Bonjour everyone!
Can you believe we’re already in the last week of November? This year truly has been a ride. To avoid dwelling on the little time that is left of the year, though, let’s rather talk about what’s been going on in the Clockwork Acorn side of the woods!
A few things have happened since our last newsletter in June, but here are the highlights:
- Our team grew,
- We went on a retreat,
- We jammed a game called esCargo, and
- Upupu Bird Ninja is going to Playtopia!
I know the saying is ‘save the best for last’, but this time I feel like diving into the best bit first. So here’s a bit more about…
Travelling & Trading on the Snail Trail in esCargo!
You know what they say; you don’t choose the merchant life, the merchant life chooses you. And that’s essentially the whole premise behind our little game, esCargo!
Take on the role of a trader with an unusual business partner, a giant snail with a shell that doubles as a wagon, who journeys between villages and trades bits for bobs. Unpack your wares, trade wisely with the locals, and try to find the five baby snails out in the world to complete the final trade of the game.
esCargo was our attempt to capture this year’s Ludum Dare 58 Jam theme of “Collector”. While trading is at the core of our game, after playing for a couple of minutes you’ll come to understand that sometimes it borders on just hoarding 😄
Out of 1391 submissions, esCargo ranked 73rd overall. Our best scores being graphics (8th), theme (12th) and mood (26th). We were secretly hoping to crack the top 100, so seeing a considerable improvement on the desired result definitely left us feeling good!
If you’re wanting to abandon your responsibilities (at least for a while) by running off to become a snail-based trader, you can play esCargo in your browser on our Itch page. Let us know what you think in the Itch page comments! We’d love to hear about your new antiquated life.
A New Team Got Away
Behind the camera: Bracken
From a small core team of 3 to a whole 8 members, the Clockwork team has officially expanded! We’re so excited to welcome Bracken, Daoyi, Jack, Austin, and Bianca into the fold! 🎉
To celebrate this momentous occasion, we set off on a little retreat in a two-pronged effort to strengthen the team bond, as well as make a game for the Ludum Dare 58 together. esCargo is our first game jam as a new team, and if it’s set the tone for the rest of our projects together then I think we’ve already got something great going.
We look forward to telling you more about what we’ve been creating together in the coming months, but until then all we can say is: we can’t wait for you to sink your talons into it!
Coming Up Next
Finally, we have some lovely news to cap-off this nearly end-of-the-year update. We’re excited to announce that Upupa Bird Ninja is a part of the official Playtopia selection of games for 2025!
A few things have changed since you last saw Upupa: the game now features an updated movement system, new enemies, shiny new powers, and mysterious challenge rooms in the form of time rifts, among other things.
If you’re in Cape Town on the 5th & 6th of December, be sure to swing by the District Six Homecoming Center to not only check out Upupa on display, but also all the other incredible South African indie games and interactive art that’ll be a part of Playtopia!
We’d love to see you there. But until then, it’s back to the grindstone for us.
Chat soon!