Don't expect Octodad to be a PS Plus free game, do expect extra silliness
Octodad: Dadliest Catch sold more than 90,000 copies on PC, Mac and Linux, and that is enough to keep developer Young Horses afloat through the end of the year with a lineup of full-time staff, CEO Philip Tibitoski told Joystiq at GDC. Before launch, the Young Horses team split their time between day jobs and development work, but now it's all Octodad, all the time.
"If it hadn't sold well, I'd be out looking for a job right now," Tibitoski said. "I don't have to worry any more."
The next step is a PS4 launch, scheduled for April. Fans on social media are eager to control a suited cephalopod with the DualShock 4, Tibitoski said, noting that some have vowed to buy it twice. And chances are, they will buy it – Young Horses has no plans to make Octodad a PS Plus free game. Tibitoski said a significant number of players expect Octodad to be free on PS Plus simply because it's an indie game on a Sony console, but that's not something the team wants. A launch sale, maybe.
The PS4 version will be the "definitive" version, in a sense. It includes the updates Young Horses recently added to the PC edition, after the team had a moment to step back and listen to player feedback. Reviews were a rollercoaster, Tibitoski said – one would be almost perfect, and another would question every aspect of the game. It was a rough two weeks post-launch, he said, but: "Now we're fine."
Player feedback on Twitter and the Steam forums helped focus Young Horses on what made Octodad so fun in the first place: Silliness. During production, the team developed tunnel vision, Tibitoski said.
"We lost sight of what people really enjoy about Octodad," he said. For example, the boat scene was a stealth mission at launch, asking players to sneak around a slippery, rocking surface. That isn't as fun as flailing Octodad's arms around without a care, so the new version replaces stealth with silly tasks, such as putting on a sailor's uniform and dancing a jig, and trying to tie a knot in a rope while a suspicious captain looks on. When Octodad can't tie the knot and the captain calls him out, you simply push him over.
Everything at Young Horses is a collaboration, with the team splitting writing, design and creative duties among everyone. They're discussing DLC, but for now they want to get the PS4 version out.
"I enjoy going to work every day," Tibitoski said.
[Image: Young Horses]
