances to take some deep dives as well. The PlayStation podcast had them on to talk about different playstyles, hidden details (if you shake the PS5 controller, it shakes the item!), and telling narratives in unique ways. Then, on an episode of Noclip, they talked about all the systems behind the game, and the video is a great look at the game being built in Unity as well as the grids on each level for item placement! [previewyoutube=-zaVo2KdMIk;full][/previewyoutube]

Were headed to BitSummit!

So excited to announce that were headed to BitSummit X-Roads this year! We showed Unpacking at BitSummit in 2019, and were so glad to be headed back. If youll be therelet us know!

Easter Egg found!

Were delighted to say that the easter egg from last months newsletter has been found! Its found by interacting with the game console in the 2015 leveland is Witch Beams next game, TemPoPo! Thats all for this month! Next month brings BitSummit and Wrens keynote at NZGDC, and we cant wait to share both with you! Cheers, Emily & the Witch Beam Team

[ 2022-07-28 00:04:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Get ready!

The Unpacking audio crew are part of this years Save & Sound on Steam! Angela & Jeff Van Dyck have produced a video that goes into some of the gory details of how they created Unpackings award winning soundscape. Join us on July 14th at 1PM PDT to watch on Save & Sound's site: saveandsound.io Also, the Unpacking Soundtrack will be 20% off during the eventso now's the time to pick up the perfect accompaniment to a future move!

More info about the event:

Save & Sound runs from July 14 - 18 right here on Steam, and is one of the largest digital expos about audio and music in games. Featuring concerts, deep-dives, and mashups from 70+ developers from around the world, prepare your eyes & ears for a unique event! Starting at 10am PDT / 7pm CEST, a 4-day live show from July 14 to 17 will stream showcasing all the wonderful content made just for Save & Sound. Check out all the games part of the event on saveandsound.io

[ 2022-07-13 01:25:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Ah, June, that time when the weathers been cooling down, the shortest day of the year has just passed us bywait a minute, whats this about a Summer Sale? Well look, were Australians, you cant blame us! Regardless of the season youre in, were excited to announce that Unpacking is 20% off for the Steam Summer Sale! Have a happy well, whatever season you might be experiencing now! And most importantly: enjoy the game :) Cheers, Emily & the Witch Beam team

[ 2022-06-23 17:02:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

top row and bottom left: Karoliina Korhonen / bottom right: Mara Ambrosoni We are loving these Sims 4 builds that have recreated some of the apartments from Unpacking! If you are so inspired, please share with us on our Discord or on Twitter!

Game makers notebook

ICYMI, weve had two different sessions with the Game Makers Notebook, one with Jeff about sound and music, and one with Tim and Wren about narrative, how the game came about, and more. Check em out!

Some great reads

There have been some great articles recently about Unpacking, and we wanted to share them:

• How a video game about unpacking gets the bisexual experience spot on | i-D magazine dives into streamers reactions to the final levels of the game and how important that representation feels to experience in a game.
• How Unpacking's art combines beauty with clarity | Eurogamer talked with our artist, Angus Doolan about creating isometric designs that can be readable, tell a story, and fit within the mechanics of the game
• The creators of Unpacking on developing a "weird", queer, BAFTA-winning game | Wren and Tim sat down with Eurogamer to discuss mechanics, level design combined with storytelling, showing the many facets of the protagonist, the surprise reach of the game, and more.
• Objects tell stories in Unpacking | Tim wrote a piece for the PlayStation blog about the real-life inspiration for items in the game
• Meet the Brisbane couple who claimed two major prizes at the BAFTA Game Awards | Its been very surreal to have our local news come and interview us!

The G.A.N.G. Awards

Making room on our shelf for two more awardsthis time from the Game Audio Network Guild! We won Best Sound Design for an Indie Game and Best Audio for an Indie Game, and were really proud to be recognized among an incredible slate. You can see the full list of winners here.

A little easter egg to find

A pixel art rendition of the key art for our next game exists somewhere inside Unpacking, and no one has found it yet! Let us know if you find it! Cheers, Emily & the Witch Beam team

[ 2022-06-14 23:11:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're so excited to wish our publisher, Humble Games, a very happy birthday, and because of that, Unpacking is 20% off this week - from now through Friday, May 20th at 10AM PDT!

[ 2022-05-16 17:20:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello all and happy April! Its been a very busy month for us, and its not over yet! First up, were nominated for FOUR Webby Awards, and would greatly appreciate if you could send a few votes our way. Were right on the cusp of winning for two in particular, so click here to vote: Family & Kids, and Best User Experience. Voting closes TOMORROW, so don't delay!

Still time to pre-order

Also you still have time to get your pre-orders in for Physical Editions of Unpacking as well as the soundtrack on vinyl! Pre-orders end May 1st, so dont hesitate!

Have you played Dark Star Mode yet?

Our favorite part of this month, though, was announcing our favorite secret about the game: Dark Star Mode. We announced it on April 1st, and somehow people thought we were joking! Imagine that Dark Star Mode is real, and the only tips well give you are these: make sure to start a new album, and remember that everything has to be in the wrong place: including things you havent unpacked! If you can move it, it must be moved!

GDC talks online

GDC has passed behind us, and you can now watch and read our talks! Jeffs full talk on all things foley is hereand available for everyone!and you can also read a summary on Game Developer. For a look at Wren and Tims talk about narrative, you can also check it out on Game Developer.

Were on cloud nine

In the space of a few weeks, we won two GDCA Awards, Best Audio and the Innovation Award, and then at the BAFTA Game Awards, we won Best Narrative and EE Game of the Year (thank you to everyone who voted to help make that happen!) At the BAFTAs, you might have seen that we were so surprised, we didnt have a speech planned but we realized after it was a great chance to thank everyone involved once wed caught our breath a little.
Thats all for now, and as always, follow us on Twitter for even more news, join our Discord to chat with other fans, and follow us on TikTok for fun videos. Cheers, Emily & the Witch Beam team

[ 2022-04-21 01:34:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

That's it, we're done with organization! Today, we're letting you in on a little secret: a mode where you can put things wherever you wantbut the trick is, nothing can go where it is supposed to go. It's called... Dark Star Mode. [previewyoutube=2Kl5TxNPzr0;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2022-04-01 18:14:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Unpackers! Wings Interactive has put together the Women's Day Steam Event, a great showcase of games from women-led studios, and we're happy to be a part of it. You can check out the full list of games here, and as a part of it, Unpacking is on sale for 20% off! This event & discount will only last until 10AM PT Friday, so don't wait! Happy Unpacking!

[ 2022-03-10 00:27:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

We're honored to announce that we've been nominated for the BAFTA Games EE Game of the Year alongside some pretty great games. What's exciting about this category is it's the only one up for public vote, so if you'd like to vote for us, we'd greatly appreciate it! Voting ends on April 1st, and you can head here to cast your vote. Thank you all for your support! Cheers, Emily & the Witch Beam Team

[ 2022-03-03 01:39:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update adds five additional languages, and addresses some bugs and small issues we've had reported.

• Language support for Italian, Turkish, Indonesian, Filipino and Malay languages - where possible the game will use the language specified in your Steam client, but it's always been possible to set your preferred language in game from the Settings menu on the Title Screen
• Fixed a disappearing text issue that was affecting some MacOS and Linux users
• Fixed various small issues
• Made some adjustments to item validation based on player feedback

We've also had reports that some Mac users are receiving warnings that Unpacking has been blocked because it may reduce privacy and lower security. As this did not coincide with a game update we're not sure what caused this change. Unpacking does not track or transmit user data (beyond anything required for Steam to function) but we do not recommend anyone disregard the safety messages of their operating system. If this update doesn't improve the situation we will continue to investigate.

[ 2022-02-12 01:57:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2022!
Hello Unpackers! I'm Cel, your new community manager. I'll be managing Unpacking's TikTok, Twitter, and more. A lot ofhas been happening this past month, so let's get straight into it!

Award Nominations

Thanks to our wonderful community we are honored to say we've been nominated for several awards:

• 'UNPACKING' AND 'INSCRYPTION' LEAD IN IGF 2022 NOMINATIONS
• [url=https://gdconf.com/news/deathloop-it-takes-two-and-forza-horizon-5-lead-nominees-gdca-2022]Unpacking has three nominations for GDCA
• Unpacking makes finalists for the D.I.C.E awards in the Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
• Unpacking for Outstanding Video Game Nomineee from the GLAAD Awards

You can actually vote TODAY for Unpacking in the following:

• IGF Audience Award
• GDCA Audience Award

We're thankful just for even being nominated and hope that you'll vote for us!

Game of the Year Lists

We've also made it into a BUNCH Game Of The Year lists! Here are our top five favorites:

• Eurogamer(We were ranked #1! Thank you!)
• KotakuAustralia(We ranked #1 here as well! We're so grateful!)
• The New Yorker
• LATimes
• Polygon

Very honored to have been selected for all of these lists and nominations. We thank YOU for loving our game and supporting us so much. We couldn't have done it without you all!

5,000+ Members in our Discord!

We also have reached 5,000 members on Discord! The community space has been crucial to the success of Unpacking and we're happy to share that we grow every day.We're glad that we can share Unpacking with you and you with us.Let's have a great year together! If you're not already a part of our discord, you can join us here: https://discord.gg/unpacking Cheers, Cel and the Witchbeam Team

[ 2022-01-27 23:49:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Unpackers! Guess what? We are still on sale! That's right! Unpacking is part of the Steam Lunar New Year sale for 20% off. Starting right now you can get Unpacking on sale up until the 3rd of February! Happy Unpacking! happyfroggy

[ 2022-01-27 18:02:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Unpackers! We're having our first ever sale with Steam for Midweek Madness! You can get Unpacking for 20% off starting today up until the 27th of January. Happy Unpacking! Cheers, the Witch Beam team

[ 2022-01-24 18:10:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello Unpackers! You did it! You nominated us... and we made it to the Final Five for the Sit Back and Relax category! happyfroggy Thank you so much!! It would mean the world to us if you could vote for us again and help us win we're up against some very cool games, but we're gonna try our best! coolchick
Cheers, Wren and the Witch Beam team

[ 2021-12-22 18:01:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Unpackers! The reception to Unpacking was so good we wanted to make a little accolades trailer to honor all of the joy, emotions, and love we were given this year. In our first 10 days, we sold over 100,000 units of Unpacking which is a mind blowing number! [previewyoutube=m6unR5JdqAs;full][/previewyoutube] Thank you for all for joining us on this journey! Best, Victoria and Witch Beam

[ 2021-12-14 01:18:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Unpackers! Wow, its been a wild month since we released Unpacking on November 2nd. During that time you smashed ALL of our expectations we climbed the top of the Nintendo Switch charts globally, were featured on Steams front page, and so much more. But even more than that, we got to see how much you all loved and connected with our game. Whether it was the diploma moment, the tears, or the discovery of our 14,000 foley audio sounds, you were just as vulnerable and overjoyed as we felt making this. From the entire team, thank you.

Press Round Up

Unpacking seemed to be overall loved by various news outlets, and it was real cool seeing our little puzzle game up there with some big names. If youre interested, we highlighted them over on our blog.

Voting, Community Wiki, and Whats Next

Its still awards season, which means if you enjoyed our game you can help it win some pretty cool accolades! (And then the next time we move, we can awkwardly try and pack the trophies into boxes. If they even come with trophies???) You can vote for us to win the Can I Play That? Accessibility Awards Indie Excellence & Best Cognitive Accessibility. If you feel Unpacking deserves any of these, it would mean so much if you would nominate Unpacking. It only takes a few clicks to do so, and it would mean so much to us! Meanwhile, for those who have been stuck or wanted to discover all the secrets of the game, our lovely Discord community has started an unofficial Unpacking fan wiki, which you can see here. As for the most frequently asked question weve gotten so far Will there be more content?! We love how much the game has connected with people, but we dont currently have plans to make additional content. We are really happy with the arc of the game. Its not the biggest story, but we liked how things finished. Stories start and end, boxes are unpacked, and its ok to feel settled. Its why we spent so long (3.5 years!) working on it we didnt want to cut anything we planned. There is a lot of story hidden in the items and environments. If you enjoyed the game, you can always play through again and see what else you can learn about the characters and story. (Only a few people have discovered one of the biggest secrets..!) Basically: we truly appreciate the love and community behind this game. Not wanting to add more content isnt a sign that we dont care! We want to respect our game and story, and not try to arbitrarily add to it. For now were done, but the future holds many mysteries. If youd like, you can follow the games creative director Wren on Twitter to see what she gets up to, after she takes a well deserved break.

Notes about scams

Its come to our attention there are a number of scam Unpacking apps on the Google Play store. To clarify: Unpacking is NOT available on mobile, and there are currently no plans to port it to mobile. Were sorry for any disappointment! Whew! Thats it for now. Hope you all have a good holiday and rest of your year! 2022 has a lot of mystery to it, but if our game has taught us anything There are plenty of good things to unpack. Cheers, Victoria, Wren, and the Witch Beam team

[ 2021-12-08 05:15:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Unpackers! Its that time of the year - the Steam Awards nominations are now open. Weve received a lot of love and kind words from you all about Unpacking, and nothing makes us happier than hearing how much you enjoyed the gameplay, the sound design, or the ever-growing chick plush collection. Unpacking is a game inspired by the experience of my partner moving in with me, and discovering the story behind every item he brought with him. Plus, a love of organizing, of course. The actual act of moving and unpacking can be a stressful one, but we hope this game made it a more relaxing and reflective experience. If you feel the same, it would mean so much if you would nominate Unpacking for this years Steam Awards for the Sit Back and Relax Award. It only takes a few clicks to do so, and it would mean so much to us. But no matter what, thank you for being a part of this journey! , Wren and the Witch Beam team

[ 2021-11-24 18:00:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update addresses an issue that could prevent the game starting if the window had been moved to a second monitor along with some other minor issues.

• In some cases, moving the game window to a second monitor that had a different scaling factor to the default monitor would prevent the game from restarting. Previously we were advising workarounds but this should no longer be a problem
• When VSync was disabled, the game was capable of excessive CPU usage. A maximum framerate has been set for when the game is run without vsync
• fixed an issue involving drawers that are above doors that could allow incorrect item placement in 2007, 2013 and 2015
• fixed a couple of minor visual issues

Save files and progress should be unaffected. if you have rebound your controls in a way that makes navigating the menus difficult, it's possible to reset them now from outside the game by adding resetcontrols to Launch Options. Remember to remove this text once you've customised your controls or they will be reset each time you start the game!

[ 2021-11-09 05:11:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update addresses an input rebinding issue and fixes some smaller issues and placement rules

• Input rebinding allowed binding the esc key over the primary action input, resulting in menus that couldn't be navigated. This is now prevented and if you had bound it this way the game will revert your input bindings on start
• fixed a Steam integration issue that was blocking progression in rare cases
• fixed issue where items could be placed in the corner of a shower and not retrieved
• fixed issue that occasionally caused items in drawers to be very hard to select if there was an item on the floor behind them
• fixed a "vanishing book" issue caused by holding a book over a shelf while changing rooms
• added a missing sprite to a toothpaste in 2012 and fixed issue where an item in 2018 could be hung on hooks and towel racks when it wasn't meant to be
• tweaked the dining-room reverb in 2007
• fixed an issue that was causing red validation outlines to render with visual artefacts on specific screen resolutions
• several items have had some extra areas assigned to them either because they should have been that way originally or we saw it in someone's stream and were like "yeah, fair"
• fixed other various visual issues

Save files and progress should be unaffected. Features and improvements

• Big Picture mode now uses a virtual keyboard when naming your album
• the pulsing button effect that signals that other rooms have unpacked boxes has been reduced slightly

The pulsing can also be turned off entirely by adding nopulse to Launch Options - this is considered a workaround and will hopefully have an in-game menu option in future. Thank you for playing!

[ 2021-11-06 01:45:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Unpackers! It's finally here.

Unpacking is out now on Steam!

[previewyoutube=vPcoMltTVXE;full][/previewyoutube] Unpacking is a zen game about the familiar experience of pulling possessions out of boxes and fitting them into a new home. Part block-fitting puzzle, part home decoration, you are invited to create a satisfying living space while learning clues about the life youre unpacking. Over the course of eight house moves, you are given a chance to experience a sense of intimacy with a character you never see and a story youre never told. After 3 years of development, we're so excited to finally share our cozy game with the world! We hope you love it as much as we do. There are a ton of ways you can help us out other than just buying the game too. Especially for a small indie studio, we also appreciate things like:

• Spreading the word to family, friends, and even your favorite streamer
• Leaving a review on Steam
• Sharing our news on social media

But no pressure - we're grateful to have you here at all!

Share Your Rooms!

A fun new feature of the game is our built-in playback and GIF maker feature. This allows you to easily capture and share your unpacking process with the community.
One of our favorite things is seeing your creativity and organizational skills shine. Please feel free to tag us on Twitter @UnpackingALife if you end up using the feature. You can also tag us if you stream the game - we might even pop in and say hi!

AMAs

Finally, if you end up having any burning questions about our development process or Unpacking in general, we have two AMAs lined up. You can catch us on either:

• Nov 3, 5pm PST on r/NintendoSwitch
• Nov 9, 6pm PST on r/GirlGamers

And of course, you can also join our community over on Discord if you're looking for like-minded unpackers. Whew, that's all for now. Happy unpacking, and thanks again from all of us at Witch Beam! Cheers, Wren, Victoria, and the Witch Beam team

[ 2021-11-02 08:06:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Unpackers, A quick update to remind you that Unpacking comes out in 1 week on November 2nd! If you haven't wishlisted it yet, now's the time so you don't miss out on when it comes out!

Press Hype

If you can't wait for Unpacking content, you can catch some fun features and interviews from the community here:

• Dev stream with Negaoryx. We played through the first couple of levels and answered community questions!
• IGN Article: Unpacking Captures the Soothing Organization of Moving, Minus the Cardboard Mess
• Press-Start Article: Aussie-Made Zen Puzzle Game Unpacking Should Be On Your Radar This November
• GameIndustry.Biz Article: How Unpacking kept a steady heartbeat after going viral years before launch

Launch Hype

We'll be planning some community events in preparation for launch! Keep an eye out on our social channels for upcoming Reddit AMAs, and join our Discord to be part of the fun when it all comes out. See you veeeeeery soon. Cheers, Victoria and the Unpacking team Twitter Discord

[ 2021-10-26 16:59:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Unpackers! We were honored to have won TWO important awards at the Australian Game Developer Awards this year for Unpacking: Excellence in Accessibility and Game of the Year!
It means a lot to have Unpacking recognised for its accessibility. With no timers and no fail states we felt we had already created a game with a broad potential audience so it became even more important to be as inclusive as possible. Whenever we put the demo in front of someone and they mentioned something they struggled with that we had not intended to be a struggle, we looked into what we could do to improve their experience and in some cases implement settings to adapt the game to their needs. Games should be for everyone! As for winning Game of the Year wow! Were honoured to receive this award, especially given the incredible games we were up against. Unpacking is such a personal project for us the idea came about when two of our team members moved in together, and weve all put a lot of ourselves into the game. Its amazing how its resonated with so many of you! The biggest thanks to all of you in the community for having our back, providing feedback, and just sharing the game with your friends. Its done so much for us, and we hope to make you proud!

Last Notes

The rest of the month is going to be as hectic as ever, so please make sure you wishlist the game! And for those wondering about the price, we can confirm itll be $19.99 USD on all platforms. Hope the clarifies any lingering questions about the game. See you in less than a month! Cheers, Victoria and the Unpacking team Twitter Discord

[ 2021-10-08 17:20:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Unpackers! We've been poking away at getting our last implementations in before the release on November 2nd. (So soon! Agh!) If you're press or a content creator interested in getting a demo key, you can apply for one here, but no guarantees. And if you know of a content creator who would enjoy our game, please feel free to send it their way or poke them politely about it. Every little bit helps.

Dev Diary

If you're interested in the behind-the-scenes of Unpacking, our inspirations, and our journey we just released a whole dev diary about it! You can watch that here. [previewyoutube=WlkUaYklOoQ;full][/previewyoutube]

Fan Art

Finally, here's a little fan creation shout out to @coco_richelle, who recreated a bunch of our Unpacking rooms in The Sims! All our community members' work and encouragement really keep us going, so thank you for that.
One more month to go!! Dont forget to wishlist the game on Steam -- see you VERY soon! Cheers, Victoria and the Unpacking team Twitter Discord

[ 2021-10-01 23:03:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey Unpackers! It's official, we finally have a release date! [previewyoutube=lBFCrQDpaqg;full][/previewyoutube]

Unpacking will launch on PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One on November 2, 2021!

Over the course of 8 house moves, discover the story of a character you never see and a story you're never told. Pull possessions out of boxes, fit them into a new home, and use the items to learn about the life you're unpacking and create a cozy living space. Whether you found out about Unpacking years ago or just now, we're grateful for all of the support you've shown us. If you can, don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam and share the news with your friends, family, community, or even your favorite content creator. As an indie team, it means a lot. But regardless of all that, we just can't wait for you to finally be able to play the game.

The Australian Game Developer Awards

We're extremely honored to be nominated for 4 Australian Game Developer Awards! We're up for:

• Excellence in Art
• Excellence in Gameplay
• Excellence in Accessibility
• Game of the Year

To have our game next to a lot of stellar titles is so exciting, and we can't wait for the award show to begin. This years AGDAs will be held online on 6 October at 7 PM AEDT on IGEAs Twitch channel, so if you're around then, we hope you can tune in! Fingers crossed we walk away with something. :)
And that's it for this dev log! Our heads are down and focused on getting this all done in time, but we'll have some events and announcements leading up to launch, so please keep an eye out. And if you want to join in on our excitement, you can always find us on Twitter and Discord. Don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam too, if that's your preferred platform! Cheers, Victoria and the Unpacking team Twitter Discord

[ 2021-09-14 17:15:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Movers! It's been a busy month for the Unpacking team - we're making steady progress on the game and getting closer and closer to when we'll finally be able to announce a release date... but today is not that day! Instead, here's a small dev log on what we've been up to.

Development Updates

Nintendo Switch progress

• Added touch controls for the Switch (and any PCs with touch capabilities)!
• Saving implemented on the Switch

Quality of life progress

• Hooked up rumble system for gamepad
• Got all of the text in the game localized and implemented

Game progress

• All stages now have music tracks!
• Designed a new UI screen and some buttons
• All art for Stage 4 is now done
• Environment art for final stage is done
• Item art for final stage is 75% done
• All views outside windows across the game are done
• Credits sequence fully implemented
• Made a bunch of changes to items and environments based on feedback from internal playtests
• Added some secret unannounced features.........ssh!

Have you been keeping an eye out on our social media pages too? We've been having a ton of fun with the community!

Pick a Chick

We ran a community voting round to choose a couple of the chick plushies that'll appear in the game. Our Discord and Twitter community each got to vote on a different set of chicks, and the winning one from each platform will be in! Thanks to everyone who voted and helped us decide.

Twitter winner: Chick 4!

Discord winner: Chick #1!

Be proud of knowing that you had a hand in making this all happen! And make sure to join our Twitter and Discord for future community events like this. We also got some great fan art votes! Thank you to @ronjanatt on Twitter for making this amazing cross stitch!

TikTok

We recently created a TikTok account for all things Unpacking! Please give us a follow there if you're interested in seeing more Unpacking action.
That's about it on our end! We'll keep these monthly updates happening. Can't wait for you to finally get your hands on the game eventually. Can you believe 2021 is already more than halfway done? Cheers, Victoria and the Unpacking team

[ 2021-07-29 02:15:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi Unpackers! First, a quick introduction - Im Victoria, the new Community Strategist for Witch Beam. :) Well be seeing a lot more of each other online and in these dev logs, so its nice to meet you! I cant wait to unbox more of this game with you. Ohohoho. *Ahem* anyway. The Unpacking demo was recently part of the Steam Next Fest, and in the spirit of sharing, heres some info, cool stats, and fun tidbits for your viewing pleasure.

• People from over 126 countries played the demo!
• 94% who started the demo finished the first level, 81% who started the demo finished both levels!
• One person played the demo 27 times!!! WOW???
• 24% of people found out the mannequin could dab, which is down 5% from last years PAX Online experience. Tragic.
• Only 1% of players made sure that the toilet roll went under, not over (the great toilet paper debate is solved??)

We also launched a Discord alongside the Steam event, and we already have a lovely community of over 700 movers! Make sure to join it if you havent, especially if you like cozy spaces, behind the scenes stuff, and chatting with us. Were lucky to have gotten a bunch of great fan art from a bunch of members like:
By: ImSara
By: [url=https://www.instagram.com/stretchmaybesketch/]stretchmaybesketch
By: keroppibeehive#1027
By: BluPirate And finally to round it all out, heres a list of just a few places that covered the demo:

• Destructoid
• Kotaku
• PC Gamer
• Fanbyte
• Waypoint stream
Thats it for now, thanks for reading through and supporting us! Back to working on the game, and remember to wishlist the game if you havent - it helps us more than you know. Cheers, Victoria -- Twitter Discord

[ 2021-06-29 04:54:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Join Art Director Wren Brier for a look at how the art for Unpacking is made!

[ 2021-06-21 01:55:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Technical Director Tim Dawson and Creative Director Wren Brier will be playing the demo live, answering questions and revealing secrets!

[ 2021-06-19 00:24:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Unpacking demo is back again as part of Steam Next Fest! It will be available from now until Tuesday the 22nd of June. Play the first two stages of Unpacking and explore four of the 35 rooms from the full game, coming out later this year. We also just launched an Unpacking Discord! Come join us here: https://discord.gg/wDhJHrZrmn Enjoy unpacking!

[ 2021-06-16 23:30:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Unpacking has had an exciting E3 so far! Here is everything that's been happening: First of all, we released a new trailer! [previewyoutube=2hFS54C3Vy4;full][/previewyoutube] This trailer premiered at IGN Expo. It contains several reveals:

• Two of the rooms in the third stage of Unpacking, which we've never shown before!
• Photo mode with stickers!
• Unpacking is being published by Humble Games!
• In addition to PC, Unpacking is coming to the Nintendo Switch!

Our next event was Wholesome Direct (find us at 49:10): [previewyoutube=Ozqhc7YXd3M;full][/previewyoutube] In this one we reveal:

• The premise of stage three: You have housemates in this one!
• An additional new room, the living room!
• New feature: Floorplans! These make navigating larger levels easier and give additional context about your environment.
• Another new feature: Pinboards! Pin up drawings, postcards, and more.

Finally, we'd like to announce that the Unpacking demo will be returning once again on Wednesday for Steam Next Fest And along with it we will be launching an Unpacking Discord! I'll be posting another update about both of these when they go up. Cheers, Wren

[ 2021-06-15 05:32:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Unpacking demo is available from now until Monday the 26th as part of LudoNarraCon, a digital convention celebrating narrative games. Experience the first two stages of Unpacking and explore four of the 35 rooms from the full game, coming out later this year. The demo is playable only for the duration of the event so don't miss out!

[ 2021-04-23 17:00:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Join Creative Director Wren Brier and Technical Director Tim Dawson for a casual playthrough of the Unpacking demo as they reveal secrets and banter about where to put the toaster.

[ 2021-04-23 00:00:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Curious about how the idea for Unpacking came to be? Or how a mundane chore could be turned into a fun and chill game? Find out in this interview with Unpacking's Creative Director Wren Brier. Wren will be in the chat to answer your questions, too!

[ 2021-04-23 00:00:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Join Unpacking's Technical Director Tim Dawson on a behind-the-scenes tour of the tools and tech used to make the game and learn how the intricate multi-layered rooms are constructed.

[ 2021-04-23 00:00:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Join us on the Fellow Traveller Discord for a developer Q&A! Come ask us anything you want to know about Unpacking. Find us in the Attendee AMA channel once the event starts. Discord link: https://discord.gg/fellowtraveller

[ 2021-04-23 00:00:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

If you missed our demo back in September or if you just felt like playing it again, you'll be able to give it a go starting tomorrow! Unpacking will be part of LudoNarraCon, a digital convention celebrating narrative games, from April 23rd to the 26th. Check out the full line-up! The demo will be playable only for the duration of the event, so don't miss out! In addition to the demo, we will also have something special for you each day: Friday: Gameplay Stream with Developer Commentary Saturday: Interview with Unpacking's Creative Director Sunday: Developer Stream with Unpacking's Technical Director Monday: Developer Q&A Check out our News Hub for times and info about each event! (Each stream will loop for 24 hours after the live event) We hope you're as excited about this as we are! Cheers, Wren

[ 2021-04-23 00:00:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another minor update! Don't mind us! Changes include:

• The sound the Star makes when you put everything in valid places no longer plays repeatedly if you keep moving things about - we were watching people stream the demo and it got super annoying, honestly it's the only reason we're doing this update
• esc button on the main menu will skip the logo sequence for people who are in a hurry to play our extremely chill slow paced game

[ 2020-09-17 10:19:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've released a minor quality of life update to the Unpacking demo! Changes include:

• Made the "Witch Beam" whisper quieter so it's not as scary
• Added control-click for turning items for our one button Mac mouse friends
• Several items have been marked up to be allowed in more places
• Caught an issue where the game might not auto save if you quit too quickly
• Fixed issue where room icons could show up wrong on load
• Escape key no longer immediately quits from the main menu

If you've already successfully played through the demo these changes are unlikely to give you a different experience but we're hopeful they'll make things a little bit nicer for anyone who checks it out between now and the end of PAX. But of course you can play it again if you'd like, that's totally allowed.

[ 2020-09-15 09:41:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

PAX Online has selected Unpacking as one of the 20 games theyre featuring in their Indie Showcase! Our favourite part of doing shows has always been letting people go hands on with the game, so for PAX Online well have a demo available through Steam for the duration of the show. The demo covers the first two time periods in the game and only scratches the surface, but it should give you a taste of how the game plays ahead of our full release next year. The full game will have over 30 rooms across eight time periods, so there is still lots more to unpack! The demo will only be available during PAX Online, so don't miss out! Let us know if you enjoy Unpacking we'd love to hear what your favourite items and rooms were. Cheers, Witch Beam

[ 2020-09-12 07:00:31 CET ] [ Original post ]