Runner3 will be at PAX West!

Hey, everyone! 

First things first, I want to apologize for how long it’s been since our last update! In our defense, it's because we’ve been working our butts off to make Runner3 as good a game as it can possibly be! We cool? 

We cool.

Anyway, we’re really excited to announce that Runner3 will be playable in the Indie Megabooth at PAX West! This is our first time showing the game off in a public venue and we can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks! Will players openly cry tears of joy, or will their pride get in the way? I’m certainly hoping for the former, if only so I can finally convince my bosses that BIT.TRIP-branded tissues really are a good idea. 

Indie MEGABOOTH is bringing more than 80 games to the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. On top of that, we're taking over the ACT Theatre to showcase 16 tabletop games open to the public (this means you don't need a PAX badge to get in)!

As fun as it will be to have the game at PAX, we also have something else we’re hoping to bring along. More on that soon…

Have a great week!

The Mechiknight!

In Runner3, we’re expanding the depth of interaction between CommanderVideo and his world—not only via the environment, but also via helpful elements like vehicles and harmful things like enemies.

Case in point, this handsome devil…

Most items in RUNNER and Runner2 can be “defeated” by a single action, making our cast of enemies feel somewhat… fleeting; you never really get to know them.

But this new enemy we’re calling the Mechiknight will be a nuisance for several beats, forcing CommanderVideo to change up his strategy before being rid of the thing for good. 

Since Runner3 forces CommanderVideo through the world at a breakneck pace, we had to design an enemy that could move with you in a way that wasn’t confusing, and that also made sense thematically.

Enemies work best in our games when they are stationary and you can see them from a distance, giving the player time to prepare. So making sure that the Mechiknight gets into position early enough for the player to parse what’s going on was very important. 

We’ve got these dudes in game now. They work well. And they will Bonk you if you’re not on your toes.

Let us know what you think in the comments and we’ll do our best to amuse you with our witty responsticles!

- Alex

The Puppet Shows of Runner3

Hey, everyone!

I hope you’ve all had a chance by now to watch the gameplay video we shared a couple weeks back! It’s far and away the most footage we’ve shown of the game so far, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t already.

If you watched, you probably heard us mention the addition of "Puppet Shows" in the game. Some of you probably (and understandably!) are wondering just what the heck these are, and how they fit into the wild and wacky world of Runner3. Well, try not to overthink it: They’re exactly what they sound like! 

If you A) complete a world in Runner3 and B) collect the required items scattered all throughout, you’ll be treated to a Puppet Show. You don’t have to watch it, but doing so will provide you with a little more backstory for the game. For example, those who watch the Puppet Show for Spookyland will learn what life was like in that world before The Parliament of Owls arrived (spoiler: it was a lot better). 

Oh, and all of the Puppet Shows will be narrated by Charles Martinet. It was our hope all along to have more Martinet in this game, and this is just one example of how we’ve managed to pull that off!

Without further ado, here’s a sneak peek of one of the puppets:

Pretty cute, right? Hopefully we can give you a glimpse of a Puppet Show in action in the near future.

As always, let us know in the comments if you have any questions/thoughts!

- Dant

A whole lotta Runner3 gameplay

Hey, everyone!

E3 is over and things are finally starting to get back to normal over here. It was a ton of fun to allow some people a chance to play the game, and we were also lucky enough to have the opportunity to show off some gameplay during Twitch's coverage of the show! I hope some of you managed to catch the segment live, but I wanted to provide a link for those of you that missed it!

Check it out!

There's a ton of new gameplay footage and details about the game in there, so I suggest giving it a gander! I like to think it provides more answers than questions, but if you're confused at any point or just have something you're curious about, feel free to ask away in the comments! I can't promise I'll be able to answer everything (we like our secrets), but I'll do my best.

We hope you're happy with how the game is coming along!

- Dant

Say hello to Machineland

Hey, everyone! 

When we asked you a few weeks back to guess what the next playable world in Runner3 was going to be, we had a pretty good feeling someone was going to nail it. And we were right! Congratulations to user “Sol” for predicting the name of Machineland!

Machineland is not exactly paradise, as evidenced by the cigar-smoking smokestack Titans shown above. It’s cold, it's smelly, and it's polluted. As such, what better place is there for CommanderVideo and friends to spread their special brand of cheer? 

We’ll have more to say about Machineland—and Runner3 in general—in the weeks ahead. We’ve been pretty coy in recent months, but now that we’re in the homestretch of development, we’re feeling like it might be time to start acting a little more… candid. 

Thanks, as always, for coming along with us on this journey! We hope you’ve been happy with what you’ve seen so far.

- Dant