Epistory

Epistory

Screenshot of gameplay
Developer(s) Fishing Cactus
Publisher(s) Plug In Digital
Designer(s) David Bailly[1]
Programmer(s) Thibaut "Thibz" Hanson[1]
Artist(s) Benjamin "RYan" Lucas (3D) and Amandine Flahaut (2D)[1]
Writer(s) Joseph J Clark[1]
Platform(s) Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X
Release date(s) March 30, 2016 (2016-03-30)
Genre(s) Action-adventure, typing
Mode(s) Single-player

Epistory is a 2016 action-adventure, typing video game by Fishing Cactus. The game was released on Steam Early Access in September 2015 and was officially released on March 30, 2016,[2][3] for Linux, Microsoft Windows, and OS X.[4] In the game, a young girl rides a fox with three tails. The game's story follows a writer's writing process, which unfolds like paper on-screen and is narrated from the perspective of the writer's internal thoughts.[5]

Development

The full Fishing Cactus staff

Part of the challenge in making Epistory was to "feel like a game and not just a typing application". To that end, the developers emphasised player choice in gameplay design decisions.[6] The game was developed in Unity,[7] using the Tiled map editor.[8] The use of Tiled made the ground tiles look artificial, so this was fixed using Shader Forge.[9] The art design was influenced by another game project that Fishing Cactus was working on, with a World War I theme. Because the frame story of Epistory is about a writer, it seemed like a natural choice to have a paper-themed world. Later, the decision was made to take it into 3D and incorporate papercraft and origami designs.[10] Epistory used random methods to populate levels with trees, which were then manually checked and edited by the designers before being saved as the level.[8] Epistory was released on Steam Early Access on 30 September 2015.[11] Mac and Linux editions of Epistory were released on Steam Early Access in October 2015.[12] Chapter Two was released in November 2015, and the price was increased to $12.99.[13] Due to the popularity of the early access edition of the game, the deadline for release was pushed back to 2016 and more resources were devoted to the art design of the game, resulting in art assets that didn't match the earlier levels of the game. These were used in later levels to give the impression of the world becoming deeper as the player explores it.[14] Epistory was available in English, French and German from the early access period, and Spanish was added later on.[15]

Reception

The game was nominated for the Indie of the Year Awards at IndieDB.[16] Had an honorable mention in the 17th Independent Games Festival's Excellence in Visual Art category.[17] The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[18] Multiple reviewers wrote in praise of its typing mechanics.[19] Joshua Vanderwall, writing for the Escapist, described Epistory as a meditative experience.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Fishing Cactus Presskit - Epistory - Typing Chronicles".
  2. ↑ "Cure writer's block in the origami world of Epistory". Kill Screen.
  3. ↑ Mike Fahey. "Epistory Puts Your Combat Typing Skills To The T-E-S-T". Kotaku. Gawker Media.
  4. ↑ "Happy Ending! Epistory Riding Fox Out Of Early Access". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  5. ↑ Mike Fahey. "The Keyboard Is Your Mightiest Weapon In Epistory". Kotaku. Gawker Media.
  6. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Epistory: It all starts with (good) intentions". Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Epistory: Lessons learned while switching to Unity". Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Epistory: Handmade vs randomized level design in Epistory". Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Breaking the cycle".
  10. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Epistory: Paper on art direction". Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Epistory: SAVE THE DATE!".
  12. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Trick or Treat! Epistory Halloween Update".
  13. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » The Story Continues – Epistory Chapter Two now available".
  14. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » How extra budget can increase your visual quality… and put you into troubles!".
  15. ↑ http://www.indiedb.com/games/epistory/news/finding-the-right-words
  16. ↑ "Fishing Cactus development blog » Blog Archive » Indie of the Year 2015".
  17. ↑ http://www.igf.com/2016winners.html
  18. ↑ "Epistory - Typing Chronicles". Metacritic.
  19. ↑ "Epistory - Typing Chronicles Review - Rock, Paper, Shotgun". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  20. ↑ "Epistory Origami Art Typing Indie - Binging Indie - The Escapist". The Escapist. March 31, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.