Bright at Midnight: A Game Studio

Do you want to live out your space smuggler fantasies, piloting your very own ship in a galaxy full of adventure? Do you enjoy casts of diverse oddballs and misfits with lots of heart? Do you like Star Wars-esque universes and the writing style of Kid Icarus: Uprising? Do you want to support two queer game developers? Then get The Chaser’s Voyage on Steam!

So, there's really no getting around it, The Chaser's Voyage is a hard game. We designed it to be a hard game. We like it when games offer us a challenge. We also know that not everybody is, you know, into games for the teeth grinding and heart pounding thrill that a hard game can bring. I think Hollow Knight: Silksong kind of revealed that when a game is too hard, it stops feeling rewarding and just feels frustrating, especially when what you're really signing up for is to experience the world, listen to the music, and interact with the story. Luckily, in The Chaser's Voyage we have that. Our game has two primary difficulty modes: Captain Mode and Voyager Mode. Captain Mode (my favorite way to play) is that exhilarating "test your skill" game mode where you have to pay back your debt all within 1 life. In this mode, every decision matters and every mistake can cost you dearly. But, we also have Voyager Mode. In this mode, you have infinite retries. If you die, you can simply respawn where it happened or you can restart your the whole encounter. We even give you the option to restart the encounter at full health OR you can restart exactly as you entered, just so you can see if the situation you were in was truly hopeless or if there was a way you could have won. The other perk to Voyager Mode, which is what this video shows, is that you can also adjust the game's settings to be exactly where you want to be. Do you think the game's a little too hard on you for crashing into thing? You can reduce the damage your hull takes. Think you'd have more fun if your shields were a little stronger? You can make the shields take less damage. Hate repairing systems? You can completely turn off systems breaking. Does this make the game too easy? Yes. That's the point. If you want a challenge, Captain Mode is there and cannot be changed. It's the mode we balanced the entire game around. Voyager mode is for people who want to figure out the game, collect all the lore, see the ending, etc. We don't hold anything back (including achievements). We do keep records separate though and that includes insignia unlocks. So, if you got a really good record in Voyager mode, it will say that you unlocked it in Voyager mode. If you really want to impress people, you'll have to play in Captain Mode. - Eos//G Available Now on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1473130/The_Chasers_Voyage/

In our game, The Chaser's Voyage, some clients you pick up can be aligned with one of the two sides of the galactic war going on: either the UGS or the Empire. Carrying a client aligned with one side grants certain benefits but also poses extra risks. One scenario where both come into play is during a space battle, where two fleets are fighting each other and you're caught in the crossfire. In the above video, since you're carrying a UGS aligned client, the Empire is naturally going to be gunning for you. You can call for assistance though from your allies who might not be pleased that you're here in the battle but will provide cover nonetheless. Their battleships will also stop firing when you're nearby to let you pass over. One of my favorite parts though are when a few of their fighters will fly near you, providing an escort of sorts. It's only temporary but it really does make it feel like they're looking out for you. The whole space battle scenario was much inspired by the Disneyland attraction Star Tours, where your vessel can get up in a battle and the rebel alliance can help you out (in the original it was because they were the good guys, but in the current one it's explicitly because you're carrying a spy for them...which is something you can do in The Chaser's Voyage). You know, I've been on that ride countless times by now and I've never been the spy. One day though.... at least in our game, I can be the pilot carrying the spy. - Eos//G

In our game, The Chaser's Voyage, you can pick up clients who are alighted with either the UGS or the Xaltiam Empire. Picking an aligned client comes with certain risks and rewards. One such risk: the other side will hunt you down. While the battleship remains offscreen, it only does so because you are (hopefully) running away from it. They'll use fighter squadrons to try and slow you down, creating these epic chase sequences through asteroid fields much like a certain movie about an Empire Striking Back. Meanwhile, the battleship, which you can see how far away it is with your sensors up top, will be firing their big particle disruptor cannon at you. An encounter like this is dangerous and one wrong move can spell certain doom for you, but without enough skill and practice, you can survive long enough to charge your jump drive and escape. - Eos//G Buy the Chaser's Voyage on Steam Linktree

We realized that we didn't want to leave insignias where they were, so we're doing something to spice them up a bit. Insignias are the emblem you can put onto the side of your ship and they change how you play the game. Some, like the Neo-Chaser (the blue engine trail), gives you extra power but also makes you take more damage. Another one, like Angel of the Radiant Moon (the yellow trail) makes so which client you pick up can give you a buff or a penalty, such as recovering health over time or getting paid less. In the current version of the game (on Steam), the insignias didn't change the color of the engine trail. Now they do. We thought we picked out some nice colors . We're also testing out some rebalancing and retooling for some insignias. More info to come on that later. We have a few more changes we want to do as we finish up development for The Chaser's Voyage (and start the porting process). - Eos//G

Can you survive the frantic dangers of Sector 99? Your crew has put a lot of trust in you to allocate power to the right systems and to pilot around dangerous obstacles like asteroids. They will keep you updated the status of the your ship's systems. Many dangers lurk in the galaxy, like pirates who have no issues with ambushing unsuspecting ships that jump in a little too close to a star. Your only options are to outrun them or outgun them! Take flight and pay back your debt before it's too late in The Chaser's Voyage. Wishlist now on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1473130/The_Chasers_Voyage/