A big thank you to whoever has helped us test the game and the open-beta players during the Steam Next Fest. Without your help and feedback this would never have been possible.
Prerelease game session and dev live stream
Due to the high demand, we decided to organize a game session for Sunday evening (date set above), so that you can play with us developers and give us your feedback!
Also, we have decided to start a live stream so that everyone can participate in the session, at least by watching the game from the outside.
To participate in the game session, all you need to do is enter the lobby called with a title that will then be made public.
REMEMBER: those who are not members of our Discord will not be able to participate in the session, so enter now to avoid the displeasure of losing your spot!
We are both nervous and excited. Are you ready to play the demo for The Purge Dilemma?
Tomorrow, 19th of June 2023 at 18:00 BST, the Steam Next Fest will begin and the demo for The Purge Dilemma will be available.
Make sure you give it a try with your friends, and leave feedback on our Discord.
The full game release is on the 26th of June 2023 as soon as the Steam Next Fest is over.
The Purge Dilemma - Human Mode
Both in playtests and outside, feedback pointed out, in some occasions, that the Human characters had a style to them, wishing for there to be an option to switch between Animals and Humans (Legacy Models).
Well, today we added it.
Tick the box to enable the Human models. Only you will be able to see them, meaning if you and your friends wish to play a full-human game, everybody must agree to enable the option.
The Human Mode basically uses the Legacy models and it also changes the character portraits.
Cool isn't it?
A reminder to everyone that a demo of the game will be available to play this 17th of June in the next SteamFest!
Thank you for reading this Developer Update. See you in the next one!
A reminder to everyone that a demo of the game will be available to play this 17th of June in the next SteamFest!
Join our Discord to have a chance at participating in the next upcoming playtest. You will also be up to date on any changes coming to the game.
Stay tuned!
Redesigning The Purge Dilemma - Part 2
Welcome back!
Last time we gave a look at the design and model changes. However, we also pointed out that the game has been completely rewritten gameplay-wise.
As specified in the last Update, after a series of playtests we have uncovered many inconsistencies in terms of gameplay, from unbalanced mechanics all the way to non-engaging features.
This is what we will focus on in this developer update. We will analyse a match in order, going from start to finish. Keep in mind that the screenshots you see in this developer update are taken across several different playthroughs, so they do not always refer to the same match. In addition, all design choices in the UI may still be subject to changes.
The Commissariat
The Commissariat is the new major gameplay addition. A group of players will be chosen to decide on a Decree, then everybody together will either vote in favour of the proposed Commissariat or not.
The Commissar
The Commissar role is assigned by the Tyrant at the beginning of the game...
...and passed onto the next person (directly to their right) once every Decree has been completed.
The player currently holding the Commissar role will have to pick between the other players those that he wishes to involve in the next Decree...
...and then all the players, including the Tyrant and the Commissar, will vote in favour or against. The majority wins.
Keep in mind that rejecting a Commissariat fills up the Instability bar.
If it reaches five, it's game over for the Loyalists.
Decrees
The Decrees come in to replace what were previously known as Tasks. When the Commissariat is proposed and everybody votes in favour, it will move onto the next step: the Decree.
Every person that is part of the passed Commissariat (Commissar included) will then have to act on the Decree.
...with the ability to sabotage if you are a Dissident.
Supporting a Decree will shift the Paranoia in favour of the Loyalists (left), whereas Saboutaging will shift it in favour of the Dissidents (right).
Special Permits
Special Permits are your means to twist a game. They are assigned by the Tyrant upon reaching a certain stage on the Paranoia bar.
A Tyrant may only assign one Special Permit per player, including themselves.
The player that receives the special permit will then be able to use it on another player. Above is an example of the Special Permit Confidence which allows a player to show their identity to someone else.
Discussion Time
The Discussion Time remains unchanged. It's the time of the match in which players must sit down and talk among themselves, discussing what has happened in the previous Decree (if necessary) and share any vital information they possess, to try and somewhat gain a picture of who the Dissidents might be.
Winning and losing
Although we plan on making it an adjustable parameter, five are the total Decrees on which players will work on. The Loyalists must Support three Decrees and the Dissidents must Sabotage three. The first team to achieve their goal wins, and their victory displayed in the ending screen.
The Purge (hidden chance)
There is a case in particular in which Dissidents manage to Sabotage three Decrees immediately without the Loyalists ever Supporting a Decree, triggering The Purge.
In this case the Tyrant is given the opportunity to play their cards right, attempting through gathered information to pick the exact Dissidents among the players. If all Dissidents are purged then the Loyalists win.
The host may disable this feature for their match in the Lobby creation menu:
A reminder to everyone that the game will be available to play the next Steamfest in June 2023!
Thank you for reading this Developer Update. See you in the next one!
A lot has changed in this period of silence. The Purge Dilemma has seen a drastic change, both in terms of graphics and gameplay.
Following a series of playtests we have managed to uncover many inconsistencies in terms of gameplay, from unbalanced mechanics all the way to non-engaging features. But these will be explained in next week's developer update.
The same applies to artistic design choices - everything has been re-made to more fit the comedic theme of what was initially intended for the game, and this is what we will focus on in this developer update.
Character Models and Portraits
Let us start with the character models.
Here's the Tyrant!
Such a goofy looking pig. And for the poor men who must suffer his wrath...
Woah, they have also turned into pigs! Except for the Foreigner. He has decided to be a goat.
With them, the decree portraits have also been changed! If they become pigs, so does everybody else. Just to show a few examples:
Looking good, isn't it?
The Dacha
The entire room around the table has also been redesigned. Furniture now sits around, sprinkling some environmental storytelling there and there.
It's finally not going to feel as empty as before. Sitting in your chair you can enjoy a look around.
Trailer
We have also blessed the front page with a brand new trailer. Fully re-done, including a good short introduction to the Tyrant's paranoia aswell as mixing in some raw gameplay footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc4gZrnyDZU
A reminder to everyone that the game will be available to play the next Steamfest in June 2023!
Thank you for reading this Developer Update. See you in the next one!
It has been a while since the last update on the game, so with this announcement we will shed some light on the situation. Following a series of playtests we have decided to restructure some core aspects of the game which will greatly improve balance and definetely make the game more fun and interesting, allowing for complete replayability and the elimination of monotonous gameplay.
We plan on releasing the game in June during the Steam Fest, however we estimate that before then we could allow a short period of closed-beta access. We also plan on showing more about the game the upcoming weeks through screenshots and more, so stay tuned.
Remember to share the Discord channel and the Steam page among your friends so that the community can grow!
