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Eldritch - All News

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Sunday - August 24, 2014
Saturday - January 04, 2014
Saturday - December 07, 2013
Wednesday - November 13, 2013
Sunday - November 03, 2013
Monday - October 28, 2013
Sunday - October 27, 2013
Thursday - October 24, 2013
Wednesday - October 23, 2013
Monday - October 21, 2013
Friday - October 04, 2013
Tuesday - October 01, 2013
Thursday - September 26, 2013
Tuesday - September 17, 2013
Saturday - September 14, 2013
Wednesday - September 11, 2013
Box Art

Sunday - August 24, 2014

Eldritch - Interview @ Gameluster

by Couchpotato, 05:12

Gameluster has posted a new interview with David Pittman of Minor Key games to talk about Eldritch, and their upcoming game Neon Struct.

J.J. Evangelista: How did you get into the industry, and what made you decide to get into this medium?  What inspires you and your team to create?

David Pittan: Kyle and I grew up playing video games like many people our age; but from a young age, we also had an interest in learning how games were made. We taught ourselves to program in BASIC from sample code in science magazines, and that hobby grew into a career goal.

Our inspirations are diverse, but we both value and appreciate games which empower the player to be creative and to explore. I like to play big budget games as well as indie games, but there often seems to be an inverse relationship between a game’s budget and its willingness to let the player go off the beaten path (literally or metaphorically).

J.J. Evangelista: What was the inspiration behind Eldritch?  What made you decide to use books as the means of crossing into other worlds?

 David Pittman: The initial spark of an idea was to make a game with the systemic complexity of a BioShock or a Deus Ex, but with the unique moments and unpredictable challenges of a roguelike. I did not originally envision it as a Lovecraftian game, but chose that setting while searching for a theme that would provide an interesting set of worlds, weapons, monsters, and magic. The basic premise was of a character trapped in an unimaginably large library, venturing deeper and deeper into magical books to retrieve powers from the creatures contained within and ultimately unlock a path out of the library. The final version of the library paled in comparison to my vision, but it was a good place to start.

Saturday - January 04, 2014

Eldritch - Post-Mortem @ Gamasutra

by Couchpotato, 04:33

Gamasutra is hosting a new Post-Mortem for Eldritch written by the games developer.

What Now?

2013 was an amazing year for my career, and the story of Eldritch isn't over yet. The total number of units sold (about 32,000) is still low enough that there seems to be value in my continuing to promote the game and build awareness. Further sales will surely continue to draw more players, and later, I would be interested in including Eldritch in Humble-style game bundles.

The big question is whether it is worthwhile to continue to develop Eldritch or move on to the next (possibly Eldritch-related) project. Features like mod support and Steam achievements continue to be highly requested, but the cost-benefit analysis for those doesn't look great. Mod support would be difficult to do right (beyond simple features like texture packs) and would require a larger active user base to flourish. Perhaps mod support could help grow the user base, but we're living in a post-Minecraft world, and I question how much excitement the addition of mod support to a game like Eldritch could realistically generate.

Thank you all for your support of Eldritch so far, and I hope you enjoy whatever we do in 2014!

Saturday - December 07, 2013

Eldritch - Mountains of Madness

by Couchpotato, 03:27

Those of you that have purchased Eldritch will be pleased to know a new expansion called Mountains of Madness is on the way. The best part is that it will be free.

Eldritch: Mountains of Madness is a free expansion for the Lovecraftian action roguelike game Eldritch from David Pittman and Minor Key Games.

Available December 19 for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

http://www.eldritchgame.com
http://store.steampowered.com/app/252...
http://www.minorkeygames.com
https://www.twitter.com/dphrygian

Wednesday - November 13, 2013

Eldritch - Review Roundup

by Couchpotato, 03:37

I managed to roundup a few more reviews for the released rougelike Eldritch.

Front Towards Gamer - 9.5/10

Eldritch feels like a game after my heart. I’ve never played a stealth action game that has the same replayability, a trait brought out my its roguelike nature. Its eerily interesting world and the creatures that inhabit it evoke a sense of discomfort and eminent threat. Well-designed stages with impressive random generation help to alleviate the frustration of failure. In a time where every genre seems to be getting the “roguelike” treatment, Eldritch has made an excellent case for its fusion with the stealth action genre.

Greenlit Gaming - 7/10

The Verdict: Eldritch is an enjoyable experience that is unique in so many different ways. If you are comfortable with roguelike adventure games then this is the game for you. A great deal of thought and effort went into Eldritch so its easy for me to say its worth the fifteen dollar price tag.

Quarter To Three - 4/5

Eldritch, by Minor Key Games, is a first-person roguelike set in a blocky Lovecraftian fantasy. It’s unforgiving of mistakes, and it’s so dang adorable, you’ll want to hug every deadly enemy you see. Check out that Deep One in the above image. He’s so lovable! He hops and makes a goofy “glorp” noise when he chases you down and kills you. Awwww. Next thing you know, you’re looking at the death screen, getting ready to resurrect back in the mysterious library.

Sunday - November 03, 2013

Eldritch - Review @ IGN

by Couchpotato, 03:09

There is a new review of Eldritch posted on IGN giving the game a score of 7.7/10.

Eldritch's various components tend to work quite well on their own, and create most of a great Roguelike. But the speed and arbitrary nature of death means that the crazy desperate stories of near-death (or death) that make other games in the genre so memorable are unlikely to occur. Because of this, Eldritch can't quite take its place with the best of them.

Monday - October 28, 2013

Eldritch - Review @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

by Couchpotato, 03:55

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a new review for the just released roguelike Eldritch.

Eldritch, very brazenly the bastard child of Minecraft and Spelunky, bides its time, initially presenting itself as easy and cartoonish and a shameless coattail-rider, before blossoming into the sort of oddball terror that Doom achieved back in the day. A simple setup, exploring a dimension that’s in equal parts Lovecraft and Minecraft – CraftCraft, then – and accessed from portals in an occult library, yields randomly-generated, peril-packed levels in the current post-roguelike fashion.

Down you go, through blocky caverns roamed by the reliably murderous likes of Innsmouthian fishmen, albino spider-things, croc-faced Weeping Angels and what appears to be Orko from He-Man, seeking to gather weapons and upgrades as you go, and ultimately to find mystical artifacts that will permanently open up access to new, harder dimensions. Such shortcuts aside, death means essentially starting over, although if you managed to stow any spare cash in the bank before your untimely death and immediate resurrection, you can at least grab that in order to more quickly purchase items from the infrequent stores.

It’s hard to get past the Minecraft thing, naturally, and there is a part of me which bristles at the apparent attention-seeking nature of it, but it doesn’t at all play the same way. There’s no building whatsoever, and destruction of blocks is mostly limited to occasional use of rare and precious explosives to create a shortcut or bypass a locked door (keys are found regularly, but you’ll often run out). Spelunky is the closer comparison to the experience you’ll have, but even then it doesn’t have the Mossmouth title’s delicate, elegant balance of twitch and strategy. Naturally, being first person (with eerily long, stick-like arms) rather than side-one makes a huge difference too, and means it becomes a game more about hiding and performing precision strikes than platforming and high-speed evasion. It’s more openly a combat game, however – monsters spawn and respawn at random and regularly, so laurels cannot ever be rested upon.

Sunday - October 27, 2013

Eldritch - Review @ HardcoreGamer

by Couchpotato, 03:39

HardcoreGamer has posted a new review for Eldritch and gave it a 4/5.

Eldritch‘s random nature makes every journey into its dungeons a new adventure. There are multiple types of equipment to find, a variety of spells that might show up, several kinds of weapons (of which you can only carry two at a time), and it’s all set in a dungeon that’s new every time you venture down. Enemies are smart enough that there are a number of strategies for playing with them, and it’s always fun to trick them into attacking each other. Death is a problem that experience minimizes, and Eldritch is always different enough that gaining that experience never feels like a chore. It’s always fun to dive back into the books, exploring their levels, hoping to find the best loot drops and making do with what you actually get. Eldritch is brutally tough until you learn it, and then settles down to be pleasantly challenging. It’s a big random first-person dungeon crawl dripping with atmosphere, evil and fun in equal measure, and as a bonus you get to be a librarian reigning in the power of dark tomes of terrible knowledge.

Thursday - October 24, 2013

Eldritch - Review @ PC Gamer

by Couchpotato, 00:34

PC Gamer has posted a review of Eldritch and gave the game a score of 72/100.

The game’s low difficulty is a real thorn in its side, because there’s tremendous promise here. The low-fi visuals belie a surprising freedom of movement. You can lean, mantle, slide and leap in a way that makes the game feel like Dishonored circa 1995. It owes a debt to the exploration-heavy shooters of that era, too – games like Hexen and Duke Nukem 3D that rewarded spatial awareness and attention to detail with secret caches of health and ammo. Then there’s the influence of Rogue itself, evident in the way the minimap fills in square by square, layer by layer, as you peel away at each new environment.

A few brilliantly-designed enemies make the Nyarlathotep stages the best in the game. There are ghoulish wanderers that can’t be killed – only postponed – and an enemy whose killer chameleon act delivers this otherwise-cartoonish game’s premier jump scares. Later on there are implacable shoggoths that look like a binbag caught in a gale but hit like a binbag caught in the grille of an oncoming truck. Coming up with solutions to these problems – making your own routes, evading enemies, tactically reconfiguring the environment – is satisfying. It’s just that serious threats are too scarce, and therefore the end arrives far sooner than it should.

Wednesday - October 23, 2013

Eldritch - Now Available on Steam

by Couchpotato, 00:55

Steam announces that Eldritch is now available for purchase for 20% off till November 1st.

Now Available - Eldritch, 20% off!

Eldritch is Now Available on Steam and is 20% off!*

Eldritch is a first-person action game inspired by roguelikes, immersive sims, and H. P. Lovecraft. Unearth ancient secrets and find your way to freedom through randomly generated levels! Sneak, fight, and explore strange worlds as you invoke mystical powers to augment your play style!

Monday - October 21, 2013

Eldritch - Interview @ KaboomShark

by Couchpotato, 00:23

KaboomShark has interviewed David Pittman about his upcoming roguelike game Eldritch.

Eldritch has received incredible support and gathered a good deal of attention since its announcement. For our readers who haven’t heard of it, what is Eldritch?

Eldritch is a Lovecraftian action game inspired by immersive sims like Thief and Deus Ex and by fast-paced roguelikes like Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac. The player finds herself trapped in a massive library in the 1920′s and must venture into bizarre Lovecraftian realms to find the key to her escape. 

Minor Key Games consists of only two people—yourself and your brother, and both of you have some pretty impressive AAA experience under your belts. What’s been the most difficult part of going indie? What’s been the best part?

The best part of being indie and the most difficult part are two sides of the same coin. In AAA work, developers tend to get pigeonholed, but as an independent developer making Eldritch mostly by myself, I am responsible for every part of the game: tech, art, music, marketing, and more. It can seem overwhelming at times. But it has also been a welcome change of pace for me to break out of a narrow role and create something all my own.

Working independently can also be isolating, but we have a good support network of friends and former colleagues to help keep us sane.

Of all the AAA’s you’ve worked on, which do you feel you drew the most inspiration from when you started work on Eldritch?

I was a huge fan of the first BioShock and leapt at the chance in 2008 to work with 2K Marin on the sequel. Making BioShock 2 was a fantastic experience, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such a talented and positive team. Eldritch definitely owes something to that experience. Beyond the more apparent nods to BioShock 2 like the dual-wielded weapon + magic controls, there are innumerable smaller choices I made during development guided by the practices I learned on BioShock 2.

Friday - October 04, 2013

Eldritch - Greenlit on Steam

by Couchpotato, 00:36

The developers of Eldritch announce that the game has been Greenlit on Steam.

We got Greenlit today! Thank you all so much for your votes and for spreading the word about Eldritch! And extra special thanks to everyone who preordered on Humble, tested the beta, and helped to shape the final product.

I'll start preparing the Steam version of Eldritch shortly (with Steam Cloud save support, if I can get it working in time). Eldritch will be available on Steam on October 21.

Thanks again!

Tuesday - October 01, 2013

Eldritch - Interview @ Greenlit Gaming

by Couchpotato, 00:27

Greenlit Gaming interviews David Pittman of Minor Key Games for a quick Q&A session.

Q: Whenever I hear about Eldritch the words “Roguelike”, “Roguelike-like” or even “Rogue-lite” tend to be not too far off in conversation. Do you feel these adjectives are fitting? In what way does Eldritch contain “Rogue-like” elements. (For those who don’t know, a Rogue-like is a game categorized by an incredible amount of randomization, procedural generation and permanent death. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roguelike for more info)

I’m not a stickler when it comes to roguelike terminology, and I’ll usually call anything with random levels and permadeath a roguelike. But I recognize that many roguelike enthusiasts have a stricter definition of the term, so I usually speak about Eldritch being “inspired by” roguelikes instead. Eldritch is an action-oriented first-person game which contains roguelike elements in its use of randomly generated worlds and permanent player death.

I have tried to balance Eldritch such that it appeals to roguelike fans and non-fans alike. Eldritch is not immediately as difficult as other roguelike(-likes), and I hope that it may serve as a gateway for newcomers to the genre, or for anyone else who feels intimidated by the concept of permadeath. But there are also hidden secrets which exist to challenge veteran players, and I strongly encourage voluntary conduct-based challenges. I did a vegan/pacifist run once while testing the game, and it was an incredibly fresh and exciting experience.

Thursday - September 26, 2013

Eldritch - Alpha Preview @ Pixels for Breakfast

by Couchpotato, 01:01

Pixels for Breakfast previews the Alpha version of Eldritch in this new video.

Heller takes on the hellish demons of Lovecraftian fiction in Eldritch, a scary first-person Roguelike from ex-BioShock and Borderlands developers. It may have pixel graphics, but Eldritch is scary as hell itself, and features some outstanding audio design.

Tuesday - September 17, 2013

Eldritch - Alpha Preview @ IndieRPGs.com

by Couchpotato, 00:48

IndieRPGs.com has posted a new preview video on the alpha version of Eldritch.

David Pittman of Minor Key Games was nice enough to give me access to a (very, very) late alpha version of Eldritch (previously covered here). He writes: “I’m calling it an alpha, but it’s closer to what other developers would probably call a beta: it is content complete, and the only things that are changing now are balance issues, minor polish, and bug fixes.”

What surprised me most: this game is much, much creepier than the trailer would lead you to believe. The way one hears enemies wandering the vicinity is nerve-wracking; it reminds me a lot of System Shock 2. (Really, it’s amazing what a difference sound design can make.) Combined with the game’s permadeath-y mechanics, there is a lot of tension in every outing.

Saturday - September 14, 2013

Eldritch - Preview @ Rock, Paper, Shotgun

by Couchpotato, 00:39

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has posted another of their hands-on preview articles this time for the Dungeon Roguelike Eldritch.

You are a librarian. No, you are. But some dreadful spell means you don’t remember your own library, and nor indeed the worlds hidden inside its magical floating books. Rendered in Minecraft-a-like blocky textures, any concerns about fatigue at this art style are quickly abandoned as you stop noticing and start exploring. Even the hub library itself deserves a thorough poking around, built as it is out of multiple layers and floors, impossibly floating about, packed with hidden holes and a few expository books to read.

There’s still work to be done, of course. Most significantlly, it’s not yet nearly difficult enough, which isn’t a phrase I usually find myself saying of the genre. The first book’s enemies don’t offer anything in terms of a fight, and even casually knifing at most of them is a quick button mash. They’ll likely only kill you if they surprise you from behind, and that’s most likely due to a lack of audio cues. Come the second book and this picks up enormously, so some balancing is needed in there.

Eldritch really nails its atmosphere, and the desire to delve into its randomly generated, multi-tiered dungeons again and again. With more balancing, and perhaps a few more floors added to each book’s realm, this could be a real hit. I can’t wait to see what more is added before release.

Wednesday - September 11, 2013

Eldritch - A New Roguelike Immersive Sim

by Couchpotato, 00:50

Eldritch is a new game from ex-2K Marin man David Pittman that combines roguelike, first-person, and ARPG elements.

You can pre-order Eldritch now for early access. The game is due out October 21st and is also looking for Greenlight votes.

Eldritch is a first-person action game inspired by roguelikes, immersive sims, and H. P. Lovecraft.

Information about

Eldritch

Developer: Minor Key Games

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Roguelike
Combat: Real-time
Play-time: Unlimited
Voice-acting: Partially voiced

Regions & platforms
World
· Homepage
· Platform: PC
· Released: 2013-10-21
· Publisher: Minor Key Games