Journey to the Void News

Hello, players!

It's been a little while since we made the first demo for Journey to the Void available. The first thing we want to say is thank you! Thank you to all of you who took the time to try out our game and for all the feedback you've sent our way. We're a small team, so getting this kind of player feedback has been invaluable to us.

One of the big things we learned is how we get players into their first game. We wanted to make this experience as frictionless and easy as possible without overloading the player with a bunch of new systems as soon as they start.

Game design is full of unexpected challenges, and one of the trickiest we faced was explaining how card direction affects which tiles they hit on the grid. Communicating this sounds simple, right? Well, after playtest feedback and multiple iterations (and a few late-night debates), we finally landed on a solution that feels intuitive and satisfying and we are excited to implement in our next build.

When adding text to the game, we want to strike a balance between giving players the info they need whilst also not overwhelming them with a textbook's worth of mechanics. One surprising discovery in our playtest? Our discard system went unnoticed. When discarding, players can drag unwanted cards to the bottom left corner. We initially didn’t shout out this feature and relied on a small icon as a hint for this action, it turns out many testers didn't notice it at all! Lesson learned: sometimes, a bigger nudge goes a long way.

These are just two of a bunch of smaller changes and little quality-of-life features we have been adding to Journey to the Void as development continues. The whole demo experience has been invaluable to us, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled here or on our Discord, as we will be running more playtests!

Until next time,

RuneHeads

Dear Players,

As the Year of the Snake approaches, the RuneHeads team would like to extend our warmest New Year greetings to all of you!



We wish you a joyful New Year and all the best in everything you do!

We’ve heard that this year is the Year of the Snake, and coincidentally, "Journey to the Void" features many snake-related elements. We hope this brings good luck to all our players!



Stay tuned for more exciting updates about "Journey to the Void"!

RuneHeads

Hello players,

Those of you who got to playtest our game will have a sense of what the story of Journey to the Void is about, but if you missed it let us fill you in:

The game is set in a world on the brink of destruction. What was once a peaceful continent is now devastated by the increasingly frequent attacks of corrupted creatures. The player's goal is to unravel the mystery at the heart of the region and restore peace to this world, teetering between life and ruin.

While this is a bleak beginning, there is hope, which is a key element of our game—finding hope and moving forward. Also, seeing how small changes can make a big difference. That and using your deck of cards to defeat enemies!

However, how this story plays out will be up to you with each run you take part in. You are this world’s hero, and you can shape how you want things to go. That choice and agency will meld with the amount of customisation you can bring to your deck and the strategies you employ while playing the game.

We can’t wait to tell you more and to see you discover how this story can unfold!



RuneHeads

Hello players,

2025 is right around the corner, and we’re incredibly excited for everything that’s going to mean for Journey to the Void! First of all, the game will be launching! We don’t have an exact date for you yet, but it’s going to be in 2025.

Before that there will be a number of opportunities for you to play the game and give feedback, and we hope to work hand in hand with the community to make the best game we can! Our Discord server is one of the best places to talk to us directly! We hang out over there a lot, so be sure to join us!

We’ve been working on Journey to the Void for two and a half years now and it’s been such a joy for us. From sketching the very first prototype to exhibiting it for the first time at Milan Games Week. Then we had our first public playtest (thank you again), and on both occasions, we learned so much from watching people play our game for the first time.

It’s a little scary to put your work out there, you hope it connects with people but you also hope it just works! We feel incredibly thankful that people have enjoyed it and want to follow what we’re doing.

So, what does 2025 look like for us here at RuneHeads? Well, it’s going to be a lot of work, but we wouldn’t want to be doing anything else!

We can’t wait to share this journey with you!

RuneHeads

Hello players,

The days are getting cozier, and we wanted to say a few things before we all head off for the holidays! Firstly, thank you to everyone who participated in our first playtest! It’s been incredibly validating for us to see people enjoying the game, and we’ve got a ton of valuable feedback!

This won’t be the last chance to play Journey to the Void before release, so keep your eyes open for more info as it comes in!

Secondly, we want to say Happy Holidays! It’s been an incredibly busy year for us here at Runeheads, so we’re happy to have some downtime. We are, however, very excited for everything the new year is going to bring!

We can’t wait to share this journey with you!

RuneHeads