The Mars Horizon beta will take place on 27th April 2020! 🚀

UPDATE: Sign ups for the Mars Horizon beta are now closed - we're not taking any more applicants. Thanks to all our awesome beta testers - you can still play until May 4th @ 9am GMT. You can still join our Discord to discuss the game! You can also sign up here to stay up to date with all the latest Mars Horizon news including the release date!

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Want to try Mars Horizon for free and help us make the game as great as possible? Sign up to be part of the PC beta which starts on 27th April 2020. We need you to play our game and let us know what you think.

What is Mars Horizon?
Mars Horizon is a strategy simulation game where you lead a major space agency as you guide humanity to Mars. Construct a base, design and build rockets, conduct missions throughout the Solar System, and write your own history of space exploration. Created with support from the European Space Agency. Learn more about how we worked with the European Space Agency in our podcast.

Check out our beta trailer for more:

What will the beta include?
The beta allows you to experience the journey as far as the Moon. The full game takes you to Mars and beyond.

• Undertake 14 milestone missions (out of 36 in the full game)

• Choose to take on approximately 30 optional request missions

• 3 playable space agencies: ESA, NASA, and Roscosmos (5 in the full game)

• Approximately 8 hours of gameplay

• Dozens of rocket parts, upgrades, and payloads to research

• Multiple buildings to unlock and construct

• Hire, fire, and even rename astronauts

• Exciting narrative twists which can aid or hinder your goals

Please note: The Mars Horizon beta is a sample of the full game and is still in development.

The full game is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2020. 

• Step 1: Sign up to the beta here (UPDATE: Beta sign ups are now closed - we are no longer taking applicants)

• Step 2: Get a confirmation email

• Step 3: We'll send you a beta code and email with instructions near the beta date

• Step 4: Log into Steam and redeem your code

• Step 5: Join our Discord which we’ll be running over the beta for help, support, and questions

• Step 6: Play the Mars Horizon beta

• Step 7: Let us know what you think of our game

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Please Wishlist Mars Horizon on Steam!

We are a small developer and it helps a lot to get our game in front of more players on Steam. 

We've written a blog post with more details about why wishlisting is important, but in short, it helps us show Steam that people are interested in our game and helps us get in front of new audiences. It also means you’ll get notifications for important events, like when the game is released or on sale.

Our favourite free video games to self-isolate with

Like many people around the world, the studio is self-isolating from the Coronavirus. We’re very fortunate in that we’re able to work from home, so projects have been moving ahead as normal and our day-to-day work life - while certainly different - hasn’t been affected as badly as others.

That said, in this kind of situation it’s easy to get bored and we’re more frequently looking for fun things to do with our spare time when we can’t go outside or meet up with friends or do the things we would usually do.

We know others are in the same boat, so we’ve put together a list of some of the studio’s favourite free games. Some of these are commercial games now released permanently for free, some are experimental indie freebies, others are open source projects we love or beloved flash games from back in the day, and a handful are free-to-play with IAPs or ads (though they’re not essential to enjoying the game).

Have fun and stay safe!

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Stones of Solace by Dziff

Stones of Solace by Dziff
Windows, Mac
Recommended by Jem

From the developer: “Stones of Solace is a minimalistic and contemplative ritual, offering you a quiet space for relaxation. Find out what your idol is every day, and take some of your time to craft them a gift.”

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Oolite by Giles Williams, Jens Ayton, et al

Oolite by Giles Williams, Jens Ayton, et al
Windows, Mac, Linux
Recommended by Mike

From the developer: “Oolite is inspired by the 8-bit classic Elite, and many aspects of gameplay will be familiar to players of that game. In the tradition of open-world games, there's no overall story: you can be a millionaire trader, a veteran combateer, a feared pirate, a lonely miner, a notorious smuggler, or all of them, or something else entirely, based on your own actions.”

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Hordes.io by Hordes.io

Hordes.io by Hordes.io
Web
Recommended by Pete P

From the developer: “Find your clan, survive large scale open world PVP and arenas, hunt down bosses and fight your way to the top in this group oriented MMORPG.”

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Butterfly Soup by Brianna Lei

Butterfly Soup by Brianna Lei
Windows, Mac, Linux
Recommended by Joel

From the developer: “A visual novel about gay Asian girls playing baseball and falling in love.”

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A Painted Ocean by Neil Thapen

A Painted Ocean by Neil Thapen
Windows
Recommended by Aaron

From the developer: “Command a Napoleonic-era man-of-war. Sail the oceans of the world.”

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Old School RuneScape by Jagex

Old School RuneScape by Jagex
Windows, Mac / Android, Apple
Recommended by Dan

From the developer: “Relive the challenging levelling system and risk-it-all PvP of the biggest retro styled MMO. Play with millions of other players in this piece of online gaming heritage where the community controls the development so the game is truly what you want it to be!”

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Line Rider by Emergent Studios

Line Rider by Emergent Studios
Web
Recommended by Charlie

From the developer: “Draw a track for the sledder to ride on! The classic and super addictive sandbox game.”

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Bernband by Tom van den Boogaart

Bernband by Tom van den Boogaart
Windows, Mac, Linux
Recommended by Sam C

From the developer: “explore the city of the pff, 23 or something unique locations to discover”

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Dancing Road: Color Ball Run! by AMANOTES

Dancing Road: Color Ball Run! by AMANOTES
Android / Apple
Recommended by Matt W

From the developer: “Enjoy the catchy music and challenges designed for each dancing road. Let's roll the ball and feel the beat in this Color Matching Game!”

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Beneath a Steel Sky by Revolution Software

Beneath a Steel Sky by Revolution Software
Windows, Mac, Linux
Recommended by Peter W

From the developer: “Featuring Revolution's Software innovative Virtual Theatre system, Beneath a Steel Sky is a gripping science fiction point and click adventure game in the cyberpunk genre.”

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Chasing Birds by David Czar

Honourable mentions...

• Green by Bart Bonte - Android / Apple

• Porklike by Krystian Majewski - Web

• It’s a Beautiful Day by yllogique - Web

• Freeciv by The Freeciv Project - Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Amiga etc etc

• Forget-Me-Not<R by ERYNGI - Windows, macOS, and Linux

• Zero-K and the other Spring Engine RTS games - Windows, Linux

• Chasing Birds by David Czar - Windows, Mac

How to get a job in video games

Last updated: 10/09/2024 

We often get people reaching out to us for advice on how to get into the game industry. It’s a great place to work - creating something you love and working with like-minded people. But it can be difficult to break into games and everyone seems to have a different path. For that reason, we’ve collected everyone’s experiences here at Auroch Digital to help you figure out how you might be able to get your start working in games.

First steps to take:

• Decide what you want to do! Figure out if you want to get into programming, UX/UI, business development, production, marketing, journalism, or something else.

• Take part in game jams! There are loads to choose from and you’ll get a chance to try out different roles. At the end of it you’ll also have a game that you can add to your portfolio.

• Make a game! This can be daunting but there are loads of resources that will help you. It’s not as hard as it sounds, promise. 

• Get networking! We have lots of socials and events open to anyone at the Games Hub. There are similar communities all over. Come along and get to know people. 

• Sign up to newsletters! Game developers often use newsletters to reach out to their community, post jobs, but also discuss game ideas.

• Practise your craft! You’ll only get better at writing, design, and coding by actually doing it. It will also help when applying for jobs if you can show what you can do. 

• Build a portfolio! Once you’ve got a few examples of your work pull them together into a portfolio to show off to potential employers. Don’t just tell them what you can do, show them.

• Sign up to game job listings! Even if you’re not ready to apply yet, browsing jobs will show you what’s out there and what people are looking for. Two listings we can recommend are gamesindustry.biz and gamasutra.

• Join Twitter! It is a great place to get an insight into the game industry. Hashtags like #gamedevjobs #gamejobs show you what people are looking for. You can also find loads of useful threads with games industry advice.

For an insight into what working at an indie game dev studio is like listen to our podcast episode “A day in the life of Auroch Digital”.

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About Auroch Digital

Originally founded in 2010, Auroch Digital became a Sumo Digital studio in 2023. We are a remote-first game development studio with a base in Bristol, UK. We are the developers for Warhammer 40:000 Boltgun and Mars Horizon but we’ve also ported and published popular Steam titles and brought them to console. These include the storytelling RPG Wildermyth, the fishy theme park management game Megaquarium, cute robot city builder The Colonists, and the political sim strategy game Democracy 4.   

Find out more about the people who work at Auroch Digital below! 

Nina, Auroch Digital’s Studio Director

Nina (She/Her) - Studio Director at Auroch Digital

Nina was hired as the Office Manager in 2015 when there were only 12 of us. She then moved into production, going on to release Ogre and Acthung Cthulhu: Tactics, then branched into biz dev, pitching projects such as Brewmaster and Boltgun. This meant that Nina ended up in a position with experience across the breadth of the company and really enjoyed the plate spinning joy of helping to run the business. With hard work and the wonderful support of Auroch, she was promoted to Ops Director in 2021 when we were acquired by Sumo and then to Studio Director of Auroch Digital in 2024.

When asked ‘What is a piece of advice would you give yourself starting out?’ this is what Nina had to say “Just go for it, try your hand at everything, and see what your enjoy and are good at. “

Tomas (He/Him) - Vice President of Sumo Digital UK

Tom’s biggest piece of advice is to get as much experience working in teams as possible. You might be great at coding or art, but if you can’t work with a team of people then you won’t get on well at a game studio.

Tomas giving a talk at WASD about sustainability in gaming

Some good overall tips:

• Don’t Spam studios with generic emails.

  • Studios get hundreds of spam emails daily so to get your message across, it needs to stand out. Make sure the subject is appropriate and relevant.

• When asking for work experience make, don’t just talk about how it will be good for you, what will the studio gain?

  • Make sure to include in your request what the studio will gain. Remember that many studios are tiny and taking on someone for this role is a significant cost in time and resources.

• Don’t turn your nose up at an offer because it’s not the exact role you want.

  • All experience counts and often the stuff that matters most is the core areas such as teamwork.

• Got the interview? Make sure you are well prepared and research a lot.

  • Make sure you've researched the games of the company your going to an interview with and ideally played their games. If you want them to take an interest in you, then take an interest in them.

Tom has also written an article with advice for parents whose kids want to work in games. Give it a read here.

The Brewmaster team enjoy some beer research

Peter (He/Him) - Production Director

After Peter got his acting degree he started a podcast about retro gaming while working in retail. In his spare time, he wrote about and created videos about games for websites. He also topped up his CV by getting a job in live entertainment marketing. After building up enough contacts in the game industry, he was able to become a marketing, community, and section editor for a major game website, and eventually deputy editor. During this time, he realised that what he liked about games was seeing how they were made and getting the most out of a team, and so he got a job here at Auroch Digital. 

“Get involved in games in whatever way you can. The things you'll learn by making and critiquing games, regardless of whether you're a professional or not, are incalculably valuable. Throw a story together in Twine, make a utility app in Unity, do an animation set for RPG Maker, make a Flappy Bird clone in Unreal... it's all going to be useful and shows that you genuinely have a passion for making stuff when it comes to a job interview.”

Aaron (He/Him) - Creative Director

Aaron studied cybernetics at university before getting a job for a few months as a game tester at Lionhead. He then went on to get an engineering job for about 6 years whilst still working on game modding projects in his free time. His experience modding games eventually landed him the chance to join an indie game studio. 
“Only consider a career in games if you already find yourself spending lots of your free time working on games for the sheer joy of it.”

Jemima streaming Megaquarium at an aquarium in front of the shark tank

Jemima (She/Her) - Marketing and Comms Director

“I’m a game marketer because I love games, but also, and more importantly, because I love marketing. I started off doing marketing for the Institute of Physics, but when a role came up to do marketing for games, I jumped at the chance. Since then I’ve been able to get other roles in the game industry by asking someone if they knew of any roles going, and being told to sign up to a studio newsletter. Networking is important, both for getting support and finding out about opportunities and roles.
My advice is to give yourself as many opportunities as possible by getting to know people, signing up to newsletters, and following studios on socials. You never know which opportunity will turn out to be your lucky break.”

Sam (He/Him) - Principal Programmer

Sam started learning programming in his spare time while working another job. He spent years learning as well as making games in his spare time. During this time he was also getting involved in the Bristol games scene, did Games Jams, and networked. When the right role came along he was well prepared and had a good portfolio.

Matt (He/Him) - Principal Designer

“My two bits of advice: play a wide variety of games; try making a game in Unity or Unreal Engine to see which areas of development you're drawn to.”

Some of the Auroch Digital devs hard at work

Dan (He/Him) - Principal Artist

Dan got a Video Game Art degree and then worked as a teaching assistant on the same course. Following that he came to us here at Auroch Digital.

“I think the reality is that your grades and qualifications don't really matter, it comes down to your portfolio and the last bit of artwork you've done. Providing a solid portfolio and delivering a good art test will get you a job in opinion.”

Freddie (He/Him) - Associate Programmer

“Building a portfolio of personal projects/game jam games puts you in very good stead. As well as the experience, it gives you plenty to talk about in an interview to show off your passion! For programmers specifically, it's also great to talk about the latest or upcoming features in your preferred engine. If you can talk about your favourites and how you'd use them, it shows real initiative! Final piece of advice would be to not limit yourself, geographically speaking. There are so many game studios around the country and many of them will have remote working positions available.”

Joseph (He/Him) - Artist

“The process of applying for jobs in games can be challenging, it's important to remember that rejections are part of the process. Just because someone else got a job you wanted, doesn't mean you aren't good enough for it, they might simply have had more experience.

Soft skills are extremely valuable in a competitive field like video games. You have to assume everyone else applying for a role you want is as technically capable as you - so demonstrating other qualities like friendly openness, enthusiasm and self-confidence can be very important.”

Matthew (He/Him) - Senior Audio Designer

Matthew’s journey into games didn’t come by way of an application like most peoples, he was a freelancer. Did it for 7 years, built up a relationship with us and was kindly offered a role once our studio has reached a certain capacity.

Matt recording peter for the Auroch Digital Podcast

• Have faith in your abilities

• Build professional friendships / relations

• Show more than a keen interest in what a studio is producing / working on / has shipped, introduce yourself to its circle

• Reach out to like minded folk online [X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram are golden for this]

• Post your work examples / portfolio online, but do not rely on this, when I was freelance I landed almost every gig by having attended a meetup of some sort

• Don't sweat the small stuff, focus your energy on what you can change, drop the rest

• Technical skill is of course important, but I'd put interpersonal skills above

• Freelancing [whilst living on a knife edge], is actually a very good source for contact gathering, and builds a very grateful outlook and perspective

Lucy (She/Her) - Producer

“My advice is pretty simple.... You've just got to keep trying! Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part of getting into the games industry, but once you're in you'll find out we're a pretty tight knit community. Be prepared to face a lot of 'no' but once you get that 'yes' - even if its not your dream role - you should take the opportunity.”

Simon (He/Him) - Marketing Manager

“My main piece of advice for getting a career in games is to become part of a wider gaming community. Find a game or genre that you thoroughly enjoy and make connections through Discord channels, Reddit, or other social media sites. I have worked in marketing for over a decade, and it was through getting to know people this way that I was able to get my first role in video games. It’s not just something that can benefit your career but can help you meet like-minded people who make a long-lasting and positive impact on your life.”

Auroch Digital at the tough mudder finishing line

Eren (She/They) - Lead Artist

“Give everything that interests you a go and don’t limit yourself to start with, work out what you genuinely enjoy first. Build up your portfolio based on that enjoyment; it will be much easier to show your best work when you have fun with the process.

Remind yourself that everyone has their own pace and path into the industry, do not compare yourself to others and base your value on that, this can be especially hard at the beginning.

Get involved in mentoring, feedback and reaching out to others for advice. Not only will you improve yourself as a developer, but you will learn the interpersonal skills that are needed for working within a studio. Learning how to receive and give feedback can be hard but will massively help you in your career!”

Hannah (She/Her) - Associate Producer

“Talking about yourself and identifying your strengths can be a very tough process, so my top tip when pulling together your resume/portfolio is to try and think of yourself as you would think of a friend! We can be our own worst critiques, but think about the unique perspective and experiences you can bring to the table, and what skills you developed from them. As cheesy as it sounds, I think genuinely being your authentic self is so important too! If you are presenting an idealised version of yourself you may miss the chance to form genuine connections, or miss warning signs. We are all human, and have our own strengths, flaws, passions, and boundaries. There is also such value in a diversity of voices, so don't squish yours down to fit into a job!”

You helped us save loads of lovely animals - THANK YOU!

For nine days we ran a charity drive with 100% of the money from the sales of Mars Horizon: Blast Off going to Australian Animal Rescue (AAR). Thank you so much to everyone who took part. Together with your help we’ve managed to raise a total of £2,675!

AAR is a non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers who came together after the devastating April 2009 bushfires. AAR has been hard at work during the current bushfire crisis in Australia delivering food, water, bedding, and medical supplies to people and animals alike. They’ve also been rescuing as many trapped animals as they can.

Australian Animal Rescue cares not only for wildlife, but also domestic animal rescues and adoptions. They’ve been helping kangaroos, Kookaburras, kittens, cows, and so many more. They operate 7 days a week and provide animal rescue and information services throughout Victoria. 

Here’s a gallery of AAR helping out, as well as some of the animals they’ve been caring for. Your donation will help them to save even more:

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Thanks to everyone who bought a copy of Mars Horizon: Blast Off, your donations will help a great deal. If you missed out you can donate money directly to Australian Animal Rescue on its website. 

This charity drive has been a big success so we are already planning more for the future. Make sure to sign up to our newsletter to hear about out future charity drives as well as other giveaways and gaming updates. 

For all you new board game owners you can watch our “How to play Mars Horizon: BLAST OFF!” video below:

This video tutorial will teach you how to play Mars Horizon: BLAST OFF! GET THE GAME HERE: https://www.aurochdigital.com/products/mars-horizon-blast-off This video will teach you the basics of the game, what the special cards mean, and will go into detail about how to take turns. In Mars Horizon: Blast Off!

Urgent sale to raise money for Australian Animal Rescue Inc (AAR) - 100% of the sales go to help rescue animals

It’s been hard to watch the massive bushfires spread around and engulf southeastern Australia. 

So far, 1.5 million acres of natural land and the lives built in and around it have been destroyed. It’s killed at least 26 people, more than a billion animals, and damaged or obliterated nearly 3,000 homes. Devastating.

We’ve been asking ourselves, as a game studio based in Bristol, UK, what we can do from all the way over here. We make and sell games, so the answer to what we can do to help out those who are trying to handle this emergency is obvious. 

Until midnight on January 19, 2020, we’re donating 100% of the money from the sales of our new board game Mars Horizon: Blast Off to Australian Animal Rescue Inc (AAR).

[OUR SALE HAS NOW ENDED - YOU CAN DONATE TO AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL RESCUE HERE TO SUPPORT THEIR ONGOING WORK]

We’ve chosen Australian Animal Rescue Inc (AAR) as the charity we’ll be giving all the money to as we are big animals lovers and they’re working incredibly hard saving wildlife and domestic animals as we speak. Auroch Digital will also be making a separate donation to AAR on top of the sale money.

AAR is a non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers who came together after the devastating April 2009 bushfires. Since then, its members have been working to rescue wildlife from bushfires and provide as many supplies as possible to affected people and animals - both wild and domestic.

The team helps even further by acting as an information resource during these crises, as well as by helping shelters and finding ways to source funding to cope with these disasters.

Follow the Australian Animal Rescue Inc (AAR) Facebook page to get live updates of what they are doing to help, you can share their posts and see what your donations will be going towards.

#Bushfires have been sweeping across #Australia since September, fuelled by record-breaking temperatures, drought and wind. TV coverage has shocked the world, but only the view from #space shows the scale of what Australians are having to deal with 👉 https://t.co/TaWoTIXCyR pic.twitter.com/I3E4WglAJL

— ESA (@esa) January 9, 2020

At the beginning of 2020, AAR managed to raise £10,134 AUD for medical supplies and animal food that is delivered to evacuation points set up in response to the current bushfires.

We’d be eternally grateful if you could help us raise even more money for AAR’s cause by purchasing Mars Horizon: Blast Off. It’s a board game that tasks each player with launching the first manned mission to Mars. It’s great fun, accessible, and we’re very proud of it. You get to enjoy a great new game and know that your money is going to save some animals in need.

If you can’t afford to buy the game but still want to help out then you can donate money directly to Australian Animal Rescue Inc on its website. 

Another way to help is to share this blog post with as many people as you can to make them aware of how they can help those affected by the Australian bushfires. 

This is a real crisis for our times and we can’t sit idly by as it continues to ruin the lives of helpless animals and the people who care for them. Thanks in advance for any help you provide.

Below is a gallery of the animals AAR have been rescuing, your donation will help them to save many more just like these:

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Auroch Digital at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2020

Pocket Gamer Connects (PGC) is an international series of B2B events for the global games industry. The next event is in London, Jan 20th - 21st, 2020 and Auroch Digital is attending!

PGC London 2020 will feature 26 content tracks across five stages; 310 speakers; 190 sessions; over 850 companies represented; 2,500 delegates expected. You’ll have the chance to connect with publishers, developers, indies, investors and international games professionals from across the industry. This year it includes PC, console, VR/AR and blockchain in addition to mobile. Publishers and developers attending include King, Supercell, Facebook, Zynga, Tencent, Amazon. You can view the full schedule here.

This year our Design Director Tomas Rawlings is on a panel about Indie publishing so make sure to go give it a listen if you are attending. Further details on the panel are below:

Indie Publishing - How Indie developers deal with publishing in PC/console, biggest challenges and advantages and opportunities ahead

• Date: Jan 20th

• Time: 12.20 pm

• Panelists:

  • Jason Robar, AuthorDigital (Moderator)

    Jacki Vause, Dimoso

    Tomas Rawlings, Auroch Digital

    Danil Lucic, Croteam

    Steve Filby, Motion Twin

    Xavier Liard, Playdigious

  Register your attendance and grab a ticket here.

If you’re attending PG connects and would like to set up a meeting just reach out to us or Tomas and we’d be delighted to talk.

Grab your ticket here and save 20% with our special code ‘AUROCHDIGITAL20’.

The Year In Review 2019

It’s the end of another year and we’re in a reflective mood, looking back on all the things we’ve been up to over the course of the year of our lord Cthulhu, twenty nineteen.

Can you believe we released five games this year!?!?

Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics slithered onto Switch

Way back in the mists of time - the end of January, to be precise - the Nintendo Switch version of our turn-based tactics game joined its counterparts on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

We were pretty pleased with how this portable version turned out and, honestly, it might just be the best way to play it. A nice ending to a project that absorbed a lot of our attention in 2018.

We set off on our journey to space, with Mars Horizon: Blast Off!

In February we ran a Kickstarter for our space-themed card game, Mars Horizon: Blast Off!

Very much its own separate thing from the Mars Horizon video game - more on that later - the card game is a lightweight and fun game to share with friends. We had a great time playtesting it in the studio and have been really pleased to see players enjoying it after we shipped in November.

Dark Future drove on home

In the making since 2014, in 2019 we delivered Dark Future to PC.

First there was the beta, then the full launch, plus a Developer’s Archive showing progress on the game, and the soundtrack. Then we dropped six updates to the main game that brought a brand new gang, achievement progress tracking, balance refinement, bug fixes, and a bunch of QOL items requested by players.

First available on Steam, then through Humble, and more recently over on GOG, Dark Future was also nominated for a TIGA Award.

We ported and published Megaquarium to consoles

We were honoured to be given the responsibility of porting one of our favourite tycoon management games from PC to consoles - the delightfully fishy Megaquarium from Twice Circled.

Currently our joint best critically received game, the team did a superb job of translating the keyboard and mouse inputs to a controller, and making sure everything ran nice and smooth for console gamers eager to dip their toes into running an aquarium.

We got way into the whole “fish are amazing” thing, as our visit to the National Marine Aquarium and the accompanying gallery of images attests. We also worked on partnerships with the Tropical Marine Center and Bristol Aquarium to create loads of fun videos to celebrate the release of the game.

There’s Death on the Cards with Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie - Death on the Cards, our second tabletop game of the year, was with our friends at Modiphius and based on the works of Agatha Christie.

It was at UK Games Expo, it was at Gen Con, it was at Spiel, and now it’s at your FLGS and all good book stores, just in time for a post-Christmas dinner game of accusing your loved ones of being ruthless killers.

It’s a playful social deduction game with your favourite characters from the author’s mighty library of works and we’re so excited to see what you make of it.

Thanks for taking part in the alpha!

Mars Horizon pre-flight checks

Our next big own-IP game - Mars Horizon - continued development through 2019 and everything is gearing up for take off in 2020.

We gave everyone the chance to try out our Alpha of the game, and over 1500 of you, from all over the world, signed up to tell us what you thought. It sounds like we’ve been heading in the right direction, and the detailed feedback provided has gone on to shape development - a thoughtful little tweak here, a greatly expanded feature there.

We also announced our partnership with the European Space Agency, which, honestly, was a bit of a dream come true.

We doubled down on podcasting

This year the podcast went from strength-to-strength, covering a diverse array of subjects, as we began to feel our feet for what you wanted us to talk about.

There was coverage of the Global Game Jam in Bristol, our visit to the ESA, a deep dive into Games Workshop’s cult classic Chainsaw Warrior, a series on car combat and the roots of Dark Future, a history of Cthulhu video games, and we even talked about games we never ended up making.

The Auroch Digital team took a trip to @bristolaquarium last week to celebrate the release of #Megaquarium. Thanks for having us, we had an awesome time - Simon the Pufferfish and Gloria the #Octopus were firm favourites. ❤️🐙🐡 pic.twitter.com/amZTQz2to4

— Auroch Digital (@AurochDigital) November 11, 2019

New people joined us

We were joined by Jem (Marketing and Community Manager), Charlie (Programmer), Joel (Programmer), Stefan (Programmer), Ruth (Admin Assistant), and Sam (QA and Designer) for our projects this year.

It’s been brilliant watching this talented bunch settle in on their various projects, and our team for 2020 is made up of some of the South West’s absolute finest.

And more!

We wrote about subscription services and how they’ll affect the games industry over on PC Games Insider, did a talk about digital discovery at PC Connects, spoke at Gamescom Congress about making humanity a multiplanetary species, and went on Modiphius Calling to chat Christie and Cthulhu.

There’s probably some stuff we’ve missed too, and of course there was the usual load of behind-the-scenes stuff that you might be reading about in our next one of these annual blog posts.

All in all though, it’s been a great year. We’ve worked on some fascinating projects, shipped games we’ve been hard at work on for a very long time, published other studio’s games, worked with publishers to publish our games - the works.

And we couldn’t have done any of this without you. A big high five from the whole team to everyone who has bought and played our games over 2019, and gave us useful feedback on our work. An extra special thank you to those that we’ve been chatting with us on our Discord server and keep us motivated for the stuff we’re working on now.

See you in 2020!

Auroch Digital hangs out with an octopus called Gloria

unicorn surgeonfish

Following the launch of Megaquarium, we wanted to demonstrate how effectively the game captures the challenges of running a public aquarium. Who better to ask than a real aquarist?

We’ve been working with Bristol Aquarium to produce a mini video series about the design, upkeep, and daily running of marine exhibits. If features assistant curator Mark Iwachiw, who speaks about his experiences caring for aquatic animals, and he even gets in some tips on how to build the best aquarium.

Right in the heart of the city, Bristol Aquarium has over 40 themed displays and thousands of amazing aquatic creatures, including: tropical sharks, rays, seahorses, puffer fish, piranhas, and an octopus. The aquarium displays both a mix of tropical fish from around the world and others that are native to the UK’s waters.

Big-belly seahorses and Jem

Our four-part mini video series starts by exploring what goes into making a great aquarium exhibit, taking into account the layout, tank decorations, and which animals to house together. Next we discuss the joys of looking after different animals, such as Porcupine Puffer Fish, Groupers, and how Reggie the Puffer Fish got his name. 

Another video in the series looks at how aquariums are designed and how games like Megaquarium can help to teach people about conservation. Lastly, there’s a video about the star of Bristol Aquarium - and one of the highlights of Megaquarium - Gloria the Great Pacific Octopus. She is a firm favourite of visitors as well as us here at Auroch Digital.

The Auroch Digital team took a trip to @bristolaquarium last week to celebrate the release of #Megaquarium. Thanks for having us, we had an awesome time - Simon the Pufferfish and Gloria the #Octopus were firm favourites. ❤️🐙🐡 pic.twitter.com/amZTQz2to4

— Auroch Digital (@AurochDigital) November 11, 2019

After we finished interviewing Mark and filming Bristol Aquarium, we brought everyone from our studio down to visit the aquarium in celebration of the launch of the game. We had a brilliant time spotting fish from Megaquarium in real life and Jem made sure everyone got to hear plenty of fish facts - whether they wanted to or not. We especially enjoyed seeing Gloria the octopus being fed and interacting with her handlers. It was absolutely incredible.

You can view our full video series on over on Facebook, and if you’re visiting Bristol make sure to drop by the aquarium to see Gloria!

Grab a copy of Megaquarium on your favourite platform to start making use of these great aquarium building tips.

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Enter our winter holidays giveaway and win a bumper Auroch Digital prize bundle!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - THANKS FOR ENTERING! Check out some of the answers in our Twitter Thread.

It’s nearly the holidays and you know what that means: it’s nearly time to curl up with a favourite blanket, a beloved pet, and a warm game to while away the hours those long dark nights.

But what game?

Tell us your top suggestion to enter our winter holiday giveaway below. Let us know your favourite game to play over the holidays: is there a video game you tend to replay this time of year, or a board game you break out when the nights get cold, or a family classic you always get roped into?

We’ve got a bumper prize bundle including download keys, board games, and load of great goodies. Here’s what you could win:

Physical

• Mars Horizon: Blast Off!

• Elections of US America Election: The Card Game + Expansion

• Achtung! Cthulhu: Dark Tales from the Secret War novel

• Achtung! Cthulhu: Commander’s Set

• Achtung! Cthulhu: Keeper’s Guide

• Achtung! Cthulhu: Allied Investigators Pack 2

• 40 Years of Ogre promotional item

Digital

• Megaquarium key (for either Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or Nintendo Switch)

• Dark Future: Blood Red States Steam key

• Chainsaw Warrior: Total Darkness Edition Steam key

• Ogre Steam key

Simply fill in the below form for your chance to win! We’ll be sharing some of the best answers on social so make sure to follow along. The deadline for entries is 18th December 2019 at 11pm BST. You can read the full terms and conditions here.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on your inbox as we’ll be emailing the winner on December 19th.

Good luck!

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An interview with Tomas Rawlings, Design Director at Auroch Digital - The making of Agatha Christie - Death on the Cards

Agatha Christie’s Death On The Cards is a social deduction game based on the characters and themes of the author. It was recently created by Bos taurus Diceworks (with support from Auroch Digital) and published by Modiphius. It has reviewed well in the Metro too! Auroch Digital’s own Tomas Rawlings is the Design Director for Bos taurus Diceworks. The game was created through working closely with Agatha Christie Limited (ACL). The success of Death On The Cards is a great example of the experience Tomas has working with partner IPs that he brings to Auroch Digital.

Below is an interview with Tomas by ACL which goes into more detail about the creation of the game and the partnership:

Dr. Tomas Rawlings is Design Director at the indie games studio Auroch Digital & physical games company Bos Taurus Diceworks. He is an experienced, award winning games designer who has created games from original titles to well-loved IP. He is a well known speaker and consultant on games and gaming who has also worked with major organisations such as the Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society, UK Parliament and the BBC. He can be found on Twitter here and there is more about him here.

Tell us first of all a bit about who you are and what you do, and the relationship between Bos Taurus Diceworks and Modiphius?
I’m a games designer, so ended up pitching to Agatha Christie Ltd along with my colleagues the idea of a card game based on her works. We got the basic outline working quite quickly and then brought it down to the London office to try out - and happy to say the staff there loved it. So much so that we had to print off another test copy for them! Once we’d got the game, the next step was to partner with a publisher to help turn it from prototype into the real thing, then get it into the hands of players; Modiphius was a great fit for this project as they understood the vision for the project and also had a strong track record of making amazing games from other IPs, so soon the three organisations were partnered to create together!

What inspired you to take on Agatha Christie?
First I think it is interesting to understand the boardgame space is undergoing quite a renaissance at the moment. We’re seeing a huge and growing demand for board and card games combined with a flourish of ideas and new titles that means it is a really exciting and creative space at the moment - perfect for the deep well of works that Agatha Christie created. Plus I think there’s an interesting social push for things that remove the screen and sit you around the table with friends and family for a shared experience - which is also a perfect setting for murder and intrigue!

So I knew all this when approaching the initial design of the game, and I started by reading a bunch of her novels and short stories. This was not the first time I’d read her works, but it was the first time that reading was ‘work’; It’s a tough living, but somebody's gotta do it ;)

I started with The Mysterious Affair at Styles then moved on to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and then devoured the collection of shorts, The Hound of Death. Then on to more general research and in my head an outline of a possible game started to emerge...

How did you approach the project? What did you look at first?
What I was reminded of is the core idea that within many of her stories everyone is guilty, just not of murder - in the narrative this keeps you guessing as to who did it. It also made the perfect setting for a social deduction game - where every player would be guilty, but only one of them is guilty of murder. The task of the players then becomes to unmask the murderer in their midst, while the aim of the murderer is to deflect suspicion until they can escape.

Having got a basic structure, from a game design point of view we then need to add the risk/reward mechanics that power the player choices - the idea here was that each player starts with three ‘secrets’ - things they don’t want to reveal, housed on face-down cards - that give an incentive to thread secrecy throughout the game. One of those face-down cards has the secret declaration, “You are the murderer!” So the reward is the revealing of another player’s secret cards, allowing the steady deduction to unmask the murderer, while the risk is having your own guilty secrets aired in public. The next game design task is to create a series of mechanics that protect or expose these cards, that interlock with one another so that there are plenty of opportunities for strategy, intrigue and pure luck to influence play.

What were the challenges of the project? And what did you love?
When you’re working with somebody else’s IP (something I’ve had the privilege of doing a lot as a games designer) you’re always aware that what you’ve been entrusted with is somebody else’s ‘baby’ - they have birthed it, nurtured it and make it into something special enough to have that fanbase. You need to do right by their creation. What was so great about this project was how strongly the team at Agatha Christie Ltd helped me to understand where this project could go, which is important because in this game I needed space to have fun with it and let the players have fun too, while we are surrounded by a serious topic - death. They were great at helping me explore where we could take it, and I feel strongly that the final game has that right balance of respect for Agatha Christie’s work combined with a bit of tongue-in-cheek, murder, tactics, strategy, luck, back-stabbing, lying, guilt and deception; all the ingredients you need for fun night in with your family and friends.

How did you approach interpreting the iconic characters of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple?
Within the game there was the perfect gameplay mechanic for them; players have secrets and we need ways to expose them. Thus came the idea of ‘clue cards’; when cards of the same character are collected together, they can be played to expose a random player’s secrets. This gave the game its core mechanic and also the perfect means to incorporate the myriad of amazing characters. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple can be played as a group of three clues, more powerful than most other clue sets that operate in pairs. Other characters, for example Harley Quin’s clue cards can be used as wildcards to fill in a missing card. Overall I was really pleased how well the different characters adapted into the gameplay - almost like they were designed for that purpose!

Do you have any advice for other partners working on developing/interpreting Christie’s characters?
Go back to the source! For me reading (and in some cases re-reading) her works gave me so many ideas and inspirations that the issue was more how to edit them all down into what I needed as there were so many! As we approach the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, reading the text gives you a sense of story and character that still feels fresh and interesting a century later. Nothing beats going back to the source in my opinion.

Who is the target audience?
The target audience is anyone who can understand how to play. It is a game about murder, so of course it is not for small children, but anyone who understands the themes of the game and can gather a group of friends and family around them - this is for you! I also feel it is the perfect Christmas or birthday gift for that family member who loves crime fiction, but you’re not sure what to get them as they devour so many books. This is the out-ofthe-box gift I think they’ll love and best of all - you get to enjoy it with them too!

What do you hope for from the game?
Two things would make this a success for me; one is that it gathers friends and family around the table and they have fun. There’s so much bad news in the world, if we’re helping to make some fun and connection, then that is a positive. Two is that some people who play it move on from the game to reading some of Agatha Christie’s works. That the game is a gateway to the larger world of her works. That would be a win too.

Agatha Christie's Death on the Cards is available from Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, your local gaming stores and Amazon order now from the Modiphius store.