Hey everyone, Some of you may have noticed that I released the Steam community items! You can now earn trading cards, badges, backgrounds, emoticon and animated stickers from the world of Exophobia!
I think they turned out pretty cool. I'm not familiar with the Steam meta for items, but hope you have a good time with them. I got some cards retroactively, so I think it happened to all of you too!
On a sad note, I took some time to post this announcement after hitting the release button on the anniversary, because I've been feeling a bit down lately due to recent news.
A friend of mine, Filipe Duarte Pina has passed away due to cancer, at the very young age of 46. This came to me as a shock as he kept his condition secret. He was a legend in the portuguese game dev and comic book scene. He started out as a personal hero when I was just starting in game dev, as he was a pioneer having launched the first portuguese Playstation game as one of his highest achievements, and much more. I eventually got the opportunity to work for him at Nerd Monkeys, on the sequel for his dear Case and Bot point and click game that he produced. We became more than co-workers, but friends, as his charming personality and permanent good mood made everyone feel connected to him one way or another. My last interaction with him was a christmas dinner where I gave him a phyiscal copy of Exophobia. In a way, he was my game development mentor, and I hope he was proud of what I achieved after learning so much from him. He will be missed.
A pixel depiction of Filipe and me made by him for the Express Killer
His legacy will live on, on his work and the people dear to him. If you're curious about some of his work, here is a post-mortem of the Case and Bot games in english: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq4t7bG9Gsk
Best, Zarc
V1.2.2 - Fixing load game crash
Hey everyone, seemed like there was a general crash on load games that would make the game unplayable. Hope it's fixed now, let me know.
July 25 - 1.2.1
Oops, so I managed to break the anniversary version. That's what you get to be a solo dev not testing after adding new content to the game... Sorry all for the confusion, specially during the sale. New files should now be starting at the beginning. Thanks for the quick testing everyone!
Exophobia 1st Anniversary!
[p]Hey everyone! Long time no see...[/p][p]I've been super busy with work (yeah, got a full time job doing something else ːsteammockingː), so there hasn't been much Exophobia updating.[/p][p]I wish at this time I would have added way more stuff to the game. Nevertheless, I took this special date to update the game with the promised Lovecraftian update and run a 30% discount for the week![/p][p]Also, health pills are now cake for today lol
On this day last year, Exophobia was released. Thanks so much to everyone who played it and all the support it has been getting even to this day! Couldn't be more proud of what I accomplished and grateful for how things went.
This update contains spoilers, so I will be discussing it below:[/p][p] The Lovecraftian update consists on the addition of a second phase to one boss.[/p][p]This last boss fight is unlocked by getting the "true" ending (returning all gems to the emergency hatch)You fight the Alien King a top the emergency pod returning to Earth. [/p][p]I always felt this fight didn't make justice to a climatic finale. [/p][p]Right now this fight gets a much needed second phase and balancing on the first phase to make it fair for people who haven't got the boss rush achievement yet! [/p]
I'm sure this small update will please the hardcore players! (you can also get back just to eat some cake)
Thanks for making this year very special. I have some ideas on more content to add to the game, but still not sure everything will be possible. I want to do this as a thank you to all the players as I don't have the exact means to deliver them, but I will try! Best, Zarc
Exophobia is 25% off at Lovecraftian Days 2025!
Hey everyone!
Fulqrum Publishing was kind enough to invite Exophobia to take part in this year's Lovecraftian Days celebration! Exophobia will be part of a selection of games featuring out of this world horrors, and what are Zarkonians if not "cuter" versions of Cthulhu? :P (minus the wings)
During the duration of the event Exophobia will be 25% off, so take this opportunity to experience it for the first time! Exophobia might be action and puzzle focused, but it's mood and scares are not to be overlooked!
Also, I will have something great to announce before the end of the week related to this sale, so stay tuned! Best regards Zarc
Exophobia is Steam Deck approved!
Hey everyone! Sorry for being a bit inactive lately, been focusing on a lot of other stuff (maybe news soon!) So, Steam finally approved Exophobia to play on Steam deck, so you now see the green symbol on the handheld.
The best part was that I had to do nothing! The game has always been working well on Steam Deck, but I guess Steam goes at each game individually and approving it.
So yeah, have fun with Exophobia on the go!! Zarc
25% off at Spring Sale!
Hey everyone! If you're still on the fence to buy Exophobia, it is now at 25% off for the first time! Also it is already Steam Deck approved if you like to play on handlheld ;) Hope you have fun Zarc
Exophobia nominated for Best Iberoamerican Videogame Animation!
Hey! First time posting since the new year! Hope you are all doing well and happy with how the year is going so far. For me it has been progressing at light speed, and excited with the potential of great things coming up this year.
I'm just taking the time to announce that Exophobia got nominated at Quirino Awards, for the category of Best Iberoamerican Videogame Animation! I'm going to be honest, I wasn't expecting my pixel art to have a chance at competing with the other games in the same category. I submitted it just because, well, there usually isn't much portuguese representation in stuff like this, and it is an IBERIAN award show after all. But as a big fan of the animation medium, as in cartoons, shorts and yes, videogames, this gives me a lot of motivation to push my art to new places :) even if I never felt like a full artist myself.
So here's some positive news about the game, with a tease of something more to come this year. I haven't been focusing too much on it yet (I'm taking my time with sorting all other aspects of my life first) but I'm slowly getting more and more excited to eventually update this game with new content!
So see you soon, and keep working on those new years resolutions! Best, Zarc
Steam Winter Sale discount and Japanese localization!
Hey! Just a reminder that the Steam Winter Sale just started and it's another opportunity to grab the game with a 20% discount. Perfect game for to keep you warm during festivities!
Also, last patch of the year everyone! Just added japanese localization by Hiroshi Ashida, a fan of the game that offered to help! If you would also like to translate the game to your language let me know. I had to tweak some code to make it able to see japanese characters, but it looks awesome! Only thing is that you can't switch the font type with japanese language selected, unless you know legible and cool 'sci-fi' and 'pixel' japanese fonts I can use.
Also, explore the 3rd floor during Christmas eve and day for a little festive surprise :) Happy holidays and see you next year! Zarc
Dec 22 2024 Update - v1.1.2
Last patch of the year everyone! Japanese localization by Hiroshi Ashida, a fan of the game that offered to help! If you would also like to translate the game to your language let me know!
Also, explore the 3rd floor during Christmas eve and day for a little festive surprise :)
