Village Gamer

Snowed In Studios, an Ottawa-based video game and interactive media developer, has launched its in-development PC building-block RPG Windforge, on the Steam Greenlight platform. With the launch comes the release of an anticipated gameplay trailer showing pre-Alpha footage of the game.

Steam Greenlight is a community-based platform that allows users of Valve’s popular Steam digital distribution channel to vote for which indie-developed games should be published in the store. Users can post comments to developers, view in-development video footage and screenshots, and share game pages with friends and groups.

To align with Windforge’s launch on Greenlight, Snowed In Studios has released a full-length gameplay trailer showing pre-Alpha in-development footage of the game in action. World exploration, creature & ship combat and the character story interaction are among the types of gameplay showcased. The action takes place in the game’s unique, rich world, named Cordeus – and for the first time, shows the world’s darker, grungier “gas layer” in sharp contrast to the bright and colourful areas shown so far.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW6H-rkpWgQ]

Windforge’s reception by Steam users has been extremely positive so far, with over 40 comments and 300 favorites posted in the first 72 hours of the game’s launch on the Greenlight platform. “The comments have been great so far” said Evan Hahn, co-founder of Snowed In Studios and Creative Director of the project. “I always find it a little stressful to show content to the public before it’s finished, but it’s exciting to read that people like the direction we’re moving towards.”

Supported by the OMDC Interactive Digital Media Fund, Windforge is currently in development and is expected to be released later this year.