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‘The Vanishing of Ethan Carter’ Devs Talk Medieval Shooter ‘Witchfire’
Accounced back in 2017, The Astronauts’ dark fantasy shooter, Witchfire, hasn’t been heard of much until the team brought it up recently with a progress report, along with a couple of clips.
Witchfire is described as as a sort of alternative-history shooter where witches, as they were described in medieval times, are very real, and as “the punishing hand of the Church”, you’re responsible for seeking them out and exterminating them. However, as the developers describe it, “things are not as black and white as one might think.”
Given the admittedly flimsy good vs. evil setup, the devs say that Witchfire is a shooter “focused on challenge and mastery”. In fact, the devs put it bluntly: Witchfire is not a story-based game. “We’re trying to make sure it’s accessible and there are many roads to the ultimate victory but you’ll still need to prove your witch-hunting skills if you’re after all of its secrets.”
“There’s lore to discover and decipher, but no cut-scenes to follow. A project like that — e.g. like Bulletstorm, a game that some of us directed — would be bordering on impossible for a tiny team like ours. More importantly, though, the heart of the game is somewhere else. We will talk about it more as soon as we’re ready.”
Development on Witchfire has progressed to the point where The Astronauts will begin posting weekly updates on the game (“Witchfire Wednesdays”, as they proposed calling it). However, the game probably won’t be ready until 2020. To keep up with the updates, you can check out The Astronauts’ Twitter or Facebook.
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One of Clive Barker’s Final Convention Appearances Will Be at New Jersey’s Monster Mania in August
We told you earlier this month that horror legend Clive Barker is leaving the convention scene behind to focus entirely on his writing, with various upcoming projects in the works.
A series of final appearances from Barker will begin at Days of the Dead Chicago this month, and we’ve learned Barker will also be coming to Monster Mania in New Jersey.
Clive Barker will be signing at Monster Mania 59 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which runs from August 2 – August 4, 2024. Stay tuned for more info from the convention.
Barker’s official statement earlier this month explained, “… it’s time to focus entirely on writing. I’m not stopping public events because I’ve lost delight in meeting you all over the years. I’m as passionate as ever about sharing my imagination with readers and moviegoers around the world. In the very room where I’m writing these words, I have the manuscripts for a very large number of projects (Thirty-one of them), some very close to completion, others still telling themselves. There are some wild projects in this collection of works, whether close to finished or done. There are also stories that you all knew I would be finishing.”
“Abarat IV and V are amongst the books at my feet,” he continued. “So is the Third and final book of The Art and the sequel to The Thief of Always. There are also return visits to characters and mythologies you may have thought I would never return to.
“I hope I am still able to surprise you in the decades ahead.”