Gamedec - Definitive Edition News

Hey detectives 👋

In our last dev diary, we introduced you to the Seven Daemons case prepared for you by our Narrative Designer Agnieszka Mulak. Today, we want to share with you some more background on the Cthulhu location in Twisted & Perverted ❤️

Check it out:

I still remember the meeting when I was told that I’d create a completely new story for Gamedec. Back then, I was a fresh designer in the dev team who never created content from the ground up. So imagine me hearing that I’d be responsible for telling a story… and it’s to be related to the Lovecraftian mythos of Cthulhu… and it’s to be set in the cyberpunk Gamedecverse… and – uhm, hold on – it’s to have a clown in it as well? Quite a mix, isn’t it? Sounds just as exciting as it does challenging.

Would you like to know more? Do you thirst the forbidden knowledge? Follow me, friend. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.



First, we have this incredible mix. Never would I imagine – not even in my deepest dreams – that I’d combine Lovecraftian horror with cyberpunk. Both genres have distinct elements (and believe me, I could go on for hours about that), but they’re also so profound in popular culture. And then there are the settings of Cthulhu and Gamedec - both established universes. How do you even begin to pay homage to all of that? Well, let me tell you a secret, friend. The clown was the link (oh yes, you heard me right).



The clown was actually an idea from our creative lead, and thank the Old Ones for that because it ties everything together. So, let’s be honest here – clowns are generally creepy. And does anything say “creepy clown” better than King’s Pennywise (hint: probably no)? When you think about Lovecraft’s Cthulhu and King’s Pennywise, you begin noticing similarities. Both are eldritch creatures, both prey on fear; both exist beyond time and space. Need I go on? …Was that a “yes”, friend? Well, so what do you see in your mind’s eye when you think “Cthulhu”? If you answered with “tentacles”, then we think alike. A clown. With tentacles. Yes, Gamedec has that now. And, of course, every good character needs a backstory. Our backstory had to fit the cyberpunk Gamedecverse. So, the clown became a hacker who let loose a dangerous virus in a virtual and, at that point, everything spun out of the clown’s control.



The virus was one of the first things that just instinctively came to my mind when I started drafting the story. I knew that I needed something which would help me deliver a theme very important to Lovecraftian horrors – that uncovering the unknown and its horrible truths slowly leads to insanity. So, you have a virtualium – a digital world populated with players and enpecs – a hacker – the clown – and a virus. And the virus is dangerous. It’s on the loose. It infects players. It knows things. It shows things. Things which were, which are, which will be. Things which might be, which shouldn’t be. Horrible things. And one knows not what is true and what is false anymore. And it drives one mad, slowly but surely – especially the clown. Sounds Cthulhian, doesn’t it? And if you are among the ones who played (or finished) the main story of Gamedec – you may have a guess why the virus knows so many things. But this will have to remain only a guess, friend. I am not revealing its secrets – they will await you in the virtualium it infected.



Speaking of virtualium, the gritty world of Twisted & Perverted seemed to fit perfectly with a Cthulhian-like story of a clown and a virus. It is there where you may find them. It is also the place where you first meet some memorable characters from Gamedec main story – like Ken or Trepanator – so it would be a shame not to use the opportunity to have those characters involved (and they very much are involved). They make the story more believable – as if it was always supposed to be there. If it wasn’t for Twisted & Perverted with its already established characters, I believe the story would have felt disconnected and out of place.



Also, gameplay-wise, I knew it all had to be easily accessible to both new and veteran Gamedec players. The goal was so that everyone could enjoy it almost right off the bat. Twisted & Perverted worked with that assumption as it’s part of the main game’s first case. But you still may ask, friend: what does a detective solving cases in virtual worlds even have to do with all of that? How does a gamedec fit with a Cthulhian story of a clown and a virus? Well, your job will be to help, of course. To learn the virus’ symptoms. To find the infected. To contain the outbreak. And it’s only up to you whether you uncover all the mysteries.

Believe me when I say that creating this story was a fun experience and a great learning opportunity. Did you follow me all the way here, friend? Good. The time has come to embrace the twisted, the perverted and the mad. So, chant with me: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

Just as a reminder, one week left! Gamedec: Definitive Edition is getting super close! 🔥



Cheers,

Team Gamedec

Hello! Many of you may hear about Zoria: Age of Shattering for the first time. Let us quickly introduce the devs that are staying behind the project. Tiny Trinket Games, a team of 3 passionate devs from Bucharest, Romania, who dream of creating impactful RPG games. Sounds cliche, right?

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



They've been working on Zoria: Age Shattering since 2018. They can proudly say they have around 80% of the finished content, and they teamed up with us - Anshar Publishing to give you guys as many opportunities as possible to get familiar with Zoria. That's why we treat Kickstarter as a part of the community-driven approach to our fans. The collected budget will be spent on improvements and additional content we have ideas for, like new classes, locations, and mechanics, which will make the world of Zoria more complex and offer what players expect from immersive RPGs. We hope you will join us on this journey!



To not just ask you guys for a support, we have another thing to cover - Zoria: Age of Shattering demo is now available on Steam for free!



The demo we're presenting covers a part of the game, which will be available later in the full release. In this build, we wanted to focus on a cross-sectional presentation of the mechanics and story of the Zoria world. To fully enjoy the gameplay, it is essential to remember that each teammate has a skill tree, which requires the distribution of skill points.

You should also regularly look around by rotating the camera during combat and exploration. Make sure the place you've visited has been viewed from all angles and you haven't missed anything. Have fun with the game: play with the team's configuration, attacks, skills, and development paths. Depending on the skills of your team members, some quests will be able to be completed differently, and some ways and objects will become accessible to you.

Due to this build's "work-in-progress" nature, you may encounter some minor (hopefully not major!) issues. If this happens, we would appreciate it if you would alert us of them. Please share any feedback with us via the Discord server!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1159090/Zoria_Age_of_Shattering/

Enjoy!

Team Zoria & Gamedec

Hello there!

It's time to unveil the cards! Gamedec returns as Definitive Edition on PC on September 29th this year! New cases and new characters are waiting to dive into virtual worlds again.



Exactly one year ago, Gamedec premiered on PC. On September 29 this year, players will be able to take on the role of gamedec again with the release of the Definitive Edition. What can you expect?
First, new playable content, including a virtual world, based on Seven: The Days Long Gone and a creepy Cthulhu twist inside the Like Father Like Son case. Additional characters will come to the store in two batches. The first batch will be free to all users. Among all the tweaks, True Detective Mode will ensure that your decisions cannot be undone by loading a save. Our Japanese fans can also finally try the game with fully translated texts. The JP localization will be live with a Definitive Edition update... Wait, did you say update?

Yes, the most crucial thing here is that all the players that already have the game in the library will receive the update to the Definitive Edition for free. To spice things up, check out the news screens from Cthulhu and Seven below!





Expect more information about the cases and upcoming characters' bios very soon! And as always, we're inviting you to our Discord server.



Team Gamedec

Hello detectives🕵️!

Gamedec: Definitive Edition is getting closer and closer, so we believe that it's time to share with you some more information about the upcoming content 🔥

Grab your favorite beverage, snacks and enjoy the making of Seven Daemons ❤️



Have you ever been told to transport an egg without touching it, using only paperclips and toothpicks? Almost every creativity workshop will, at some point, present you with a task like that. Usually, ideas and laughter come flying soon after. That’s because creativity loves constraints. In this case, the hard part of setting the goal and interesting boundaries will be done for you so you can focus on the fun challenge of inventing creative solutions. That’s what designing new content for an existing game is like.



It holds especially true for the Seven Daemons. We had two games to combine: Gamedec with its futuristic setting and Seven: The Days Long Gone – a wonderful, post-apocalyptic RPG chosen by our Kickstarter backers. We also wanted the case to be completely readable to those who played neither of these games and offer a mouthful of additional flavor to those who did. Moreover, most of the mechanics were already defined for us in Gamedec, and we knew they had to be left intact. At the same time, we needed to use them in a way that would be interesting and fresh for those who have already played the original game.



All these goals posed an exciting challenge and allowed us to channel our creative energy directly into creating a familiar yet completely new experience for you. Take Gamedec’s ‘rapport mechanic’, for example. The basic idea is very simple. Talking to some NPCs is more challenging, and if you strike up a conversation with one of them, you have to choose your words carefully. Each time you tell them what they need to hear, you build rapport, and each time you tell them something that goes precisely against the grain, your relationship deteriorates. If your rapport reaches a critical level (sufficiently high or low), the conversation changes, the NPC shares information they previously withheld, and you are rewarded with new clues for your investigation. Having these rules already defined by Gamedec’s mechanics, we could focus on making them feel novel in the case by crafting each of the encounters with the rapport mechanic to be distinctly different.



Firstly, we’ve fleshed each out so that you can snoop around and learn a bit about the characters before speaking with them. With more information to guide your choices, more complex encounters could be built. Having such groundwork ready, we focused on the fun part of inventing new, more challenging uses for the old mechanic. Thus, in one of these conversations, you will be talking to three NPCs simultaneously instead of one, judging both whose favor is most worth having and how to gain it. In another dialogue, you’ll meet a stoic introvert who’d rather be alone. And no, there’s no way to turn her into your chatty friend. Can you fit your conversation style to suit her? Or can you annoy her enough to make emotion show? In yet another conversation, you’ll craft dad jokes freely, but only a certain type of wordplay will gain you the admiration of your peers. Elsewhere, you’ll choose which questions to ask to determine whether an AI gained self-awareness. If you choose your words wisely, not only will you learn more about AI, but you’ll also gain the right to determine its fate. All of the above are examples of the same mechanic. But in each encounter, it is combined with other gameplay elements differently. You may have to eavesdrop, follow a trail, or talk to additional NPCs to get the desired outcome. Your decision about the desired outcome of the quest will sometimes be made before, sometimes after, or during the rapport mechanic dialogue. In each of these encounters, the mechanic is also tightly intertwined with the narrative and highlights a different element of the main story. This enabled us to give the mechanic a new meaning in each scene.



The approach of creative exploration guided us through many aspects of the case. You’ll be able to hack multiple objects, with varying hacking mechanics that stem from both Gamedec and Seven: The Days Long Gone. With Gamedec’s aspect system, you’ll be able to role-play, choosing how your character reacts and comments on the world. Do you want them to be boastful, full of energy and creativity? We’ve come up with new ways for you to express that. Would you rather they focus on other people? There’s plenty of room for you to use empathy. If people are not a priority for you, you can be firm and decisive or divert your whole attention to facts in a whole new set of problems.



Another challenge that got our creative juices flowing was incorporating worlds from two different games into one case. Whereas Gamedec flaunts its hi-tech environments, in Seven: The Days Long Gone, technology is rare and perceived as mystical. This gave us a wonderful opportunity to place the known and liked characters from Seven into a setting they don’t understand and confront them with the technology they distrust. This composition of previously existing elements immediately opened up new possibilities. You’ll see the characters adapting astutely, attempting to ignore the transition with varying results, and even breaking under the realization they’re NPCs. We’ve also incorporated Seven’s technology tropes. Mysterious daemons featured prominently in Seven came to life as the latest invention in Gamedec’s world and became the cornerstone of our plotline. Fear and acceptance of AIs, typical for each game respectively, fuelled the narrative of the case. We’ve left the final judgment to you.



All these challenges prompted creative experiments and innovation. But they all came second to the main goal and boundary that applies to all games: the necessity to create one cohesive experience. We needed to design a single detective story that ties it all together and drives your investigation. One that reconciles all the seeming contradictions to reveal a hidden picture. One that allows you to dig into systems and people alike to uncover their role in the mystery. A story in which you make the choices and discern the truth. Will you take up the challenge?

Check out the Seven: The Days Long Gone on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/471010/Seven_Enhanced_Edition/

Soon, we'll be back with more articles about the upcoming content and Gamedec: Definitive Edition, so keep your eye on our Social Media and Steam!

Until the next time detectives! ❤️

👋 Hey everyone!

Those who follow our social media already noticed something interesting on a couple of photos we have posted from PAX West 2022; a massive poster with the title Gamedec Definitive Edition. We believe that we can officially announce; that, indeed, the content update we're working on right now will affect the title of the game as well🔥We will create a new announcement explicitly devoted to the content and other things you can expect to see in the Definitive Edition in the near future, so keep your eye on the Steam notifications to not miss it!



Today we have something else to present to you. One of our Kickstarter pledge tiers contained the possibility to create your own character, their story, and how they will look like. Together, with two backers who supported us with that tier, we have created characters you'll see in the upcoming case; detectives; please meet Dungeongeek and Ryan! Below, you'll find their stories, avatars, and models; grab a coffee, snacks and enjoy their background ❤️

Ryan



Every virtualium stands on the shoulders of programmers and Peh’s virtual world is no exception. But every team needs a leader, and Ryan is the one who guides coders through the labyrinth of ones and zeroes. He’s the lead programmer of a special AI project, codename „Daemons”, that Peh corporation has been working on.

As a team leader, Ryan’s very approachable and open, and his colleagues respect him for his knowledge and experience. He’s been programming and designing since childhood and his passion shows. Peh Corporation tried hard to hire him, though when he finally agreed it was not because of the outstanding offer that only the corporate suits could afford. He agreed only because his close friend, Shivani Thana, joined the project.



He’s well aware that together they’re creating something innovative and remarkable with his team. He’s confident about the quality of „Daemons” and their usefulness for each and every player.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is Ryan, and every technology will eventually be abused, one way or the other. Will he prevent that, or watch the flames from the distance?

Dungeongeek



Making your visit to the virtualium not only memorable but worth every penny, takes a lot of work from designers, artists, and programmers. Now, beautiful panoramas are no longer created by hand, gone is the age of meticulous sculpting, pixel by pixel. This is where the creators of procedural content come in. A point of interest for the player in the form of an old, run-down tower? Done. Generating a forest where every tree looks different and every fern is like a real one? No problem.



According to Peh’s leaderboard scores, this is exactly what Dungeongeek does best. He’s the first in the CorpCred employee ranking, leaving the rest of his co-workers far behind. But there’s much more to this hard-working designer than meets the eye. His mask is not just a fitting part of the office’s gamification system. Its does help to intimidate colleagues and conveniently blend into the Seven: The Days Long Gone scenery, but…

The truth is that Dungeongeek hides behind that mask - and he does that for more than one reason.

Both stories are incredible; working with Ryan and Dungeongeek to create their characters was a blast! We can't express how grateful we're for their support and interest invested in Gamedec ❤️



Very soon, you can expect more information to be announced regarding Definitive Edition and what it contains, and we can already tell you it's worth the waiting 🔥You already know about a new case associated with the Seven: The Days Long Gone universe, and that Chtulhu vibes will appear in the game as well; we have shown you a couple of models and screenshots from new locations, so at this moment, if you haven't checked on them yet, we encourage you to do so to shorten the waiting time for the upcoming news❤️

Until the next time detectives!

Team Gamedec