GUNPOINT

Gunpoint Demo Released! Pre-Orders Open! Release Date Announced!

Stop what you’re doing and play the Gunpoint demo! (Also on Steam!)

Note: If you don’t have admin privileges, choose a different folder than the default ‘Program Files’. Sorry, I’ll get a new version up with a different default.

Like it? Pre-order it! Really like it? Get a fancy edition!

When’s it out?

Unbelievably, Gunpoint is out next Monday, the 3rd of June.

Why are there fancy editions?

I’ve been working on Gunpoint for three years, and it could be a turning point in my life. If it does well enough, I will quit my job to become a full time game developer. I could make more games like this, hopefully better and more quickly. This would be amazing.

Gunpoint is not really a mass-market thing, but I’ve noticed that it just clicks with some people. If those people are happy to support it in exchange for a few extras, Gunpoint could succeed because of passionate players, rather than just a very large number of players. This would be amazing.

I’ve tried to design the extra goodies so that if this was an indie game I was excited about, like FTL, I’d buy the $30 edition no question. But I know everyone’s circumstances are different, so I’ve made sure the base game is the same for everyone – no exclusive missions or bullshit bonus items.

If you can’t afford to go fancy, you can still do me a huge favour by spreading the word and pointing it out to people who do Let’s Plays and the like. Speaking of which, anyone who does game videos to a decent following (say 1,000 subs or followers), get in touch.

So, what fancy editions? What fancy editions!

Gunpoint – $10 – $9

• Both a DRM-free download of Gunpoint.
• And a Steam key to own Gunpoint on Steam.

Gunpoint: Special Edition – $20 – $15

• Both a DRM-free download of Gunpoint.
• And a Steam key to own Gunpoint on Steam.
• The Soundtrack: includes all of the game’s noir-inspired spy music in high quality MP3 format.
• Developer Commentary:
  when enabled, you’ll find little sprites of Gunpoint’s developers on
  every mission. Talk to us to hear a little about our thinking behind the
  design (Tom), the art (John), and the music (Ryan). Caution: shooting a
  developer while he’s talking ends his current commentary track. This
  kills the developer.

Gunpoint: Exclusive Edition – $30 – $27

• Both a DRM-free download of Gunpoint.
• And a Steam key to own Gunpoint on Steam.
• The Soundtrack: includes all of the game’s noir-inspired spy music in high quality MP3 format.
• Developer Commentary:
  when enabled, you’ll find little sprites of Gunpoint’s developers on
  every mission. Talk to us to hear a little about our thinking behind the
  design (Tom), the art (John), and the music (Ryan). Caution: shooting a
  developer while he’s talking ends his current commentary track. This
  kills the developer.
• The Making Of Gunpoint: a
  40-minute video feature taking you through how Gunpoint developed from a
  one-room test game to what you play today. Featuring Gunpoint’s
  designer playing his earliest prototypes for the first time since they
  were made, to great personal embarrassment and shame.
• The Prototype Pack: play
  snapshots of Gunpoint’s development at 9 different stages, including
  cartoony programmer art, the first conception of the hacking system,
  many scrapped levels, and overpowered gadgets we later cut. For
  hopefully obvious reasons, we can’t give technical support for these.
• 4 Exclusive Tracks: bonus
  pieces produced specially by Gunpoint’s composers for this edition,
  mixing the game’s noir style with electronic influences. Since they’re
  not used as background music in the game, our composers took the chance
  to be more adventurous with these tracks.
• The Secret Beta Access List:
  adds an option in the game menu to sign up to our Secret Beta Access
  List. If and when future Suspicious Developments games are developed,
  we’ll sometimes give secret beta versions only to the members of this
  list.

Have some facts!

• Gunpoint is for Windows only right now. Hope to do Mac and Linux versions next.
• The main story takes most people about 3 hours to play through once.
• You can replay any mission you’ve already completed with whatever
  gadgets you currently have, to try to earn different ratings for
  avoiding violence, kills, noise, witnesses, etc.
• There’s a level editor. The levels it makes are saved as simple text files so they’re easy to share.
• You can also buy it from Steam if you prefer. We get a bit less of your money that way.

Thanks so much to those who helped Gunpoint by expressing excitement
or telling people about it. It would have been much harder without that.

I am now a useless ball of nerves, so I’ll stop here and let you know how it goes. Cheers!

Gunpoint’s Release Date’s Release Date

An Announcement

I will be announcing Gunpoint’s release date here tomorrow, Monday the 27th of May.

To be clear, this is not an announcement of Gunpoint’s release date. As promised in our hit post Gunpoint’s Release Date’s Release Date’s Release Date, this is an announcement of Gunpoint’s release date’s release date.

Gunpoint’s release date remains unannounced, until tomorrow.

Gunpoint’s Release Date’s Release Date’s Release Date

An Announcement

I will be announcing the release date of Gunpoint’s release date here tomorrow, Sunday the 26th of May.

To be clear, this is not an announcement of Gunpoint’s release date, nor is it an announcement of Gunpoint’s release date’s release date. It is an announcement of Gunpoint’s release date’s release date’s release date.

Update: We have been delighted with the community’s empassioned reaction to this announcement. These are just some of the high user-engagement social media interactions we have already logged:

Games I Plan To Make #1: The Randomised Strategy Game

Hey Tom, why are you always cooking noisily when you make videos? Because I am finishing my videogame, so vidbloggiovlogging kinda has to cram into any downtime I get. Hope the noise isn’t too annoying.

Gunpoint Steam Achievements

Gunpoint has 44 achievements on Steam – that’s only 5 less than Deus Ex 3. Only one is inevitable in a given playthrough, and that’s for completing it.

The rest are a mix of acknowledging very distinct playstyles, encouraging you to try new gadgets, recognising insane, obsessive or impressive decisions, letting you know certain feats are possible, and in one case helping you understand what just happened (some testers don’t realise what’s happening when they make an infinite loop in Crosslink).

A few are secret to surprise you, and a few are secret to avoid plot spoilers. These are the rest, with their magnificent icons by our artist John Roberts: Continued

Gunpoint Trailer: Gadgets And Steam

Who do you play?

You’re a freelance spy, and your clients hire you to steal sensitive data or technology.

What do you do?

You break into high security buildings by rewiring the electronics. You can use a Crosslink gadget to see how all the lights, switches, cameras and doors are wired up, then drag a connection from one to another to make them work however you want.

Example?

• You come to a security camera and a locked door.
• Switch to Crosslink mode, and you can see the camera is wired to an alarm – if it sees you, the alarm will bring a guard running.
• So you drag a connection from the camera to the door.
• Now when you walk in front of it, the door swings open instead of the alarm going off, and you’re in.

Say I’m vaguely intrigued. What do I do now?

Join the mailing list! I’ll update you when I have a release date, a new trailer, demo, etc. If you’re also interested in behind the scenes stuff and obtuse jokes about programming, follow it on Twitter.

As ever, I don’t have a release date, but you can to be told when it’s out.

Gunpoint Video Blog: Story Vs Games

I talk a bit about games vs stories: how they end up ruining each other, and how I’ve tried to avoid that in Gunpoint.

I mention the gender of the main villain in Gunpoint in this, but it won’t tell you much.

Gunpoint Dev Log: From A Broken Mess To A Working Game

A quick update on how Gunpoint’s going.

I AM SO SORRY I LEFT AUTOFOCUS ON! I will remember to disable it next time. My camera is great at everything except detecting how far away an almost stationary human in the center of the frame is.

The Calamitous Pacifist In Gunpoint

I’m trying to see if it’s possible to do this level without punching anyone. Not for the first time, my conclusion was: “Nope. Hmm, unless…”

I have to get to those stairs. The guard will shoot me if he sees me. I can’t open the building’s other entrance from the outside. Continued

What I Learned From Gunpoint, And How To Make A Game

I wrote a feature for PC Gamer in which I look at each of the easiest tools you can use to make a game, and interview indies who’ve made great things with them. It’s the Indies’ Guide To Game Making, and I’ve just updated it with some more detailed answers we didn’t have room for in the magazine.

Oi, aren’t you making a game?

I am, but I haven’t finished it yet. I’ve learnt a lot so far, though, and at Minecon in November, I gave a talk about what I’ve learned so far, and what I’d do differently if I was making my first game today. Here it is! Continued

Gunpoint At Minecon

Gunpoint will be playable at Minecon in Paris this weekend! I’ll be around to answer any questions. Say hi if you see me, I look like this.

I’m also giving a talk on the Sunday, about what I’ve learnt as a critic making my first game. That’s at 10.30 AM Sunday, in the Indie Theater, which is in the New York Convention Centre. That’s just a name, it’s in Paris like the rest of it.

If you won’t be there, my talk should be going online afterwards.

Why Isn’t There A Gunpoint Kickstarter?

I get this question a lot, which is lovely because it suggests people want to support the game and are happy to pay to do it. Thank you! I will very much want you to do that at some point!

Kickstarter is awesome and I may need it some day for something, but not Gunpoint. Here’s my thinking. Continued

Gunpoint Level Editor Trailer

Gunpoint will have a level editor! Here’s a quick video of what it’s like to use:

This is by far the most requested feature both from people who’ve played it and people who haven’t. I always planned to add one after release, but when I came to see if it was feasible, it turned out to be easier than I thought. It’s working nicely enough now that I can have it in for release. Which will be… in the future.

Here are some cool things about the level editor: Continued

Total Biscuit Plays Gunpoint

If anyone else does video stuff with games and wants to feature Gunpoint, mail pentadact+guntube@gmail.com and link me your channel!

Why Are Stealth Games Cool?

While poaching some eggs, I tried to explain what’s particularly cool about stealth games. Continued