Wanderlust: Travel Stories News

Dear Wanderers,

Listening to your feedback we revamped the beginning of the game and made some of the underlying mechanics more clear. We also increased general stability and fixed some minor issues with saves and achievements.

If you encounter any problems, we’re there to help, at [email protected]

Yours truly,
Different Tales crew

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1051410/Wanderlust_Travel_Stories/

Photo: Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC-BY-SA

Jacek here - lead designer on Wanderlust Travel Stories. I've always thought it's one of the coolest holidays you can imagine. You get to dress as a monster and collect candy around the neighborhood. Fun! But in Poland, when I was younger, I only knew it from TV. In our culture, we do celebrate the dead around this time, but in a wholly different manner.

If you follow Wanderlust: Travel Stories, it's probably because you're curious about the cultures of the world, so here's more about what we do instead of trick-or-treating.

For a person from outside the Slavic region, the Poles' traditional approach to faith and death may seem a bit stiff. We don't sing too many uplifting songs in our churches, and the mass is less about being with the community than about diving into your inner self and quietly contemplating your soul. This is also how we honor our dead.

On November 1, we celebrate All Saints' Day, which is a public holiday. Its name is self-explanatory, however, on November 2, there's the All Souls' Day. This is the proper date when we should honor the departed. These two have mixed in the public consciousness and what we got is two days of not-quite-Halloween.

On those days, Poles light candles on the graves of their close ones. It is also customary to put a candle on unattended graves, under crosses or statues, or graves of unknown soldiers (which are a common sight, considering the scope of the tragedy of World War II in Poland). This results in truly breathtaking views of cemeteries sparkling with thousands and thousands of lights.

We don't dress up or throw parties on All Saints' / Souls’ Day. Still, the atmosphere is hardly grim. It's a paradox, but it's when life is truly bustling. Thousands visit the cemeteries, there's so much positivity and openness around, and the bright aura seen in the evening is a sight to behold. I am not a religious person myself, yet it’s hard not to get captivated by the spirit of this day.

I presume that what you read above is a common tradition across the Slavic countries, however, I can only speak from my own perspective. What do you do in your country around Halloween?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1051410/Wanderlust_Travel_Stories/

Here's something from Artur, our lead writer.

I've been into Slow Gaming for quite a while and Wanderlust: Travel Stories is the result of that. But it's not the only Slow title out there.

Recently at Games Industry Conference 2019, I hosted a roundtable about Slow Gaming. Along with the guests and the audience we tried to define what Slow Games actually are, and how voluminous this genre really is. At one point someone proposed that we go through our Steam libraries and tag all appropriate games with "Slow Gaming".

I think this is a great idea. It should make it easier to establish Slow Games as a genre, and help everyone find interesting titles.

So, are you up for it?

Here's the broad definition of Slow Gaming: it's a trend in game design that's about challenging your mind instead of your reflexes. Slow Games treat you as a mature person and aren't afraid to touch upon real world issues. They let you play at your own pace, and action isn't their point.

If a title fits this description, it's a Slow Game alright, despite of its genre. Journey is as much a Slow Game as Wanderlust Travel Stories or Firewatch. At least I think so. Do you?

If you have a moment to spare, go through your Steam Library and tag whatever game you deem appropriate with "Slow Gaming". Also, post your findings on social media using the tag #SlowGaming to spread the news. "Slow" doesn't mean "Quiet" after all!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1051410/Wanderlust_Travel_Stories/

We're excited to share our game with all of you on Linux! And to welcome our new Linux community, we’re teaming up with GamingOnLinux.com to celebrate the launch with a 33% discount code until November 2 — read all about it here.

Did You Know...
You'll meet a whole bunch of adorable penguins on one of your journeys? The most stylish of nature's little travelers! 🐧

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1051410/Wanderlust_Travel_Stories/

Artur Ganszyniec, writer/designer from Different Tales, the studio behind Wanderlust: Travel Stories, hosted a roundtable discussion about Slow Gaming at Game Industry Conference 2019.

Slow Gaming is a trend in gaming that values thinking and feeling over adrenaline-fueled gameplay, but it's a young construct that's still taking shape. Thus, the main topic of the discussion was the question of whether Slow Gaming is primarily a way of playing games or a design philosophy.

The participants also talked about various Slow Games, trying to find their common traits: the serious treatment of the player, no hard fail states, real-world setting, or referring to the player's life experiences or knowledge.
An interesting point was made that even though Slow Games are serious and often touch upon heavy subjects, they offer the player safety and comfort. They encourage to explore one's own emotions in a way that's rare for adrenaline-fueled games.

"I have to admit I didn't know if the subject would click at all with the audience, but to my surprise, it gathered quite a crowd: from designers to gamers to producers to researchers," said Artur Ganszyniec.

The participants of the meeting agreed to go through their Steam game collections and tag the games they seem fit with #SlowGaming.

Join us and help the Slow and help us define what Slow Gaming really is!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1051410/Wanderlust_Travel_Stories/