Influent News

[h3]What the heck is this?[/h3]
We know this game is wildly different than Influent so apologies for bugging you if there's absolutely zero interest but we still hope you might like it! It's family-friendly and a love-letter to the couch-party style games of yesteryear. If that floats your boat, check out the Release Date Announcement Trailer below!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Word on the Street[/h3]
If that trailer got you hyped to play it, please do us a solid and tell at least one other person about it. We don't really believe in advertising because we hate ads. Honestly we have no idea how things gain momentum in the collective subconscious but we're guessing it has something to do with word of mouth. If that trailer alone didn't blow your mind, then maybe the Arcade Edition Reveal Trailer will! Here's a list of arcade locations.

[h3]Wish Upon a Blob[/h3]
Here's a link to the Steam Store Page for Armed and Gelatinous: Couch Edition in case you're feeling extra jiggly after watching the trailer. Wishlist it to get updates when it releases on May 2nd, 2024!

[h3]Sale Time![/h3]
To celebrate our big release date announcement, we're discounting Influent for the next two weeks! For those who don't already know, Influent has been consolidated into one Definitive Edition, meaning all 23 languages are now included. Get it while it's hot!

[h3]What's Next?[/h3]
After the release of Armed and Gelatinous: Couch Edition (and a much-needed vacay), I will be able to address some of the feature requests for Influent such as First Person View mode among other things. Excited to be able to re-engage with the community. Thank you all for your patience!

After removing the storyline from the game due to excessive complaints in recent user reviews (and poor sales) since the update, it appears most players were unhappy with that decision! Perhaps I jumped the gun a bit there when I removed the story. I appreciate everyone's support in saying they actually enjoyed it and that it should still be included. So yes, it's back.



Like I literally just said! Ever since I released the last big update, the reviews, forum posts, and overall sales have been pretty terrible to look at. People have some pretty awful things to say about Influent and I guess it took a toll on me as a solo indie developer. I don't think most people realize it's just me making this peculiar language learning game. PSA to anyone unhappy with Influent: When you rip into my game after playing it for fifteen minutes and tell me how terrible you think it is, do you think that makes me want to keep working on it? It honestly makes me want to set it on fire and walk away.



I'm honestly doing fine! Mentally anyway. Financially? Lol! But that's my fault from all the avocado toast I've been eating. Ultimately I don't really think Influent has much of a place in the video game industry given the way things have been trending since it released in 2014. Education is just not important to any publishers out there and in my experience, players on Steam have been extremely critical in their reviews of Influent. Personally I believe games like Influent need extra special care in order to grow and succeed in a market driven primarily by entertainment value as opposed to educational value. Influent specifically gets a lot of flak for not being a one-stop-shop for fluency. It also catches heat for not having enough words (yet everyone complaining about that has less than an hour invested). But I digress...



Look. I am not a highly skilled 3D Artist. Yes, I can do 3D art and I understand how it works but it is not my area of expertise. Furthermore I am not a 2D artist and cannot make texture art in the style of Influent. As I explained above, my addiction to avocados has left me without the income to hire the artists needed to create new areas for Influent. Hopefully that helps everyone understand why I keep adding things that don't involve 2D/3D artwork.



It's an Arcade Game, and I do mean a real arcade game, that my best friend and I have been working on for FAR too long that we're trying to release on consoles this year. I have a business partner named Spooky who I have a commitment to so I will be focused on Armed and Gelatinous until it's done and released into the netosphere! Please wishlist and maybe buy it when it comes out? I need that sweet avo rush as often as I can get it!

That's right folks! Influent's story is finally dead! Let's face it, it was garbage to begin with. I don't know who came up with all that nonsense but it definitely wasn't me. Okay maybe it was me but I promise it was going somewhere until in 2013 when the くそ hit the fan and development screeched to a halt.

What happened you might ask? There's a great quote by John Lennon about how life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. So yeah, it never got finished and I'm sorry to anyone who liked it but it's gone now. Maybe I'll rewrite it someday, who knows!



I spent months developing a chat system so the characters could talk to each other in-game like an RPG kinda thing but it turned out to be a lot of slow-paced clutter and people have complained heaps so that's almost completely gone now! I'm sorry I ever programmed it into existence. That's just me apologizing to myself for wasting months of time. It's cool, everything's fine. I'm not crying. Why would I be crying?



Yeah I guess it might have helped a few people and I'm sure it might leave some in the dark without it but ultimately, Influent is a pretty straightforward experience with a whole world wide web out there where other players can answer questions. That's you right? I'm looking at you! Either way, I'm happy to field questions on the discord and on the Steam forums if anyone ever gets lost or confused. The game just dumps you right into it now. Sink or swim! I hope you swim.

Also I'll probably bring back the FPS mode someday soon, I know you want it back.


PS - The game is also a lot cheaper now! Tell your friends!

In keeping with tradition, I've extended the Winter Sale deal another 2 weeks so if you just missed the deal Influent had going, there's still time to get on board with learning something new in 2023! If you've ever wanted to start on a new language, there's never been a better time than right now.



This version of Influent just launched in November and features a plethora of languages all in one fancy package! How many languages you ask? 23 to be exact! This includes the ever-popular Japanese, Spanish, English, and German, alongside the brand-new Polish, Welsh, and Dutch releases!



Also worth noting is that Korean is now fully fixed as I've just included some additional updates to the language pack. Many thanks to Creorleans#4291 on Discord for all the help with identifying the last few bugs! Solid companion. ːp2cubeː

Also the spaceship's lasers now auto-fire when held down. Enjoy!

[h2]Good As New![/h2]

[h3]Korean Language Fixes[/h3]
It took a few sleepless nights but the Korean language pack is back in action and should now be bug-free! Huge shout out to Steam user TOBESTAR for their help with reporting many of the issues as well as finding a few other gameplay bugs that slipped through the cracks. Also to HyeonJin Shin for coming in hot with 100+ new audio pronunciations!

[h3]Other Noteworthy Updates[/h3]
The game should be running super smoothly now, specifically with regard to Reversal Mode! Beyond that, all Synonym settings should be respected when attempting Star Challenges as well!

Here's a quick changelog of things:

• CHIP Overlay Toggle (Press 'R' Key to toggle)
  
• Added AZERTY Keyboard Support (in-game option)
  
• Added back the FOV Slider back (in-game option)
  
• Remembers view mode after exiting Star Challenge
  
• Adjectives and Verbs now display in Reverse Textual
  
• Synonym selections now display in Reversal Mode
  
• Displayed Answers now reflect synonym selections
  
• Displayed Answers now reflect alphabet settings
  

[h3]Bug Hunting[/h3]
All that said, if you or anyone you love is affected by Influent bugs, no matter how serious, please contact me on the Influent Discord or the Influent Steam Forums with a brief description. :)