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One of many shock reveals ultimately week’s Annapurna Interactive Showcase was the PC launch of Hohokum. GamesBeat spoke with the sport’s creators Richard Hogg and Ricky Haggett about reviving the sport on Steam after so a few years.
Beforehand launched in 2014 for PlayStation programs, Hohokum is a puzzle recreation wherein gamers management a colourful snake-like character who explores varied settings. In our overview, Evan Killham known as it a “bizarre mixture of stuff that shouldn’t work however then completely does.” It joined different artsy PlayStation-based indie titles, like Journey and Flower. Now, a number of years later, it’s getting a breath of recent life as a Steam launch — not the primary Sony unique to make that journey.
In an interview with GamesBeat, Hogg and Haggett spoke about reviving their former console unique after eight years. Haggett mentioned this can serve the sport’s legacy: “It’ll dwell for an extended, very long time on PC. Whereas on PlayStation, perhaps in some unspecified time in the future you received’t have the ability to play it, however hopefully you’ll have the ability to play it for an extended, very long time on PC.”
Hogg informed GamesBeat that Hohokum’s followers have needed a PC port for years. “I do know there’s a bunch of people that might be very excited, as a result of for years folks have been asking. There’s all the time folks asking when it’s going to return out on PC.”
Hohokum and the indie scene
When known as upon to explain his fairly indescribable recreation, Hogg mentioned, “Hohokam felt like a recreation that individuals that aren’t actually like the sport that lots of people who aren’t actually that into video video games may like.” He added {that a} distinction between the 2 releases is that the viewers on PC may be extra receptive to Hohokum’s curious nature. “Indie video video games have modified and the way in which wherein folks understand these type of oddball concepts in video games has positively modified. So I feel that it is going to be met with much less confusion than it than it was when it got here out. Perhaps.”
Hohokum is about exploration and the fun of discovering your individual path — it doesn’t give the participant a lot steerage. Haggett says the PC indie scene has seen a number of video games just like Hohokum. “On the time, there weren’t numerous video games doing that. I feel folks might be a bit extra open to stuff like that… We now have to do much less explaining of ‘What on earth is that this loopy factor?’”
The mechanics of the change, they each added, had been easy. Solely mouse and keyboard help have been added. There are little or no variations between the unique launch of the sport and the PC model, although they had been tempted to tweak it forward of the brand new launch.
Discovering the PC viewers
Including on to the above about Hohokum’s nature as an art-led recreation, Hogg mentioned that the console exclusivity felt like a barrier. “The kind of people that would casually purchase Hohokum on a PC and play it — they’re not large avid gamers. They’re not the kind of people that would purchase a PlayStation, however Hohokum may resonate with them. That was all the time one thing that I regretted, and hopefully now this is a chance for these folks to select up the sport.”
Haggett added that the actual thrill was Hohokum’s expanded potential viewers: “It’s gonna be actually thrilling to get a load of people that by no means performed it the primary time round attending to play it this time.” Hohokum is presently out there on Steam.
The 2 additionally talked about their new recreation Flock, which was additionally revealed on the Annapurna present. Flock bears a number of similarities to Hohokum — however, in contrast to the latter recreation, it is not going to be console-exclusive. It’s coming to Xbox and PlayStation, and is offered to wishlist on Steam.
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