It’s been awhile, and in short it's going to be a while longer. Due to the state of the industry we need to pause development for Shallow Waters and resume in 2025. But, you have a new demo to play now!
As we said last year we’re not working with our former publisher anymore, we went out to look for “work for hire” to pay the bills and keep the studio running, things seemed to be doing OK after the split. Then 2023 happened, one of the worst years for the game industry in modern history, as this article says "If 2023 was the year of layoffs, 2024 will be the year of closures.”. We and the industry are still reeling this year, and we’resadly having to let go of some colleagues as well. To keep going at all we’ve signed an exclusive deal with a AAA developer and publisher, doing work for hire for them during 2024, that means we’re not getting ready to release Shallow Waters this year.
We’re sorry that you, our fans, need to see this, but we want to say that the project is not over yet, we need to recuperate this year, focus on surviving, then we can finish our game. As a little glimmer of hope we’re sharing a new short demo you can play publicly on Steam now, it’s not perfect, but shows the hard work of our colleagues that are going, and those who are staying. This is a tribute to their hard work, and a small thanks to you, our fans, for sticking with us.
Here’s to 2025, and stay tuned for the work we’re doing this year in 2024, it’s going to be different than Shallow Waters, but might be in an adjacent genre. Enjoy the demo, and let’s keep in touch. - Eat Create Sleep
Important News
Eat Create Sleep is no longer publishing with Curve Games, we have both mutually agreed to not continue working together on Among Ripples: Shallow Waters.
We want to explain to you what this means for the future of our company and the game (but don't worry, there's still good news). The game is still being developed and will be released! It will just take a bit more work and time to get to that point.
What we've been working on as of March
First off, here's a small video on the current state of Among Ripples: Shallow Waters. We've been adding a lot of cool new features and gameplay improvements!
Possible Questions, And Answers
Q: Are we still releasing the game? A: Yes! Discussions and plans are in the works, and we are confident we will be working with a new publisher in the fall. Some of our team will continue working on Among Ripples: Shallow Waters, while the rest will be taking part in work for hire projects until this point so we can keep things running smoothly.
Q: Will this affect the release date? A: Yes, just a little bit Our previous release timeframe we have advertised has been within 2023, but we are now looking at within 2024. We will keep you posted on any exact dates!
Q: Will your awesome social media still be active? A: Partly, it will be a bit quiet for a few months. Due to this situation, our team has been subject to some cuts. As such, your community developer being one of them (hi! It's me, the one writing this), will be handing over the work to Martin and Johannes to manage temporarily, thus why it may be a little quieter for a short period.
You can still follow us and reach out if you have any questions - we will be updating you all as things progress!
A message from the community developer: With that being said, I'd just like to add that I've had a wonderful time at Eat Create Sleep over the past 8 months, and have had the best coworkers ever. I'm really sad to be leaving my position at this time, but I'm looking forward to either returning in the future or if not, finding my next opportunity in the field of games. :) -Jasper Falk
Thanks for supporting us ✨
Nostalgia Lake
Hey again! Eat Create Sleep here with another monthly update. Below we're going to show you some more concept art and game assets our team has been working on!
HUD Design
A rework mockup of the old placeholder HUD/UI. Looking more fresh and organized! Along with a mockup of the zones shown for different fish and organisms in game.
Environment
Abandoned infrastructure - a fast food restaurant 'Ambrosia' that some might recognize a resemblance of, and some homes typical of what you can find here in Sweden.
Cleanup
Continuing with a few more level concept art pieces, the first one being inspired from the Swedish island of Gotland where our studio is located! Farmlands to lakes, we can't wait to give you the experience of healing nature with our game.
Make sure to wishlist Among Ripples: Shallow Waters and follow our other social media!
We look forward to bringing this game to you, see you next time!
Crabby Eco Land
New Land
Below are some new level concepts ranging from 'eco'-land amusement park, farmlands, to industrial outskirts to clean up and revive.
Characters and Missions
Concepts and mockups of the mission briefing room, along with one of the campsites! Talk to your crew and see what's in store.
Machines
Next up, we have the crabby digger along with a transport van and mobile lab, the eco van!
Thanks for subscribing and supporting us ✨
Make sure to wishlist Among Ripples: Shallow Waters and follow our other social media!
We look forward to bringing this game to you, see you next time!
December News
Alpha and Level Zero
After putting together concept art and level design in the previous month, the alpha level has been created and playtested! Mostly featuring on mechanics and gameplay, below are some screens of the level in-game.
Cleanup
This level focuses on an abandoned sawmill, clean up tracks and debris left behind. You can now visually see some of the effects from the pollution in the water.
Overlays
Look into elements such as toxins, oxygen levels, and more with selectable overlay maps. This can help you visually track your progress and see what areas need more care.
Make sure to wishlist our game, and you can also subscribe to our newsletter to get updates directly to your inbox here! Or follow us on our other social media platforms.
Until next time, have a safe holiday season!
November News
Hey again! Eat Create Sleep here with another monthly update on our game's progress.
Alpha and Level Zero
Concept art for the first level has been created, set in an abandoned sawmill. A block out of the level in game is done, and now all of the environmental details etc. are being implemented.
Otter Time
The Otter is coming together! Along with it, creatures like the duck, and all of the current fish are finished up.
Technical
If you're into the coding side of things, we're working on organism AI, traits, predation, and preference aware movement.
What's next
In our December newsletter we'll show you more before holiday break. Make sure to wishlist Among Ripples: Shallow Waters here on steam and follow our other social media on your preferred platforms if you want to see more frequent content - otherwise we look forward to saying hey again next month!
Regularly scheduled newsletter has returned, check out what we've been working on in the game here and make sure to subscribe if you'd like to get updates directly to your inbox: https://mailchi.mp/eatcreatesleep/new-growth-in-october
//ECS
Collab With Publisher - ECS + Curve Games
Hello everyone! Martin from Eat Create Sleep here. In this newsletter I'm going to talk more about the biz, it means we're working with a publisher, and that the game is going to be able to reach its full potential, read more below.
Working With Our Publisher
We've been working with Curve Games for a few months now and they are comprised of seasoned developers and marketeers who've been working on the who's who (or "who's what"?) in strategy, simulation, and tycoony games.
We're very confident that they can make Among Ripples: Shallow Waters a good game with resources way beyond if we'd self-publish it. We can't say much about when and how, but 2023 is the year we want to release, and it's coming to Steam on PC, at least. Maybe more, no promises!
Preview of Game
If you want to see a preview of how the game looks now, let the gifs commence!
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There you have it, stay tuned for more news. We wish you a moderately warm or cold season! ːsteamthumbsupː //Martin, ECS and Curve Games
Among Publishing - Game's Future
Hello everyone! Martin from Eat Create Sleep here. We have great news to share, we have a publisher (who is a secret for now) so we don't need to do a new Kickstarter, we're gearing up towards a great launch, in 2023!
Read the full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/eatcreatesleep/newsletterdec21
We wish you a safe holiday, stay tuned for 2022! //Martin & ECS Team
We've Found Funding - Delisting Old Demo
Hello everyone,
We don't need to do a Kickstarter to fund the game any more since we've found a great publisher to partner with. But we need to remove the old demo and honestly, it doesn't reflect where the game is any more (it's better!).
We're just writing this short post to let you know why the demo has been removed and that you can expect a lot of nice news about Among Ripples: Shallow Waters soon.
Stay tuned and thank you for all the support! /Martin & ECS-team
