Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing News

We're super excited to have Steinwallen, a fantastic history streamer, for an exclusive stream. Tonight he will be the first to play the full version of Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing. We will of course be in the chat and are already very excited!

When: 03.04.2025, 20:30 CET
Where: https://www.twitch.tv/steinwallen

⚓ Are you going to be there to watch? ⚓

In today's video, Elli and Julia talk about how we animate our characters in Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing. Which programs do we work with? Why do we need to be careful not to get lost in detail? Why is efficiency the most important skill as an indie dev?

Have fun watching!

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By the way, if you haven't wishlisted the game yet, now is the perfect time. The Steam algorithm pushes games that have a lot going on on the Steam page in the week before release.

Also: Have you heard about our release party on Discord yet? We'd love to celebrate our second game together with you!

When: 07.04.2025, 17:30 (UTC+1)
Where: On our Discord-Server in the Ebbing-Events channel
What: We'll play The Ebbing ourselves before we drop in on other streamers on Twitch and play a round of stream bingo (we'll explain what that is ;)).

We would be very happy if you join us!

This way to the release party


Best regards from the Active Fungus team

We know that there are many different types of gamer. Some people need lots of action and adrenaline, some want to really rack their brains to solve a quest, some just want to enjoy themselves and indulge in the story.

Of course, there is no game that really satisfies everyone. That's not our aim either. It's clear that we cater for players who enjoy story, excitement and puzzles. Nevertheless, for The Ebbing we thought it would be nice to give our players a few options to customise their gaming experience.

[h2]Different game modes for all types[/h2]

In story mode, the quest log gives you plenty of clues as to what you need to do next to solve the case. It is ideal for people who simply want to immerse themselves in the story and solve exciting puzzles.

Detective mode gives you fewer clues in the quest log and you are responsible for writing down your findings yourself and not losing track. Who have you already questioned? What information are you missing? This mode is for hardcore detectives.

If you have to sneak past enemies, you can also adjust the stealth difficulty. This also allows you to set how exciting these parts of the game are. If you get scared easily (and don't like doing that), this setting is basically your tension regulator.

If our dice skill checks are trying your patience a little too much, we now offer to simplify them or even switch them off completely so that you can get even more involved in the story.

What type of gamer are you? Let us know!

Are the days of barricading yourself in your teenage room for weeks on end, playing your favourite new game, gone forever?

Have unnecessary distractions such as work, friends, family or sport crept into your everyday life in recent years and increasingly outstripped gaming?

How annoying. It happened to us, too.

We often just don't have the time to really immerse ourselves in the big, epic stories of the big game studios. How nice it would be if there were compact RPGs with a gripping plot and gameplay that wasn't overly complex ... hang on, is that what The Ebbing is?

Well, yes! Yes it is :)

Developed by people with the same problems as you, Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing can easily be split over several evenings. Our quests are structured so that our Inspector Schmidt questions one suspicious person after another in order to solve the case.


[h2]Always the same drill ... Where are nuances?[/h2]

Of course, we didn't approach the development of The Ebbing with this in mind. But at some point we realised that we had all developed a bit of CRPG fatigue (CPRG = Complex Role Playing Game), partly because the games take up so much time. Compact, story-driven RPGs like Disco Elysium are few and far between.

Another aspect is that most RPGs always tell the same epic story: Good versus evil, David versus Goliath, world-changing conflicts that ONLY YOU can solve. Stories that deal more with the shades of grey between black and white are apparently rarely suitable for the masses and are therefore often not told by the big game studios.


[h2]An RPG with a complex story is no walk in the park for indie devs[/h2]

However, writing a story game as an indie developer is almost impossible without an absolutely heroic effort from the storywriters and narrative designers: Narrating interpersonal conflicts is not easy. Writing quests that contain no logical flaws and work in any order is almost the final boss of the art of writing.

No wonder there aren't many of them. Why we do it - good question. We just love it too much ;)

What has been your favourite RPG in recent years?

We are delighted to be exhibiting at GG Bavaria shortly before the release of Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing. Come along, bring your friends and play the Ebbing demo as well as the demo of our next title, Medieval Frontiers.