KickStarter Octopus City Blues - the authentic Octopus City simulation

[orcinator]

Finally video games can have their Boyhood moment.

 

[lightbane]

It's still alive somehow. Or pretending to be alive.

 

[Modron]

New recap/update seems like they are aiming for Q4 2023 release: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1192230/announcements/detail/3672157956698193004

Dec 2022 / Jan 2023 Update
Kaf Rising
To those who dream of octo hellscapes,

Last year was a special year for Octopus City Blues. The funding and advice provided by Midgame Fund allowed us to fully concentrate on development, and we got a lot done. The focus was on wrapping up 8 story quests, implementing the remaining mechanics (tentacle watering, day progression, saving/loading data), and making it easier to test/debug our work. What's left is finishing and testing 6 quests + the ending.

We also released a couple of builds for play testers in 2022. In addition to fixing many bugs and making things more intuitive, the feedback resulted in new features such as highlighting nearby exits, or allowing Kaf to take a nap.

Throughout last year, we closely followed a road map with the goal of releasing the simulation in Q4 2023. That's still our goal, but only if we can release something that's not buggy or incomplete. As always, we'll keep you updated in the coming months, and will announce a more concrete release date once we're closer to the finish line.

If everything goes according to plan, we'd like to release a demo for the summer edition of Steam Next Fest. Additionally, one more play testing session is planned closer to the final release.


Thanks for your patience and support. We're almost there!

 

[Modron]

It's still alive somehow. Or pretending to be alive.

I would think that they are alive based on their fairly active twitter demonstrating new stuff several times a month consistantly over the last couple years: https://twitter.com/octocityblues

Definitely a bit of dev hell but I don't doubt it will come out eventually barring any unforeseen incidents.

 

[almondblight]

Yeah, they've been pretty transparent and showed consistent progress. Based on the demo released years ago, they could have definitely just rushed something decent out the door awhile back if they chose to. But it seems to be a crazy labor of love for them.

 

[Maxie]

Yeah, they've been pretty transparent and showed consistent progress. Based on the demo released years ago, they could have definitely just rushed something decent out the door awhile back if they chose to. But it seems to be a crazy labor of love for them.

Careful not to approach Grimoire level of who gives a shit anymore

 

[Modron]

Well they've finally got an estimated release date of Q1 2024 and a few teaser trailers thrown in for good measure: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1192230/view/6055700197099479865

June 2023 Update - New Release Window
We decided to delay the release of Octopus City Blues to early 2024.
Greetings octo-pundits,

Octopus City Blues is now scheduled for an early 2024 release. We tried our best to meet the 2023 deadline we'd originally set for ourselves, but things got in the way (shocking!). The extra time will help us further polish the simulation, while also giving us the space to promote the project ahead of the release.



We also decided to participate in the October edition of the Steam Next Fest event instead of this month's. With that said, we're currently inviting people to test a new build that will serve as the basis for the eventual public demo. If you want to give it a spin and help us test it, join us on Discord.

Much was done in the last five months: wrapping up quests, working on the cowboy dreams, fixing numerous bugs, bundling the simulation's data in one big archive, introducing in-game awards, and acting on December's play testing feedback. We also paid more attention to marketing, producing a new teaser trailer, and posting more often on social media (including a post on reddit).

As for the delay, the personal circumstances of more than one team member have changed considerably in the last few months. You can imagine how big the impact of temporarily losing one member of a tiny team would be, and the well-being of the team is more important than any deadline. Thankfully, everyone is starting to get back to their usual pace.

In January our plan allowed for a release in October or November. As the delays accumulated we tried simplifying future work and cutting content, but you can only do that to a certain point. One option under consideration is to get outside help for the final push, but these discussions take time as well.

I mentioned marketing, something we've neglected over the years. While getting Octopus City Blues done is still our priority, we want people to find out about it as well. That involves talks with several potential partners, engaging with social media, and participating in events. Questions such as the possibility and timing of console releases, achievements, and integration with storefronts are also being discussed.

All that to say that the closer we get to release, the more there is to do, including marketing, QA, events, localization, and of course actually finishing up the thing! Testing is particularly tricky when dealing with a branching narrative experience like Octopus City Blues. That's why we'd really appreciate it if you can join us on Discord and test our new build.



I'm still very happy with the work we're doing so far. Playing the latest build, the world feels rich and fully realized; there's so much to explore and do in the city, to the point that it still surprises me whenever I completely forget that you also have the option of doing X instead of Y or Z. I hope you and all the players will appreciate all the love that's been poured into our little monstrosity over the years.

To conclude, we're aiming for early 2024 at the moment. If all goes according to plan, there will be a new release date trailer in time for the October Steam Next Fest. Stay tuned, and thanks for your understanding and support!

 

[HoboForEternity]

That's ealier than i expexted

 

[Modron]

Looks like this is going to have a demo during the October Next Fest: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1192230/view/3672176977222351891

August 2023 Update
Preparing for the next Steam Next Fest
Attention: Supreme Space Fleet Commander Qor-Oh VI

Regarding aberrant radio signal 6EQUJ5 originating from the AL3002 system, Galaxy Sector D2. Decryption by GRUE bio-compute matrix successful. Identified primitive species of meat-based organisms with self-designation: HUMAN.

Most of the inhabitants of the third planet, AL3002-C work for a large commercial entity known as Ghost in a Bottle. Contrary to initial fleet assessment, radio signal picked by deep space probes in D2 was not intentional. It only contains updates sent from one Ghost in a Bottle office to another concerning the status of "Octopus City Blues", a primitive cybernetic simulation.

Photo by Max Mijs Brouwer

Signal is composed of four messages. Summary of first message, titled JUNE:

• Company experimented on a large number of meat-based organisms by releasing some kind of pathogen code-named DEMO.
• Release took place in a DISCORD.
• Also tested in several gatherings of meat-based organisms.
• Members of HUMAN species do not possess telepathic abilities, as scientists could not fully anticipate the behaviors of test subjects.
• Scientists continuously add new interactions to improve the payload.

Summary of second message, titled JULY:

• New content and scenes added to the project.
• References to TRAIN: terrestrial vehicle powered by dihydrogen monoxide in the gaseous phase.
• Reference to discarding and upgrading a biological parent.
• The DEMO pathogen is successfully injected into (dihydrogen monoxide in the gaseous phase) hardware: STEAM DECK.
• Special BUTTONS and other improvements made for STEAM DECK.

Summary of third message, titled AUGUST:

• Discusses making changes to textual elements.
• Members of HUMAN species unable to generate faultless prose on demand.
• Large quantities of faulty textual output require constant corrections and modifications.
• Skillful individuals with command of imprecise meat-based language employed to guide this painful process.
• In particular, editor Julia Seeholzer joins Ghost in a Bottle to fight the increasing number of runaway COMMAS and SEMICOLONS.
• Numerous changes were already made to improve the flow and consistency of DEMO pathogen.

Summary of fourth message, titled FUTURE WORK:

• Part of the pathogen is scheduled for public release during the "October Steam Next Fest" gathering.
• Preparations underway. In particular, tighter integration with dihydrogen monoxide in the gaseous phase is planned.
• Other upcoming gatherings are also planned.
• DEMO work is taking more time than anticipated, but is vital for increasing the efficacy and virulence of the final product.
• Further updates to follow in the coming orbital periods of the planet's sole natural satellite.

The malevolent corporation has formulated a plan in three steps:

• First, ensnare as many unsuspecting test subjects as possible during the next gathering.
• Second, there is a random chance that some deranged subjects would add the simulation to their list of future products they wish for.
• Third, once the simulation is perfected and ready for widespread release, previously exposed individuals will be notified, acting as transmission vectors for further dissemination.

Supreme Commander, the situation on AL3002-C is concerning. The nature of the computer simulation and the threat posed to life in D2 are unclear. GRUE matrix has reticulated the following suggestions:

• Continue to monitor AL3002-C for signals.
• Avoid direct confrontation with Ghost in a Bottle.
• Quarantine the third planet.
• Carefully observe the effects of releasing the simulation on native population.
• Once simulation technology is understood, adapt it for use in the war against the Qzor-Zoh Hierarchy.

End of Threat Assessment D2-105714-6EQUJ5.

 

[Modron]

Demo is live for all the doubters.

 

[orcinator]

Played the demo.
Wonder how real the choices & consequences are going to end up being in the full length game.