A brutal arcade roguelike on a very tight schedule
UK independent game studio Puppygames recently announced via blog post that it is running out of money. In fact, the team admits that it is broke:
“Due to several decisions of dubious merit last year we’ve ended up wasting most of our cash on things that never flew. We tried for several solid months to rescue our direct sales but it seems nothing but nothing that we can do will change the fact that at any given moment, Steam comprises 97% of our income. And that’s just when there isn’t a crazy Steam sale on. So we wasted months on that and achieved precisely nothing.”
Requiringan estimated eight month’s cash flow(around £64,000) to finish its current project Battledroid and only about four months of capital remaining, Puppygames has decided to announce Basingstoke: An arcade gameproject that the studio hopes can be completed within the time it has remaining.
Described by the developers as a “brutal arcade roguelike,” the gist of Basingstoke isthat your character istrapped in the blasted ruins of the English town, Basingstoke, following the Titan Invasion. Your goal in the game will simply be to get as far from there as possible.
There will be nohitpoints in the game, only instant death. Your main toolswill besneaking, distraction, surprise, and running away. Crafting will alsobe incorporated in somefashion,allowing you to create helpful gadgets. Guns willbe in the game, but we are warned that they are scarce and should beused only as a last resort.
If all goes to plan, Puppygames hopes to have Basingstoke in a playable state some time in October. Is this something you’d be interested in? I like the look of it, but with so little to go on at this point I’m not quite sure what to make of the game.