We Were Here Together News

Previously on Walkie-Talk we looked at how we design puzzles for the We Were Here games. However, even with the best ideas in the world a game doesn’t get far without technical developers. Today we’re talking to one of our newest devs, Alex Leestemaker.



Walkie-Talk: Hi Alex! Let’s start with the basics. Who are you and what do you do?

Alex Leestemaker:
My name is Alex, and I’m the new programmer on the team. That means I listen to what the game designers would like in the game, I program exactly what they asked for, and then the next day it turned out that they meant something completely different and I can start from scratch.

What do you think of your work at Total Mayhem Games so far?
This is my first job in the game development industry, and I’m glad it’s at a studio that makes games I’m interested in myself. Puzzle games and co-op multiplayer have always been high up on my list of favorite mechanics in video games. Since I’m new to the industry, working in a smaller team like this also feels more familiar than getting thrown into a big sea of coworkers would probably have felt like.

I like it! I’ve been here for a little over half a year now, and it’s my first job straight out of university. It’s a big jump going from a giant university where everything is planned to hell and back to our small office in Rotterdam, but I like my coworkers here far more than the average uni student.

It’s much more cosy for sure! What are you working on right now?
I’ve been working on a lot of the alpha tests we’ve been releasing over the last few months.

Final question - what are you playing for fun right now?
Currently I’m dumping most of my free time into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Thanks for your time!

A short but sweet interview this week. We hope you liked it! If there are particular topics you think might make for a cool Walkie-Talk, let us know in the comments.

Thanks everyone for your great comments, reviews, and general feedback! The launch has been great, and today we have a first update to resolve some of the issues that slipped through.

UPDATE

Thank you all for reporting bugs back to us. We resolved already a few of the issues. It doesn't cover everything that's been reported yet - see the known issues section for a list of things we're working on. Keep that feedback coming!

Fixes:

• Final chapter in some rare cases didn’t trigger the same events / cut-scenes at both ends
  
• Environments behind a door sometimes popped in, due to slow loading
  
• In very rare occasions the Brewery area wasn’t loaded in for one of the two players
  
• Pipes puzzle sometimes didn’t trigger an achievement
  
• When using the 4-way pipe in the pipe puzzle the leakage isn’t always clear (visual and in sound)
  
• Server browser could not be scrolled
  
• Achievement when inviting a friend didn’t get triggered on some rare occasion
  
• Credits list in menu didn’t always work

Improvements:

• Loading times have been improved
  
• Several minor performance improvements
  
• Organ player is now more visible
  
• Subtitles in various languages
  
• Several minor improvements to the experience

Known issues / planned for future patches:

• New Steam integration, fixing some integration issues and visuals like profile pictures
  
• Microphone issues, where some players experience issues with the volume of the microphone getting adjusted
  
• Players in different regions sometimes have a hard time inviting each other
  
• Players are often connected to EU servers, while in another region
  
• Resolution option in menu doesn’t show all available resolutions due to difference in refresh rates

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This screenshot from hryule made us smile.

There was a fun stream by LIRIK, as well as one by sodapoppin. If you want to compare how quickly you solved the puzzles compared to well known streamers, take a look!


We've been reading the reviews good and bad (mostly good, we're happy to say) and there are lots of good points and helpful feedback. It goes without saying that leaving a review is a great way to support the game. Some were quite amusing. Here are a few we liked.
Happy exploring, everyone!

Total Mayhem Games will be at Dreamhack Rotterdam this weekend, as part of the Rotterdam Games Week! We will be there with our latest game We Were Here Together, and it would be great if you could join us at stand 329! Yes, you personally ;)

In their own words, the event is:
"The world's greatest digital entertainment festival is coming to Rotterdam on 18-20 October 2019. DreamHack Rotterdam 2019 is the major event at the brand new Rotterdam Games Week, and will take place at one of the major venues of the Netherlands: Rotterdam Ahoy."



There's something for everyone at the event, with a LAN party, several e-sports tournaments, cosplay competitions, and more! Even better you can play our newly released third game We Were Here Together at our stand!

Get your tickets here!

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We’re so excited! The game is ready for you to play! For the first time, chill out in the Basecamp and set foot in the Antarctic snow on your way to Castle Rock.

You can get We Were Here Together right now on Steam for $12.99 / €12.99. There is a launch discount of 5%, and players of earlier We Were Here games will get an extra 10% discount!

The third game in the We Were Here series features new gameplay mechanics, locations, an inventory for you to fill with curious items, and of course new puzzles. In response to your requests, there is more emphasis on story than ever before, and several large environments to explore and solve puzzles within.

Your adventure will start out at the base camp...

There are several great innovations in We Were Here Together, and it's hard for us to pick a favourite! One thing we do know is that there are some amazing new environments for you to explore on your journey from the expedition base camp to the inhospitable Antarctic mystery that is Castle Rock. Read on and we'll tell you more about those and other features in our latest and greatest adventure yet!

Features include:

• Even closer coop – you won’t always be split up from your partner this time. Explore together, try both sides of a puzzle for a different perspective, it’s up to you! Just don’t get too comfortable - Castle Rock has some tricks waiting for you…
  
• The great outdoors – puzzle outside Castle Rock for the first time, from the deceptively cosy expedition base camp through imposing sub-zero valleys to breath-taking frozen caves.
  
• Gadgets won’t save you - but they might help! Figure out how to use new equipment and gather an inventory of curious items to solve puzzles and progress towards the fateful finale in We Were Here Together.
  
• You aren’t alone in Castle Rock – and this time you get to meet a fellow explorer who is trapped inside. Could they know a way out… and can you trust them?

You will travel through the icy wastes...

More than 2,000,000 people have played We Were Here and We Were Here Too since their releases. It's amazing to see how much you all love what we've made, and we couldn't have done it without the support from all of you! We'd like to give a special thanks to the alpha and beta testers with their great feedback - you'll be getting special walkie-talkie skins as our way of showing our gratitude, along with a place in the credits!

...and who knows where you'll end up?


The We Were Here Together Supporter Edition contains a special walkie-talkie skin, beautiful artworks designed especially for desktop or phone backgrounds, and almost an hour of music.

For newcomers and those who haven’t got the complete collection yet, check out the We Were Here Series Bundle! It does what it says on the can, with all three games, two supporter editions, and every soundtrack in one tidy collection.

We Were Here Together will bring players to an entirely new part of the Castle – while so far everything has been the classic medieval corridors, lots of dark stone, impressive staircases and balconies, mixed with heavy wood and metal, the new game offers a new take on the series’ showpiece, inside and out.

Castle Rock did not in fact emerge fully formed from the snow and ice of Antarctica – it was built by someone. Of course if you want to learn more about who and why, you’ll have to play the game! You will spend quite some time outside the castle, clambering around scaffolding, traversing snowy paths, and creeping along frozen ledges. While previous explorers found themselves effectively invited inside Castle Rock, making an entrance this time may prove more challenging.



These new environments aren’t just for sightseeing. Longer sight lines opens up more puzzle possibilities, and this makes cooperation important even when you and your partner are together and can both visit the same areas. You can’t be and see everywhere at once, so better split up and make use of those walkie-talkies! Larger environments also means more space to scour for clues, and more places which could hide secrets…



There is also a new part of the castle interior. While everything players have seen in We Were Here games so far is cold and silent, the greenhouses still have life within! With an abundance of glass windows and high ceilings, you might think that they would be less oppressive than the rest of the castle… but there’s something in the air, even here. A stifling corruption that makes you wonder - are the plants only living things in here with you?



The greenhouses are part of a monastery section of the castle, and we know what monks are famous for brewing! The systems to maintain the plants found inside the greenhouse are not simple, and you can bet that puzzles await! Returning players will find the green hues of this new location quite a change from their previous visits to Castle Rock, where stone, statues and metal were often the order of the day.
However, caution is advised. Even the plants here have been influenced by the dark aura of the castle, resulting in some monstrous things. In the screenshot below, we have more of a venus mantrap than a flytrap!



We’ll end on a more pleasant note – the expedition base camp where you start the game. This comfortable cabin provides a gentle introduction to the game, though the puzzles here aren’t anything to scoff at. It provides a base for the player characters and gives players more background about who they are and what they’re doing. You can also discern other information… given those dishes in the sink, either someone has skipped their turn at washing up, or the explorers as a whole aren’t big tidiness fanatics!



The base camp also serves as a contrast to later parts of the game. Players will pass from the warm wood tones of the base camp into the icy blues of the Antarctic exteriors. And then? Into the castle itself, and who knows what awaits you there…

We Were Here Together can be wishlisted on Steam now, and will be released on October 10th!