At Project House, Leeds over 40 games will be demoing, along with 300+ developers, game industry publishers, investors and platforms in attendance for GaMaYo 26! Join us on the 21st of May for a day full of demos and round tables, networking and more.
This event is brought to you by Game Republic along with their Official Partners Red Kite Games, Xsolla and Double Eleven, with event sponsors Plus Accounting, Kudos Games and Steel City Interactive and Escape Technology.
Today we are looking at ‘Clockwork Concoctions’ which is confirmed to be at the event, from StudioPilled!
Clockwork Concoctions by StudioPilled
What would be your description of your game?
Clockwork Concoctions is a fantasy tycoon game where the player takes the role of Gleeb, an Alchemist who has inherited a run-down Chronomancy Tower from their late father, and now has the responsibility to brew potions for customers and adventurers alike, in order to pay off the debts of the tower and make a living in their new world. The game is less about providing a cosy tycoon experience and leans more into a chaotic, fast and skill-based style of gameplay, where the player has a variety of tools at their disposal but must jump between them simultaneously to succeed, caught between pleasing customers and conducting research against a market that is shifting in real-time. Whether you’re looking to uncover the tower’s secrets or just trying to stay financially afloat, the choice is yours!
How did development start? (Were there any key inspirations or ideas that drove you?)
Clockwork Concoctions originally began as a game jam made within five days, the main idea being that you were a wizard who was rapidly ageing after a failed attempt to gain immortality, and that you had to brew concoctions to regain your youth, whilst selling potions to make a profit. The game originally had an endless arcade-style approach where the only goal was to get the highest score before dying. Having decided to continue development due to the amount of ideas brewed up during the game jam, Clockwork Concoctions has since then turned into a game that focused less on the arcadey, rapid ageing premise and more on the tycoon aspect, with a greater focus on earning gold, researching potions, refining the brewing process, and tower exploration – now with a much more meaningful end-game goal in mind. The game has since then become driven by a mixture of themes involving fantasy and comedy, all without losing that sense of worldbuilding we initially had.
Tell us about the team behind the game?
StudioPilled is a remote team of game developers, stemming from a combination of new and old friends, with the aim of creating eccentric and addictive games that are backed with compelling stories & worlds. Our first game release was Terms & Conditions, which we have demoed twice in the past. With a growing team and higher budgets, we went from developing game demos for jams to going full Indie and have begun development on larger, more ambitious titles that we are pouring our love into!
Our team takes pride in having a versatile and agile approach to game production, allowing us to experiment and prototype ideas within a short timespan. For example, the vertical slice build of Clockwork Concoctions from our previous GaMaYo was developed in 35 days, which was a massive overhaul from the game jam build in terms of art, audio, game design and programming – because it was less about perfectionism and more of a priority on ‘getting the thing made’.
What kind of experiences do you hope to bring players?
Going off the success of our previous GaMaYo exhibition, we will be providing an even better experience for our players with quality-of-life updates and brand new features to enhance both the gameplay and the narrative. Our most common feedback was that players “wanted more”, and that is what this new demo will provide!
In 10 words or less, highlight the appeal of the game.
Frantically avoid bankruptcy while ruining customers’ livelihoods with unique concoctions.
Any links to access/wishlist the game?
You can play Clockwork Concoctions right now by going to our itch page! https://studiopilled.itch.io/
We also have an official StudioPilled community Discord server where there will be opportunities to playtest future builds, which you can join through here: https://discord.gg/ZZM7wbqckq