(link to Kickstarter update)
August production update
Hi all,
We hope everyone’s had (and are still having) a fantastic summer!
It's late August, autumn is approaching, and that can only mean one thing:
Dreamfall Chapters Book One is near.
In this update, we're going to talk about a bunch of things…but in case you're in a rush,
here are a few bullets:
- Chapters is coming to PlayStation 4 first on console! This timed exclusive does not
affect the Windows, Mac and Linux releases, and we may consider ports to other
consoles in the future, but for the time being the PS4 is our platform of choice. - Dreamfall Chapters was at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany last week, and we
announced a German localised version — available simultaneously with the English
version this autumn — and demoed the game to press. - Speaking of Germany, the first episode of Dreamfall will get a German retail release,
courtesy of EuroVideo. The DVD box will contain Book One on disc, along with a free
download code for the entire season. - The team was hard at work over the summer holiday, and we have pictures to prove it!
- We captured some brand new 4K screenshots from the game, including a look at the
new and improved Europolis-Zoë (and hairstyle chosen by our community!). - And, finally, we're announcing a musical competition!
But before we get into all of that, let's briefly talk about something we're getting a lot of
questions about: our release date.
With the end of August approaching, many of you are asking when Book One is coming
out. Right now, we have an internal target date, but we're not making any announcements
quite yet. The autumn is a busy time for games and we want to make sure our date doesn't
conflict with any big titles with a massive marketing spend.
We hope to be able to narrow it down a bit more by the beginning of September, and we
will most likely announce our final release date three to four weeks ahead of time. We do
not foresee any delays, as work on Book One is currently wrapping up and the team is
slowly transitioning over to the Book Two beta phase.
Gamescom
Last week, Dreamfall Chapters — along with a couple of Red Thread team members —
was at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. This was the first time the game's been
presented in a closed presentation room at a major trade show, and there were wall to wall
shows for three full (and exhausting) days — mostly to German press.
As for what was shown, the focus was on (deep breath) Dreamfall Chapters Book One:
Reborn. Three different scenes were demoed in the half-hour presentation; two of which
we’ve already shown at other events — including Rezzed, earlier this year.
Our goal at Gamescom was to make sure that as many journalists and publications as
possible are aware of the game — not to reveal brand new features or plot points, or for
fans to get any hands-on time with the game. With our release on the horizon, we do not
want to spoil the mystery and any remaining surprises.
In addition to showing the game on PC, Sony also announced during their big Gamescom
media event that Dreamfall Chapters (along with several other great looking indie titles) is
coming "first to PlayStation 4" — in other words, the PS4 will be our first console release.
This won't affect the release of the desktop versions of the game, of course, which are
most certainly coming first.
The PlayStation 4 version will arrive early next year, and will be digitally distributed via the
PlayStation Network in an episodic format. Pricing and release date to be announced
when we get closer to release.
Due to the way Sony handles digital distribution, we are unfortunately unable to offer PS4
copies to our backers: to do so, we'd have to purchase the keys ourselves, which isn't
feasible. Regardless, we hope many of you will enjoy the PC/Mac/Linux versions enough
to want to replay it on console next year!
The episodic announcement
More than a month has now passed since our episodic announcement, and most
questions and concerns have been answered. In fact, there’s a big thread over on our
forum where Ragnar has posted a lot of replies, and senior community member and expert
forum user Erika (AKA agirlnamedbob) has compiled a very handy FAQ with the most
important answers. (We have an awesome community.)
While we’re sure the episodic announcement took a lot of you by surprise, the feedback
has actually been overwhelmingly supportive and positive. Not all of you were completely
happy with the change, of course, and we didn’t expect that, but there’s been less negative
feedback than we feared, something we’re grateful for.
As always, the only thing we can do is to inform you about what’s happening with the game
and trust that you’ll understand the reasons behind our decisions. Every decision we make
is with the game and our community in mind. For the time being, our company's future
beyond Chapters comes last — although, of course, we hope to be able to make games
for many years to come!
(After all, Draugen calls from the dark sea, and The Longest Journey Home is one we’d
like to take.)
Summer holidays
July is typically a slow month in Norway, but that doesn’t mean the entire Red Thread team
took time off in the extreme, tropical heat. A lot got done over the summer, and this is just a
tiny glimpse at what the team worked on over the past month and a half:
From top left and clockwise, we have the very green Propast Souk (home to roaming
CyberChickens, no joke), one of the many bars on Kaprova (catering to every taste), the
infamous dream emporium House of Dreams (with Madam Nyx's face plastered all over
the facade) and Zoë’s eye-catching new Europolis hairdo under construction.
New screenshots
We recently got a new 4K monitor at our office and, with it, the opportunity to play the
game in the highest possible resolution. We're happy to say it went swimmingly! While it
does require a very powerful PC with a top notch graphics card, the game runs great and
looks beautiful in full 4K resolution.
This gallery also features the new Europolis Zoë model, and the hair that was chosen by our
community in a Facebook post back in June.
Musical competition
This has been in the works for quite a while, so we're really happy to finally announce our
very first musical competition for Dreamfall Chapters!
The competition will begin next week and the full rules will be posted on our forum, on
Twitter and Facebook, and in a short Kickstarter update this coming Tuesday. But here's a
sneak peek at what the musical competition is all about:
We’re inviting our community to create music for Dreamfall Chapters, to be used in both
Europolis (our futuristic central European cyberpunk metropolis) and Marcuria (a
magical mediaeval fantasy city).
All contributions may make their way into the game, to be used for diegetic music —
music originating from within the game world; e.g. radio speakers, bars and clubs, street
performers and musicians.
Music can be in any genre and style, and use any instruments, although the more
suitable the music is for our universe, the greater your chance of being selected as a winner.
The competition will run from Wednesday, August 27th through Friday, September 20th,
and the full rules and submission details will be revealed this coming Tuesday!
That's it for this August production update. Thanks for reading and thanks for your
continued support! We'll be back next week with the competition rules, and in September
with another update. Until then:
May the Balance be with you!
Team RTG
they're not happy buying stuff online with a credit card, c) they discover the game in a store and feel like giving it a shot.
A warm person with feelings, I see...
