60,000 operatives have already successfully completed the first case of Mainlining and, as our previous communication disclosed, today marks the release of a new FREE DEMO that includes the first two cases.
Playing the new FREE DEMO will allow operatives to scratch the surface of Mainlining and will give them a taste of what to expect in the full game. What’s more, we have included full save game functionality into the demo allowing you to seamlessly transition between the demo and full game.
If you enjoy solving the first two cases and think you’ve got what it takes to become a full-time MI7 operative, then you can pre-order the game from Steam today (A Deluxe Edition is also available).
January 19 – FREE two case demo with full save game functionality.
January 26 – The first seven cases.
February 2 – The final six cases (the complete game).
We hope you enjoy playing Mainlining.
>>>ENDS
New demo, release date and price incoming!
we are proud to announce the imminent release of Mainlining, the point and click hacking adventure, on January 26, 2017.
Before we get to the detail, take a look at the Mainlining release trailer.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=843922226 As you will now doubt know by now Mainlining is the first title from Sam Read’s Rebelephant. Having tasted success as part of the team behind indie-hit, Dream Sam formed Rebelephant as a vehicle for him to work alongside some of the games-industry’s most creative individuals. To help bring Mainlining to life Sam recruited some award-winning talent:
Jared Emerson-Johnson (musician whose work includes Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones and more)
Jill Murray (writer behind Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation and most recently Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate)
Dave Grey (an extraordinary pixel artist whose previous collaborations include the likes of Microsoft and HBO).
Taking place on the simulated desktop of the protagonist’s computer, players will assume the role of a newly recruited Secret Intelligence Service MI7 agent and working within the remit of the Blu Pill Act (a bill that allows the powers that be access to all online personal data). Using skill, judgement and cunning players must gather evidence by hacking suspects’ computers and phones.
Those of you who have played the demo (all 50,000 plus of you) will be pleased to hear that we will be re-releasing the demo with the first two cases absolutely free! What’s more the demo will feature full save-game functionality so you’ll be able to carry your progress over to the full version!
Be sure to check back on Thursday, 19th January, 2017 to get hold of the new demo and to be able to pre-order the full game. Mainlining will be released on Thursday, January 26, 2017 with a price tag of $9.99 / €9.99 / £6.99 (A deluxe version including Jared Emerson-Johnson’s original soundtrack and a digital book featuring Dave Grey’s pixel artwork will also be available).
The sound of an Operating System
One of the main challenges of Mainlining was to try and work out what an operating system sounds like. We knew we wanted the game to have a detective/noir theme and as a massive fan of the Sam & Max series and Wolf Among Us OSTs we contacted Jared Emerson-Johnson, one of the first collaborators to work on Mainlining.
We now want to share a few tracks from the game. Some of these you may have heard before in the Demo or Beta but others are fresh from the studio.
A Goodly Clue was one of the first pieces developed for the game and helps indicate to the player that they have stumbled across something to further them in their case.
Finally, Internal Downtime was developed as a moment of peace, letting the player look over what they have found and reflect. You need to slow it down so you can speed it up.
We hope you have enjoyed these tracks and we look forward to sharing the rest with you at the end of the month.
Thanks,
Sam
Happy New Year!
So, after a little delay, this will be not only the year Mainlining is released but the month too! We can't wait to show everyone what we have been developing for the past year, hopefully, it will be quite a unique adventure.
Now, with the new year starting, I would like you to know that the game is almost there. We’re currently testing our little hearts out to make Mainlining the great gaming experience we want you to enjoy. That means we can't really show you a whole lot right now but wanted to thank you for supporting the project over the past year.
The whole development process has been a great and a massive learning curve, working with some of the best independent creatives in the industry while keeping to budgets and time constraints – I won’t lie, it's been tough. At times, I felt like I’d bitten off more than I could chew, but with the support from the team and the guys at Merge I can honestly say I am very proud of what we have come up with.
In the next update, we will be talking about the soundtrack and a new trailer is on the horizon too! Until then have a great New Year.
Thanks for your support,
Sam
The anatomy of a case
The main theme of Mainlining is techno-ethics, is it acceptable for an organisation to have the power to look at the public's personal data, and what if someone else got the key to that.
Being set in an alternative universe it lets us play around with the idea of this Military body with so much power they become unruly, letting the play choose if they will stand up and arrest people fairly or if they themselves will be rewarded but guilty by association.
Cases are made up of three distinct phases, each one consisting of about ten triggerable events; interactions such as delivering emails, chat messages and AI responses. These events offer about half an hour of active plot development. The player, meanwhile, will spend more time in between events searching and cross-referencing information. This allows the game to deliver cases that should last between twenty to forty minutes.
The three phases are presented thusly. The first is preliminary, discovering information about the case, searching for clues that will take the player to their first lead, laying out the initial trail of breadcrumbs to follow. Players will always be sent a case file at the start of each mission that will help outline the objective.
The middle phase will make up the bulk of each case. Players must use the tools provided by MI7 to help them unravel the information they will need to make a successful arrest. As the game progresses this will become more complex with multiple suspects for the player to investigate and different evidence to uncover.
The final phase players will experience is the end game of each case in which suspects, their location and incriminating evidence are submitted and an arrest made. Hopefully, players will have made the right choices and a conviction secured.
So you can understand the anatomy of a simple case, the screenshot above demonstrates the flow of a fictitious scenario.
All Systems Go!
Part of MI7’s Mainline software allows operatives to “take control” of suspects computers. During this process players will encounter operating systems such as Rainbows, Cherry and Peyotex (all inspired by the great OSs of 2010). Of course, these won’t be clean installs. Players will be free to interrogate their target’s computers, filled documents, programs, secrets and hopefully the evidence needed to secure a conviction.
Naturally, suspects can be very wary. At best, files discovered may be encrypted or, at worst, be hidden on remote servers. Operatives will need to employ new programs, which usually come with the operating systems, to gather the evidence needed to instigate an arrest.
Alternative operating systems can hide plenty of secrets, a fact not helped by the shady nature of their owners. Operatives will need to be mindful that they are following a bona fide trail and not following red herrings on a wild goose-chase. Attention to detail and thoroughness are qualities that will be needed always - the perpetrators aren’t going to make things easy and they certainly don’t have any plans on being caught.
Hey, Earth!
In addition to MI7’s Mainline software, operatives will also need to use a number of other online tools including tracking software that integrates with the map.bp application. By working in close collaboration with Field Agents, such as Special Agent Cooper, it’s possible to monitor the movements of both suspects and packages.
Information gleaned from physical surveillance can often be invaluable in linking evidence and providing new leads. In addition to location data, close liaison with Field Agents can also provide photographic evidence that can aid operatives piece together the necessary clues and information needed to make a successful arrest and subsequent conviction.
Mainlining at EGX 2016
Mainlining is getting another public outing, this time on the right-hand side of the Atlantic. Developer, Sam Read, will be on hand to discuss the project at EGX. Located at the NEC in Birmingham, England, EGX runs from September 22nd through 25th. If you’re attending then be sure to drop by stand RZ11 (in the Rezzed area) and play Mainlining as well as our other games Sublevel Zero – Redux, Aragami and HoPiKo.
Mainlining at PAX West 2016
Hey there!
Rebelephant is pleased to announce that Mainlining will be playable on the Indie MiniBooth at PAX West in Seattle on September 2nd and 3rd, 2016. The game's creator and developer, Sam Read will be on hand to talk to about the game and answer all your questions. Make sure you swing by the Indie MiniBooth on the 4th floor of the Convention Center and say hello.
We now have our heads in development which its going at full steam. The past week and a half I have been in Montreal, and a forest, working with Jill to lock down the script and story for Mainlining. Now that everything is there and had another writing pass we wanted to get Case 1 out on Steam!
Now that we are on Steam it means we can take full advantage of their community tools, not only making it simpler for you to share let’s plays and screenshots, it lets us talk to you easier and respond to any questions/feedback you have.
We will hit our mark to bring out Case 1 - 6 early next month for those lovely Kickstarter backers who helped us get to where we are. If you didn’t know about us back then fear not, the full game will be released in October, so not long to wait!
