[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35094915/c267ed2306b5eabb74f26ca9e1e7db32dacd719f.jpg[/img] Good evening. I don't remember exactly what I wrote in previous devlogs, but maybe that's a good thing, because you probably don't remember too. I will remind you a little, add a little, reminisce a little, and make up a little. Today we are releasing a project that has cost years of exciting but overwhelming work. Theoretically, we've been putting together the snow adventure for a year, maybe even less than a year, but we must remember that the project was not created from scratch. We took over Booze Masters, or rather a Steam card with some wishlist already built, from another studio, I don't even want to count how many years ago. The name was changed at least several times. First it was probably Moonshine Simulator, then Moonshine Empire, then Booze Empire... Or something like that. However, from the first day, when we took over the project, it was clear to us that we were not making a dry simulator. It's not that we have anything against dry simulators, we just always wanted to create games with a coherent personality, and we have already managed to achieve it in Infernal Radiation, Ultimate Summer, and Priest Simulator. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35094915/d7025e4e081891c3e67db1e595a0e981ae3a0fe9.jpg[/img] We were supposed to make a role-playing game set in a specific setting. A setting involving drinking booze, which was to be faithfully reproduced (yes, we did proper research, watched the series and consulted stuff), but which was not to dominate the experience. It was supposed to be a casual enrichment of a funny story. As it happens in gamedev, somewhere along the way we went crazy. We decided that there was no point in limiting ourselves to moonshine - we added entire systems and quests dedicated to wine and beer. The environment was huge, the plot lasted a dozen/several dozen hours. We even released a demo, maybe some of you remember? The colorful one, with Jerry in prison clothes. I'm talking about it in the past tense, but we still have this content backed up somewhere and maybe we'll release it someday. Why not now? [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35094915/635b05794c8ecf079d0e8e5c7d6c76a2af4229d2.jpg[/img] This is, as you can expect from us, a strange story. Well, driven by the success of Heavy Duty, we decided to make prologues for each game. But such prologues, which are not an excerpt from the full version, only overlap with it. We decided that in the prologue to Booze Masters: Spirit Crusher (this was the name of the main product), we would move the miniature to a completely different place, that is, to a frosty place, and let us play with a different character. We would meet the main hero of the original production as a supporting character... And, as it happens in gamedev, somewhere along the way we went crazy again. The project began to be so juicy (although neutered of many mechanics from Spirit Crusher) that Mati from Gaming Factory suggested that we should not play any prologues, but make two short premium games. This suited us, because Priest taught us that we feel better in shorter forms. I know that some people spend hundreds of hours here, but in our opinion, the games we make should last several hours. Prolog was called Final Product, then we changed it to Freezing Moonshine. Classically, it has changed the concept several times. Because either something was too long, or something was too boring, or there was too much of something, or there was too little of something, etc... Until finally, it absorbed us so much that, together with GF, we decided to focus solely only on it, thus putting Spirit Crusher to, well, the freezer. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35094915/f1a8ec55c3d8470a24687b0fa0e48a24250a08ce.jpg[/img] So, the names have changed, the mechanics, models, animations, plot have changed... But one thing has not changed: we had to create a casual experience, with cringe dialogues, vodka making and a ton of experiments that will allow us to feel satisfied with the fact that we've created something fresh. Fresh for us, because it's not a shooter game like Priest. It's not as gross-out comedy as Priest. It's a little bit darker, a little bit more serious, maybe a little bit weirder. There is more exploration, more walking and thinking, less cutscenes and action. It's different because we won't make the same game twice. It's also fresh for you, because Booze, although clearly inspired by other well-known titles, is a unique experience. There is no game, I swear to the devil, that could fit Freezing Moonshine in one drawer. Even though we didn't manage to fit in many of the things we had planned (the budget isn't make of gum), the game mixes so many different ideas in such a ridiculous way and in such non-obvious proportions that you can expect something completely unexpected. Okay, I see the wall of text here, and I still have a few interesting facts and anecdotes to tell, I'll do it in the next devlogs. Play, leave a blue thumbs up, give feedback and be good to each other. We love you, Asmodev. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1057600/Booze_Masters_Freezing_Moonshine/