Few days ago I wrote tips ‘n tricks for players — this one’s tips ‘n tricks for people aiming to stream the game live or record videos. We’ll keep it short and sweet.

Camera Placement. We recommend putting your face cam in the lower right corner, where the only thing it covers up is the menu that your viewers don’t really need to see. Bit buckets / cups can go in the far lower left. If you have to put yourself in an upper corner the upper left is best, as the upper right has a score indicator.

Volume. The game by default plays well for solo players but for streaming we’ve found the music ends up too loud and drowns out the voice of the streamer. Before you fire up your stream we recommend booting up the game so you can go into the Preferences menu and adjust accordingly. A good starting point may be music at 50%, sound effects at 75%, and voice at 100%. The TEST button next to each should give you a good idea of what to expect in the final mix.

Quips or Full Dialogue? By default, Arcade Spirits includes key plot moments with full voice acting, with the rest either silent or backed up by short emotional quips (“Hmm…” “Okay!” “I’ve got it!” etc.) You can however turn either of these off. If you want to voice act the whole thing yourself, click the “Full Dialogue” button to turn off full line reads. If you want the quips gone too, click the “Quips” button. It’s up to you! (As for WHY the whole game isn’t acted, well… two reasons. One, money. Seriously, it’s a LOT of money. Two, you can customize your character and several times you can enter whatever text you want for some response, and we adjust dialogue accordingly. We’d hate to lose that self-expression.)

Missed Something? If you accidentally click past a line of dialogue before you can read it, don’t worry — hit the HISTORY button in the lower righthand menu to call up a list of what was recently said.

No Wrong Choices! It’s fun to roleplay your way through the game, but don’t be afraid to pick some of the more ‘out there’ choices to keep things lively for your viewers. The ‘Basically’ responses are also not negatives. The game doesn’t punish you heavily for your choices. If you want to be absolutely sure you can romance your favorite, here’s a rot13 spoiler tip: Nyy lbh arrq gb ebznapr fbzrbar vf gb gnxr gurz bhg gb yhapu ng yrnfg bapr, naq unir gurz or va lbhe gbc guerr eryngvbafuvcf.

Let Us Know! We’re keeping tabs on everyone who’s streaming, so if you plan to stream in the first two weeks of the game’s launch, please send me your name, a link to your channel, and what day and time (eastern time zone pref) you will be streaming.

Thank you so much! Your support means the world to us.

– Database system online. Iris personality matrix engaged.
– Access protocol: 35:34:31:54:12:24:45:43
– File access: AS1_FAQ.TXT
– Begin_Transmission

Testing, one, two, three… ahh, hello! My name is Iris, and I’m your personal digital assistant through the world of Arcade Spirits! Today, I’d like to discuss a few tips ‘n tricks to help you get the most out of your gameplay. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything!

Taking Photos! What better way to capture a moment than with a ‘selfie,’ as you flesh-based entities like to call them? In Arcade Spirits, taking a photo is easy! Just tap the “S” key on your keyboard to Snap! a photo, which will drop right into your game’s file folders. That way, your cherished memories are saved forever! And if that pesky text box is in the way, just “Right Click” first to hide the user interface, then “S”nap your picture! Perfect, pristine images of your friends, your favorite places, and other delightful moments in time.

Basic Isn’t Bad! Throughout Arcade Spirits, I’ll be offering assistance identifying your responses based on various personality archetypes: Quirky, Kindly, Steady, Gutsy, and Basically. You’ll almost always have a Basically option, so if you don’t like the other two, go ahead and be Basic! There’s nothing wrong with that, and sometimes, it’s the best possible thing to say! Don’t be afraid of exploring your choices. Speaking of which…

Save Your Game! So you have to make a biiiig decision, but aren’t sure what to pick? That’s okay! Hit your “ESCAPE” key to pop open the menu, and save your game! You can do this at any time during the game. Become a time traveler! Break the laws of physics! Burn a hole in the fabric of space-time that consumes all mankind has wrought in a sweeping wave of destruction! It’s all good.

Quick-Reference Your Personality! Did you know you can check up on your personality traits and your relationships at any time? It’s easy — just tap the “Q” key on your keyboard, or left click your score in the upper right corner of the screen! Use this to keep tabs on things and make sure you’re becoming the person you want to be.

New Game Plus! Arcade Spirits has replayability, thanks to all the different choices and romance options at your fingertips. Want to play the game again, but skip past any text you’ve already seen? We’ve got you covered! Click the “SKIP” button or the “TAB” key to start skipping past that stuff. Don’t worry, the game will automatically stop when it hits something you haven’t seen yet, or when you reach a decision point! Also, on your second playthrough, your mouse wheel will act as a time travel device — step backwards and forwards to see what different choices do! Why do we even have general relativity? Take that, Einstein!

The Home Arcade Documentary! As a little bonus feature, you can also view a documentary prepared by Naomi that explains how YOU can make an arcade game for your very own home, using software and joysticks and carpentry and more — or less! She’s got tips for you to make a project of any scale, be it a little HDMI set-top box, or a full blown cabinet. Enjoy the classics of yesteryear the way they were meant to be played! To view the documentary, before starting or loading your game, go to the “PRIZES” menu and click on the Documentary option.

Music Too Loud? We’ve mixed the music to quiet itself whenever someone’s talking, but sometimes you just want it quieter still — especially if you’re streaming the game live on the Internet. In the Preferences menu, you can adjust individual sliders for Music, Sound Effects, and Voice. Click the “Test” button next to each to hear what they sound like working together! While you’re in here, if you don’t like our pink neon interface, you can change it to cool blue pixels or a simple grey box. It’s up to you!

And… that’s all for now! I hope you enjoy Arcade Spirits when it releases on the 12th, and I hope I’ve made your game experience just a little bit better. Have fun!

Dee da dee doo, dee da dee da dee…

One week remains before the launch of Arcade Spirits and hype levels (along with rising anxiety levels) are soaring. Once the 12th hits and the game drops things are going to get very interesting ’round these parts… but even in the week prior, we’ve got interestingness in dangerous amounts.

I’m keeping our homepage up to date with links to new press, streamers, and videos as they’re made available. For instance, do you speak German or have Google Translate handy? If so you may like this glowing review of our game. Want to hear interviews with the devs? Sure thing — Stefan was on the GameGrin podcast recently, and Aenne, Molly, and Steph spoke to Gaming Access Weekly about inclusivity and our design philosophy.

Want to watch someone play the game? Okay — StumptGamers will be streaming our game TODAY, Monday Feb 4th, at 3pm Eastern. Later this week, LoadingReadyRun streams it Friday Feb 812:30pm Eastern. We’re also arranging for a charity stream to play it, with details to come. Many, many, many other streamers and youtubers will be diving in starting Feb 12th and we’ll be linking to as many as we can when that starts.

(One note, though. Generally speaking we’re going to collect links to all content we can, but we draw the line at anyone who mocks the game or its entirely optional pronoun feature. Negative reviews are just dandy, criticism is great… but when it’s a thin excuse to make fun of us or disrespect anyone’s gender, nothankyou.jpg. We won’t issue DMCA or takedowns or anything, that’d be silly and evil, but we also don’t have to promote their content.)

Lastly, if you want to preorder, we’ve got options on the table from itch.io, greenmangaming, and humblebundle. ALL of these will get you Steam keys, so pick your favorite. Me, I like itch.io, because it offers a great developer split — but it’s entirely up to you. Or don’t pre-order! That’s fine too, we’ll have a matching discount for launch week on Steam itself. You won’t miss out.

Not long now. Not long at all…

Been some time since our last developer blog post. Honestly? Not much to report, since we wrapped up the game and are just waiting for the release. But we’re not TOTALLY resting on our hopefully-arriving-in-the-future laurels. Let’s recap and discuss the doings and goings on.

Pre-orders are up, as indicated in this handy chart. My recommendation is itch.io, which has both the normal game and soundtrack+artbook bundle at a discount, and gets you both a direct download and a Steam key. If you don’t wanna pre-order, that’s cool, we’ll be having an identical launch week discount on Steam itself.

Aenne (co-author), Steph (Iris’s voice actor), Molly (character artist) and special guest Jacob (voice director) are all going to be at PAX South 2019 this coming weekend! We’re going to have our most elaborate booth to date, with comfy seating and a fun environment. We’ll have shirts and actual pre-order game codes on sale there, so drop on by to play the demo, chat with the devs, and have a grand ‘ol time. We’ll also be participating in the Houston Gaymers pre-show party Friday at 8pm.

Press will be getting their hands on review codes and working to get you advance notice of how amazingly awesome our game is (hopefully) towards the end of this month. If you’re press and want to get in on the fun contact pr@pqube.com for more information.

And finally… Feb 12, we release. And then we wait and see.

Because if we’re a success, if we can break even and then some… I’ve got biiiig plans for an Arcade Spirits II. Since I’ve got an unexpected and unwelcome surplus of time on my hands I’ve been doing preproduction work on it, in hopes that we take off like a rocket and the project is greenlit. So tell your friends, tell your enemies, and thank you for your support!

The pre-order bonanza continues! In interests of making this a little easier to follow, here’s a chart for you. (I know pre-order charts from AAA games kinda suck, I feel you, but I think ours is a bit simpler than that. Just trying to make sure you know what your options are.)

Where to Get It	Game Itself	Deluxe Bundle	What You Get
Itch.io	Yes	Yes	Direct download and Steam key
Green Man Gaming	Yes	Yes	Steam key
Humble Bundle	Yes	No	Steam key
GameJolt	Yes	No	Direct download, purchasable on Feb 12th
Steam	Yes	Yes	Purchasable on Feb 12th

I’m pleased to announce that our visual novel Arcade Spirits is now available for pre-order! Let me break down your options.

• Want a Steam key? Green Man Gaming has you covered with a steep 20% discount on the game, down to $16. (They’re eating the extra 10% so it doesn’t hurt us any.)
• Want a direct download? itch.io has the game for $18, PLUS the artbook and soundtrack if you pay $22.50. Itch also has an option to pay extra on top, which helps us a lot if you want to be super generous!
• Just want to buy through Steam itself? Unfortunately we can’t do preorders directly on Steam — but it’ll have the 10% / $18 launch week discount once the game goes live February 12th, as well as the artbook and soundtrack individually or bundled.

That said, you’ll have a 10% discount in the pre-order period AND one week after launch anywhere the game is available. So don’t feel obliged to pre-order if you don’t want to; you’ll get the same discount if you’re coming in shortly after the release. Pre-ordering helps us, sure, but we don’t wanna be too pushy about it.

Once the game releases on February 12th, you’ll get your copy and can begin romancing in the arcade of your dreams! We’ll see you there!

It’s been some time since I did a rambly developer blog update about our actual progress on the game. Today I’d like to do one of those, effectively wrapping up our game in a neat little bow, as we’re going to be sending it off to be certified and prepped for the February 12th launch. (And we’ll be launching at $20 for the game and $25 for game plus soundtrack and artbook. Details here.)

But first, let’s recap the Developer Spotlight series, shall we? All these lovely people contributed to Arcade Spirits:

• Aenne Schumann / Narrative Designer
• Stefan Gagne / Director / Writer
• Molly Nemecek / Character Art
• Taylor Rose / Background Art
• Greg Mirles / Music Composer
• Marc Straight / Audio Engineer
• Katriel Paige / Editing and UX

Hats off to you all for two and a half years of hard work. I’ve chronicled the ideas leading up to those two and a half years on the blog — that’s not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk in hindsight, as we’re into the last days of this project. We’re moving into 2019 and moving away from post-production, and it’s a good time to take stock.

As my first true indie game project — I don’t think MS-DOS shareware from the 90s counts — I wanted to make this as professional as I possibly could. We funded art, music, coding, and all the support needed to really make this game soar. It’s a passion project, riding no particular trend, digging into subject matter rarely explored in visual novels and using interactive storytelling in ways we haven’t seen very often in the genre. Everything we wanted to do, specifically to make the sort of game we wanted to play… we did it. And soon, we release it to you.

Since it’s our first project, well, there are some shortcomings. I can be honest about that. A more in-depth character creator would be great, having stricter narrative consistency would be great, and we didn’t plan on voice acting from day one meaning our scenes weren’t always structured in a way that accommodated it. The fifth identity trait (“Basically”) was never quite what I wanted it to be. Behind the scenes, files and code could be structured better, making it easier to write and less prone to errors. These are all great lessons to learn moving forward, all things we’re taking into account for future games, should we get to make them.

But a lot of other things went spectacularly well. I wanted this to feel like an 80s workplace sitcom — and it does. I wanted romance to be at the heart of the game, but not drive every single decision you make — and there’s variety here. I wanted to support and include as wide an audience as possible, every person no matter who they are — and we’ve done that without sacrificing anything. I craved a game that spoke to wistful nostalgia without being entirely trapped within it, which was respectful of arcade culture but understanding of the modern era — got it. And lastly, I wanted to tell a tale of hope and optimism in a dark time, where one could achieve their dreams if they were pragmatic about it and didn’t give up. I believe we did that.

So. Some things we could’ve done differently. Some things we got *chef kiss* spot on. And overall, I’m damn proud of the work we’re about to release into the world. Will it soar? Will it sink? That’s not for me to say — that’s for you to say. If it soars, then we are ready to take these lessons and make something bigger and brighter, a game which explores player choice and narrative in new ways. If it sinks, I can still say with pride that I did what I set out to do. Few people can say they truly chased their dreams.

We still have a month and a half to go, so things are pretty intense for you right now, in anticipation. I get that. For me, we’re winding down, we’re packaging up and shipping things out… and I feel a kind of melancholy, letting this finally go. A bit of anxiety for how it will be received. But above all, happiness. We did this. And soon, we’ll be able to show you.

Thank you. As I always say, if you’re reading these words, you’re farther down the rabbit hole than you expect — most people don’t chew through developer blog posts, don’t engage this deeply. You, however, are here with us. And for that you have my gratitude.

So, who’s ready to quarter up on February 12th? You got next.

Folks have been asking “How much will this game sell for?” and today I’d like to make that announcement!

Arcade Spirits will launch on Steam and itch.io, and will retail for…

• $20 for the game itself.
• $25 for the game plus the soundtrack and an artbook!

Some notes on this:

• There won’t be a pre-order available, but Steam lets you wishlist a game so you’re reminded of when it comes out. This helps us a lot!
• A launch week discount will be available instead! So early birds get cheaper worms.
• We’ll also be selling discounted codes at PAX South and PAX East. Look for our booth!
• Folks who backed us at $25 or more on Patreon will be getting the deluxe edition with soundtrack and artbook.
• We’re looking into launching on other digital storefronts as well, or being on them in the future. For now just assume Steam and itch.io.
• Everything everywhere will be DRM-FREE. We believe copy protection hurts customers. Please be kind and don’t distribute the game we put so much time and love into.

Want a tantalizing preview of our deluxe edition goodies? Sure thing. Here’s a full version of Neon City, the signature track of the game.

And here’s a page from the artbook, which includes concept art and designer notes for every character, many of the backgrounds, and all the pixel art. Click to enlarge.

No matter what version of the game you’re picking up, we hope to see you when Arcade Spirits launches on February 12, 2019!

Lord knows I’m a sloppy speller from time to time, and everybody could use an outside perspective when it comes to user interfaces and accessibility. Katriel came on board to help us smooth the game experience out for everyone.

Katriel is not a cat, but still likes blankets, scented candles, and cozying up to tea and a nice book. They also like writing – nonfiction and fiction – and editing. They started beta testing in the early 2000s, and got into applications and software accessibility in 2008. Recently they have contributed to writing the Night Horrors: the Tormented book for Promethean: the Created tabletop game line (via Onyx Path). They are now working on finishing up their MA in Disability Studies and trying to learn Swift, but their other interests include folklore, comparative religions, languages, and psychology. Their favorite game franchise is the Persona series. You can support their web and game accessibility endeavors at gofundme.com/accesscareer or for those more willing to check out a Patreon, can check out patreon.com/kachi for more varied posts and topics.

We go back a long ways, but this is the first time we’ve worked on the same project. I’m always happy to support Katriel’s efforts in a field that’s near and dear to my heart, disability access. It’s something few game devs think about until their game is too solidified to be changed, and that’s a pity. If you need any editing work or advice on user interfaces, give them a look!