Pro Philosopher 2 News

[p]A number of you have expressed interest in Pro Philosopher's arguments and engine, and expressed an interest in being able to make your own arguments for the game. So! We're hosting a little contest. We will make the winner's argument functional in our engine, and released as a free standalone app!

You have until October 2nd to post your arguments to the fan works section of our official Discord. Join said Discord Here!

Here is a template google doc we recommend starting with.

We will then host a vote on the discord that lasts until October 5th to choose which one we make! [/p][p]We estimate the turnaround from voting closing to the release of the app will be around 2 weeks, but ask for some flexibility on that aspect. We may make some small edits while translating it to gameplay if necessary![/p][p]CONTENT RESTRICTIONS: [/p]

• [p]The total scene must be no longer than 300 lines, 4000 words, and at max 2 arguments. [/p]
• [p]The scene must follow the same rules as our discord (No hate speech, engage ideas in good faith, no porn, etc.) [/p]
• [p]The scene can star any characters from Pro Philosopher 1 or 2, knowing they will use the sprites from their original game. [/p]
• [p]The scene could include ONE historical philosopher not from either game, though we will put them in as a cutout with no animations. [/p]
• [p]No more than 5 total characters! And 5 is pushing it. Each character makes things harder to block. (Don’t talk to me about the finale of 2.) [/p]
• [p]Setting can be wherever, but if not one of the locations in Pro Philosopher 2, the background will be some public domain image![/p]

[p]This is meant to be fun more than anything -- topics from philosophy to romance are already being plotted on our server. [/p]

Howdy Philosophers!

We’re thrilled to announce that Pro Philosopher 2: Governments and Grievances will be part of TGAGWCAGA 2024!

What is that you might ask? Is it a very long name with no vowels? If its an acronym, I still want to know why its so long? We know you, and we know you ask the important questions. And unlike the ultimate answer of morality, this one has an answer!

TGAGWCAGA is indeed an acronym, and it stands for





It's a one of a kind indie game showcase streaming this Friday, December 13th!

TGAGWCAGA is a brand new showcase designed to spotlight incredible indie games that truly deserve more attention—while also poking a bit of fun at the exclusivity of The Game Awards. We are in a golden age of gaming, where players have almost endless choices of amazing titles to play. Unfortunately, that means that some really quality games can get pushed under the rug! Never to be seen again! So join us in restoring a little cosmic balance to the universe and check out these incredible (and criminally underrated) games!

Subscribe to TGAGWCAGA's Youtube to watch!

TGAGWCAGA 2024
Friday, December 13th
5:00 PM UTC / 6:00 PM CET / 12:00 PM ET
Watch the stream here: https://www.youtube.com/@TGAGWCAGA

We'll also be part of the Steam Event running from December 13th to December 22nd, featuring tons of amazing indie games, including ours.

Make sure to join us this Friday, tell your friends and wishlist your favorite titles! We'll be hosting a watch party in our Discord, so be sure to hop in and join the fun!

Well, we did the final jiggering, pressed a couple more interface buttons, and it's really real: as of a few moments ago Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher AND Pro Philosopher 2: Governments and Grievances are playable on Macintosh computers!

Go tell all your Mac friends! And if you ARE a Mac friend, welcome!



[h2]The Complete Collection is Also Live![/h2]

With today's Mac launch, and the release of the Soundtrack for Pro Philosopher 2, we are also creating a new Pro Philosopher Complete Collection Bundle: the sequel and both acclaimed soundtracks, for 10% off! Hey, if big AAA studios can do bundles, us small scrappy indies can, too.

If you've enjoyed our strange philosophical venture of ours, it's certainly a good option.

We appreciate each and every one of you: whether you are finding us now, have been with us since the steam launch, or way back since the first cult Flash release in 2013. Here's to many years of Philosophy to come!

CAPRA has been running a few secret tests behind the scenes (how unlike them) and can now confirm, scientifically, that the Pro Philosopher series is going to work on Mac! So, this next Wednesday, both Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher AND Pro Philosopher 2: Governments and Grievances will go live on Macintosh computers!

And to whet your appetite, Apple-ites, the Mac version of the Demo for Pro Philosopher 2 is live RIGHT NOW!



BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

This Wednesday will also see the official release of the Soundtrack for Pro Philosopher 2, both in MP3 and high-quality WAV format. This soundtrack will also contain the notoriously catchy "Who's a Pro Philosopher?" track we made for the trailer of 2!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We're incredibly proud of this series, and happy with how people have been receiving it. We're excited to be able to bring it to a new platform where, let's be honest, a lot of the word nerds live. Like the Philosophy Professor we worked with in making these games, Andy Norman.

Your dream is coming true, Andy! You will be able to play the game again!

Happy NONSENSEing,

The Pro Philosopher 2 Team

Hey all!

I want to once again thank everyone who picked up the game within these first weeks. Your comments and responses have been absolutely heartwarming! But a positive response does not mean there is no room for improvement! This patch includes some bigger changes and additions based on the feedback we've received:

[h2]Saves, Transitions, and Art Visibility[/h2]
Some of you encountered an interesting edge case where, if you saved at the first line after a transition, when you reloaded the line would get grafted onto whatever was last on screen. Worst case, this could even stop you from advancing!



TL;DR: THIS IS FIXED! But for those who want the longer version...

This was because of the trick I implemented to clear the text box during fades: I fired an empty line, waited for the fade to end, and then attached the actual line the empty one to avoid weirdness in the log. If that sounds hacky, that's because it is. We decided to do it better!

Those sequences now use a new command to clear and hide the text box, which has the added benefit of creating a few more moments where our art is fully visible! Going through and verifying these fixes also had me putting a bit more scrutiny on these transitions in general, so they've all gotten a bit of additional polish.

Pythia, stop blinking during my screenshots.

I also added this command to a few more non-transition sequences where seeing the whole scene felt nice! GOOD ART DESERVES TO BE SEEN! We've got legs for days.

[h2]Shortcuts and Sounds[/h2]
We added a few more keyboard shortcuts for keyboard users!

• "I" will open the Idea slate!
  
• "L" will open the log!
  
• "1-4" will use the question moves, when available!
  

Implementing this, however, made us realize that our buttons were not always making noises when triggered with keyboard or controller... which led to the following changes:

• Sounds are always triggered when you activate a button with keys or controller! Yay, feedback!
  
• The next button sound now is toned down a little bit, and gets quieter when no music is playing
  

[h2]Marking up Marx[/h2]
Attempting to abridge any of these philosophers is an undertaking-- and I knew Marx, as debated as he is, would be especially so. Overall response has been good, but those more online than I have made some valid points of where my words could have done a better job expressing our pointy-fingered philosopher. The first argument has thus seen a few small but notable changes to make sure it more accurately represents his vast body of work.



I'm sure this will not be the last time I want to go in and make tweaks to an argument to be a bit more accurate and representative! I did a ton of research in creating this game, but it's still very important I know what I don't know. Kinda, like, one of the main themes of the game.

So! If you are up to your neck in any of these philosophers and feel something strikes you as off when playing, please always feel free to speak up. I won't take it personally! Unless you tell me I stink.

[h2]And that's all! ...For now...[/h2]

There are some other minor line fixes, but those be the meaty things! Once again, thank you to everyone who has been giving your thoughts and feedback. We're clearly listening, and we have a few more things we're tinkering with as possibilities.

Perhaps you'll hear about a big one tomorrow... (which those who watched our stream might already know!)

Love,
Connor and the Pro Philosopher Team