Church of the Midnight Sailor

The upcoming game takes place in the Antarctica of 2236, as a newly-arrived Freeman Frag arrives on a boat from foreign shores. Drawing spiritual inspiration from Hyper Light Drifter and Commander Keen, this pixel art RPG includes real-time combat and dozens of NPCs with dialogue and quest opportunities.

The world’s wealthy elite populate St. Jude and the numerous high-security facilities that litter the nearby countryside. Due to advancements in genetic manipulation and medical procedures, most local residents have been transformed into ‘Kin’, rendering them effectively immortal while creating an extreme preference for frigid temperatures.

Perhaps due to corporate madness or a twisted view of Darwinism, it has become a local tradition to entertain guests by subjecting them to the onslaughts of killer robots.

This game’s team includes Erik Meyer (creator, developer, art, writing), Ruben Tipparach (technical assistance), and Carlos Mews (music). All color choices draw from the Commodore Plus/4 palette as a nod to the visions of yesteryear. The game will be released when it’s done and polished, and check out @speedromccall on Twitter for updates.

Advice for players: The game relies heavily upon stats, and you gain experience from quests to improve said stats. Don’t spend points until you need to; it certainly is possible to run out of experience and get stuck (unable to progress), so be careful what you commit to. Regarding conversations, if you need to improve a stat or leave a moment of dialogue, simply walk away or press Q (entering the quest or stat screens will cancel dialogue). You interact with objects in the game by proximity, so simply walking up to people and data nodes will make things start happening. Finally, if you’ve forgotten what your keyboard options are, press M and go to controls. Most of the game can be navigated simply by keyboard, no mouse.