Universe for Sale, a sci-fi point and click visual narrative, launched two weeks ago on November 16th. We talked with Tmesis Studio, the developers of Universe for Sale about the game and their experience with launching Universe for Sale.

 

Universe for Sale

Follow the adventures of a cultist, whose past is written on his face and bones, visiting a space colony nestled in the clouds on Jupiter. Under a failing shield against acid rain, rebellion foments in the discarded populace of this abandoned mining settlement.

 

Within this mysterious community, a young woman crafts universes in the same way you or I might brew a cup of tea. She has a little shop tucked away in the ramshackle bazaar. What universe will you buy there?

 

Universe for Sale won Best Art at BIG 2023 for its stunning hand drawn art and also took home Best Narrative at the Overcome Film Game Awards for its heart wrenching storytelling! 

 

Check out Universe for Sale on Steam!

 

Talking with Tmesis Studio

Tell us about Tmesis Studio.

In Italian metric, tmesi consists in the division of a word into two parts, one of which concludes a verse, the other begins the next, creating a poetic sense, even if the sentence is the same. We like to think that we do what anyone else could, but we cut some of the video game’s features in half to see if poetry is hidden in the middle.

 

How did you celebrate the launch of Universe for Sale?

Each of us at his house, trying not to think about it, we were very nervous.

 

Is there anything you would like to say to players who played Universe for Sale?

We love you, really, every time we read a review or comments we understand that we have done something nice for someone, and that’s the best!

 

How did you celebrate the launch of Universe for Sale?

Each of us at his house, trying not to think about it, we were very nervous.

 

What was something you learned while developing Universe for Sale?

Probably too many things to list, but trivially we learned how to make video games, with everything that goes with it.

 

What was your favorite moment in developing Universe for Sale?

The release of the demo/prologue, it was the moment we realized we were doing something good! The community appreciated us a lot and encouraged us to continue the development.

 

If you could start over making Universe for Sale, what would be one thing you would change?

We made a lot of mistakes, mostly out of inexperience, going back we would have taken more months to think well about the organization. An example are the dialogues, it would have been useful to take a month or two to plan them well, We didn’t, and we spent a lot of time fixing them.

 

Do you have any funny bugs or stories you would like to share about Universe for Sale?

A very funny bug that has haunted us for the entire development, it concerns the faces of the characters that appear in the dialogues. These are composed of various parts such as facial expressions and lips, very often we made some mistake in the synchronization of the pieces and the characters merged together making horrid mutations.

 

What is one tip you would give to someone who wants to develop a game?

As the most classic Disney movie, believe in yourself! Seriously, I think it takes a lot of fortitude to think that the things that one creates can be useful to someone, you don’t have to doubt that you can, just work hard.

 

What is a tip you would give someone looking for a publisher?

Have already a demo or a very consolidated project, make a nice pitch (there are many examples online, one very useful is that of Chucklefish) and…send tons of emails! Then when there will be the first communications always remember that on the other side there is a human being just like you.

 

Any secrets you want to share with Universe for Sale?

I have to say no! The only real secret is the game’s plot, but I can’t spoil that.

 

What’s next for Tmesis Studio?

We are already thinking about the next projects, but before we throw ourselves completely on something new we wait for some feedback for Universe for Sale, so we understand what we can take with us from it.

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