Hello Everyone,
It has been a few months since we’ve made an announcement, but we have been working very hard behind the scenes. Now is the time that we can begin to talk about what we’ve been working on.
First, we’d like to thank everyone who helped support us in the development of Shoppe Keep. This was a phenomenal experience. We had some great support from dozens of youtubers and streamers. The community grew into a helpful bunch sharing and commenting to help newcomers learn the mechanics of the game. It was also excellent step forward in the video games industry for a Lithuanian developer who was still working in a shop themselves while spending their evenings and any free time developing Shoppe Keep
Making games was a personal dream for Arvydas, Daniel and Andrea. But with your support Arvydas could leave his day job and focus on video game development as a full-time career. Which in Lithuania is very difficult as the games industry in that country is incredibly small.
So, what have we been doing since the release of Shoppe Keep in May 2016? Well:
• Shoppe Keep received patches and a couple of content updates until June 2017
• We founded a new development studio in Lithuania known as Strange Fire.
• We also expanded the team size to include new artists and an up and coming programmer.
• Of course, we still work with Andrea and Daniel for art and music too.
• We experimented with VR technology (which was great fun, but not yet a sustainable technology, we hope that changes very soon as we love VR!)
• And have been working on a secret title, which we will talk about very soon
Of course, none of this is possible without the community of Shoppe Keep and for that we are very grateful. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to make games for a living
Shoppe Keep is our child, we love what it became and know there are others that love it too. Shoppe Keep began as an affordable $5 game on Steam, but evolved into something much bigger than we had even expected. There are of course those with very valuable constructive criticism as well. We hope that in time we can learn from that criticism too.
The biggest request and the common consensus is that players (whether they gave a thumbs up or thumbs down) saw great potential, and want to see more. We supported Shoppe Keep after launch with some new content and fixes. But we know that players wanted something new, they wanted new mechanics and the game to receive a new layer of polish. We are of course new to games development, Shoppe Keep being our first ever game, but we do take a lot of feedback on board as we try to improve.
Therefore, we have been working for several months on something new, yet familiar. That secret title mentioned in the bullet points… Well, it’s
Yes, we are working on a sequel to Shoppe Keep, currently titled ‘Shoppe Keep 2’. But while in a little while I’ll reveal the new mechanics and additions to Shoppe Keep 2. Of course I can guess the kind of questions this announcement will make. So let’s hit them head on!
I Own Shoppe Keep 1, What Do I Get?! HUH!?
Well of course, you beautiful people will receive something special. I can’t divulge all the information just now, but In the next few months we shall be sharing more details.
Why make Shoppe Keep 2 instead of updating Shoppe Keep?
Well, there comes a time when the suggestions from the community are so game changing, that it literally turns the game into another game, hence the term game changing. Shoppe Keep was the work of a developer starting within the industry, revisiting the code and trying to attach new parts becomes a more difficult process and turns the project into some sort of Frankenstein’s monster!. Add to the fact that Unity also updated their game engine and the porting process could eat up time which would be more appropriately used on game mechanics.
But if we are being honest, The team were not experienced game developers when we began working on Shoppe Keep… The code for Shoppe Keep is a maze and a mess. Our lack of experience in development meant that handling the current code of Shoppe Keep to make new features becomes harder and harder and in the end means that there will be man hours wasted trying to utilise old code from our first ever game.
Shoppe Keep 2 does not use any code or even artwork from the original game. We know exactly where our downfalls were while making Shoppe Keep and we factored this into the development of Shoppe Keep 2. We handled the code so that it was expandable, we created new and better art which makes our game have a higher level of polish and presentation.
There were some lovely features suggested by the community and battling against the current code to implement them would be a losing battle for time and efficiency.
The team are more experienced and larger now, and we hope that the lessons learnt from Shoppe Keep and even Craft Keep VR have allowed us to improve ourselves and the games we are making. Shoppe Keep 2 is going to receive the same, if not more love than the original ever had because while we started out with the original Shoppe Keep unsure if there was an audience… We know you really like the idea and will be hitting this out of the park and hope that we entertain and surprise you as the development of Shoppe Keep 2 continues.
When will Shoppe Keep 2 release
We are looking at releasing the game in Early Access during the first half of 2018.
Will there be multiplayer in Shoppe Keep 2?
Yes… I’ll share details very soon, but clearly this is the most requested feature for Shoppe Keep by far.
Can I still sell weed in Shoppe Keep 2?
Yes, in fact, if your shoppe focuses its inventory you may see some rewards!
So Tell Me About Shoppe Keep 2
If there’s any other questions, I may update this announcement, but I think these are the core questions many of you will be asking. Here are some early screenshots of Shoppe Keep 2:
A bigger Team size
The development team for Shoppe Keep 2 has in fact doubled. The new team size has allowed us to focus on areas which we had lacked before in the original Shoppe keep like UI design
Jumping isn't going to make you money
But it's something you can do! Jumping comes as standard in Shoppe Keep 2, perhaps the most requested thing apart from Multiplayer.... Which we also have
So there’s multiplayer?!
Yes! One of the biggest requests for Shoppe Keep was the ability to play with others online. Shoppe Keep 2 is already functioning with up to four player co op. Those of you who wish to avoid any contact with others online can of course still play the game on your own.
A changing economy affected by sales of players
We have been investigating ways where players are able to opt in to sending information on the types of armour, potions and other varying items that players would sell in game. This could then affect the demand and profit of certain items, but could very well be used to shape some interesting seasonal activities.
Customise your Shoppe Keeper
Quite a few options for customisation are available, with more being added throughout development. Change anything from your hair or skin colour, your gender, get some sweet tats or wear odd socks.
Sell, wear and use any item
In the original Shoppe Keep, you could equip several swords and spells from the main menu. But you were unable to equip armour or any of the items in your shoppe. In Shoppe Keep 2, if you can sell it, you can use it!
This also means that not only will you be able to swing a sword around, but you’ll be able to equip mage staffs and use a bow and arrow.
Open And Close The Shoppe At Any Time
No matter the time, the shoppe can be opened and closed at any time. This will allow you to adventure into the town, complete other missions, talk to NPC’s and handle other duties that cannot be done while the shoppe is open.
Evolving towns
The Shoppe Keep 2 map is much more expansive. While the original Shoppe Keep was contained inside a town. Shoppe Keep 2’s world changes over time based on the profit that the player makes. Nearby houses will improve and new opportunities will arise. Throughout the towns will be several vendors where you’ll be able to purchase exclusive goods to sell from your shoppe.
Hunt in the wilderness
Separating the several towns is the wilderness… An area which contains natural resources. You can pick flowers or pick up a sword and hunt various beasts for new items to sell at the shoppe or even ingredients which can be used within crafting.
The Hot Bar and inventory system
We have removed “states”. They were a bit difficult for some players to understand, so instead we have been refining how the inventory system works. To improve the way players scroll through their stock, we’ve added a hot bar which contains on the far left, You can see your equipped weapon, the repair hammer and the broom. But the slots on the right are used to slot items which you plan on selling but also furniture pieces.
Strategic item stock
So while we already have hundreds of new items available in Shoppe Keep 2. If your store specialises in a certain item type, you’ll see some benefits which will include increased profits. How will you know if your Shoppe excels in a particular item type? The Shoppe will generate a sign at the top of your shoppe to indicate which item type you favour inside the shoppe.
Shoppe Expansion
The shoppe can now be expanded not just in width and length, but in height too! More info on this to come soon!
Butt wait, there's more!
This Is Just The Start
The helper bot will be making a return and we’ll have a new quest system. There has been and will be a lot of work to do on Shoppe Keep 2 and if you want to join us as we develop Shoppe Keep 2, you will be able to follow us on the Steam page. Which is below:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/684580/Shoppe_Keep_2
I hope that we answered many questions, and if we didn’t, do let us know and we will do our best to respond.