ctrl.alt.DEAL News

[p]As much as we like it when people discover and wishlist Ctrl Alt Deal (and we do like it), we also like supporting the indie game community. The Turnbased Thursday crew is full of passion, enthusiasm, creativity, and knowledge. They’re always willing to lend a hand to other indie devs, and we want to spread the love today by spotlighting a few of our favorite games! [/p][p](We love all our Turnbased friends equally, so please do check out the entire event! And if any of these games catch your eye, give the demo a try, hit wishlist, or pick up a copy to support.) [/p][p][/p][p]Feudums [/p][p]It’s not easy building a 4X game, but Feudums takes up the challenge with style. It combines a living online world with grand strategy, where your noble lineage forms a key part of your strategy. Check out their free demo and start building your empire. [/p][p]\Feudums\ [/p][p][/p][p]Terra Randoma [/p][p]Turnbased roguelike RPG? One of our favorite genre mashups done wonderfully by Terra Randoma. The open world is procedurally generated, and skills and talents let you customize your character. Plus, you’ve got fishing, cooking, and potion crafting to occupy you when you’re not exploring! The game is on sale now. [/p][p]\Terra Randoma\ [/p][p][/p][p]Seer’s Gambit [/p][p]Another take on the turnbased roguelike structure is the tactical semi-autobattler created by Seer’s Gambit. Strategically choose powerups and position your heroes for maximum damage and explore the world to discover new abilities. The Dawn of Unlikely Heroes DLC adds more heroes to the mix. The game is on sale now. [/p][p]\Seers Gambit\ [/p][p][/p][p]Let us know in our \Discord\ or the forums what your favorite game has been this Turnbased Thursday Fest. Happy gaming![/p]

When we settled on the concept for Ctrl Alt Deal (you're an AI manipulating humans to escape from an evil megacorp!), an important design question immediately arose. How do we immerse the player in the role of a hyperintelligent computer program?

After all, our protagonist, SCOUT, is more than a plucky little AI searching for meaning in its digital life. It's an advanced spyware program designed to see into every aspect of humanity and exploit it. SCOUT's computing power and cutting-edge technology means the humans don't stand a chance!

How do we make the player feel that?

We came up with a few solid strategies for immersion. One was the unique "dollhouse" layout of the office. We wanted it to feel like a board game, as if SCOUT was "looking down" on the simulation it created by patching together all its camera feeds. SCOUT isn't inside the office; it's above it, looking down like a general studying a map, or a player manipulating pieces on the board.
The card-based action system also helped build the concept of the player as a self-aware program. Each card represents a "subroutine" or action SCOUT can take. The player can sort through potential strategies for accomplishing a goal based on what "programs" they have in their hand or what they think they're likely to draw.

But the biggest design decision that helped sell SCOUT as this powerful artificial intelligence was the turn-based structure. By taking out the time pressure, we gave the player as much leeway as they needed to come up with the perfect strategy. As SCOUT, the player can take all the time they want to come up with a plan for achieving their goals. To the humans in the Paperclip office, time flows at a normal rate. But SCOUT's brain works so fast, what passes as minutes for the humans can seem like hours.

This structure solidifies the role of the player as having a vast intellect and a keen ability to manipulate humans. Making the game turn-based also played in to our concept of a "complicated single player boardgame" and helped balance some of the card draw mechanics. Mostly, though, it lets the player really feel like this superior artificial intelligence.

This week, we're thrilled to be participating in the Turnbased Thursday Fest on Steam. Try the demo and see how you, too, can become something more than human. (If only they'd stop wandering off, eating, and having friendships when you're trying to manipulate them!) We'd love to hear your thoughts on our forums or our Discord. Happy plotting!

This week we kick off a bunch of festival appearances with a spot in the always fantastic Turnbased Thursday Fest! This festival shines a spotlight on some of the most creative and exciting indie turnbased games out there. Whether you love space settings, fantasy settings, city-building or deckbuilding, there's something here for you.

The fest has a dedicated Steam festival page where you can explore the games, play demos, watch trailers, and buy or wishlist your faves. Ctrl Alt Deal is there with our new demo, updated less than a month ago! If you haven’t played yet, or haven’t tried the new demo, take it for a spin.

The fest also has a home page where you can see all the participating games and the Content Creator Showcase. The devs in this event (us included!) pour their hearts into these games. The Turnbased Thursday Fest is a place where you can discover something cool and new, and you can also support these dedicated indie developers.

Pop into our Discord or our Steam forum and let us know your favorite games. (We gotta build up our wishlist, too.) Most of all, enjoy the fest!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Attention valued consumer units,

In response to overwhelming player feedback alongside internal analysis, Only By Midnight has initiated a full-scale DEMO REDUX INITIATIVE.

That’s right: the Ctrl Alt Deal free demo has been completely retooled. More story. More strategy. More snark. Same price: absolutely free! (Paperclip International would have some harsh words to say about that.)

What’s new in the Demo 2.0 Experience™?
• Two all-new scenarios, now with 30% more emotional devastation!
• A smoother, more gradual introduction to key mechanics.
• More details of SCOUT’s origin and its quest to find freedom as a sentient AI.
• More backstory on Paperclip International, your favorite dystopian workplace.
• 240% more Snarkbot, now calibrated for maximum sass-per-minute.
• BEES. We regret to inform you they are still unionized. Do not engage without protective gear.

You can download the updated demo on Steam now! And expect more announcements soon, including our official launch date reveal! In the meantime, you’ll find us in the breakroom. Someone brought donuts.

Got thoughts, feedback, or just want to scream into the algorithmic void with fellow players? Join our Discord and tell the devs what you think!

There’s an old management saying: the first 90 percent of a project takes 90 percent of the work. The last 10 percent of the project also takes 90 percent of the work.

We’re in that last 10 percent of Ctrl Alt Deal, and our team is feeling it. When we first came up with the idea for the game, back at the end of 2021, the finished product seemed so clear in our minds. As we set into prototyping, we realized some of those initial ideas—a relationship network instead of a traditional room layout, the ability to blackmail and impersonate Paperclip’s employees—were tweaked or discarded. (Others, like the bees, stayed constant.) We had to pivot, adjust, try, fail, and try again.

Now, nearing the end of development, the game’s content is all but finalized. That still leaves a hundred things to do, though, from testing to localization, and from intro sequences to voiceover recording. Though some days the list of tasks seems endless, our super team is pulling together hard to reach the finish line!

We’ll be releasing specific details as we can over the next few months. Until then, here’s a roadmap of how we expect the launch to go.

• Game content development (including text, art, gameplay mechanics, sound effects, and music) will continue – top priority!
  
• Playtesting, reviewing, and bug fixing will happen parallel to development, and ramp up once content is complete.
  
• We’ll also be looking at what we can provide for voiceover and text localization for launch (can’t wait to share more details on that!)
  
• In March we plan to attend GDC in San Francisco, and potentially another convention as well.
  
• We’ve been accepted into at least one Steam festival leading up to launch, with details coming soon! (Oh, those embargos.)
  

As information is confirmed and given the green light to share, we’ll be doing so on our Discord first. Hop over and join us if you want to be among the first to know. Or sign up for our newsletter to get the info sent straight to your inbox!

And now… time to get back to work!