Hohokum Coming to PS4, PS3, PS Vita on August 12th

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Hohokum Coming to PS4, PS3, PS Vita on August 12th

Hey folks! We’re back with another behind-the-scenes look at Hohokum, and to share that Hohokum will be available on August 12th, 2014 for PS4, PS3, and PS Vita. This one is focused on the roots of the game’s design. A question we’ve been asked a lot is “How did you come up with this game?” The answer isn’t straightforward, but hopefully this video will help to illustrate something of the process, as well as reveal some of our inspirations and design goals.

Dick and I started designing Hohokum back in 2008, and since that time it’s gone through a lot of changes. For the first few years it was a side-project — something we worked on between other things, or when inspiration struck. We didn’t have a clear mechanic “hook” when starting out — more an overall sense of wanting to make a game that was relaxing and evoked a particular sense of free-form play. Over time this approach allowed the game we have today to emerge organically. I’m not sure we could have done it any other way.

Much of what the game is today stems from the epiphany of how much fun it was to fly around as the player’s character (the Long Mover). From there ideas came from various places: Dick’s artwork, toys that I programmed, and even real world places provided inspiration for things in Hohokum.

It’s been a long journey and loads of fun! Now we’re excited to finalize the game and send it out into the world for all of you to play.

Hohokum

HohokumHohokum

If you’re attending E3, stop by and check out the game which will be on display in the PlayStation Booth on PS4 and PS3. We’re showing the new Jungle Plateau area, along with a number of smaller spaces included in the game. Hope to see you there!

We’ll be back soon with more updates. In the meantime, be sure to check out our website: http://www.hohokum.com. Hohokum will be available on PS4, PS3, and PS Vita as a digital download through PlayStation Store on August 12th, 2014. Cheers!

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31 Comments

7 Author Replies

  • Finally! Been waiting for this game for a long time.

  • It’s so beautiful/cute. I can;t wait to play it.

  • Hi ^_^

  • Looks interesting if the price is right and we have a demo I might pick it up.

  • Sweet, it must feel great to have a release date after all this time. You guys should get Conan to play the final product.

  • Why isn’t anyone dropping any games in july like wtf why wait til damn near the end of summer though. Summer is dry as hell this year. smmfh

  • Gonna need a demo….

  • Still looks glorious. I am in!

  • I honestly can’t recall a time where I anticipated a game as much as I do with Hohokum. The last two behind-the-scenes videos have been some of the best I’ve ever seen.

  • Really excited for Hohokum! Can’t wait to be able to get my paws on it and play! Love the art and the cool looking design!

  • All glory to the Long Mover.

  • Cross-buy, believe! Please.

  • I don’t think any amount of trailers will help me to understand just what the heck I’m seeing, but I don’t care! I am pre-ordering Hohokum as soon as possible. The art style is beautiful, as is the music, and after watching the dev diary the last time this game was talked about in the blog, I just know it’s going to be a wonderful and unique experience.
    I am not one to complain about indie games Just because they’re indie, but I definitely do see that a lot of them lack creativity. Hohokum, on the other hand, is bursting with it. I think this is a game that people will remember.

  • This looks cool, love the music. Looks like it has a really interesting story. Will be looking forward to this hopefully a Vita release is planned.

  • Aww hey folks, it’s ace to see people excited about our game: honestly the nice comments here are a real boost as we go into the final phase of making sure everything is just right!

  • I’d love to buy these kind of games for $1,99 or $299 tops, but I really don’t feel like paying $7,99, $9,99 or $14,99 as some other indies

  • What platform(s) was this originally intended for? Just curious, since you guys obviously didn’t have PS4 or Vita in mind in 2008.
    Has the evolution of gaming hardware over the past 6 years forced you to evolve the game as well? I mean, were you originally developing it with current hardware limitations in mind, then as those limitations were stripped away, the game became bigger or more detailed etc..? Was development more difficult because it’s taken so long, as opposed to a 2-year game that has always had one platform in mind?

    • Hey, good questions..

      So we didn’t have a platform in mind when we were working on the original prototypes, nor when we showed it at the IGF and Indiecade in 2011, when it was made in Flash.

      It’s definitely true that being able to target consoles exclusively, rather than (say) a wide range of mobile devices has meant we’re able to run the game at 60fps and 1080p on PS3/PS4, and for Hohokum those things make a big difference..

    • Other that that though, the amount of time it’s taken to make hasn’t been us trying to use the hardware power we have – more that there are a *lot* of different places in Hohokum, and almost nothing is duplicated between places – everything is very bespoke and handmade, and all the art and animation is hand drawn – and these things take a long time. When we started working with Sony Santa Monica, we knew we’d had the opportunity to make something really special and we’ve tried to do that.

      The other, more subtle thing about having a lot of time to make something is that it’s given us time to finesse some of the wider game design – we’ve ended up revising things a number of times until they felt just right (rather than just adequate). The luxury to have time to ponder decisions until the right thing comes along is really good to have!

  • Really been looking forward to this ever since I first saw it, and was extremely disappointed when it never materialized for a launch or even launch window PS4 release. Very happy to finally see a release date for it. Day One purchase from me.

  • will the PS4 (and/or PS3 version) support the VIta as a cross-controller so I can see the full map on the VIta as a second screen?

    at PAX last year, we only played each demo station for a few minutes before getting the ‘gist’ of the game. Hohokum we played got more than 10 minutes. My husband and I are really looking forward to a ‘chill’ game like this one.

    is there co-op play at all?

  • Thanks for the replies. As a consumer/gamer, I’m glad that so much time has been put into Hohokum so that you guys are able to realize all of your visions. I hope the 6 years haven’t burned you out too badly, but I’m sure once Hohokum finally releases you’ll be very happy with how successful it is.

    Another question, if you don’t mind: Is it hard to finally release the game now? For so many years, you’ve been creating and changing things.. Is it hard to stop doing that and accept that it’s finished and you’re not going to work on it anymore?

    Sorry for all the questions. This game is just really exciting for me! It’s so unique, but it doesn’t seem to be different JUST to be different. It simply is what it is meant to be.

    I also hope the price is right on this one. Personally, I have no problem spending $14.99 or so, but for an indie title that some people will inevitably be skeptical of, I wonder if it’s actually more profitable to charge less so that many more people buy it.

    • We’re definitely not feeling burned out – the last month or so of fixing bugs on a game is always gonna be a bit of a grind, but generally the whole development process has been a blast!

      One thing we’ve managed to do is to hold off on doing some of the creative work until near the end: It’s not like we decided everything a year ago and have just been turning the handle since then – there were still interesting discussions happening about game mechanics, art, animation and audio design until fairly recently.. I really like the philosophy (I can’t remember who originally said this) of trying to delay making design decisions until they need to be made, in order to give yourself as much time and perspective to make the best possible decisions (as other bits of the puzzle slot into place)..

    • Another big boost recently (and I know Phil Fish said this about Fez too) has been all the amazing music and audio design going into the game, which makes a massive difference to how the game feels..

      And (at least for me) it isn’t hard to let go. We’re all super happy with how Hohokum has turned out – if we had our time over, no doubt there’d be a couple of things we’d do differently, but actually not all that many. One nice thing about being a small team working on such a wide game is that there are enough places to keep things fresh. You’ll go back to a place to fix a bunch of bugs or add some new animations, and have been away long enough to enjoy it all over again..

  • As I was watching the video, my first thoughts were, so what is the objective? Then your comment about a book played, and everything made sense. I look forward to reading your game.

  • Will I be picking up this game I most certainly will this has a charm about it that has caught my attention indie games are just simply superb!!!!!!!!

  • BossmanCCrowder1

    Does the Cross-buy pertain to all 3 versions? Or is a Cross-buy with Vita and PS3, and a $5 upgrade for PS4 thing?

  • I hope there’s a physical release.

    No disc – no sale.

  • I hope we get to see more dev diaries while waiting for the launch date. It’s really interesting learning about the process, philosophies and inspirations behind Hohokum since it is such a different game. Like I said in my first comment, I really can’t tell what’s happening in Hohokum from the trailers, but I love that about it. Sometimes you just know when a game is going to be special. Sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover.

    @Einhander138, if that’s true – and I doubt it is – you’ll be missing out. Indie games generally never see a retail release. I love expanding my blu-ray collection too, but that’s just not how this works. My guess is Hohokum will be priced between $9.99 and $14.99. If it were to have a retail release, it would have to cost a lost more to make up for all of the additional costs. Keep your expectations realistic. You have a hard drive in your console. This is what it’s for.

  • @25 – Why would you doubt it?

    I have never bought any digital games and I never will.

    I’d gladly pay more for an actual, physical release that I own.

    If I bought every digital game that came along, my hard drive would be full in a month.

  • @ Einhander138: Just to add to this discussion a bit… in my opinion, the hard drive is for digital-only games. Anything that I can buy at retail, I buy at retail. But I don’t shun digital-only releases, because like Pan said, I’d be missing out on a ton of great games. And the reason he doubts this will get a physical release is the same reason I doubt it will. Let’s just look at the huge list of digital titles that have gotten (or will get) physical releases.
    Back to the Future (Telltale)
    Walking Dead Season 1 (Telltale)
    Walking Dead Season 2 (Telltale)
    thatgamecompany Collection
    Minecraft
    Best of PSN, Vol. 1 w/ “When Vikings Attack”, “Sound Shapes”, “Tokyo Jungle” and “Fat Princess”

    That’s not really too great a list to be requiring retail releases of digital-only indie games or refusing to buy them. By all means, reserve your HDD space for digital-only games and buy AAA stuff at retail. That’s exactly what I do and will continue to do for years to come. But seriously, the only thing ignoring digital releases is going to do is keep you from playing some truly amazing and innovative games.

  • yes yes yes. so happy there is finally a date for this. been waiting for Hohokum to come out since it was announced. i hope there’s some sort of download for the soundtrack as well!

  • I am so excited for this game! Since the first trailer, this has been my most anticipated game for 2014. Can’t wait to get lost in your world.

  • Intrigued by the concept of this game, will certainly be giving it a go.

  • Looks so chill and awesome. Can’t wait.

  • theXsilentXchild

    Beautiful

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