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[Schein_DevTeam]

Hey guys,

we are a small group of developers from Austria and Germany, working on a quirky new indie game. The whole project started at a university in Vienna in early 2011. Our prototype received quite some attention and it seemed such a waste to just let the project end there. So we decided to continue working and make the real thing! We are targeting a release in Q2 2013, and are busily working towards completion.



We feel we have created a neat little game with tricky puzzles, unique controls, a fresh graphic concept and awesome soundtracks (by Leed:Audio). Perhaps the following lines best describe the full setting of our game:

Set in the middle of a glum and murky swamp, Schein takes you on the perilous journey of a desperate father, who is grieving for his lost son. Wandering aimlessly through the swamp, he keeps reaching dead ends and hope is slowly fading. Just as the darkness threatens to swallow him completely, a glimmer of hope appears in the form of a ghost light named “Irrlicht”. As the Irrlicht's glow touches their surroundings, the world slowly begins to change, transforming it into an altogether different place. Through this beautiful metamorphosis, the man can now follow paths that had not been visible before.


Key features

• Mysterious dimensions: Use different colors of light to unveil new dimensions and manipulate your environment. Discover new paths, avoid hazards and learn to trigger mechanisms to overcome obstacles.
  
• Brain-twister: Use your ingenuity and take advantage of the light to solve complex puzzles and continue your journey through the swamp.
  
• Ingenious Soundtrack: Our exciting, specially commissioned soundtrack builds up suspense and creates an eerie atmosphere. Crank it up and immerse yourself even deeper in the mysterious world of Schein.
  
• Mighty monsters: Ancient creatures inhabit the swamp and are not easily persuaded to let you pass. Use what you have learned on your journey to defeat them and gain new powers.
  
• Gripping Story: Discover the tale of the magical swamp and the journey of the witty main characters in fully synchronized dialogues and cut scenes.

During our development, we have continuously received very valuable feedback from friends, and we have come to see that great ideas are formed by many minds. So we decided to share our progress with you in form of a public Dev-Demo. Feel free to download it and briefly dip into the world of Schein.

And afterwards, we would be glad if you shared your thoughts with us! Your feedback is what we build upon and we value it greatly. The Dev-Demo will be updated continuously, so that you can witness our development proceeding, all the way up to our final release.

You can drop us a line right here, or visit our forum. You can check out a bunch of screenshots and pictures on Facebook, and we'd love a like as well! And if you'd like to stay up to date, follow us on Twitter (@scheingame), or simply subscribe to our Newsletter.




Official Homepage: http://scheingame.com
IndieDB: http://www.indiedb.com/games/schein
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scheingame
Twitter: https://twitter.com/scheingame
Google+: https://plus.google.com/106110889172871217939/posts
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/scheingame

[TestTrek]

please change the download link to: http://scheingame.com/the-game/download/

the old link gives me an error.

also could you make a version that doesnt use an installer? I think having everything in a zip makes playing faster.

Turning the light on and off was a really fascinating gameplay mechanic!

It could use more checkpoints though, I disliked having to travel across the moving platforms just to get back to the flying bugs part.

Maybe add some buttons that save and load the players position?

[Schein_DevTeam]

Hey,

thanks for the headsup on the links. They got messed up somehow.

We are already tweaking the difficulty and the position of the checkpoints. There will be an Update for the DevDemo in the coming weeks, which might adress this (and other issues).

[deathtotheweird]

yeah, going to have to second the request for a zip. I can't be fucked to install and uninstall and clean up shit leftover by old installers all day.

[Schein_DevTeam]

well, we thought, that an installer would be the most convenient option - but i do get your point.

so here's a zip: [Download]

keep in mind, that you need some redistributables (DirectX and VC++ 2010), which are bundled with the installer. but i guess you will have them installed anyway, as many games rely on those.

[TriStarch]

This was really good!  I liked the puzzles a lot, you did some really cool stuff with basic easy to understand mechanics.  The moving platform and lantern puzzles are awesome!

Some stuff wasn't very clear at first though.  Here's the spots I got hung up:

• The first lantern platform looked like it was only a floating gear to me so I jumped over it and got stuck at the first puzzle where you need the lantern.  I'd make it so you have to land on that platform and see the tutorial image to move on.
• I have no clue what timing or anything I was supposed to use for the moving platforms in the red and blue circles.  I made it through by landing on the platforms just as they were about to disappear and glitched them into staying in position.
• I wish you could see where the thorns would appear.  It sucks to turn on the light and instantly die without any way to tell it would happen.
• The moving red circles that illuminate platforms as you go have really long cycles.  Once when I got to one of the sections, there was nothing there at all and I assumed I had to turn on the light and just make a leap of faith.
• Why do the lanterns fall through some platforms?  And why do they make me fall through too if I'm standing on the platform? It was really inconsistent feeling as most platforms the lanterns were fine sitting on.

Other than that, it's pretty fun! Good luck with it!

[Schein_DevTeam]

Hey TriStarch,

thanks for playing/testing it. I'll forward your toughts to the rest of the team. Some of the issues are already resolved (like the last one - a nasty clipping bug) in the Demo-Update next week.

I will keep you updated...

[Schein_DevTeam]

Hi everyone,
Recently (already at the end of March actually) we released an update of our Development Demo for Schein. Much has changed since the last version and we would love to know how you like our improvements.

While the old version still used an outdated model for the main protagonist, the newest update features our redesigned character, beautiful background assets and revised graphical effects – now we’ve even got changing weather
(Honestly free) Download: http://scheingame.com/the-game/download/

[Schein_DevTeam]

Hi everyone,
It’s time for us to get serious!

On May 5th we made two big steps towards letting the world decide our fate:
We started our crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo
We presented Schein on Steam Greenlight
… and for both these things we need YOU!

Check out Schein on Indiegogo, claim one of our awesome perks and become part of this game. Apart from putting your name in the credits, you can gain access to the beta version, add in-game messages to your friends, order a trendy t-shirt, or even design in-game content.



But we want more - we want it all - we want to be on Steam!
Vote for Schein and get us greenlit - We're counting on you!



Last but not least: We've got a new Dev-Demo online! Not only has it been updated, we've also restructured it to make it a brief and exciting trip to the swamp.

Here it is:
The Dev-Demo (v0.3.3) (exe)
The Dev-Demo (v0.3.3) (zip)

And as always, we'd love to know what you think!
Greetings from the Schein Team

[Arnold]

oh wow -  was super inspired when i saw only your logo, but the in game graphics definitely need some work...

[Schein_DevTeam]

There are three big updates we would like to share with you:

We have reached the final week of our Indiegogo campaign.
New perks and goodies have been released
We are FINALISTS of the Microsoft Imagine Cup!

1) Crowdfunding history teaches us that the last week is the most important time for any campaign. And here we are in our last week – we’ve made a good start, but there still remains much to be done. We have created a great, artful game that is ready to be released this summer, but it won’t happen without YOUR help! Instead of counting on a single publisher to fund our cause and to alter the game to their whim, we want you people to publish this game with us and to shape it according to your personal wishes and ideas. [Link]

2) Since the beginning of our campaign many perks have been added in reaction to the feedback we received. There are still some copies of our special Imagine Cup Celebration [Link] offer available: Our game for only €13 plus a personal postcard from St. Petersburg, Russia. Just recently we published a perk on the occasion of Children’s Day: [Link] Claim our game and donate € 5 to UNICEF. All over the world UNICEF strives to establish children’s rights and provides humanitarian and developmental aid in developing countries, and that we want to support.

3) Speaking of which – WE ARE FINALISTS. Schein competed against hundreds of entries from all around the world and made it into the Worldwide Finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup [Link]. We’re eager to take part in the competition in St. Petersburg in July. Who knows, we might even win this thing!

[Schein_DevTeam]

Hello everybody!
The last couple of weeks were extremely exciting.. and life changing.
Not only did we meet the maker of Tetris, we also won the Microsoft Imagine Cup in Russia! That got us some nice prize money, which is exactly what we needed (after our failed crowdfunding campaign).



So what now? An extended holiday?
To be honest, we'd like that! But we won't. We can't. We have a promise to keep: To publish this game! Now we've finally got the resources for it, so that's exactly what we'll do.
We're tremendously busy with all the paperwork, acquiring licenses, making contracts and establishing valuable contacts and we're also developing.

Meanwhile here's a new Dev-Demo for you: Dev-Demo (v0.3.4)!





We’d love to know how you like our new platforms and the beautifully structured ground – inspired by your feedback our artist has now replaced all remnants of the old art concept. Also the background has changed and you can now gaze into the endless depths of the swamp. One change you might not notice, is our new sound system: We have made a transition from XAudio2 to FMOD and are really happy with it!

[Schein_DevTeam]

Hey there, hope this post is not too much like thread-gravedigging. We have gone into hiding for a few month and improved a lot of stuff. Without much further ado, here are the main news:

New Schein Trailer
Development is nearing its end - Schein is now complete. This is the newly published gameplay trailer, offering a glimpse into this game’s colorful dimensions in their full beauty. ( http://trailer.scheingame.com/)



(haven't found a way to properly embed YT links here - sorry)



Schein on Greenlight
Zeppelin Studio’s Schein is back on Steam Greenlight! A lot has changed in the murky wetlands of the swamp. The story is fetching, the dark woods have grown thicker, the colors are more vibrant, and the Irrlicht’s light glows brighter than ever in red, blue and green. Now it is time for Steam to shine its green light too – but that is up to you, so say ‘Yes’ to Schein! ( http://greenlight.scheingame.com/)



Official Schein Demo
Schein’s ever-evolving Dev-Demo has been updated and has now reached its final state. It has hereby ceased to be a Dev-Demo and is now the official, representative Demo of Schein. This is a short, specially designed level, with a selection of main gameplay elements. And the monsters had to stay at home, so it's absolutely safe to try. ( http://scheingame.com/#download)

[Xienen]

Just played through the demo, looking good! Voice acting could certainly be better, but the concept and puzzles are great! 

[Schein_DevTeam]

Its finally done. We're happy to announce that Schein is available as of today.

Get Schein
Schein is available as a DRM free download priced at $8.99/€6.99/£5.49 from online game
distributors such as GOG, Humble Store, Desura and many more. And for those with love
for music there's the Special Edition that includes both the game and the soundtrack. Steam shall soon be added to the list once Schein has made its way through Greenlight!
 
New Release Teaser
To celebrate this memorable day Zeppelin Studio presents a brand new release teaser of Schein, created by theyshootmusic.at. The teaser can be found at teaser.scheingame.com