Do you remember that time when I promised you more frequent newsletters? Well, it turns out I skipped March, sorry about that. A classic case of "too much to do and too little time to do it", I'm afraid. I'll try to do better next month (but no promises).
Since last time, we've updated all our games to make sure they play great on the new Steam Deck device, and we've also made progress on End of Lines development (you'll get an update at the end of this newsletter, as always).
Also, we took part in a couple of events, online of course, but also IRL for a change!
Nova-box is Steam Deck ready
If you own one of our games on Steam, you might have already seen the news pop up in your library's news feed: we've made all our catalog compatible with the device requirements for the Steam Deck..
We really believe this new handheld console is a great fit for our games, giving you another way to play them on the go or in the comfort of your favorite reading nook.
In terms of features, you won't see any big changes, as most of the upgrades took place under the hood. We took this opportunity to upgrade to the long term support version of Unity 2019 which should provide some optimizations. We also support the new "Dynamic Cloud Save" feature on Steam, which means saves are synchronized automatically over the internet whenever you put the Steam Deck to sleep, and synchronize back when it wakes up.
Seers Isle running on the Steam Deck. Our other games play great as well.
End of Lines was featured in a pair of online events
First, we took part in the "Earth Appreciation Day" Sale on Steam as an upcoming game. We were very glad to be part of this, alongside great ecologically aware titles. As you may imagine, it aligns with our ethos in general and with End of Lines in particular, and the fact that it helped our wishlists number is a nice cherry on the top.
End of Lines was also featured in the "Mini Indie Showcase" hosted by Six One Indie during the Pax East. You can watch the replay here below. There are some great upcoming titles to discover there too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdAq_B2eAjI
Demo at the Flora Tristan Library
Our friend Leslie Tabourdeau invited us to talk about End of Lines at the Flora Tristan Library in Bordeaux a couple of weeks ago. We were, of course, happy to oblige. We hosted a demo session and talked about the game alongside a team of students from the Epitech computer school, who were working on a non-profit project with the aim to help detect and chart ocean pollution. It was a joy to have a chat with young professionals trying to make a difference. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
What have we been up to?
If you're wondering, yes, most of our attention has been focused on End of Lines. We're still late, but we managed to reduce our lateness quite a bit without crunching so far. Nico is currently working on an updated feedback system / iconography. If all goes well, you might see big cats on the top of the screen on the next iteration of the game.
Meanwhile, the rest of the text is progressing rapidly towards completion. Hopefully we'll have a first version by the end of the month. English translation and music/sound design just started too, and it's real a pleasure to see how Rachel, Camille and Julien were enthusiastic about the project and eager to start working on it!
That’s all for now, see you next month!
Please consider adding End of Lines to your wishlist if you haven't done so yet!
If you want to subscribe to our mailing list, you can register here:
http://www.nova-box.com/signup
You'll get extra-fresh updates about our projects and our whereabouts once a month, nestled in the coziness of your own inbox (we'll never send spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime).
And if you want to hear from us more often, you can also follow us on social networks:
http://twitter.com/novabox
http://facebook.com/novabox.studio
https://instagram.com/novabox
Best,
Geoffroy,
on behalf of the team.
Patch Notes (v2.1.1) — FPS limit fix on Steam Deck
Hello everyone!
Just a small bug fix this time. Big thanks to AhrenElessedil for pointing out this issue to us!
Patch notes:
Along the Edge is now conforming to the FPS limit set in the Steam Deck settings,
Loading times optimization for all platforms (it won't be noticeable for most players, but it might make a difference on older / slow hardware).
Cheers!
Geoffroy, on behalf of the team.
Patch Notes (v2.1.0) — Ready for the Steam Deck!
Hello everyone!
We're very glad to announce that Along the Edge is now ready for the Steam Deck!
We implemented the requirements and recommendations for the new device, and we now support the new "Dynamic Cloud Save", allowing the players to suspend their game and pick it up where they left off on another device.
Here are the patch notes:
Dynamic Cloud Save support,
Support of Xbox One / Xbox Series controller icons on all platforms,
Overall performance optimizations and under the hood upgrades,
Various bug fixes.
Cheers!
Geoffroy, on behalf of the team.
Newsletter #23 — February 2022
Hello everyone!
So, it's official: last month we finally announced "End of Lines", our next interactive graphic novel!
End of Lines
So, what is "End of Lines" exactly? Well, first off, it's an interactive graphic novel, like its predecessors: a novel size adventure, illustrated with hundreds of hand-painted pictures, where your choices will decide the fate of our protagonists, a family of travelers wandering northward in a post climate meltdown Southern Europe, in search of a hospitable place to settle.
This time around, Nico, in addition to his usual role of artistic director and illustrator, also takes the helm of "creative director" (like on "Seers Isle"), with the full support of the rest of the team, of course. He really wanted to use our creative output to speak out about climate change, to explore the way it might affect the next generations if we continue on our path towards self-annihilation.
It is quite a change of pace from our usual mysticism, occultism, and identity exploration, and we really hope you will enjoy this new endeavor!
Hereabove, the main cast of "End of Lines" takes a moment of respite in a flooded village of the Galician coast.
Handing the pen over to Nico, here's what he has to say about the game, in his own words:
"I've been busy with this project for a while. Mélanie and I were working on concept arts while producing Across the Grooves and I was already writing some first drafts. I'm very happy to be able to start sharing this with you.
Like many people of my generation, eco-anxiety is part of my life. I know it's not very original, but with this project, I hope to do something not only entertaining, but also, maybe, a bit useful. At least as "useful" as a work of fiction can be...
It's also a very personal universe that I'm trying to build, based on meaningful personal experiences, with the simple objective of sharing these emotions. And I hope it will be good enough."
"Nuit de la lecture"
The opportunities for public events have been rather less frequent with the pandemic, but we had the opportunity to present our games during 2022 edition of "La Nuit de la Lecture" ("the night of reading") in the public media library of Mérignac, near Bordeaux. We had the pleasure of having a lot of people showing up to discover interactive fiction via our games. Big thanks to Baptiste Normand and the rest of the team at the library for their hospitality, we had a great time!
What have we been up to?
As you can imagine, we're currently working full time, all steam ahead, on End of Lines. Nico and Alix are busy writing the last chapter while Julie is working on the storyboards of chapter 3 (out of 5). For my part, I give a hand wherever I can while working on text and scripts integration.
We're on a tight schedule, but we should be ready for our release date later this year without over-exhausting ourselves.
That’s all for now, see you next month!
Please consider adding End of Lines to your wishlist if you haven't done so yet!
If you want to subscribe to our mailing list, you can register here:
http://www.nova-box.com/signup
You'll get extra-fresh updates about our projects and our whereabouts once a month, nestled in the coziness of your own inbox (we'll never send spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime).
And if you want to hear from us more often, you can also follow us on social networks:
http://twitter.com/novabox
http://facebook.com/novabox.studio
https://instagram.com/novabox
Best,
Geoffroy,
on behalf of the team.
Newsletter #22 — December 2022
Hello everyone!
The team and I would like to wish you all the best for this year's holiday season!
We know we've been extra quiet this year, but there's a lot to look forward to.
Across the Grooves was featured in an art book!
Last month, the book "Imaginaires du Jeu Vidéo, les concept-artistes français" by Marine Macq was released by Third Edition and Le Cercle d'Art, with a whole chapter dedicated to Nova-box (in French only, I'm afraid). We're super proud to be featured in this superb artbook.
Here's a link if you're interested in checking it out.
(Picture taken by Marine Macq)
What have we been up to?
We may have been quiet, but we stayed quite busy behind the scenes. Our next game is progressing well, you can expect to hear a lot more about it in a few weeks! (in case you're wondering, yes: the header image is indeed a concept for this new game).
2022 is going to be an eventful year. We may also have a surprise for our longtime fans, but it's way too early to talk about that. Consider yourselves teased.
That’s all for now, see you next year, and once again, happy holidays!
If you want to subscribe to our mailing list, you can register here:
http://www.nova-box.com/signup
You'll get extra-fresh updates about our projects and our whereabouts once a month, nestled in the coziness of your own inbox (we'll never send spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime).
And if you want to hear from us more often, you can also follow us on social networks:
http://twitter.com/novabox
http://facebook.com/novabox.studio
https://instagram.com/novabox
Best,
Geoffroy,
on behalf of the team.
Newsletter #21 — October 2020
Hello everyone!
This month, we released not one, but two games on the Nintendo Switch!
We also have a couple of nice announcements coming up, so please, read on.
New praise on Along the Edge and Seers Isle!
We received a fresh round of great critiques on both Along the Edge and Seers Isle! Here comes a selection of noteworthy quotes and evaluations:
"A visual novel that stands shoulder to shoulder with the giants of the genre, Along the Edge is a fantastic and fantastical story that’s delivered eloquently and masterfully. 9/10." Sean Davies, Along the Edge Review – A Beautiful, Mature & Engrossing Tale, Finger Guns.
"I could recommend Seers Isle to any lover of story and European myths and legends. If you enjoyed Across the Grooves or other visual novels such as Cinders and Doki Doki Literature Club, I would recommend giving Seers Isle a chance. 9/10", Lainey Penzer, Seers Isle Review, Bonus Stage.
Last but not least, we were very proud to get a very nice article about our work in the print version of "Les Inrockuptibles", a French culture magazine, penned by Erwan Higuinen (as depicted/teased in the photograph here below). An online version is also available here for subscribers: "Nova-box, le français qui plie le game des jeux vidéo narratifs" (in French).
Paris Games Week / Games "Made in France"
We have the pleasure to participate to the Paris Games Week, which will be fully digital this year.
For the occasion, all our catalogue will be on sale during the weekend, so now might be a great time to complete your collection of Nova-box games! Keep an eye on our developer page on Steam, or get our "Nova-box Collection" bundle for an extra 10% off on top of the Paris Games Week discount.
Make a note in your diaries, because we will also be live on Twitch this Sunday, November 1st at 3:45 PM (Paris time) for the Games "Made in France" event organized by Capital Games (in French).
You can catch the program and the stream here on the official website:
jeuxmadeinfrance.fr
What have we been up to?
Well, as you can see, we've kept ourselves quite busy. We've also started working on our next title, currently in the pre-production phase, which means lots of designing and budget--crunching, but also some new visual art. It's way too early to talk in detail about this new project, but let us share one of the first concept arts with you, hoping it will catch your eyes and your curiosity.
Also, we welcomed our new art intern, Julie Vidal, earlier this month. You can check out her impressive portfolio on ArtStation.
Please note that our communications might be a bit more infrequent for a while, until we're ready to properly unveil the ins and outs of our next endeavor.
That’s all for now, see you next time!
If you want to subscribe to our mailing list, you can register here:
http://www.nova-box.com/signup
You'll get extra-fresh updates about our projects and our whereabouts once a month, nestled in the coziness of your own inbox (we'll never send spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime).
And if you want to hear from us more often, you can also follow us on social networks:
http://twitter.com/novabox
http://facebook.com/novabox.studio
https://instagram.com/novabox
Best,
Geoffroy,
on behalf of the team.
Twitch Integration is now in open beta!
What is this Twitch chat feature?
Our Twitch integration feature is now available in open beta for all streamers!
It allows the Twitch chat to interact with the game, allowing the viewers to vote with chat commands each time a choice has to be made during the story.
To set it up, you'll need : - the Steam version of one our games, - a Twitch.tv account.
How to set it up
Here are the instructions:
1. Update the game to Twitch beta:
- Go to your Steam Library, - Right-click on the name of the game in the list, then choose “properties”, - Navigate to the “betas” tab, - Choose "twitch" in the drop-down list,
- Steam should then start updating the game to the beta version.
2. Link the game to your Twitch account:
- Launch the game, - Go to options, then click "Configure" in the "Twitch" section,
- Under "User Name", enter your Twitch username, - In the section "Token", click on "Get",
- Your browser will open, asking you to authorize our TwitchApp, - Click on "authorize", - Your browser will now redirect you to the web page "nova-box.com/twitch", - Copy the token (it is a series of numbers and characters),
- Go back to the game, paste the token in the token field, click on "connect", - The "Disconnected" label should change to "Connected!",
- Optional: You can set up the duration of the timer (the time given to the viewers to choose in chat) by changing the value of "Viewer choosing time". If you set it to "unlimited", you'll have to click the choices to progress in the game, otherwise, the most voted choice will be automatically selected at the end of the timer,
- When you go back to the main menu, a label indicating "Connected to Twitch" should appear to the top right corner of the screen,
- You can launch and start a game normally. The game will now write the corresponding commands in the Twitch chat for each new choice. The most voted choice will be highlighted in game.
- Enjoy !
Notes
- This feature is only available for the Windows version of the game (not compatible with MacOS or Linux), - Chat commands for voting are either "!choose " or the shortcut "!c ".
Special Thanks
We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to AceXSoul and FuncleJ for beta testing this feature and providing us with very detailed and helpful feedback.
Thank you! <3
Newsletter #20 — Augsut 2020
Hello everyone!
Geoffroy here, back on pen duty since Cyndie finished her internship at the end of July. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank her, on behalf of the team, for the wonderful work she's done for us, and I'm very happy to announce that she got recruited by our friends from Goblinz Studio and will be starting to work with them very soon. We wish her all the best for the future!
This month, we published our biggest patch yet for Along the Edge and Seers Isle. We also had a party and we have a couple of surprises coming up before the end of the year!
Seers Isle & Along the Edge: Version 2.0
If you're a subscriber to this newsletter, you probably own at least one of our games, so chances are you already heard this piece of news through other channels: earlier this month, we published a major update for both Seers Isle and Along the Edge.
I won't transcribe the whole list of patches here, but here's a few highlights:
- Along the Edge received an extensive proofreading of the English version by Rachel, a German fan-translation (thank you Kim!), and got a full interface overhaul to make it on par with our later releases,
- we switched to the Unity engine under the hood, which should greatly improve stability and performance, as well as providing a substantially better support for Linux,
- both games received a myriad of bug and typo fixes and several quality of life improvements.
Patch notes are available on the related game pages here on Steam (library and store), so head there if you want to skim through the full details. Also, please note that this upgrade breaks the back-compatibility of save files, but you still have the possibility of going back to the previous version if you have a story to finish with your current save file (a step-by-step walkthrough on how to do so can be found in the patch notes).
Across the Grooves release party
2020 has been quite a strange year so far, to say the least. We've been working remotely for the most part since mid-March, so we couldn't properly celebrate the release of Across the Grooves when the game shipped. With the COVID situation still not resolved and the safety of everyone in mind, we decided not to go overboard. So, we did throw a small party earlier this month.
Here's a picture of yours truly doing an impromptu speech in front of the team, courtesy of Charly Martin.
One more thing: Twitch integration
I did tell you I had a couple of surprises coming up, didn't I?
These last few weeks, Daniel has been working on the Twitch API integration. What does it do? Well, imagine you're playing one of Nova-box's games live on Twitch and you would enjoy including your viewers more in your storytelling and your decision-making during your live session: with this feature you can let them vote in the chat (using a "!choose [x]" command), and either keep control on which dialog option to pursue or let your viewers take full control of the game by automatically choosing the most voted option at the end of a customizable timer.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here's what it looks like for Across the Grooves:
The feature is in beta right now, but we did a couple of test runs last week and it already works pretty well, so it should be available "soon™".
However, if you're a streamer and you'd be interested to test this feature with your community, we'll gladly send you a build and make improvements where needed based your feedback. Just send us an email at contact@nova-box.com and we'll set this up with you!
Last but not least, please allow me tease you a little bit about what's in store for Seers Isle and Along the Edge. We have a big announcement coming by the end of September! I don't want to spoil the surprise, but keep your eyes peeled, because we'll have to "switch gears in order to maneuver in the port" (*wink* *wink*).
That’s all for now, see you next time!
If you want to subscribe to our mailing list, you can register here:
http://www.nova-box.com/signup
You'll get extra-fresh updates about our projects and our whereabouts once a month, nestled in the coziness of your own inbox (we'll never send spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime).
And if you want to hear from us more often, you can also follow us on social networks:
http://twitter.com/novabox
http://facebook.com/novabox.studio
https://instagram.com/novabox
Best,
Geoffroy,
on behalf of the team.
Patch Notes (v2.0.0) — Switching to Unity
Hello Everyone!
We just released v2.0.0 of Along the Edge which is a big milestone for the game.
Here are the patch notes:
Unity engine integration: better performances, optimisation, and stability,
Better gamepad support,
Discord "rich presence" integration,
Option UI: changed from sound "on/off" to volume "0 to 10",
New German fan translation (big thanks to Kim Hellal for her incredible work!),
New English translation (extensive proofreading by our usual translator, Rachel Capie),
UI redesign,
New "Log" feature (replaces the old "Replay" feature),
New game introduction and tutorials,
Music and SFX remaster (FMOD integration),
New SFX on choices and gamepad vibrations integration,
New crossfade transitions between scenes,
Various bug fixes,
Various typo fixes.
My save has disappeared, what should I do?
This engine upgrade brings a lot of improvements and new features, but unfortunately, while the unlocked achievements are kept, saves are not compatible between the old and the new version of the game.
However, if you're in the midst of the story and want to finish it with your old save file it's still possible, don't worry!
In order to restore the older (electron-based) version of the game :
Go to your Steam Library,
Right-click on the name of the game in the list, then choose “properties”,
Navigate to the “betas” tab,
Choose "Electron" in the drop-down list,
Steam should then restore the older version of the game.
If you want to go back to the newer version, do the same process and choose "NONE - opt out of all beta programs" in the drop-down list.
We'll keep the old electron-based version available for as long as we reasonably can, but please be aware that we won't be issuing any patch or support on the electron version in the future. All new patches and upgrades will be done on the unity version. We encourage you to switch as soon as you can to enjoy the best experience.
Please note that the achievements synchronize between the two versions: any achievement you've already unlocked will remain unlocked in the new version.
If you have any question, don't hesitate to reach out, we'll monitor the Steam forums and do our best to provide our support if anything goes wrong during the transition.
Cheers!
Geoffroy, on behalf of the team.
Newsletter #19 — July 2020
Hello everyone!
Across the Grooves was released last month, and we are very happy with the positive feedback we have received.
It is time to keep you up to date with the latest news about the game and the studio!
What have we been up to?
Thanks to the Indie Game Factory's partnership with the CCG expo, visitors were able to play Across the Grooves on a dedicated booth during the event which took place from July 16th to 20th in Shanghai.
Thanks to the Indie Game Factory for this opportunity!
Across the Grooves is available in South American Spanish
Good news for Spanish speakers: the latest update is live and allows you to play the game in South American Spanish!
This is a fan translation by Ariel Alejandro Muñoz. Thanks to him, more people will be able to enjoy the game across the world, so many thanks to him for his time and dedication!
More feedback on our game
Since the release of the game, more reviews have been written.
Here is a selection of English press quotes:
“If you’re after a mature tale with interesting characters and solid writing, you may want to check this one out.” - Ollie Reynolds for Nintendo Life Full article here.
“Without exaggeration, I would recommend this game to anyone (any adult!) who is eager for a good story that could entertain for hours.” - Milaina Penzer for Bonus stage Full article here.
“It has been a while since a game was able to take me somewhere the way this one does.” - Dillon Sickels for FULLSYNC Full article here.
“It’s definitely worth playing through for music nerds, time travel fanatics, and just fans of good stories.” - Niranjan Raju for Gameffine Full article here.
Once again, many thanks to them for their kind words, encouragement and constructive criticism from all around the world!
Some news from our dev friends
As you may know, we share our co-working space with our friends Adrien and Maxime from Studio Black Flag and Loïc a.k.a Ukioq.
Adrien and Maxime are still working on their upcoming game Orphan Age which is currently in alpha. It is a dystopian life sim game where you play not as the soldiers of war, but as the children left behind.
There is not a release date yet, but they are planning to release the game in Early Access.
As for Loïc, he’s still working on his first commercial video game, Purple Noise Echo. This is a tactical game with a dark neon ambiance in which you play Node, an amnesiac entity waking up in an unknown place made of hexagonal tiles.
The game is currently in Early Access, but all the features are in the game, and the lights and post-effects are much better!
For more info, please take a look at their websites:
That’s all for now! See you soon for the latest news about our games and our studio!
If you want to subscribe to our mailing list, you can register here:
http://www.nova-box.com/signup
You'll get extra-fresh updates about our projects and our whereabouts once a month, nestled in the coziness of your own inbox (we'll never send spam, and you can unsubscribe anytime).
And if you want to hear from us more often, you can also follow us on social networks:
http://twitter.com/novabox
http://facebook.com/novabox.studio
https://instagram.com/novabox
