Speed Dating for Ghosts
Ghosts and Aliens: Together At Last!
This new game is called Times & Galaxy and it's a lot bigger! Like a solar system bigger! You play as a robo intern reporter on a news spaceship, where your job is to fly around to various planets to interview subjects and assemble stories about all kinds of weird stuff. We created more than 100 characters for T&G who you can befriend, be-enemy, and question. With branching conversations, assignments, and endings, here's a LOT of game in here. Even some romance and existential dread, because how can I not put in romance and existential dread.
I think it is going to be a fun debate which is weirder: Speed Dating for Ghosts or Times & Galaxy.
I think if you liked Speed Dating for Ghosts, you'll find plenty to love in Times & Galaxy. Please consider picking it up here on Steam, or if you prefer, your favorite current gen console. I personally recommend playing on the Steamdeck or Switch because then you can play it in bed and on the bus.
Thanks for your incredible support over all this time. I love making weird games that find their weird audience, and sometimes that can be tricky. The more you can get the word out to other Speed Dating for Ghosts fans, the more minutes I'll be able to sleep every night. So get the word out, but not too much, because I sometimes also have to be awake.
👁️❤️👽➕👻,
Ben
Introducing Times & Galaxy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMjufslCX0o
It's got the same bones and good vibes as Speed Dating for Ghosts, with a lot more characters and a lot more content. Plus, you can actually walk around in this one, proving once again that Copychaser is a company synonymous with innovation in video game development!
There's romance, because of course there is. There's lots of humor too. And some serious stuff.
I am absolutely not kidding when I say it is STUFFED with characters.
We've partnered with amazing narrative indie publisher Fellow Traveller. They've also released gems like Citizen Sleeper and Paradise Killer. And somehow we also convinced the Canada Media Fund to give us some development money for this weird as heck game. So this one is a little bigger in scope... but somehow still super weird.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/883230/Times__Galaxy/
Keep up to date with all the latest Times & Galaxy news here:
The Spooky Peter Pin Set is Here! 👻
In partnership with our friends at Dual Wield Studio, we've created a limited edition, glow-in-the-dark statement pin set featuring Spooky Peter from every body’s favorite existential crisis sim Speed Dating For Ghosts.
Spooky Peter knows the importance of vaccinations. The boo-bonic plague got him in 1665, and the good doctor’s not taking any chances with this latest pandemic. Pete hopes you'll show your support for public health by putting him on your denim jacket. Or backpack. Or wherever your finest pins are worn.
The set, conceived by Ben (me), features an exclusive Spooky Peter re-design by super talented artist Hannako Lambert. It also comes with a "I'm fully vaccinated" dialogue bubble pin that you can pair with Peter or any other pins in your collection.
Thank you all for your support for our weird little game. We hope you enjoy these pins. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for more maybe in the future! We have... plans... (insert evil laugh here)
Ben (me)
Speed Dating for Ghosts Nominated for Fans’ Choice Award!
We would love love love If you would consider voting for Speed Dating for Ghosts to help us maybe win this weird as heck award. Gary’s already got his bowtie on and everything.
Click here to vote!
Voting runs until April 2 at 12PM ET.
👁️❤️👻,
Ben
Copychaser Newsletter and Ghosts Postmortem!
I just wanted to let you know that we're raising our Copychaser mailing list from the dead to help promote our weird future releases like Slumber Clause and also just send out fun stuff.
Fun stuff like a postmortem on Speed Dating for Ghosts that will explain how we decided on the art style, the ghosts' character traits, and more.
💀 🕯️ Sign up here by Dec 11 to receive the postmortem!🕯️ 💀
And thanks for being super rad!
👁️❤️👻,
Ben
Slumber Clause
I figured you might be interested in what I'm making next!
It's called Slumber Clause.
The game is a throwback to classic text adventures, with modern choice and narrative mechanics piled on top. And it's extremely, totally, absolutely focused on story.
If you liked Speed Dating for Ghosts, you're probably going to like the heck out of this too. I'm going for a similar weird, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes spooky vibe, though this one will lean a little more spooky than even Spooky Peter.
Play as a recently-widowed paramedic mom battling a mean case of sleep paralysis. When you're not trying to hold your waking life together, you're navigating surreal dreams of unspeakable beauty and endless possibilities that always seem to end in tragedy.
All the while, a hooded figure stalks you. Collect clues to discover who they are and what they want.
You can read more about the game and demo the prologue for free here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/883240/Slumber_Clause/
If you are interested, please consider wishlisting the game. I'll be releasing it episodically using Steam's Early Access feature, so early supporters will get the best deal. <3
Thank you for your support with my ghost conversation sim. It's encouraged me to make more weird games that aren't like anything else out there, because I now know there's an audience of rad people who might want to play them.
👁❤️👻,
Ben
Speed Dating for Ghosts Goes Mobile
The iOS version includes fun stickers that let you express your inner Kyo, Gary, and Dave via IM, while the iPad version has a special widescreen formatting to preserve the look of the game on the 4:3 display.
Releasing our game on more platforms means we can reach new audiences. If you're reading this and you haven't yet purchased Speed Dating for Ghosts, now's a heck of a time!
And if you already bought Speed Dating for Ghosts, just thank you. And thank you. And also, holy jeez, thank you. I did not at all expect our weird little sadness simulator would go over as well as it did and be embraced by so many players (at least one super rad person liked it enough to get a Gary tattoo!)
I'm currently hard at work on two new games. Watch our Twitter or follow Copychaser Games Inc. on Steam for news on those.
👁❤️👻,
Ben
Free Expansion: It's Alive!
This endgame expansion, included in the price of the main game, adds three new ghosts to date, including a dog ghost named Dave, as well as a huge ending where you can spend your final moments with all your favorite ghosts past and present!
The new content features original ambient tracks from the super talented Doug Hoyer, whose music you can listen to here.
Instructions on how to play the expansion are detailed in a previous post here.
Because the expansion just went live, you may find the odd bump or bug. If you encounter any issues, please don't be afraid to report it in the dedicated forum thread or tweet us @copychasergames.
We appreciate your immense patience as we pushed hard to finish this through too many hurdles to get into here. Speed Dating for Ghosts has the best players in the entire world. You are all just wonderful and nice and ugh... we cannot wait for you to play the new content "as our gift to you."*
*Estee Lauder makeup counter voice
And to anyone who has been holding off on buying Speed Dating for Ghosts for fear it was too short for the price, etc: What the heck are you waiting for? There's never been a better time to date some spirits of loss, vengeance, loyalty, and so many other things that haunt us!
👁❤️👻,
Ben
Expansion Release Date and FAQ
Note: A previous version of this post set release at November 28, but technical issues forced a delay! Thanks for your patience!
Here are some answers to questions you may have about the whole ordeal:
How can I prepare for the expansion?
Without giving much away, the expansion concludes the game’s story and happens after you’ve finished playing ghost trivia with Fran. You’ll need to ensure you’ve finished that Fran date but haven’t restarted by erasing your data. If you have erased your data, you’ll need to play to the end of the main game again before you can play the expansion. You may want to do this anyway, as aspects of the expansion change based on choices you make in the main game.
How can I access the expansion content in-game?
Once you’ve finished the final date with Fran, a tourism pamphlet inviting you to “Go to Hell” will appear on the main menu. Clicking on the pamphlet will take you to the new content.
Is there endgame content?
Yep! After you’ve dated all the available expansion ghosts, click on the brochure again and see what happens!
If I haven’t finished the main game in my current playthrough, how can I confirm the expansion has downloaded?
Go to the graveyard. There should be a new set of blanked-out graves accessible via a Beach button at the bottom of the screen. That’s where the new ghost bios will go once you’ve gotten to know ‘em.
Why did it take so dang long to release the expansion?
Copychaser Games is mostly just me, Ben. Hey. Hi there. I make games like Speed Dating for Ghosts whenever I can find time, between day jobs that keep a roof over my head at studios like BioWare, Remedy, and WB Games Montreal. The last year has been especially trying, as I’ve also balanced work with a number of familial crises and a pretty serious bout of depression. All this to say, things have unfortunately been slow going. Much slower than I’d like. Don’t worry, though. Things are calming down! Hence the actual release date! And new things on the horizon too (see below)!
What comes next?
We are planning to release Speed Dating for Ghosts on iOS as well as Nintendo Switch in the coming months. The initial idea was to release complete versions of the game on these new platforms at the same time as the expansion. But that proved a little more complicated than expected, which I guess is to be expected in games (we’ve made games before and should have expected this).
Why iOS and Switch?
A morning commute or airplane ride can get mighty boring. Why not spend it dating some ghost friends? New platforms also makes the game available to new audiences.
I really like Speed Dating for Ghosts. How can I support your work?
A surprising number of people have asked this super nice question. <3 I wanna keep things pretty simple: I make a weird game with some friends, and if that weird game is good, maybe people give us a handful of dollars to play it. Since I don’t have a lot of money to spend on anything resembling traditional promotion or marketing, honestly, the best thing you can do beyond buying my weird games is telling your friends about them! This will enable me to make more weird games. And the circle of life continues.
How can I find out about new and upcoming Copychaser Games?
Follow @copychasergames or @bengelinas on Twitter. I’m hard at work on two new weird games (one about sleep paralysis and one about space journalism). Twitter is a good place to learn how things are going and when things will come out. But Twitter is not everyone’s cup of garbage, so you can also follow Copychaser Games on Steam.
Looking so so forward to finally releasing new ghosts into the ether! I hope you’ll like them lots.
👁❤️👻,
Ben
Speed Dating for Ghosts Expansion Just Around the Corner
Here are some key updates/additions:
- an honest-to-goodness pause function
- the game now lets you know when it saves your progress
- improved controller support
- improved graveyard functionality
oh, and...
- four new ghosts to meet, making good on the promise of the trading cards and teaser trailer on this page
- closure
Watch this space. The next update will be when the expansion goes live! And in the meantime, in honor of Halloween, the game is cheaper than a king size chocolate bar.
If you're reading this, you probably already own our game. But maybe it would make a nice gift for that special friend who would enjoy weird stuff like this.
Thanks for your support and patience. More is coming. Sleep be damned.
👁 ❤ 👻,
Ben