[h2]RELEASE[/h2] [b]Picayune Dreams[/b] will officially be releasing on [u]December 4th, 2023[/u]! We are following the lead of other titles in this sub-genre, charging only [b]$4.99 USD[/b] for the game, with a special launch discount! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2088840/Picayune_Dreams/ However, we are launching straight into [b]v1.0[/b] rather than doing Early Access. While that's worked wonders for other Vampire Survivor-likes, our game has a distinct difference that motivated that release plan: [b]Picayune Dreams[/b] has a [i]proper story[/i] that will play out across your runs. Launching at v1.0 is our way of communicating that there is a [u]complete[/u] experience waiting to be played, We hope you'll continue to mess around with game-breaking runs after completing the story. And we reserve the right to continue expanding the game post-release! But it didn't feel right to call the game "Early Access" with that story in place. [h2]THE MAKING OF[/h2] This is the game's publisher, Graeme! I wanted to speak about the inception of [b]Picayune Dreams[/b], as it differs from any other [url=https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/2leftthumbs]2 Left Thumbs[/url] Published title! It remains the only title in that catalog that I was involved with from the ground floor, reaching out to a developer I admire, and offering up funding to start a new game from scratch. I first spoke with [url=https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Stepford]Stepford[/url] back in April 2022. The conversation started out simply enough: [quote]Vampire Survivors is really popular now. I'd like to see what a Stepford-spin on that style of game might be. You down?[/quote]([i]I'm paraphrasing. But that's the gist of it![/i]) Stepford immediately suggested bringing [url=https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=andyland]Andyland[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=milkypossum]Milkypossum[/url] on board, who had previously worked on [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2574420/Olives_ArtVenture/]Olive's Art-Venture [/url]together (and later [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2574430/Underlevel/]Underlevel[/url]). Shortly after, this mockup was the first thing I was ever shown. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42790996/9424420df4d429d2bff07e2b3a1099ced271d5fd.png[/img] The elevator pitch was, "[b]Yume Nikki Touhou Vampire Slayers[/b] (with bullet hell bosses and roguelike items)". After laughing over Andy accidentally drawing Space-Hitler, the idea was fleshed out, and proper development kicked off in July 2022! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42790996/a9d92c17c23e750b6b8913590493d0536198245e.gif[/img] The game has evolved in wild and weird ways over the last [u]1.5 years[/u]! Frankly, none of us expected to work on this game longer than ~6 months. And there was a lot of fear that the Bullet Heaven / Horde Survival roguelike sub-genre crazy would fade out if we waited too long. On some level, that may still be true? But time and time again, it's been shown that there is [i]always[/i] room for someone doing something new and different. And that gives us a lot of hope about [b]Picayune Dreams[/b]' potential, because it's combat, style, music, progression, and storytelling all feel distinctly different from what others have done! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42790996/b287eccc95bdd7bf8cd3ad1a2ba6b6b7b8a5b2a4.gif[/img] [h2]MORE ACTION ROGUELIKES?[/h2] Want to support more niche indie titles? [b]Schism[/b] is a challenging roguelite action RPG with guns, gods, leveling, and frequency-switching action. The combination of deep leveling and stat systems, full gun customization, deity worship, intense bullet hell combat, and difficult bosses make for a unique and highly replayable experience. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2084300/Schism/ It has a VERY extensive [b]Demo[/b], and is coming to Early Access in [b]December 2023[/b]! Be sure to add it to your Wishlists. Thank you for all the support! -Graeme (2 Left Thumbs