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Giving Away Keys to 60+ Games

As a way of thanking folks who have supported indie adventure games, we've been giving away keys to 150 games -- and we've still got 60+ games left! You can read more about it here.

Here's the short version!

(1) If you have left a review for one of these adventure games:

Primordia
Resonance
Whispers of a Machine
Guard Duty
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi
Mage's Initiation
Quest for Infamy

(2) Then check this list and see if there's anything you'd be interested in playing.

(3) If so, add me as a friend and shoot me a message linking to your review and telling me what key you want. If it's still available, I'll send it your way!

A couple caveats: I'm doing all of this by hand, and given the press of holiday business, I may be a bit slow in responding. Also, I'm near the Steam maximum for friends, so I need to unfriend folks after sending the keys to make room for new messages.

Happy holidays to all, and thanks for supporting indie adventure games!

Still Giving Away Keys to Many Games!

As previously mentioned, we are giving away approximately 150 game keys to celebrate indie adventure games!

Here's the short version!

(1) If you have left a review for Primordia or one of these other adventure games that could use more attention:

Resonance
Whispers of a Machine
Guard Duty
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi
Mage's Initiation
Quest for Infamy

(2) Then check this list and see if there's anything you'd be interested in playing.

(3) If so, add me as a friend and shoot me a message linking to your review and telling me what key you want. If it's still available, I'll send it your way!

A couple caveats: I'm doing all of this by hand, and given the press of holiday business, I may be a bit slow in responding. Also, I'm near the Steam maximum for friends, so I need to unfriend folks after sending the keys to make room for new messages.

Happy holidays to all, and thanks for supporting indie adventure games!

Giving Away Keys to ~150 Games to Promote Indie Adventure Games

Ever since Primordia reached 2,000 reviews here on Steam, I've been meaning to do a game giveaway. Soon after Primordia's original release in 2012, I had the idea to "tithe" the royalties I got and donate that money to other developers, whether via Kickstarter projects (I backed around 220) or charity bundles (I donated to ~30). Over the years, I've given keys away to Primordia purchasers who were disappointed in the game on the theory that no one should come away unsatisfied from buying Primordia. But our good fortune has been that most purchasers really like Primordia! And with limited free time, I've never been able to play many of the games I've backed. I've tried various ways of giving away keys over the years, but I've still accumulated a substantial backlog of about 150 keys -- some to acclaimed games, some to labors of love that never took off.

So here's what I'm doing!

In order to use these keys toward my original goal of promoting fellow indie developers, I'm happy to send a key if you leave a review for Primordia or, if not our game, any of these other adventures, which I feel never got the attention they deserved:

Resonance
Whispers of a Machine
Guard Duty
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi
Mage's Initiation
Quest for Infamy

To be honest, I've not figured out the mechanics of exactly how to execute the giveaway, but here's the basics. Check out the list here and see if there are any that interest you. If so, add me as a friend on Steam and message me a link to the review of any of those games or Primordia. Let me know what game from the list you'd like. If it hasn't been taken yet, I'll send you a key (though my responses may not be immediate). If it's been taken, pick another if it interests you. The whole thing is going to be clunky and cumbersome since I'll be managing all this by hand, but hopefully it well help promote our fellow indie adventure game developers, pass these keys along to people who will play and enjoy the games (that's why games exist!), and generally spread holiday cheer. I'll try to do it as fairly and efficiently as possible!

Welcome Summer Sale Customers!


Every Steam sale we have the pleasure of having new players discover and explore Primordia. Happily, most of those players come away very satisfied, but some of them are disappointed. In hopes of minimizing the latter category, I wanted to share a few notes about the game for new players:

(1) There are no dead-ends and you cannot die. Some of your choices may change the course of the game a bit, but nothing closes off "good" (or "bad") endings altogether. So playing should be a low-stress experience.

(2) If you are unfamiliar with old school (1990s) adventure games, a few tips. You can interact with (left click) and examine (right click) many points of interest in a room. You can pick up, use, and combine many items. Horatio is scavenger and a mechanic, so a considerable aspect of the game is salvaging, building, and repairing machines.

(3) If you ever get stuck, you can ask Crispin for help by left clicking on him. If the hint doesn't help, wait a couple seconds and click on him again for another hint. These are designed to get "stronger" (i.e., more direct) if you continue to pester him while stuck at the same spot. If Crispin isn't sufficient help, you can always consult an FAQ or a walkthrough, though I recommend using that as a last resort and Crispin as a first resort.

(4) Many players think that you are required to take handwritten notes. You are not. The game automatically records all necessary information (and some unnecessary information) in the datapouch, accessible by the toolbar or by pressing D.

(5) Many puzzles in the game have multiple solutions or are optional. One puzzle in particular (involving an information kiosk) often stumps players. It is an optional puzzle

(6) If you want to try a demo, you can find one on the Wadjet Eye Games website, though it's from an older build: http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/games/primordia/ If you want a taste of the setting, you can check out our story "Fallen" for free: http://primordia-game.com/fallen.html

I hope you play and enjoy the game! But if you encounter any technical snags and need assistance, come away unsatisfied, or just want to drop a line, feel free to email me at mark at wormwoodstudios dot com, message me on Steam, or leave a post in the forum. The game's coder and I check these things pretty frequently and will try to make sure that you're taken care of!