I want to thank them all individually for playing the game and letting me use their recordings!
Here's a list of invited streamers:
If you like any of them, be sure to follow their work!
Have a great weekend
Zarc
Exophobia
Invited streamers play Exophobia!
I want to thank them all individually for playing the game and letting me use their recordings!
Here's a list of invited streamers:
If you like any of them, be sure to follow their work!
Have a great weekend
Zarc
Exophobia Demo Update!
As promised and part of FPS Fest, the demo has been sligthly improved to better reflect the quality of the final game. Testing has been crucial to find these small quirks and how to adjust them. You may not notice any differences, so let me present you the changes in this new version:
- Some language errors fixed.
- Disk image in the corner to indicate a loading time.
- "Sci-fi" font option is now a more readable font in the terminal.
- Map no longer starts to fade right away. Only when it reaches the last point in the battery.
- Clickable buttons and levers now blink to indicate you can use an action on them.
- You can now dash forward even if not holding a direction. Also, more i-frames!
- Difficulty curve in the first part of the game has been adjusted. Less enemies before you get the first upgrade (for me where the fun of the game comes).
- The boss now stays locked in the same vulnerable move until you hit. I made it that way so you can more easily guess what you have to do and so you don't have to wait until he cycles through all moves again to hit him.
Can't even tell how long I have been revising this first part of the game, but I know it's the most important part to get right, so I hope these changes please all of you and incentivize you to keep playing!
Let me know what you think.
More news coming soon!
Zarc
Exophobia at Steam's FPS Fest 2024
Check out Steam's official video for FPS Fest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd4ffQlZnnc
And of course, Exophobia couldn't miss be part of it, representing the boomer type of first person shooters... well, yeah.
So expect a demo update and an announcement to spice up this week!
More news soon, and happy shooting!!!
Zarc
Exophobia (was) at GDC and PAX East!
Last week was a busy one! I know I should have warned beforehand, but got so busy with finishing the preparations for these events that I totally forgot to update the Steam news. (also bad internet at the hotel didn't help)
So, last week, Exophobia was at the Game Developers Conference Expo AND PAX East!
I couldn't be present at both expos, so I had my first experience at GDC (flew all the way from Portugal) while my publisher, PM Studios, managed their booth that included an Exophobia stand.
In these booths you could play Infinite Mode and Boss Rush mode, both unlockable at the end of the game (depending on the ending... wait, I never told there were two endings! That's right!)
GDC was really fun, it's a nice way to meet other devs and industry people and refresh your perspective. It was a needed boost in motivation to keep making games at this end stage of Exophobia development, specially in these times were things are rough for everyone, specially small indie devs.
One of my favorite parts was roasting marshmallows with other devs the day after the convention ended. It was my first time roasting marshmallows so it was a really cool experience!
Another favorite thing was meeting in person with Moski, a cool artist friend that gifted me a very cool Exophobia fan art. Check it out:
https://twitter.com/jcccastanheira/status/1772981189436997965/photo/1
Isn't it cool? Check out Moski's art and wishlist their game filled with his beautiful art, Townseek!
If you were at GDC or PAX, please wishlist the game, it helps a lot!
I'll be back with more news soon,
Zarc
Exophobia at Metroidvania Fusion!
Here you will find discounts in the most iconic games of the genre, or play demos of upcoming gems!
Why is Exophobia considered a metroidvania?
Most metroidvania fans will argue that a metroidvania (metroid + castlevania for those who don't know) needs to be a sidescroller.
My idea with Exophobia was to mix metroidvania progression with a first person shooter and I think it fits pretty well! Let's see, for example, where a Metroid game and Wolfenstein 3d can meet in the middle:
- Labyrinthic non-linear levels with gates that can only be opened with upgrades? check
- Secrets around every corner or hidden wall that reward the player with powerups or easter eggs? check
- Different biomes with different enemies and boss fights? check
Exophobia features all of this and more elements from both genres, like metroidvania checkpoints and fast paced shooter combat from first person shooters.
Let me know what you think! Meanwhile, play the demo and enjoy all the other available games in the event :)
Happy exploration!
Zarc
Exophobia at DreamHack Beyond Game Awards!
We are approaching the end of the year, with this time filled with many events and award cerimonies to celebrate this year in gaming!
This next week (15-21 Dec) Exophobia will be part of DreamHack Beyond Game Awards, which showcases upcoming and released indie games and awards them in different categories. No nomination for Exophobia though (the only category it could be nominated for was Most Antecipated Game), but it's an honor to be selected and among so many cool games!
To celebrate this and give you an early holiday gift I've updated the Steam page with shiny new graphics from the cover art and the demo with the latest code in the game! You'll find it has less bugs, is a little more forgiving than the past demo and even has a couple of new features like the map you can open anywhere!
So please, play the updated demo and wishlist Exophobia if you haven't! DreamHack is giving prizes for wishlisting! #DHBGameAwards
Also, for all your fans waiting for the game, let me give you some good and bad news.
Bad news is, you might have noticed that the release date has changed to 2024. I'm working hard with the publisher to release as early as possible in the next year as this year has been hard on all of us to work on a release.
Good news is that the game is finished! And I'm very proud of the result. The game is fun and filled with cool stuff that will keep you playing for hours! The soundtrack is also finished and I can't wait for you all to listen to it. It's 1 and half hours of pumping jams! So right now, there's only background work to get ready for release. Thanks for sticking with me all this time on my first big game release!
Don't know if I'll have any more updates until the end of the year, so...
Have a great holiday season!
Zarc
Exophobia at The MIX Comic Con LA 2023!
If you are at L.A. Comic Con this weekend, don't miss Exophobia at The MIX space, joining other awesome indies for you to discover!
You'll be able to play an extended version of the Infinite Mode, with 16 different arenas and 20 different enemies! What will be your highscore? Can you even beat the first 4 rooms? Give it a try!
Learn more about The MIX here.
I'm very excited to have the game in your hands shortly. It shaped up to be something really cool. More news about release soon!
Zarc
Portugal's Biggest Indie Festival - Indie X
This weekend Indie X is happening once again, and Exophobia is part of the portuguese selection!
Indie X is Portugal's biggest indie festival and it celebrates and awards all indie games.
Don't miss the Indie X Steam page, I'm pretty sure you'll find your next favorite indie game!
As part of Indie X, along the online showcase a physical showcase is also happening at DevGAMM Lisbon!
I'm there showcasing the game and talking to other inspiring devs, which has been fun.
See you next time, Exophobia news are coming soon so hang thight and thanks for sticking with it!
Best,
Zarc
Exophobia at Realms Deep 2023!
Don't miss out on the sales and the livestream event, happening this weekend: https://www.realmsdeep.game/
Even though Exophobia will not be part of the livestream showcase, the folks at the Realms Deep team were kind enough to include past participants in their Steam page, that's why you see that cool looking banner on the Steam page!
Check out all the games here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/realmsdeep2023
Enjoy the show!
Zarc
Save & Sound 2023 - A celebration of music in games!
If you haven't noticed yet, Save and Sound 2023 is happening and I highly recomend you watch the livestreams happening there. Lots of content from your favorite games and audio teasers for your most antecipated ones!
If you remember last year, we did an OST preview DJ mix, which you can check here if you missed it. That's why Exophobia has that cool banner on the top of the page and is part of the 2022 selection.
So, rock on and have fun!
Zarc